Other round of trade talks after a long hiatus N.P.R.'s Emily Fang reports they face on certain prospects for ending a continuing trade dispute this is the 1st in person meeting between a go sheet or since May when talks collapsed but the u.s. And China still don't see eye to eye the 2 largest economies in the world don't agree on how to protect intellectual property and whether export controls on Chinese tech giant Huawei will remain N.P.R.'s Emily Fang new home sales took a bump up last month after 2 straight months of declines the Commerce Department reporting today sales of new homes rose 7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 646000 units the year to date new home sales are up just 2.2 percent a mix close on Wall Street today the Dow was down 79 The Nasdaq up 70 points this is n.p.r. Support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Stations other contributors include the Walton Family Foundation where opportunity takes root more information is available at Walton Family Foundation dot org And the John d. And Catherine t. MacArthur Foundation Ed Mack founded dot org from the w o u b Newsroom I'm Susan teven Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has signed into law a pension bill and it relieving regional universities and community social service agencies from crushing retirement costs the signing ceremony today came a couple of hours after the bill one final passage in the Senate Bevan was joined by lawmakers and stakeholder groups at the signing the Republican governor called lawmakers into a special session last Friday to take up his pension proposal the bill reflecting Bevan's plan narrowly passed a g.o.p. Led House on Monday and one overwhelming support in the Republican dominated Senate the bill aims to relieve regional universities and quasi governmental agencies from massive increases in pension costs. Unemployment rates rose in 52 of West Virginia's 55 counties in June work force West Virginia says jobless rates dropped in Pocahontas County and remained steady in Braxton and Calhoun Counties Jackson County seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate of 3 point one percent was the lowest in the state followed by Jefferson County at 3.3 percent and Berkeley and Pendleton counties at 3.7 percent Calhoun County had the highest unemployment rate at 9.6 percent McDowell County was next at 9.4 percent and Roane County was at 7.9 percent West Virginia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped 110th of a percentage point to 4.7 percent in June it's the lowest rate for the state since October 2008 the national rate was 3.7 percent this morning Governor Mike De Wine opened the Ohio State Fair which this year is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing with a life sized butter sculpture do I Nope in the 166 the dition of the fair this morning with a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by performances by the All Ohio State Fair band and Youth Choir afterward to wind toward the fairgrounds this year's annual better display features a life sized sculpture of whopper Canet and they have Neil Armstrong saluting the American flag after planning it on the moon surface as he stands beside the lunar module the sculpture also includes the Apollo 11 emblem and life sized sculptures of Armstrong and fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins sitting beside the traditional butter cow and calf those are the regional headlines at this hour more news can be found on demand at w o u b o r g from the w o u b Newsroom I'm Susan teven. From n.p.r. News this is All Things Considered I'm Mary Louise Kelly and I'm Ari Shapiro today Robert Muller The man in charge of the investigation that has cast a shadow over the Trump presidency testified before Congress it was the 1st time Miller publicly answered questions about his investigation and report in our after hour of testimony before 2 different House committees Judiciary and Intelligence Robert Mueller was a man of few words in fact often the same few words over and over again I would have to refer you to the report on I believe the answer to the a reporter asked you to report if it's in the report as as stated yes it is right if it's in the report I support and to the extent that I have say thing to say about it it is what we have already put into the report Democrats and Republicans both tried to use Miller's brevity to push their own interpretations of his work in the 1st hearing of the day Democrats kept returning to the section of the mall the report on obstruction of justice and that section the special counsel described 10 instances of possible obstruction by the president and ultimately did not make a decision about whether to prosecute him that's where chairman Jerry Nadler of New York began the hearing the president has repeatedly claimed that your report found there was no obstruction and that it completely and totally exonerated him but that is not what your report said is it correct that is not what the report said Republicans used their time to argue that Muller and his investigation were biased and politically motivated they repeatedly questioned the integrity of his staff and the circumstances of his hiring and the origins of the investigation in one exchange with Tom McClintock of California Miller replied with they were pushed back it's starting to look like you know having desperately tried and failed to make a legal case against the President you made a political case instead you put it in a paper sack lit it on fire dropped it on your porch rang the doorbell and ran. I don't think you of reviewed a report that is as thorough as fair as consistent as the report that we have in front of it so that was Robert Mueller talking to the House Judiciary Committee he then spent the afternoon with members of the House Intelligence Committee now we're joined by Representative Adam Schiff Democrat of California he's chair of the House Intelligence Committee and he led the questioning of Robert Mueller and had a 2nd hearing focused on Russian interference welcome to All Things Considered Thank you it's great to be with you I want to quote a couple headlines to you the Web site of the New York Times says lawmakers extract a little from Muller a c.n.n. Headline described Miller's testimony as shaky The Washington Post went with halting there seems to be widespread assessments that today's hearing to not produce major new revelations do you agree with that I wasn't expecting the hearing to produce major revelations particularly since he was constrained by the just apartment to speak only to the report the goal really wasn't to produce new evidence because frankly the evidence within the report is damning enough but to bring it to light to share with American people the degree to which the Russians intervene in our election how the term campaign welcomed that help how they built it into their communications strategy lied about it to cover it up and that obstructed justice and I think Director Mueller confirmed all of that today I thought his testimony was important to bring that report to the attention American people when we've spoken to you in the past you've said we still have a lot of questions