Finally the Mueller report is released, if only in redacted form. Now we can put it all behind us and lay it to rest, right? Wrong. That couldn’t be more wrong. The reactions to the report couldn’t be more different, ranging from complete exoneration to obviously there were some bad deeds done to we must impeach. Even my quick take on the report is too long to include here, but it doesn’t really exonerate anybody, there are still ongoing cases, and Congress will have to figure out whether to do the ethical thing and start impeachment hearings or the political thing and hope for the best in 2020.

Here’s that and what else happened last week in politics…

Russia:

1. I’m working on a more detailed summary of the Mueller report, but here’s my quick take on what I’ve read so far. If you want to read the full report, here’s a good version.
2. Russian aluminum company Rusal announces it’s spending $200 million on a new low-carbon aluminum mill in Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky. Last year, the company was under U.S. sanctions under the ownership of oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The Treasury lifted sanctions once Deripaska divested.
3. House committees subpoena Trump’s financial records from Deutsche Bank. They also subpoena documents from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America regarding potential money laundering by Russians and Eastern Europeans.
4. During a FOIA hearing, a federal judge says that Attorney General William Barr has created an environment of distrust around the DOJ’s commitment to sharing information about the Mueller investigation. Still, the judge denies a request to disclose the full and unredacted report.
5. Current and former White House staffers are anxious about whether their cooperation with the Mueller investigation will be revealed in his report. They say they’re doubly concerned over how Trump will respond.
6. Officials from the DOJ met with White House lawyers several times to discuss the findings in the Mueller report, giving them nearly a month to prepare rebuttals. This is a break from precedent. Kenneth Starr didn’t let the Clinton White House review his report, but then he also released his report in full, excruciating detail on the web.
7. The DOJ refuses to release sealed records in Paul Manafort’s court cases because there are still ongoing investigations. The Washington Post had requested the release, but ongoing cases around Manafort include Gregory Craig, Sam Patten (just sentenced), Roger Stone, Stormy Daniels hush money payments, Rick Gates, and Michael Flynn.
8. Attorney General William Barr announces he’ll hold a press conference to talk about the Mueller report before he actually releases the redacted version. This means reporters are going in with no background information on which to base their questions. Democratic House committee chairs demand he cancel the press conference, saying it’s “unnecessary and inappropriate, and appears designed to shape public perceptions of the report before anyone can read it.” And it seems they’re right. Here are some highlights.
9. Mueller’s team, which was tight-lipped and pretty leak-proof during the investigation, has been opening up to say Barr is minimizing the evidence and findings from the investigation.
10. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler subpoenas the full, unredacted Mueller report. For certain, the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, along with the Gang of Eight will receive a version of the report with redactions only for grand jury information unless a judge rules otherwise on the grand jury bit.
11. Even though Trump and his legal team claim that Mueller’s report exonerates him, they’re putting together a rebuttal to the report’s findings.
12. Republicans for the Rule of Law, a conservative group formed to defend “the institutions of our republic,” runs an ad on Fox News urging Republicans in Congress to hold Trump accountable for the wrongdoing presented in Mueller’s report and to rebuild the Republican party back to what it once was.
13. Rudy Giuliani says there’s nothing wrong with taking information from Russians. Even if the FBI warned the campaign about it and asked to be alerted about Russian contacts?

Legal Fallout:

1. The inspector general for the Department of the Interior opens an ethics investigation into the newly confirmed secretary of the department, David Bernhardt.
2. Sears sues Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and their former CEO, Edward Lampert. Sears alleges that as member of the board, Mnuchin helped Lampert strip Sears of more than $2 billion.
3. The White House refuses to comply with a request from the House Judiciary Committee for documents regarding the merger between AT&T and Time Warner. If you remember, Trump told Gary Cohn to pressure the DOJ to prevent the merger (Time Warner owns CNN).

Healthcare:

1. The DOJ brings charges against 60 medical professionals, including 31 doctors, in five states for illegally prescribing opiates and for exchanging sex for pills. The states span areas where the opioid crisis is hitting hardest (Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, and West Virginia).
2. McConnell says he’ll block any attempts at Medicare for All. His words: ”Medicare for all? Not as long as I’m majority leader. It ought to be called Medicare for none.”

International:

1. Trump vetoes a resolution passed in both the House and Senate that would’ve withdrawn U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
2. The EU has been building schools for Palestinian children in the West Bank. This week, Israel damages or demolishes three of them citing permitting issues. These kids have to go to school outdoors or in tents.
3. The Trump administration announces new restrictions against Cuba, reversing steps made under Obama to help improve relations between the U.S. and Cuba. They place restrictions on travel and on the amount of money Cuban Americans can send to relatives there. They also allow Cuban exiles to sue the government for seized property.

• • The announcement also includes new sanctions against Venezuela and Nicaragua .

