Document jODGVaGoxDDxMZjrOKgKjpk

- - FLASHBACK, The New Yorker, March 15, 2004, "Rink Rat in Chief," by Ben McGrath: "As a senior at St. Paul's, in the winter of 1961-62, [John] Kerry played on the varsity [hockey] team. The captain and best player was a guy named Bobby Mueller, who is now better known as Robert S. Mueller III, the director of the F.B.I." http://bit.ly/2qvWClr - - JOSH DAWSEY and ANNIE KARNI on "How Trump learned about the special prosecutor": "A battalion of White House aides entered the Oval Office together to present a unified front after the bombshell. The Justice Department had appointed a special prosecutor to oversee the probe into Russia's alleged involvement in the 2016 presidential election, White House counsel Don McGahn had just told President Donald Trump. "Many of Trump's top aides gathered with the president Wednesday evening just after deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein signed the order and called McGahn - and just before the news exploded publicly in Washington. Trump handled it better than anyone expected, according to a person in the room. His reaction was 'extremely measured,' another said. He didn't yell or scream. He told the assembled crowd they had nothing to hide. The mood in the room appeared to be one of resigned acceptance even though they were blindsided. 'Everyone knew this wasn't good news,' this person said." http://politi.co/2qupqu6 - - THE WEST-WING REACTION: "With a special prosecutor, 'people are fearful whatever they've done'," by Darren Samuelsohn: "Working in President Donald Trump's White House is about to get a whole lot harder. Robert Mueller, the former FBI director named Wednesday as the special counsel for investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election, starts his job with an unlimited time and budget to pursue leads wherever they go. Veterans of previous scandals from Whitewater on say that kind of scrutiny can exact a toll even on a well-functioning White House-which Trump's, consumed as it is by constant infighting and drama, isn't. "'There's always a mood in a White House. If you have a special prosecutor, that can dampen the spirit. It just changes things. It makes life more complicated for people who are completely innocent,' said Peter Wehner, a former senior aide to President George W. Bush during the investigation into the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity. ... The pressure won't be limited just to senior staff. From the interns up, having a special prosecutor in place means responding to urgent tasks that have nothing to do with the day-to-day business of the presidency." http://politi.co/2pNLLUR BEHIND THE SCENES -- Before the Mueller news broke at around 5:15 p.m., JASON CHAFFETZ, the House oversight chairman from Utah, pretaped a segment for the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley. But he came back live after Mueller was announced. ANOTHER JOB FOR JARED , per Ashley Parker and Abby Phillip in the WaPo: "If and when Trump does overhaul his team, Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, is expected to play a key role in rethinking the structure and personnel within the West Wing." http://wapo.st/2pO824Y - - ALSO FROM THAT STORY: "Some White House staffers have turned to impeachment gallows humor. Other mid-level aides have started reaching out to consultants, shopping their resumes. And at least one senior staffer has begun privately talking to friends about what a post-White House job would look like, according to two people close to the staffer. ... For many White House staffers, impromptu support groups of friends, confidants and acquaintances have materialized, calling and texting to check in, inquiring about their mental state and urging them to take care of themselves." * ***** a message from JPMorgan Chase & Co.: JPMorgan Chase believes in the power of data to expand economic opportunity. That's why it helped arm Detroit's leaders with extensive data and expertise to help inform their work and improve efforts underway all across the city. See how they're using this information to make targeted, effective decisions for Detroit: http://politi.co/2r9j94F ****** PETER BAKER ZOOMS OUT on NYT Ai -- "Washington Is Abuzz With Surround Sound of Scandal" http://nyti.ms/2quQhGD THE GANG, BACK TOGETHER -- "Trump turns to ex-campaign aides as scandals pile up," by Tara Palmeri: "Former officials including Jason Miller, David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski have slid back into the president's group of advisers as Trump has chafed at the steady stream of damaging leaks and critical blind quotes that have flowed out of the West Wing. ... Bossie, a former deputy campaign manager who briefly ran a pro-Trump super PAC, sat in a meeting on Monday morning during which Trump blasted press secretary Sean Spicer and communications director Mike Dubke for their handling of the fallout of Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey