SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

WISE STATEMENT – FROM THE HILL:  The Justice Department issued a statement Thursday night warning the media and other Americans against believing anonymous sources, and warning that the Justice Department doesn't confirm statements from unnamed officials.  "Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous 'officials,' particularly when they do not identify the country - let alone the branch or agency of government - with which the alleged sources supposedly are affiliated," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote Thursday.  "Americans should be skeptical about anonymous allegations," the statement continues. "The Department of Justice has a long-standing policy to neither confirm or deny such allegations."  It's about time someone said this.

BIG MOUTH FUMBLES – FROM HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:  Elizabeth Banks messed up, and she is very sorry.  Those are the words Banks used in a tweet posted Thursday afternoon, a lengthy apology directed at Steven Spielberg and anyone offended by her comments on Tuesday night from the podium at Women in Film's Crystal + Lucy Awards, where she claimed Spielberg had never directed a film featuring a female lead.   "I framed my comments inaccurately. I want to be clear from the start that I take full responsibility for what I said and I'm sorry," posted Banks, who made the gaffe during her acceptance speech for the Crystal Award for Excellence in Film, presented to her by Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley. "When I made the comments, I was thinking of recent films Steven directed, it was not my intention to dismiss the import of the iconic #TheColorPurple."  My dear, grown-ups do their research before they open their mouths, especially when attacking a revered director.  Why do I think this thespian will have trouble  getting another job?

June 15, 2017