Axios

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's longtime personal lawyer, said that he has been asked to testify in front of the House Intelligence Committee on Sept. 5 as a part of the House's Russia investigation, per Bloomberg.

His Russia connection: The unverified Steele dossier claimed that Cohen traveled to Prague in order to meet with Russian officials. He was also a conduit for the secret Ukraine peace plan that made its way to the desk of then-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions came out swinging with his opening statement before the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday, adamantly denying claims of collusion with the Russians, and condemning the "secret innuendo being leaked" about his contacts with Russian officials:

"Let me state this clearly, colleagues, I have never met with or had any conversation with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election in the United States, further I have no knowledge of any such conversations by anyone connected to the Trump campaign... any suggestion I participated in or was aware of collusion with the Russians is an appalling and detestable lie."

Did you meet with the Russian Ambassador at the April 2016 Mayflower Hotel event?

• "I did not have any private meetings nor do I recall any conversations with Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel... if any brief interaction occurred in passing with the Russian ambassador during that reception, I do not remember it."

Why did you recuse yourself?

• "I recused myself, not because of any wrongdoing... but because of a DOJ regulation... I felt it required it."
• "I recused myself from the Russia probe, but I did not recuse myself from defending my honor against scurrilous and false allegations."
• Sessions became angry when asked if there were any undisclosed reasons for his Russia probe recusal, as was suggested by Comey. "You tell me, Senator! There are none!"

What is your involvement in the Russia investigation?

• Sessions said his briefings regarding the Russia investigation stopped a day after he was sworn in as AG. "I have no knowledge about this investigation as it is ongoing today beyond what has been publicly reported."
• On Special Counsel Robert Mueller: "I have confidence in Mr. Mueller," said Sessions, but "[I] have not had any interactions with Special Counsel Mueller since his appointment."
• Did Russia interfere in the November presidential election? "It appears so," said Sessions, adding that he was never briefed on the subject.

Why did you leave Comey alone with Trump prior to their Flynn conversation?

• Sessions acknowledged that he lingered in the Oval Office, but left Comey because, "It didn't seem to me to be a major problem, I knew that Director Comey, long-time, experienced in the Dept. of Justice, could handle himself well."
• Sessions contradicted Comey's testimony, and stated that he told Comey the next day that he would tell the WH to follow proper protocol.

What was your involvement in the firing of Comey?

• "I cannot confirm or deny" whether I had a conversation with Trump about the firing of Comey.
• Sessions said he was not aware of Trump taping his Oval Office conversations.

Why are you "stonewalling" questions from the Senate panel?

• "I am not stonewalling."
• Sessions invoked the "right" not to answer certain questions because the president might invoke executive privilege at some point in the future.

Watch the highlights

Russian hackers hit election systems in at least 39 states in the summer and fall of 2016, a person with direct knowledge of the U.S. investigation into the matter told Bloomberg. Investigators have found evidence that cyber hackers tried to delete or change voter data by accessing software used by poll workers. In at least one state, hackers tried to tap a campaign finance database.

Obama's response: The extent of the hack so concerned the Obama administration, they picked up "the red phone" and talked to Moscow about it.

The attack was "far more widespread than has been publicly revealed, including incursions into voter databases and software systems in almost twice as many states as previously reported," according to Bloomberg.

Massachusetts Rep. Mike Capuano is digging in on California Rep. Brad Sherman for drawing up impeachment articles for Trump, which began circulating Monday, per Politico. Sherman has requested feedback by the middle of this week.

Sherman and Texas Rep. Al Green, who is also drafting articles, both say Trump has engaged in obstruction of justice in the Russia probe, and Sherman notes impeachment "is a long road. But we ought to begin" since it will take a while.

Breaking party lines:

1. Capuano reportedly said there should be a discussion in the caucus before moving forward.
2. Some Dems are hesitant to push swing-state voters away from going blue.
3. Democratic leadership is urging reserved actions about using the impeachment word just yet since the investigations haven't revealed enough yet.

Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein told senators Tuesday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has "full independence" to investigate the ongoing Russia probe, although he can be fired at any time.