that we need answered but now you're saying today wasn't about answering new questions it was about saying publicly what was already in print well both are true we do have a lot of unanswered questions but we never expected all of them are going to be answered today as I alluded to in my closing questions the director of my closing remarks he was not able to answer questions about whether they did a money laundering investigation or whether they looked into whether the finances of the 1st family caused them to be compromised by Gulf nations or whether people were granted security clearances that shouldn't these are all issues in the. On our intelligence investigation which he wasn't prepared to talk about today but which we have been discussing with members of his staff and obviously we're going to pursue that until we do get answers can you point to any significant new information that did come out today well I think we heard for the 1st time director Mueller say that the president's conduct or anyone's conduct to knowingly receive foreign his systems during a presidential campaign is immoral it's an ethical it's unpatriotic and it's wrong and hearing that come from Director Mueller himself I thought was very powerful you and other Democrats focused on the fact that this report to not exonerate the president and Republican Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio pointed out that exoneration really is not part of a prosecutor's job description Let's listen to a little of what he said in fact in our criminal justice system there is no power or authority to exonerate and this is my concern Mr Miller this is the headline on all of the news channels while you were testifying today all or Trump was not exonerated Mr Miller what you know is that this can't say Moeller exonerated Tromp you don't have the power authority to exonerate Tripp He says a prosecutor's role is to either charge a crime or walk away how do you respond to that well he's treating of course the president like he's a garden variety of defendant who could be indicted that's the fallacy of that whole line of questioning which is the president is unique according to the Office of Legal Counsel he cannot be indicted So what does that leave the special counsel to do well we saw in volume one that where the evidence was insufficient to prove a crime he was willing to say so in volume 2 he was not able to say that and I think by HIPAA cation it's clear that the evidence was sufficient to indict the president even if he could not affirmatively state that he came as close to doing that as he was legally entitled to do just to remind listeners Volume one is about Russian interference in the election Volume 2 was about possible obstruction of justice you so when Mr Turner others make the argument that it's not traditional for a prosecutor to talk about whether they could not exonerate. That says if you're treating the president like anyone else but clearly he is a body of one when it comes to immunity while in office do you think today's hearings will change or have changed anyone's mind on the question of impeachment Well I think you know certainly in the minutes after the hearing it's way too early to tell but you know as I said before the hearing I am very circumspect about how much attitudes change on the subject not just of Trump and Russia but on Trump generally I mean if the racist comments of the president of the last 2 weeks haven't moved people's opinion I don't know that anything but a mother could say would change that but nevertheless it's important that these facts be exposed to the American people and that we finish our investigative work into the areas of compromise that he wasn't able to talk about today that's about protecting the country whether it changes attitudes or not the committee's ranking Republican Devon newness of California described today's hearing this way welcome everyone to the last gasp of the Russia collusion conspiracy theory based on everything you've said in the last 5 minutes doesn't sound like you see this is the last gasp at all well you know Mr Innes took the view I think from the 1st days of the investigation that it wasn't a worthy subject to investigate the foreign power intervening in our election and I think many others have also seen their duty as defending the president whatever the cause may be but we feel different charge and that is to fully understand what the Russians did not fully understand the vulnerabilities of the president on those around him to compromise and to protect the country and that's what we're doing I think a lot of Americans of all political stripes are saying how much longer is it going to take Democrats who want to see the president Peachtree saying how much longer is it going to take and Republicans who think this is all a waste of time are saying this is gone on for more than 2 years already well this is you know what the White House strategy has been it was certainly true of the special counsel's investigation is certainly true of a. Own which is stonewall stonewall stonewall and then blame the Democrats for how long it takes to get answers we've never seen an administration go through such pains to prevent Congress from learning the facts and of course that that means that we have to litigate these things if they wanted the investigation to move more quickly or they could stop these blanket assertions of privilege which they know will ultimately fall in court but their whole point is delay they want to put this off as long as possible while simultaneously blaming others for it just to put this in crass political terms do you expect this investigation to go beyond the 2020 Alexion look I expect us to get answers to whether people serving in the ministration of the president himself are still vulnerable to foreign influence and compromise and we'll do that as long as it takes and I bring a real sense of urgency to this I always have but if the president is going to sue every time we ask for records from a 3rd party which he brought another suit I think just today during the hearing then he has unnecessarily drawing out these investigations that is Congressman Adam Schiff Democrat of California and chair of the House Intelligence Committee thank you for joining us thank you and elsewhere in the program we'll hear from a Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee. Well here in Washington we all have been captivated by the Mahler hearings today even the bridge crowd I wanted to watch it. In a public setting where I could have a Bloody Mary and take it all in but that's Laurel wheeler from Northern Virginia she was here in town to hit up a tavern that opened early so the people like her could watch the hearings bar service started at 11 this morning almost 3000 miles away in Portland Oregon the bipartisan cafe was bustling congressional hearings are their bread and butter it's a politics themed coffee shop 26 year old my Williams usually works in an office but today she was set up at the cafe so she could watch the hearings I think that people don't necessarily pay attention to this because there are so many other like Buzz where the. Issues at hand with a trump and ministration And so to