Joining today's show are Mike Barnicle, Katty Kay, John Heilemann, Kasie Hunt, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, Dorian Warren, Andrea Mitchell, Lawrence O’Donnell, Rep. Mike McCaul, David French, Ana Marie Cox, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sara Eisen, Catherine Rampell, Daniel Silva and more.
Follow Chris Christie's announcement coverage. Gov. Chris Christie is planning to announce his candidacy for the presidency Tuesday and the Asbury Park Press and app.com will have full coverage in New Jersey and from New Hampshire. Gov. Chris Christie makes it official Tuesday, announcing his long-anticipated bid for the White House at his high school alma mater. The Asbury Park Press and app.com will have full team coverage, reaction and analysis from throughout New Jersey, the nation, and the candidate's next stop — the first-primary state of New Hampshire.
Live video coverage of Christie's announcement from Livingston High School begins at 11 a.m. on app.com.
Christie, a Republican, heads immediately to New Hampshire, where he will hold a town hall meeting, his first as an official candidate in an ever-expanding GOP field. Check back at app.com/ChrisChristie for frequent updates on Christie's 2016 run.
Statehouse Bureau reporters Bob Jordan (on Twitter @BobJordanAPP) and Michael Symons (@MichaelSymons_) and a team of staffers will have all the breaking news, analysis and perspective on Christie, the issues and his chances for capturing his party's nomination.
Find a full video and digital report, photo galleries, and a host of interactive features and surveys on our Christie page.
Follow our coverage and join in the conversation about Christie and the 2016 campaign at the hashtag #ChristieRuns.
In one of the worst-kept secrets in the race for the 2016 Republican nomination for president, Gov. Chris Christie is expected to formally announce his candidacy at 11 a.m.
Watch live: Christie kicks off his presidential campaign at 11 a.m.
Shortly, Christie will attempt to reintroduce himself during his speech to the American people without a teleprompter, using just his notes, according to sources.
More than 100 protesting Christie's expected announcement have set up outside Livingston High School chanting for teachers' pensions among other issues. It's going to be a long day as we hear from many national and local politicians and other political pundits as well as, of course, Christie.
Also in the crowded gym was Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Union), a friend of the governor.
- "When Chris Christie is in charge, you know he's in charge," he said.
- Bramnick called Christie's entry into the race "great for America and great for New Jersey."
As for his announcement in his old high school gym, he called it a homecoming of sorts. - "If you were the president of the high school council, there's nothing better than coming back to your hometown high school," he said. "There's no place like home."
Millions from Phil Mickelson tied to money laundering, gambling case.
Nearly $3 million transferred from golfer Phil Mickelson to an intermediary was part of "an illegal gambling operation which accepted and placed bets on sporting events," according to two sources and court documents obtained by Outside the Lines.
Mickelson, a five-time major winner and one of the PGA Tour's wealthiest and most popular players, has not been charged with a crime and is not under federal investigation. But a 56-year-old former sports gambling handicapper, acting as a conduit for an offshore gambling operation, pleaded guilty last week to laundering approximately $2.75 million of money that two sources told Outside the Lines belonged to Mickelson.
Munson: Feds target schemes, not bettors
Federal gambling laws are directed at gambling enterprises and not at individual bettors, and that's why Phil Mickelson didn't face scrutiny, Lester Munson says.
Gregory Silveira of La Quinta reached an agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to three counts of money laundering of funds from an unnamed "gambling client" of his between February 2010 and February 2013. Sources familiar with the case said Mickelson, who was not named in court documents, is the unnamed "gambling client." Silveira is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 5 before U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips and faces up to 60 years in prison, though the sentence will likely be far shorter.
Mickelson could not be reached for comment. His longtime personal attorney, Glenn Cohen, declined to comment, saying another attorney -- whom he would not name -- assisted Mickelson in the matter. Silveira could not be reached for comment directly and his attorney declined to comment.
According to court documents, in March 2010, Silveira -- a participant in "an illegal gambling operation which accepted and placed bets on sporting events" -- accepted a wire transfer of $2.75 million, which he knew was part of "illegal sports betting." The money, according to the documents, came from a "gambling client" and had been transferred into Silveira's Wells Fargo Bank account. Three days later, Silveira transferred $2.475 million and then $275,000 into another of his Wells Fargo accounts. The next day, Silveira transferred the $2.475 million to another account he controlled at JPMorgan Chase Bank.
