And he alleges that Cohen’s campaign finance charges are not criminal charges (they are), and that his former lawyer probably wasn’t guilty of violating campaign finance laws (he unequivocally was, prosecutors said).

Mexico is paying for the wall

The new NAFTA agreement, dubbed the USMCA by the United States, is going to save the US so much money that Mexico is in effect paying for the border wall, Trump also alleges this morning. He didn’t spell out the math behind that claim, though, or say whether it means he’s backing down from his threat to shut down the government if he doesn’t get funding for the wall.

The wall continues to be on the administration’s mind, despite the fact that it is unpopular with most Americans, and most elected politicians. The Department of Homeland Security put out an oddly worded press release late on the 12th, suggesting that the wall is already being built. “DHS is committed to building wall and building wall quickly,” it says.

When it comes down to it, Trump doesn’t actually want a wall, Vox’s Tara Golshan speculates, he just wants to have a fight about a wall.

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