1/ The Justice Department plans to release a redacted copy of Robert Mueller’s report “by mid-April, if not sooner,� according to Attorney General William Barr. In a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate judiciary committees, Barr noted that the report is “nearly 400 pages long� and the Justice Department needs to redact sensitive portions of it, including secret grand jury testimony, classified materials and information about other ongoing federal investigations. Barr added that the White House would not see the report before he sent it to Congress. Barr offered to testify after the report is released, suggesting May 1 for the Senate committee and May 2 for the House committee. (Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / CNN) / Reuters)

2/ Trump repeated his threat to close the U.S.-Mexico border as early as “next week� if the Mexican government doesn’t “immediately� stop all undocumented migrants crossing into the U.S., saying he’s “not playing games.� Trump has repeatedly threatened to close the border, but he’s never attached a specific timetable. (CNN / New York Times / Washington Post / ABC News / Vox)

3/ A federal judge blocked a Trump administration rule allowing millions of Americans to buy health insurance that doesn’t conform to Affordable Care Act coverage requirements, calling it “clearly an end-run around the ACA.� The rule would make it easier for small businesses to offer health insurance plans outside the ACA, which would be both less expensive and provide fewer health protections. (Politico / Washington Post / CNN)

poll/ 75% of Americans think Mueller’s full report should be made public, including 54% of Republicans. 66% said they want Mueller to testify before Congress with 64% wanting Barr to testify. (NPR)

Trump held his first 2020 campaign rally since Mueller wrapped up his investigation into Russian interference into the 2016 election, which he claimed to be his “complete and total exoneration.� “After three years of lies and smears and slander, the Russia hoax i...

1/ Robert Mueller’s report is more than 300 pages long and contains “lots and lots of footnotes,� raising questions about how Attorney General Bill Barr was able to release his four-page summary of “principal conclusions� two days after Mueller turned it in. Democrats have demanded that Barr make the full report and “all of the underlying evidence� public. Nancy Pelosi called Barr’s summary “condescending� and “arrogant.� The Justice Department, meanwhile, has said it will release a version of the Mueller report in “weeks not months,� but sensitive information will not be included. (New York Times / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / Axios / CNN / NBC News)

2/ Barr is expected to miss the House Democrats’ April 2nd deadline for him to turn in the full Mueller report to Congress. Democrats are expected to subpoena the Justice Department for the full report if Barr misses the deadline. Barr also suggested that it will likely take weeks to redact the report. House Judiciary Committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, said Barr “wouldn’t commit� to releasing the report to Congress without redactions, but did agree to testify to the committee “reasonably soon.� (Washington Post / Bloomberg / The Guardian)

3/ Trump and Republicans in Congress are calling Adam Schiff to resign after Mueller’s report did not conclude that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Trump accused Schiff of having “spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking� and should therefore “be forced to resign from Congress!� Schiff insists that “undoubtedly there was collusion� and vowed that the House Intelligence Committee will continue to look into the counterintelligence aspects of Mueller’s investigation. (Politico / Reuters / CNN / NBC News)

Trump accused two former FBI employees of having “committed treason� for investigating possible Russian links to his campaign during the 2016 campaign. Peter Strzok was fired from the FBI after officials discovered he had been sharing anti-Trump texts with Lisa Page, an FBI lawyer and former member of the Mueller investigation, who he was having an affair with. Trump also promised to release the FISA warrants and related docume...

1/ Trump pledged to have a plan “far better than Obamacare� if the Supreme Court strikes down the entire Affordable Care Act, saying “I understand health care now.� Trump did not provided details about what health care plan would replace the ACA, but reiterated his baseless claim that the Republican Party will now be the “party of great health care.� A district judge in Texas ruled that the entire law was unconstitutional after Trump’s tax law eliminated the Affordable Care Act’s individual insurance mandate penalty. Yesterday, the Justice Department took the position that the entire ACA should be overturned. The ACA insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion provide health care coverage from more than 20 million people. (Politico / CBS News / New York Times / NBC News)

2/ House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Trump he disagrees with the administration’s attempt to get the entire Affordable Care Act thrown out in court. McCarthy reportedly told Trump that the decision made no sense without a plan in place to replace the ACA heading in the 2020 elections. Republican officials are privately blaming Mick Mulvaney, domestic policy chief Joe Grogan, and acting director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought for engineering Trump’s new position. (Axios / Washington Post)

