Opinion: Putin knew. America didn’t.

Also: A surprising new story about police violence against an African-American man. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, November 30, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist First, if you’re looking for a gripping long read this weekend, I recommend [“I don’t want to shoot you, brother,”]( by ProPublica’s Joe Sexton. It’s a surprising and important tale about a police shooting. The latest Russia plea. When I sat down this summer with Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, he wanted to make one overriding point: People weren’t paying enough attention to the [suspicious ties]( between the Trump businesses and Russia. People are starting to pay more attention now. The guilty plea yesterday by Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, makes clear that Trump remained focused on his business throughout much of the 2016 presidential campaign. Among other things, he was lobbying the Russian government to approve a Trump Tower in Moscow. And he was lying to the American public about it. “Trump’s actions represented an extraordinary conflict of interest,” [National Review’s David French]( writes. “Americans were listening to Trump’s praise of Putin without realizing his profit motive.” Lying about the deal, in turn, gave Russia leverage over Trump, as the former F.B.I. agent Asha Rangappa has explained. Russia “has continued to have leverage since, because he never disclosed it and his people lied about it,” [she]( The plea by Cohen fits a pattern by Robert Mueller, the special counsel, the journalist Marcy Wheeler [has]( [argued](. Mueller is laying out Trump officials’ misdeeds in court documents to make sure the investigation’s findings are made public even if Trump’s acting attorney general tries to suppress them. Still, no one should be sanguine about the situation. For years, Vladimir Putin has known more than the American public about Trump’s behavior, my colleague [Michelle Goldberg]( points out, which means that “every day of the Trump presidency is a national security emergency.” Also in The Times, the legal experts [Barry Berke, Noah Bookbinder and Norman Eisen]( write, “We can expect even bigger bombshells — and White House threats against Mueller — in the coming weeks.” And if you’re still trying to make sense of it all, The Times Editorial Board has [a nice explainer](. To return to Schiff’s point: There remain [many unanswered questions]( about Trump’s questionable business dealings in Russia long before he ran for president — which could give further leverage to Putin. The full Opinion report from The Times follows. [Cohen Lied. Here’s Why It Matters.]( Lauren Simkin Berke By THE EDITORIAL BOARD With Michael Cohen’s latest deal, the special counsel shows he is unafraid of crossing Donald Trump’s red lines on Russia. Op-Ed Columnist [Trump Is Compromised by Russia]( By MICHELLE GOLDBERG Michael Cohen’s latest plea is proof. [What Cohen’s Deal Means for Trump]( By BARRY BERKE, NOAH BOOKBINDER AND NORMAN EISEN We can expect even bigger bombshells — and White House threats against Mueller — in the coming weeks. From Our Columnists [When MAGA Fantasy Meets Rust Belt Reality]( By PAUL KRUGMAN Trump can’t run America by yelling at people. Who knew? [It’s Not the Economy, Stupid]( By DAVID BROOKS How to conduct economic policy in an age of social collapse. [A European Goes to Trump’s Washington]( [President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump board Air Force One Thursday, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.]( President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump board Air Force One Thursday, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Tom Brenner for The New York Times By IVAN KRASTEV And what he finds is disturbing. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [A Wistful Bipartisan Summit in Houston]( By MIMI SWARTZ James Baker is still sharp at 88, and Barack Obama is a mere 57, but you couldn’t help feeling that the current climate had left them, and their audience of political moderates, out in the cold. [Europe’s Jew Hatred, and Ours]( By BARI WEISS A new CNN poll reveals that one in four Europeans are anti-Semitic. ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. [The Senate Steps Up on Saudi Arabia]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Even Lindsey Graham — Lindsey Graham! — is offended by the administration’s callousness toward the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. [Send Judges to the Border, Not Troops]( [Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America trying to reach the United States, return to Mexico after being hit by tear gas by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after attempting to illegally cross the border wall into the United States in Tijuana, Mexico, earlier this week.]( Migrants, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America trying to reach the United States, return to Mexico after being hit by tear gas by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after attempting to illegally cross the border wall into the United States in Tijuana, Mexico, earlier this week. Adrees Latif/Reuters By ROBERTA JACOBSON AND DAN RESTREPO The Trump administration’s handling of the migrant crisis is a failure. Here are concrete steps it could take to make things better. More in Opinion [Occupy Hungary]( By ROSA SCHWARTZBURG Students have one day left to save Central European University from being driven out of the country. [How Twitter’s Ban on ‘Deadnaming’ Promotes Free Speech]( By PARKER MOLLOY Trans people are less likely to speak up if they know they’re going to be constantly told they don’t exist. Sunday Review [To Help Prevent the Next Big Wildfire, Let the Forest Burn]( By ASH NGU AND SAHIL CHINOY California needs to abandon the idea that trees are always worth saving and that fire is always a threat. Instead, it should let modest wildfires burn. In Case You Missed It [What Do We Do About Climate Change?]( And Representative Ro Khanna on the future of the Democratic Party We’ve got more newsletters! You might like Frank Bruni’s newsletter.  Go beyond the headlines and behind the curtain with Frank Bruni’s candid reflections on politics, culture, higher education and more every week. [Sign up for Frank Bruni’s email.](  ADVERTISEMENT letters [The Legal Maneuvering Over Manafort]( Readers question whether the president should be permitted to issue a pardon, and offer a spy-novel-worthy theory of double agents and moles. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018