General
Mueller report will be lightly redacted, revealing detailed look at obstruction of justice investigation
Matt Zapotosky et al., The Washington Post
The Justice Department plans to release a lightly redacted version of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s 400-page report Thursday, offering a granular look at the ways in which President Trump was suspected of having obstructed justice, people familiar with the matter said. The report — the general outlines of which the Justice Department has briefed the White House on — will reveal that Mueller decided he could not come to a conclusion on the question of obstruction because it was difficult to determine Trump’s intent and because some of his actions could be interpreted innocently, these people said.
Trump Donor Faces a Second Federal Probe
Bryon Tau, The Wall Street Journal
A Los Angeles businessman whose interactions with President Trump’s inaugural committee have been under scrutiny is now ensnared in another federal probe that is examining his political donations and work with foreign governments, according to people familiar with the inquiry. Imaad Zuberi, who was a major Democratic donor before he abruptly pivoted to support Mr. Trump after the 2016 presidential election, was first named in a wide-ranging document subpoena issued Feb. 4 to the Trump inaugural committee by prosecutors in New York City.
How the IRS Gave Up Fighting Political Dark Money Groups
Maya Miller, ProPublica
In the past decade, people, companies and unions have dispensed more than $1 billion in dark money, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The very definition of that phrase, to many critics, epitomizes the problem of shadowy political influence: Shielded by the cloak of anonymity, typically wealthy interests are permitted to pass limitless pools of cash through nonprofits to benefit candidates or political initiatives without contributing directly to campaigns.
Business Quietly Returns to Saudi Arabia After Khashoggi’s Murder
Michael J. de la Merced et al., The New York Times
Six months after agents from Saudi Arabia murdered and dismembered the writer Jamal Khashoggi, companies are no longer shying away from the Arab kingdom. The movie theater giant AMC says it is moving ahead with ambitious expansion plans for dozens of cinemas there.
White House & Administration
Emboldened by His Attorney General, Trump Confronts Mueller Report Head-On
Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman, The New York Times
The case was closed for President Trump on March 24, the day Attorney General William P. Barr delivered to Congress his four-page summary of the special counsel’s 300-plus page report. “No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter that day.
U.S., China Set Tentative Timeline for Next Round of Trade Talks
William Mauldin and Josh Zumbrun, The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. and China are planning two rounds of face-to-face meetings as they seek to wrap up a trade deal, with negotiators aiming for a signing ceremony in late May or early June, according to people familiar with the situation. Under the tentative schedule, U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer is set to travel to Beijing the week of April 29, the people said, with Chinese envoy Liu He coming to Washington the week of May 6.
Dispute flares among U.S. officials over Trump administration Iran arms control report
Jonathan Landay and Arshad Mohammed, Reuters
A new Trump administration report on international compliance with arms control accords provoked a dispute with U.S. intelligence agencies and some State Department officials concerned that the document politicizes and slants assessments about Iran, five sources with knowledge of the matter said. U.S. President Donald Trump is intensifying a drive to contain Iran’s power in the Middle East, which has raised fears that his administration wants to topple the Tehran government or lay the groundwork to justify military action.
Senate
Harris, Booker miss most votes of senators running in 2020
Elana Schor, The Associated Press
Kamala Harris and Cory Booker have each missed more than one-fifth of the Senate’s votes so far this year as they campaign for president, according to an Associated Press analysis of congressional data. With 16 missed votes of the 77 that the Republican-controlled Senate has held in 2019, Harris and Booker far outpace the number missed by their fellow senators also vying for the Democratic presidential nomination.
McConnell named one of Time’s ‘Most Influential’ as he embraces Trump in re-election video
Lesley Clark, McClatchy DC
Mitch McConnell officially kicked off his 2020 reelection campaign with a video that makes it clear he’ll run as closely tied to President Donald Trump as he can get. The Kentucky Republican touts his success at delivering two Supreme Court justices to Trump in a three-minute video that includes footage of Trump hailing the Senate Majority Leader as a “rock-ribbed Kentucky leader.”
House
‘I’m a chairman in exile, dude’: Greg Walden treads carefully under Trump
Melanie Zanona and John Bresnahan, Politico
Greg Walden is trying to find his own way in Donald Trump’s party. Walden, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and former chief of the House GOP campaign arm, has broken ranks with Trump on a number of high-profile votes this year — rebuking the president on his signature border wall, backing Russia sanctions and voting with Democrats to end the historic 35-day government shutdown.
2020
Ex-Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe will not run for White House in 2020
Laura Vozzella and Annie Linske, The Washington Post
Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe said Wednesday he will not join the crowded field of Democrats running for president, citing the need to raise money and campaign for Virginia General Assembly candidates as his successor, Gov. Ralph Northam, tries to recover from a blackface scandal. “My heart was with Virginia, as much as I wanted to run for president,” McAuliffe said.
Women of Substance: 2020’s slate of female presidential candidates is already making history.
Liz Mundy, The New Republic
On a bright Saturday morning in early March, the annual Texas schmoozefest known as South by Southwest was off to a groggy start. It was noonish, and on the streets of the state capital, the assembled tech-and-music cognitive elite were starting to stir.