3/ Betsy DeVos defended her proposal to eliminate $17.6 million in federal funding for the Special Olympics, calling it a “difficult decisions� because she thinks “that the Special Olympics is an awesome organization,� but “the federal government cannot fund every worthy program, particularly ones that enjoy robust support from private donations.� About 272,000 children would be affected from the funding cut to the Special Olympics. Overall, DeVos’ proposed budget would eliminate 29 programs covering arts, civics and literacy for an annual savings of $6.7 billion – or about a 12% cut to the Education Department’s budget. Meanwhile, DeVos has proposed creating a $5 billion federal voucher system for private schools. It was the third year in a row that DeVos called for eliminating funding for Special Olympic events at schools. Devos blamed the media and some members of Congress for “falsehoods and fully misrepresenting the facts.� (

1/ The Trump administration supports a federal appeals court ruling that the entire Affordable Care Act should be invalidated and thrown out. In a reversal, the Justice Department now says it agrees with the ruling of a federal judge in Texas that declared the ACA unconstitutional on the basis of a 2017 change in federal tax law that eliminated the penalty on uninsured people. Previously, the administration had pushed to remove the protections for people with pre-existing conditions. More than 20 million Americans are covered through the ACA’s Medicaid expansion and its insurance exchanges. Trump, meanwhile, tweeted that “The Republican Party will become ‘The Party of Healthcare!’� (CNN / NPR / Politico / Washington Post / Vox / Axios / Mother Jones / New York Times)

2/ The House failed to overturn Trump’s veto of legislation blocking his national emergency declaration at the border. House Democrats needed roughly 50 Republican defections to override the veto with two-thirds of the House. Fourteen Republicans crossed party lines. The failed effort leaves Trump’s emergency declaration at the southwestern border intact despite bipartisan passage of a resolution to terminate the emergency declaration, which Trump declared after Congress rejected his request for $5.7 billion to build the wall. (ABC News / New York Times / Politico / Washington Post)

3/ The Department of Defense transferred $1 billion for new border barrier construction along the U.S.-Mexico border. Up to $1 billion will go toward the construction of 57 miles of 18-foot-high “pedestrian fencing,� improving roads, and lighting for the southern border. An additional $1.5 billion is expected to be shifted for wall funding in the near future. Trump’s emergency declaration seeks to divert $3.6 billion from military construction to fund a border wall. Last week, the Pentagon gave Congress a list of $12.8 billion in approved construction projects that could be redirected to fund a border wall. (CNN / Reuters /

1/ Attorney General William Barr concluded that Robert Mueller’s investigation found no evidence that the Trump campaign “conspired or coordinated� with Russia during the 2016 election. Barr submitted a four-page summary of Mueller’s key findings to Congress for review, noting that Mueller didn’t find conspiracy “despite multiple offers from Russia-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.� While Mueller’s team drew no conclusions about whether Trump obstructed justice, Barr and Rod Rosenstein independently concluded that the evidence was “not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.� Democrats are calling for full report to be made public and are questioning Barr’s conclusions. (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / The Guardian / CNBC / NPR / Reuters / Bloomberg / Associated Press)

📖 READ: Attorney General William Barr’s summary of the Mueller report. (DocumentCloud / New York Times / CNN)

� ANALYSIS: The question unanswered by Mueller’s report: Why did Putin risk interfering in the 2016 election as he did. (The Atlantic)

� ANALYSIS: The six unanswered questions from Barr’s summary of the Mueller report. The attorney general offered his “principal conclusions,� but left some questions abut the special counsel’s investigation unresolved. (Vox)

� ANALYSIS: 4 key takeaways from the Mueller report summary. (Washington Post)

� ANALYSIS: What to make of Bill Barr’s letter: Mueller did not find that Trump obstructed his investigation, but he also made a point of not reaching the conclusion that Trump didn’t obstruct the investigation. (Lawfare)

� ANALYSIS: Legal experts question Barr’s rationale for exonerating Trump. Barr noted that Mueller didn’t conclude that Trump committed obstruction of justice but that Mueller also s...

