đ Away Message: Hey everyone, Iâm sicker than ever today and unable to publish an update. Hoping to be back tomorrow (Friday). Thanks for your patience. This is absolutely the worst.
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Day 861: Essentially.
Today in one sentence: Trump tweeted that Russia helped "me to get elected"; Trump attacked Robert Mueller, characterizing him as "totally conflicted" and "true never-Trumper"; Barr thinks Mueller should have reached a decision on whether Trump obstructed justice; atleast 49 Democrats and one Republican support starting an impeachment inquiry against Trump; and Trump administration deliberately concealed evidence about the decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.
1/ Trump tweeted that Russia helped âme to get electedâ â his first acknowledgement that Russia worked to get him elected in 2016. Trump later retracted the statement, telling reporters that, âNo, Russia did not help me get elected. [âŠ] I got me elected.â Trump has previously denied that Russia interfered in the election, rejecting the conclusions by American intelligence agencies and federal prosecutors that Russia worked to help him defeat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election campaign. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / The Guardian / CNN)
- đ Day 819: The Trump campaign âexpected it would benefitâ from information released by Russia, but âthe investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.â The report continues: âThe investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome.â Putinâs âpreference was for candidate Trump to win.â
2/ Trump attacked Robert Mueller, characterizing him as âtotally conflictedâ and âtrue never-Trumper,â suggesting that if the former special counsel had any evidence, he would have brought charges. Trump insisted that Muellerâs comments yesterday âessentiallyâ said ââYouâre innocent.â There was no crime, there was no charge because he had no information.â Trump also referred to a âbusiness disputeâ with Mueller, but didnât elaborate. Bill OâReilly, however, said Trump called him last night to complain that âMueller didnât like him because he turned him down to be the head of the FBI after he fired Comeyâ and that Trump once refused to refund his country club membership deposit. âMueller wanted $15,000 back and Trump said no,â OâReilly said. Mueller denied the incident. Trump went on to baselessly claim that Mueller âloves Comey,â and âwhether itâs love or a deep like, he was conflicted.â (ABC News / NBC News / Mediate)
- đ Day 860: Robert Mueller declined to clear Trump of obstruction of justice and suggested that only Congress can âformally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoingâ in his first public remarks about his two-year-long investigation of Russiaâs interference in the 2016 presidential election. The special counsel noted that âcharging the president with a crime was [âŠ] not an option we could consider,â because Justice Department policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president. Mueller emphasized that if his office âhad confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.â Mueller concluded his remarks by reiterating his reportâs conclusion that âThere were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. And that allegation deserves the attention of every American.â (Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / Associated Press / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / NPR)
3/ Attorney General William Barr thinks Mueller should have reached a decision on whether Trump obstructed justice, despite Justice Department guidelines saying a sitting president cannot be indicted. Barr suggested that Mueller âcouldâve reached a decision as to whether there was criminal activity.â Mueller, however, said that because âIt would be unfair to potentially accuse somebody of a crime when there can be no court resolution of the actual charge,â it was ânot an option we could consider.â (The Hill)
- Key U.S. intelligence partners, including the United Kingdom and Australia, are concerned with Barrâs politically-charged Justice Department review of how the Russia investigation began. Trump gave Barr the authority to declassify and study the pre-election Obama-era intelligence related to the investigation. Partners are concerned that Barr could potentially reveal intelligence shared with the U.S. and, in the process, damage their other relationships with foreign partners. (CNN)
4/ At least 49 Democrats and one Republican support starting an impeachment inquiry against Trump. Democratic leaders also say Muellerâs remarks yesterday reiterate the importance of having him testify before Congress. Mueller has indicated that he is reluctant to testify and that he wouldnât say anything beyond what his office wrote in report, calling his report âmy testimony.â (New York Times / NBC News)
5/ The Trump administration deliberately concealed evidence about the decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The origins of the plan were discovered on hard drives in Thomas Hofellerâs home, who died last summer. The files show that Hofeller concluded that adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census âwould clearly be a disadvantage to the Democratsâ and âadvantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whitesâ in redistricting. He pushed the idea to the Trump administration in 2017, which then intentionally obscured Hofellerâs role in court proceedings. The government has maintained that adding the question was intended to improve enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court will decide the case by the termâs end next month on whether the citizenship question can be added to the 2020 Census. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Reuters)
Notables.
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The White House wanted the USS John S. McCain âout of sightâ during Trumpâs visit to Japan. A Navy official confirmed that someone in the White House asked to move the destroyer while Trump was in the area. A tarp was also hung over McCainâs name, and sailors were given the day off. A spokesperson for the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan didnât know about the White Houseâs request. (Wall Street Journal / NBC News / The Hill / Washington Post / New York Times)
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Trump said whoever directed the Navy to obscure the warship USS John S. McCain was âwell-meaning,â adding that he didnât know about and âwas not involvedâ in the effort to the hide the Navy destroyer. âI would not have done that.â (Washington Post / New York Times / Associated Press)
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Several service members aboard the USS Wasp wore âMake Aircrew Great Againâ patches. The Navy is reviewing whether the Trump-themed patches violated Navy rules. (CNN)
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A federal judge rejected the Trump administrationâs request to begin construction on a border wall with Mexico while it appeals a ruling that found funding for the wall was not authorized by Congress. U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam said the government was unlikely to prevail on the merits of its appeal, failing to justify a stay of a preliminary injunction issued last week. (Reuters)
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Federal prosecutors subpoenaed Mar-a-Lago for records related to Republican Party donor Li âCindyâ Yang and several of her associates and companies. The former owner of a Florida spa is involved in a prostitution investigation and allegedly sold access to Trump and his associates at Mar-a-Lago events. (Miami Herald / Vanity Fair)
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China accused the U.S. of engaging in âeconomic terrorismâ and said the ongoing trade war has âbrought huge damage to the economy of other countries and the US itself.â Yesterday, Chinese state media issued a similar warning to Washington: âDonât say we didnât warn you.â The statements come as Chinaâs top economic planning agency said it would be willing to reduce exports of rare earth minerals to the U.S., which are an important part of high-tech manufacturing. (CNN)
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The U.S. has slipped into third place when it comes to the most competitive economies. While the U.S. is still on top when it comes to economic performance, the boost in confidence from Trumpâs tax cuts has faded while higher fuel prices and weaker high-tech exports have reduced competitiveness. (CNBC)
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Trump might meet with two pro-Brexit politicians when he visits the U.K. next week. Trump said he considers Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage to be âvery good guysâ and âvery interesting people.â (Politico / Bloomberg)
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The Department of Energy referred to fossil fuel as âmolecules of U.S. freedomâ in a press release touting exports of natural gas. (ABC News)
A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
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