Trump struggling to hire attorneys who will work for him. Ambassador Huntsman explains expulsions of Russian diplomats from the United States. Dems criticize Love over gun position.
Happy Tuesday. President Donald Trump is having a hard time finding lawyers to represent him. The president recently tweeted, “Many lawyers and top law firms want to represent me in the Russia case … don’t believe the Fake News narrative that it is hard to find a lawyer who wants to take this on.” But it turns out several lawyers have turned him down. Monday, a prominent Chicago defense attorney declined to take Trump as a client while another top attorney said the White House was full of regular “turmoil” and “chaos.” [WaPost]
Topping the news: After President Donald Trump ordered the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats and closed a Russian consulate on Monday, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman said the two countries can have a better relationship “when Russia chooses to become a more responsible partner.” [Trib]
-> Utah Rep. Mia Love asked U.S. lawmakers over the weekend to consider action on gun control, but Utah Democrats were quick to respond by sharing an online photo of Love with gun lobbyists. [Trib]
-> Utah Rep. Chris Stewart offered some ideas after a Salt Lake summit Monday on how to safeguard this year’s election from Russian meddling. [Trib] [ABC4]
Tweets of the day: From @SpencerJCox: “On our way from St. George to Phoenix for Spring Break and was going to stop and show the kids the Hoover Dam … but I caught the end of the original Superman movie again this week so nah.”
-> From @aedwardslevy: “very hot take: in order for Democrats to win the House this November, it’s absolutely essential that they win in more congressional districts than the Republicans do”
-> From @chelseahandler: “I’m ready to start dating stormy Daniels’ attorney.”
Happy Birthday: To former Utah Democratic Party Chairman Donald Dunn.
In other news: Utah’s three largest jails are being faced with lawsuits from inmates’ families challenging how the facilities deal with inmate medical care. [Trib]
-> Two oil and gas companies haven’t been following through in royalty payments they owe to Utah’s school trust fund. [Trib]
-> The Utah NetSmartz program received state funding during this year’s legislative session to continue teaching Utah’s K-12 students about internet safety. [Trib]
-> Utah’s newest city, Millcreek, wants to proclaim March 26 as Cottonwood Heights Day to show appreciation for its neighboring city. [Trib]
-> A new trash filtering device is being installed on the Jordan River to help combat the problem of floating debris that threatens waterfowl in the Great Salt Lake area. [Trib] [ABC4]
-> Kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart wants her name removed from an anti-pornography bill being called the “Elizabeth Smart Bill.” [APviaKUTV]
-> Pat Bagley depicts getting to the bottom of the Stormy Daniels/Donald Trump controversy. [Trib]
-> Robert Gehrke writes that the LDS Church received a secret recording of a former missionary confronting a former Missionary Training Center president about alleged sexual abuse in the same month the church pushed for a state law to ban secret recordings. [Trib]
Nationally: Adult film star Stormy Daniels’ “60 Minutes” interview garnered an audience of 22 million on Sunday, the highest rating the program has had in nearly 10 years. [NYTimes]
-> Trump reportedly wants Rob Porter, the former White House staff secretary accused of abusing his two former wives, to return to the White House. [NYTimes]
-> In response to the poisoning of a former spy in Britain, the United States joined more than 20 other countries Monday and expelled Russian diplomats and shut down a Russian consulate. [WaPost]
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— Thomas Burr and Madalyn Gunnell