1/ Robert Mueller submitted his full report on Trump and Russia to the attorney general. The Justice Department notified Congress that it had received Mueller’s report, but did not describe its contents. William Barr is expected to summarize the findings for lawmakers in the coming days, deciding how much of the report to share with Congress. White House lawyers are prepared to argue some material is protected by executive privilege, especially if the report discusses whether Trump’s interactions with his aides or legal advisers are evidence of obstruction of justice. Mueller’s work has led to criminal charges against 34 people, including six former Trump associates and advisers. Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Flynn, Michael Cohen, and George Papadopoulos all pleaded guilty. Roger Stone was indicted in January and accused of lying to Congress, but has pleaded not guilty. More than 24 people charged by Mueller are Russians. No Americans charged by Mueller have been accused of conspiring with Russia to interfere in the election. No further indictments are expected. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Politico / Bloomberg / USA Today / CNBC)

2/ Barr notified lawmakers that he intends to provide information about the “principal conclusions� of Mueller’s report “as soon as this weekend.� Barr promised to bring as much transparency as possible to Mueller’s findings but stressed that Justice Department policy prevents officials from disclosing information about investigations that didn’t result in criminal charges. That means part of Mueller’s probe as it relates to Trump may not be revealed any time soon. (CNBC / Wall Street Journal)

3/ Trump warned that “people will not stand for it� if Robert Mueller’s report makes him look bad. Trump – again – complained that “a deputy, that didn’t get any votes, appoints a man that didn’t get any votes,� referring to Rod Rosenstein’s appointment of Mueller. Trump also bemoaned that Mueller was “best friend� with James Comey, who succeeded Mueller as FBI director, despite there being no evidence that the two are close friends. (The Guardian / Associated Press)

📌 Day 790: Trump called Mueller’s report illegitimate because he was never elected and complained to reporters that he now has to deal with “somebody writing a report� despite having “won one of the greatest el...

1/ Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump used WhatsApp and personal email accounts to conduct official government business, according to Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. In a letter, Cummings accused the White House of “obstructing the committee’s investigation into allegations of violations of federal records laws� and potential breaches of national security. He said he’d give the White House a final chance to “voluntarily� comply with his investigation into the use of private email accounts by Kushner, Ivanka, and other White House officials before resorting to “alternative means� to obtain the information requested. Kushner’s lawyer told the committee in December that his client had used WhatsApp for official business, but that he was not in violation of the Presidential Records Act because he took screenshots of his communications and forwarded them to his White House email account or to the National Security Council. CNN and the Wall Street Journal previously reported that Kushner had communicated with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman using WhatsApp. The panel also obtained documents showing that former deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland and Steve Bannon conducted official business using personal accounts. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Bloomberg / Politico)

2/ The former owner of a Florida spa involved in a prostitution investigation claimed she didn’t sell access to Trump. Cindy Yang says the allegations that she is a Chinese agent are false, and that she believes she is being persecuted because of her ethnicity and political party. “I’m Chinese. I’m Republican,� she said. “That’s the reason the Democrats want to check me.� She also said that she hasn’t had any contact with members of the Chinese government since she moved to the United States 20 years ago. (NBC News)

3/ Trump wants Patriots owner Robert Kraft at the White House celebrating the team’s Super Bowl victory despite Kraft’s recent arrest on charges of soliciting prostitution at a Florida massage parlor. White House aides are worried that it could turn a photo op into an embarrassing media spectacle. (Politico / New York Times)

4/ Trump charged his own reelection campaign $1.3 million for rent, food, lodging and other expenses at Trump-owned properties since taking office. Federal regulations allow candidates to put ...

1/ Trump called Mueller’s report illegitimate because he was never elected and complained to reporters that he now has to deal with “somebody writing a report� despite having “won one of the greatest elections of all time.� Trump went on to refer to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as just “a deputy� who was “appointed,� who then “appoint[ed] another man to write a report,� rhetorically asking somebody to “explain that, because my voters don’t get it, and I don’t get it.� Trump nominated Rosenstein, who was confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate in a 94-6 vote. (Talking Points Memo / Roll Call)

2/ Trump then called for Robert Mueller’s report to be made public, saying “Let it come out, let people see it […] we’ll see what happens.� He added: “I don’t mind� if it’s made public and “I look forward to seeing the report.� The decision to make Mueller’s report public will be left to Attorney General William Barr, and Trump said he has “no idea� when the report will be released. (Reuters / Politico / Bloomberg)

3/ Robert Mueller’s team told a federal judge that they’re very busy this week because they “face the press of other work� and would like a deadline extension to respond to a request to unseal records in Paul Manafort’s criminal case. The special counsel asked the court to give them until April 1 to respond to the request from the Washington Post, which petitioned the court to unseal the Manafort documents related to his breach of plea proceedings, citing “the profound public interest in these proceedings.� Mueller’s report is expected any day now. (Washington Post / CNN)

