First Draft on Politics: A Confidential Letter

A 20-page letter contends that President Trump cannot illegally obstruct the special counsel investigation. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Monday, June 4, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [President Trump’s lawyers have privately laid out a broad view of his constitutional powers in their fight to keep him from being forced to testify in front of a grand jury in the special counsel investigation.]( President Trump’s lawyers have privately laid out a broad view of his constitutional powers in their fight to keep him from being forced to testify in front of a grand jury in the special counsel investigation. Doug Mills/The New York Times Good Monday morning, Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today: - President Trump’s lawyers have [privately laid out a broad view]( of his constitutional powers in their fight to keep him from being forced to testify in front of a grand jury in the special counsel investigation. In a 20-page letter sent to the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, they contend that the president cannot illegally obstruct any aspect of the investigation. - The United States and China ended trade talks in Beijing on Sunday without any announced deals and with Chinese officials [refusing to commit]( to buying more American goods without a Trump administration agreement not to impose further tariffs on Chinese exports. The apparent impasse left the administration with the issue of what to do about China’s industrial policies. - Even before Mr. Trump declared on Friday that the summit meeting with Kim Jong-un was back on, delegations from the United States and North Korea [had arrived in Singapore]( to work out the logistics of the June 12 conference. The two sides will be negotiating everything from the site of the meeting to the number of meals and breaks and what gifts could be exchanged. - After a turbulent first year confronting friendly fire from Mr. Trump, Senate Republicans are entering the summer before the midterm elections [feeling more hopeful]( about retaining their narrow majority than at any time since the president’s election. - A head-spinning field of 27 candidates is competing on Tuesday to become governor of California. But the leading contenders are burdened by [political and personal baggage]( Jerry Brown, the current governor, is stepping off the stage because of term limits. — The First Draft Team HAVE A CONFIDENTIAL NEWS TIP? Do you have the next big story? Want to share it with The New York Times? We offer several ways to get in touch with and provide materials to our journalists. [Learn More »]( ADVERTISEMENT Los Angeles | June 26, 7 p.m. [The Midterm Elections 2018: Prospects for Los Angeles, California and the Nation]( The Times’s Los Angeles bureau chief, Adam Nagourney, will moderate a discussion about the midterm elections with the White House correspondent Maggie Haberman; Nate Cohn, correspondent for “The Upshot,” and Alex Burns, a national political correspondent. What will the results mean for California and the nation? You’ll be in the room with four of the most respected political journalists in the field today. [• Buy tickets »]( News Analysis [Trump Veers to a Korea Plan That Echoes Failures of the Past]( By MARK LANDLER AND DAVID E. SANGER [President Trump said after meeting with North Korea's envoy that he no longer wanted to use the term “maximum pressure.”]( President Trump said after meeting with North Korea's envoy that he no longer wanted to use the term “maximum pressure.” Tom Brenner/The New York Times President Trump never tires of pointing out that his predecessors left him the “mess” of a nuclear-armed North Korea — a legacy of errors he vows not to repeat. But as Mr. Trump announced Friday that [his summit meeting with Kim Jong-un was back on]( there were moments when he echoed Bill Clinton in his failed effort to settle another North Korea crisis nearly a quarter-century ago. Rather than sticking with the demand that North Korea disarm immediately, Mr. Trump opened the door to a prolonged freeze on the North’s existing nuclear capability, with vague declarations that disarmament will follow. That is essentially the deal Mr. Clinton embarked on with Mr. Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il-sung, in 1994. Rather than warning that he would keep the younger Mr. Kim’s feet to the fire with sanctions until he complies, Mr. Trump said after meeting in the Oval Office with North Korea’s spy chief that he no longer wanted to use the term “maximum pressure,” a phrase drilled into the vocabulary of his aides for the past year. And rather than keeping a single-minded focus on nuclear weapons, Mr. Trump suggested that the most tangible outcome of his meeting in Singapore might be some kind of peace agreement to formally end the Korean War — a lofty idea that featured in a 2005 joint statement that inaugurated George W. Bush’s failed effort with Kim Jong-il, the current leader’s father, to halt the North’s nuclear progress. Such comparisons are always inexact, because Mr. Trump has inherited a far more complex, potentially catastrophic, problem than his predecessors faced: a North Korea that has solved the mysteries of manufacturing a nuclear bomb, tested one with 15 times the power of the blast that leveled Hiroshima, and is now on the brink of proving its missiles could reach the continental United States. [Read more »](  [Senator Jon Tester cleaning an air filter for a tractor on his farm in Big Sandy, Mont.]( [Jon Tester, a Democrat in Deep-Red Montana, Isn’t Sweating Trump’s Threats]( By NICHOLAS FANDOS President Trump may have put a big target on Senator Jon Tester’s back, but the Democrat is confident that Montanans know where he stands. [Senior officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were found to routinely overrule inspectors’ recommendations that gun dealers lose their licenses for making illegal sales.]( [When Guns Are Sold Illegally, A.T.F. Is Lenient on Punishment]( By ALI WATKINS Regulators are wary of punishing gun stores that break the law, a review of internal inspection reports and interviews with officials show. [As the influential coal executive Joseph W. Craft III, second from left, has lobbied the Environmental Protection Agency, he has maintained a close relationship with its chief, Scott Pruitt, center.]( [A Courtside View of Scott Pruitt’s Cozy Ties With a Billionaire Coal Baron]( By STEVE EDER, HIROKO TABUCHI AND ERIC LIPTON The E.P.A. chief, who has reversed Obama-era rules on coal mining, enjoyed a superfan experience at a University of Kentucky basketball game — courtesy of an industry executive. [The Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, finds himself in an uncomfortably familiar spot: trying to be a voice of moderation and a statesman in an administration that sees diplomatic norms and protocols as signs of weakness.]( [How Mnuchin Keeps a Steady Grip in a Tug of War on Trade]( By ALAN RAPPEPORT The Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, has managed to stay in Mr. Trump’s good graces while advocating a more free-trade approach, but that balancing act is showing signs of strain. [President Trump’s threat of tariffs on allies and adversaries alike has put companies like Plug Power, which makes fuel cells at a factory in Latham, N.Y., at risk.]( [This Factory Was Ready to Expand. Then Came the Trump Trade Wars.]( By JIM TANKERSLEY The president’s tariffs, and threats of retaliation, undermine a tax break’s benefits for Plug Power, a maker of fuel cells. [President Trump will host a Ramadan dinner in the week ahead, restoring a tradition observed by past Democratic and Republican administrations.]( [Trump to Hold Ramadan Dinner After Skipping It Last Year]( By MAGGIE HABERMAN The dinner, which is anticipated to be held on Wednesday, will be hosted by a president who has a long history of making inflammatory statements about Muslims. [From left, the pastors Bob Willis, Elias Loera and Paul Binion at Christian Temple Fresno in California.]( [Is Trump Racist? Is There a Double Standard? California Pastors Debate.]( By ELIZABETH DIAS In a discussion with The New York Times, three pastors in the heavily evangelical Central Valley talked about race, the president and double standards. [President Trump wants to inject more competition into the prescription drug market by bolstering negotiating powers under Medicare, but some doctors are skeptical.]( [Trump Plan to Lower Drug Prices Could Increase Costs for Some Patients]( By ROBERT PEAR Beneficiaries might see higher out-of-pocket costs if drugs are moved from one part of Medicare to another. [Doug Ford, the Progressive Conservative candidate for premier of Ontario, posing with supporters during a campaign rally.]( [Will a Canadian Donald Trump Become Ontario’s Leader?]( By CATHERINE PORTER The right-wing populist Doug Ford is running to be premier of Canada’s most powerful province. His brother Rob was famous as Toronto’s crack-smoking mayor. [Fewer Immigrants Are Reporting Domestic Abuse. Police Blame Fear of Deportation.]( By CORA ENGELBRECHT The immigrant population grew significantly in Houston last year, yet the city saw a 16 percent drop in domestic violence reports from Hispanics. LIKE THIS EMAIL? 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