| ___________________ |
| Mueller breaks his silence. |
| In his first public characterization of his investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, Robert S. Mueller III again declined to clear President Trump of obstruction of justice on Wednesday. The most notable part of Mr. Mueller’s 10-minute news conference was his reiterating that while Justice Department policy prohibits charging a sitting president with a crime, the Constitution provides another way to formally allege wrongdoing — a clear reference to impeachment. |
| Mr. Mueller stated clearly that he hoped his public statement Wednesday would be his last on the matter, but with impeachment fever rising, some Democrats want him on a witness stand. Others see the “I-word” as political peril. |
| Amid his criticism of the special counsel’s investigation, President Trump offered an extraordinary admission Thursday in a tweet: He acknowledged, for the first time, Russia’s “helping me to get elected.” He then abruptly denied it again. |
| Additional Reading |
| |
| • How Impeachment Works and What You Need to Know About It |
| • Black Voters Challenge House Members: Why Is Trump Still in Office? |
| • After Mueller’s Remarks, More 2020 Democrats Call for Impeachment |
| • Elizabeth Warren Wants Congress to Ensure Presidents Can Be Indicted |
| Trade war with Mexico escalates. |
| |
| The last time Mr. Trump vowed all-out retaliation against Mexico over illegal immigration, he backed off by giving America’s southern neighbor a one-year warning to fix the problem. That was less than two months ago, but the president has decided he cannot wait another 10 months. |
| Mr. Trump said he planned to impose a 5 percent tariff on all imported goods from Mexico, a tax he said would “gradually increase” until Mexico stopped the flow of undocumented immigrants across the border. The threat was a drastic move against an American ally, essentially daring the Mexican government to risk economic catastrophe on both sides of the border if it did not capitulate to his demands. |
| The president’s decision to punish Mexico with tariffs sent markets plunging and prompted an outcry from Mexico, business groups and lawmakers Friday. |
| Additional Reading |
| • How Trump’s Trade War Is Being Fought Around the World |
| • Trump’s Crackdown on Illegal Immigration: 11 Employers Prosecuted in the Past Year |
| Dynamics around the 2020 election are changing. |
| The Democratic 2020 field is set, and beneath the surface of a seemingly placid race is a much more volatile contest — a series of primaries-within-the-primary along lines of race, gender, age and ideology. |
| Organizers at liberal political groups say Joe Biden’s campaign has helped clarify any lingering doubts: A steep uphill climb for more progressive Democrats lies ahead. |
| The Democratic Party’s new directive that candidates must have at least 130,000 donors to qualify for the third primary debate in September will force campaigns to spend more on digital ads they hope will go viral, an expensive redirection of resources, some campaigns said. |
| Additional Reading |
| • Cedric Richmond, Biden’s New Co-Chairman, Sees a Path to the Nomination in the South |
| • Cory Booker Says Beating Trump Should Be ‘the Floor, Not the Ceiling’ |
| • Can Jaime Harrison Unseat Lindsey Graham in South Carolina? |
| Here’s what else happened this week: |
| • The Supreme Court on Tuesday sidestepped part of a case that could have tested the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade, turning down an appeal to reinstate a strict Indiana abortion law. But the court, in an apparent compromise, upheld part of the same law requiring abortion providers to bury or cremate fetal remains. |
| • Louisiana lawmakers voted to ban abortions after the pulsing of what becomes the fetus’s heart can be detected, the latest in a spate of similar legislation passed in recent months across the South. The restriction is backed by the state’s Democratic governor. |
| • Despite his blockade of Merrick B. Garland in 2016, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, is now definitive that he would push a Trump Supreme Court nominee in the election year of 2020. |
| • The House will not act on a long-delayed disaster relief package until the full chamber returns on Monday, after a House Republican on Thursday again blocked final passage of the measure. |
| • Thomas B. Hofeller was known as the Michelangelo of gerrymandering. His daughter recently discovered a study on his hard drive showing that adding a citizenship question to the census — as the Trump administration has done — would allow Republicans to draft even more extreme gerrymandered maps to stymie Democrats. |
| _____________________ |
| Today’s On Politics briefing was compiled by Isabella Grullón Paz in New York. |
| Is there anything you think we’re missing? Anything you want to see more of? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at onpolitics@nytimes.com. |
