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It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.
A GUIDE TO THE MUELLER HEARINGS
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
On Wednesday, viewers and voters will see a high-stakes duel between the two parties when former special counsel Robert Mueller appears before Congress.
You can watch his testimony live here.
Mueller will testify in two hearings. The House Judiciary Committee hearing begins at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The House Intelligence Committee takes over for its own hearing at noon EDT.
Here’s a guide to the key dynamics at play in the historic Mueller hearings.
What will we hear from Mueller himself?
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The former special counsel will give an opening statement.
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He plans to stick to the “four walls” of his final report on the investigation -- meaning he’s not planning on offering new details.
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Mueller is expected to give short answers.
What’s the Democrats’ strategy?
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Judiciary Committee: carefully-planned questions focused on the report itself and five of the 10 incidents of possible obstruction Mueller outlined in his report.
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Intelligence Committee: not limiting itself to the report. Focus will be Russian interference in the 2016 election, but some questions on Trump and obstruction of justice are possible as well.
Democrats have been carefully preparing for the hearing, with members of the House Judiciary Committee holding mock question sessions. The Mueller report laid out some 10 incidents of potential obstruction by the president. Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are planning to focus on the five of those incidents they think are most important.
Democrats on the Intelligence Committee plan to focus on incidents where witnesses lied or potentially lied to the committee, acts that could be considered obstruction. They’ll also likely focus on how much the Trump campaign, and Trump himself, knew about stolen documents from Democratic officials that Wikileaks released to the public.
What is the Republicans’ strategy?
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The White House, for now, is not planning to send its own lawyer to the hearing.
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Republicans believe it’s up to Democrats to make the case that the president’s conduct was unlawful.
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Some members may raise questions about potential bias on the part of the FBI or members of Mueller’s team.
Republicans on the two committees plan to leave the burden of proof on Democrats to show that the president’s conduct was unlawful. They believe Mueller’s report did not reach that conclusion and that the former special counsel is unlikely Wednesday to say that it did.
Some of the more aggressive Republicans on the committees are also expected to ask Mueller about their largest concern: what they see as bias in the FBI’s initial Russia investigation, and whether Mueller or his team were biased as well.
YOUR MUELLER QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
By Lisa Desjardins
Last week we sent out a special request to all of you Here’s the Deal subscribers: Send us what you would want to ask former special counsel Robert Mueller.
And wow, did you respond. Hundreds of you replied, with nearly 2,000 questions. They ranged widely, but all were impressively thoughtful and smart. Those questions were part of a story Tuesday night on the PBS NewsHour broadcast. We just wanted to say thank you. We really love our readers. And our viewers. You can find that segment after it airs on our website.
And if you missed the callout, don’t worry. There’s another chance. We’re also taking questions live during our live preview of Mueller's testimony tomorrow starting at 7:40 a.m. EDT. Submit your questions on YouTube or by tweeting @NewsHour. Afterward, we’ll stream Mueller’s two appearances live, with a break for our special coverage and analysis.
Some more pre-Mueller reading:
AND OH, A MASSIVE BIPARTISAN BUDGET DEAL
By Lisa Desjardins
There is another sweeping piece of news this week: the White House and Congress (both parties!) have agreed on a two-year deal to erase planned budget cuts and lift the debt ceiling.
Here is a quick guide to what’s in this deal. (Lisa note: Few people love covering a budget deal more than me.)
Defense spending in this deal
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Would increase by $22 billion next year, to $738 billion total. It will then increase a small amount the following year as well.
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Without this deal, the military would have seen an across-the-board funding cut of up to $71 billion, or 11 percent, next year.
Non-defense spending in this deal
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Would increase by $27 billion next year to $632 billion, and see another small increase the following year.
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Without this deal, these programs (which include funding for a majority of federal agencies) would have seen a cut of $55 billion dollars, or 9 percent.
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Is this spending paid for? Largely, no. It is expected to raise the national debt by as much as $1.7 trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
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The debt is currently around $22 trillion dollars and has been increasing rapidly. It was $19 trillion at the start of the Trump presidency.
FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By Lisa Desjardins
In 88 trips to Capitol Hill, Mueller grew weary of partisanship. -- July 21. The New York Times reviewed dozens of hours of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s previous appearances before Congress. Why it matters: Mueller’s extensive experience with lawmakers gives some insight into how he may weather the high-stakes hearing tomorrow. -- The New York Times
The humane legacy of John Paul Stevens. -- July 17. Court watcher Jeffrey Toobin looks at the former Supreme Court justice as someone who did not change over time, unlike the political shifts within the Republican Party around him. Why it matters: This story shows how the GOP has moved to the right, with Toobin arguing it is unrecognizable to those, like Stevens, who once epitomized it. -- The New Yorker
Florida to require mental health classes in public schools starting in sixth grade. -- July 17. The Sunshine State’s board of education is adding a requirement that students be taught the warning signs of mental illness and how to seek help. Why it matters: Florida remains at the forefront of the conversation about mass killings, guns, and mental health, after the mass killings there in a high school last year and at the Pulse nightclub in 2016. -- South Florida Sun Sentinel
Diverse group of Dubuque-area leaders, residents discuss pitfalls of implicit bias. -- July 20. In a county that voted for Barack Obama twice and Donald Trump once, leaders have launched small, person-to-person conversations about bias, especially bias that is subconscious or “implicit.” Why it matters: While many national leaders focus on troubling divides, some local communities are aiming to do something about it. -- Dubuque Telegraph Herald
President Nixon talks to Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon. -- July 19. Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the first moon walk, CBS News reposted footage of NASA patching President Richard Nixon through to the astronauts. Why it matters: As the New York Times pointed out, every president since the moonshot effort has tried to connect to the magic of space travel, with mixed success. -- CBS News
#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Kate Grumke, @KGrumke
Politics producer
On this day in 1885, a former U.S. president died. He was best known for leading the Union Army to victory during the Civil War. Our question: Which president was this?
Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
Last week, we asked: On this day in 1969, Apollo 11, the first mission to land humans on the moon, was launched. Our question: Richard Nixon was president during the launch, and John F. Kennedy made an impassioned speech calling for a mission to the moon years earlier. But which president created NASA? The answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Congratulations to our winner: Susan Duncan!!
Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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