1/ Trump called any bipartisan committee plan to avoid a government shutdown a “waste of time� if it doesn’t include a border wall. In a barrage of tweets, Trump reiterated his demands for a wall and called the debate between fencing and a wall “political games,� and insisting that “A WALL is a WALL!� He repeated his threat to declare a national emergency and transfer billions of dollars in previously allocated funds to build the wall, saying that “if there’s no wall, it doesn’t work.� (CBS News / Bloomberg / Politico) / Washignton Post)

2/ Pelosi to Trump: “There’s not going to be any wall money in the legislation.� Her comments came after Democrats detailed their border security proposal during a conference committee meeting that would provide no funds for a border wall, though it would add billions for technology and personnel. The border security measure totals nearly $22 billion for customs, border patrol, and immigration agents, includes increases in spending for scanners at ports of entry, humanitarian aid for detained migrants, and adds new aircraft to police the U.S.-Mexico border. The proposal would freeze the number of border patrol agents as well as block any future wall construction in wildlife refuges along the border. Pelosi called Trump’s suggestion of trading temporary protection for DACA recipients for a permanent border wall a “non-starter.� (NBC News)

3/ The White House is reportedly still working out the details for a potential national emergency declaration to secure Trump’s border wall if Congress doesn’t strike a deal before government funding runs out on Feb. 15th. A national emergency would enable Trump to take existing funds appropriated by Congress and use them for other purposes. The goal is to have a declaration ready to go if Trump decides to move on it, rather than scrambling to draw one up at the last minute. Trump has called the odds of a congressional deal “less than 50-50.� (Politico / The Guardian)

4/ Trump pinky-promised that he won’t intervene with the Justice Department’s decision-making process about whether to release Robert Mueller’s report on possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election. “They’ll have to make their decision within the Justice Department,� Trump said, insisting that he hasn’t spoken with acting AG Matthew Whitaker about the inquiry. Trump cautioned, however, that he “could’ve gotten involved in this. I c...

1/ Trump attacked the U.S. intelligence community, claiming they’re being “extremely passive and naive� and suggesting his intel chiefs need to “go back to school� because “they are wrong!� The outburst comes a day after senior American intelligence officials briefed Congress on their 2019 worldwide threat assessment, directly contradicted Trump on several of his foreign policy priorities, including Iran, North Korea, Syria, and ISIS. Trump, however, made no mention of Russia, which Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said was likely to target the 2020 elections. (Politico / New York Times / Reuters / CNN)

2/ Trump met Putin at the G20 summit in November without a U.S. translator, notetaker, or staff member present. Melania Trump, however, was there, as well as Putin’s own translator. The White House had previously said meeting was one of several “informal� talks, but didn’t disclose that Trump did not have any official members of his team present. The Russian government said Trump and Putin spoke for roughly 15 minutes about various foreign policy issues, including an incident in the Azov Sea and the war in Syria. (Financial Times / Vox)

3/ Trump Jr. met with a firm that gamed out how a foreign government could meddle in the U.S. political process. After Trump became the Republican nominee, Trump Jr. met with Wikistrat founder Joel Zamel to discuss simulations the firm conducted in 2015 about how illicit efforts could shape American politics. In April 2016, Rick Gates reviewed a plan by a company called Psy Group, which Zamel reportedly owns. The plan echoed both the real election interference by Russia as well as the scenario Wikistrat had gamed out. It’s unclear if the Psy Group plans ever went forward, with some former employees saying Gates never pursued the campaign, while others said part of the plan was carried out. Wikistrat has been questioned by Robert Mueller’s team. (Daily Beast)

4/ Russians leaked more than 1,000 files Robert Mueller’s office shared confidentially with indicted Russian hackers in an attempt to discredit the investigation into interference in the 2016 election. According to Mueller’s court filing, the names and structure of folders containing the leaked files m...

