1/ Trump will declare a national emergency to bypass Congress and build his border wall after signing the spending legislation to prevent another government shutdown. The border security compromise provides $1.375 billion for 55 miles of steel-post fencing – basically the same deal Trump rejected in December – instead of the $5.7 billion he demanded for more than 200 miles of steel or concrete wall. The emergency declaration would allow Trump to redirect funds from other parts of the government without congressional approval. The Senate advanced the spending package in an 81-16 vote. The House is expected to approve the package later tonight. (Washington Post / New York Times / CNBC / CNN / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)

2/ A federal judge ruled that Paul Manafort violated the terms of his cooperation deal by repeatedly lying to Robert Mueller and a grand jury about “his interactions and communications with [Konstantin] Kilimnik,� a longtime aide who the FBI assessed to have ties to Russian intelligence. Judge Amy Berman Jackson found that Manafort also intentionally lied about $125,000 he received for legal bills and about another unnamed Justice Department criminal investigation. Manafort will not be able to retract his guilty plea, but he will still be required to hold up his end of the plea deal. The ruling does free Mueller’s office from having to comply with the obligations in Manafort’s cooperation agreement, notably offering Manafort a reduced sentence for his cooperation. The breach of the cooperation deal after his guilty plea could add years to Manafort’s prison sentence, having been convicted last year of eight felonies, including tax and bank fraud. Manafort later pleaded guilty to two additional conspiracy counts. (CNN / Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / Vox / Wall Street Journal)

3/ The Senate confirmed William Barr as attorney general, putting him in command of the Justice Department and its ongoing investigation into links between Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign. Last year, Barr sent a 19-page, unsolicited memo to the Justice Department and Trump’s lawyers, arguing that Trump has the power to “start or stop a law enforcement proceeding,� and therefore he could prevent Mueller from investigating whether Trump committed obstruction of justice wh...

1/ Trump intends to sign the bipartisan border security deal and avoid another partial government shutdown. Trump said he was “not happy� with the deal and suggested that he’d find “other methods� for financing his border wall without congressional approval by “moving things around� in the budget from “far less important areas.� The agreement includes $1.375 billion for 55 miles of physical border barriers – short of the $5.7 billion Trump wanted for his wall – and is less than the $1.6 billion included in a Senate package last year. Republicans and administration officials, meanwhile, have signaled that Trump will sign the measure and then immediately use his executive authority to redirect federal money to fund the additional border barriers. The agreement must be signed into law in both chambers of Congress and signed by Trump before the end of the week in order to avoid another shutdown. (CNN / Bloomberg / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Washington Post / CNBC)

2/ Paul Manafort and Rick Gates met with a Russian political operative in August 2016. Prosecutors believe that Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik may have exchanged key information relevant to Russia and Trump’s presidential bid, including a proposed resolution to the conflict over Ukraine and Manafort sharing internal polling data from Trump’s presidential campaign to the Russian associate. (Washington Post)

📌 Day 753: Robert Mueller’s lead prosecutors disclosed that the special counsel is continuing to pursue collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia based on the conversations between Paul Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik, who allegedly is linked to Russian intelligence. Prosecutors have been focused on discussions the two had about a “peace plan� to end the conflict following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014. The two repeatedly communicated about the plan for Ukraine starting in early August 2016, while Manafort was still running Trump’s campaign, and continuing into 2018 – months after Manafort had been charged by Mueller’s office related to his work in the country. (New York Times)

📌 Day 750: 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 informatio...

1/ Negotiators in the House and Senate reached an agreement “in principle� to avoid another partial government shutdown. Details of the agreement have not been released, but the tentative deal includes $1.375 billion for 55 miles of fences along the border, but does not include the $5.7 billion Trump wanted for more than 200 miles of border walls. The border security spending agreement would also provide an additional $1.7 billion for other Homeland Security priorities, like new technology and more customs officers. To avoid another shutdown by the end of the week, the deal needs to be written into final legislation, passed by both the House and Senate, and signed into law by Trump. It’s unclear if Trump will accept the deal. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post / Politico / NBC News / ABC News / NPR)

2/ Trump is “not happy� with the tentative bipartisan border security deal, adding that “it’s not doing the trick.� Trump did not commit to signing the spending measure if Congress passes it, but he did say: “I don’t think you’re going to see another shutdown.� Trump also didn’t rule out declaring a national emergency to secure wall funds. “I’m considering everything.� (CNBC / New York Times / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Reuters / Bloomberg)

3/ The White House is working on a plan to redirect federal dollars to fund Trump’s border wall without invoking a national emergency. The current plan is to take money from two Army Corps of Engineers’ flood control projects in Northern California, draw from disaster relief funds intended for California and Puerto Rico, and tap Department of Defense funds. A former staff director for the House Appropriations Committee said the plan “will create a firestorm.� (Politico)

4/ Senate Republicans are “livid� with Trump’s refusal to issue a report determining who is responsible for the mu...