Rosenstein said there was "no basis" for firing Mueller, and he would only dismiss him if there was "good cause" — even if Trump ordered him to do so. Rosenstein later confirmed he is the only person who could fire Mueller, but noted there was "no secret plan" to remove him, or at least, "no secret plan that involves me."

The quote: "I appointed him. I stand by that decision... I am going to defend the integrity of that investigation."

Marc Kasowitz, President Trump's personal lawyer, told associates that he had a hand in Trump's decision to fire Preet Bharara, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, earlier this year, per ProPublica.

The key quote: Kasowitz reportedly told Trump that Bharara was "going to get" him, according to ProPublica's sources.

Why this matters: While the president has the power to hire and fire U.S. attorneys, it's just another potential entanglement of Trump's personal relationships and his duty to govern — especially after Trump asked Bharara to stay in his job last November before eventually firing him in March.

We try very hard here to simply explain the Trump White House, and not join the pile-on. To us, the Trump world doesn't need more noise — it needs more explanation and illumination. But there are moments when it's important to remind even our staunchest pro-Trump readers that this often isn't anything approximating normal:

On Tuesday afternoon Jeff Sessions will face the Senate Intelligence Committee in an open hearing, where senators will grill the Attorney General about his contacts with the Russian ambassador.

Here's how Sessions will address some thorny questions, per sources familiar with his thinking:

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told the House Armed Services Committee Monday evening he sees "no evidence Mr. Putin wants a positive relationship" with the U.S., but added he thinks North Korea is the "most urgent and dangerous threat to peace and security," putting it past Russia.

Mattis also critiqued the defense budget, noting he is "shocked" by the low level of U.S. military preparedness. Trump's proposal aims to remedy that by boosting defense spending, but not by as much as many hawks would like:

• Trump vs. Obama: Trump's proposal calls for $603 billion for the DOD, whereas Obama's called for $584 billion — that is to say "it's basically the Obama approach with a little bit more, but not much," as committee chairman Mac Thornberry put it.
• That's not enough for defense hawks. They want another $37 billion. John McCain said, the "request is inadequate to the challenges we face" and "illegal under current law" — that's because the 2011 Budget Control Act which is still in place, and means his proposal is $54 billion over budget caps, per the Washington Examiner.

The Secret Service does not possess any tapes or transcripts of tapes recorded by President Trump, according to the agency's response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the Wall St Journal.

Why they asked the Secret Service: They maintained prior recording systems in the White House, perhaps most infamously the Oval Office equipment used by Richard Nixon.

Worth considering: Assuming the tapes exist, they'd likely fall under the Presidential Records Act. But the National Archives told the WSJ that presidential records of any current administration can't be obtained by a FOIA request while a president is still in office.

What's next: Trump has said he'll make an announcement soon about whether he taped conversations with James Comey, and Sean Spicer echoed that pledge in Monday's briefing.

Sean Spicer again said that President Trump will "have an announcement shortly" on whether he taped his conversations with James Comey. Spicer also reaffirmed Trump's willingness to testify under oath on the Russia probe to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but said he hasn't spoken with the president about whether he would testify before Congress, and wouldn't speculate as to if and when Trump will follow through. Briefing highlights:

• What role did Sessions play in the firing of Comey? Spicer said he won't comment on conversations between the attorney general and the president.
• Is Trump on board with Sessions testifying publicly? "He's going to testify. We're aware of it," said Spicer. He also said that it would be "premature" to state whether the WH would invoke executive privilege to recuse Sessions from answering certain questions.
• On the 9th Circuit upholding the travel ban block: "We continue to be confident the [travel ban] is lawful...will be upheld by the Supreme Court."
• On DC/Maryland emoluments lawsuit against Trump: "It's not hard to conclude there are partisan motivations behind today's lawsuit," said Spicer.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the injunction on President Trump's travel ban.

"We conclude that the President, in issuing the Executive Order, exceeded the scope of the authority delegated to him by Congress."

Trump's tweets matter: The decision cites a Trump tweet as evidence that Trump understands it is "'countries' that are inherently dangerous, rather than the 180 million individual nationals of those countries who are barred from entry under the President's 'travel ban.'"

