via Bleacher Report
Golden State Warriors @warriors
First bucket of the #NBAPlayoffs , courtesy of DMC
#NBAonABC https://t.co/A5Iq8sFvss
Warriors on NBCS @NBCSWarriors
It’s officially playoff time. https://t.co/RYHDPKWTPw
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Juul doesn’t want teens hitting its vapes. The company promises.
Facing a rising tide of criticism for underage use of its e-cigarettes, vape manufacturer Juul is taking a new approach aimed at cracking down on teen use. Specifically, the company launched an online tool designed to track how specific vapes find their way into the hands of minors.
SEE ALSO: FDA boss threatens ‘game over’ for e-cigs if companies won’t keep kids away
The idea, as explained by Juul, seems pretty straightforward. If a parent or teacher confiscates one of the company’s e-cigarettes from a minor, the authority figure should head on over to a new web portal and enter the device’s serial number along with a few additional details. This will, at least in theory, allow the company to figure out how the youths are getting their tiny hands on its nicotine delivery devices.
“We are implementing product traceability that will allow us, through confiscated product, to identify where youth are obtaining Juul products,” reads a page explaining the company’s “youth prevention” efforts. “We will share this information with FDA, and take actions immediately to address these access points for youth.”
Image: screenshot / juul
In other words, if Juul realizes that a bunch of confiscated vapes were all sold from the same shop, perhaps that shopkeeper isn’t ID’ing customers well enough. Or maybe someone’s older brother buys his vape goods there.
Either way, it’s an additional piece of a multifaceted plan to prevent kids from vaping. Another interesting idea, seemingly in development, is to lock each vape to a specific age-verified user.
“We will develop a new user-authenticated Juul device that can prevent those underage from using the product,” explains the aforementioned youth prevention page.
While it’s unclear how the latter idea would work exactly, it’s heartening to see the company make an effort to reduce teen vaping — even it requires parents narcing out their own kids.
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NBA UK @NBAUK
The Klaw with another clutch bucket!
#WeTheNorth #NBASaturdays https://t.co/MSNmDTsTqt
Dime @DimeUPROXX
Nick Nurse’s coaching resume lives inside his jacket https://t.co/ZyFYpkjjO7
NBA @NBA
Khem Birch adjusts for the heads up flush! #NBAPlayoffs
#BlueAndWhiteIgnite 82
#WeTheNorth 79
Bleacher Report NBA @BR_NBA
Rough start for Lowry…
0 points on 0-5 shooting in 25 minutes
https://t.co/JRvpfCBAG0
Bleacher Report NBA @BR_NBA
Kawhi is coming alive
(via @Raptors) https://t.co/JKfiO63hfF
NBA @NBA
Interior passing from Kawhi to Siakam!
#WeTheNorth 58
#BlueAndWhiteIgnite 59#NBAPlayoffs on @ESPNNBA https://t.co/UUOG7rF0jE
Orlando Magic @OrlandoMagic
GO D.J., CAUSE THAT’S OUR D.J. https://t.co/SJu6VK8x8z
via Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report NBA @BR_NBA
Playoff Spicy P
(via @NBA)
https://t.co/EimRFrZw2L
NBA TV @NBATV
Kawhi throwing it down!
#WeTheNorth | #NBAPlayoffs https://t.co/si86Oe7RWH
Josh Robbins @JoshuaBRobbins
Kawhi Leonard has 11 of the Raptors 19 points. He also has an assist that led to a 2-point basket. So he has played a direct role in 13 of Toronto’s 19 points.
NBA @NBA
DJ Augustin tosses it up to beat the shot-clock! #NBAPlayoffs
#BlueAndWhiteIgnite 18
#WeTheNorth 18
via Orlando Pinstriped Post
Toronto Raptors @Raptors
Playoff Kawhi: Activated https://t.co/LdklWNmusO
BarDown @BarDown
Kawhi X Game of Thrones
#NBAPlayoffs https://t.co/UidvAe6gIy
via Bleacher Report
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NBA UK @NBAUK
The Klaw with another clutch bucket!
#WeTheNorth #NBASaturdays https://t.co/MSNmDTsTqt
Dime @DimeUPROXX
Nick Nurse’s coaching resume lives inside his jacket https://t.co/ZyFYpkjjO7
NBA @NBA
Khem Birch adjusts for the heads up flush! #NBAPlayoffs
#BlueAndWhiteIgnite 82
#WeTheNorth 79
Bleacher Report NBA @BR_NBA
Rough start for Lowry…
0 points on 0-5 shooting in 25 minutes
Bleacher Report NBA @BR_NBA
Kawhi is coming alive
(via @Raptors) https://t.co/JKfiO63hfF
NBA @NBA
Interior passing from Kawhi to Siakam!
