In today’s newsletter: Ex-intel officers warn Trump could weaponize U.S. spy services if he’s elected to a second term. Claudia Sheinbaum is elected Mexico’s first female president. And Simone Biles wins her 9th U.S. gymnastics championship.
Here’s what to know today.
If Trump returns to the White House, what will happen to America’s intelligence agencies?
Former intelligence officers are panicking that spy agencies could suffer if Donald Trump wins a second presidential term.
Given Trump’s track record during and after his first term, including his public remarks around the intelligence services, his alleged mishandling of classified information, and his vows to seek vengeance against his political opponents, former intelligence officers worry that Trump will weaponize U.S. spy services against his domestic political enemies and skew findings in favor of authoritarian leaders.
NBC News spoke with more than a dozen former intelligence officers — many of whom worked in the Trump administration and had face-to-face meetings with him — as well as members of Congress and Western officials.
“I’m very concerned. And I think almost every one of my former colleagues and current colleagues in the intelligence community is very concerned,” said a former national security official who served under Trump. “I haven’t talked to a single senior person who said, ‘Oh, it’s overblown. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.’”
Foreign allies already are worried about the implications of a second Trump term and could scale back how much information they share with their U.S. counterparts about intelligence gathering methods, former officials and lawmakers said. Washington relies heavily on its foreign intelligence partners to help track terrorist threats, navigate international crises and prepare for possible conflicts.
But Trump’s return to the White House could jeopardize those relationships, former officials said.
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Trump said he thinks there would be a “breaking point” for the public if he is sentenced to house arrest or imprisonment after he was found guilty on all counts last week. RNC co-chair Lara Trump blasted Maryland Republican Senate candidate Larry Hogan in response to his call for Americans to respect the verdict in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial.
Mexico elects first female president with Claudia Sheinbaum as projected winner
Claudia Sheinbaum has made history as the first woman elected president of Mexico, according to projections from the nation’s official quick count.
Sheinbaum obtained between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote, according to a statistical sample used to conduct the quick count. She addressed supporters saying, “For the first time in 200 years of our republic, I will become the first woman president … but as I’ve said in other occasions, I did not get here alone.” She said she would work to build a “diverse and democratic” Mexico. She is a physicist and climate scientist and will be Mexico’s first president of Jewish heritage.
A member of the governing left-wing Morena party, she will have an important role in resolving issues that are a priority to the U.S., such as immigration and foreign affairs, as well as determining the future of the trade deal that has made Mexico the United States’ largest trade partner. When it comes to combating the country’s high levels of violence, Sheinbaum has said she plans to continue her predecessor’s “hugs, not bullets” policy of not directly taking on criminal organizations that have gained control over large parts of Mexico.
Jury selection set to begin in Hunter Biden gun case
Jury selection is set to begin today in the federal gun case against Hunter Biden in Delaware. He faces three counts tied to possession of a gun while using narcotics. He has pleaded not guilty.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika said she plans on calling potential jurors in groups of 50 until they’re able to find 12 people who say they can be impartial when it comes to President Joe Biden’s son.
According to a court filing, among the questions she plans to ask potential jurors in the Wilmington courthouse are: “Do your views regarding the 2024 election or of any of the candidates for president in any way prevent you from being a fair and impartial juror in this case?” and “Do you believe Robert Hunter Biden is being prosecuted in this case because his father is the President of the United States and a candidate for President?”
Biden has denied any involvement in his son’s legal troubles or business matters, and efforts by the Republican-led impeachment inquiry to find evidence of wrongdoing by the president have come up short.
The trial is expected to last two weeks, according to the judge overseeing the case.
Pride & politics: 30 barrier-breaking LGBTQ leaders
The U.S. elected its first openly gay public official in 1974 when Kathy Kozachenko, then a student at the University of Michigan, won a seat on the Ann Arbor City Council. Now, a half-century later, more than a thousand lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people have become elected officials and government leaders, and there have been at least seven out LGBTQ heads of state globally.
The importance of LGBTQ representation in government can be summed up in this adage: “If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re probably on the menu.”
Here’s a look at 30 barrier-breaking LGBTQ leaders in politics today.
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President Biden’s re-election campaign is launching an effort at the start of National Pride Month to try to shore up support from LGBTQ voters.Adele clapped back at an audience member who heckled at Pride Month at her Las Vegas residency.
Simone Biles wins record ninth national championship and qualifies for Olympic trials
Simone Biles won a record ninth all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, earning her an automatic berth in the U.S. Olympic trials ahead of the Paris Games.
Biles started on the balance beam, where she scored a 14.800 with a nearly flawless routine. On the floor exercise, Biles went out of bounds on her eponymous triple-twisting double back flip but still posted a 15.100.
Biles, the 37-time world and Olympic medalist, also won national titles on all four apparatuses at the U.S. Championships. The top two finishers — Biles and Skye Blakely — automatically qualified for the Olympic trials, which will be June 27-30 in Minneapolis.
Read more:
Russia has started a secret influence campaign hoping to discredit the 2024 Olympic Games, according to a new report from Microsoft’s threat intelligence unit.What does a city that has spurned cars look like? Olympics visitors to Paris will get a look.
Politics in Brief
Reproductive rights: A group of Senate Democrats are planning to unveil a new legislative package to protect in vitro fertilization today.
Biden’s campaign: With the end of Trump’s criminal trial, Biden’s team now sees a new window of opportunity to try and accelerate efforts to draw in disengaged voters.
Giuliani disbarred: The D.C. Bar’s Board on Professional Responsibility recommended that Rudy Giuliani be barred from practicing law in the nation’s capital.
Europe trip: Biden leaves the campaign trail this week and flies to France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, where he’ll give speeches touting American alliances that beat back dictatorships bent on world conquest.
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Staff Pick: Scientists — and men — show enthusiasm for male birth control in clinical trials
Women in the U.S. are facing escalating restrictions on their reproductive choices. What about men? Do men want more birth control options of their own, something beyond condoms and vasectomies? Contributor Caroline Hopkins wondered what was happening with the scientific pursuit of a reversible, safe and effective birth control medication for men. The classic joke says “male contraceptives have been 10 years away for 50 years,” but new trial results are giving scientists hope.
— Jane Weaver, medical unit managing editor
In Case You Missed It
Biden’s description of Israel’s cease-fire proposal was “not accurate,” a senior Israeli official has told NBC News, as doubts grew over the U.S. ally’s stance on the deal.The Washington Post announced that its executive editor, Sally Buzbee, had stepped down after three years.Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter Shiloh filed to drop “Pitt” from her last name. A man’s silver chain saved his life after a bullet became lodged in it. A city in San Diego shut down nearly its entire stretch of beaches after a shark attacked a man.A man is dead and more than 20 people were injured in a shooting at a birthday party in Ohio.
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Throwing everything in the wash together isn’t the ideal way to preserve the longevity of your clothing and bedding; it’s best to separate it into their own cycles. And for more additional cleaning tips, here’s what vacuums to shop for your living space.
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Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Both.
Elizabeth Both
Elizabeth Both is an associate platforms editor for NBC News, based in New York.
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