Rachael Bade and Rosalind S. Helderman annotate the Mueller testimony, and Arelis Hernández explains the turmoil in Puerto Rico.

Rachael Bade and Rosalind S. Helderman annotate the Mueller testimony, and Arelis Hernández explains the turmoil in Puerto Rico.

‘It is not a witch hunt’

Former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III testified publicly before two House panels today, for the first time addressing questions about his investigation of President Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election.





Democratic lawmakers dug into the episodes of potential obstruction of justice that Mueller examined in his 448-page report. Republicans, meanwhile, grilled the former special counsel on alleged impropriety in his investigation.





Congressional reporter Rachael Bade says Mueller was a reluctant witness.





In his final report, Mueller declined to conclude whether Trump obstructed justice and therefore committed a crime. Politics reporter Rosalind S. Helderman says the former prosecutor has left behind a long and detailed report that he calls a “living message” of his work and the capstone of his career.





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Protesters intensify calls for Puerto Rico’s governor to resign

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló continues to refuse demands to resign, after nearly two weeks of protests sparked by the publication of a scandalous group chat involving his inner circle, and years of economic and political crisis.





A string of Rosselló’s closest aides have stepped down over the scandal, which saw published 889 pages of private chats between the governor and other officials from last year. In the messages, they made misogynistic jokes, made fun of gay people, joked about shooting San Juan’s female mayor and made light of Hurricane Maria victims.





Members of the governor’s party have turned against him in Puerto Rico’s legislature, with public calls for impeachment. Should he step down, Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez – who has been rejected by protesters because of her ties to Rosselló – would likely replace him as leader of the U.S. territory, which has faced more than a decade of recession and continues to struggle after a devastating hurricane.





“This is sort of an accumulated outrage,” says politics reporter Arelis Hernández . “The chats were sort of the spark that made the piece of dynamite explode … but the fuse was lit a long time ago.”





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