Tag: On Politics

This is a moment, people: It’s a major crossroads in Donald J. Trump’s presidency. (If you read only one section, make it pages 290-299, which detail Mr. Trump’s attempts to fire the special counsel.) This is the worst thing that ever happened to me.” [Get On Politics delivered to your inbox.] The report notes, though, that the tapes were likely “fake.” The report also details a search by Mr. Trump’s associates for Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails, which Mr. Trump, in July 2016, publicly asked Russia to help him obtain. What about the obstruction investigation? “If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice,” they wrote, “we would so state.” Here’s some of what they’re describing: • For 13 days after Mr. Trump asked Mr. Finally, on May 30, the president returned the letter with a notation: “Not accepted.” • Mr. Trump repeatedly called Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, at home and ordered that he have Mr. Mueller removed. The two-volume document is a redacted version of the report written by Mr. Mueller, the special counsel, presenting the findings of his team’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and into Mr. Trump’s possible effort to influence the outcome. Mr. Barr, the attorney general, released a four-page summary of Mr. Mueller’s report last month, in which he said the investigation did not find that the Trump campaign had colluded with the Russian government and cleared the president of the charge of obstruction of justice. A lot of Democrats were skeptical of Mr. Barr’s summary — particularly on the obstruction issue — and pushed for the release of the full report.

Good Thursday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ • After almost two years of subpoenas, indictments and search warrants, the results of Robert Mueller’s investigation will be made public today. Here’s a full guide to what to expect. • Some of the report’s findings will not be news to President Trump. Justice Department officials have had numerous conversations with White House lawyers about the special counsel’s conclusions, which has aided the president’s legal team in preparing a rebuttal. • Julián Castro, the former housing secretary and San Antonio mayor, brings youth and diversity to the Democratic presidential field. But, overshadowed by some peers, he has failed to get traction in early polls. A network known for conservative commentary and staunch loyalty to the president is drawing Democratic candidates eager for a big platform with access to Trump voters. • Former Gov.

Good Wednesday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ • In his two years in office, Donald J. Trump has become president of the United Base of America, making little effort to expand his coalition beyond the voters who propelled him to the White House in the first place. While other presidents sought to broaden their public support, Mr. Trump is heading into his re-election campaign sticking with his own tribe. • Mr. Trump vetoed a bipartisan resolution that would have forced an end to American military involvement in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, rejecting an appeal by lawmakers to his own deeply rooted instincts to withdraw the United States from bloody foreign conflicts. • The Trump administration took another significant step to discourage migrants from seeking asylum, issuing an order that could keep thousands of them in jail indefinitely while they wait for a resolution of their asylum requests. • There’s a real chance Democrats are headed toward a contested convention in 2020. Some members of the party establishment are wondering whether they should try to impede Senator Bernie Sanders’s candidacy before then. • Now that all the 2020 candidates have filed their first financial records, where does everyone stand? Here’s a visual breakdown of their fund-raising and spending, and here are nine takeaways from the reports.

From Joe Biden to the border, it’s been a busy week in American politics. A former Nevada legislator, Lucy Flores, accused former Vice President Joe Biden late last week of inappropriately touching and kissing her during a campaign event in 2014. Mr. Biden scrambled to defend himself and contain the crisis, the first of his possible presidential bid. “I’m not sorry for any of my intentions.” Additional Reading • Who Is Lucy Flores, the Woman Accusing Joe Biden of Kissing Her? • Biden’s Tactile Politics Threaten His Return in the #MeToo Era • Finding Biden in Familiar Fix, President Trump Adds a Jab Trump heads back to the border. On Sunday, White House officials defended Mr. Trump’s threat to end assistance to three Central American countries and to close parts of the border with Mexico, despite evidence showing that smuggling largely takes place at ports of entry. The administration is preparing an economic relief package for Venezuela in the event that President Nicolás Maduro’s government falls. The legislation would provide $200 million in aid for Venezuela and $200 million for neighboring countries taking in Venezuelan refugees. • A manager in the White House’s Personnel Security Office said senior officials granted security clearances to at least 25 people whose applications had been denied by career employees. The White House promised to close the gap.

Welcome to On Politics, your guide to the day in national politics. This week, hundreds of readers shared their reactions to the unfolding accusations against Joe Biden by women who said he had kissed or touched them in ways that made them uncomfortable. Many readers defended the former vice president as a product of a different time and questioned if the #MeToo movement had gone too far. Others insisted that making a woman feel uncomfortable has always been wrong. Here is a selection of our readers’ responses, which came from emails sent by On Politics readers, as well as comments across our site. Now I understand in this MeToo movement that there are those who are uncomfortable with such intimate physical expressions. So now that Joe has been called out on it, it is up to him to show his changed behavior if indeed he runs for president, which I hope he does. Early on we baby boomers rejected the stiff formalities of an earlier generation for an easy physicality, an appreciative give-and-take across gender lines that graced daily life with moments of lightness and warmth. When men kiss me on the head or squeeze my shoulders, it does make me uncomfortable. Check out this chart by the Center for Responsive Politics, which compares these numbers to the first quarter fund-raising in 2008, the last time both parties faced such an open race.

Good Wednesday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ • President Trump backed off plans to introduce a Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act after Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, warned him that the Senate would not revisit health care before the election. The about-face all but ensured that health care would take a central place in the 2020 campaign, elevating an issue that Democrats consider one of their strengths. • Two more women told The Times that Joseph R. Biden Jr. touched them in ways that made them uncomfortable, more evidence that the former vice president’s style of politicking is proving to be a liability in the #MeToo era. • Despite calls for the resignations of Virginia’s governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general over scandals involving blackface and sexual harassment, they are all still in office — and the state is trying to muddle on. The president’s economic team said it was looking for ways to limit the damage from such a move. • Mr. Trump has vowed to cut aid to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador over migration. He was reacting after the Senate blocked billions of dollars in disaster aid for Midwestern states, in part because Democrats said a proposed $600 million in nutritional assistance to Puerto Rico fell short of its needs. • Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, sat very stiffly next to Mr. Trump on Tuesday, two days before the 70th anniversary of the alliance, as the president criticized German military spending and predicted the United States would get along with Russia.

Good Friday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ • The Federal Reserve has halted rate increases. Tax cuts and tariffs have taken hold. Attempts to rewrite the global rules of trade are underway. President Trump got what he wanted on the economy — but it may not last, and the president must now prove the naysayers wrong about the future. • The first House Intelligence Committee hearing since the special counsel completed his report began with Republicans demanding the resignation of Adam B. Schiff, the committee’s chairman. It only went downhill from there. It’s the first case where the United States asserted that foreign control of a social media app could have national security implications. • In a case that exposed the government’s embarrassing failure to secure its secrets, a 54-year-old former National Security Agency contractor pleaded guilty to taking secret documents home in a deal likely to put him in prison for nine years.