1/ Negotiations to avoid another partial government shutdown fell apart on Sunday. Democrats are demanding a limit on the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants already in the U.S. by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, as well as a cap the number of beds in ICE detention centers to force the Trump administration to focus on detaining undocumented immigrants with criminal records instead of using indiscriminate deportation raids in local communities without valid reason. To avoid another partial shutdown – set to begin Saturday – the House and Senate must pass identical spending bills that Trump would then need to sign into law by Friday night. The 17 House and Senate negotiators had hoped to reach a deal by Monday to give lawmakers enough time to approve the deal in both chambers before the deadline. The only things being discussed at the moment are a temporary Homeland Security spending bill or a possible national emergency declaration by Trump. (Politico / New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Reuters / The Guardian)

2/ Mick Mulvaney “absolutely cannot� rule out the possibility of another partial government shutdown if Congress doesn’t include funding for a border wall. The acting White House chief of staff blamed the uncertainty on Democrats and that “You cannot take a shutdown off the table, and you cannot take $5.7 billion off the table.� (NBC News)

3/ Trump spent about 50% of his time last week in unstructured “Executive Time,� as more of his personal schedules leaked. Hours earlier, Mick Mulvaney said he expected to catch whoever leaked Trump’s personal schedule to the media and “have a resolution on that this week.� Trump responded to his leaked schedules by tweeted that “When the term Executive Time is used. I am generally working, not relaxing.� Trump is believed to use his executive time watching TV, tweeting, calling friends, and reading newspapers. Trump added: “I probably work more hours than almost any past President.� (Axios / USA Today)

4/ The average tax refund is down about 8% under the first full year of the Republican-led over...

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...

1/ The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to approve William Barr’s nomination to become attorney general and succeed Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker. All 12 Republicans on the panel voted for Barr, while all 10 Democrats voted against him. Democrats cited an unsolicited memo Barr wrote last year to Rod Rosenstein objecting to the obstruction of justice aspect of the Mueller probe was “fatally misconceived� and that “Mueller should not be permitted to demand that the President submit to interrogation about alleged obstruction.� Barr also argued that Trump firing James Comey, and before that asking Comey to stop the investigation into Michael Flynn were within his powers as head of the executive branch. A final vote on Barr’s nomination in the full Senate is expected next week. (ABC News / CNN / Reuters / NPR)

2/ Whitaker won’t testify before the House Judiciary Committee unless he receives a written assurance that he won’t be served with a subpoena. Whitaker’s threat came after the committee voted to give Chairman Jerry Nadler the authority to subpoena Whitaker for testimony if he didn’t appear or answer questions at Friday’s planned oversight hearing. Democrats have until 6 p.m. today to respond. (CNN / Washington Post / Axios / Globe and Mail / New York Times)

3/ The Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight met to examine the process for obtaining Trump’s tax returns. One law they’re looking at from 1924 allows the chairman of the tax-writing subcommittee to privately review anyone’s tax returns. Once they secure the documents, the committee would need a majority vote in order to release them to the public. (ABC News)

4/ Trump complained about the wave of oversight investigations into his administration launched by the new Democratic majority in the House, claiming that he’s being subjected to “unlimited presidential harassment� that “Never happened before!� to previous presidents. Trump tweeted that there was “no reason� for the House Intelligence Committee to open an investigation into whether his decision-making as president is motivated by financial gain, while calling Adam Schiff a “political hack.� (Politico / NBC News / New York Times)

Trump is reportedly “furious� at Schiff for trying to hire White ...

1/ Nancy Pelosi declared that House Democrats would not be intimidated by Trump’s “all-out threat� during his State of the Union to stop investigating his administration. Pelosi called it Democrats’ “congressional responsibility� to investigate Trump, “and if we didn’t do it, we would be delinquent in that.� During his address, Trump claimed that “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation.� He added: “It just doesn’t work that way!� Pelosi called Trump’s rhetoric a false choice. (New York Times)

🔥 State of the Union Hot Takes.

