CRIME/GOP/JARED KUSHNER/PRISONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump on Thursday [8-23-18] tabled a criminal justice package being pushed by a group of lawmakers and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, multiple sources said. But Trump and Republican leaders also agreed on a path forward for the legislative effort after the midterm elections, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell telling supporters he would gauge support for the bill as they push for a vote. The outcome came after Trump met Thursday at the White House with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Kushner and other top White House officials to discuss the legislative package of sentencing and prison overhaul measures. For weeks, lawmakers have been trying to find the sweet spot on prison legislation, with Kushner and Republicans like Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and others pushing Trump to include sentencing revisions. Sessions, meanwhile, has largely opposed the effort, pushing Trump not to alleviate mandatory minimum sentences for a range of crimes. White House officials working on the issue were hoping to push the bill to the Senate for a vote the last week of August, but a senior administration official said Trump and Republicans leaders were wary of sparking an intra-party fight so close to the midterms. Trump has told the people involved in the effort to continue to work to smooth out the issues that have sparked opposition from Sessions and some Republican senators, namely Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the senior administration official said.”
–Sophie Tatum, Jeremy Diamond, Lauren Fox, Jeremy Herb, Laura Jarrett, Jim Acosta and Phil Mattingly, “Criminal justice overhaul is tabled — for now,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, August 23, 2018 10:49 pm