1/ Trump dismissed climate change as a hoax, calling for “global warming� to “come back fast� as a dangerous deep freeze hits the Midwest where a polar vortex is expected to drop temperatures to negative 30F with the wind chill driving temperatures as low as negative 50F or 60F — the lowest in more than two decades. Roughly 83 million Americans – about 25% of the U.S. population – will experience temperatures below zero this week. Weather and climate are two different things: Weather is what you experience in the moment, while climate is the broader trend. Trump’s tweet, asking “What the hell is going on with Global Waming?� – misspelling “warming� – suggests he doesn’t understand the difference between climate and weather. In 2017, Trump also tweeted that the U.S. could use some “good old Global Warming� while most of the Northeast was experiencing record-breaking cold weather. (Chicago Tribune / Vox / CNN)

📌 Day 733: 73% of Americans believe that climate change is real– a jump of 10 percentage points from 2015, and three points since last March. 72% also said that global warming is personally important to them. (New York Times)

📌 Day 685: Global emissions of carbon dioxide have reached the highest levels on record. Global emissions grew 1.6% in 2017 with 2018 expected to increase 2.7%. The U.S. is the world’s second-largest emitter of carbon emissions, but that hasn’t stopped the Trump administration from moving to roll back regulations designed to limit those emissions from vehicle tailpipes and power-plant smokestacks. As United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said this week at the opening of the 24th annual U.N. climate conference: “We are in trouble. We are in deep trouble with climate change.� (Washington Post / New York Times)

📌 Day 676: The National Climate Assessment concludes that global warming is already “transforming where and how we live and presents growing challenges to human health and quality of life, the economy, and the natural systems that support us.� The findings from the landmark scientific report, issued by 13 federal agencies, are at odds with the Trump administration’s environmental deregulation agenda, which Trump claims will lead to economic growth, and its plans to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. The report predicts that the effects of global warming could eliminate as much as 10% of the U.S. economy by the end of the century, and warns that humans must act aggressively now “to avoid substantial damages to the U.S. economy, environment, and human health and well-being over the coming decades.� The first report, released in November 2017, concluded that there is “...

1/ The partial shutdown – the longest in U.S. history – ended Friday with Trump agreeing to temporarily reopen the government without money for his wall. Trump, however, is threatening to shut down the government again in less than three weeks if Congress can’t reach a deal to fund the wall, because he doesn’t believe negotiators will strike a deal he could accept. According to acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Trump will secure border “with or without Congress.� (New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)

2/ The shutdown cost the economy $11 billion, with an estimated $3 billion in economic activity permanently lost. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected economic growth will slow this year to 2.3%, compared with the 3.1% rate last year, as the benefits of the new tax law begin to fade. Separately, the National Association of Business Economics found that the $1.5 trillion cut tax package has had no major impact on businesses’ capital investment or hiring plans. (CNBC / Reuters / Washington Post)

3/ Nancy Pelosi invited Trump to give the State of the Union on February 5. Pelosi previously rescinded Trump’s invitation to give the address until after the shutdown ended. (Washington Post / Politico / CNBC)

4/ Trump’s golf course in New York relied on a dozen undocumented workers while Trump was demanding border wall funding during the shutdown. They were fired midway through the government shutdown. The firings at the New York golf club follow a report from last year about an undocumented worker at Trump’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey. After that story, the company fired the undocumented workers. Trump still owns his businesses, but has given day-to-day control to Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. (Washington Post / NBC News)

📌 Day 686: An undocumented immigrant has worked as a maid at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., since 2013 using fake documents to secure employment. After Trump became president, one of her managers told her to get both a new green card and new Social Security card because there were problems with her current ones. When she told the manager that she did not know how to obtain new forgeries, her manager suggested she speak with a maintenance employee to acquire new documents. Her manager lent her the money to ...

1/ Roger Stone was arrested on seven counts of obstruction, lying to Congress and witness tampering as part of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the election. Between June and July of 2016, Stone told a “senior Trump Campaign official� that he had information that WikiLeaks would release documents that would hurt the Clinton campaign. On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks released its first batch of Democratic emails. After that the “senior Trump Campaign official was directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information� that WikiLeaks had about the Clinton campaign. Then, in October of 2016, a “high-ranking Trump Campaign official� asked Stone about “future releases by� WikiLeaks. Stone replied that WikiLeaks would release “a load every week going forward.� In total, Stone interacted with at least four people close to the Trump campaign about WikiLeaks. The indictment also accused Stone of attempting to intimidate Randy Credico, who was in contact with Julian Assange in 2016. Separately, FBI agents were seen carrying hard drives and other evidence from Stone’s apartment in New York City. (Washington Post / New York Times / CNBC / The Guardian / Politico / CNN / NBC News / Washington Post / Department of Justice)

