Axios

CNN has unearthed additional audio from Minnesota representative Jason Lewis' radio show of the congressman saying the welfare system made blacks "addicted" to government programs, arguing it was worse for them than Jim Crow, and said that African Americans had an "entitlement mentality" which led to violence in their community, among other defamatory comments against black people.

The big picture: Lewis has faced strong criticism for these comments at home since he first ran for office, but now they're getting their turn in the national spotlight. Lewis is up for re-election this fall in a county that is currently listed as a "toss up" by Real Clear Politics.

CNN has unearthed audio of Minnesota Republican Jason Lewis making misogynistic comments on a radio show he hosted from 2009 to 2014, in which he lamented that men could no longer call women "sluts," and mused about women's inability to make rational voting decisions.

Why it matters: At a time when men in power across all industries are being held accountable for disparaging or disrespecting women, repercussions for Lewis are unclear. He's up for reelection in the fall, and his seat is due to be a close one. He narrowly won the seat in 2016 by two points, and it's currently listed as a "toss up" in November by Real Clear Politics.

The FBI has obtained a recording of a conversation between Michael Cohen and Donald Trump from September 2016 in which the two discussed a potential payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal who claimed she had an affair with Trump, reports the New York Times.

What they're saying: "Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, confirmed in a telephone conversation on Friday that Mr. Trump had discussed the payments with Mr. Cohen on the tape but said the payment was ultimately never made," per the Times' Matt Apuzzo, Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt. "He said the recording was less than two minutes and demonstrated that the president had done nothing wrong."

More than 100 organizations have signed a letter demanding that no hearing date is scheduled for Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh until all of his records from his time in the George W. Bush administration are turned over to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Why it matters: The letter underscores the left's aggressive efforts to put pressure on lawmakers to stall Kavanaugh's confirmation and ensure that his past is properly vetted before putting him on the bench.

Texas Republican and former CIA officer, Rep. Will Hurd, writes in a New York Times op-ed that President Trump "actively participated in a Russian disinformation campaign" while meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki this week.

Why it matters: Lawmakers are still reeling from Trump's show of solidarity with the Russian president. But Republicans are split — while many in the GOP found Trump's joint-conference with Putin "unexplainable, unacceptable and un-American," according to Axios' Mike Allen and Jonathan Swan, few will do anything about it. But, Republican voters approved of the summit overwhelmingly (79%).

The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Health and Human Services have reunited 364 migrant children to date who had been separated at the border due to the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy, according to court documents filed Thursday evening.

The big picture: A federal court's deadline for reunifying all migrant kids in HHS's custody who were removed from their parents is next Thursday, July 26th. There are still more than 2,100 children who have not been reunited. 229 parents are currently unable to be reunified either because parents have waived reunification, are in criminal custody or have been deemed ineligible.

The Trump administration is allowing Somalian immigrants to keep their special immigration status that allows them to remain in the United States at least until the status is considered again in 2020, reports the AP.

The big picture: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the armed conflict that has been going on in the country was the reason behind the decision not to remove special immigration status from Somali immigrants. However, the administration won't be accepting any more from the country. It has held a special designation since 1991.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Thursday that conclusions reached by U.S. intelligence agencies and criminal indictments presented are "based on evidence," adding that they don't "reflect mere guesses."

Why it matters: Rosenstein's remarks came after President Trump raised doubts at a press conference with Vladimir Putin about U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia had meddled in the 2016 presidential election.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) withdrew President Trump’s nomination of Ryan Bounds to serve on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just moments before his candidacy was set for a confirmation vote on Thursday due to racially insensitive past writings.

Why it matters: The move is a major win for Democrats and a blow to the GOP's ongoing transformation of the federal bench with young, conservative judges at a near-unprecedented pace.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed on Wednesday that the New York State Department of Tax and Finance is investigating the Donald J. Trump Foundation for possible violation of state law.

The big picture: New York's tax department joins the State Attorney General's office in investigating the foundation. Cuomo said he told the Attorney General's office that he "will grant criminal jurisdiction...if they request it." The foundation is in possible violation of transferring assets "or making certain misrepresentations to the state with respect to tax liability and tax assignment," NY Daily News reports citing an official.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, speaking at the Aspen Security Forum Thursday, said that while she hasn't "seen any evidence" that Russia targeted the U.S. election "to favor a particular political party," she agrees with the intelligence community's assessment "full stop."

Why it matters: The administration has vacillated on the the extent to which Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. The issue came to a head on Monday when President Trump refused to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin about Moscow's involvement during their joint press conference. The administration has since sought to clarify their position.

President Trump has nominated Donald Palmer, a former elections official from Virginia, to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the independent commission tasked with helping states update and improve their elections' security.

Why it matters: The commission is unable to take policy action, such as updating technical guidelines for voting systems’ security, unless it has three commissioners — a problem Palmer would solve if confirmed.

At a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) motioned to subpoena the American interpreter who sat in the room with President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during their one-on-one meeting in Helsinki, but were voted down by committee Republicans, reports ABC News.

The big picture: House Intel has faced criticism for the partisan nature of its investigation and findings regarding Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

President Trump told CBS News' Jeff Glor that he dreams about running against Joe Biden in 2020, claiming that the former vice president "never got more than 1%" during his two election bids and that President Obama "took him out of the garbage heap."

Why it matters: Biden has been floated as a Democratic contender for the 2020 party nomination, and will reportedly make a decision on whether he'll run by January. The former VP has not hesitated to directly criticize Trump, in one instance going as far as to say he would "beat the hell out of him" if they were in high school together.

Saying Trump committed treason in Helsinki goes too far for some leading Democrats, who are worried about sending the wrong message during an election year, AP's Laurie Kellman writes.

Why it matters: "If Democrats align behind the term, it raises the question of what they plan to do about it. The party ... doesn't have an answer."

We told you yesterday why elected Republicans go so silent so quickly when they disagree so strongly with President Trump: They fear it's political suicide to speak up. Now we have an exclusive, new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll that shows why those fears are real.

Be smart: This poll foreshadows the coming national drama. Every piece of data, and virtually every public action of elected Republican officials, shows Trump will have overwhelming and probably unbreakable party support, regardless of what Robert Mueller finds with his Russia probe.