Apr 3, 2018

DOJ authorized Mueller to investigate Manafort collusion last year

Paul Manafort is met by the press as he leaves court. Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein authorized Special Counsel Robert Mueller last August to investigate former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for crimes related to possible collusion with Russian officials to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and his work with the Ukrainian government, reports the Wall Street Journal. That mandate came via a memo from Rosenstein to Mueller that was then attached to court filings in Manafort's ongoing legal proceedings.

Why it matters: Rosenstein's memo deflates Manafort's legal argument that Mueller's indictment was outside of the scope of his investigation. It also confirms that officials at the highest levels of the Department of Justice are giving Mueller wide latitude to conduct his work as he sees fit.

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Mike Allen

Bernie's juggernaut

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks in San Antonio last night with his wife, Jane. Photo: Eric Gay/AP

Sen. Bernie Sanders won so big in the Nevada caucuses that Democrats are hard-pressed to sketch a way he's not their nominee.

Driving the news: With 60% of precincts counted (slow, but better than Iowa!), Sanders is running away with 46% of delegates — crushing Joe Biden's 20%, Pete Buttigieg's 15%, Sen. Elizabeth Warren's 10% and Sen. Amy Klobuchar's 5%.

Go deeperUpdated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Jacob Knutson

Buttigieg campaign claims Nevada caucuses were "plagued with errors"

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Pete Buttigieg's campaign wrote a letter on Sunday asking the Nevada State Democratic Party to release early vote and in-person vote totals by precinct and address certain caucus errors identified by campaigns, The Nevada Independent reports.

The big picture: The campaign alleges that the process of integrating early votes on caucus day was “plagued with errors and inconsistencies,” and says it received more than 200 incident reports from precincts around the state.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Axios

Coronavirus threat grows, threatening some drug supplies

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

As the novel coronavirus continues spreading globally and China grapples with a limited production capability, there's a growing risk to about 150 prescription drugs in the U.S., sources tell Axios.

The big picture: The coronavirus has spread to more countries, with both South Korea and Italy stepping up emergency measures amid rising case numbers on Sunday. COVID-19 has killed at least 2,467 people and infected almost 79,000 others, mostly in mainland China.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Health