Tipsheet: Dems face internal battle over budget

View in your browser     Dems face internal battle over budget BY NIV ELIS Democrats are bracing for an internal battle as the House Budget Committee starts cobbling together its budget for 2020, a blueprint that’s expected to put the party's progressive wing at odds with its moderates. The more-liberal side of the Democratic caucus wants the budget resolution to showcase a broad array of its policy initiatives, including elements of the Green New Deal and “Medicare for all.” Read the full story here     Manafort doesn't deserve leniency, Mueller filing argues BY LYDIA WHEELER, JOHN BOWDEN AND MORGAN CHALFANT Special counsel Robert Mueller says in a new filing that he’s not taking a position on how much time Paul Manafort should spend in prison for charges in Washington, D.C., but told the judge presiding over his case that he doesn’t deserve leniency. Read the full story here     Five tantalizing questions about Mueller’s investigation BY MORGAN CHALFANT Several loose ends remain in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation amid signs that it’s possible the long probe could be winding down. Here are five questions about the investigation as Mueller’s probe nears its two-year anniversary. Read the full story here     Sunday shows preview: Mueller report in spotlight BY TAL AXELROD Special counsel Robert Mueller's final report is expected to be in the spotlight Sunday as lawmakers hit the morning show circuit amid debate over how much of the report will be made public when it is finally submitted. Read the full story here       Questions swirl around Trump's North Korea summit BY REBECCA KHEEL Questions are swirling about what, if anything, will be accomplished when President Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this week in Vietnam. Read the full story here     Bolton scraps plans to visit South Korea amid Venezuela strife BY JOHN BOWDEN President Trump's national security adviser John Bolton has canceled a planned trip to South Korea in order to address the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela. Read the full story here     Trump backs off total Syria withdrawal BY ELLEN MITCHELL Months of pressure from U.S. lawmakers, European allies and defense officials has forced President Trump to backtrack on one of the biggest decisions made in his two years in the White House: His plan to totally withdraw U.S. forces from Syria. Read the full story here     Shanahan visits US-Mexico border as Pentagon weighs moving funds for Trump's wall BY RACHEL FRAZIN Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan toured the U.S.-Mexico border on Saturday as the Pentagon weighs reallocating billions of dollars in funding for President Trump's border wall. Read the full story here     Omarosa: 'Big red line’ for Trump in Cohen's testimony BY TAL AXELROD   Former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman said Saturday that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen would cross a “big red line” for the president if he discusses President Trump’s children during congressional testimony next week. Read the full story here     Klobuchar backs legalizing marijuana BY MORGAN GSTALTER Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a 2020 presidential candidate, says she supports legalizing marijuana. Minnesota, her home state, will vote on a recreational marijuana bill later this year. Read the full story here     Are New York Democrats handing Paul Manafort a case for pardon? BY JONATHAN TURLEY Opinion | As Paul Manafort awaits sentencing next month, his viable options seem to be dwindling down to a presidential pardon. And the best that Manafort can do seems to be getting worse by the day.  Read the full story here     It’s not just the Oscars — Congress needs a representation reboot BY SANGITA SIGDYAL Opinion | A full four years after the original #OscarsSoWhite tweet exploded into a burgeoning social movement, discussion of diversity (or lack of) continues to frame The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and its awards ceremony.  Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Trump attempts to tamp down expectations ahead of summit with North Korean leader BY DAVID NAKAMURA Amid evidence that Pyongyang has done little to curb its nuclear weapons production, the president has sought to create the conditions to declare the summit a success regardless of the outcome. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Hanoi summit nightmare scenario: Bad deals and little change BY FOSTER KLUG The nightmare scenario heading into the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un isn’t so much “fire and fury” and millions dead. Rather, some experts fear the meeting could result in an ill-considered deal that allows North Korea to get everything it wants while giving up very little, even as the mercurial leaders trumpet a blockbuster nuclear success. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Russian spy or hustling political operative? The enigmatic figure at the heart of Mueller’s inquiry BY KENNETH P. VOGEL AND ANDREW E. KRAMER In the nearly two years that the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has been investigating whether there was collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, few figures seem to have offered more tantalizing leads than Konstantin V. Kilimnik. Read the full story here     CNN: Mike Pompeo denounces Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro as a 'sick tyrant' BY SUSANNAH CULLINANE AND JACKIE CASTILLO US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has denounced President Nicolas Maduro's obstruction of aid deliveries to Venezuela as the actions of a "sick tyrant." Read the full story here     Reuters: Buffett appears to fault Trump, laments deals dearth in Berkshire letter BY JONATHAN STEMPEL, TREVOR HUNNICUTT AND JENNIVER ABLAN Warren Buffett on Saturday appeared to fault U.S. President Donald Trump for taking too much credit for the nation’s economic growth, while acknowledging that market conditions are making it tough for his Berkshire Hathaway Inc to find more big companies to buy. Read the full story here   Did a friend forward you this email? 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