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Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

An inner look at the Russia inquiry

• Don’t let Jeff Sessions recuse himself. That was President Trump’s instruction to the top White House lawyer in March, shortly before the attorney general removed himself from the investigation, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The unsuccessful lobbying effort was one of several previously unreported episodes that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, has learned about. Central to his inquiry is whether the president obstructed justice and whether there was collusion between his campaign and Russia.

• Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer dealing with the special counsel’s investigation, declined to comment.