Sunday: Giuliani, Collins, Scalise, Richmond, Sanger
Following Thursday's report from the Justice Department inspector general, President Trump falsely claimed Friday that the watchdog's findings "totally exonerates" him of collusion or obstruction of justice. The report reached neither conclusion, though it found much to criticize in examining the FBI's conduct investigating Hillary Clinton's email server.
The president's comments came in a freewheeling and unprecedented impromptu press conference on the White House lawn that sparked headlines on a number of topics.
"I don't want to see a nuclear weapon destroy you and your family," President Trump said Friday, asked how he could reconcile with Kim Jong Un in light of the regime's disastrous human rights record and the death of American Otto Warmbier. "I want to have a good relationship with North Korea," he added.
The president also distanced himself from former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, hours before Manafort was jailed, accused by special counsel Robert Mueller of witness tampering.
President Trump claimed again that he was not worried about former attorney Michael Cohen cooperating with federal prosecutors, in their investigation into Cohen's finances. Cohen, whose home and office was raided by federal investigators in April, told CBS News he is facing heavy pressure to cooperate and is feeling isolated, accusing President Trump and his allies of turning on him.
Also Friday, President Trump announced hefty tariffs on Chinese goods in light of China's "unfair trade practices," reigniting fears of a global trade war. Despite a threat to impose further tariffs should the country retaliate, Chinese officials quickly announced plans to respond with "taxation measures of the same scale and with the same intensity."
And Thursday night, Democrats trounced the Republicans 21-5 at the congressional baseball game, one year after a gunman opened fire on GOP congressmen practicing for the annual match.
Off the field, House Republicans are circulating a draft of a possible immigration compromise that could pass the chamber as early as next week. A discharge petition by House lawmakers, and public outcry over the Trump administration's policy to separate families at the border, has galvanized momentum over the issue.
Join "Face the Nation" (@FaceTheNation) moderator Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) this Sunday for a discussion of all these topics and more.
We'll question Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani), attorney to President Trump.
We'll also hear from Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins), R-Maine.
Rep. Cedric Richmond (@reprichmond), D-Louisiana, and Rep. Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise), R-Louisiana, sat down with Margaret Brennan this week to discuss their friendship and Scalise's recovery after last year's attack on the congressional baseball practice. We'll air their interview.
We'll sit down with David Sanger (@SangerNYT), national security correspondent at The New York Times, to discuss his new book: "The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age."
And as always, we'll seek some perspective and analysis with our political panel, this week featuring:
- Rachael Bade (@rachaelmbade) of Politico
- Eliana Johnson (@elianayjohnson) of Politico
- Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) of The Federalist@elianayjohnson
- Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) of The Atlantic
Don't miss "Face the Nation" this Sunday! Click here to check your local listings.
And for the latest from America's premier public affairs program, make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