4. North Korea announces a test of a new tactical guided weapon, likely a short-range missile.
5. A new study shows that Russia’s been hacking into the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), and using it to confuse ships and planes. Almost 10,000 incidents have been reported or detected.
6. Trump orders the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to dismiss most of their Palestinian aid workers. Eventually he wants to bring it down to 14 workers.
7. Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo wins a second term.
8. Ukraine elects a TV Comedian as President by a landslide—he wins by nearly a 50 point spread. He’s a bit of a populist and ran on a platform of anti-corruption.

Legislation/Congress:

Congress is on recess. I hope you all went to a town hall with your Representative!

Travel Ban/Immigration/Discrimination:

1. Yo-Yo Ma gives a performance at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge, which spans between Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. His message is unity, and he says, “A country is not a hotel, and it’s not full.”
2. Last week, ICE deported the spouse of a U.S. soldier who was killed in Afghanistan in 2020, leaving their 12-year-old daughter in Phoenix. This week, ICE reverses that decision and brings him back. I don’t know the reason.
3. Attorney General Barr orders immigration judges to deny bail to some asylum seekers, which will keep even more migrants in detention centers indefinitely (and cost us more money). DHS will have sole authority to decide who is released.
4. Trump decides not to nominate anyone to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a continuation of his withdrawal from international agencies on human rights.
5. Democrats in Arizona try to force a vote on the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment—yes, it’s still a thing). Republicans block the vote.
6. Texas passes state bills that would allow municipalities to not enforce anti-discrimination laws for LGBTQ Texans.
7. The House Judiciary Committee is looking into Trump’s alleged promise to pardon Kevin McAleenan, the Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, if he illegally blocks asylum seekers from entering the U.S. From what I’ve read about McAleenan, the offer was pointless; he doesn’t seem like a law-breaker.
8. Trump wants 9,000 to 10,000 additional troops deployed to the border. The Pentagon says they’ll add about 3,000.
9. The Ninth Court of Appeals temporarily lifts the injunction against Trump’s policy to make asylum applicants remain in Mexico to await their court hearings. The administration is already working to send refugees back while court cases are pending.
10. The Mexican government contradicts Trump’s claims that they agreed to this policy of making refugees wait in Mexico.
11. The White House considers restricting travel from counties whose citizens have high rates of overstaying their visas in the U.S. They’re largely focused on African nations.
12. Leaders in sanctuary cities and states have varied responses to Trump’s “threats” to send asylum seekers to sanctuary localities. While they say they welcome refugees, they also say Trump thinks he’s punishing his political opponents and that it would be illegal anyway. But still, we’re set up for this and we welcome migrants, so bring it on.

• • Three House committees are looking into this proposal, and want Stephen Miller to testify since he seems to be the “boss” of all things around immigration.

13. Despite an increase in threats that led to an increase in security for Representative Ilhan Omar, Trump continues his attacks on her, calling her out of control, antisemitic, and anti-Israel, and saying she hates the U.S.
14. At least four House freshman women are under death threats—Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Katie Hill. I’m not sure whether this goes under “Discrimination” or mere “Far-Right Assholery” since the women in question fall into one or more of these categories: Muslim, black, Palestinian, Puerto Rican, and bisexual.
15. U.S. officials arrest a Florida man who made threatening and hate-filled calls to Democratic officials. He specifically ranted about Muslims, black people, and Ilhan Omar. He threatened Eric Swalwell with death if he “comes after our guns.” He called Rashida Tlaib to rant about Omar. He also called Cory Booker, among others.
16. Authorities charge Holden Matthews with additional counts of hate crimes after arresting him for starting three black churches in Louisiana on fire.
17. Starting in 2020, based on Trump’s transgender ban, the U.S. Naval Academy will stop enrolling transgender students.
18. Steve Bannon is funding a new academy at a monastery in Italy. They’re creating the Academy for the Judeo-Christian West, a Christian nationalist institute. I hope this goes about as well as the fortified city Glenn Beck was planning in Idaho.
19. Here’s a twist. Canada asks the U.S. for help in stemming the flow of refugees across their southern border… with the U.S.
20. An armed civilian militia group holds over 200 asylum seekers at gunpoint as they tried to cross the border. The United Constitutional Patriots have been “guarding” this area of the border for a few months. The FBI later arrests the leader of the group on weapons charges. Customer and Border Patrol does not support this kind of vigilante action.
21. Fire destroys the main offices of the Highlander Center, a Tennessee social justice center that has hosted several civil rights leaders. A white power symbol is found spray-painted on the parking lot.
22. Washington State Representative Matt Shea discussed acts of extreme violence, intimidation, and surveillance against perceived enemies (AKA, the left) with far-right figures Jack Robertson and Anthony Bosworth. Shea outed three individuals for the group to target. Shea has pushed right-wing conspiracy theories for years. Vote him out!
23. The week ends with horrific terrorist bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. Nearly 300 are dead, and over 500 injured. The attack was carried out by local militant groups, and the Islamic State claims credit for it. Police arrest thirteen suspects, and three officers are killed in the process.