About vetting: "There is no finding that present vetting standards are inadequate, and no finding that absent the improved vetting procedures there likely will be harm to our national interests." Caveat: This ruling does allow the Trump administration to review vetting processes — the 9th circuit diverges from the district court in this regard.

The attorneys general of Washington, D.C. and Maryland are suing President Trump for allegedly accepting payments and gifts from foreign governments while working in the White House, which they argue is in violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause, per the Washington Post.

President Trump held his first full Cabinet meeting at the White House this morning, with each Cabinet member introducing themselves to the assembled media while heaping praise on Trump. Trump himself got in on the hyperbole in his prepared statement at the top of the meeting:

• "Never has there been a president — with a few exceptions, in the case of FDR, he had a major depression to handle — who's passed more legislation, who's done more things than we've done."
• "I think we've been just about as active as we can be at a just about record-setting pace."
• "If we had the greatest bill in the history of the world on health care, we wouldn't get one vote from the Democrats."

Qatar Finance Minister Ali Shareef Al Emadi told CNBC Monday that he thinks the countries that cut diplomatic ties with Qatar last week did so because they would "like to dictate our foreign policy."

• On accusations Qatar financially supports militant groups: "We know who's behind it," said Al Emadi. "We know that all these things are really to put the propaganda against Qatar." When asked if he was referring to Saudi Arabia, Al Emadi said he would leave it to the audience to interpret.
• Financial implications of diplomatic crisis: "We are business as usual and we are open for business... this is a country that's very resilient. We have the assets and the security we need... we know we can defend the currency or we can defend the economy."

Ivanka Trump said Monday that she felt "a little blindsided" by all of the voracity and distractions that have been plaguing the Trump administration:

"It is hard, and there's a level of viciousness that I wasn't expecting. I was not expecting the intensity of this experience, but this isn't supposed to be easy. My father and this administration intends to be transformative, and we want to do big, bold things, and we're looking to change the status quo. So I didn't expect it to be easy, I think some of the distractions and some of the voracity was, I was a little blindsided by on a personal level. But for me, I'm trying to keep my head down and not listen to the noise."

Preet Bharara, fired by Trump as U.S. attorney in Manhattan, came out swinging in his first televised interview since he left office, telling George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week" that "there's absolutely evidence to begin a case" for obstruction of justice against the president.

Bharara has built a big Twitter following (255,000) quickly, and clearly is motivated: He has worked with Comey and Mueller, and was at Thursday's hearing.

So might he run for office? A New York expert emails us this dope:

"Melania Trump, son Barron move into the White House," by AP's Darlene Superville:

• "After nearly five months of living apart, President Donald Trump's wife, Melania, announced Sunday that she and the couple's young son have finally moved into the presidential mansion."
• "Mother and son broke with tradition by living at Trump Tower in New York since the inauguration so that Barron, now 11, could finish the school year uninterrupted."
• The first lady tweeted: "Looking forward to the memories we'll make in our new home! #Movingday."
• "Barron will enter the sixth grade at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland, in the fall."

With President Trump planning to fly to Miami on Friday to announce a Cuba policy that at least partly reverses President Obama's openings for commerce and travel after a half-century standoff, we asked officials inside and outside the White House to help us read between the lines:

• The base loves a little Obama-appeasement rhetoric, and Trump plans to give it to 'em.
• This was a campaign promise that won Trump some vital South Florida endorsements at a crucial time.
• This is a chance for Trump to project personal and national strength.
• It's a reminder the president can do consequential, historic things without Congress. But if you're Obama, it's also a reminder that such changes can be fleeting.
• Big win for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who tutored Trump on the issue (including in debates), and kept prodding for this announcement. Look for Rubio at Trump's event.

L.A. Times lead story, "Trump plans a reversal on ties with Cuba," by Tracy Wilkinson: "The move will be controversial. It could dull a boom in tourism by Americans to Cuba and hurt a burgeoning cottage industry of private enterprise on the socialist-ruled island. And it could allow Russia and China to more easily step in to fill the void."

• "Some Trump supporters argue however that President Raul Castro has failed to improve human rights or expand political freedoms and does not deserve better relations with the U.S."