4/ Hope Hicks plans to turn over documents to the House Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation into potential obstruction of justice. Rep. Jerry Nadler said the former White House communications director and long-time confidante of Trump will hand over documents from “any personal or work diary, journal or other book containing notes, a record or a description of daily events� about Trump, the Trump campaign, the Trump Organization and the executive office of the President. (CNN)

Michael Flynn’s company submitted several thousand pages of documents to the House Judiciary Committee as part of the panel’s investigation of alleged obstruction of justice and other actions by Trump. (

1/ Robert Mueller obtained warrants to search Michael Cohen’s emails and cell phones in July, August and November 2017, according to the unsealed search warrant applications. One warrant allowed Mueller’s office to search Cohen’s emails dating to June 2015 when Cohen still worked for the Trump Organization. In particular, Mueller sought records of any “funds of benefits received by or offered� to Cohen “on behalf of, any foreign government,� as well as evidence of efforts “to conduct activities on behalf of, for the benefit of, or at the direction of any foreign government.� In February 2018, Mueller’s office began referring parts of its Cohen investigation to federal prosecutors in New York, including relevant emails from its warrants. Investigators used the search warrants as the basis for an April 2018 raid of Cohen’s office, home, safety deposit box and a hotel room where he had been staying. Cohen ultimately pleaded guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress. Mueller was was appointed special counsel in May 2017. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / Politico / CNN / NBC News)

The prosecutor who handled Michael Flynn’s guilty plea has left the special counsel’s office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zainab Ahmad is the third senior member of Mueller’s team confirmed to leave the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts but hasn’t yet been sentenced. (Politico)

Rod Rosenstein will stay at the Justice Department “a little longer� despite previously announced that he would leave in mid-March. (NBC News)

2/ Deutsche Bank loaned more than $2 billion to Trump over nearly two decades during his time as a real estate developer at a time when other banks wouldn’t lend to him. The bank repeatedly loaned money to Trump despite multiple business-related “red flags,� including instances where Trump exaggerated his wealth by an extra $2 billion in order to secure additional loans from the bank. In 2010, Trump returned to Deutsche Bank for $100 million loan, even though it had concluded at the time that Trump had overvalued some of his real estate assets by up to 70%. (New York Times / New York Times / CNBC)

3/ The Supreme Court ruled that the government can detain immigrants indefinitely with past criminal records, even if they were previously released from criminal custody. The ruling provides Trump more authority to arrest, detain and deport immigrants convicted of crimes. (

1/ Trump attacked the late John McCain on Twitter for his involvement in sharing the dossier allegedly linking Trump to the Russian government. After the 2016 election, McCain turned the Steele dossier over to the FBI, which Trump called “unfortunately a very dark stain against John McCain.� Trump incorrectly claimed that McCain had “sent the Fake Dossier to the FBI and Media hoping to have it printed BEFORE the Election.� He continued to complain about that longtime Republican lawmaker, who died last year, “had far worse ‘stains’� than the dossier, “including thumbs down on repeal and replace after years of campaigning to repeal and replace!� Trump’s statements about McCain were actually quotes from Ken Starr, who recently appeared on Fox News. (CNBC / Washington Post / New York Times)

Meghan McCain accused Trump of leading a “pathetic life� by obsessing over her father, who died almost seven months ago. McCain continued: “Your life is spent on your weekends not with your family, not with your friends, but obsessing, obsessing over great men you could never live up to.� (Washington Post / Politico)

Christopher Steele admitted that he used internet searches and unverified information to support some details he had gathered about a web company mentioned in the dossier. (CNN)

2/ Trump accused “the fake news media� of attempting to blame him for the mass shooting at two mosques in New Zealand, calling it “So Ridiculous!� In a manifesto, the alleged gunman called Trump “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose,� and referred to immigrants as “invaders within our lands.� Trump told reporters he doesn’t believe white nationalism is a rising threat around the world, suggesting “it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess.� (Politico / Washington Post)

3/ Mick Mulvaney: Trump “is not a white supremacist.� The acting chief of staff went on to say it was “absurd� to draw a connection between Trump’s statements about immigration and the acts of a shooter who embraced both white nationalism and Trump. Last week Trump called undocumented immigrants coming to U.S. an “invasion� as he vetoed a congressional resolution that would block his declaration of a national emergency at the U.S. border with Mexico. (Washington Post / CNN)