#WeTheNorth 58
#BlueAndWhiteIgnite 59#NBAPlayoffs on @ESPNNBA https://t.co/UUOG7rF0jE
Orlando Magic @OrlandoMagic
GO D.J., CAUSE THAT’S OUR D.J. https://t.co/SJu6VK8x8z
via Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report NBA @BR_NBA
Playoff Spicy P
(via @NBA)
https://t.co/EimRFrZw2L
NBA TV @NBATV
Kawhi throwing it down!
#WeTheNorth | #NBAPlayoffs https://t.co/si86Oe7RWH
Josh Robbins @JoshuaBRobbins
Kawhi Leonard has 11 of the Raptors 19 points. He also has an assist that led to a 2-point basket. So he has played a direct role in 13 of Toronto’s 19 points.
NBA @NBA
DJ Augustin tosses it up to beat the shot-clock! #NBAPlayoffs
#BlueAndWhiteIgnite 18
#WeTheNorth 18
via Orlando Pinstriped Post
Toronto Raptors @Raptors
Playoff Kawhi: Activated https://t.co/LdklWNmusO
BarDown @BarDown
Kawhi X Game of Thrones
via Bleacher Report
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The sixth-seeded Brooklyn Nets drew first blood in their first-round matchup against the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers with a 111-102 victory in Game 1 at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.
Nets guard D’Angelo Russell led the way for the Nets, posting 26 points and four assists in his playoff debut. Caris LeVert added 23 off the bench.
Jimmy Butler went off for 36 points in a losing effort for the Sixers. Joel Embiid had 22 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in 24 minutes after being a game-time decision with a knee injury.
Joel Embiid’s Knee Injury Has Sixers’ Promising Season in Jeopardy
Joel Embiid’s status for Game 1 was up in the air because of left knee soreness, but come tipoff time, he was on the court.
And it was clear early on the Nets were having a hard time containing him.
While scoring eight of his team’s first 10 points, Embiid drew a pair of fouls on Brooklyn center Jarrett Allen in the opening 53 seconds. He single-handedly outscored the Nets 8-7 through the first four-and-a-half minutes while drawing three fouls.
And that’s for someone who was originally listed as “doubtful.”
Even though Embiid had little trouble getting to the line early on, he was not his typical dominant self on this day. The two-time All-Star missed eight of his first nine shots in the first half while going 0-of-5 from three-point range.
ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo
Joel Embiid went 1-of-9 from the field including 0-5 from 3-point range in the first half.
Embiid struggled to score against anyone other than Jarrett Allen.
When guarded by Allen, Embiid had 8 points.
However, Embiid scored just 3 points, going 0-6 when guarded by other Nets. https://t.co/x8xJLL5Ud7
The 7-footer logged just 11 minutes in the first half, including just four in the second quarter. He made his way into the locker room with three minutes and change remaining before halftime, a move that had been planned to help keep his knee loose, according to the broadcast.
He finished the game 5-of-15 from the floor.
Embiid’s struggles not only affected his numbers, but they also exposed Philadelphia’s lack of balance on this day. It took Butler going off for 23 points in the first half to keep the halftime deficit under double digits.
When Embiid is healthy, there are few big men in the league who are better—just look at his numbers from Game 1. But per usual with the 25-year-old center, injuries remain an issue. Although he made a career-high 64 appearances during the regular season, he appeared in just 10 games after the All-Star break.
The Sixers may be able to make some noise with Butler leading the way and the likes of Ben Simmons, JJ Redick and Tobias Harris contributing. But without a healthy and effective Embiid, their championship chances take a serious hit.
Nets’ Three-Point Shooting Key to Pulling Off Upset
Entering the series, it seemed as though Russell was going to have to be on top of his game for Brooklyn to pull off the upset.
Well, the first half of Game 1 proved otherwise.
Russell had a hard time finding his shot early on, going just 2-of-11 from the field. And yet, the Nets were still able to be in control for the majority of the opening 24 minutes.
How? They caught fire from beyond the arc.
Joe Harris, who led the NBA at 47.4 percent from three-point range this season, knocked down three triples in the opening quarter to help his team keep pace with the Sixers early on.
