OFF TO THE RACES: DCCC tries to tie Trump to House Republicans
The DCCC is up with a tough pre-convention buy tying congressional Republicans to Donald Trump. In one, GOP House members who back Trump are equated to the “sidekick” of the school bully; in another, one voter asks “If he’s our standard-bearer, what the heck happened to our standards?” The committee says it’s a seven-figure national cable and digital buy with a particular focus on independent women. The ads target well-funded GOP incumbents in 10 competitive districts, including Mike Coffman of Colorado and Carlos Curbelo of Florida.
CLINTON: NBC's legal team looked back at other FBI probes involving classified information to see how treatment of Clinton's email server compares.
Paul Ryan is formally asking the DNI's James Clapper to deny Clinton classified security briefings.
And the FBI's James Comey will testify before a congressional panel today about the email investigation.
She extended an olive branch to Bernie Sanders on college tuition, and a possible endorsement could be in the works.
She's going to keep hammering away at Trump's business record, the Wall Street Journal notes.
TRUMP: Don't miss the second chapter of NBC's special project looking back at the mix of economic, political and demographic developments that made the electoral climate ripe for Trump. Leigh Ann Caldwell authors the latest installment, which also includes archival video from NBC's Matt Rivera.
Just as the DOJ closed out the email probe against Clinton, Trump appeared in Cincinnati to talk about, well, just about everything else. NBC's Ali Vitali reports.
More, from the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump on Wednesday offered a defiant defense of his campaign’s decision to publish an image widely viewed as anti-Semitic — saying he regretted deleting it — and vigorously reaffirmed his praise of Saddam Hussein, the murderous Iraqi dictator."
And then this happened: "Shortly after Donald Trump lamented publicly that his social media team replaced a tweet originally featuring a symbol resembling the Star of David, the presumptive GOP nominee posted a photo Wednesday of a 'Frozen' sticker book with a similar symbol."
He’s on the Hill today, but a lot of Republicans offered excuses about why they won’t be able to make the meeting.
Trump's praise for Saddam Hussein didn't come in a vacuum; he's got a history of positive assessments of dictators, writes Christina Coleburn.
Eric Trump had a lot to say to a Washington Post reporter who has dug into Trump's record - or lack thereof - of giving to charity.
Marco Rubio will no longer go to the Republican National Convention, NBC's Frank Thorp confirms.