PBS News Hour - Politics

A name that arose during special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election was that of Oleg Deripaska, a wealthy self-made businessman, and according to the U.S. government, an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin. In a rare interview with Deripaska, special correspondent Ryan Chilcote asks the aluminum magnate about the Mueller report.

President Trump has again gone on the offensive toward Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. On Friday, he Tweeted a 9/11 video alongside Omar’s comments about the terrorist attacks, which critics said downplayed them. Rep. Omar says she has since been threatened. As Yamiche Alcindor reports, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic 2020 candidates criticized the president for his incendiary rhetoric.

Andrew Yang may not have the name recognition of his 2020 Democratic presidential competitors, but he has gained traction since announcing his campaign more than a year ago. Lisa Desjardins sits down with Yang to discuss the proliferation of combative political rhetoric in the U.S., how the country should confront its new economic realities, his proposal for taxes and guaranteed income and more.

Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report and Lisa Lerer of The New York Times join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including evaluating the rise of Democratic 2020 candidates Andrew Yang and Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and first-quarter fundraising results for the Democratic field.

Democrats and the White House continue battles over the release of President Trump’s taxes and his plans for the border, a growing field of Democratic presidential candidates highlights divisions in the party, and the arrest of Julian Assange sets up a debate around the First Amendment. Hari Sreenivasan speaks with special correspondent Jeff Greenfield to put the week in politics in perspective.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with leaders in Paraguay and Peru on Saturday as part of a tour of four South American countries. Hari Sreenivasan spoke to Chris Sabatini of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and editor of TheGlobalAmericans.org for more on what issues Pompeo will face during his trip.

President Trump announced a series of moves Friday aimed at boosting development of a new frontier of high-speed mobile networks. Known as 5G, as in the fifth generation of cellular networks, the technology could eventually offer speeds up to 100 times faster than those available now. Amna Nawaz talks to Ajit Pai, chairman of the FCC, about how the government is trying to make it easier for companies to offer 5G coverage.

As Democrats gear up for a competitive 2020 presidential campaign, the potentially divisive and fraught issue of reparations for slavery has surfaced as a prominent issue. How has this topic, which hasn’t always been part of the national political conversation, attracted so much attention recently, and how do current presidential candidates feel about addressing it? Yamiche Alcindor reports.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Amna Nawaz to discuss the week in politics, including whether reparations can be a viable campaign issue, social media in politics, the president’s rhetoric on moving immigrants to sanctuary cities, a shakeup at the Department of Homeland Security and the congressional testimony of Attorney General William Barr.

Julian Assange, the controversial figure who founded anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks, was arrested Thursday in London, seven years after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy there. Assange was defiant while being carried out by police. The U.S. will seek his extradition on federal charges just unsealed, in connection with a leak of U.S. intelligence nearly a decade ago. Amna Nawaz reports.