Newsletter: Essential Politics: The explosive news that Comey put it in writing

There’s a reason you’ve awoken this morning with a bit of a woozy feeling: It’s only been one week since President Trump fired James Comey as director of the FBI.

What a week, folks.

Good morning from the state capital. I’m Sacramento Bureau Chief John Myers, and with the speed of news events right now, there’s no telling what we will be talking about tonight. Or even by lunchtime today.

A key question, it seems, is this: Will the president feel the need to directly address the swirl of allegations himself? Or will his advisors be able to keep him from doing so?

But let’s start from the start, so to speak.

‘I HOPE YOU CAN LET THIS GO’

Tuesday’s blockbuster allegation was that Trump asked Comey to drop the FBI’s investigation into retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. The source of the information was a set of notes that Comey wrote shortly after his private meeting with the president in the Oval Office in February.

“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” the memo reportedly recollected Trump saying, referring to the FBI investigation of Flynn. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”

The memo’s existence, first reported by the New York Times and then confirmed by the Los Angeles Times and others, was the second major allegation into the president’s actions in less than 24 hours.

By early evening, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee had asked the FBI to deliver all items relating to Trump-Comey conversations to Capitol Hill by next week. The chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), had earlier tweeted that he had “his subpoena pen ready.”

THE KERFUFFLE ON CAPITOL HILL

For the rest of Trump’s fellow Republicans, many of whom in the House had just returned to Washington when the news broke, the allegations are just the latest chapter of an increasingly turbulent presidency.

As Lisa Mascaro writes, Tuesday’s news may prove to be the biggest test yet when it comes to party loyalty.

Our politics team is keeping a running list of reactions from members of Congress to news of Comey’s letter. We’ll be updating it as more lawmakers go on the record.

THE MEMO

Unlike other controversies, the existence of a memo written by a man who was then director of the nation’s top law enforcement organization could carry significant weight.

“That memo is significant because it predates him being fired and it basically precludes anybody from making the claim that he’s testifying about that situation because he was fired,” former federal prosecutor Richard Drooyan said.

If you’re looking for a quick overview of the news on the Comey letter, we’ve got a quick Q&A on what we think happened, and what we think it means. For now, at least.

AND THEN THERE’S THE ’WHOLLY APPROPRIATE’ RUSSIAN MEETING

Of course, by this time on Tuesday morning the talk was how the White House would have to explain the recent meeting with Russian officials and the allegations that Trump shared classified information on terror threats.

Trump took to Twitter early Tuesday and essentially confirmed the premise of Monday night’s news.

Gen. H.R. McMaster, the president’s national security adviser, later spoke to reporters at the White House and said that Trump’s behavior in that private meeting was “wholly appropriate.” Of course, on Monday night McMaster had called the “premise” of the Washington Post’s original story “false.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the whole thing “sloppy.”

Meanwhile, the actual content of the meeting is still a serious issue. U.S. officials are scheduled to be in Brussels today to brief European allies about the aviation threats that reportedly came up when the president briefed Russian officials.

And these latest allegations, writes David S. Cloud, are likely to make the contentious relationship between intelligence professionals and the commander in chief even worse.

By the way, here’s our overview of everything known so far about the investigation into the Trump campaign and Russian connections.

What will happen next? That seems to be the question -- the only question -- at this point. Our political team will keep you up to date, with updates as they happen on our Essential Washington news feed.

WHO WILL LEAD CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS?

In California, Democrats are stoking the fire of the Trump allegations and preparing for their state party convention this weekend in Sacramento. At that convention, a pivotal battle for will determine the future of the California Democratic Party.

The top contenders for state party chair, Eric Bauman and Kimberly Ellis, share a liberal ideology but offer a sharp contrast in their views of the party and in political style. As Phil Willon and Seema Mehta report, it’s an echo of the debate raging among Democrats nationwide as they reckon with the schism exposed by the contentious party primaries between Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

THE GENDER PAY GAP PERSISTS

California likes to tout its efforts to promote pay equity, but when it comes to paying state government workers, the rhetoric falls short of the reality. The 20.5% disparity in pay between male and female state workers is a wider gap than in the federal civil service and the private sector.

But as Melanie Mason reports, closing that gap is trickier than just ensuring “equal pay for equal work.”

L.A. GOES TO THE POLLS (AGAIN)

There have been so many election days in the city of Los Angeles these past few months, it’s easy to lose track. But on Tuesday, voters considered an amendment to the city’s charter regarding how police misconduct cases are handled and some of them cast ballots in runoff elections for school board (the most expensive school board race in the nation’s history) and City Council positions.

Councilman Gil Cedillo defeated challenger Joe Bray-Ali, while Karo Tarossian and Monica Rodriguez vied for an open seat and were in a tight race as returns trickled in.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

-- One of San Diego’s most politically connected businessmen is Trump’s choice to be ambassador to the Bahamas: Doug Manchester.

-- Sweeping reform of California’s bail system would come with a hefty price tag, says new a analysis at the state Capitol.

-- A lawsuit seeking to block new rules on executions in California was dismissed by a state judge on Tuesday.

-- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned progressives not to let winning the argument with Trump eclipse progress.

-- Garcetti was in Washington pushing for transportation officials to fast-track $1.3 billion for the final stage of the city’s new Metro line to Westwood ahead of a decision on the city’s 2024 Olympic bid.

-- No dough, no go: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she will oppose the confirmation of every Transportation Department nominee until the Trump administration releases money for a popular commuter rail system in the Bay Area.

-- Palmdale Rep. Steve Knight joined two California Republican colleagues in saying it’s time for a special prosecutor to take over the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

-- A state legislator proposed this week to make what’s known as “stealthing” a form of a rape under California law.

-- Sen. Kamala Harris urged the U.S. Dept. of Justice not to restart the war on drugs.

-- The state Senate approved a bill on Monday to repeal mandatory sentence enhancements for some drug convictions.

-- Silicon Valley venture capitalist Sam Altman said he’s considering running for governor, a move that would jolt the 2018 gubernatorial race.

-- The Times Editorial Board has endorsed Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez in the runoff for Congress in L.A. over challenger Robert Lee Ahn.

-- Speaking of Ahn, he called himself a “lifelong Democrat” in a previous candidate statement, but no longer. The main reason: It’s not true.

-- Former President Barack Obama is making $400,000 for a single speech. But as Mark Z. Barabak reports, that’s not so unusual when it comes to former presidents.

-- The Obama Freeway on the way from Pasadena to Glendale? Yes, said the state Senate on Monday.

LOGISTICS

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john.myers@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter at @johnmyers and listen to the weekly California Politics Podcast