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--> A midday take on what's happening in politics and how to have a sense of humor about it.*

*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha--breaks down crying hysterically.

The Hill's 12:30 Report: Barr gets grilling | Defends handling of Mueller report | Mueller twice asked Barr to release key findings | Trump lashes out on Twitter over union backing Biden | Retweets 58 messages of support | Biden cements status as Dem front-runner | White House refuses Dem request on security clearances | Poll finds Trump approval at two-year high | Ben Stiller testifies on Syrian refugee crisis | Baby sea lion in police car goes viral

HAPPENING THIS MORNING

Talk Mueller to me:

"OK, so picture this. March 24, there we were..."

Attorney General William Barr Bill BarrHarris faces pivotal moment with Supreme Court battle Hillicon Valley: DOJ proposes tech liability shield reform to Congress | Treasury sanctions individuals, groups tied to Russian malign influence activities | House Republican introduces bill to set standards for self-driving cars McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE's report about the Russia investigation. http://bit.ly/2LhFAn3

Livestream of the hearing: https://cs.pn/2DIXqck

Live blog of hearing with updates: http://bit.ly/2LhFAn3

NEWS FROM THE HEARING:

Barr defended his handling of the Mueller report: Barr said he wanted to release a report summary quickly because the public was in a "high state of agitation." In Barr's words: "The body politic was in a high state of agitation. ... Former government officials were confidently predicting that the president or members of his family would be indicted. ... That's what we were trying to do -- notify the people of the bottom-line conclusions." http://bit.ly/2VG3NHD

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On former White House counsel Don McGahn testifying: Barr said he had objections to McGahn testifying. Barr also denied that Trump had waived executive privilege by allowing McGahn to speak to Mueller. "No, we haven't waived his privilege," Barr says. http://bit.ly/2Wk78JI

On Trump's right to fire Mueller: "If the president is being falsely accused, which the evidence now suggests that the accusations against him were false, and he knew they were false, and he felt that this investigation was unfair, propelled by his political opponents and was hampering his ability to govern, that is not a corrupt motive for replacing an independent counsel," Barr said. http://bit.ly/2Wk78JI

Barr doesn't think the word 'spying' is negative: Barr defended his use of the word "spying," saying the term encompasses all kinds of surveillance. In his words: "I don't think spying has any pejorative at all ... I'm not going to back off the word 'spying.' " http://bit.ly/2Wk78JI

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS:

Behind-the-scenes: Here are a few photos explaining how C-SPAN prepares for a big hearing like this: http://bit.ly/2ZNc8sl

Will Barr testify before the House tomorrow?: Barr threatened not to show up at tomorrow's House Judiciary Committee hearing, controlled by Democrats. https://nyti.ms/2ZN5LFg

What's happening now: The committee has recessed and will continue the hearing at 12:50 p.m. EDT.

It's Wednesday. I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com -- and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.

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NEWS IN THE MUELLER REPORT SAGA

Don't butcher my words:

The night before before Attorney General William Barr's first testimony, The Washington Post's Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky reported that a few days after Barr wrote a four-page summary of the special counsel's Russia investigation findings, special counsel Robert Mueller wrote a letter to the attorney general complaining that Barr's memo "did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance" of the 448-page Russia report. https://wapo.st/2Wi1ebI

What this means: "The letter and a subsequent phone call between the two men reveal the degree to which the longtime colleagues and friends disagreed as they handled the legally and politically fraught task of investigating the president. Democrats in Congress are likely to scrutinize Mueller's complaints to Barr as they contemplate the prospect of opening impeachment proceedings and mull how hard to press for Mueller himself to testify publicly." https://wapo.st/2Wi1ebI

What makes this messy: William Barr and Robert Mueller have been good friends for years. Their families are friends, as well. But the disagreement in the handling of the Mueller report may test their friendship. Their relationship over the years: http://bit.ly/2vuoPKN

New this morning -- here's the actual letter Mueller sent to Barr in late March:

READ IT HERE: Here’s a copy of Mueller’s March 27 letter to Barr, complaining that his initial summary “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of Mueller’s work. pic.twitter.com/ZSKeR0V0Ar — Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) May 1, 2019

Read the full letter: http://bit.ly/2UPd5g8

What we now know: Special counsel Robert Mueller twice asked Attorney General William Barr to release Mueller's own summary of his findings. http://bit.ly/2ZRU7t5

FOR CONTEXT:

Read William Barr's four-page memo to Congress from March 24: https://nyti.ms/2CBRAcp

Compared to the full 448-page Mueller report: http://bit.ly/2PjwJiW

Who has seen the less-redacted Mueller report? -- Only two lawmakers: "Barr offered access to a less-redacted version of the report to just 12 members of Congress -- six Democrats and six Republicans. But as of Tuesday afternoon, only Rep. Doug Collins Douglas (Doug) Allen CollinsTrump, Biden running neck-and-neck in Georgia: poll Trump, Biden tied in Georgia: poll Loeffler paints herself as 'more conservative than Attila the Hun' in new campaign ad MORE, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamSenate GOP aims to confirm Trump court pick by Oct. 29: report The Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting Senate GOP sees early Supreme Court vote as political booster shot MORE, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, opted to view it. A third, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellFEC flags McConnell campaign over suspected accounting errors Poll: 59 percent think president elected in November should name next Supreme Court justice Mark Kelly: Arizona Senate race winner should be sworn in 'promptly' MORE said he planned to review the report later Tuesday." (Via Politico's Kyle Cheney and Marianne Levine): https://politi.co/2DDdg8f

OTHER NEWS THIS MORNING

President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE had ~a morning~:

This morning, President Trump retweeted 58 messages (yes, 58 tweets!) from people expressing their support for the president after a firefighters union backed former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Democratic groups using Bloomberg money to launch M in Spanish language ads in Florida Harris faces pivotal moment with Supreme Court battle MORE's 2020 run.