The three transactions constitute the money laundering charges: "At the time, defendant initiated these three transfers with the intent to promote the carrying on of an illegal gambling operation," according to the plea agreement, which was signed May 1.
Phil Mickelson is known for rarely shying away from betting on a practice golf round, and his affinity for sports gambling is no secret either. Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports
Typical of money laundering cases, the nearly $3 million is loosely described as "proceeds" in court documents, though that doesn't necessarily mean in this case gambling winnings or losings. "Proceeds" also could refer to money simply being moved into an offshore gambling account. Federal officials declined to clarify or provide details.
The Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation unit led the probe, which was run out of its Los Angeles office. IRS officials declined to comment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerry Yang, who prosecuted the case, declined to answer questions, saying: "We're only allowed to reveal what has been publicly filed or publicly known. ... I can't confirm or deny anything beyond what is in filed papers."
Court documents do not indicate what triggered the investigation or its scope.
Although the final plea agreement reached between Silveira and the U.S. Department of Justice does not name the "gambling client," an initial plea agreement signed last month by Silveira and his attorney, James D. Henderson Sr., contained a reference to the "money laundering of funds from P.M." After Outside the Lines inquired about Mickelson's potential role in the case, the U.S. Attorney's Office on June 17 filed a motion to have the original plea agreement stricken. The next day, it filed an amended version minus any reference to "P.M."
It is standard Department of Justice policy for documents not to mention third parties who are not criminally charged. Henderson, a high-powered Los Angeles attorney whose gambling-related clients have included offshore sportsbook pioneer Ron "Cigar" Sacco, told Outside the Lines he didn't "know anything about 'P.M.'" and declined to comment further, citing a nearly four-decade practice of not talking to the media about cases.
Two sources, though, told Outside the Lines that the client was Mickelson.
Last year, Mickelson made off-the-course news when his name surfaced in an ongoing federal insider trading investigation, which also involved billionaire investment tycoon Carl Icahn and iconic sports gambler/entrepreneur Billy Walters. Mickelson has been cleared in one of the alleged instances of insider trading, and it's unclear whether federal authorities are still investigating well-timed trades of another stock. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York declined to comment when reached by Outside the Lines.
Mickelson has earned more than $77 million over his three decades on the PGA Tour and also has lucrative endorsement deals with Callaway, Barclays, KPMG, Exxon Mobil, Rolex and Amgen that collectively pay him more than $40 million annually, according to Forbes.
The left-handed golfer is known for rarely shying away from a money match, and his affinity for sports gambling is no secret, either. In 2001, he was reprimanded by the PGA Tour after winning $500 from Mike Weir in the players' lounge at the NEC Invitational: Mickelson had wagered $20 at 25-1 odds that Jim Furyk would hole a bunker shot.
Mickelson has won far larger sums betting on major sporting events like the Super Bowl; three Las Vegas gaming sources told Outside the Lines that Mickelson still bets on sports in Vegas.
Ty Votaw, executive vice president of the PGA Tour, declined to comment on the Silveira matter and the Tour's gambling policies.
How he is connected with Silveira remains unclear.
Silveira made a small name for himself in the 1990s as a sports tout, a seller of betting picks to less-sophisticated bettors. He was based then in San Diego and, according to media accounts at the time, drew controversy as some suggested he was operating a moneymaking scam. He drew the attention of Sports Illustrated in a story on rip-off sports services.
He also was tied to ventures such as the Football Betting Guide, Blazer Sports and Spot Play. He not only went by the name Greg Silveira, but also answered to Gordie Deangelo and Gordon Michaels.
His attorney in last week's money laundering case, Henderson, once led the Justice Department's Los Angeles Organized Crime and Racketeering Strike Force. More recently, the graduate of Arizona State University Law School has practiced alongside his son, James D. Henderson Jr., a standout Sun Devils baseball player during the years Mickelson earned golf All-American laurels at Arizona State.
Henderson stood beside Silveira last Monday as he admitted guilt. Yang spelled out the case:
• The defendant knew the $2.75 million was from an illegal sports gambling business.
• He knew the laundered money was from a gambling client.
• And finally, he acted with intent to promote an illegal gambling business.
Asked by Judge Phillips if it were all true, Silveira responded: "Yes, your honor."