hear these long form reports coming out they deserve attention for sure 28 year old grad student Roland Hart was there at the cafe to he does nothing to do proceedings will result in congressional action he does think mother's testimony still matters I think it's so important that he's going on t.v. And being listened to by the American public and hopefully that will help to disseminate this information to a broader public so they can realize you know how bad a situation this is not everyone is paying such close attention to molars testimony college sophomore Joe man was between classes at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis I'd not even sure what that is man says he's not much into politics but he is a fan of President Trump I've been enjoying him as a president I think that I would vote for him but I don't usually vote back at the Bipartisan cafe 85 year old Portland resident Mo Brock just wanted to have breakfast he thinks the hearings are political posturing as if there's a lot of how but going on that really isn't necessary you might like to see him do something a little more important brags that he'd be thrilled if Congress got back to the business of governing. You're listening to All Things Considered from n.p.r. News. Earlier this year Phoebe Bridger's and Conor Oberst released music from a new collaboration called Better a community center it was out of the blue surprise and in radio land we have the same reaction as some of his friends did was it when did you do this encounter explain when and how they did it and perform it's better oblivion community center on an encore edition of the next World Cafe. World Cafe tonight at 10 on public media we are your n.p.r. Station support comes from Blackburn home furnishings and Nelsonville offering the h.d.t.v. Home design studio by Bassett consultation to create custom room a covers including painted wood leather and upholstery information at Blackburn Home dot com support comes from tantrum theater presenting the tantrum theater summer festival the last 2 weekends in August at Ohio University featuring international physical theater actor Bill Bowers and his one man show beyond words information a tantrum theater dot org Coming up we have more All Things Considered tonight at 7 o'clock crossing boundaries you can listen to Brian's playlist by clicking on. Forward slash listen you can also find our online newsroom and our community events calendar on our website. Cadmus Durham's of the Tallahatchie. Kathy imitate joins us on the mountain stage this week as guest host Bill left also welcomes there and Brooke Aldridge blue yonder and Joe Newbury Hi this is Kathy Tate joined me this week in live performance on the mountain stage. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from the estate of Joan b. Kroc whose bequest serves as an enduring investment in the future of public radio and seeks to help n.p.r. Be the model for high quality journalism in the 21st century from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation which provides unrestricted support to individual artists in jazz dance and theater through the Doris Duke artist awards. And from the John d. And Catherine t. MacArthur Foundation at mac found dot org. This is All Things Considered from n.p.r. News I'm Ari Shapiro and I'm Mary Louise Kelly the Federal Trade Commission announced today that Facebook will pay a $5000000000.00 fine for rampant privacy violations c.e.o. Mark Zuckerberg will have to answer directly to regulators as part of the settlement for some perspective though the company's quarterly earnings were also announced today and Facebook may need 16900000000 dollars Well here to talk about the deal is N.P.R.'s our fee Shahani higher Ari So give me the highlights what is this deal that has now emerged between the f.t.c. And Facebook yes it was filed today and it's kind of a follow up back in 2011 Facebook promised the f.t.c. It with stop sharing user data with 3rd parties outside apps and according to the f.c.c. As head of enforcement the company broke its promise while the ink was still drying on that deal Facebook had turned users into the product what a person clicks likes who their friends are is got packaged and monetized advertisers another app developers like Cambridge analytic a would pay for access Facebook promised the government it would stop harvesting and sharing data so liberally but it didn't Facebook also tricked users into handing over phone numbers in theory it was for security for password resets in reality the company used those numbers for advertising to add regulators say Facebook lied about facial recognition about 60000000 Facebook users can expect to get a note telling them the company was tracking without proper permission so that is the great staggering context 60000000 years you're going to get a note what in the Steal will compel Facebook to change its ways so now going forward Facebook needs to spell out exactly what they to it's collecting and what it's sharing and the government has imposed limits from outside Facebook will decide for itself that it will have to give quarterly reports to the f.t.c. And its own board Zuckerberg has to sign that and if Facebook gets caught violating Zuckerberg would be subject to civil as well as crime. In all penalties I'd also note Facebook which is an n.p.r. Sponsor disclosed today that the f.t.c. Has begun a separate antitrust investigation stick to your point that you just made about Mark Zuckerberg and that he will be personally accountable with Facebook does not follow the rules going forward that must come as a big win from the point of view of the f.t.c. Yet so the Republicans at the f.t.c. Who approve the deal say yes they're getting way more money from Facebook than litigation whatever I've gotten and sending a strong message to other C.E.O.'s abuse user privacy and will make you pay but one have to see member Democrat or had Chopra who dissented he thinks October got off the hook Yes the c.e.o. Was supposed to make sure his company complied with the original settlement order Ok he didn't the f.t.c. Could have slammed him with a civil suit now regulators would not need to prove it's October lied just that he failed in his duty and there's that's a much lower burden with plenty of evidence so Chopra wanted to see Zuckerberg deposed in court and forth to disclose what he knew now that opportunity is gone well what is Facebook saying about all this the c.e.o. Issued a post today and I gotta say it's classic locker Burge spin the embarrassing development into another example of Facebook's desire to do good and go above and beyond he wrote quote We already work hard to live up to this responsibility in protecting privacy but now we're going to set a completely new standard for our industry he said hundreds of engineers and more than a 1000 people across the company would implement this privacy focus vision what he didn't mention is that the his legal team fought tooth and nail on every aspect of this deal that's according the f.t.c. As one regulator regulator put it Facebook settled and didn't go to court because that would have been quite embarrassing company documents would have been been revealed now Facebook gets