Trump gave his second State of the Union speech last night. He started by calling for unity and bipartisanship, before launching into attacks on Robert Mueller’s investigation, calls for Congress to fund his border wall, and plans to enact a new ban on abortion. Democrats responded by calling the speech “sickening,� “shameful,� and “inappropriate.� Sen. Mazie Hirono simply replied, “WTF.� Republicans, meanwhile, erupted into chants of “USA! USA! USA!� during the speech and largely curbed whatever criticisms they had in once it was over. (Politico)

The audience for the SOTU address was deeply Republican, the most partisan audience since 2001. The slant in the audience led to largely positive reviews from those who watched – about 6 in 10 viewers had a positive reaction to the speech. The positive remarks were cut down party and demographic lines. (CNN)

On Trump’s big applause line, the sound of silence was stunning (NBC News)

Trump presented a false choice between investigations and prosperity, warning House Democrats that “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. … We must choose between greatness or gridlock, results or resistance, vision or vengeance, incredible progress or pointless destruction.� (Washington Post)

“They know it’s his party�: Despite tensions with Trump, GOP lawmakers roar with approval for their president (Washington Post)

Why Trump’s zigzagging speech made perfect sense (Politico)

Trump Asks for Unity, but Presses Hard Line on Immigration (New York Times)

State of the Union Fact Check: What Trump Got Right and Wrong (New York Times)

In dissonant State of the Union speech, Trump seeks unity while depicting ruin (

1/ Federal prosecutors in New York requested interviews with Trump Organization executives. New York federal prosecutors are running at least two investigations into Trump-related entities: the first centers on Cohen’s possible campaign-finance violations for the hush-money payments made or organized to silence women who claimed affairs with Trump. The second concerns the Trump inaugural committee. (CNN)

2/ Trump’s inaugural committee was ordered to turn over documents related to donations and spending following a subpoena by the Southern District of New York. Federal prosecutors are seeking all information about donors, vendors, contractors, bank accounts, and foreign contributors related to the inaugural committee, which raised a record $107 million – more than twice the amount raised to fund Obama’s 2009 inaugural. Federal prosecutors are also seeking documents related to a Los Angeles venture capitalist, Imaad Zuberi, who gave $900,000 to the committee through his private-equity firm, Avenue Ventures, and once registered as a foreign agent working on behalf of the Sri Lankan government. The subpoena suggests that SDNY prosecutors are investigating crimes related to conspiracy to defraud the U.S., mail fraud, false statements, wire fraud, and money laundering. The investigation is being led by the public corruption unit of the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, and grew out of the probe into Michael Cohen’s business dealings. Cohen has since pleaded guilty to eight charges and has been sentenced to three years in prison. (Washington Post / ABC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)

3/ Sarah Huckabee Sanders claimed the Trump inaugural committee subpoena “has nothing to do with the White House,� as she deferred questions to the committee, which is a separate entity from the White House. Sanders also dismissed the notion that Trump is a common factor in his inner circle’s legal issues, arguing instead that “the common thread is a hysteria over the fact that this president became president.� (Politico)

4/ SDNY prosecutors have been interviewing witnesses about foreign money flowing to three lobbying firms recruited by Paul Manafort to improve the image of the Russia-aligned president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, seven years ago. Mercury Public Affairs, the Podesta Group and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom are being scrutinized for representing foreign governments without registering as foreign agents. The case was originally referred by Mueller’s investigation. (New York Times)

5/ Trump and Jared Kushner met with contractors at the White House to discuss building the border wall last week, despite senior Senate Republicans and mem...

1/ Trump said he doesn’t “have to agree� with his intelligence chiefs on worldwide threats. Trump, agitated after intelligence officials contradicted him several times during congressional testimony last week, said he wants “them to give me their opinion,� but not to share them publicly with Congress. Trump later called the intelligence officials naive and suggested they might need to go back to “school.� Senior intelligence analysts who prepare Trump’s briefs and the briefers themselves say Trump displays “willful ignorance� when presented with analysis, and that the use of visual aids, confining briefings to two or three sentences, and repeating his name and title as frequently as possible all fail to keep his attention. Two intelligence officers say they have been warned to avoid giving Trump intelligence assessments that contradict stances he has taken in public. (CBS News / Time)

2/ Trump won’t commit to making Robert Mueller’s final report public, and that he doesn’t know if he wants the report made public at all, saying “it depends� on “what it’s going to say.� Trump did say that while he believes it’s time to “get rid of the Russia witch hunt,� he would leave the decision “totally up to the attorney general.� William Barr, Trump’s nominee for attorney general, said during his confirmation hearing that the public might see a summary report from the attorney general on Mueller’s conclusions and not the full special counsel’s report. (NBC News / New York Times / ABC News)

3/ Trump claimed to have “set the table beautifully� for his next fight with Democrats over his border wall, indicating that he will declare a national emergency on Feb. 15th, to secure funding for a wall. Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, privately advised Trump about the consequences of declaring a national emergency to build his border wall. (The Guardian / Washington Post)

4/ Trump spent about nearly 60% of his time in unstructured “Executive Time.� According to a leaked copy of his private schedule for the past three months, Trump usually spends the first five hours of the day in the White House residence watching TV and reading the news, and then calling advisers to discuss what he’s seen and read. Trump’s first meeting of the day usually starts around 11:30am. Trump has spent almost 300 hours in executive time and 77 hours in scheduled meetings since the midterms. (

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)