Dressed in black slacks and a tan, long-sleeve shirt, the 6-foot Silveira responded confidently and in a clear voice to the judge's questions. Silveira lives a nearly three-hour drive east of Los Angeles in the pristine desert community of La Quinta in a two-bedroom condominium, which is owned by his brother, on the PGA West golf complex.
Signs along the main PGA West thoroughfare describe it as "The Western Home of Golf in America." The lush courses annually serve as home to the Humana Challenge.
I actually know Art Schlister along with his history with regard to ties to gambling. That makes me old too which we knew anyway. I am so beat today after being in California over the last week. I am totally spent right now.
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Jeb Bush: Confederate flag is 'racist'. Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush called the Confederate flag a "racist" symbol on Monday, lauding South Carolina's efforts to remove it from the Capitol and pointing to a similar move he made as Florida's governor.
"The symbols were racist," Bush said, responding to a question about the flag from an African-American employee while on tour at Nephron Pharmaceuticals Plant in West Columbia.
It was his first visit to the Palmetto State since the racially motivated shootings of nine African-Americans in a Charleston church on June 17.
Bush said during his tenure as Florida governor, which ended in 2007, he watched as Georgia debated removing a Confederate flag on its state premises and it "dawned on me" that Florida similarly displayed those flags.
"I decided to do something politically incorrect" and remove the flags, he said.
Bush's comments come as southern states consider removing the flag -- which many view as a symbol of slavery and racism -- from government grounds. Alabama pulled four Confederate flags down, while Mississippi is considering changing its state flag, which incorporates the Confederate imagery, and Tennessee could ditch license plates that include the flag.
Bush said the flag has "divided the South in many ways."
"If you're trying to lean forward rather than live in the past, you want to eliminate the barriers that create disagreements, and so I did," he said.
He praised South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for "more or less doing the same thing under a lot of pressure" in the wake of the Charleston shootings.
Haley and other South Carolina politicians called for the flag to be removed from a monument at the state's capitol last week.
NAACP President Cornell William Brooks praised Bush's comments on Monday, saying in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer that "Jeb Bush is right on point."
In the wake of the shootings, Bush canceled one campaign stop in Charleston. He also drew criticism for saying immediately after the massacre that he wasn't sure about the shooter's motives.
"I don't know what was on the mind or the heart of the man who committed these atrocious crimes," Bush said then at a Faith and Freedom Coalition summit in Washington. That day he also told The Huffington Post that the shootings appeared racially motivated. Eric Bradner reported from Washington and Elizabeth Landers reported from West Columbia, South Carolina.
Walmart Apologizes for Making ISIS Cake for Man Denied Confederate Flag Design.
A man in Louisiana is asking for an explanation from Walmart after his request for a Confederate flag cake at one of its bakeries was rejected, but a design with the ISIS flag was accepted.
Chuck Netzhammer said he ordered the image of the Confederate flag on a cake with the words, "Heritage Not Hate," on Thursday at a Walmart in Slidell, Louisiana. But the bakery denied his request, he said. At some point later, he ordered the image of the ISIS flag that represents the terrorist group.
"I went back yesterday and managed to get an ISIS battleflag printed. ISIS happens to be somebody who we're fighting against right now who are killing our men and boys overseas and are beheading Christians," Netzhammer said.
NASCAR Chairman Wants Confederate Flag Eliminated at Races
Amazon, Etsy to Ban Confederate Flag Merchandise, Joining Walmart, eBay
A spokesman for Walmart told ABC News, "An associate in a local store did not know what the design meant and made a mistake. The cake should not have been made and we apologize."
"That's an ISIS battleflag cake that anybody can go buy at Walmart," Netzhammer explains in a video posted on YouTube showing the sheetcake. "But you can't buy a Confederate flag toy, with like, say, a 'Dukes of Hazzards' car."
Last week, companies like Walmart, Amazon, Etsy and eBay announced that they were banning sales of Confederate flag merchandise in the wake of the shooting death of nine African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, allegedly by a racist gunman who was seen in photos wearing the flag.
"We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer," Walmart said in a statement last week as it announced the ban. "We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the Confederate flag from our assortment -- whether in our stores or on our web site."
The shift followed a call by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to remove the Confederate flag from the state capitol in Columbia after the massacre.
Netzhammer shows what appears to be a form about the Confederate flag request from the bakery in his video with the words "cannot do cake."
