Four pages of the Mueller Report lay on a witness table in the House Intelligence Committee hearing room on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Thursday, April 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
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Developing now, Friday, April 19, 2019
MUELLER REPORT'S RELEASE MAY NOT BE THE END OF RUSSIA HYSTERIA: The public release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Thursday marked the dramatic final note of a lengthy and contentious investigation, but also sparked new calls for subpoenas, congressional testimony, resignations, and even impeachment proceedings -- all despite the probe's central finding that no evidence showed that President Trump's team "coordinated or conspired" with Russia ... The whirlwind moments kept coming, even hours after the report's release, as more and more revelations from the 448-page document trickled out. The White House, for its part, claimed total victory and vindication for the president who, according to the report, once fretted that the special counsel's appointment meant he was "f---ed" beyond the possibility of redemption and that his agenda would be derailed by partisan distractions.
But Democrats and media outlets that long advanced the idea that the Trump campaign had treasonously worked with Russia -- and anticipated that the Trump administration would collapse -- quickly pivoted to whether the president had, instead, interfered with the now-completed investigation. Within minutes of the report's publication, House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., charged that the special counsel had provided "disturbing evidence that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice" and, referencing the report's limited redactions, wondered: "Imagine what remains hidden from our view."
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Nadler immediately called on Mueller himself to testify, and top Republicans, including Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr, said they would have no objections to him doing so. He also announced he would subpoena the full, unredacted version of the Mueller report and any underlying grand jury evidence, setting up a likely legal confrontation with the Justice Department.
TRUMP, SUPPORTERS REPEAT CALL TO INVESTIGATE THE INVESTIGATORS: President Trump and his legal team declared victory after Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report was released, with the president repeating his "no collusion" mantra and saying “this should never happen to another president again" ... “I’m having a good day, too, it’s called ‘no collusion, no obstruction,’” he said in remarks for the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride, at the White House. “There never was by the way, and there never will be.” Trump also added, “This should never happen to another president again, this hoax, it should never happen to another president again." He also promised “to get to the bottom of these things,” hinting at calls for the origins of the two-year investigation to be reviewed.
- Joe diGenova: Time to go after the real conspirators
NATIONAL ENQUIRER TO BE SOLD TO NEWSSTAND MOGUL: The National Enquirer tabloid is being sold to James Cohen, the owner and CEO of airport newsstand company Hudson News, its parent company announced Thursday ... The deal announced by American Media Inc. also includes two other supermarket tabloids, Globe and the National Examiner. Financial terms were not disclosed. The sale comes after the Enquirer was caught up in a federal investigation of illegal campaign contributions to Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016.
AMBASSADOR ACCUSES 'MAYOR PETE' OF PULLING A JUSSIE SMOLLETT ON PENCE: The U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, defended Vice President Mike Pence against accusations of homophobia alleged by Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and compared the claims to a “hate hoax along the lines of Jussie Smollett" ... Grenell, who is openly gay, said Thursday on “The Story with Martha MacCallum.” Buttigieg, who is openly gay and was once cordial with Pence, has fueled criticism of the vice president, repeatedly calling him anti-gay in recent weeks as his campaign has gained momentum. Grenell, who called Pence a friend, accused the mayor of South Bend of drumming up accusations to boost fundraising and asked why he didn’t speak up while Pence was the governor of Indiana.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WEIGHS FED PICK OPTIONS: Trump administration officials are weighing options as the prospective nomination of Stephen Moore and Herman Cain to the Federal Reserve Board face continued opposition from Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee, Fox Business has learned ... Neither Cain nor Moore have been officially nominated by President Trump to serve on the Fed’s board, though the president has stated his preference for their nomination. Officials have been told by GOP senators on the committee that at least for now, there appears to be almost no support for Cain, a former GOP presidential candidate and pizza industry executive, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The appointment of Moore, a former opinion columnist and fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, has some support, but probably not enough to ensure Senate confirmation, this person added. The continued resistance to both potential nominations among Republicans involves several issues that GOP officials believe are problematic, from Cain’s alleged sexual misconduct, to Moore’s unpaid child support and taxes.
THE SOUNDBITE
APOLOGY IOU'S, ANYONE? - "To those who branded the primetime hosts on this network as state news for daring to tell the truth, not just our truth, but the truth? You owe us an apology." – Laura Ingraham, on "The Ingraham Angle," reflecting on the release of the Mueller report. (Click the image above to watch the full video.)
TODAY'S MUST-READS
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel: Mueller report scandal no one is talking about . . . the Obama administration.
George Conway calls Trump a cancer that needs to be removed in blistering op-ed.
New York Post: Kate Smith’s 'God Bless America' out at Yankee Stadium over racist songs.
MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
Trump administration: USMCA would lead to North American auto industry surge.
HBO jabs Trump for 'Game of Thrones' tweet on Mueller report.
California gas prices surge to five-year high.
STAY TUNED
On Fox News:
Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Fallout from the release of the Mueller report with the following special guests: Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's attorney; Newt Gingrich, former House speaker; Dan Bongino, Fox News contributor and former Secret Service agent; George Papadopoulos, former Trump campaign aide.
Hannity, 9 p.m. ET: Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's attorney; former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and Fox News contributor
On Fox Business:
Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: Special guests include: U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.; U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas.
Making Money with Charles Payne, 2 p.m. ET: Herman Cain, prospective Trump nominee for the Federal Reserve Board.
On Fox News Radio:
The Fox News Rundown podcast: "Mueller Report Made Public" - Fox News Radio White House correspondent Jon Decker and Fox News Radio Capitol Hill correspondent Jared Halpern break down the Mueller report. Plus, North Korea has tested its first missile since the failed nuclear disarmament summit in Hanoi. Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China," weighs in. Don't miss the good news with Fox News' Tonya J. Powers.
Plus, commentary by Judge Andrew Napolitano, Fox News senior judicial analyst.
Want the Fox News Rundown sent straight to your mobile device? Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher.
The Brian Kilmeade Show, 9 a.m. ET: Fallout from the release of the Mueller report with the following guests: Jonathan Swan, political reporter for Axios; John Dowd, President Trump's former attorney; Chris Wallace, "Fox News Sunday" anchor; Geraldo Rivera, Fox News correspondent-at-large; Shannon Bream, "Fox News @ Night" host. Phil Knight, co-founder and current Chairman Emeritus of Nike, Inc., on Tiger Woods' Masters victory and Colin Kaepernick
The Todd Starnes Show, Noon ET: Todd gets more reaction to the Mueller report from U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga. and Sara Carter., investigative reporter and Fox News contributor.
On Fox News Weekend:
Cavuto Live, Saturday, 10 a.m. ET: U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, on House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler calling on Special Counsel Mueller to testify by May 23. Former Whitewater Independent Counsel Ken Starr on the findings of the Mueller report and the Attorney General William Barr's decision to allow President Trump’s lawyers to read the report. New reaction as a Democratic lawmaker calls for a hunger strike at the border to “shut down ICE.” And the victims of the Columbine shooting are honored as one survivor, Austin Eubanks, remembers that day, 20 years later.
Fox News Sunday, Sunday, 2 p.m., 7 p.m. ET: Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's attorney.
#TheFlashback
1995: A truck bomb destroys the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people
1993: The 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ends as fire destroys the structure after federal agents began smashing their way in; about 80 people, including two dozen children and sect leader David Koresh, are killed.
1775: The American Revolutionary War begins with the battles of Lexington and Concord.
Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Have a good day and weekend! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Monday morning.
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