to break the bad news on the same day as the mother hearing N.P.R.'s r.c. Shahani thanks so much thank you Ok In addition to the Facebook news and the malar news. We are also following widespread reports today that predator Rico's governor is ready to resign this comes after days of street protests so massive that they shut down miles of a major highway in the capital of San Juan which is where we find N.P.R.'s David Well no Hi David here Ok supporter Rico's governor Rick Carter of seo has said for days that he has no intention of stepping down why now is it considered a real possibility. Yeah well you people who've been very close to the governor and who've talked with him in the last 24 hours say he's now begun as they put it considering all his options and some have advised him he has to make a decision soon and be ready for possible legal action against him this is a very different message from when we last heard from the governor on Monday when he put out a statement saying he had nothing more to say about the calls for him to resign and remind us what has made people in Puerto Rico so animated but they would take to the streets day after day why do they want him to step down so badly Well these huge street protests got started after nearly 900 pages of online chats were leaked about a week and a half ago in them say you know the governor and 11 of his buddies both inside and outside the government refer to female lawmakers as daughters of whores they make anti-gay remarks and they even make light of the cadavers that piled up after Hurricane Maria and all that has infuriated a good part of this island and many people really take to the streets to express their anger at last night at heart with one demonstrator named Nadia Mori near the governor's mansion we're not afraid we're not there we need him out now and we're not going to stop until you. Know another big thing that may be prompting a departure by Rowe c.e.o. Is the fact that he and others who were in that leaked chat were served with search warrants yesterday and a few hours later his chief of staff announced that he is resigning also the leader of the House of Representatives here told Rosie o. That impeachment proceedings are now beginning and a legal team has found 5 offenses that he could be charged with including misuse of public funds and negligence in carrying out his duties Puerto Rico has never before expelled one of its governors if that happens now what kind of change would that signal for the island. Well you know this is an island that suffered through a lot over the past decade from financial collapse and bankruptcy to the devastation of Hurricane Maria and this latest scandal with the governor seems to have galvanized people from all walks of life and political parties to say enough is enough nobody is defending this governor the last time Puerto Rico had big protests was more than 15 years ago when demonstrations forced the u.s. Navy off the island of Yankees and people here point to that as proof that getting out in the streets really can bring change there's no leader to this mobilization to oust the governor this is not a partisan fight it's really a grassroots level movement that swept the u.s. Territory and because this governor was a strong proponent of statehood for Puerto Rico this his removal would be seen as a real setback for that cause and reading the graffiti that covers the walls here you can see a lot of resentment toward the u.s. Whose campaign to oust the Spanish from this island began 121 years ago tomorrow people here say they want to take back control and while it's not clear what's coming next I doubt things will remain the same here well who is next in line to 1st say oh does bow out. Well there's no lieutenant governor here and the next 9 is the secretary of the interior but he's resigned and has not been replaced so according to Puerto Rico's Constitution the next in line with the secretary of justice want to fast because she's closely associated with the governor though and many here question whether she would have the legitimacy needed to replace him it's worth noting that the person who's next in line is the treasury secretary but he's under $35.00 the minimum age you have to be to be governor and then comes education secretary who's tainted with things and after him come someone else is under $35.00 so it's a matter. Have lost all of its credibility how is N.P.R.'s David well not covering the Tom in San Juan Puerto Rico Thanks a lot You're quite welcome. This is n.p.r. News. From the w. O. U. B. Newsroom I'm Susan teven governor Mike De Wine has signed into law a landmark piece of legislation that overhauled energy policy in Ohio the measure swaps out incentives for green energy in favor of nuclear and coal state House correspondent Andy Cho reports both supporters and opponents agree on one thing this comprehensive energy law will drastically change the make up of ratepayers electric bills the measure makes a number of changes but at the forefront is a new $85.00 cent charge on monthly electric bills which will generate $150000000.00 for 2 nuclear power plants lawmakers say that subsidy is crucial to keeping those plants open Republican Representative Jamie calendar says saving the nuclear plants means saving thousands of jobs and more it also helps protect the 0 emissions the environmentally friendly generation that we already have in our portfolio a generation here in Ohio creating the subsidy to prop up 2 nuclear plants that are on the verge of shutting down have opponents calling the bill a nuclear power bailout but does Republican House speaker Larry householder see this as a bailout for the plant's owner 1st Energy Solutions no more than you know we we we bail in solar we bail in wind we bail in all sorts of energy and that's something that's happened since the beginning it's on that $85.00 cent charge will also generate an additional $20000000.00 for solar farms The bill also strengthens and expands a charge to rate payers that subsidizes 2 coal plants own by the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation one plants in Gallia county and another in Indiana homeowners will see a fee of up to a dollar and 50 cents a month to fund those struggling plants Democratic Representative Cedric Benson says his district in Cincinnati sits down wind of that coal plant in Indiana so not only are we sending hardworking Ohioans money. Out of the state but we're also keeping pollution flowing into Cincinnati for at least the next 10 years so what does this all mean for rate payers they'll see new charges totaling as much as 2 dollars and 30 $0.05 a month on their electric bills but Republican lawmakers insist that electric customers are actually going to see less expensive monthly bills this is indeed a bailout for the rate payers as Republican Representative Bill cites explains that rate reduction is the result of scrapping energy efficiency programs and making major cuts to the state's green energy standards these policies require utilities to have a certain amount of renewable energy in their portfolios and to achieve a certain amount of energy efficiency each year carried new benchmarks which were created by the legislature in 