Years-old controversy surrounding secret police tapes is newly relevant amid Pete Buttigieg’s rise
Dan Merica et al., CNN
As Pete Buttigieg gains traction in a crowded Democratic field, an inflammatory conflict from his early years as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is set for its next chapter. The highly contested and litigated controversy hinges on the contents of five tapes of recorded phone conversations inside the South Bend police department and allegations that the tapes contain racist comments made by a group of officers about former Police Chief Darryl Boykins, who is black.
Sen. Kamala D. Harris expresses ‘regret’ over her California truancy policy
Chelsey Janes, The Washington Post
Sen. Kamala D. Harris, the former California attorney general whose prosecutorial record is drawing criticism from some as overly harsh, expressed “regret” on Wednesday for a truancy program she implemented and said she would not support expanding nationally if she becomes president. While district attorney of San Francisco, Harris tried to combat waning school attendance by criminalizing truancy.
Elizabeth Warren Has The Biggest 2020 Presidential Campaign — And It’s Only Growing
Ruby Cramer, BuzzFeed News
Elizabeth Warren’s campaign has grown to double the size of her Democratic rivals who are bringing in millions more in donations, raising questions about whether the Massachusetts senator will be able to garner enough small-dollar financial support to sustain her Boston-based operation through the long primary season. By the end of March, Warren’s campaign staff numbered about 164 people, according to payroll spending released this week in a quarterly Federal Election Commission disclosure.
Rising Democratic star Pete Buttigieg enlists Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton fundraisers to build his 2020 campaign war chest
Brian Schwartz, CNBC
Pete Buttigieg’s increasingly popular presidential run has drawn the support of more than two dozen top Democratic fundraisers, including people who bundled big-dollar donations for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton during their White House bids, according to a list CNBC obtained from campaign aides. The financiers on the roster range from former U.S. ambassadors to real estate executives, the latest evidence that the South Bend, Indiana, mayor’s underdog bid to challenge President Donald Trump next year is catching on with Democrats as the party sorts through a crowded primary field.
States
Wisconsin governor says he wants to renegotiate Foxconn contract
Karen Pierog and Caroline Stauffer, Reuters
Wisconsin’s governor said on Wednesday he wants to renegotiate the state’s contract with Foxconn Technology Group for investment incentives because the Taiwanese company is not expected to reach its job creation goals for the state. Democratic Governor Tony Evers, who took office in January, inherited a deal to give Foxconn around $4 billion in tax breaks and other incentives that was championed by Scott Walker, Evers’ Republican predecessor.
Q&A: Gavin Newsom on his ‘mayoral mind-set’ in first 100 days in office
Phil Willon and Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times
Gavin Newsom’s whirlwind start as California governor has been punctuated by a contemptuous feud with President Trump, a politically risky ban on the death penalty and an occasional backtrack or stumble. But he says his first 100 days as governor have been driven by an “in the weeds” mind-set and sense of urgency to address the state’s many needs and intractable ills.
Texas House approves “born alive” abortion bill
Arya Sundaram, The Texas Tribune
The Texas House tentatively approved a bill Tuesday that would require doctors to treat babies born alive after failed abortion attempts. The measure — which addresses a rare circumstance — would need a final approval from the House before it could go to the Senate, which has already approved a similar bill.
Advocacy
Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the N.R.A.
Mike Spies, The New Yorker
This winter, members of the National Rifle Association—elk hunters in Montana, skeet shooters in upstate New York, concealed-carry enthusiasts in Jacksonville—might have noticed a desperate tone in the organization’s fund-raising efforts. In a letter from early March, Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A.’s top executive, warned that liberal regulators were threatening to destroy the organization.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
I Started The Conversation On Joe Biden — Stop Twisting My Words And Start Talking About Consent
Lucy Flores, BuzzFeed News
When I decided to come forward with what it felt like to be on the receiving end of Joe Biden’s inappropriate behavior, I knew I would face criticism. I didn’t anticipate that my truth would be so easily manipulated and distorted.
Why the Media Dumped Beto for Mayor Pete
Jack Shafer, Politico
Burning with the velocity of a prairie fire on a gusty Indiana day, Pete Buttigieg scorched the airwaves, seared the podcasts, and charred the press this week as he ignited his presidential campaign, temporarily torching his Democratic competition in the process. The secret to Buttigieg’s publicity run was no secret, wrote Matthew Yglesias in Vox. Like Molly Bloom in his favorite novel, Ulysses, he can’t stop saying “yes”—to media invitations.
The Fed and the Professor Standard
Herman Cain, The Wall Street Journal
Real income for America’s bottom 90% reached an all-time high in 1999, and at the time Pew Research found that 81% of Americans agreed that free enterprise was a major reason for the country’s success in the 20th century. By June 2015, however, Gallup reported 47% would vote for a socialist.
Trump’s Budget Is Full of Cuts Aimed at People With Disabilities
Tom Ridge, The New York Times
Last month’s proposal from Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to cut millions of dollars in funding for Special Olympics caused a public uproar and a bipartisan backlash fierce enough to force President Trump to restore it days later. That reversal was welcome.
Research Reports and Polling
Trump’s Primary Goal: Avoiding a New Hampshire Hiccup
Kyle Kondik, Sabato’s Crystal Ball
Last week, we assessed how a large field, proportional delegate allocation rules, and a frontloaded primary calendar might impact the Democratic presidential primary field. Such a granular analysis of the Republican presidential primary process does not seem warranted at this point, given that not only does President Donald Trump retain strong approval ratings among Republicans, but he also does not at this point face a significant rival for renomination.
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