The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Après Cobb, Le Déluge

-Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey)

Today in 5 Lines

• Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer in charge of dealing with the Russia investigation, will retire at the end of the month and be replaced by Emmet Flood. Bloomberg reports that President Trump’s current team of lawyers lacks the security clearances necessary to view sensitive materials related to the investigation.

• A group of 18 House Republicans nominated Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to denuclearize North Korea and end the Korean War.

• The two African American men who were arrested last month at a Philadelphia Starbucks reached a settlement with the city for a symbolic $1 each and $200,000 to fund a grant program for young entrepreneurs.

• At least five National Guard members were killed in a military cargo plane crash in Georgia.

• Cambridge Analytica, the embattled data firm linked to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, announced it’s shutting down. The company recently received criticism for allegedly misusing the data of millions of Facebook users.

Today on The Atlantic

• Who Is Emmet Flood?: The newcomer to Trump’s legal team is a veteran White House lawyer with experience in executive-privilege disputes. (Lena Felton)

• Trump’s War With Mueller: The president has repeatedly indicated his intention to interfere with the special counsel’s Russia probe, so it shouldn’t be surprising when he eventually does. (David A. Graham)

• Pants on Fire: President Trump’s New York doctor, Harold Bornstein, admitted on Tuesday that Trump dictated a letter testifying to his health. The revelation shows, yet again, that the president and his allies are liars. (Conor Friedersdorf)

• It’s a Bad Idea: A Republican proposal to strengthen work requirements in the SNAP program would likely worsen poverty and nutrition insecurity in rural America. (Vann R. Newkirk II)

• Zuckerberg Is Full of Contradictions: The Facebook CEO says he wants to make sure people get trustworthy news, but he’s decided to show users less news from professional outlets in favor of more individual opinions. (Adrienne LaFrance)

Snapshot

What We’re Reading

‘The Redistribution of Sex’: At a certain point, people will come to agree that a right to sex exists, argues Ross Douthat; in fact, the idea is already reinforced by existing cultural messaging. (The New York Times)

The Best for Last?: There are a few reasons why the special counsel hasn’t yet interviewed Ivanka Trump, the family member closest to the president. (Annie Karni, Politico)

Things Are Heating Up in the Russia Investigation: And Special Counsel Robert Mueller probably already knows how it all ends. Here’s why. (Garrett M. Graff, Wired)

Here to Stay: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she fully intends to lead the Democrats if they win back the majority in November. “It’s important that it not be five white guys at the table, no offense,” Pelosi said. (Liz Goodwin, Boston Globe)

Visualized

Animating the Archives: For the first time ever, Atlantic stories by notable writers like W.E.B. Du Bois and Robert Frost are coming to life. (Annika Neklason)

A Mirror Image of 2010: A new analysis of political-donor networks show that this year’s Democratic candidates are the most liberal in decades. (Kevin Schaul and Kevin Uhrmacher, The Washington Post)