Sunday: Graham, Richmond, Parscale, Zarif
The 2020 Democratic primary field grew even bigger this week with former Vice President Joe Biden officially jumping into the race, making him the 21st contender for his party's nomination.
"We are in the battle for the soul of this nation," Biden said in his launch video that opened with the 2017 violent clashes between white nationalists and protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, which resulted in the death of civil rights activist Heather Heyer.
At the time, President Trump faced backlash for his response to the violence when he claimed there were "very fine people on both sides."
Trump defended his comments on Friday when asked if he still stands by his statement: "If you look at what I said, you will see that that question was answered perfectly. And I was talking about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general."
"Whether you like it or not, he was one of the great generals," the President added.
One week since the release of a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report, the President escalated his attacks on the investigation into possible coordination between his 2016 campaign and Russia, calling it "a coup" in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity Thursday night.
"This was an attempted overthrow of the United States government," he said.
Attorney General Bill Barr will appear before both the Senate and House Judiciary Committees this coming Wednesday May 1st and Thursday and 2nd, respectively, to testify about his handling of Mueller's investigation and respond to criticism that he has tried to downplay its findings.
The House Judiciary Committee has formally requested that Mueller testify before May 23, but Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he is "not interested" in having Mueller come before his panel.
And Sec. of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the U.S. will no longer grant sanctions waivers to any country importing Iranian oil. This comes as part of the administration's 'maximum pressure campaign' after it designated part of Iran's military forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this month.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif warned of an accidental clash between the U.S. and Iran as a result of escalating tensions. "We do not want conflict, we do not want confrontation… but I think the U.S. administration is putting things in place for accidents to happen," he told Margaret Brennan in an interview to air this Sunday on "Face the Nation."
With the latest news and analysis from Washington, don't miss Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) this Sunday on "Face the Nation" (@FaceTheNation).
We'll talk with Judiciary Committee Chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC), R-S.C., about Attorney General Barr's testimony on the Mueller report next week.
We'll hear from Rep. Cedric Richmond (@RepRichmond), D-LA, about the newest addition to the 2020 Democratic primary field -- former Vice President Joe Biden.
We'll have more of Margaret Brennan's interview with Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale (@parscale).
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif (@JZarif) will sit down with Margaret Brennan to discuss escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S.
And as always, we'll turn to our panel for some perspective on the week that was:
Lanhee Chen (@lanheechen) of the Hoover Institution
Jamal Simmons (@JamalSimmons) of Hill.TV
Amy Walter (@amyewalter) of The Cook Political Report, "The Takeaway"
Mark Landler @MarkLandler of The New York Times
On TV, the radio, and streaming online, don't miss "Face the Nation" this Sunday! Click here for your local listings.
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