2008 through a bipartisan vote sites argues that those mandates are not effective he says there are other federal policies such as tax credits that do a better job at spurring investment he notes the tax credit he received for installing solar panels on the roof of his own home I did not beat mandates to do the environmentally conscious thing I am greener than many of the others who will be voting no on this bill I put my money where their mouth is but slashing the green energy standards was a main tipping point for Democratic opponents of the bill Representative Casey Weinstein says these requirements on utilities jumpstarted the renewable energy industry which created about $112000.00 jobs and encouraged energy efficiency innovation Ohio will have the dubious honor of being one of the only states in the nation to reduce or weaken an energy standard a renewable portfolio standard and via mental groups have voiced strong opposition to the bill and as Trish Demetre with the Ohio environmental Council's action fund argues rate payers will actually see an increase to their electric bills or. For time despite claims otherwise that this bill is going to save people money I don't believe it I don't see efficiency has real tangible benefits on our bill whether or not you're participating or not and if for wiping out all of that funding that's going into efficiency in the state of Ohio then customers will see an increase in their bill Demetre was asked if they might seek a referendum on the bill she said opponents will gather to consider a strategy adding that all options are on the table. At the Ohio Public Radio statehouse news bureau the majority whip of the West Virginia House of Delegates has been hired by a company that's building a controversial manufacturing plant in his district Rockwell on Tuesday announced it has hired Republican delegate Paul Espinosa as public affairs manager the company is building a coal and gas fired manufacturing plant across the road from North Jefferson Elementary school it would create stone wall insulation and emit potentially hazardous material through smoke stacks there's been criticism against the project from opponents who say there shouldn't be such a facility near a school the State Department of Environmental Protection has said there is no evidence the plant will hurt human health or the environment Espinosa says Rock will has met all government requirements and has been transparent with residents and elected officials. Kentucky lawmakers have ended their mid summer special session after wrapping up work on a pension relief measure the House and Senate officially concluded the session after Gov Matt Bevin signed the pension measure into law today the Republican dominated Senate sent the bill to the g.o.p. Governor in a final vote earlier in the day been called lawmakers into a special session last Friday to take up his pension proposal to relieve regional universities and Kwasi governmental entities from massive hikes in pension costs those agencies include public health departments and domestic violence shelters a special session cost taxpayers about $66000.00 per day those are the regional headlines at this hour more news can be found on demand at w o u b o r g from the w o u b Newsroom I'm Susan have been. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from indeed used by over 3000000 businesses for hiring where employers can post jobs and use screener questions to build their shortlist of preferred candidates learn more at Indeed dot com slash higher from Fidelity Investments taking a personalized approach to helping clients grow preserve and manage their wealth learn more at fidelity dot com slash wealth fidelity brokerage services l.l.c. And from the John d. And Catherine team MacArthur Foundation at mac found dot org. This is All Things Considered from n.p.r. News I'm Ari Shapiro and I'm Mary Louise Kelly back to our top story today Robert Mueller and his day on Capitol Hill fielding questions about the Russia investigation while President Trump has thoughts on that testimony he has weighed in on Twitter and then to reporters as he got ready to board a helicopter on route to a fundraiser in West Virginia this is been a very bad thing for our country. And this fight everything we've been through it's been a great of all good I have years for our country the administration our president the we've done a great job for more on the president's position on today's proceedings Let's bring in his lawyer Jay secular joins me now welcome my thanks for having me glad to have you with us and I want to start by putting to you a question that was front and center in today's hearings why wouldn't the president sit for an interview why wouldn't he fully cooperate if he has nothing to hide he listened to the advice of his counsel which was obviously my team and we thought that they did not meet the Threshold Choir of us under existing d.c. Precedent this in the District of Columbia that would qualify for a presidential interview and that's especially true in light of the fact that we provided over 1000000 400000 documents. 30 witnesses thousands of hours of hundreds of hours of testimony and there was no information that they could not have gotten from another source so that's why we allowed we we argued them for not after you know some of the interview you may have been listening as jury not a lawyer who chairs the Judiciary Committee interrogated Muller and said and asked him Is it true that you advised an interview with the president would be vital to this investigation Mueller said yes now they are said Is it true you also stated it's in the interest of the presidency and the public for an interview to take place Muller said Yes why did you disagree. When the president's lawyer. So it was not in the interest of the president to submit to an interview open ended by a special counsel's office that had already been provided as I just said hundreds of hours of testimony and millions of pages of documents do you disagree that it would have been in the interest of the public for the president to testify I completely disagree because you 1st of all there's no constitutional right to interest the public there's a constitutional right regarding issues of executive privilege and when a president can be interviewed they didn't meet threshold or what Mr Moller should have said today and he kind of did he decided not to pursue it they could pursue that they did not we never went to court over this issue and the question of obstruction of justice President Trump as you know has said over and over no collusion no obstruction it's not with them all the report says it is not what Robert Mueller said today why didn't President Trump tell the truth. The president did tell the truth Robert Mueller had to correct his testimony he's been asked to the mole or report exonerate him and the president says no no obstruction there was no extraction because the Department of Justice only concluded that there was no obstructed backs but let me be very clear on something and then another rolling should not can happen like that when we ask for the record does the Moeller reports clear the president does it exonerate him yes because I