DEMS/HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Top Democrats in the House and the Senate demanded on Tuesday [7-17-18] that Republican leaders stifle conservative attacks on the special counsel’s Russia investigation and compel President Trump’s senior national security advisers to testify to Congress about Monday’s [7-17-18] extraordinary summit meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia…Republicans from across the ideological spectrum were left reeling on Monday after Mr. Trump stood beside Mr. Putin and, in a spectacular display for an American president, sided with the Russian leader over his own government’s assessment of Russian election interference in 2016. Most said plainly that they did not agree, but they made no immediate proposals to check Mr. Trump beyond statements. Republican leaders instead advanced cautiously on Tuesday. Early in the day, they appeared to coalesce around the idea of possibly enacting additional sanctions to punish Russia for its interference campaign.”
–Nicholas Fandos and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Democrats Demand Action to Punish Trump, but G.O.P. Is Cautious,” The New York Times online, July 17, 2018