NBA @NBA
9 PTS, 3 3PM for Joe Harris in the opening frame! #WeGoHard #NBAPlayoffs
Brooklyn then used a 20-1 run midway through the first half to open up a 16-point lead.
Brooklyn Nets @BrooklynNets
He does *this* #everyday too
@DeMarreCarroll1 | #WeGoHard https://t.co/LoNw6SgpR0
NBA @NBA
Caris LeVert with 8 PTS to start Q2! @BrooklynNets have knocked down 8 3PM for the game!
#WeGoHard 44
#PhilaUnite 29#NBAPlayoffs on @ESPNNBA https://t.co/VTvizXp5bN
Russell had just two points by the time the dominant run came to an end.
The Undefeated @TheUndefeated
When D’Angelo Russell goes 0-6 from the field in the first quarter
But the Nets are up nine on the Sixers https://t.co/ALw5sladA8
It’s worth noting that the All-Star point guard entered the game shooting 46.3 percent from the floor and 48.8 percent from the perimeter this month. On this day, though, his teammates had his back.
The Nets made seven of their first 11 three-point attempts in this game and knocked down eight in the first half overall. If not for Butler putting the Sixers on his back, this contest would have been over early.
They wound up hitting 11 for the game. Four different players made at least two, with LeVert going 3-of-3.
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Remember when it looked like Caris LeVert had a Gordon Hayward-like injury?
He has 23 points and is +21 in Game 1 of the playoffs months later. Unreal.
As a team, Brooklyn was in the middle of the pack from distance this season, tied for 14th at 35.3 percent. It did, however, rank fifth with 12.8 triples per game. The Nets averaged 11 per game against the Sixers during the regular season, helping them earn a split in the season series.
That type of prowess could loom large all series, especially if Russell gets back into his recent rhythm.
What’s Next
The best-of-seven series will remain in the City of Brotherly Love for one more game, as Philadelphia will host Brooklyn on Monday night.
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That’s one big plane.
The Stratolaunch, the world’s largest aircraft that just so happens to be designed to “enable airline-style access to space,” successfully took flight for the first time in the Mojave Desert on April 13. The plane is the brainchild of Paul G. Allen’s Stratolaunch Systems Corporation, and sports an impressive 385-foot wingspan.
SEE ALSO: SpaceX landed three of its boosters for the first time, and yep, it was impressive
That’s not all that makes this plane remarkable. According to the company, the Stratolaunch has a max takeoff weight of 589,670 kilograms and will one day assist in the launching of rockets — and satellites — into space.
“We all know Paul would have been proud to witness today’s historic achievement,” Jody Allen, the trustee of the Paul G. Allen Trust, is quoted as saying in a press release announcing the launch. “The aircraft is a remarkable engineering achievement and we congratulate everyone involved.”
Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975. He died late in 2018 as a result of complications from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Importantly, Saturday’s flight was just a test — no rockets were launched from the giant plane as it soared at 17,000 feet. Instead, notes the press release, the pilot “[performed] a variety of flight control maneuvers to calibrate speed and test flight control systems, including roll doublets, yawing maneuvers, pushovers and pull-ups, and steady heading side slips.”
Still though, if the Stratolaunch ends up working as intended, this test marks a big step in the journey toward reducing the cost of putting satellites into space. Which, frankly, makes this freakishly large plane all the cooler.
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Remember to really savor Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker when it hits theaters in December.
Yes, it’s the final chapter in the narrative that George Lucas kicked off with the first Star Wars back in 1977. But it’s also notably going to be the last big screen Star Wars movie for some time. How long? At least a couple of years, according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.
SEE ALSO: The ‘Star Wars Episode IX’ trailer is here at last
“We’re going to take a hiatus for a couple of years … And we’re taking the time to really look at where this is going from the standpoint of a saga,” Kennedy said in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly.
She also added: “We’re not just looking at what the next three movies might be, or talking about this in terms of a trilogy. We’re looking at: What is the next decade of storytelling?”
Kennedy took care to confirm that previously announced projects are still going to happen. Rian Johnson, director of what is arguably one of the best Star Wars movies ever made in The Last Jedi, is still booked to deliver a series. So are Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who are apparently collaborating with Johnson in some capacity.
That’s the thrust of the news: after Skywalker, expect a multi-year hiatus for Star Wars movies. Speaking as a 41-year-old super fan who saw the original movie in utero, grew up watching VHS copies on repeat, and has consumed virtually every Star Wars book, comic, game, and movie released since the series began… thank the maker.
