This sad, embarrassing wreck of a man  —  America's child president had a play date with a KGB alumnus, who surely enjoyed providing day care.  It was a useful, because illuminating, event: Now we shall see how many Republicans retain a capacity for embarrassment.

Senator Calls For Hearing With U.S. Interpreter In Trump-Putin Meeting  —  Congress needs to know what Trump “promised Putin on our behalf,” says Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.  —  WASHINGTON Nobody knows what President Donald Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin in their private …

'Putin's Favorite Congressman' Now Engulfed in NRA Spy Case … Pro-Kremlin GOP Congressman Dana Rohrabacher met with a Putin ally in Russia in August 2015, The Daily Beast has confirmed, matching an account in Monday's blockbuster FBI affidavit against accused Russian spy Maria Butina.

“This Was the Nightmare Scenario”: The West Wing Revolts After Trump Embraces Putin  —  As Trump grappled with his error, Chief of Staff John Kelly went into overdrive to get Trump to walk it back.  —  As he flew home from Helsinki on Air Force One following his disastrous press conference …

Now We All Know What Putin Has on Trump  —  After a summit that left most Americans stunned—but maybe not surprised—the truth is now obvious: Trump is doing Putin's bidding.  And the reasons why are clear.  GQ's Julia Ioffe on Putin's monumental win and the lasting result of Trump's Helsinki debacle.

Special counsel offers immunity to five witnesses for Paul Manafort trial  —  The special counsel prosecuting Paul Manafort is seeking to give immunity to five potential witnesses in advance of his trial in Alexandria federal court next week.  —  All five have said they will not testify …

Cambridge Analytica's Facebook data was accessed from Russia, MP says  —  The now infamous Facebook data set on tens of millions of Americans gathered by a Cambridge University scientist for a firm that went on to worked for Donald Trump's 2016 campaign was accessed from Russia, a British member of parliament tells CNN.

Ocasio-Cortez draws ire from Democrats: ‘Meteors fizz out’  —  Frustrated Democratic lawmakers are offering Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez some advice: Cool it.  —  Ocasio-Cortez stunned the political world with her upset primary victory last month over Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) …

Donald Trump's Turnberry firm paid £50,000 by US Government for weekend visit  —  Donald Trump personally profited by more than £50,000 from his weekend stay at his loss-making Turnberry resort, with the US government footing the accommodation bill for the president and his entourage, The Scotsman can reveal.

Top Voting Machine Vendor Admits It Installed Remote-Access Software on Systems Sold to States  —  Remote-access software and modems on election equipment ‘is the worst decision for security short of leaving ballot boxes on a Moscow street corner.’  —  The nation's top voting machine maker …

Intel Chair: FBI, DOJ Obstructing Trump Probe in Hope of Dem Takeover in Congress  —  Nunes says DOJ, FBI betting on Dems killing probe  —  The chair of the House Intelligence Committee accused the FBI and Department of Justice of stonewalling a sprawling investigation into claims …

‘These guys need to wake up’: House Republicans badly outraised in midterms  —  A whopping 56 Republican House incumbents raised less money than Democratic challengers in the second quarter.  —  An unusually large number of House Republican incumbents were outraised by their Democratic opponents …

Why Trump's GOP critics never go nuclear  —  Critics — mostly Democrats but some Republicans, too — say it's time to do something about Trump's actions, not just say something.  —  Hours after Donald Trump sidled up to Vladimir Putin at their now-infamous press conference …

A Congressional Candidate Used to Be a Rapper.  Will It Matter?  —  RHINEBECK, N.Y. — Antonio Delgado is a lot of things: a Rhodes Scholar, a graduate of Harvard Law School, a former lawyer at one of the country's largest lobbying firms, and now the Democratic nominee for Congress …

Stop Calling It ‘Treason’  —  What Trump actually did is bad enough.  —  There is loose talk of “treason,” and no one expected more from Jimmy Kimmel: He is a comedian and, as he has demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt, a fool—a reminder that “comedian” and “fool” were at one point near-synonyms in English.

The Great CNN Baby Boom  —  AN UNPRECEDENTED NUMBER OF THE NETWORK'S MOST PROMINENT WOMEN ARE PROVING THEY CAN HANDLE A MADDENING NEWS CYCLE  —  When Brianna Keilar saw her CNN colleague Pamela Brown adjust her dress  —  , she became suspicious.  “We were sitting on set …

I.R.S. Will No Longer Force Kochs and Other Groups to Disclose Donors  —  The Trump administration will end a longstanding requirement that certain nonprofit organizations disclose the names of their large donors to the Internal Revenue Service, a move that will allow some political groups …

The Helsinki fiasco showcases Pence's hypocrisy once again  —  The best film ever done on the Trump administration is called “The Death of Stalin.”  It is a dark but wholly brilliant comedy about how Stalin's closest henchmen maneuvered for power in the days after the death of their publicly revered but actually despised leader.