It’s Monday, May 6, 2019. Let’s start here.
1. ‘No redos’
“Bob Mueller should not testify” before Congress, President Donald Trump declared on Sunday, days after he said he would leave it up to Attorney General William Barr to decide whether the special counsel would appear on Capitol Hill.
….to testify. Are they looking for a redo because they hated seeing the strong NO COLLUSION conclusion? There was no crime, except on the other side (incredibly not covered in the Report), and NO OBSTRUCTION. Bob Mueller should not testify. No redos for the Dems!
The attorney general could block Mueller from appearing while the special counsel remains employed by the Department of Justice, but when pressed by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, Barr said, “I have no objection to him testifying.”
Barr is facing a 9 a.m. deadline for his department to comply with the House Judiciary Committee’s request for Mueller’s full, unredacted report and the underlying evidence. Democratic Chairman Jerry Nadler on Friday threatened to hold Barr in contempt of Congress for defying a committee subpoena.
“What you have here,” ABC News’ Devin Dwyer says on “Start Here,” “is complete stonewalling by the administration. I wouldn’t hold your breath on those subpoenas.”
2. Projectile vomiting
North Korea coughed up a “barrage” of unidentified short-range projectiles into the Sea of Japan on Friday night, American and South Korean military officials confirmed to ABC News.
Despite North Korea’s provocative test launch, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on ABC’s “This Week” he still believes “there’s an opportunity to get a negotiated outcome where we get fully verified denuclearization.”
U.S. officials are being very cautious, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz tells us, to avoid reacting too strongly to a launch that didn’t present a direct threat to the U.S., South Korea or Japan.
“They don’t want to get back to that ‘fire and fury’ stage,” Raddatz says, “but, inch by inch, Kim Jong Un is trying to push them just a little bit.”
3. Trade, tariffs, tension
Potentially escalating the ongoing trade war, the president announced he would raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% by Friday because negotiations are progressing “too slowly.”
For 10 months, China has been paying Tariffs to the USA of 25% on 50 Billion Dollars of High Tech, and 10% on 200 Billion Dollars of other goods. These payments are partially responsible for our great economic results. The 10% will go up to 25% on Friday. 325 Billions Dollars….
Trump recently appeared optimistic about the discussions, saying last week the world’s two largest economies were “getting close to a very historic, monumental deal.”
Bob Bryan, a policy reporter at Business Insider, tells “Start Here” that the Trump administration is trying to “play tough with China” while the U.S. economy, which added 263,000 jobs in April, remains strong, although investors may view this latest tariff threat differently when markets open Monday morning.
4. Bernie and Biden
Before launching his presidential campaign back in March, former Vice President Joe Biden defended his voting record as a member of the Senate, claiming, “I have the most progressive record for anybody running.”
When asked about Biden’s comments in an exclusive interview with ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl on Sunday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Biden was a good friend, but noted that the former vice president’s votes for the Iraq War, NAFTA and deregulating Wall Street detracted from his claim.
“I think if you look at Joe’s record and you look at my record, I don’t think there’s much question about who’s more progressive,” Sanders said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders compares his voting record former to VP Joe Biden’s in an exclusive interview with @ABC‘s @jonkarl: “I don’t think there’s much question about who’s more progressive.”
Since Biden entered the race, Sanders has been faced with questions differentiating himself from the front-runner, with either of them atop most polls. ABC News’ Adam Kelsey, who joins the podcast from Iowa, says Sanders isn’t afraid of taking on Biden in the primary, “but when he is on the stump … he says he’s going to support the Democratic nominee no matter what.”
“Start Here,” ABC News’ flagship podcast, offers a straightforward look at the day’s top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or the ABC News app. Follow @StartHereABC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for exclusive content and show updates.
Elsewhere:
‘We will hold the Iranian leadership directly accountable’: The U.S. is sending an aircraft carrier and bombers to the Middle East after indications Iran or its proxies may have been planning an attack.
‘Few details are clear at this point’: A 14-year-old Sports Illustrated rising star is shot to death at a house party.
From our friends at FiveThirtyEight:
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Riley Howell, the UNC Charlotte student who died after tackling an on-campus gunman, will be buried with military honors.
A public service was held Sunday for Howell, one of two people killed in the shooting.
Howell’s younger sister, Iris, described him as “everything I needed in a big brother.”
“He taught me how to be tough,” she said.