Seriously. The healthiest thing Star Wars can do once Luke Skywalker’s story is finished is take a huge step back. For the past few years it’s felt like Disney wanted to give Star Wars a Marvel-style cinematic universe, but it hasn’t really panned out that way.
Across two spin-offs — Rogue One and Solo — we’ve gotten a little more narrative texture fleshing out the Skywalker Saga, but nothing that feels like an essential building block for the larger story. They’re true spin-offs. Compare that to the MCU vibe of delivering consequential story developments even in the movies that fall between each big Avengers feature.
The healthiest thing Star Wars can after Episode IX is take a huge step back.
The Marvel series works because it’s built on the foundation of a vast lineup stories that have been around for decades. The MCU as we know and love it today spins off of something that is already a popular player in our cultural consciousness without any real connection to the movies.
Star Wars is a different beast. Its cinematic universe isn’t additive; it’s central to the entire fiction. When George Lucas delivered the Original Trilogy, those three movies were all the source material for books, comics, games, and TV projects that came later. Rogue One and Solo both have connections to the Clone Wars animated series, but they don’t move the series along in quite the same way as individual MCU releases.
For all the examples of toxic fandom that have sprung up in the years since Disney took the reins on Star Wars, there’s been one constant underlying all the criticism: “This doesn’t feel like my series anymore.” From Luke Skywalker’s shift into a fallible, three-dimensional character to the centering of strong female characters in recent stories, some fans who feel like they’ve owned a piece of Star Wars since 1977 grumble at the perceived betrayal.
That’s not to suggest the toxic behavior — which comes from a small-but-loud segment of the community, to be clear — is in any way justified. (Or, conversely, that there isn’t any room for thoughtful criticism.) But the people who are out there making Star Wars fandom a bad time for everyone need to be rendered powerless.
A hiatus is in Disney’s best interests. It’s worked for Star Wars before, with both the break between the Original Trilogy and the prequels, and then the prequels and Disney’s current trilogy. In both cases, the time away allowed the surrounding universe to grow and the brand to grow stronger.
BB-8 and D-O in STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.
The same thing is going to happen this time, but with Disney embracing a much broader view of what Star Wars fandom looks like. The toxic elements in Star Wars fandom need to come to grips with the idea that this is a series for anyone and everyone who’s interested. By stepping away from the movies for a time, Disney shuts down one of the most highly publicized avenues for problematic fandom gatekeeping.
It’s not like Star Wars is just going to disappear during the hiatus. The Disney theme park is about to open, and it will expose entire families to the experience of living in the universe. Books and comics will continue to arrive at a regular pace. Video games too, most likely. And of course, TV projects like The Mandalorian, the Cassian Andor series, and a Clone Wars revival will kick off even before Skywalker hits theaters.
Like the past breaks between Star Wars movies, the universe will still find ways to flourish. The difference now is Disney bringing a broader focus to bear on that material. It’s not just a series of books, games, and comics for a particular type of fan; it’s a range of different ideas and approaches aimed at every type of appetite.
As someone who generally consumes every shred of Star Wars media released, I can tell you that the post-Disney acquisition storytelling has really stepped up. There’s more depth and nuance in new Star Wars stories than ever before, and it’s all coming from a wider and more diverse array of perspectives than ever before.
Disney wants Star Wars to be something for everyone because that’s just good business. I can’t think of a better strategy for ensuring that than taking a few years away from the movies and letting the universe outside the sanctified George Lucas Skywalker Saga take shape.
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via Pga
Jason Appelbaum @JasonAppelbaum1
Tiger just misses eagle on 8 which would have tied him for the lead. Taps in for birdie. Tiger currently
8-under, one stroke off
the pace https://t.co/tV907N2qPB
Masters Tournament @TheMasters
Tiger Woods is heating up.
#themasters https://t.co/5XqxvwQbXE
Tiger Tracker @GCTigerTracker
Missed it. Just left. Easy birdie. He’s within 1 shot of the lead on a Saturday at the Masters. We’ll take it. We don’t have a choice, of course, but we’ll take it.
Sporting Life @SportingLife
Tiger Woods started slowly on moving day – but he’s added a birdie at seven to this one at six
Remember – all 14 major wins saw him lead after three rounds. He’s two back…
via CBSSports.com
CBS Sports @CBSSports
It’s back-to-back birdies for Tiger Woods.
