Good Friday morning, I'm Anna Palmer and welcome to your Politico Playbook audio briefing. Stay tuned

after the show for a message from Sherm, the Society for Human Resource Management.

And I'm Jake Sherman. Breaking Overnight, Reuters is reporting that two U.S. service members were

killed in Afghanistan. No other details were immediately available. Backstateside, everyone is obsessed right now with Bob Mueller

and when his report will come out, but here's why Mueller is only the beginning. If you talk to

Capitol Hill Democrats, you'll hear something surprising about what they expect from Mueller. Most of them

expect nothing. They think the report will be a dud. If that's the case, the White House will

immediately make the argument that it's time for Congress to shudder its investigations into the president.

But Democratic investigations into Trump are going to drag on regardless of the Mueller report.

The committees are probing things that have nothing to do with Russian interference, such as the president's company, security clearances, and decision-making in the White House.

Frankly, Democrats believe even if Mueller releases a report with nothing spectacular,

that's only the beginning of their real investigations.

Right now, everybody in the news business is reading the tea leaves about Mueller.

ABC News reports on how Deputy A.G. Rod Rosenstein's letter offers a roadmap to the probe.

They write, the bottom line, do not expect a harsh condemnation of President Donald Trump or any of his associates if they have not been charged with crimes.

In case you were wondering, Jim Comey writes in the New York Times that he wants Mueller's report to be a demonstration to the world that the U.S. justice system works.

On Jared, watch Andrew D. Sedario and Kyle Cheney report that the House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings is demanding documents detailing Jared Kushier's alleged use of WhatsApp, the encrypted messaging service to conduct official business.

Bloomberg scoops that the president is

considering Stephen Moore, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a longtime supporter of the

president, and a fixture on cable television for the Federal Reserve Board. On the trade front,

Bloomberg is also reporting that White House aides are playing down a swift deal with China

ahead of talks next week. The New York Times reports that drug

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