For nearly two years,tomorrow was supposed to be the day that the United Kingdom officially left the European Union and made good on its 2016 decision to Brexit.
Why it matters: Due to the political stalemate, some of the world's largest economies remain in a state of flux with no end in sight. It's still not clear when the U.K. will actually leave the EU — or what its exit will even look like. As we approach the end of a week that was supposed to bring clarity to the process, things are more unsettled than ever.
Special counsel Robert Mueller concurs with the Intelligence Community's assessment that the Russian government carried out a sophisticated, multi-pronged campaign to interfere in the 2016 election, per Attorney General William Barr’s letter summarizing the investigation’s findings.
Why it matters: Absent a bipartisan effort to combat this threat, Russian meddling may continue to disrupt American democracy.
Maria Butina, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as a Russian agent in December 2018, will be sentenced on April 26 at 10 a.m., a federal judge said Thursday.
The big picture: Butina, who has been in jail since July 2018, had previously had her sentencing delayed as she continued to cooperate with the government. As part of her plea deal, Butina admitted to working with Russian official Alexander Torshin and her American boyfriend Paul Erickson to infiltrate conservative circles, including the NRA, for the purpose of influencing U.S. policy on behalf of the Kremlin.
A dissident group accused of a commando-style break-in at the North Korean Embassy in Madrid said Thursday it had suspended operations after a judge issued arrest warrants for 2 suspects believed to be in the U.S.
Details: Cheollima Civil Defense, which wants to overthrow North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said it took the temporary action because of speculative media reports. A Spanish judge issued international warrants for the suspected gang leader, Mexico-born U.S. resident Adrian Hong Chang, and U.S. citizen Sam Ryu, El Pais first reported.
House Judiciary chairman Jerrold Nadler told reporters Wednesday that Attorney General Bill Barr said he is unlikely to meet the April 2 deadline set by House Democrats to make the Mueller report public, but that he agreed to testify on a date to be decided.
The intrigue: Following a 10-minute phone call with Barr, Nadler said that the full Mueller report is "very substantial," but that he was asked not to disclose the exact length. When pressed by reporters on whether it was less than 1,000 pages, Nadler responded: "Oh, I would think so."
Former Trump legal spokesman Mark Corallo said on an ABC News podcast that Hope Hicks, who previously served as White House communications director, told him that "nobody's ever going to see" the documents about the drafting of a misleading statement on the infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting.
Context: In the original statement Trump dictated aboard Air Force One, he claimed the meeting between a Kremlin-linked lawyer and Donald Trump Jr. — first reported by the New York Times — was about Russian adoptions. Trump later revealed in a tweet that the purpose of the meeting was to get dirt on Hillary Clinton, essentially admitting that his first statement misled the American people.
The ambassadors of France, Germany and the U.K. delivered a harsh rebuke of the Trump administration's decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights at two separate meetings at the White House and State Department yesterday, three European diplomats briefed on the diplomatic démarche told me.
Details: After issuing public statements that raised concerns about Trump's decision, the three European ambassadors met at the White House on Tuesday with Victoria Coates, the National Security Council's senior director for the Middle East. They had another meeting at the State Department with David Satterfield, acting assistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs. European sources told me the meetings were difficult and ended unresolved, with both sides agreeing to disagree.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May told Conservative Party MPs on Wednesday that she is "prepared to leave this job earlier than [she] intended ... to deliver on the decision of the British people and leave the EU with a smooth and orderly exit," per The Times' Sam Coates.
Why it matters: This is May's gambit to finally get her Brexit deal, which has already faced two historic defeats in the House of Commons, over the line. But it has no set time as she reportedly told her MPs she would step down once the U.K. formally achieves Brexit. The EU has granted the U.K. a short extension from March 29 until April 12 to exit the bloc, which could be extended until May 22 if May's deal passes. However, the Commons voted this week to take control of the Brexit process from the government and will vote later Wednesday to gauge support for a range of alternative next steps.
The State Department said Tuesday the U.S. had "nothing to do" with a commando-style break-in at North Korea's Embassy in Madrid, after a Spanish judge said the raid leader contacted the FBI soon afterward.
Driving the news: Judge José de la Mata Adrian said the U.S.-based alleged gang leader contacted the FBI in New York "5 days after the assault" on the embassy to offer data stolen in the raid. The armed intruders seek the "liberation of North Korea" and had tried unsuccessfully to persuade an embassy official to defect, Adrian said. They "beat their occupants, until they managed to reduce them and put shackles and flanges to immobilize them."
