This week is one we will look back on in a month, six months, a year or even four years and analyze how what happened this week set the course for much of what was to come in Donald Trump's presidency.
Consider:
- Trump traveled to Singapore for a first-of-its-kind summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
- Family separations -- as a result of the Trump administration's hard-line immigration policies -- leapt into the public consciousness
- The Department of Justice's inspector general released a more than 500-page report detailing missteps by then-FBI Director James Comey -- among others -- during the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server
- Paul Manafort, Trump's onetime campaign chairman, is incarcerated after repeatedly trying, prosecutors allege, to tamper with potential witnesses in his upcoming trial
- Longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is apparently willing to cooperate with federal officials in hopes of lessening the charges against him
That's a LOT of balls up in the air, with the potential to fundamentally reshape the arc of Trump's presidency when they all land. Immigration. North Korea. The special counsel. The FBI.
It's enough news for a month in most past administrations. In Trumpworld, it's a week -- composing 32 (!) major headlines.
Monday:
- Jeff Sessions primed to overhaul asylum law
- US unveils new Russia sanctions over cyberattacks
- Ex-WH aide says he was tasked with taping together Trump's torn-up papers
- Trump's North Korean gamble ends with 'special bond' with Kim
Tuesday:
- Trump says Kim 'trusts me, and I trust him'
- Trump says accused human rights abuser Kim Jong Un 'loves his people'
- Trump on Kim: Without exchange of insults 'we wouldn't have been here'
- Trump and Kim agree to recovery of US military remains from Korean War
- George Conway -- Kellyanne Conway's husband -- defends Mueller's investigation
Wednesday:
- Trump seemingly justifies brutal actions by Kim and says he's 'very smart'
- Trump admin expected to suspend August US-S.Korea drill as Pentagon scrambles
- Trump declares North Korea 'no longer a nuclear threat'
- Trump's personal attorney splits with his own legal team
- WaPo: Pruitt enlisted EPA aide, donors to find his wife a job
- Court documents inadvertently reveal witnesses in Paul Manafort case
Thursday:
- Sessions cites Bible to defend immigration policies resulting in family separations
- Trump returns salute of North Korean general at summit, state media footage reveals
- Comey's actions 'extraordinary and insubordinate,' report says
- US warns of North Korea cyber campaign, days after historic summit
- Trump pick for South Korea ambassador says North Korea remains a nuclear threat
- Trump approves tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods
- New York attorney general sues Trump Foundation
- Top White House communications aide has history of rhetoric strongly critical of Trump
- Sessions takes responsibility for keeping Rosenstein in charge of Russia investigation
Friday:
- Judge sends Paul Manafort to jail, pending trial
- Trump says he wants 'my people' to 'sit up at attention' like North Koreans, later says he's 'kidding'
- Trump pounces on Justice Department report findings
- Trump rejects immigration compromise
- Michael Cohen seeks restraining order to stop Stormy Daniels' lawyer from speaking to the press
- Judge: No immediate restraining order against Avenatti
- White House legislative affairs director tells staff he's leaving
- Cohen signals openness to cooperating with federal investigators
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