Stone was released on $250,000 bond, denied working with Russia, and declared he would not “bear false witness� by testifying against Trump. (CBS News)

Everyone who’s been charged in investigations related to the 2016 election and how they’re connected to Trump. (New York Times)

4 takeaways from the Stone indictment, including repeated references to the Trump campaign’s contacts about WikiLeaks and a possible reference to Trump. (Washington Post)

3 takeaways from the Stone indictment: WikiLeaks, dog threats, and Godfather references. (Vox)

What we learned from Stone’s indictment. The longtime adviser to Trump said he had been falsely accused and “will plead not guilty.� He also called the investigation by the special counsel “politically motivated.� (New York Times)

2/ Steve Bannon is the unidentifie...

1/ The Senate failed to advance a pair of competing proposals to reopen the government and end the partial shutdown, which is now in its 34th day. The first vote was on a Republican-backed proposal to allocate $5.7 billion for Trump’s border wall. The second vote was on a Democratic-backed proposal to temporarily reopen the shuttered government agencies without providing any money for a wall. Both measures fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance. The two votes were the first the Senate has taken to reopen the government since the shutdown began on Dec. 22. (Politico / CNN / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / ABC News)

2/ House Democrats are preparing a funding proposal that is expected to include at least $5 billion for border protection efforts, but won’t include new money for Trump’s border wall. The money would go to the Department of Homeland Security and be used for new technology and more law enforcement agents. (Politico / Vox)

3/ The White House is preparing a draft proclamation for Trump to declare a national emergency at the border. They’ve identified more than $7 billion in potential funds for his border wall by pulling $681 million from the treasury forfeiture funds, $3.6 billion in military construction, $3 billion in Pentagon civil works funds, and $200 million in Department of Homeland Security funds. Trump’s advisers are divided on the issue. (

1/ Rudy Giuliani claimed that “no plans were ever made� for Trump Tower Moscow, despite hundreds of pages of business documents, emails, text messages, and architectural plans proving otherwise. For instance, by September 2015, an architect had completed plans for a 100 story high tower, and when Trump signed a finalized letter of intent on Oct. 28 2015, the tower would have “approximately 250 first class, luxury residential condominiums� and “approximately 15 floors� and contain “not fewer than 150 hotel rooms.� The Trump team also considered an option to open “The Spa By Ivanka Trump,� as well as giving a “$50 million penthouse to Putin.� Trump’s lawyer characterized this by saying “the proposal was in the earliest stage� and later adding “There were no drafts. Nothing in the file.� (BuzzFeed News)

2/ Trump was reportedly “apoplectic� and “furious� with Giuliani after his lawyer claimed that he had been involved in discussions to build a Trump Tower in Moscow through the end of the 2016 campaign. Giuliani’s statement contradicted Trump’s own public statements about the project. Trump has been “screaming� and is “so mad at Rudy,� because he felt that Giuliani had “changed the headlines� for the worse and had obscured what he believed was a public relations victory when Robert Mueller’s office disputed portions of a report that Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress. Trump is also being encouraged by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner – among others – to fire Giuliani before it’s too late. Giuliani blamed journalists for his gaffs, saying they’ve taken his hypothetical arguments literally, adding that Trump is “not pissed. He just wants it clarified.� Giuliani also admitted this week that he is worried that his legacy would be that “he lied for Trump� and has told people privately that he “hates the job.� (Politico / Vanity Fair / Associated Press)

3/ Michael Cohen indefinitely postponed his plan to testify before Congress over concerns of “ongoing threats� to his family from Trump and Giuliani. Trump dismissed Cohen’s allegation, saying Cohen has “only been threatened by the truth.� Cohen was scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 7. (CNBC / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Politico / Axios / The Hill)

4/ Trump told Nancy Pelosi he plans to deliver his State of the Union address in the House chamber as scheduled, rejecting her suggestion that he delay it or submit it in writing because of the government shutdown, which has now entered its 33rd day. In a letter to Pelosi, Trump dismissed the concerns about security due to the shutdown, saying “It would be so very sad for our Country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location!� The House and Senate, however, must first pass a...