This is an interesting post to retweet: The president retweeted one message that reads, "My husband a New York City firefighter for 15 years will be voting Trump 2020 all the way." And after the retweet: That Twitter account's display name changed to, "F--- Donald Trump." Screenshot of Trump's retweet: http://bit.ly/2WhkSov

Nope, can't have them!:

This morning, the White House rejected a request from House Democrats as part of their probe into security clearances. http://bit.ly/2GVJwFO

White House counsel Pat Cipollone sent a nine-page letter to the House Oversight and Reform Committee: The letter argued that the committee is "harassing and seeking to punish political opponents" and argued that lawmakers' request showed "a total disregard for individual privacy." Read the letter on CNN: https://cnn.it/2GXkXIO

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

To vax or not to vax, that was their question:

BuzzFeed News's Claudia Koerner asked every 2020 candidate what they think about vaccines. http://bit.ly/2Y2b8il

On the Democratic side: "Nine Democrats provided answers to BuzzFeed News, describing vaccines as necessary, but taking different approaches to exemptions. Others have supported vaccines but have not publicly spoken about who should be able to refuse immunity -- a topic that's prompted heated debate and protests in some communities as low vaccination rates have put more people at risk of infection."

For example: A spokesperson for South Bend, Ind., where Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice Hillicon Valley: FBI, DHS warn that foreign hackers will likely spread disinformation around election results | Social media platforms put muscle into National Voter Registration Day | Trump to meet with Republican state officials on tech liability shield MORE is mayor, told Buzzfeed: "The law of the land for more than a century has been that states may enforce mandatory vaccination for public safety to prevent the spread of a dangerous disease. Pete does support some exceptions, except during a public health emergency to prevent an outbreak."

On the Republican side: "The White House pointed to recent comments made by President Trump supporting vaccination, though he's previously spread false claims about their danger."

Read the full responses: http://bit.ly/2Y2b8il



On a two-year high:

According to a new CNN poll, President Trump's approval rating is at its highest number in two years. The numbers: 43 percent approve of Trump; 52 percent disapprove. http://bit.ly/2ZNUjsZ

Hello, this is front-runner Joe Biden. How may I direct your call?:

Via The Hill's Max Greenwood, "Less than a week into his 2020 presidential bid, Joe Biden is cementing his status as the Democratic front-runner." http://bit.ly/2PCI5yK

How so: "The former vice president has been on the receiving end of attacks, not just from his primary opponents but from President Trump himself, a sign of the outsize political presence Biden commands."

NOTABLE TWEETS

It's a sea lion! In the back! Of a police car!:

At approximately 8:33 am Officer Pereira #21222 received call of a sea lion in distress on us-101 northbound, south of the South San Francisco exit. Upon arrival The sea lion appeared healthy and uninjured. The sea lion was taken to Peninsula SPCA for treatment. pic.twitter.com/Wzbuo6L5S5 — CHP San Francisco (@CHPSanFrancisco) April 30, 2019

Full size photos -- it looks like it's going to escape: http://bit.ly/2PHYxOj

I hope the committee brought in Jack Byrnes to grill Greg Focker:

Everyone watching the Barr hearing is missing Ben Stiller testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee right now pic.twitter.com/SLOBULN9uv — Robbie Gramer (@RobbieGramer) May 1, 2019

Why actor Ben Stiller is at the Capitol: Stiller pleaded with Congress to help Syrian refugees. http://bit.ly/2J8j8dy

Lol: "I watch you all on television all the time," Stiller told lawmakers. "You all look much taller in-person." http://bit.ly/2J8j8dy

Video of Ben Stiller arriving on Capitol Hill: http://bit.ly/2DJsB7k

Livestream of Ben Stiller's testimony: https://cs.pn/2ISBfof

ON TAP

The House and Senate. President Trump and Vice President Pence are in Washington, D.C.

11:45 a.m. EDT: The Senate voted on a confirmation. The Senate's full schedule today: http://bit.ly/2vCsV3f

1:15 p.m. EDT: Vice President Pence speaks at the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association Aguila Awards Luncheon.

1:30 p.m. EDT: First and last votes in the House. The House's full schedule today: http://bit.ly/2UTTOtM

2 p.m. EDT: Vice President Pence receives a briefing from Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Baltimore field office.

2:15 p.m. EDT: President Trump meets with members of Congress.

6:05 p.m. EDT: Vice President Pence speaks at the National Day of Prayer Task Force Celebrating Dinner at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.

6:30 p.m. EDT: President Trump and first lady Melania Trump Melania TrumpTrump privately blamed Black Americans for lacking initiative: report The Hill's 12:30 Report: Ginsburg lies in repose Melania Trump: Ginsburg's 'spirit will live on in all she has inspired' MORE participate in the National Day of Prayer. Vice President Pence and second lady Karen Pence Karen Sue PenceHow fast population growth made Arizona a swing state The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Biden, Pence elbow bump at NYC Sept. 11 ceremony The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Trump seeks to flip 'Rage' narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill MORE also join.

WHAT TO WATCH

This morning: Attorney General William Barr testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Mueller Report. Livestream: https://cs.pn/2vF4jqZ

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...

Today is National Chocolate Parfait Day.

It's one of the most beautiful months of the year in D.C.:

Via Washingtonian, here are 17 things to do around the Washington, D.C., area in the month of May: http://bit.ly/2GNgcA5

And to break up your Wednesday afternoon, here's a cat who is shocked to discover it has ears: http://bit.ly/2V8u41J