We begin today’s roundup with Tessa Stuart’s preview of today’s big hearing:
Tuesday marks the first time [Attorney General] Sessions will testify since announcing in March that he would recuse himself from "any existing or future investigations" relating to Russia or the 2016 election – that was after the Washington Post reported on his meetings with Kislyak. Sessions' decision has reportedly strained his relationship with the president, but the extent to which he has actually distanced himself from the investigation remains the subject of fierce speculation. (For instance, Sessions was involved in the decision to fire Comey – a move Trump would later admit was motivated by "this Russia thing.")
Paul Waldman at The Week raises a key question to consider as Sessions testifies:
Donald Trump is not known for his loyalty to those who work for him. As much as he demands loyalty from others, Trump doesn't give it out freely, and Flynn is not someone he has known for very long. Yes, Trump seems enamored of generals, and Flynn was the first prominent retired high-ranking officer to endorse him. But he has also shown no hesitation about cutting people loose when they become a liability. Have you heard many stories about times in which Trump set aside his own self-interest in order to help someone else? Any? [...]
[T]he idea that it's just because he likes Flynn is impossible to believe. What we're left with then is Trump's own self-interest.
It may be that Trump believes Flynn is the keystone of the Russia scandal, and if he goes down then the scandal will accelerate until it reaches the Oval Office. It may have something to do with some piece of information or relationship we know nothing about. But what's obvious is that Trump is trying very hard to keep Flynn out of harm's way, or to keep him happy. If we can figure out why, we may understand this whole scandal a great deal better.