Rep. John Ratcliffe (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

A leading Republican investigator put former special counsel Robert Mueller in the hot seat Wednesday for the obstruction of justice aspect of his sweeping Russia investigation.

In a fiery five-minute session, Rep. John Ratcliffe said Mueller’s repeated insistence both in his report and in public that President Trump had not been exonerated by his two-year investigation was a “violation every principle and the most sacred of traditions about prosecutors not offering extra prosecutorial analysis about potential crimes that aren’t charged.” Read Full Story

• The Hill: David Axelrod: Mueller ‘Does Not Appear as Sharp’ as He Was 6 Years Ago
• The Daily Caller: Sen Joni Ernst: Crisis at Border Is ‘Very Real’ Following Tour of Detention Facilities
• The Washington Free Beacon: Four NRA Board Members Request Outside Investigation
• Politico: Poll: Democrats Becoming Increasingly Skeptical of Fairness of Russia Probe
• Axios: Read Robert Mueller’s Opening Statement to Congress

(AP)

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that President Donald Trump is “on to something” with his attacks against four Democratic congresswomen of color, trying to paint the rhetoric as part of a larger political debate ahead of 2020. 

“He’s right about the squad wanting to turn us into a socialist country . . . I think the president’s on to something. We’re having a big debate now and next year about what we want America to be like,” McConnell said during an interview with Fox News Business. 

McConnell’s comments come after Trump railed against four Democrats— Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — during a campaign really in North Carolina saying they “see our nation as a force of evil.” Read Full Story

• Washington Examiner: Trump Rips Puerto Rico Leaders as Governor Faces Pressure to Resign
• The Daily Caller: House Dems Unload on ‘the Squad’ — ‘It Makes People’s Skin Crawl’
• PJ Media: Liberal Austin Cries Out for Republicans to Save It From Democrat Homeless Policy
• Townhall: Female Trump Supporters Call Out CNN Anchor for ‘Manipulative Questions’
• National Review: House Dems Join Republicans to Kill Impeachment Resolution

(AP)

President Donald Trump’s attack on left-wing congresswomen, including a jab that they should “go back” to their homelands, created a furor. But former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says it may be an example of Trump’s strategic genius.

“It is useful to remember Trump doesn’t play tic-tac-toe. He plays chess, and he’s very often setting up a much deeper fight than you might think, looking at the surface,” Gingrich told the Washington Examiner.

Trump’s tweet was widely criticized as inaccurate and offensive, with three of four apparent targets actually born in the U.S. But Gingrich said Trump wanted to raise the profile of his targets and to more closely link their socialist and anti-Israel policies with the Democratic Party. Read Full Story

• The Hill: Trump: ‘Petrified’ Democrats Afraid to Take On Progressive Congresswomen
• The Daily Caller: Lindsey Graham Defends Trump, Calls Ocasio-Cortez And Co. ‘A Bunch Of Communists’
• The Washington Free Beacon: Trump Admin Tackles Rising Anti-Semitism
• Townhall: Barr Compares Anti-Semitism to a Metastasizing Cancer
• PJ Media: Uncomfortable Truth: No, Russia Didn’t Elect Trump