memeorandum: Mueller, in occasionally halting testimony, points to foreign interference and offers some sharp criticism of Trump (Devlin Barrett/Washington Post)

6:15 PM ET, July 24, 2019

Top Items:

Analysis of Mueller's Congressional Hearing — Mueller's Congressional Hearing — Former Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III testified before Congress after two years of near-total silence. Our reporters provided context and analysis during the hearing.

Discussion: twitchy.com, NB Blog and CNSNews

Melanie Zanona / Politico:

‘Euphoria’: White House, GOP exult after a flat Mueller performance — The tense opening moments of former special counsel Robert Mueller's much-anticipated testimony on Capitol Hill gave way to an early sense of relief at the White House, where aides were quietly celebrating what they viewed …

Discussion: Vox, FiveThirtyEight and The Hill

Addy Baird / BuzzFeed News:

“A Bit Of A Dud” — Some Democrats Say The Mueller Hearings Didn't Live Up To Expectations — WASHINGTON — The day finally arrived: DC bars opened early, interns who had camped out in the Capitol overnight filled the room, and dozens of cameras were set. All eyes were on former special …

Discussion: Vox

Benjamin Siegel / ABC News:

LIVE UPDATES: Trump not exonerated, Mueller testifies, could be charged after leaving office — Former special counsel Robert Mueller is on Capitol Hill for historic testimony before lawmakers in back-to-back House hearings on his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election …

Discussion: Hot Air, Politico, Townhall, The Week, RedState, Mother Jones, YouTube, Vox, The Hill, NPR, Breitbart, Daily Kos, The Intercept, Slate, National Review, twitchy.com, LifeZette and IndieWire

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Confused performance by Mueller raises questions about handling of investigation — It took just minutes for Robert Mueller's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee to turn into a painful exercise when it became clear the 74 year-old special counsel had difficulty handling …

Discussion: Power Line, The Bulwark, Townhall, Daily Wire, Chicks On The Right and emptywheel

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Welcome to our live analysis! 👋 — As former special counsel Robert Mueller testifies before Congress, watch our livestream, and follow POLITICO reporters Darren Samuelsohn, Josh Gerstein, Natasha Bertrand, Blake Hounshell and Eliana Johnson's latest analysis.

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, RedState, New York Post, Quartz, National Review, Chicks On The Right and Daily Wire

NBC News:

How many times has Robert Mueller deflected, declined or deferred a question? Live tracker — Follow along as the former special counsel delivers his testimony in front of House committees. — All eyes and ears are on former special counsel Robert Mueller today.

Discussion: Grabien News, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, twitchy.com and Opinion Today

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

How Republicans Used Mueller's Conservatism to Discredit Him — Robert Mueller's performance in two House hearings must have badly shaken the bipartisan cult that had grown around him for two years. Even accounting for the difficulty of precisely answering verbal questions about long text in real time …

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Paul LeBlanc / CNN:

Michael Cohen responds to Mueller testimony from prison: ‘The American people deserve more!’ — Washington (CNN)Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, watched former special counsel Robert Mueller's highly anticipated testimony Wednesday in a packed common room of inmates a federal prison in New York.

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

‘Bob Mueller is struggling’ — House Democrats caught wind of Robert Mueller's reluctance earlier this year: the special counsel may not be “up to” testifying after he concluded his Russia probe. — The chatter was second-hand and cryptic. Staffers negotiating to get Mueller to appear …

Discussion: Vox, Reason, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Breitbart and Splinter

Maria Bustillos / Columbia Journalism Review:

MSNBC public editor: The Chuck Todd show — After former Special Counsel Robert Mueller' testified before the House Judiciary Committee this morning, Chuck Todd managed to demonstrate, with uncharacteristic brevity, his basic misunderstanding of the requirements of his job:

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: How to think about today's Mueller extravaganza — DRIVING THE DAY — THERE'S NO WAY to adequately encapsulate the gravity of today's pair of hearings with ROBERT MUELLER. They're absolutely huge politically, substantively and optically.

