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By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Daniel Lippman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

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BREAKING -- THE INVESTIGATIONS ... ANDREW DESIDERIO and DARREN SAMUELSOHN: "House Democrats open sweeping probe into Trump's world": "Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, opened his much-anticipated probe with letters to 81 individuals, companies and government entities seeking a wide range of materials that go to the heart of allegations against the president - including abuses of power, corruption, and obstruction of justice. ...

"By initiating the wide-ranging demand for documents, the Judiciary Committee signaled it is creating its own insurance policy in the event that all of Mueller's findings are not made public and it finds the kinds of evidence that would be grounds for trying to impeach Trump from office. The list of letter recipients reads like a who's who of people in and around the president's orbit, including all of Trump's senior 2016 campaign leaders." POLITICO ... All the letters and document requests, via Rebecca Morin

-- STATEMENT FROM SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, per pooler Laura Figueroa of Newsday: "The House Judiciary Committee's letter has been received by the White House. The Counsel's Office and relevant White House officials will review it and respond at the appropriate time."

-- PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, when asked about the Judiciary Committee's probe, said this afternoon: "I cooperate all the time with everybody ...You know the beautiful thing - no collusion. It's all a hoax," per the pool report.

-- NBC'S MIKE MEMOLI and GEOFF BENNETT: "House Democrats eye GOP playbook for Justice Department requests": "House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff is working closely with other top Democrats to consider strategies to ensure that the public has insight into not only any final report Mueller provides to Attorney General William Barr, but potentially additional insight into the probe's inner workings in the form of reports on witness interviews, records of deliberations about charging decisions, grand jury testimony and potentially testimony from Mueller himself.

"'I view the Mueller report as a bare minimum. And if there are questions that are raised by the report where we need more information, then we may very well seek to get it,' Schiff said in an interview with NBC News. 'We may very well have to fight for everything we want to learn beyond that. But I think the Department of Justice has established now a firm policy that they're going to have to live with.'" NBC

A THOUGHT ON IMPEACHMENT ... House Democratic leaders keep saying impeachment is far down the road, and they have a long way to go and have to convince the American people of their view. Democrats are aware of this, but if they start impeachment proceedings too close to Election Day, they open themselves up to criticism, and political risk.

Good Monday afternoon. SOME NEWS FROM ANNA: I am becoming the first-ever editorial director of POLITICO's Women Rule franchise, which connects, informs and empowers thousands of women through annual summits in the U.S. and Brussels, a podcast and networking events. I'm thrilled to take on this new role as as it formalizes the work we have been engaged in over the past year to increase the newsroom's imprint on the product. Of course, I will continue as co-author of Playbook.

FROM CARRIE BUDOFF BROWN: "The move is a signal of our commitment to the platform heading into the 2020 election cycle where the issues we have been dissecting, discussing and covering for the past six years will be more prominent than ever."

"To that point, Elizabeth Ralph, one of our most talented Magazine editors, will helm an enhanced Women Rule newsletter starting March 8. A creative force, Elizabeth will work closely with Anna and others in the newsroom to smartly narrate this conversation for our readers." Sign up for the weekly Women Rule newsletter

FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP is heading to Tulsa and Seattle today as part of a two-day "Be Best" tour.

QUICK CORRECTION: In Sunday's Playbook, we said Jared Kushner was seated two seats away from Rod Rosenstein at the Gridiron Dinner. Jake's mistake. Rosenstein was seated two seats down from Matt Whitaker. Kushner and Rosenstein chatted at the event, though.

BURGESS EVERETT: "McConnell: Senate will pass resolution blocking Trump's border emergency"

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IT'S OFFICIAL -- "Hickenlooper launches presidential campaign," by Nolan McCaskill: "After a kickoff rally in Denver on Thursday, Hickenlooper's next stop as a presidential candidate will be a two-day tour through Iowa, an early state that will be pivotal to his fortunes in a crowded Democratic field.

"The former Colorado governor begins at a disadvantage there, with low name recognition and a smaller campaign infrastructure than most rivals. ... In a Democratic field featuring numerous legislators, Hickenlooper will attempt to distinguish himself by pointing to his executive accomplishments over two terms as Colorado governor and two terms as mayor of the state's largest city. His electability is also a selling point." POLITICO

-- THE MAN TO READ ON HICK: L.A. TIMES' ELI STOKOLS. Eli was a top political reporter in Denver before we lured him to D.C. to work for POLITICO.

