Sunday: Blunt, Markey, Inslee, Lujan Grisham, Kinzinger
After notching seven guilty pleas and charges for 34 individuals, special counsel Robert Mueller's probe is showing signs of wrapping up after dominating some 21 months of headlines and speculation.
"I think the only people who are still hung up on it are Democrats and the media," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters Friday, after predicting on "Fox & Friends" that the investigation could be "coming to a conclusion."
"I think the public did move on a long time ago," Sanders added.
But Mueller's fate notwithstanding, fierce scrutiny of President Trump and his associates appears far from over.
Congress is preparing for three days of long-awaited hearings with Michael Cohen next week, including widely anticipated public testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. The former Trump fixer will also testify in a closed door hearing before the House Intelligence Committee which has launched its own wide-ranging probe of the president. And beyond Capitol Hill, Trump associates are still mired in criminal cases and multiple investigations have been launched into the 2016 presidential inaugural committee.
In the Vietnamese capital city, Hanoi, American and North Korean diplomats are meeting ahead of President Trump's historic second rendezvous with Kim Jong Un. Despite Kim's pledge for "complete denuclearization," the two leaders' first summit yielded few concrete steps towards disarming the regime. President Trump now faces broad skepticism headed into his Feb. 27-28 meeting, including from his own intelligence chiefs.
At the Vatican, top Catholic officials have gathered for a landmark four-day sex abuse summit. The gathering comes after decades of scandals that have roiled the church across multiple continents. Pope Francis called on those gathered to seize the opportunity to "transform this evil into a chance for understanding and purification."
And along the U.S.-Mexico border, construction began this week on wall repairs that President Trump trumpeted as progresstowards his long-promised barrier. After declaring a national emergency last week, the administration has sought to aggressively redirect funds towards wall construction.
But states and organizations have filed a myriad of lawsuits seeking to block the president's move on constitutional grounds. And House Democrats on Friday introduced a resolution to undo the order. The chamber will vote on the measure Tuesday, setting up a conundrum for Senate Republicans apprehensive to rebuke the president.
"The president is not above the law in any way," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday, on a call with reporters. "This action that he is taken, he is circumventing the constitution."
With the latest analysis from Washington, don't miss Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) on "Face the Nation"(@FaceTheNation).
We'll hear from top ranking Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt (@RoyBlunt), the Senate deputy whip.
Sen. Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) will join us. The Massachusetts Democrat is the leading sponsor for a "Green New Deal" resolution in the Senate.
Washington state's Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) and New Mexico's Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham(@GovMLG) will sit down with us. The two Democrats are in the nation's capital for this weekend's governors conference.
We'll talk to Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) for his first television interview since deploying to the U.S.-Mexico border this month.
And as always, we'll turn to our panel for perspective on the week that was:
- Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) of The Federalist
- Susan Page (@SusanPage) of USA Today
- Jamal Simmons (@JamalSimmons) of "Hill.TV"
- Edward Wong (@ewong) of The New York Times
On television, the radio, and streaming online, don't miss "Face the Nation" this Sunday! Click here to check your local listings.
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