As Mueller closes in and the news cycle reaches another fevered pitch, President Trump used Twitter to taunt Russia with threats about smart missiles. “Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!’ You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!” The Atlantic: Trump’s Dangerous Threat of War. Trump later explained that the bad blood with Russia is mostly caused by the “Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation.” On Twitter, Trump is conflating the issues of his own legal jeopardy and the Syria situation. (Editor’s note: This is reason for concern.)

+ “I will put this as bluntly as I know how: There is no way that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York would have sought or executed a search warrant against the president’s lawyer without overpowering evidence to support the action.” Benjamin Wittes in Lawfare: How the Cohen Raids and Trump’s Reactions Edge Us Toward Confrontation.

+ CNN: Senators introduce bipartisan legislation protecting Mueller.

+ The NYT Editorial Board is not pulling punches. “Mr. Trump has spent his career in the company of developers and celebrities, and also of grifters, cons, sharks, goons and crooks. He cuts corners, he lies, he cheats, he brags about it, and for the most part, he’s gotten away with it, protected by threats of litigation, hush money and his own bravado. Those methods may be proving to have their limits when they are applied from the Oval Office.” The Law is Coming, Mr. Trump.