• • Security officials were warned of a threat to churches 10 days prior to the attacks, and it’s not clear if any action was taken to address them.
  • Trump tweets that at least 138 million were killed, and then deletes it.

Climate/EPA:

1. A new study concludes that climate change is partly to blame for the strength of Hurricane Maria in 2017. The central region of the island typically gets 150 inches of rain a year, and Maria dropped nearly 1/4 of that in one day.
2. Several states, including Idaho, Colorado, and New Mexico, plan to retire old coal plants early thanks to lower costs of renewable energy sources. This isn’t happening due to political pressure nor to renewable energy mandates. Several states are working to ease the transition, but coal in southeast and northeast states are subsidized and immune to these market pressures.
3. Duke Energy plans to develop six utility-scale power plants in North Carolina.
4. New York City passes a bill limiting greenhouse gas emissions from big buildings.
5. Over 3,000 scientists sign on to a letter of support for Youth Strike for Climate, led by Swedish student activist Greta Thunberg. The letter emphasizes the need to act now, and says that our current actions are not adequate.
6. The EPA’s Andrew Wheeler previously dismissed a qualified and independent panel of air pollution scientists (because, you know, Obama), and now the panel admits they don’t have the expertise to make recommendations. But they propose changes to the Clean Air Act anyway that would put people’s health at risk.

Budget/Economy:

1. Illinois passes a bill banning “right to work” laws for municipalities in the state. Right to work laws are touted as being better for everyone, but they really take away employees’ collective bargaining power.
2. An independent analysis by the International Trade Commission shows that Trump’s renegotiated NAFTA will have a limited effect on the economy (boosting it by just 0.35%). The greatest positive effects are in manufacturing and services, but it’ll make U.S. production more expensive overall, reduce exports, and cut wages and possibly employment.

• • This still has to be approved by Congress. Democrats are pushing for better labor protections and tougher compliance enforcement with Mexico. Republicans are pushing to remove tariffs.

3. February’s deficit was the largest one-month deficit in history, reaching $234 billion. This is partly from the GOP tax reform bill and partly from the spending bill compromise.
4. Tariffs have brought in $82 million to the Treasury, but they also raised consumer prices in the U.S. by $1.5 billion. They did create about 1,800 new jobs, but at a cost of over $800,000 per job.

Elections:

1. Kansas passes a law allowing people to vote anywhere in their county instead of just one assigned polling place. In 2018, they closed or moved several polling places, making it harder for people to vote. Around 1,100 voters voted in the wrong polling place so their votes weren’t fully counted.
2. Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld announces he’ll run against Trump in the 2020 presidential Republican primary.
3. Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders accuses the “establishment” of working against him (again) after Think Progress publishes an article that’s critical of him. They’ve published articles criticizing several other candidates, “establishment” and otherwise.
4. Elizabeth Warren is the first Democratic presidential candidate to call for the House to start impeachment proceedings. There are two camps on this: one that thinks impeachment is a moral and ethical imperative, and one that thinks it would be political suicide for the Democratic party. IMO, this shows Warren puts ethics above politics.

• • While most candidates back more investigations before making a decision on impeachment, a handful followed Warren’s lead.

Miscellaneous:

1. While I was writing my recap last week, Paris’s 800-year-plus-old Notre Dame cathedral went up in flames. It’s spire collapsed, but firefighters had saved the structure and stopped its spread.

• • Online conspiracy theorists immediately began spreading vile hoaxes about arson, people with Arabic-sounding names celebrating, terrorism, Muslims, and Ilhan Omar saying they reap what they sow. (She didn’t—I can’t believe I have to clarify that. She actually tweeted about the wonder of Notre Dame and prayed for firefighters.)
  • The fire is suspected to have been ignited by accident.

2. Trump advises French firefighters to dump water from air tankers on the Notre Dame blaze to put it out. Is there anything he doesn’t know how to do better than the experts? French firefighters let him know that it could cause the entire structure to collapse. Looks like they did a fine job all on their own.
3. Trump says Boeing should just fix the 737 MAX airliners and rebrand them with a new name. Because that’ll make everyone forget about the two deadly plane crashes, right?
4. With the 20th anniversary of the Columbine shooting this week, a young woman from Florida who was fixated on the shooting causes Denver area schools to shut down when she travels to Denver and purchases a shotgun near the school. She’s later found dead from a self-inflicted gun shot wound.
5. Days after the Notre Dame fire, a man goes into St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City carrying gallons of gas, lighters, and lighter fluid. He’s charged with attempted arson and reckless endangerment. Earlier in the week, he was arrested for refusing to leave the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, NJ.

Polls:

1. Trump’s approval rating took a slight dip, but is holding surprisingly steady after the release of the Mueller report. It’s at an aggregate of 41.4%.
2. The electorate is pretty equally divided over whether to impeach or not following the release of the Mueller report.