THANKFULLY FOR ALL OF US...:

1. Obstruction of Justice Evidence: The Sessions' Recusal Litmus Test

The biggest headline coming out the interview was Trump's insistence that it was inappropriate for Sessions to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, notwithstanding Sessions' failure to disclose contacts with the Russian ambassador during his confirmation hearings to become Attorney General and Sessions' involvement in the Trump campaign itself. Sessions decision to recuse himself -- according to the Justice Department, Sessions' testimony and Comey's testimony -- was essentially a foregone conclusion due in part to regulations dealing with conflicts of interest that relate to his participation in the presidential campaign, and it was a decision taken on the advice of senior Department officials. Even more alarming, Trump said he would not have appointed Sessions had he known Sessions would recuse. A recusal litmus test for the Attorney General signals to prosecutors that Trump expects to be able to interfere in pending criminal investigations, even when those criminal matters touch on his interests. More specifically, it strengthens evidence that Trump intended to impede the Russia investigation through the management controls of the Presidency. Sessions himself theoretically may be implicated in the possible obstruction of justice, depending on how the decision to fire Comey was orchestrated. And Trump's statements to the Times suggest he may have had an expectation, if not an understanding, that Sessions would help quash the Russia investigation, and feels betrayed that Sessions backed away.

2. Quid Pro Quo Evidence: The Donald Trump, Jr. Meeting & Russian Adoptions

This week Ian Bremmer broke news of a second, previously undisclosed, meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said that the news was wrong and that the two  leaders only engaged in "pleasantries and small talk." During Wednesday's interview, Trump dropped a bit of a bombshell. He said, "we talked about adoption." As Tom Malinowski, former Assistant Secretary of State has noted, Russian "adoptions" is shorthand for "sanctions" because Putin halted American adoptions in retaliation for the passage of the Magnitsky Act.

Of particular import, Trump then tied his conversation with Putin about adoptions to Donald Trump Jr.'s June 9, 2016 meeting in which the lure had been Russian government dirt on Hillary Clinton. 

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