Here’s what you need to know at the end of the day.
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Good evening. Here’s the latest.
1. Federal prosecutors accused Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, of lying to them about his contacts with Trump administration officials and other matters.
After signing a plea agreement in September, Mr. Manafort, above, “stated he had no direct or indirect communications with anyone in the administration,” prosecutors working for the special counsel, Robert Mueller, wrote in a memo to a judge.
But, they said, Mr. Manafort concealed information about his contacts with administration officials, telling “multiple discernible lies.”
They also accused him of lying about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian tied to Moscow’s intelligence services, and about a $125,000 transfer of funds.
Mr. Mueller’s team has left open the possibility that it could file new charges for lying against Mr. Manafort. Mr. Manafort’s lawyers have said he believed he was honest during his interviews with them.
Separately, Michael Cohen, who was President Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer for more than a decade, should be given a “substantial” prison term of roughly four years, despite his cooperation, federal prosecutors told a judge in New York.
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2. William Barr is President Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department.
Mr. Barr, above, has served as attorney general before, during the first Bush administration, and supports a strong vision of executive powers. If confirmed, he would succeed Jeff Sessions, who was ousted last month, and Matthew G. Whitaker, the acting attorney general.
Mr. Trump also announced that Heather Nauert, the chief State Department spokeswoman and a former Fox News anchor, was his choice to be the next ambassador to the U. N., succeeding Nikki Haley. And administration officials said that Gen. Mark A. Milley, the Army chief of staff, was expected to be named the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top military position.
In another personnel move, John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, is expected to leave his post in the next few days. It is unclear who would replace him, but Nick Ayers, the vice president’s chief of staff, is seen as a leading candidate.
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3. Who is to blame for a botched Special Operations mission in Niger last year that killed four Americans?
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, above, was livid over news reports last month that junior officers were being reprimanded, while the officers directly above them were not.
