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The Economist looks at the summary of the Mueller Report. The special counsel did not find that the Trump campaign was in collusion with the Russian government in its interference in the 2016 election. 

The Economist points out that Mr. Mueller accomplished the task of cleaning political campaigns of corruption and other questionable behaviour. In the case of Mr. Manafort campaign manager, and Roger Stone, the president's lawyer, Mr. Mueller's investigation set the precedent of how such investigations would take place in the future.  The investigation also looked into candidates business interests, including building a skyscraper in Moscow. This editorial says Mr. Mueller's conduct was exemplary.

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Greg Sargent cites an exceptional Washington Post report based on 50 interviews with Trump connected officials showing that Trump failed to accept findings of the intelligence community on meddling by Russia. Sargent says the result of Trump's action is that no meetings at the cabinet level have discussed this issue. This has led to protests about how the Mueller investigation is proceeding, even though as Sargent points out the intelligence community has different views.

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A open conversation with the NYT's Baker, Schmidt and Haberman by president Trump in mid July 2017. This conversation of the president with the NYT is remarkable for its frankness about people close to the president during the election campaign, particularly Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Sessions was the only leading Senator in Congress who supported Mr. Trump from the beginning. Southern states came out heavily for Mr. Trump as part of the traditional Republican base. Trump says of Sessions that had he known Sessions was going to recuse himself from the Russia investigation he would not have appointed Sessions as the new Attorney General. About Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein Trump says he should never have appointed Mueller as Special Counsel. The president also says Mueller should stay only with information related to Russia and not stray from that to delve into Trump's finances. During the election efforts were made to get Mr. Trump to disclose more about his finances as a real estate businessman- most of these efforts failed and not much is known about president Trump's finances. The president says he never said he would order the Justice Department to fire Mr. Mueller, yet he left open this possiblility, according to the NYT, as the president feels it has affected the first 6 months of the Trump presidency. This interview with president Trump was published on July 20, 2017, the day after an editorial in the WSJ by the Editorial Board of the Journal on July 19, 2017, calling for transparency from president Trump on the Russia investigation. This was an exceptional and powerful editorial by its editorial board telling president Trump that he must tell everything he knows now or face the risk of losing public confidence, and risk his presidency. It said that president Trump was wrong to think that his larger than life personality and social media role could insulate him from the effects of this lack of transparency. ...

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The U.S. House of Representatives votes 420-0 calling for public release of the Mueller report on the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The probe by Special Counsel Mueller looked into whether anyone in the Trump circle aided Russian meddling in the election. The unanimous vote is a result of the public support for releasing the report. Mostly all Democrats and 80% of Republicans support its public release.

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This is the Washignton Post's view of what is remarkable about the NYT reporter Schmidt's interview with Mr. Trump.

Trump says he hopes Mueller is fair, and will be fair, is going to be fair. Yet that is not what Conservative media is saying. Trump has criticized the Justice Department. Here he says that he the President can do what he wants with the Justice Department, using the words "absolute rights," for the president's powers. This is a misreading of the powers of the Presidency under the Constitution. If the president thinks this hope is not realized of Mueller acting fairly it could lead to a situation in which the president acts beyond the powers of the president, creating a new gap between Congress and the president and overreaching of powers.

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U.S. president Trump asks for resignation of Attorney General Jeff Session after the 2018 Congressional elections. The Democratic Party gained a majority in the House of Representatives, with the Republican Party retaining control of the Senate. This makes further investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election likely. The official probe into this meddling is being conducted by Robert Mueller, Special Counsel, which is supervised by Assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein because Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation.  The resignation leads to the Justice Department being headed by Matthew Whitaker, Mr. Session's top aide. Mr. Whitaker, a former prosecutor, is a conservative legal advocate who was critical of the Mueller investigation, in several tweets cited in this WSJ report, calling it  political fishing expedition," and calling for cutting the budget of the Mueller investigation to make it ineffective. Mr. Whitaker now supervises the Mueller investigation for 210 days till a successor is nominated by Mr. Trump. ...

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U.S. president Trump says former FBI director lied under oath in testimony before Congress, and disputes Comey's comments that he was fired because of the FBI investigation into connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.That investigation is now in the hands of Special Counsel Mueller. Trump called Comey "a leaker."

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President Trump's lawyer Cohen provides testimony to the U.S. Congress on activities on behalf of Mr. Trump. Cohen provided more details on the Russian involvement in the presidential election and Wikileaks leaks on the Democratic Party. He also described his role as a fixer for Mr. Trump, always defending, and arranging for Mr. Trump, something that he said "monopolized my life." Mr. Cohen and Mr. Stone were close to Mr. Trump during and before the campaign. Both are under investigation by Special Counsel Mueller.

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Former FBI chief Comey told Senators at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that he felt pressure from president Trump to drop the investigation into Mr. Flynn, a Trump adviser. He also said that he leaked accounts of his conversations with the president through a friend, in the hope that this would lead to appointment of a special counsel. Later Mr. Mueller was appointed Special Counsel. Comey said he would not say that this was an obstruction of justice but something that Special Counsel Mueller had to examine.  Comey said his intuition told him he had to document all conversations with president Trump, so that there would not be any questions about what was said. 

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Mr. Kasowitz  is hired by U.S. president Trump as his personal attorney on the Russia probe by Congress of ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Kasowitz  has worked with Trump for 15 years helping keep his divorce records sealed, and in lawsuits. He is known as an aggressive litigator with his own firm of 270 attorneys- Kasowitz, Benson Torres LLP. This follows the appointment of Special Counsel Mueller to investigate Russian interference in the U.S. election with wide ranging powers. This report says Senator Joe Lieberman who is being considered for the post of new FBI chief works at this law firm, creating a potential conflict of interest situation.

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This inside story from the NYT provides more details on what led to the FBI investigation that has taken up most of the attention during the first year of the Trump presidency. It led to the Mueller investigation by a Special Counsel. This account describes the actions of Mr. Papadopoulos, 28, as a adviser in the Trump campaign in the period just before the U.S. presidential election, that are a key part of the story, including his contacts with a Maltese professor.

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President Trump reset the border debate after the government shutdown on border wall funding by emphasizing immigration issues but not repeating his threat to call an emergency. This time he was more conciliatory on the border wall issue, explaining that it be " a smart, strategic, see through steel barrier, not just a simple concrete wall," and deployed in areas identified by border agents as having the greatest need. On withdrawal from Middle East, the president said "great nations do not fight endless wars." Trump now faces a rocky second half of his term because Democrats control the House of Representatives after the 2018 Congressional elections. He said "if there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be a war and investigation." He faces the Mueller investigation by Special Counsel Mueller on the meddling by foreign powers in U.S. 2016 presidential election, with the arrest of lawyer Roger Stone recently, and Democrats in no mood to compromise on the wall. ...

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Special Counsel Robert Mueller issues an indictment of 13 Russians on Feb. 16th, 2018. The indictment was made public by deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein, at a press conference. President Trump says the Internet Research Agency in Russia started its activities in 2014 long before he announced his bid for the presidency, and now acknowledges the Russian activities in the U.S. presidential election of 2016.

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A recent poll shows Mr. Trump increasing his support from a bloc of voters that disapprove of his job performance but still give credit to Mr. Trump for an improving economy. A new WSJ/NBC poll shows 51% of Americans disapprove of his overall job performance, with 46% approving. The same percentage that say they disapprove of job performance are also saying they give him credit for a stronger economy up from the 44% in April 2017 who said they approved his way of handling the economy. Wages have increased 3.2%  in each of the last 2 months and unemployment is at an historic low over 50 years. One group that has a 10 point gap when it comes to the economic performance is among Independents, where 38% approve of Mr. Trump but 48% approve his economic performance. A big jump is among Hispanics who have benefited greatly with new jobs in construction and other areas of the economy. Trump's 46% approval rating in May 2019 is among the highest he has achieved, rising 3 points since the last identical poll in March 2019. About 29% still think the Mueller Report clears Mr. Trump of wrongdoing as they did in March. Still things can change as 42% believe the Mueller Report does not clear Mr. Trump of wrongdoing, and another 29% haven't made up their mind. On impeachment hearings about 48% think Congress should let Mr. Trump finish out his term, 49% think there is either enough evidence or Congress should continue investigating with an eye to future impeachment hearings. The survey margin of error is about 4 percentage points, covers 900 adults.  ...

