EBONY BOWDEN of the N.Y. Post is today's pooler, and she said the president arrived at his golf club in Virginia at 9:04 a.m. VERY, VERY STUNNING STUFF. Read this story by KYLE CHENEY and ANDREW DESIDERIO: "Graham releases declassified docs on early months of Russia probe": "A Senate committee released declassified documents Friday suggesting that senior FBI officials were initially skeptical of the emerging narrative that Donald Trump's presidential campaign was in contact with Russian intelligence officers. "The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), published the documents as part of a GOP-led review of the origins of the Russia investigation that has ensnared the president and his associates for years. Trump himself has encouraged the Senate's probe, while Democrats have panned it as a politically motivated effort to boost the president. "The documents suggest that even as press reports began to describe connections between Americans in Trump's orbit and figures in Russia's shadowy intelligence services, the FBI had gathered little, if any, evidence that such ties existed." The notes on an NYT story … 57-page report … Graham's summary -- WELCOME to the next phase of this story on Capitol Hill. We expect this will grab attention in the House and Senate, and this will get talked about in the lead up to the election. The Republicans we talk to are already saying this is a major scandal. TRUMP'S FRONTS: WAPO, with this headline and a photo of camo-wearing soldiers: "Portland wants federal agents to leave" … N.Y. POST … NYT, with "Bowman Beats Top Democrat In House Race" … WSJ WHAT AMERICA IS READING … THE NATION'S FRONT PAGES: Tampa Bay Times: "DeSantis defies virus task force" … Des Moines Register: "Reynolds: In-person classes a must" … Portland Press Herald: "GOVERNOR ISSUES RULES FOR GETTING MAINE BACK TO SCHOOL" … Baltimore Sun: "Hogan pushes ahead with election plan despite warnings from officials" … … Detroit Free Press: "Whitmer: Masks not required to vote at polls" … Charlotte Observer: "American Airlines says it expects thousands of furloughs, layoffs" … The Oregonian: "U.S. attorney to investigate arrests" NEWS ANALYSIS … NYT'S MAGGIE HABERMAN: "Trump Promotes Caricature of What Conservatives Want": "From holding a Bible aloft for a photo op outside a historic church, to scolding NASCAR for banning the Confederate flag at its races, to heralding the 'heritage' of the South, Mr. Trump repeatedly elevates to the public stage what he imagines are the top priorities for the voters who back him." PPP UPDATE … WSJ: "Firms With Troubled Pasts Got Millions of Dollars in PPP Small-Business Aid," by Cezary Podkul and Orla McCaffrey: "Last November, a federal judge ordered an asset freeze against a California company that the Federal Trade Commission accused of pretending to be working with the Education Department and promising student-loan debt relief that never materialized. "Six months later, the company, Arete Financial Group, got a lifeline from the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program. Arete, which the FTC said helped cheat borrowers out of at least $43 million, received as much as $1 million to help keep its operations afloat, according to Small Business Administration figures disclosed earlier in July. Company executive Carey Howe has denied the FTC's allegations in court. He declined to comment on the case or the PPP loan." -- FOR YOUR PHASE 4/5 NOTEBOOK … TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN suggested Congress may forgive small PPP loans. How will he define small? Will this make its way into the talks? REMEMBER: MARK MEADOWS will be more involved this time around. FOGGY BOTTOM REPORT … WAPO: "State Department releases cable that launched claims that coronavirus escaped from Chinese lab," by John Hudson and Nate Jones REEXAMINING THE GOVERNORS … -- LAT: "Newsom reopened California without meeting his own coronavirus testing, tracing benchmarks," by Taryn Luna in Sacramento: "A month into his stay-at-home order and under pressure to lift restrictions, Gov. Gavin Newsom drew a line in the sand: In order to safely reopen and suppress the coronavirus, California needed to be able to test everyone with COVID-19 symptoms and trace the contacts of confirmed cases. … But three weeks later, Newsom began reopening businesses before meeting his own benchmarks." -- TAMPA BAY TIMES: "How Ron DeSantis has changed his messaging during Florida's pandemic," by Mary Ellen Klass and Kirby Wilson BEYOND THE BELTWAY … CHICAGO TRIBUNE: "House Speaker Michael Madigan drawn closer to federal corruption probe, but many Democrats take wait-and-see approach — 'We've been on this ride before,'" by Rick Pearson: "The extent of [House Speaker Michael] Madigan's power over Democratic politics was evident from the muted responses of a number of members of his own House majority after federal prosecutors implicated the nation's longest-serving statehouse leader as the beneficiary of a near-decadelong bribery and influence scheme conducted through Commonwealth Edison. "As federal subpoenas were delivered to Madigan's large third-floor office at the State Capitol, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who deferred much of his first-term agenda to the speaker, said Madigan owed the public an explanation and should resign if allegations of wrongdoing are true. Pritzker's remark was echoed by Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, who heads the county Democratic Party, as well as by a few of Madigan's Democrats in the House." -- CHICAGO TRIBUNE ED BOARD: "Time to step down, Mr. Speaker" NYT'S ELAINA PLOTT in La Porte, Ind.: "Why Trump's Attacks on John Roberts Aren't Working With Some Conservatives": "Mitch Feikes is one of many conservatives who disagreed with some of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.'s recent decisions, including striking down a restrictive Louisiana abortion law and ruling against the White House in its effort to undo an Obama-era immigration program. "Which is what makes it somewhat surprising when Mr. Feikes, the chairman of the LaPorte County Republican Party in Indiana, says he isn't moved by President Trump's recent attacks on Chief Justice Roberts or his new attempt to campaign on the need for more conservative justices on the Supreme Court. "Focusing on the court helped Mr. Trump win the presidency in 2016, when the promise of a new right-of-center justice motivated Republicans of all stripes, including Mr. Feikes, to stick with their party despite concerns with the nominee. But now, if anyone is threatening the future of conservatism, Mr. Feikes said, it is not Chief Justice Roberts. "'I disagree with how Trump attacks people and acts really unpresidential,' acknowledged Mr. Feikes, speaking in his living room on a recent Monday morning. 'And I understand there's going to be a lot of Supreme Court vacancies coming up. But I don't know if I can. …'" | 
