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HC Wake-Up Call: Donald Trump Jr.’s Congressional Testimony, North Carolina Teacher Protests & President Trump’s Financial Disclosure

Allison Crist

Good morning Her Campus! With a break-neck news cycle, there is no possible way for you to stay on top of every story that comes across your feeds—we’re all only human, after all.

But, life comes at you fast. So grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this quick and dirty guide to stories you might’ve been sleeping on (like, literally. It’s early.)

Details Revealed About Donald Trump Jr.’s Infamous Trump Tower Meeting

The Senate Judiciary Committee interviewed a slew of those that were present — including one of the president’s sons — at the Trump Tower meeting in June of 2016 where Donald Trump Jr. was promised “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. Now, nearly 2,000 pages of transcripts of those interviews with congressional investigators are public. 

According to CNN, the documents both answer questions and raise new ones about the meeting, which has been a focus of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s involvement with the 2016 presidential election. For example, publicist Rob Goldstone specifically promised Trump Jr. “very interesting” information “that would incriminate Hillary,” to which Trump Jr. replied “if it’s what you say I love it.”

The Washington Post even published an article — “54 things Donald Trump Jr. couldn’t ‘recall’ or ‘remember’ in his testimony” — about all of the times Trump Jr. cited a bad memory when talking to investigators. 

Thousands Of North Carolina Educators Rally At State Capitol For Better Pay

At least 19,000 people — with some estimates nearing 30,000 — gathered in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to increase teacher pay and education spending throughout the state. According to The News & Observer, the “March for Students and Rally for Respect” was the largest act of organized teacher political action in North Carolina’s history. A reporter for the paper also said at least 42 of the state’s 115, or 68 percent, of the school districts were closed.

Educators were decked out in red with signs like “Invest in our students, invest in our future,” and “I spent $459.78 on classroom materials this semester.” Some were able to meet with individual lawmakers, and the state’s governor tweeted his solidarity with teachers. 

The march is the latest in a series of states striking for better teacher pay. Just two weeks ago, Arizona teachers ended a five-day walkout after a budget deal, which promised a 20 percent raise for teachers, was reached. 

President Trump’s Financial Disclosure Includes Repayment To Michael Cohen

The President of the United States is federally required to file a yearly financial disclosure form, and Trump’s 2017 report was released by the Office of Government Ethics on Wednesday. The 92-page report disclosed a variety of Trump’s financial interests, but most notable was the apparent repayment of more than $100,000 to his personal attorney, Michael Cohen — who paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 two weeks before the 2016 presidential to stay quiet about her alleged sexual relationship with Trump.

Though he previously denied having any knowledge of Cohen’s payment as recently as April of this year, Trump now insists that he reimbursed Cohen. And the payment on his financial disclosure form — despite not specifying its purpose — seems to corroborate the reimbursement. 

However, some — including the government’s top ethics officer, David Apol — say that Trump should have disclosed the Cohen payment last year. The New York Times reported that Apol sent a “highly unusually letter” to the Justice Department, alerting Rod Rosenstein that Cohen’s payment was required to be “reported as a liability.” According to NBC News, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington also took issue with the report, even filing a complaint that Trump’s 2017 form improperly omitted a “loan” from Cohen.

What to look out for…

#IDAHOTB — A.K.A. International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. May 17 raises awareness of both the historical and current discrimination LGBTQ+ folks face, and this year’s theme is “Alliances for Solidarity.” Read more about the annual observance at dayagainsthomophobia.org.

Follow Allison on Twitter @AllisonMCrist.