never brought They never said that they and Bob Mueller said this today and he had to correct his statement when he went before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and said I misspoke when I said but will the also be a pain and what I thought there were criminal charges he said did not make a criminal determination on culpability correct which is not the same as you know clearing him. But prosecutors don't exonerate somebody I appreciate the question because this whole issue of exoneration frankly is absurd I think this was a mistake that they put that somehow got through their editing process because a prosecutor has no authority to examine. Rate your innocence until proven guilty they flip it here and say we can't exonerate therefore we're not going to make a determination that's not the way the judicial system in the United States works properly pray every 11 more question for you in the 30 seconds or so we have laughter I know you put out a statement today saying the American people understand this is over Case Closed others disagree and they are still waiting on reports yet to come from the inspector general the u.s. Attorney's office looking forward to them Are you oh yes because those are going to show what took place here how this investigation started in the 1st place. All right we will leave it there Jay Sekulow personal lawyer to President Trump thanks so much for your time thanks for now for a different perspective on Miller's testimony I want to bring in former federal prosecutor Paul Rosenzweig he's one of hundreds of former prosecutors who signed a letter saying the president's conduct as described in the report would result in multiple felony charges if he were not a sitting president Rosensweig was senior counsel to Kenneth Starr in the Whitewater investigation during the Clinton administration and he was deputy assistant secretary of homeland security in the George w. Bush administration welcome to the studio thanks for having me as we were hearing just then from President Trump's personal lawyer Jay Sekulow you were shaking your head you were hearing a big sigh What was that about well it's his personal lawyer Jay Sekulow is paid to make the best argument that he can for the president not for the country not for the public interest but for the personal interests of Donald Trump and what is most clear from what you just heard is that the president and his attorneys put his own personal interests over that of the nation which is unfortunate you wrote in an op ed in USA Today this morning that today's testimony from Robert Muller was an opportunity for the former special counsel to set the record straight do you think he took advantage of that opportunity as well as he cut off only partially I think it certainly seemed to me that he was quite content to rest upon the text of his report and reluctant to go beyond it in any way manner shape or form I think he did a pretty good job of reaffirming the fundamental conclusions is his report in the 2nd hearing before the House Intelligence Committee especially He condemned the Russian interference and he called most unfortunate the president's apparent welcoming of Russian interference in our election and that I think is the right answer and the important part of of Mr Mehlis testimony today as somebody who worked with Ken Starr in the ninety's I want to ask you about a comparison that came up in the hearing today when Wisconsin Republican Jim Sensenbrenner. Asked about Mahler's decision not to come to a conclusion on whether Trump committed impeachable offenses now while I recognize that the independent counsel statute under which Kenneth Starr operated is different from the special counsel statute he and number of occasions in his report stated that the President Clinton's actions may have risen to impeachable come that you never use the term reasoning to impeach Bill Condon the reply that his team stayed focus on their mandate and quote our mandate does not go to other ways of addressing conduct such as impeachment do you think that was the right call by Miller Yes I do because he's got a different organic statute he give me a different law I go a different direction Ken Starr under that now lapse independent counsel was required mandated to report on substantial incredible evidence of impeachment to Congress Robert Mueller was required by the regulation that govern his conduct to report in a confidential manner to the attorney general on prosecution only just in our last 30 seconds or so as a person who supports impeachment do you think today's Miller hearings persuaded anybody who might have been on the fence or opposed I think that today's hearings will confirm in everybody their preexisting beliefs those who thought the President Trump is innocent as the driven snow will now see him as Snow White those who are convinced that he has committed crimes for which he could be charged outside of the context here alike meet came away reaffirmed in that belief Paul Rosenzweig thank you very much thanks for having me he's a former federal prosecutor and currently a senior fellow at the conservative think tank our street Institute and you're listening to All Things Considered from n.p.r. News and joining us now to discuss the political implications of today's hearing is n.p.r. White House correspondent Tamara Keith. Trump originally said he wasn't sure he would watch today's hearings seems like he did. Indeed it does seem like he was watching you know he had he had said I don't know if I'm in a watch and then he tweeted pretty much throughout especially during the breaks and he tweeted something like 26 times today including several quotes from Fox News personalities he also then came out to the microphones and commented on Robert Muller's performance among other things let's listen to a little bit of what he said when he stepped up to the microphone this afternoon so we had a very good day today the Republican Party. Our country a very good day in his words do you think it was a very good day for the president you know it really depends on how the public absorbs this hearing Do they see what the president wants them to see which is Robert Mueller giving a lot of one word answers refusing to answer other questions saying that they were out of his pure purview telling Democrats on a number of occasions that he didn't RINGBACK really agree with their analysis or do people see Robert Mueller saying that he couldn't exonerate the president on obstruction of justice that President Trump didn't cooperate fully with the investigation that he answered questions in a way that wasn't consistent with other evidence and and another thing that he said that President Trump amplified Russian election interference in a way that was quote problematic President Trump by coming out and declaring victory as he has done in other occasions he is trying to cement his view in the mind of the public it's been very clear the Democrats see this as one step in a long ongoing investigation Republicans see this as sort of the final gasp of something that in their view has already gone on too long when you look at the political takeaways from today's hearings do you think it felt like something that the