1/ In a wide-ranging interview in the Oval Office, Trump called negotiating with Congress over his border wall “a waste of time� (again), brushed off the Russia investigation and claimed that Rod Rosenstein told him he was not a target in the probe, dismissed the importance of the proposed Trump Tower his team was trying to build in Moscow during the 2016 campaign, denied he ever spoke with Roger Stone about WikiLeaks and the stolen Democratic emails, and insisted that he played no role in Jared Kushner receiving a security clearance despite concerns by both the FBI and CIA. The interview was arranged after Trump reached out to A. G. Sulzberger, the publisher of The New York Times, inviting him for an off-the-record dinner. Sulzberger initially declined, saying he would prefer an on-the-record interview that included two of his reporters. Trump agreed. During the interview, Trump told the Times “I love this job,� but also complained that he’s “lost massive amounts of money� since becoming president. He called the job of being president “one of the great losers of all time. You know, fortunately, I don’t need money. This is one of the great losers of all time.� [Editor’s note: Just read the interview. Podcast and excerpt links below.] (New York Times)

� LISTEN: Trump spoke with the New York Times about the Russia investigation, the government shutdown, and his plans for border security. Trump also spoke about the role of a free press. (New York Times)

�� EXCERPTS: Trump’s Oval Office interview with two White House correspondents, Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman. (New York Times)

�� EXCERPTS: Trump about his “anti-press rhetoric.� (New York Times)

2/ Trump took credit for popularizing the term “fake news,� calling the news media “important� and “beautiful,� but also “so bad� and “unfair.� He called himself “a victim� of unfair coverage. (New York Times)

3/ Trump claimed that the Trump Tower Moscow development was “not important� and he was “not even sure they had a site.� Hundreds of pages of business documents, emails, text messages, and architectural plans, however, show that the Trump Organization proposed building the skyscraper on an industrial complex near the Moscow River. Earlier this month, Rudy Giuliani also claimed that “No plans were ever made. There were no drafts. Nothing in the file.� (BuzzFeed News)