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MAYFLOWER MISUNDERSTANDING: AG Jeff Sessions’ opening statement summed up his testimony in front of the Senate Intel Committee. Sessions wanted to make it “clear” that he had no involvement with Russia interference, he never misrepresented himself, and the notion of a third meeting is an outlandish accusation. He also, interestingly, made sure to mention that his relations with the president have been entirely appropriate, as well as any other relations he’s aware of the president having. He stuck by his statement that he believed Comey should be fired, and that in order for the investigation to continue independently a special prosecutor was needed. Senators wanted him to bring more transparency to the Administration as most of Trump’s surrogates have been evasive on this front -  in fact, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) accused Trump of never acknowledging the severity of the Russian hack confirmed by intelligence.

POKING THE BEAR: Senate Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating legislation since January to codify Obama era sanctions on Russia, drawing a line in the sand for the new Trump Administration. Late in the night, negotiations wrapped up with pieces of all the proposed bills. This new comprehensive bill includes sanctions for malicious cyber activity, supplying weapons to the Assad regime, and to other terror groups. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) believes this will punish President Vladimir Putin for his reckless behavior saying it will “send a powerful and bipartisan statement to Russia.” These sanctions -  though not all financial minded - are likely to have some impact on the Russian economy and U.S. interests there.  

THE LEAN, MEAN AHCA MACHINE?: President Trump hosted a select group of Senators over lunch to check in on their progress to replace Obamacare. Trump expressed desire for real reform, not a politically motivated bill, calling the House bill which CBO says would leave 24 million uninsured, “mean.” He went on to say the (Senate) bill should be “kind” and “generous” and that it may even require more money.  We can’t imagine that House members, who just finished picking up the champagne, will be happy with that comment the next time Trump needs their vote - or come election day.  In the meantime, Senate aides believe the first unpublished draft of the bill reached CBO - the first step of an arduous process Republicans need to finish by July 4th recess to stay on track with their agenda. The working group is also moving swiftly to satisfy the concerns of the Senate parliamentarian.  

THE LOW-HANGING PEACH:  We are less than a week out from the highly anticipated special election in Georgia’s 6th district, which has been held by a Republican since 1979. The runoff between Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff (D) and former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel (R) is now officially the most expensive House race in U.S. history. Rep. Tom Price resigned this seat to take the helm as Secretary of HHS, creating one of four vacancies in the House as a result of joining the Trump Administration. Democrats see these as an opportunity to capitalize on the backlash from Trump and gain much-needed momentum ahead of the 2018 midterms, but so far their efforts have turned up the goose egg.

200 LAWSUITS, HOW DO YOU MEASURE A YEAR IN THE LIFE: 200 members of Congress filed a suit in federal court against President Trump for violating the Constitution. The Democrats are suing for the same reasons the AG’s of DC and MD did earlier this week; presidents are barred from accepting funding from a foreign government without the approval of Congress. The suit claims that Trump still has conflicts of interest with 25 countries and that he is using his position to profit internationally especially in light of his already complicated business interests.  Again, anotherattempt to get their hands on those elusive tax returns.

MUELLER’S DAY OFF: Former FBI Director Robert Mueller has been staffing up with some of the most esteemed legal minds, most of them criminal prosecutors. Many trust the independence of his investigation calling this the legal dream team, but Trump advocates are worried it’s turning into a witch hunt. Those close to Trump have been calling for him to fire Mueller, the special prosecutor his Administration elected, but only Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has that power.  He spoke to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the matter saying he would not let anyone influence his decision and he finds no reason to fire Mueller at the moment.  Republicans on the Hill, including Speaker Paul Ryan, have said that it would be best for Trump to leave Mueller alone and let the investigation run independently. As Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) put it, “it would be catastrophic, destroying any shred of trust in the president’s judgment that remains over here.”