Nearly 50 percent of Americans think it’s likely Trump committed a crime in connection with Russian attempts to influence the election. Utah’s federal delegation supports Republican tax plan. Independent panel proposes pay raises for state lawmakers.
Happy Friday. Nearly three out of five Americans say they support special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between Russia and President Donald Trump’s 2016 bid. The new poll also finds that nearly 50 percent think it’s likely Trump committed a crime in connection with the possible collusion (which he has denied). The first charges in the investigation came Monday against three Trump associates — laying out the most explicit evidence yet that the president’s campaign was allegedly eager to coordinate with the foreign government to get dirt on Hillary Clinton. [WaPost]
Topping the news: Utah’s all-Republican members of Congress approve of the GOP tax reform bill unveiled Thursday. The bill has been criticized by Democrats, though, for benefitting the wealthy over the middle class. [Trib]
-> The Sierra Club, Wilderness Society and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday for details from the plans to shrink national monuments. [APviaTrib]
-> An independent panel suggested that Utah lawmakers should receive a pay raise. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @MEPFuller: “You haven’t lived until you’ve witnessed Members of Congress stressing over being seen in the official House photo.”
-> From @tedlieu: “Dear Twitter employee who shut down Trump’s Twitter: You made America feel better for 11 minutes. DM me & I will buy you a Pizza Hut pizza.”
-> From @CalumMcSwiggan: “Can someone find out who that twitter employee who deactivated trump’s account was so I can erect a statue of them in my garden”
Happy Birthday: To Ann Ober. And on Saturday to Hope Zitting-Goeckeritz.
Congrats: To Matt Whitlock, communications director for Sen. Orrin Hatch, and his fiancé Liz Mann. The couple got engaged Wednesday. Mann is a Farmington native and former Hatch law clerk who just passed the bar. Whitlock is from Los Altos, Calif.
Heads up: The Salt Lake Tribune team that produced the Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of sexual assault on Utah’s college campuses will speak at Utah Valley University (Sorenson Student Center) tonight at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Behind the Headlines: Tribune reporters Paighten Harkins and Luke Ramseth, Washington Bureau Chief Thomas Burr and columnist Robert Gehrke join KCPW’s Roger McDonough to talk about the week’s top stories, including a shooting at the University of Utah and Utah’s Medicaid waiver. Each Friday morning, stream “Behind the Headlines” online at kcpw.org or tune into KCPW 88.3 FM or Utah Public Radio for the broadcast.
In other news: The LDS Church donated $10 million to develop housing for the homeless in Salt Lake City. [Trib] [DNews] [ABC4] [Fox13]
-> Gary DeLand, former head of the Utah Department of Corrections, said state jailer standards, which he wrote, are secret for “selfish” reasons. [Trib]
-> The jury in ex-Utah Transit Authority board member Terry Diehl’s case was selected on Thursday. [Trib]
-> The latest campaign disclosures showed that Salt Lake City council candidates in Districts 3 and 7 fundraised and spent the most. [Trib]
-> Paul Rolly analyzes the $283 million bond proposal by Canyons School District. [Trib]
Nationally: Republicans revealed their $1.5 trillion tax plan Thursday and scheduled a markup for the bill Monday. [NYTimes]
-> A departing Twitter employee deactivated President Donald Trump’s account for a short time Thursday. [WaPost]
-> Trump chose Federal Reserve Governor Jerome “Jay” Powell to lead the central bank. [Politico]
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— Courtney Tanner and Karenna Meredith