The Note: Trump’s threats could boost Bolton’s book
The TAKE with Rick Klein
It's a crowded media moment, between the pandemic and protests, Supreme Court surprises and a campaign rally that could bring all of the biggest storylines together in an explosive fashion this weekend.
Despite all that, any chance that John Bolton's book gets lost fades with every new presidential threat. President Donald Trump is threatening legal action to prevent his former national security adviser's memoir from being released, with a lawsuit expected as soon as Tuesday.
"If the book gets out, he's broken the law," Trump declared Monday. "They'll soon be in court."
The book, "The Room Where it Happened," has already been printed, and is scheduled for release next Tuesday. Bolton sat down with ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz on Monday, for an interview to air in a primetime special Sunday night.
"I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn't driven by reelection calculations," Bolton wrote in the book, according to his publisher.
When it comes to that reelection, Bolton himself is unlikely to carry votes. He has few friends among Democrats, and wasn't particularly loved in some Republican circles long before he joined the Trump White House.
Bolton will now face some MAGA wrath, alongside questions about why he didn't tell his story back when impeachment was on the table.
But Bolton still has a story to tell. And it would appear that the president does not have the power to stop him from telling it.
The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks
Monday the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a sweeping opinion for civil rights and teased an unpredictable summer and fall to come.
The decision, which now makes it illegal for an employer to fire someone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, was written by one of the Supreme Court's most conservative justices, Neil Gorsuch, who was appointed by Trump.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined Gorsuch and the court's four more liberal justices, making it a six to three decision in the end.
The final verdict was not only the most significant milestone for LGBTQ rights since same-sex marriage was legalized in 2015, but also evidence that Trump and the Republican Party do not control the votes of their Supreme Court appointees.
In a dissent, Justice Samuel Alito accused the court of making law rather than interpreting it -- a distinction that will surely be debated and evoked with the other politically charged decisions still to come this term.
The court will soon decide, for example, whether to uphold Trump's decision to end the DACA program for undocumented young immigrants who were brought to the country as children, as well as a major abortion access case from Louisiana.
The TIP with Meg Cunningham
Colorado's third and final Democratic Senate primary debate is set for Tuesday night, and things are likely to get testy.
Former governor and presidential contender John Hickenlooper, whose campaign has been engulfed in ethics scandals and the resurfacing of off-color comments, is set to face off for the last time with progressive challenger Andrew Romanoff, who had an unsuccessful run for Congress in 2014.
In the past week, Hickenlooper has been handed a nearly $3,000 fine from the Colorado Ethics Commission for violations while he was in office. He was criticized by Romanoff during last week's debate for policing policies during his time as Denver mayor, with Romanoff accusing him of perpetuating mass incarceration during his tenure. On top of it all, the former governor came under fire on Monday for comments he made in 2014 -- which surfaced online -- comparing the workload of a governor to slaves being whipped to row on "an ancient slave ship."
Hickenlooper has since apologized for the comments, saying he did not intend them to be painful. But with less than two weeks before Colorado voters cast their ballots it will be difficult to change the conversation as Romanoff calls on him to pay back the legal fees he's incurred on the taxpayer dime while litigating this case.
BRINGING AMERICA BACK
Many education budgets never fully recovered from the 2008 recession, and now they'll be hit again as states are expected to face an estimated $615 billion budget deficit over the next three years due to the coronavirus, according to testimony during a House committee hearing. Read this story and more by checking out Bringing America Back, an ABC News feature that highlights the day's top stories in economic recovery and medical preparedness amid the coronavirus pandemic.
THE PLAYLIST
ABC News' "Start Here" podcast. Tuesday morning's episode features ABC News Senior Washington reporter Devin Dwyer who unpacks the landmark ruling from the Supreme Court on LGBTQ rights. Then, ABC News' Anne Flaherty explains why the FDA is revoking its emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine, as COVID-19 cases rise in many states. And, ABC News' Steve Osunsami brings us the latest on the police killing of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta. http://apple.co/2HPocUL
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