Nov 16, 2018 - Politics & Policy

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

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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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 24 mins ago - Energy & Environment

In photos: Thousands evacuated as Southern California fire grows

A plane makes a retardant drop on a ridge at the Apple Fire north of Banning in Riverside County, which "doubled in size" Saturday, per KTLA. Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

A massive wildfire that prompted mandatory evacuations in Southern California over the weekend burned 26,450 acres and was 5% contained by Monday afternoon, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

The big picture: As California remains an epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., some 15 separate fires are raging across the state. About 7,800 people were under evacuation orders from the Apple Fire, about 75 miles east of Los Angeles, as hundreds of firefighters battled the blaze. CalFire said Monday that a malfunction involving a "diesel-fueled vehicle emitting burning carbon from the exhaust system" started the Apple Fire.

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Axios

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 7 p.m. ET: 18,178,736 — Total deaths: 691,111 — Total recoveries — 10,835,789 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 7 p.m. ET: 4,698,335 — Total deaths: 155,331 — Total recoveries: 1,468,689 — Total tests: 57,543,852 — Map.
Politics: White House will require staff to undergo randomized coronavirus testing — Pelosi says Birx "enabled" Trump on misinformation.
Sports: 13 members of St. Louis Cardinals test positive, prompting MLB to cancel Tigers series — Former FDA chief says MLB outbreaks should be warning sign for schools.
1 🎥 thing: "Tenet" may be the first major film to get a global pandemic release.

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Orion Rummler

1 hour ago - Technology

Twitter faces FTC fine of up to $250 million over alleged privacy violations

Photo: Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket

The Federal Trade Commission has accused Twitter of using phone numbers and emails from its users to make targeted ads between 2013 and 2019, Twitter said in an SEC filing published Monday.

Why it matters: Twitter estimates that the FTC's draft complaint, which was sent a few days after its Q2 earnings report, could cost the company between $150 million and $250 million. The complaint is unrelated to the recent Twitter hack involving a bitcoin scam.

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