Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… Russians hacked the Democratic National Committee’s opposition files on Donald Trump, which we assume means there’s about to be a team of very confused Russian intelligence operatives listening for hours on end to episodes of The Howard Stern Show from the 1990s.
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‘16 from 30,000: Ahead of his highly anticipated meeting with Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders on Tuesday called for significant reforms to the way the Democratic Party chooses its presidential nominees. The reforms, which would include new leadership at the Democratic National Committee, fall somewhere between suggestions and demands, depending on who you ask. And notably, Sanders told reporters he would be spending the coming weeks fighting for the changes, even brushing off a question about whether he was prepared to endorse Clinton.
The Vermont senator wants to see changes to parts of the electoral process that he felt hurt his 2016 chances, focusing on elimination of superdelegates, the expansion of open primaries that would allow independents to vote in the Democratic nominating contests, and more universal same-day voter registration.
So how much bargaining power does Sanders really have? There is certainly much to be said about how Sanders energized millions of Democrats, especially young people, with a campaign that far exceeded most everyone’s expectations. And Democratic unity is at a premium at a moment when the general election race between Clinton and Trump gets nastier by the day. But on this final day of the Democratic primary, here are some numbers to keep in mind: Sanders received 3.6 million fewer votes than Clinton did throughout the nominating process. He also lost in pledged delegates (55%-45%). When it comes to electoral victories, his biggest advantages came in the form of caucuses, which plenty of critics argue are less accessible to voters than all-day primaries. Does Sanders have leverage? Absolutely. Is it limitless? Not hardly.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
The Democratic National Committee's computer network was breached by Russian government cyber operations that have had access to the group's communications and databases since at least last summer, NBC News confirmed.
Donald Trump is heading to Capitol Hill next month.
Clinton fired back at Trump after Monday’s address slamming her plans for combating terror.
Obama also got in on the Trump slamming.
The NRA is spent millions on senators opposing gun regulations, NBC’s Mark Murray and Emma Kinery report.
Bernie Sanders called for significant reforms to the way the Democratic Party chooses its presidential nominees, including calling for new leadership at the DNC.
Here’s a preview of tonight’s highly anticipated Sanders, Clinton meeting.
After Orlando, GOP unity behind Trump seems to be growing more elusive, NBC’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.
FOR THE RECORD
"Not once has an adviser said, ‘Man, if we use that phrase, we are going to turn this whole thing around.’”
-- President Obama responding to Trump’s criticism of his reluctance to say “radical Islam.”
TOMORROW’S SKED
Trump holds a noon rally in Atlanta.