1/ The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s request to enforce its ban on transgender people serving in the military while the legal challenges continue in the lower courts. The vote was 5 to 4, with the court’s five conservative members in the majority and its four liberal members in dissent. More than 15,000 transgender Americans are currently serving in the U.S. military and that more than 134,000 are veterans. (New York Times / ABC News / Washington Post)

2/ Rudy Giuliani walked back his comments about Trump’s involvement in the Trump Tower Moscow project, calling the statements “hypothetical� and “not based on conversations� he had with Trump. Giuliani originally said that negotiations over the project continued up until the day Trump won, and that Trump remembered having “fleeting conversations� about the deal after the Trump Organization signed a letter of intent. At question is whether or not Trump was engaged in ongoing negotiations with an American adversary while seeking the presidency and advocating that Obama lift sanctions against Russia. (New York Times / ABC News)

3/ Giuliani also claimed that it didn’t matter if Trump engaged in conversations with Russia about the Moscow deal, because it’s not a crime. He went on to say that “there are no tapes, there are no texts, there is no corroboration,� bec...

1/ The special counsel’s office issued a rare statement disputing aspects of the BuzzFeed report that Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about Trump’s involvement in a real-estate deal with Russia during the 2016 campaign. A statement from Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, called the report’s “description of specific statements to the Special Counsel’s Office� and the “characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office� as it related to Cohen’s Congressional testimony “not accurate.� In response, BuzzFeed News Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith tweeted: “We stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it, and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear what he’s disputing.� BuzzFeed’s story cited two anonymous law-enforcement sources. According to different anonymous people who claim to be familiar with the matter, “Mueller’s denial […] aims to make clear that none of those statement in the story are accurate.� And, another anonymous person claiming to be familiar with Cohen’s testimony to Mueller’s prosecutors said: “Cohen did not state that the president had pressured him to lie to Congress.� The statement from the special counsel’s office came nearly a day after the story was published. (New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / The Guardian / Politico / CNN / Vox)

Trump thanked Robert Mueller for the statement, tweeting that he “appreciate[s] the special counsel coming out with a statement last night� about what he called “a total phony story.� (Reuters / Axios / USA Today)

BuzzFeed insisted that their reporting is “solid� and “accurate.� BuzzFeed’s Anthony Cormier said “I’m solid. My sources are solid. This reporting is accurate,� adding that he has received “further confirmation� that the report is accurate. “I have further confirmation that this is right. We’re being told to stand our ground. … Our reporting is going to be borne to be accurate and we’re 100 percent behind it.� (The Hill)

2/ Trump was involved in negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow throughout the entire 2016 presidential campaign – several months longer than any administration official or Trump associate has pre...

1/ Trump personally directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about his plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow in order to obscure his involvement in the deal. Cohen and Trump had at least 10 face-to-face meetings about the deal during the campaign. Cohen acknowledged to Robert Mueller’s team that he had given false testimony to the Senate and House intelligence committees that the Moscow tower negotiations ended in January 2016 were an attempt to “minimize links between the Moscow Project� and Trump “in hopes of limiting the ongoing Russia investigations.� Trump also approved a plan by Cohen to visit Russia during the presidential campaign and meet with Putin in order to kick off the negotiations for the Moscow project. “Make it happen,� Trump told Cohen. Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. both regularly received “very detailed updates� about the project from Cohen. The revelation marks the first time Trump is known to have directly – and explicitly – ordered one of his subordinates to lie about his dealings with Russia. (BuzzFeed News)

2/ Democrats in Congress vowed to investigate the report that Trump personally directed Cohen to lie to Congress, which could leave the president open to accusations of suborning perjury and obstruction of justice. House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff said “we will do what’s necessary to find out if it’s true� and that allegations that Trump “may have suborned perjury before our committee in an effort to curtail the investigation and cover up his business dealings with Russia is among the most serious to date.� Rep. Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, tweeted that the panel’s “job is to get to the bottom of it, and we will do that work,� adding: “We know that the President has engaged in a long pattern of obstruction.� (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / CNN / The Guardian / NBC News)

[Opinion] This charge is different. An explosive report that Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress provides a straightforwardly impeachable offense. (The Atlantic)

[Opinion] This may be the smoking gun in the Russia investigation. Why, if there was nothing worrisome or untoward about Trump’s dealings with Russia, would he instruct Cohen to lie to about the depth and breadth of the conversations between the Trumps and the Russians regarding a potential construction project in Moscow? (CNN)

[Opinion] Impeach Donald Trump. Starting the process will rein in a president who is undermi...