Nov 16, 2018

Trump says he "just finished" answering Mueller's questions

Alayna Treene

Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump told reporters Friday that he has "just finished" writing his answers to questions submitted by Robert Mueller's team, emphasizing that he has written the answers himself, not his lawyers, and that they will be submitted to the special counsel soon.

Why it matters: After roughly a year and a half of investigations, President Trump said he's been told that Mueller's team is wrapping up its probe into Russian election interference and potential collusion between members of the 2016 Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

  • "I'm not agitated [by the Mueller investigation] ... it's a hoax, the whole thing is a hoax, no collusion... no I'm very happy ... there should have never been any Mueller investigation ... they've wasted millions and millions of dollars."
  • "From what I hear [the investigation] is ending. And I'm sure it'll be just fine. ... The fact is I was a much better candidate than Hillary Clinton. I went to the right states. She went to the wrong states. She was not a good campaigner. I campaigned very well and I won the electoral college."
  • "My lawyers aren't working on [Mueller's questions]. I'm working on that. I write the answers. My lawyers don't write answers, I write answers. ... I answered them very easily ... I'm sure they're tripped up because they like to catch people."
  • "The questions were very routinely answered, by me. ... I haven't submitted them yet, I just finished them."

Go deeper: Everyone caught up in the Trump investigations

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Axios

World coronavirus updates: Italy becomes 2nd country to exceed 100,000 cases

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 and confirmed plus presumptive cases from the CDC

Spain and Italy extended lockdown deadlines on Monday, as Italy became the second country in the world to surpass 100,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.

The big picture: COVID-19 cases surged past 755,000 and the death toll topped 36,000 by Monday, per Johns Hopkins data. Italy reported more than 11,500 total deaths.

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Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 745,308 — Total deaths: 35,307 — Total recoveries: 156,875.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in confirmed cases. Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 143,672 — Total deaths: 2,575 — Total recoveries: 4,865.
  3. Federal government latest: The White House will extend its social distancing guidelines until April 30 — Hospital ship the USNS Comfort arrives in Manhattan.
  4. Business latest: Macy's will furlough the majority of it's workers this week, as the chain's stores remain closed.
  5. World updates: Spain and Italy extend lockdown deadlines while Italy becomes second country to surpass 100,000 confirmed cases.
  6. 🎧 Podcast: Living with the coronavirus
  7. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Keep ReadingArrowUpdated 30 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Marisa Fernandez

U.S. coronavirus updates: Majority of governors order residents to stay home

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

At least 29 state governors have ordered their residents to stay home to promote social distancing and limit community spread from the coronavirus pandemic as the U.S. copes with more than 144,000 positive cases — more than any other country in the world, per Johns Hopkins data.

The big picture: COVID-19 killed over 2,500 people in the U.S. by Monday. That's far fewer than in Italy, where over 10,700 people have died — accounting for a third of the global death toll. The number of people who've recovered from the virus in the U.S. exceeded 4,800.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 36 mins ago - Health