Historic Iran Nuclear Deal Hangs in the Balance as Talks Enter Final Round.
Today marks the deadline for Iran and six world powers to reach a comprehensive agreement on curbing Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has dispatched two top officials to Vienna in a last-minute push for a diplomatic breakthrough, but the talks will likely be extended. The outstanding differences include access to international inspectors and Iranian nuclear activity in the deal’s final years. Negotiators are also trying to determine the timing of sanctions relief and the scope of Tehran’s nuclear research. We are joined from Tehran by Reza Sayah, a journalist who has covered Iran for CNN International for the last seven years.
Please go to Democracy Now! to view the Full Transcript from today.
Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said Sunday that the United States has lost its edge going into the final days of a nuclear negotiation with Iran. Deadline likely missed in nuclear deal - Hayden says Iran has 'upper hand'.
“I would actually fear that the Iranians have the upper hand right now,” Hayden said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I actually fear we have painted ourselves into a corner where we believe that any deal is better than no deal at the present time.”
Hayden said the framework of the deal doesn’t go far enough in preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear arsenal in the future.
On Sunday, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News that world powers meeting in Vienna to hammer out the nuclear deal will miss their June 30 deadline.
Iran’s foreign minister Mohammed Javad Zarif’s returned home for consultations on Sunday. Zarif is expected to return to Vienna to join counterparts from other countries at the negotiating table to push for a breakthrough on the talks.
U.S. officials said they are “unconcerned” about the pace of talks and that Zarif’s trip home had been scheduled in advance.
Deadline for nuclear talks with Iran looms large
Uncut: Former Israeli PM Barak on US-Iran nuke deal duel
However, several media outlets noted that the fact Zarif was leaving the talks so close to the deadline showed he needed permission to proceed with several issues tied to the talks, including how much access Tehran should give U.S. investigators monitoring Iran’s compliance to any deal.
It’s a sticking point that the U.S. and other powers cannot afford to negotiate, Hayden said.
“We need the ability to go places,” he said.
Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain are aiding the U.S. in diplomatic discussions.
The dispute over access surfaced again Sunday, with Iranian Gen. Masoud Jazayeri saying that any inspection by foreigners of Iran's military centers is prohibited.
He said the attempt by the U.S. and its allies to "obtain Iran's military information for years ... by the pressure of sanctions" will not succeed.
But German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who joined the talks Friday, said Iran's "nuclear activities, no matter where they take place," must be verifiable.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Zarif met in Vienna for their third encounter since Saturday. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also is in Vienna, as is British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, while Russia and China are represented for now by deputy foreign ministers.
For weeks, all seven nations at the negotiating table insisted that Tuesday remains the formal deadline for a deal. But with time running out, a senior U.S. official acknowledged that was unrealistic.
"Given the dates, and that we have some work to do ... the parties are planning to remain in Vienna beyond June 30 to continue working," said the official, who demanded anonymity in line with State Department practice.
Asked about the chances for a deal, Federica Mogherini, the European Union's top diplomat, told reporters: "It's going to be tough ... but not impossible." Hammond spoke of "major differences" in the way of a deal.
Steinmeier told German media: "I am convinced that if there is no agreement, everyone loses."
"Iran would remain isolated. A new arms race in a region that is already riven by conflict could be the dramatic consequence."
Both sides recognize that there is leeway to extend to July 9. As part of an agreement with the U.S. Congress, lawmakers then have 30 days to review the deal before suspending congressional sanctions.
But postponement beyond that would double the congressional review period to 60 days, giving both Iranian and U.S. critics more time to work on undermining an agreement.
Arguing for more time to allow the U.S. to drive a harder bargain, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- a fierce opponent of the talks -- weighed in on Sunday against "this bad agreement, which is becoming worse by the day."
"It is still not too late to go back and insist on demands that will genuinely deny Iran the ability to arm itself with nuclear weapons," he said.
The goal of the talks involving Iran and the U.S., Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia is a deal that would crimp Tehran's capacity to make nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran insists it does not want such arms but is bargaining in exchange for sanctions relief.
On Saturday, diplomats told The Associated Press that Iran was considering a U.S.-backed plan for it to send enriched uranium to another country for sale as reactor fuel, a step that would resolve one of several outstanding issues. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Regardless of it all, please stay in touch.