He moves into red figures for the day and just two shots behind the top of the leaderboard. https://t.co/xwJN4eUDQA
Masters Tournament @TheMasters
Is this birdie the spark that will light Tiger Woods’ round?
The past champion gets back to six under par for the Tournament on hole No. 6. https://t.co/ycAvjY1KLc
via PGATour
via CBSSports.com
via CBSSports.com
via BBC Sport
via BBC Sport
via BBC Sport
via CBSSports.com
via CBSSports.com
via CBSSports.com
via Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
All bets on Tiger this weekend
Masters Tournament @TheMasters
Two birdies in a row places Tiger Woods at six under par, one off the lead.
#themasters https://t.co/uJ5oICPr34
via Bleacher Report
Masters Tournament @TheMasters
With a birdie on No. 11, Tiger Woods moves to four under par.
#themasters https://t.co/kfH5uh0NTh
Tiger Tracker @GCTigerTracker
Stats – 7/9 greens, 3/7 fairways and 15 putts.
CBS Sports @CBSSports
Tiger Woods’ bogey on the 8th hole drops him to -2.
You can watch his round in our Featured Groups with Jon Rahm (-5) and Haotong Li (+1): https://t.co/rpU5KDKc6b https://t.co/tJvsD5mOVX
CBS Sports @CBSSports
“You betcha!”
Tiger Woods connects for birdie on the 6th hole to move to -3. https://t.co/vFf3fBLP3h
via Golfweek
Tiger Tracker @GCTigerTracker
Missed it. Bogey at 5. Back to even on the day and 2 under for the tournament.
Tiger Tracker @GCTigerTracker
BOOM. Made it. Birdie at the fourth to get to 3 under. Let’s go.
Tiger Tracker @GCTigerTracker
Made it. Great save on the first. Hopefully that 8-foot make is a little early confidence booster. Now off to birdie the second hole. Onward….
via PGATour
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Jason Appelbaum @JasonAppelbaum1
Tiger just misses eagle on 8 which would have tied him for the lead. Taps in for birdie. Tiger currently
8-under, one stroke off
the pace https://t.co/tV907N2qPB
Masters Tournament @TheMasters
Tiger Woods is heating up.
#themasters https://t.co/5XqxvwQbXE
Tiger Tracker @GCTigerTracker
Missed it. Just left. Easy birdie. He’s within 1 shot of the lead on a Saturday at the Masters. We’ll take it. We don’t have a choice, of course, but we’ll take it.
Sporting Life @SportingLife
via CBSSports.com
CBS Sports @CBSSports
It’s back-to-back birdies for Tiger Woods.
He moves into red figures for the day and just two shots behind the top of the leaderboard. https://t.co/xwJN4eUDQA
Masters Tournament @TheMasters
Is this birdie the spark that will light Tiger Woods’ round?
The past champion gets back to six under par for the Tournament on hole No. 6. https://t.co/ycAvjY1KLc
via PGATour
via CBSSports.com
via CBSSports.com
via BBC Sport
via BBC Sport
via BBC Sport
via CBSSports.com
via CBSSports.com
via CBSSports.com
via Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
All bets on Tiger this weekend
Masters Tournament @TheMasters
Two birdies in a row places Tiger Woods at six under par, one off the lead.
#themasters https://t.co/uJ5oICPr34
via Bleacher Report
Masters Tournament @TheMasters
With a birdie on No. 11, Tiger Woods moves to four under par.
#themasters https://t.co/kfH5uh0NTh
Tiger Tracker @GCTigerTracker
Stats – 7/9 greens, 3/7 fairways and 15 putts.
CBS Sports @CBSSports
Tiger Woods’ bogey on the 8th hole drops him to -2.
You can watch his round in our Featured Groups with Jon Rahm (-5) and Haotong Li (+1): https://t.co/rpU5KDKc6b https://t.co/tJvsD5mOVX
CBS Sports @CBSSports
“You betcha!”
Tiger Woods connects for birdie on the 6th hole to move to -3. https://t.co/vFf3fBLP3h
via Golfweek
Tiger Tracker @GCTigerTracker
Missed it. Bogey at 5. Back to even on the day and 2 under for the tournament.