Discussion: National Review, Axios and Detroit News

Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:

Mueller offers terse answers, uncertainty in testimony — WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert Mueller paused. He refused to speculate. He made constant references to his report — but wasn't sure of a number of things in it. — The former special counsel's long-awaited, heavily-negotiated testimony Wednesday …

Discussion: fox8.com and Associated Press

Russell Berman / The Atlantic: Republicans Take Their Shot at Mueller—And Narrowly Miss

Washington Post:
Trump says ‘we had a very good day’ after Mueller hearings end

Discussion: Shareblue Media, New York Times, Washington Press, Florida Phoenix, Political Wire, Breitbart, Vanity Fair, Big Think, Fortune, ThinkProgress, The Gateway Pundit and Associated Press

David Harsanyi / The Federalist:
Robert Mueller's Testimony Has Been A Complete Disaster For Democrats

Discussion: USA Today, YouTube and Associated Press

New York Times:
Major Moments of Robert Mueller's Testimony to Congress

Discussion: The Atlantic, Breitbart, CNN, The Nation, Washington Post, The Crime Report and Pacific Standard

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times: Robert Mueller, Caught in the TV Spotlight

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
‘Not a witch hunt’: Mueller defends Russia probe from Trump's attacks

Discussion: Vox, Slate, Splinter, The Week, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News and Talking Points Memo

David Corn / Mother Jones:
Mueller Reminds the Public: Trump Betrayed the United States

Discussion: Slate and Media Matters for America

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
10 key takeaways from Robert Mueller's testimony

Discussion: checkyourfact.com, Talking Points Memo and National Review

CBS News:
Mueller testifies before Congress on special counsel report — live updates

Discussion: The Week, Mother Jones, The Wrap, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Vox, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Press

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook PM: Mueller gives impeachment crowd little to work with

Discussion: New Republic, Forbes, The Daily Beast and Fox News

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
Mueller, in occasionally halting testimony, points to foreign interference and offers some sharp criticism of Trump

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Shareblue Media, Fortune and Politico

Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
How Bill Barr Ran Circles Around Bob Mueller

Discussion: Washington Post, Common Dreams, JONATHAN TURLEY and Fox News

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
Robert Mueller said he was ‘not familiar’ with Fusion GPS. How is that possible?

Discussion: Daily Wire, Spectator USA, Townhall and The American Spectator

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Here's a little secret about Donald Trump's plans today

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, VICE, USA Today and The Root

Associated Press:
Mueller dismisses Trump's claims of Russia probe exoneration

Discussion: Right Wing Watch, Chicago Sun-Times, The Atlantic, Fortune, KTLA, Associated Press, FOX6Now.com and Foreign Policy

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Mueller says he is ‘not familiar’ with Fusion GPS, the firm behind the Steele dossier

Discussion: Law & Crime, IJR and Big League Politics

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Mueller's team indicates to Democrats he will not read report's text if asked

Discussion: Axios and Politico

Nina Totenberg / NPR:

Justice Ginsburg: ‘I Am Very Much Alive’ — Toggle more options — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in an interview Tuesday that she does not favor proposals put forth by some Democratic presidential candidates who have advocated changing the number of Supreme Court justices if the Democrats win the presidency.

Discussion: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, LifeNews.com, Vanity Fair, CNN, The Daily Caller, Quartz, TheBlaze, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Washington Free Beacon, Splinter, Above the Law, New York Post and FOX6Now.com

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

CNN Seeks $300,000 Commitment To Buy Ads in Next Democratic Debate (EXCLUSIVE) — TV's latest emerging hit takes all the thrills of a traditional reality competition program and mixes in an awful lot of drama. — It's not a knock-off of “American Idol” or a new MTV series.

David Frum / The Atlantic:

What If They're Not Coming for the Jews This Time? — It's becoming almost a daily occurrence: President Donald Trump denouncing anti-Semitism and expressing solidarity with the state of Israel. — Gone are the days when Trump tweeted out a Star of David atop stacks of money.