First Draft on Politics: A Double Negative

President Trump abruptly reversed course and claimed he had misspoken during a news conference with Vladimir Putin. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, July 18, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [President Trump’s handwritten notes can be seen in the margins of his prepared remarks Tuesday.] President Trump’s handwritten notes can be seen in the margins of his prepared remarks Tuesday. Tom Brenner for The New York Times Good Wednesday morning, Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today: - Under pressure, President Trump [said he misspoke in Finland]( when he seemed to take the word of President Vladimir V. Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russia meddled in the 2016 election. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said that he accepted the agencies’ findings, and that his unsuccessful attempt to use “sort of a double negative” had caused a misunderstanding. - Congressional Republicans [scrambled to mitigate]( the damage done by Mr. Trump’s statements in Helsinki, setting a public hearing in the Senate next week, examining new sanctions on Moscow and reaffirming the fraying NATO alliance. - In interviews with conservatives and Trump supporters across a half-dozen states, [there were many theories]( about the president’s performance: He was tougher with Mr. Putin in private; he is cutting a mega-deal; he has a plan — but some doubts, too. - Without mentioning Mr. Trump by name, former President Barack Obama [delivered a pointed rebuke]( of “strongman politics” on Tuesday, warning about growing nationalism, xenophobia and bigotry in the United States and around the world. - The Trump administration[will end a longstanding requirement]( that certain nonprofit organizations disclose the names of large donors to the Internal Revenue Service, a move that will allow some political groups to shield their sources of funding from government scrutiny. - Representative Martha Roby of Alabama [prevailed in a Republican primary election]( that unfolded as a test of fealty to the president, defeating a challenger who assailed her for withdrawing her support for Mr. Trump in the last days of the 2016 campaign. [See what’s coming up next on the primary calendar »]( — The First Draft Team HAVE A CONFIDENTIAL NEWS TIP? Do you have the next big story? Want to share it with The New York Times? We offer several ways to get in touch with and provide materials to our journalists. [Learn More »]( ADVERTISEMENT [Climate Fwd: Newsletter]( What on Earth is going on? Sign up to get our latest stories and insights about climate change — along with answers to your questions and tips on how to help. [• Sign Up »]( News Analysis [For Republicans, ‘The Dam Has Broken.’ But for How Long?]( By PETER BAKER [Protests outside the White House on Monday night after President Trump's news conference with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.]( Protests outside the White House on Monday night after President Trump's news conference with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Tom Brenner for The New York Times After 17 months, three weeks and six days of Donald J. Trump’s tumultuous presidency, some of his fellow Republicans had finally had enough. “The dam has broken,” Senator Bob Corker, a Republican critic from Tennessee, said on Tuesday. But has it really broken and if so for how long? As Mr. Trump scrambled to patch any holes on Tuesday by reimagining his extraordinary news conference [with Russia’s president]( the day before in Helsinki, Finland, the question was whether he had reached a genuine turning point or simply endured another one of those episodes that seems decisive but ultimately fades into the next one. For the moment, at least, this time did feel different. [Read more »](  [Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, offered President Trump a soccer ball during their joint news conference Monday in Helsinki, Finland. Russia just hosted the World Cup tournament.]( [Right and Left React to the Trump-Putin Meeting]( By JENNIFER JETT Writers from across the political spectrum give their impressions on President Trump’s meeting with his Russian counterpart in Helsinki, Finland, and his remarks afterward. [Syrian protesters waving Iranian, Russian and Syrian flags during a demonstration against American-led air strikes in Damascus in April.]( [American-Russian Relations in Syria? Less Rosy Than Trump and Putin Assert]( By ERIC SCHMITT AND THOMAS GIBBONS-NEFF After their meeting in Finland, the two presidents lauded what they called the close cooperation between their militaries in Syria. But the record is more mixed. [‘I Just Simply Did What He Wanted’: Sexual Abuse in Immigrant Detention Facilities]( By EMILY KASSIE Immigrant detention is expanding under the Trump administration, increasing the risk of sexual assault in a system where abuse is not uncommon. Two women told us their stories of being sexually abused by guards while under the custody of ICE. [William F. Browder, an American-born financier now based in Britain, leaving an anti-graft prosecutor’s office in Madrid in May.]( [Who Is Bill Browder, Kremlin Foe Singled Out in Putin’s Offer?]( By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ AND KENNETH P. VOGEL William F. Browder, an investor, has led a global human rights fight against the Kremlin that has resulted in sanctions being leveled against Russian officials, becoming a thorn in President Vladimir Putin’s side. [Richard Ojeda, a Democrat running for Congress, campaigned in Logan, W.Va., in early July. He has built support in a deep red coal-country district by riding a wave of labor activism sparked by a successful statewide teachers’ strike.]( [Can a Pro-Coal Democrat in West Virginia Carve a Path for His Party?]( By TRIP GABRIEL Richard Ojeda, a populist Democrat riding a wave of labor activism, is making a deep-red House district look flippable, and may show his party a way to win in Trump country. [Antonio Delgado, a Democratic candidate for Congress, performed under the stage name “AD the Voice.”]( [A Congressional Candidate Used to Be a Rapper. Will It Matter?]( By ASTEAD W. HERNDON Antonio Delgado is trying to unseat John Faso, a Republican incumbent in New York. [The Internal Revenue Service will no longer require labor unions, social clubs and many political groups like the Koch network’s Americans for Prosperity to disclose their large donors.]( [I.R.S. Will No Longer Force Kochs and Other Groups to Disclose Donors]( By JIM TANKERSLEY AND PATRICIA COHEN The change by the Trump administration applies to many nonprofits that are active in politics, and was praised by conservatives. [President Trump at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit meeting in Brussels last week.]( Fact Check of the Day [Trump Inaccurately Says NATO Spending Is Increasing ‘Only Because of Me’]( By LINDA QIU Mr. Trump said he had single-handedly raised “vast amounts of money” for NATO while at the military alliance’s headquarters last week, a visit he described as “great.” [Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, said the nation’s intelligence agencies “have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy.”]( [Intelligence Chief Finds His Voice. Will It Anger Trump?]( By JULIAN E. BARNES Dan Coats has emerged to defend the intelligence agencies more publicly — under a president who has long denigrated them. [President Trump held a working lunch on Monday with Vladimir V. Putin at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland.]( News Analysis [Confronted With Evidence of Russian Hacking, Trump Reverts to Conspiracy]( By DAVID E. SANGER In Finland, Mr. Trump raised a series of largely irrelevant conspiracy theories, none of which were directly related to the evidence of Russian hacking. [President Trump speaking Tuesday after the lights turned off during a meeting with members of Congress at the White House.]( [Would It or Wouldn’t It Be Russia: Trump Goes Double Negative]( By MATT FLEGENHEIMER Mr. Trump didn’t say in Finland that he doesn’t support American intelligence about Moscow’s interference in the 2016 election. Got that? [George Soros.]( Feature [Soros Bet Big on Liberal Democracy. Now He Fears He Is Losing.]( By MICHAEL STEINBERGER His enemies paint him as all-powerful, but the billionaire philanthropist George Soros believes that his political legacy has never been in greater jeopardy. LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. And consider [subscribing to get unlimited access to nytimes.com and our apps.]( ADVERTISEMENT HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [washington-newsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:washington-newsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback). FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@NYTPolitics]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps for just $9.99. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's First Draft newsletter. 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