| ➔ POLITICS & CAMPAIGNS: *** EXCLUSIVE *** The Hill’s Reid Wilson, reporting from Los Angeles, explains HERE how Democrats are intent on flipping House GOP seats in California. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) will spend millions of dollars on television advertisements aimed at winning Republican-held seats in historically red Orange County this November, signaling a major play for seats the party must recapture in order to reclaim the House. The DCCC will announce Tuesday it will spend $3.1 million on television spots in the Los Angeles media market, the most significant part of the committee's third wave of advertising buys this year. California has been a major priority for Democrats plotting to recapture the House. Seven of the state's 14 Republican-held districts voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and the party is hoping that President Trump's dismal approval ratings in the Golden State translate to pickups.” > The Morning Report’s Jonathan Easley is also out west, reporting from the Koch network gathering in Colorado. We told you yesterday about the deep frustration within the network at Trump and the GOP-held Congress over spending and trade. On Monday, the network made an example out of Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), saying it would not support his bid against Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) because of his federal vote record on spending. Other Republicans are on notice, too. The deep-pocketed and enormously influential groups within the network are freezing out Republicans they believe have violated the group’s fiscally conservative principles. The Hill: Koch network freezing out Republicans who have crossed them. At least for now, the network supports just four Senate GOP candidates – a signal it will be selective as Republicans seek to retain or grow their narrow 51-49 majority. “We’re raising the bar and raising expectations.” – Americans for Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel The Hill interviewed more than a half-dozen of the network’s largest donors and found broad support for targeting or freezing out Republicans they view as fiscally irresponsible — even if it costs the party the House and Senate in the fall. “The Koch network is not an auxiliary for the Republican Party. It’s not a booster club for Republicans. We’re based on principles … if there is short-term pain for long-term gain, it might be unfortunate but it’s necessary.” – Art Pope, North Carolina businessman and Koch network donor > Trump holds a rally tonight in Florida, the battleground state he won by only 112,911 votes in 2016. It’s Trump’s 36th rally in the Sunshine State since launching his bid for the presidency and his eighth rally in the Tampa area. The president will look to boost some of his closest allies in the state, including Gov. Rick Scott (R), who is challenging Sen. Bill Nelson (D), and Rep. Ron DeSantis (R), who is running for governor. Trump, in Florida races, is the issue that counts, The New York Times reports. More analysis from The New York Times: In the final 98 days, the midterm battlefields are not what political analysts expected. Elsewhere along the campaign trail … Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) trails in his bid for a third term (Washington Examiner) … Young Americans are eager to elect new leaders to Congress (The Associated Press) … Democratic candidates are embracing new gun measures, despite the political risks (Reuters) … House Democrats are starting to plan for a push for “Medicare for all” legislation if they win back the House in November (The Hill). ➔ INVESTIGATIONS: Special counsel Robert Mueller’s first jury trial gets underway today, as jury selection begins in the case against Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman.
NBC News: Manafort is first to face trial in Russia probe.
The Washington Post: Manafort will seek to limit evidence of his extensive dealings with Russian-linked Ukrainian oligarchs, including with some who remained in contact with him through 2016.
Yet, the charges against Manafort are about work he did years before the Trump campaign and separate from the investigation into Russia’s interference with the election. He faces a litany of corruption, fraud and tax evasion charges pertaining to political and lobbying work he performed for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Bloomberg: Manafort earned more than $60 million as a political consultant in Ukraine, Mueller says.
The Washington Post on Monday released an 18-minute documentary called “The Foreign Consultant: The spectacular rise and fall of Paul Manafort.” You can watch the video HERE.
Meanwhile, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani told USA Today that the president’s legal team is preparing its own report to counter any report that Mueller’s office might release about the Russia investigation.
Giuliani has been all over the media this week, simultaneously pushing back against Mueller and fighting Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen, who is feuding with Trump even as his business practices are being investigated by the FBI.
“I have been sitting here looking in the federal code trying to find collusion as a crime. Collusion is not a crime.” – Giuliani on “Fox & Friends”
➔ ADMINISTRATION: FEMA: The personnel chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency — who resigned just weeks ago — is under investigation after being accused of creating an atmosphere of widespread sexual harassment over years in which women were hired as possible sexual partners for male employees (The Washington Post).
Justice Department: Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of a federal religious liberty task force (The Hill). Sessions said the task force will ensure that Trump guidance issued last year will be carried out by department personnel “in the cases they bring and defend, the arguments they make in court, the policies and regulations they adopt, and how we conduct our operations.” Treasury Department: Secretary Steven Mnuchin is preparing plans on Wednesday to finance the surging U.S. budget deficit. His choices are seen as key to the fate of the yield curve, which is drawing scrutiny because of its march toward inversion (Bloomberg) … The flattening Treasury yield curve indicates economic trouble ahead (Forbes) … Treasury eyes $100 billion capital gains tax cut for the wealthy with or without new law (The New York Times and The Washington Post). | 
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