1/ Trump was involved in “nearly every step� of the hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal and he may have violated federal campaign-finance laws in the process. David Pecker, chief executive of American Media Inc., offered to use the National Enquirer to buy their silence, eventually paying McDougal $150,000 after Trump asked Pecker to kill her story. As a presidential candidate, Trump “directed deals in phone calls and meetings� related to the two women with Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty in August to campaign-finance violations. Cohen also admitted that he arranged payments to Daniels and McDougal at the direction of “a candidate for federal office� with the intention of influencing the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. (Wall Street Journal)

2/ Trump claimed that he did not discuss Robert Mueller’s Russia probe with Matthew Whitaker before appointing him acting attorney general. Trump defended Whitaker, calling him a “highly respected man,� but also said “I don’t know Matt Whitaker.� Trump has been in more than a dozen meetings with Whitaker in the Oval Office. (Washington Post / Politico / CNBC / NBC News)

Whitaker previously served on the advisory board of a company that “bilked thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars.� World Patent Marketing was fined nearly $26 million after the FTC accused it of scamming customers. The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation and Whitaker has “unquestionably recused from any investigation or prosecution of World Patent Marketing.� (New York Times / Washington Post / ABC News / Wall Street Journal)

Trump called George Conway “Mr. Kellyanne Conway� after he wrote an op-ed arguing that Trump’s appointment of Whitaker is unconstitutional because he wasn’t confirmed by the Senate. George is the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. (ABC News)

3/ A federal appellate court panel ordered Mueller to explain how the firing of Jeff Sessions could influence the case between the special counsel and Andrew Miller, the former Roger Stone aide who is challenging Mueller’s appointment on constitutional grounds. The judges will likely ask for supplemental briefing to address the legal issues tied to the handover from Rod Rosenstein to Whitaker. (Politico)