| CONGRESS: The president’s alleged legal entanglements tied to federal campaign finance law and the guilty pleas filed on Tuesday by Trump’s former personal attorney do not point toward articles of impeachment, nor is impeaching Trump a priority for House Democrats, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday. “Impeachment has to spring from something else,” she told The Associated Press. If Democrats win the House in November, Pelosi said she prefers to see her party conduct oversight next year and to ensure that Mueller and his team are able to complete their investigation. The Washington Post: Democrats lean on ethics, “self-enrichment” themes more than impeachment talk. On Tuesday, Cohen implicated the president, telling a court that as a candidate and for election purposes, his client directed him in 2016 to arrange payments to two women in exchange for their silence about alleged affairs with Trump. Cohen’s assertions that he violated the law at the direction of candidate Trump prompted the president’s progressive detractors to rethink the political foundation beneath Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged Senate Republicans to delay consideration of the president’s nominee to the high court because Trump has been implicated in a criminal pleading. “It’s a game changer,” Schumer said. Democrats’ logic is that the president’s pending pick to become a fifth vote in the majority on a court that could be called on to render judgment on Trump’s presidency and executive authority is in essence a conflict (The Hill). Senate Democrats have also been eager to find a way to delay Kavanaugh’s consideration this fall, believing that their objections on grounds of process and legal perspectives gained little traction with voters over the summer. For House and Senate Democratic leaders, Cohen’s guilty pleas pose new challenges among those who sought to avoid the appearance of impeachment overreach while wooing independent and disaffected GOP voters this year. Democrats dodged the issue on Wednesday (The Hill). West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who is in a tough reelection battle in a state that voted overwhelmingly for Trump, has already met with Kavanaugh and frowns on the idea of delaying his Senate consideration. “Let’s do our job,” he said (The Hill). Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono (D), on the other hand, said she canceled her scheduled sit-down with Kavanaugh “because I choose not to extend a courtesy to this president who is an unindicted co-conspirator ... of meeting with his nominee" (The Hill). Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who is weighing a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, pointed to a different potential conflict. She said should Trump decide to pardon Manafort, convicted on Tuesday on eight felony counts of tax and bank fraud, it would amount to obstruction of justice and a crime (The Hill). The Hill: Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer’s impeach-Trump organization plans a new advertising blitz following the Cohen and Manafort convictions. “How much more corruption do we need to see?” Steyer asked on Twitter. The Hill: Impeachment debate moves to center of midterm fight. The New York Times: When is an offense impeachable? Look to the Framers. **** CAMPAIGNS & POLITICS: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) isn’t going away quietly after being indicted along with his wife for misusing campaign funds, causing a new election headache for Republicans less than three months out from the midterm elections. Speaker Ryan wants Hunter off his committee assignments but Hunter has refused and may have to be forced out (The Hill). Hunter, who was one of Trump’s earliest backers in the House, says he is the victim of a Justice Department “witch hunt.” The Hill: 10 ways Hunter allegedly misused campaign money. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who represents a neighboring district and is not seeking reelection in November, is accusing the Justice Department of sitting on the indictment so that Republicans would not be able to replace Hunter on the ballot. "I believe that the assistant U.S. attorney has totally screwed us … I believe that this is political misconduct by the assistant U.S. attorney, and I believe it simply because all deadlines, as far as I know, as far as I've been told, have passed … I don't know how you make any kind of sense other than he sat on it for most of three years and certainly the last year … As far as I know, we've got no legal way for Duncan to get off the ballot and somebody else to get on. As far as I know that's where we stand." – Issa Trump won Hunter’s district by 15 points in 2016 and the GOP can’t afford to lose the seat in November. California’s secretary of state says it’s too late to replace Hunter on the ballot. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report on Wednesday shifted the race from “Solid Republican” to “Leans Republican.” The Hill: Hunter indictment scrambles California race. > While much of the focus this cycle has been on the House, four new polls suggest a wild finish in the Senate, where Republicans hope to grow their slim 51-49 majority. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) find themselves in tougher than expected races, while Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is suddenly in trouble. NBC News: Cruz leads Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) by 4 points. O’Rourke came out in support of NFL players kneeling for the national anthem this week, which could be a turning point in the race (The Hill). Monmouth University: Menendez leads GOP businessman Bob Hugin (N.J.) by 6 points. Florida Politics: Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) leads Nelson by 6 points. Meanwhile, Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s (D-Wis.) race has tightened significantly now that she has a Republican challenger, Leah Vukmir. 
© Twitter More from the campaign trail … The Democratic National Committee says it called the FBI to investigate a new hacking effort (CNN). | 
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