Tiger Tracker @GCTigerTracker
Tiger Tracker @GCTigerTracker
Made it. Great save on the first. Hopefully that 8-foot make is a little early confidence booster. Now off to birdie the second hole. Onward….
via PGATour
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Some allies of President Donald Trump say the White House is in for a rude awakening. | Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo
Trump White House aides insist they have nothing to fear from the special counsel’s nearly 400-page report, though not all Trump allies are so confident.
While most of official Washington is on edge ahead of the expected release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s full report, Trump White House aides are shrugging off the fevered anticipation with a simple message: been there, done that.
Several of President Donald Trump’s aides conceded that the nearly 400-page report, which Attorney General Bill Barr says he’s aiming to release this coming week, will likely include new details about Trump’s behavior that are at a minimum embarrassing.
Story Continued Below
But they believe they have a powerful shield against renewed Democratic outrage and media scrutiny in the form of the principal conclusions Barr highlighted in a four-page letter three weeks ago—namely that Trump’s 2016 campaign did not collude with the Russian government, nor was there sufficient evidence to charge Trump with obstruction of justice.
“This is a report where everybody already knows the outcome,” said David Bossie, Trump’s 2016 deputy campaign manager. Trump, he added, “wants it out. He just wants it out and over with.”
“In 400 pages there’s bound to be something the media will spin as embarrassing for the president and then that will be the story,” said a White House official, “but will it be collusion? Will it be obstruction? Will it be conspiracy? Will it be criminality? No, no, no and no.”
Even as more than a dozen Trump aides and associates interviewed by POLITICO professed confidence that the report would inflict little new damage on a president they say has already been exonerated by Barr, some Trump allies say the White House is in for a rude awakening.
The confetti and streamers that followed Barr’s letter last month were “completely unfounded,” said a former White House official, who called his former colleagues “blissfully unaware of what’s to come.”
Barr’s March 24 letter said that Mueller found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, nor enough evidence to support charges that Trump obstructed the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian election interference. Yet legal experts and Democratic investigators are watching for potentially damning new disclosures about everything from Trump’s efforts to stymie Mueller’s work to possible signs of Kremlin influence over the president which, even if not criminal, could raise serious national security alarms.
Democrats say that explains why a counteroffensive from the White House and Barr is already underway, pushing back not only into additional House Democratic investigations into the president’s actions but also arguing for probes into the president’s opponents, including those who helped launch Mueller’s investigation.
“Why should Radical Left Democrats in Congress have a right to retry and examine the $35,000,000 (two years in the making) No Collusion Mueller Report, when the crime committed was by Crooked Hillary, the DNC and Dirty Cops?” Trump tweeted before playing a round of golf at his Virginia golf club on Saturday. “Attorney General Barr will make the decision!”
Trump allies are already on message. “We’re going to move on and we’re going to get to the bottom of how this insidious last two years began,” said Bossie.
Barr set the stage for a potential investigation in Wednesday testimony before a Senate panel, telling lawmakers that he believed the surveillance of the Trump campaign that occurred during the Obama administration may have been an abuse of power.
“I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal,” Barr said, adding that he plans to look at whether that spying was “adequately predicated.”
Trump allies say they are confident the president and his aides will be unscathed in the report’s section that focuses on Russian interference in the campaign. They’re aware the embarrassing and potentially harmful information will come in the report’s other section on obstruction of justice, where Mueller declined to prosecute Trump but indicated the report “does not exonerate him.”
Even so, the president’s advisers — including his lawyers, a team at the Republican National Committee, and pro-Trump outside groups — are gearing up to pore over and respond to the report. Trump attorney Jay Sekulow has a team of a half dozen attorneys and staffers in place, each assigned to a particular section of the report in order to be able to push back quickly.
Along with Sekulow, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani — who has recently maintained a relatively low profile— will also play a lead public role in responding to the report, according to a person familiar with the plans.
Giuliani, who has spent more than a year undermining public confidence in the Mueller investigation, has made few major television appearances since late January, when he claimed that talks to build a Trump Tower in Moscow talks may have lasted all the way through November 2016, the month Trump was elected. The statement contradicted the president’s public claims that he had no business deals with Russia while campaigning — and infuriated the White House.
In a text message to POLITICO, Giuliani suggested that the arrival of a nearly 400 page report on the president by a team of veteran prosecutors would be no big deal.
“Sure why not start at page one — and if it’s what I think, I can do it pretty quick,” wrote the former New York mayor.
And reached on vacation in Palm Springs, Trump legal adviser Joe diGenova was even more casual about the report’s impending release. “I’ve given it very little thought,” he said.
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