American people of us conclusive or something that leaves an raises a lot more questions there were certainly a number of questions left by this hearing questions that Democrats in the house intend to continue to follow and continue to investigate I don't know whether. Or you know this morning when we woke up there were 94 Democrats who said that they thought that impeachment proceedings should begin still minority still a minority and it's not clear whether that number of House members will change you know Democrats certainly are planning to continue pushing on election security and that is one of the takeaways from Miller's testimony which is he said that was when he was most for both he said very bluntly that that that election interference was occurring is occurring is going to continue occurring and that it is a real concern and we do have a whole conversation about election security elsewhere in the program but because part of your beat is covering the 2020 campaign I also have to ask you how this is going to play into the race for the White House so there are a lot of there are 24 people running for president and very few of them had anything to say about this so far today there were only a couple of tweets they were very quiet about it and the fact is that many of these candidates they're simply focused on running for president sure if you ask them about impeachment they will weigh in but they have been very focused on other things talking about what they will do for other Americans and it's not clear that that is going to change as a result of this here is this near the top of the list of things that voters care about right now it hasn't been know the top of their list is health care the economy education and that's what the candidates the Democratic candidates talk about that is n.p.r. White House correspondent Tamara Keith thanks for coming in the studio You're welcome. You are listening to All Things Considered from n.p.r. News on the next Radiolab blood. Will have a lot of high I mean blunders us just living in this blood as an art form maybe pacifiers with blood nursing bottles with blood blood as a market force almost $300.00 a pint is what they sell it for. It's not a commodity it's a holy substance. That soulful essence that. You're listening to public media w o u b f m Athens w o u c f m Cambridge w o u l m. A n w o u z f m Zanesville online a w o u beat out o. R. G. Support comes from featuring rides tides and water slides for the fun of the sun tickets include the goal of a zoo to information at Columbus Zoo dot org Coming up next we have another hour of All Things Considered then at 7 o'clock tonight crossing boundaries the music continues at 10 with the World Cafe You can find our schedule for both radio and television under the w.b. Now tab on our website that's be Dot o.-r. G. Forward slash w o u b now mostly clear skies are expected this evening the low tonight around $53.00 degrees that is 58 degrees. The as. Access was. This is All Things Considered from n.p.r. News I'm Ari Shapiro and I'm Mary Louise Kelly Boeing says it is hoping its troubled 737 Max plane will fly again this year but if that doesn't happen the company is preparing to slow or even stop production of the aircraft it has been 4 months now since regulators around the world grounded the Jets after a pair of crashes killed nearly $350.00 people N.P.R.'s Jim has the latest the $737.00 Max is Boeing's best selling plane by far and the company took a huge financial hit when regulators around the world ordered the planes grounded today Boeing said its revenues were down 35 percent compared to the same time last year it's still building the planes but at a slower pace and they're sitting idle in Texas and Washington state but it can't deliver the finished planes to its customers the airlines speaking to investors today Boeing c.e.o. Dennis Miller Emberg called the grounding of the plane a defining moment for the company and he predicted that Boeing what emerged from the fiasco stronger and better we are confident that when the the 7 $37.00 Max returns to service it will be one of the safest airplanes ever to fly that is the most important thing that we're going to take the time necessary to ensure it's safe but Millen Berg also said regulators around the world will decide when the plane will fly again and if they don't clear the $737.00 Max to fly by the end of the year Boeing could stop producing the planes altogether at least temporarily that could have ramifications for airlines for passengers and even for the u.s. Economy as a whole Boeing is by far the country's biggest exporter and its aircraft contain parts made all over the country so any slowdown in production could have an impact on growth even the country's treasury secretary Steve Minucci and weighed in on the company's troubles today Boeing's of a. Strong company they got a lot of cash flow they got to fix this issue so that we are sure that it is safe Meanwhile as the planes sit in storage waiting for permission to fly airlines everywhere are having to cut flights and rearrange schedules American Airlines says it's canceled 7800 flights during April May and June the European budget carrier Ryanair says it will fly 5000000 fewer passengers next year because they can't get the planes it needs if Boeing can't get the 737 Max flying again it risks losing credibility with a lot of the airlines that buy its planes not to mention the flying public as a whole Jim n.p.r. News when people think of the u.s. Space program Cape Canaveral in Florida and the Johnson Space Center in Houston might come to mind another city is just as important to NASA Huntsville Alabama to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the historic Apollo 11 flight N.P.R.'s Russell Lewis visits the place known as Rocket City. There's a saying that you can't get to the moon without 1st going through Huntsville and driving into this north Alabama town you see proof of that right away the Saturn 5 rocket in front of the Rocket Center is in fact the beacon of our city it is our Statue of Liberty it's our Golden Gate Bridge here and we're very proud of that that's Deborah Barnhart the c.e.o. Of the u.s. Space and Rocket Center Huntsville has lived and breathed space for 60 years and it's never slowed down this month the region's economic cheerleaders celebrated yet another partnership with NASA Good afternoon everyone we'd like to welcome you to our powering lunar exploration signing ceremony with Max our technologies and Dianetics Dianetics is one of almost $300.00 companies based at Cummings research park in Huntsville it's one of the largest research parks in the country the aerospace heavyweights are here Northrop Grumman Lockheed Martin Raytheon more than $100.00 other companies are nearby including Boeing and United Launch Alliance Jeff Bezos as Blue Origin plans to build its next generation engines here and Aerojet Rocketdyne opened in advanced manufacturing facility a few months ago and this facility is all about the 21st century in the future that's Tyler Evans as he gazes across the large sparkling workspace he says Huntsville is more than just buildings I mean you can't get a better base of talented rocket scientists