Trump Suddenly Having Second Thoughts About People Seeing the Mueller Report

On March 25, shortly after Attorney General William Barr told Congress that the Mueller report “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities,” Donald Trump was asked if he wanted to see the special counsel’s report “completely released,” to which he responded: “Up the attorney general, but it wouldn’t bother me at all . . . Wouldn’t bother me at all.” Four days later, he maintained that position, saying he would have no problem letting Congress, and then the public, see the full monty. “I have nothing to hide . . . absolutely nothing to hide,” he told reporters. Yet, strangely, after a week of taking victory laps about “No Collusion,” “No Obstruction,” and “Complete and Total EXONERATION” (fact-check: false), the president appears to be changing his view on full disclosure.

On Monday, he tweeted, “No matter what information is given to the crazed Democrats from the No Collusion Mueller Report, it will never be good enough.” Then on Tuesday, the president told his followers that “NOTHING WILL EVER SATISFY THEM,” adding: “It is now time to focus exclusively on properly running our great Country,” emphasis ours. Later, speaking to reporters, President Let the People See It described calls to release the full report as “somewhat of a waste of time” and “a disgrace.” These comments followed an official statement from White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders that Democrats are “sore losers” who need to move on.

Why the sudden about-face when it comes to letting the public read Robert Mueller’s findings itself, rather than taking the word of an Attorney General who got the job by pre-emptively declaring that obstruction investigations are bullshit? As many have pointed out, it’s possible that after a week of celebrating, aides have successfully jammed it into Trump’s head that, no, the report does not “exonerate” him and, actually, he doesn’t come off that well in it, not that they’d ever admit it while doing the rounds on Fox News. According to New York, West Wing officials’ initial relief about Mueller not having sufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump and Russia has turned to fear about “a president inclined to inflict self-harm by taking things too far.” “There will be plenty of unfavorable things about the president in the full report, which we think will eventually come out, so let’s not go overboard saying there’s no wrongdoing. Let’s move on,” a senior White House official told Olivia Nuzzi.

Moving on, though, may not be entirely up to a White House suddenly worried about the details of an investigation they were reportedly toasting with Champagne just the other day. On Monday, House Democrats said they would issue subpoenas for Mueller’s “full and complete report, its underlying evidence and related matters” if Barr did not cough them up by their stated deadline of . . . today.

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Avocado futures traders are betting on a Trump-induced economic apocalypse

Make sure to stock up on avocados while you still can:

The Hass price from Michoacan, the heartland of Mexico’s avocado production, jumped 34 percent on Tuesday. That would be the biggest one-day gain since April 13, 2009. Prices will keep rising if Trump makes good on his threat, said Roland Fumasi, vice president and senior analyst at Rabobank. “Avocado prices could easily double or triple if we shut down the border,” Fumasi said by telephone.

Prices probably spiked as importers boosted purchases ahead of any potential border issues, Fumasi said. Additionally, a heatwave last year in California delayed the harvest, making the U.S. even more reliant on Mexican supplies. “Because California is late and it’s a small crop, Mexico is accounting for nearly all of our avocados,” he said.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Americans would run out of avocados in three weeks if Trump makes good on his threat to shut the Mexican border, a move that economists say would also cause “the entire U.S. auto industry [to] shut down within a week.” It’s almost like sealing a border with our third-largest trading partner is a terrible idea!

Trump’s Fed pick sounds like a real catch

Another day, another shining example of the president’s commitment to only hiring “top of the line professionals”:

Court records from Stephen Moore’s divorce paint President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Federal Reserve Board as a brazen philanderer who openly talked about his mistress in front of his kids—and then continued shorting his ex-wife on tens of thousands of dollars of alimony and child support even after a judge held him in contempt of court. “I have two women, and what’s really bad is when they fight over you,” Moore said to the couple’s children in front of his wife, Allison, “at their son’s graduation ceremony,” court records claim.

Allison also claimed Stephen left documents around their house related to his relationship with Wallmark, including “bills showing extravagant dinners,” charges for gasoline purchased near Wallmark’s home and an airline ticket bought by Stephen with Wallmark listed as a passenger. Allison’s complaint said she saw a T-shirt that Stephen had bought for Wallmark with the Nike logo and the words “Doing it.”

In a statement, Moore told CNBC, “Allison, our kids and my current wife would hope that the media would please respect our privacy. I am happy to speak to the media on any matters related to the economy or my views on the Fed.” Incidentally, in 2014, Moore argued that economic success is based on strong family values and a “culture of virtue,” writing: “What is irrefutable is that marriage with a devoted husband and wife in the home is a far better social program than food stamps, Medicaid, public housing or even all of them combined.”

Area man-toddler cranky about inability to fire guy who won’t do his bidding

“I guess I’m stuck with you,” the president reportedly told Jerome Powell, his hand-picked Federal Reserve chair, during a recent phone conversation. Trump, as you may have heard, is mad at Powell for raising interest rates—in order to keep the economy from overheating—and thinks the Fed chair—who he can’t fire—is “loco” for not following the demands of a guy whose career highlights include managing to bankrupt a casino.

U.K.’s May Seeks Deal With Labour to Break Brexit “Logjam” (Bloomberg)

Hedge Fund’s Route to 30 Percent Fees: Cash Advances to Hip-Hop Artists (Bloomberg)

Woman Arrested After Entering Mar-a-Lago, Allegedly with Malware (W.S.J.)

Wynn Resorts Executives Tried to Hide Misconduct Allegations Against Steve Wynn, Regulators Say (W.S.J.)

Goldman C.E.O. Turns Up in Saudi Arabia as Khashoggi Uproar Fades (Bloomberg)

China’s stock market is up 27 percent this year, giving it new leverage in trade talks (CNBC)

JPMorgan Harnesses A.I., Aiming to Boost Client Services (W.S.J.)

Trump Can’t Seem to Remember His Father Was Born in New York, Not Germany (Intelligencer)

BlackRock Starts Biggest Organization Overhaul in Years (Bloomberg)

Burglary suspect busted when stove falls off truck (UPI)