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U.S. Supreme Court nominee BrettKavanaugh, a Court of Appeals judge in the District of Columbia, could affect the Mueller investigation and issues of pardon, because of his expansive views of the presidency. He was part of the Kenneth Starr investigation of president Clinton. During that investigation he pursued it vigorously but later his opinion was that the president should be not distracted from his important duties, and should have some freedom from being prosecuted. For this reason it is not clear how he would act in the Mueller investigation. President Trump could have considered this when he selected Kavanaugh, says this report.

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The Putin Trump meeting in July 2018 creates a storm in the U.S. over denials by the Russian president and the U.S. president about any interference by Russia in the 2018 U.S. presidential election. As the New York Times reports all intelligence groups in the U.S. have confirmed the interference. The images of the two presidents saying this just as the Mueller investigation gathers evidence is one more unusual event in 2017-2018, with what was once seen as improbable taking place.

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Former intelligence chief James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan are critical of president Trump's statements that Russia did not interfere in the U.S. presidential election. Putin and Trump met briefly during the Asia-Pacific summit. Brennan says he finds it "puzzling" because of the "national security problem." This report in the BBC News says U.S. intelligence agencies see the interference in the way there was hacking and release of emails damaging to Hillary Clinton. Special Counsel Mueller is investigating whether there were links between Russia and the Trump campaign.

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This letter in the New York Times questions the wisdom of the NYT report that Mr. Rosenstein suggested in 2017 Justice Department meetings the need for invoking the 25th Amendment for the removal of the U.S. president Trump. It says this would lead to departure of Mr. Rosenstein as Deputy Attorney General and leaves the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in U.S. elections without support from the Justice Department. Mr. Rosenstein says today he does not see a need for the invoking of the 25th Amendment

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In this interview with Der Spiegel Bernie Sanders reflects on the 2016 election. He says that the Democratic Party missed the fact that many people in the midwest, south and other parts of the country, were worse off after president Obama left than when he came in in 2008. He also says Hillary Clinton relied too heavily on speechwriters and advisers upto the point of  having three speechwriters say why she was running for president. He finds the cuts proposed to healthcare, in the budget, and action on climate change, immoral. He also points out about the investigations that Mr. Mueller is someone everybody respects and that it would be wrong to offer a biased opinion, that Trump supporters would see this in the way that he is picked on when he just came in. He also believes Trump supporters are like other voters and are likely to look at the results, how better off they are under the Trump administration.

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This article in the New York Times makes an extraordinary report about Rod Rosenstein, U.S. Deputy Attorney General and his views on president Trump following Trump's firing of FBI Director Comey. New York Times says it has based its report on meetings in which Rosenstein participated with Justice Department and FBI officials. Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Sessions, the Attorney General, attended a meeting at the White House last year with Mr. Trump in which he agreed to write the memo cited by Mr. Trump for firing Mr. Comey. Rod Rosenstein had no idea at the time that Mr. Trump would cite his memo, and felt afterwards that he had been used by Mr. Trump, according to this report in the NYT. Leading Democrats were very critical of Mr. Rosenstein for providing the memo that served as the basis for firing Mr. Comey. Mr. McCabe who succeeded Mr. Comey and others also left the Justice Department and the FBI, and the events of that time has created dissension in the FBI and the Justice Department, leading to the release of this information to the New York Times.  Mr. Rosenstein according to this report based on internal meetings with Justice Department officials, was concerned about the chaotic situation in the White House following the firing of Mr. Comey of the FBI. During this time it is reported here Mr. Rosenstein suggested recording of the president and invoking of the 25th Amendment. The 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides for removal of the President by the Vice President and cabinet officials on certain grounds such as when the president "is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." Mr. Andrew McCabe, who was head of FBI following Mr. Comey's firing was also fired, and he has memorialized his interactions with Mr. Rosenstein in memos that are now with the Mueller investigation.  Not everyone thinks this is a constructive step as a letter in the New York Times questions the wisdom of such a report leading to the departure of Mr. Rosenstein. Mr. Rosenstein is seen by some as defending the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. But even this may be overstated or in doubt as the criticism of Democrats leading to the the release of the report by the NYT on Rosenstein shows. Mr. Rosenstein says in response to the NYT report that he sees no need for invoking the 25th Amendment. ...