and engineers both mature and you know it's them centric universities that we can reach into for our future needs in fact half the graduates each year at the University of Alabama in Huntsville are in engineering or science the region traces its space heritage to the 1950 s. NASA historian Brian Odom says it took off when German engineer Verner von Brown brought his rocket team to work at the Army's Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville he stands really at the top of. A process that unfolded in the 1950 s. Number one which was turning space travel into something that was once had been science fiction into what would become a reality von Brown and his engineers helped launch the us his 1st orbital satellite in 1988 and the 1st American to space in 1961 when NASA opened the Marshall Space Flight Center in 1960 von Brown was its 1st director after Apollo in the Saturn 5 Marshall would develop the space shuttle's engines and the Hubble Space Telescope and is currently working on the next u.s. Rocket the s.l.s. Even today Marshall continues to play a critical but unseen role says Jeremy del Greco NASA is Payload Operations Director This is science central for international space station all science experiments that are performed on the International Space Station are operated and run through this facility tucked away in a windowless room controllers keep tabs on the i s s crew around the clock using as many as 9 computer screens each to work with them on their experiments the future of space can be seen a few miles away here at space camp we had guided to resume our behinds countdown on my mark 50 since it opened in 1902 almost a 1000000 kids and adults have participated in the camps at the Space and Rocket Center 6 participants have become astronauts including Christina Koch who is on the I assess now 16 year old Jasmine white from Perth Australia was learning how to be an astronaut including how space affects the body I hadn't really thought about the kind of influences of microgravity and likes people I guess I thought about it in the sense that yes stuff can be floating and if you're eating things they have like they're going to float away if they are if and that kind of thing but not really medical as such while space camp eyes the future It also remembers the past several dozen engineers from the Apollo program like lol Zoller volunteer at the museum as dosa. It's children particularly love to talk to because there's a curiosity there and our job really is to motivate these children and follow in our footsteps and necessarily be a rocket science or anything but in challenging times to move the country forward Zoller was talking to museum guests under a Saturn $51.00 of only 3 remaining giant moon rockets a reminder of what this former cotton town has meant and still means to the space program Russell Lewis n.p.r. News Huntsville Alabama. Support for N.P.R.'s Apollo 11 stories comes from c 3 day I see 3 AI's software enables organizations to use artificial intelligence at enterprise scale solving previously unsolvable business problems learn more it see 3. You're listening to All Things Considered from n.p.r. News support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from the financial services firm of Raymond James offering personalized wealth management advice and banking and capital markets expertise along with a legacy of putting clients financial wellbeing 1st learn more at Raymond James dot com. From the Lemelson foundation committed to improving lives through invention in the u.s. And in developing countries and working to inspire and enable the next generation of inventors more information is available at Lemelson dot org And from Trader Joe's where new products arrive in stores weekly and new episodes of the podcast inside trader joes arrive online occasionally at Apple podcasts and where podcasts are found more at Trader Joe's dot com You're listening to w o u b public media w o u b f m Athens w o u c f m Cambridge w o u l f m. F m Chillicothe e n w o u z f m a Zanesville online a w o u beat out o. r G support comes from featuring rides tides and water slides for the fun in the sun tickets include the Columbus Zoo to information at Columbus Zoo dot org Coming up next we have another hour of All Things Considered then at 7 o'clock tonight crossing boundaries the music continues at 10 with the World Cafe You can find our schedule for both radio and television under the w o u b now tab on our website that's w o u b dot o.-r. G. Forward slash w o u b now mostly clear skies are expected this evening the low tonight around $53.00 degrees that is $58.00 degrees. What did not include that he did not commit obstruction of justice a career that is correct Did you actually totally exonerate the president no yes or no questions and often one word answers from Robert Mueller during back to back hearings on Capitol Hill for Wednesday July 24th that's All Things Considered from n.p.r. News. I'm Mary Louise Kelly and I'm Ari Shapiro an hour after hour of testimony the former special counsel largely resisted going beyond his written report though Democrats and Republicans both tried could you charge the president with a triumph after he left office yes you could charge the president on stage with obstruction of justice after he left office yes Also this hour our Nina Totenberg sits down with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and I do think and I was born in. A very bad stuff and as of today Boris Johnson is officially prime minister of Britain and Brits either love him or hate him now these headlines. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Jack Speer hearings on Capitol Hill with former special counsel Wahlberg Moeller are over the Trump campaign declaring the day of disaster for Democrats but as N.P.R.'s Tamara Keith explains Democrats were also able to draw out information from other that is not favorable to trump after Miller's team spent more than a year trying to negotiate an interview with Trump the president and his attorneys only agreed to answer questions in writing and only on the matter of Russian interference in the election and not obstruction of justice Democratic congresswoman Val Demings asked about those written answers and sat there were many questions that us the president that he simply didn't answer isn't that correct true and there were many answers that contradicted other evidence you had gathered to in the investigation isn't that correct yes after most Muller defended his decision not to subpoena Trump saying a legal fight would delay the completion of his investigation Tamara Keith n.p.r. News President Trump wasted little time in declaring today's back to back and directional hearings a victory for Republicans citing what he called ballers lack of specifics in terms of making direct charges against him he again dismissed the rusher probe as a witch hunt and heading for a g.o.p. Fundraiser and watch for Ginia the president accuse congressional Democrats of knowing they had nothing against him they should be ashamed of themselves absolutely shame and you know who knew it was a phony cloud more than anyone else's shit for Mad Blair and Schumer. From n.p.r. News this.