The Daily 202: Trump tries to show empathy for gun violence victims, but don’t expect tears

The Daily 202: Trump tries to show empathy for gun violence victims, but don’t expect tears

-- Twitter suspended thousands of bot accounts, drawing ire from some conservative media figures who lost followers. Eli Rosenberg reports: “Many of these figures, such as pro-Trump host Bill Mitchell and white nationalist Richard Spencer, took to the service to complain about losing a small portion of their followers in the move. Other conservative accounts were suspended pending verification that they are run by people. Twitter did not confirm the number of accounts that it suspended but released a statement saying that it was continuing to identify ‘suspicious account behaviors’ that represented automated activity or other violations of its terms of service.”

How did Melania Trump's parents become permanent legal residents?

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (AND WOMEN):

-- The first lady’s parents, as legal U.S. residents, are likely benefiting from the family reunification system, which Trump has derided as “chain migration,” report Carol D. Leonnig, David Nakamura and Nick Miroff. “The Knavses, formerly of Slovenia, are living in the country on green cards, according to Michael Wildes, a New York-based immigration lawyer who represents the first lady and her family. ‘I can confirm that Mrs. Trump’s parents are both lawfully admitted to the United States as permanent residents,’ he said. … The Knavses are awaiting scheduling for their naturalization oath ceremony, according to a person with knowledge of their immigration filings. …

“David Leopold, an immigration lawyer and a past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the first lady’s sponsorship of her parents appears to be the only reasonable way they would have obtained green cards because the process currently gives preferential treatment to parents of U.S. citizens. ‘That would be the logical way to do it, the preferred way to do it and possibly the only way to do it under the facts that I know,’ Leopold said.”

ANOTHER INCOMPETENT TRUMP APPOINTMENT INADEQUATELY VETTED:

-- Trump’s nominee to lead the Indian Health Service withdrew from consideration following reports that he overstated his work experience. The Wall Street Journal’s Dan Frosch and Christopher Weaver report: “In one case, [Robert] Weaver said he had held leadership roles at a large hospital; however, some of his former colleagues and supervisors said his role there was as a registration clerk. … The Journal reviewed public records that showed he had filed for personal bankruptcy and had tax liens against one of his businesses as recently as 2011.”