White House Wants an Apology, and More

The fallout from the summary of the Robert Mueller report is playing out in earnest Monday, with President Trump's allies trumpeting the no-collusion finding. On the Today show, White House press chief Sarah Sanders said that "Democrats and the liberal media" owe an apology to Trump and the American public. They "called the president an agent of foreign governments,” she said. “That is an accusation equal to treason, which is punishable by death in this country. ... They wasted two years and created a massive disruption and distraction from things that impact everyone’s day-to-day life.” When asked if Trump might owe Mueller an apology after two years of relentless attacks on the special counsel, Sanders responded, "Are you kidding?" per Fox News. Related:

• Rare praise: Talking to reporters Monday, Trump again called the investigation a "false narrative" and a "terrible thing" and said it should never happen to another president, reports the Hill. But asked if he thought Mueller acted honorably, Trump responded, "Yes, he did." As for the prospect of the Mueller report being released in full publicly, Trump said, "Wouldn't bother me at all."
• Schiff a target: Trump aide Kellyanne Conway said on Fox that House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff should "resign today," reports Politico. “He has been on every TV show 50 times a day for practically the last two years promising Americans that the president would be impeached or indicted.” Schiff has said in response to the summary that while he respects Mueller's judgment, Democrats will continue investigating a "litany of concealed interactions with Russia."

• Pardons: Sanders also said Monday she is unaware of talk of any pardons for Trump associates ensnared in the inquiry. Of the 34 people charged in the Mueller probe, six are current or former Trump associates, notes the Washington Post.
• Lindsey Graham: The GOP senator held a news conference Monday and promised a thorough investigation into how the Trump investigation came to be, reports the Daily Beast. "What happens next is that I have been talking since 2017 about the other side of the story," he said. "And nobody much appeared to care, but I hope you will find some interest now.” (He's going to be looking into FISA warrants, including the one on former Trump adviser Carter Page.)
• From Russia: A tweet from the Russian embassy in the UK celebrated the news with snark. "That awkward moment when another anti-Russian fake crumbles to dust," it reads, linking to a newspaper headline about the summary. "Excuses, anyone?" In Moscow, Russian lawmakers also took note, with one senator castigating "two years of unceasing lies." CNBC rounds up reaction there.
• Praise for some: Conservative writer Rich Lowry tweeted praise to Glenn Greenwald of the Intercept and Katrina vanden Heuvel of the Nation, saying they were among the few liberal journalists "consistently pushing back on the insanity" during the Mueller probe. Greenwald thanked him, then added Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone and others to the list. Taibbi wrote a scathing condemnation of the media, likening "Russiagate" to "WMD."
• Rebuttal: At the New Republic, Marcy Wheeler asserts that Trump is indeed guilty of obstruction (including his "dangling of pardons") and Wheeler accuses Attorney General William Barr of helping him cover it up.
• Revenge? The Washington Post reports that Trump plans to "call for organizations to fire members of the media and former government officials who he believes made false accusations about him." On that note, Rudy Giuliani said on Fox that "there has to be a full and complete investigation, with at least as much enthusiasm as this one, to figure out where did this charge emanate, who started it, and who paid for it," per Axios. He, too, singled out Schiff, reports the AP.

(More Mueller report stories.)