1/ The acting attorney general told the House Judiciary Committee that he has not spoken to Trump about Robert Mueller’s investigation. Matthew Whitaker testified that while he had “not interfered in any way� with the special counsel investigation, he wouldn’t discuss his “private conversations� with Trump. Meanwhile, Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the committee, accused Democrats of engaging in “political theater� and a “character assassination� against both Whitaker and Trump. (New York Times / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Bloomberg)

2/ Mueller’s team accused Paul Manafort of lying to them about “an extremely sensitive issue� in hopes of increasing “his chances for a pardon.� Prosecutors allege that Manafort worked on Ukrainian political matters from August 2016 to December 2018 – after his first indictment by the special counsel in 2017 – and that he tried to avoid providing information that could be damaging to Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort business partner in Ukraine. Prosecutors believe Kilimnik is connected with Russian intelligence. Kilimnik also attended Trump’s inauguration. (Politico / New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / CNN)

3/ Rod Rosenstein privately complained that Trump ordered him to write the memo justifying the firing of James Comey. Rosenstein made the remarks in a private meeting at the Justice Department on May 12, 2017, according to Andrew McCabe, who also said that Rosenstein believed the White House used him as a scapegoat for Comey’s dismissal. At the time, Sean Spicer denied that Trump had directed Rosenstein to write a justification for firing Comey, saying: “It was all [Rosenstein].� (The Guardian)

4/ Ivanka Trump has “zero concerns� about any of her “loved ones� being caught up in Mueller’s Russia investigatio...