The Note: The Hillary and Bernie Show
— -- NOTABLES
--SANDERS' BACKERS REFLECT ON 14-MONTH PRIMARY CAMPAIGN: Bernie Sanders is expected to endorse Hillary Clinton at a joint event in New Hampshire later this morning, almost a month after the last votes in the Democratic Party’s primary were cast, ABC’s MARYALICE PARKS notes. The Vermont Senator won 22 states, received more than 12 million votes, and guaranteed that Clinton campaigned for the nomination until the very end. During interviews with ABC News, Sanders’ biggest backers said they were confident that the senator’s prolonged candidacy, and refusal not to bow out even weeks after Clinton became the party’s presumptive nominee, would not dent his legacy. When asked to reflect on what the lasting legacy of the Sanders campaign might be, the senator’s first congressional endorser, Arizona’s Raul Grijalva, got a little teary-eyed. “A little bit of passion, a lot of emotion and chipping at the rock,” he said of his colleague. “It behooves our party to understand that you can’t poll-test sincerity and it behooves our party to understand that you can’t super-PAC sincerity.” http://abcn.ws/29Ejp6T
--GOP COUNTERPROGRAMMING: To mark the occasion of Clinton and Sanders’ joint event, the Republican National Committee is out with a memo this morning titled, “The Top 15 Sanders Attacks on Clinton,” which features the Vermont senator questioning everything from Clinton’s qualifications and judgment to her ties to Wall Street. FULL MEMO: http://bit.ly/2a5jZbr
--BIDEN 'NOT INTERESTED' IN RE-UPPING VP: Vice President Joe Biden said he has no interest in being vice president again under Hillary Clinton. During an interview with ABC News' GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, Biden said he plans to help Clinton get elected. "I'm not interested in re-upping for VP. I'll do anything I can to help her win. And I think she's going to win, but I have been proud to serve for eight years as vice president, and I think that's enough," Biden said. More from ABC’s SERENA MARSHALL: http://abcn.ws/29BeYaz
--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: If there is a new Donald Trump, this might be the moment for him to enter. Will Trump do what virtually everyone around him is advising as the prudent, smart, and sensible thing – uniting the Republican Party on the eve of his formal nomination? Or will Trump … be Trump? That’s the choice in front of him as he considers his finalists in the vice-presidential sweepstakes, a process that’s looked like a Trumpian endeavor only if you compare it to the bland public process being employed by Hillary Clinton. Specifically, Trump knows that the easy call is Mike Pence, a Midwestern governor with House leadership experience and strong bonds with religious conservatives and GOP-aligned advocacy groups. Choosing retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn might cause a floor fight over Trump’s selection. Newt Gingrich and Chris Christie carry their own baggage with segments of the party, their personal relationships with the candidate aside. Trump may be bored by the choices in front of him, particularly the one advisers and party regulars are gravitating toward as the veepstakes winds down. But, at this critical moment, will Trump let Trump be Trump?
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION. Cleveland is having a big summer. A month after welcoming home the NBA Championship-winning Cavaliers, tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on the Rock and Roll Capital of the World for the Republican National Convention. The tumultuous primaries led to speculation that the event could be the first contested convention in decades. Even though Donald Trump’s evolution as the presumptive party nominee -- after securing a majority of pledged delegates -- has put a damper on that, he’s promised a spectacle, ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY writes. http://abcn.ws/29BYMbk
YESTERDAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and ADAM KELSEY
TRUMP LABELS HIMSELF AS 'LAW AND ORDER' CANDIDATE, WHILE ATTACKING CLINTON. In his first campaign event since five police officers were killed in Dallas last week, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump said he would be the “law and order candidate” – and that his Democratic rival was the "weak" alternative, ABC’s JOHN SANTUCCI reports. "Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is weak, ineffective, pandering and, as proven by her recent e-mail scandal which was an embarrassment not only to her, but to the entire nation as a whole, she's either a liar or grossly incompetent. One or the other. Or very simple. Personally, it's probably both,” Trump said addressing attendees. http://abcn.ws/29DH8Ua
NOTED: BIDEN LAUGHS OFF TRUMP'S CLAIM TO BE 'LAW AND ORDER CANDIDATE.' Vice President Joe Biden yesterday laughed at the suggestion of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump being the "law and order" candidate, ABC’s SERENA MARSHALL notes. When asked by ABC's GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS about Trump's comments at his campaign event Monday that he would be the “law and order candidate,” Biden laughed before responding. "I’d rather not make this story about Donald Trump. So, I’m gonna restrain myself," Biden said, referring to the shooting deaths of five Dallas police officers in last week's sniper attack. "But the truth of the matter is that one of the problems we’ve had is getting funding for law enforcement from his party." http://abcn.ws/29Dh4sU
