| | | | The Mueller probe ain't ending anytime soon | | President Donald Trump really wants the Russia probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller over.
He has called the probe a "witch hunt" and a "hoax" many times and, as recently as this morning, tweeted that the Mueller probe was started "with illegally leaked classified information." (Narrator voice: It wasn't.) Back in March, then-Trump lawyer John Dowd called for an "end to alleged Russia collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe's boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt dossier." And, Rudy Giuliani, the newest member of the Trump legal team, has expressly said he was brought on to help bring the Mueller investigation to a close.
Mueller, it would appear, has other plans.
On Tuesday, he asked for a two-month delay in sentencing for former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating in the Mueller probe.
"Due to the status of the special counsel's investigation, the parties do not believe that this matter is ready to be scheduled for a sentencing hearing at this time," Mueller's team and Flynn's lawyers told a federal court.
That request for a delay suggests that Comey, the former FBI director, remains very much in the middle of the investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 election, the possibility of collusion and several other areas of interest, including potential obstruction of justice.
Despite Trump's tweets -- and his lawyers' repeated attempts to placate him by ensuring him Mueller must be almost done -- the former FBI director continues to move at his own pace, unbothered by the distractions.
The news of Mueller's requested delay is likely to set him off -- again. The Mueller probe is entirely out of Trump's control and he is clearly unhappy about that fact, not to mention that he may well feel misled by his legal team who told him this would all be over with by now.
The Point: Mueller has said nothing about where he is in the investigation or his timeline for wrapping it up. But this requested two-month delay for Flynn's sentencing makes clear the end is not nigh.
-- Chris | | CNN's Drew Griffin and Veronica Stracqualursi reported Tuesday: "Dr. Harold Bornstein, who served as President Donald Trump's physician for more than three decades, told CNN on Tuesday that he was 'robbed' when a White House aide arrived at his practice and retrieved the President's medical records more than a year ago. The White House and a source familiar with the incident deny that account.
"I've been waiting, humiliated, for an entire year," he told CNN's Alex Marquardt outside his Park Avenue office. "How would you feel if you cared for someone for 35 years, they came and robbed your office?"
The White House and a separate source familiar with the handover of Trump's medical records disputed Bornstein's description of the incident as a "raid."
"As is standard operating procedure, the White House Medical Unit took possession of the President's medical records," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters during an afternoon briefing.
Read more here. | | | "Mean Girls" the musical received a whopping 12 Tony nominations. It debuted in DC, where we -- Saba and Brenna -- saw it. So, here's one single from the musical that's up on Spotify "I'd Rather Be Me," sung by Barrett Wilbert Weed. If you don't have Spotify, you can watch it on YouTube as well. | | | Today's topic? GOP Senate hopeful Don Blankenship defends calling Mitch McConnell "Cocaine Mitch." | | TREE, WE HARDLY KNEW THEE | | Where does un petit French friendship sapling go when it gets quarantined? CNN's Betsy Klein has the answer. "Beltsville, Maryland, it seems. And it could be there for 'at least two years,' according to a United States Department of Agriculture official."
"On April 23, both trees were delivered to National Park Service staff, who facilitated the planting at the White House with President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. As French Ambassador to the US Gerard Araud tweeted, the roots were enclosed in a special plastic coating so as not to contaminate the White House soil."
Read more here. | | The Washington Post's Fact Checker blog has been keeping a strict count of President Donald Trump's many misstatements, untruths and outright lies. And, over the weekend at a rally in Michigan, Trump hit a(nother) milestone: He topped 3,000 untrue or misleading statements in 466 days in office. That means that, on average, Trump says 6.5 things that aren't true a day.
Chris did the research so you don't have to ... this means Trump basically lies as much as we all pee per day. You're welcome. Read more here. | | Kanye West has revealed what he likes about President Donald Trump. "The ability to do what no one said you can do, to do the impossible," he told T.I. when asked, in a video about the rappers' recent collaboration. The video, published Monday, features the two discussing their song "Ye vs. the People (Starring TI as the People)," Read more in CNN's story by Hunter Schwarz.
In other Kanye news ... the rapper also stopped by TMZ's office on Tuesday. In an interview with writer Van Lathan, West said he believes slavery was a choice. West said wearing the MAGA hat was him "doing something everybody tells you not to do" and an attempt to "make America great in my own way." The internet was not pleased. | | | From Brenna: "President Trump gave the Commander in Chief trophy to the West Point football team. They gave him a jersey. I wonder if jerseys are to sitting presidents as free T-shirts are to college kids. After a while, it's like, where do you even put them? You think someone's going to make them into a quilt for him when he graduates? These are the things I think about." No need to get a Point jersey to support us, just tell people you know to subscribe to the newsletter. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
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