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The Wall Street Journal looks back at president Trump's first year in office from the inauguration speech to the passage of the new tax law. Race and immigration issues form the background of much of the domestic politics as Democrats prepare to shutdown government by December 2017 over a comment by the president. This happens during a meeting between the two parties on the Dreamer legislation to allow children of people illegally in the U.S. to stay in the country, when the president makes a derogatory remark about immigrants from Haiti and says he prefers immigrants from Norway. Efforts to repeal the Obama healthcare legislation fail during the first year. Democrats win a Senate seat in Alabama. A special counsel, Mr. Mueller, is appointed to investigate the Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election. The tax law is skewed towards more tax cuts for the wealthy than the middle class, with the increase in the deficit not justifying the cut as infrastructure and other needs in health and education require funding. In international affairs Trump recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and takes a strong stand on Iran and North Korea.    ...

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This interview by Michael Schmidt of the NYT with president Trump shows a more conciliatory mood following the passage of the Republican tax law. Trump says he feels Mueller will treat him fairly but that the investigation will drag along for some time. Trump says this is bad for the country.  On the tax law he says he would have tackled the local and state tax deduction either not touched it or worked out a compromise if Democrats agreed to talk to him about taxes. Democrats he says thought they had McCain's vote when he left for Arizona, yet that did not happen. He says expensing for investing in equipment should unleash growth through new investment in the U.S. On infrastructure he sees a hundred Democrats joining the Republicans in Congress to do a deal. He says Democrats need him for DACA on the Dreamers issue, and he will work with them.  Other topics covered were the election itself which Trump says he fairly won by focussing on the Electoral College and going frequently to small states like Maine, up and down the East Coast knowing he would lose New York. He says there was no collusion with the Russians for his campaign and says it was Democrats who did the collusion. Manafort worked longer for others including Reagan, says Trump, and was with him for only about 4 months. This interview shows a upbeat Trump following the passage of the tax legislation. ...

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Steve Bannon, president Trump's former strategist in the first 6 months of his presidency and during the election campaign makes a rupture with Trump after astonishing revelations in a new book. Michael Wolff in his new book, "FIre and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," attributes statements to Mr. Bannon that say the president's son Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, and Paul Manafort, the campaign chairman at the time, had acted in a "treasonous" way by meeting with Russians during a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower. According to Mr. Wolff's account in the book Bannon also predicted that the special counsel Mueller investigation would eventually focus on money laundering. This account of the Wolff book is from the New York Times, which released excerpts from the book after the Guardian first put out this story. It quotes from an email from an unnamed White House aide, describing the Trump operations in the White House as the worst possible- that the president refused to read much, not even one page memos, getting up often because he is bored through meetings. And using words that reflected it says Mr. Gary Cohn's view that much of the operation was "stupid," "dumb," or even idiotic. Wolff is a columnist and author not particularly known for meticulous reporting says the New York Times.    ...

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As shown in other articles in the NYT Gen. Kelly is bringing some discipline and coherence to the White House. This includes bringing Jared Kushner the president's son-in-law into the chain of command, having him report to Mr. Kelly. At the same time as Kushner is seen less of in meeting with Mr. Trump, he is now more focussed on his own projects. He is also shown here to be more cautious as he realizes more now than earlier that the Mueller investigation is a thorough one, that is looking into all the details. Some insiders even say Kusher and Ivanka Trump look wistfully at going back to their lives in New York without all the chaos and tumult of the White House in 2017.