VIRGINIA LAW BINDING STATE DELEGATES TO TRUMP IS THROWN OUT. A federal judge in Virginia has thrown out the law binding state delegates to Donald Trump, permanently preventing Virginia from punishing delegates who fail to vote for their pledged candidate. Virginia GOP delegate, Carroll Correll filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court June 24, in an attempt to get out of voting for Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention, challenging the state law that binds the delegates to the convention to vote for the primary winner. More from ABC’s KATHERINE FAULDERS and CHRISTOPHER GOOD: http://abcn.ws/29D4IkE
EMOTIONAL GOP DELEGATE MAKES PLEA FOR NEUTRALITY ON SAME SEX MARRIAGE. An emotional moment gripped the GOP platform committee's deliberations last night, as a delegate from Washington, D.C., came out in a passionate plea on same-sex marriage. Rachel Hoff, a defense lobbyist for a center-right policy center, became the first openly gay member of the Republican platform committee, calling for the GOP to take a neutral position on the issue, ABC’s RYAN STRUYK reports. "We are your daughters," Hoff said, choking back tears. "We are your sons, your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues, the couple that sits next to you in church." Hoff's proposal would have put the GOP in neutral ground on same-sex marriage, acknowledging "diverse and sincerely-held views" in the Republican Party, encouraging the "stability of all families" and welcoming "a thoughtful conversation" around marriage. But it took less than two minutes for the GOP platform panel to reject what would have been a major policy change, after one member quickly called for a vote. Roughly 20 of the 112 members on the panel voted in favor of the change. http://abcn.ws/2a5nTkt
SECURITY IN CLEVELAND FOR GOP CONVENTION LIKELY RAMPING UP AFTER DALLAS, EXPERT SAYS. Hundreds if not thousands of law enforcement officers from federal, state and local teams are expected to be in Cleveland for the Republican National Convention, but that may not be enough to handle the "challenging" environment, some experts have said. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who was previously the chairman of a White House policing task force, said that it's going to be "very, very challenging to handle" the conventions, he said on "Meet the Press,” notes ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY: http://abcn.ws/29zyHIW
MEET THE WASHINGTON LAWYER VETTING TRUMP’S POTENTIAL VPS. In the spring of 2009, Washington D.C. lawyer Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr., who goes by “A.B.,” recounted an exchange he had with John McCain during the vetting process in 2008 that led to the campaign's highly criticized pick of Sarah Palin, writes ABC’s MERIDITH MCGRAW. “What’s your bottom line?” McCain asked Culvahouse, about Palin. “John -- high risk, high reward,” said Culvahouse. “You shouldn’t have told me that,” McCain replied. “I’ve been a risk-taker all my life.” http://abcn.ws/29zWabT
TOP REPUBLICANS ASK JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO INVESTIGATE CLINTON FOR PERJURY. Top House Republicans have formally asked the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to investigate whether presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton lied to Congress about her use of a private email server. “The evidence collected by the FBI during its investigation of Secretary Clinton’s use of a personal email system appears to directly contradict several aspects of her sworn testimony,” House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia wrote in their Monday letter to District Attorney Channing Phillips, according to ABC’s BENJAMIN SIEGEL. http://abcn.ws/2a3LWA3
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
CAITLYN JENNER TO APPEAR IN CLEVELAND. Caitlyn Jenner, who once said she wanted to be a “trans ambassador” to Ted Cruz, will be in Cleveland, Ohio, during the Republican National Convention as a special guest at the “Big Tent Brunch” hosted by conservative pro-LGBT group the American Unity Fund. While Jenner has not said whether or not she will be speaking at the Republican National Convention, her appearance in Cleveland comes at time of heated arguments within the Republican Party over LGBT rights. More from ABC’s MERIDITH MCGRAW: http://abcn.ws/29t4N72
WHO’S TWEETING?
@AnnieLinskey: Clinton & Sanders negotiated details abt rally into final hours, including what Sanders says re Clinton & who speaks 1st. Via @JamesPindell
@wpjenna: Paul Manafort lists these VP qualities Trump wants: Understand Washington, break through gridlock and be able to be president, if needed.
@apalmerdc: Playbook BOOK WATCH.. Not too shabby: @elizabethforma got $625K for a book advance last year.
@erikkaknuti: This campaign has made my Twitter feed close to insufferable.
@vplus: @erikkaknuti and that was before Pokémon.