-- STOKOLS: "Hickenlooper, who left office after eight years in January with a 59% approval rating, has never been confused for a liberal ideologue or policy wonk, and may be outside his comfort zone in a primary contest already concentrated around big progressive proposals. In the video, he emphasizes his ability to lead in a crisis by pointing to his performance as governor following fires, floods and shootings.

"Some Colorado Republicans were known to joke during Hickenlooper's tenure that he was the best governor their party ever had because of his conservative positions on some issues. At the same time, however, progressives in the state cheered him for enacting tougher gun laws, expanding access to healthcare and fighting for LGBTQ rights.

"The main complaint from the left over his eight years in office was a perceived closeness with the state's oil and gas industry - Hickenlooper once drank fracking fluid in a congressional hearing to demonstrate that it's safe." LAT

AT THE DOJ -- L.A. TIMES' DEL QUENTIN WILBER (@DelWilber): "Some DOJ News: Matthew Whitaker, former acting attorney general, has left the department. His last day was Saturday. He has not yet solidified plans on his next steps, according to Justice Department officials."

HEADS UP -- Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will give a keynote address on bribery and corruption in business at the TRACE Forum on Thursday at the Four Seasons. Full agenda

BLOOMBERG'S MARGARET TALEV (@margarettalev): "NOW: \u2066@realDonaldTrump\u2069 is doubling down on the fast food as he prepares to greet the mighty Bison." With pic

-- ATTENDEES, per pooler Laura Figueroa, include: Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), state first lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum, state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, Matt Entz, Matt Larsen and 150 players and staff from the North Dakota State football team.

ON THE WORLD STAGE -- NBC'S JOSH LEDERMAN, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS and MARY MURRAY: "Trump admin to let Americans sue some foreign firms doing business in Cuba": "The Trump administration is expected to act as early as Monday to allow unprecedented lawsuits in American courts against some foreign companies doing business in Cuba ... The move threatens to discourage more of the foreign investment in Cuba that provides the island's economy with a key lifeline. It could also play into the Trump administration's efforts to ostracize Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro." NBC

-- "Team Trump Keeps Pushing Deal to Send Nuclear Tech to Saudis," by The Daily Beast's Erin Banco and Betsy Woodruff: "The Trump administration is still actively working to make a deal to send U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, according to two U.S. officials and two professional staffers at federal agencies with direct knowledge of those conversations. American energy businesses are still hoping to cash in on Riyadh's push for energy diversification." The Daily Beast

-- AP'S RAF CASERT in Brussels: "U.S. puts end to dispute with EU over diplomatic protocol": "U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland announced that 'effective immediately' a recent diplomatic demotion of the EU ambassador in the largely ceremonial diplomatic Order of Precedence would be ended. ... Even if the diplomatic change had little direct impact on relations, it was seen as a harbinger of future relations in which the EU would sink ever lower in the esteem of U.S. President Donald Trump." AP

SARAH FERRIS and JOHN BRESNAHAN: "House Dems agonize over Ilhan Omar: The freshman Democrat is clashing with senior lawmakers over her remarks on Israel."

SCOTUS WATCH -- NYT'S ADAM LIPTAK: "Precedent, Meet Clarence Thomas. You May Not Get Along": "Justice Clarence Thomas was busy in February. As usual, he asked no questions during Supreme Court arguments. But he made up for his silence with three opinions in eight days that took issue with some of the court's most prominent precedents. He called on Feb. 19 for the court to reconsider New York Times v. Sullivan, the 1964 decision that provided the press with broad First Amendment protections against libel suits ...

"The next day, he criticized Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion, calling it 'notoriously incorrect' ... A week later, he expressed skepticism about Gideon v. Wainwright, the 1963 decision that said the Sixth Amendment requires the government to provide lawyers to poor people accused of serious crimes. ... The opinions underscored two distinctive aspects of Justice Thomas's jurisprudence. He tries to unearth the original meaning of the Constitution, and he has no use for precedents that have veered from that original understanding." NYT

2020 WATCH -- MAGGIE SEVERNS: "Campaign finance reformers call on Jay Inslee to disavow 2020 super PAC": "Inslee joined the presidential race last Friday, but days before he launched his bid, the former political director of the Democratic Governors Association - which Inslee chaired in 2018 - announced he was forming a super PAC, Act Now on Climate, to support Inslee for president. The group, which will disclose its donors later this year, quickly spent a quarter-million dollars on pro-Inslee digital advertisements.

"The letter to Inslee, sent by the group End Citizens United, warns that super PACs founded to support a single candidate are 'designed to serve as an arm of the campaign' and are frequently used to exploit gray areas in campaign finance law." POLITICO

-- HE'S OUT ... ERIC HOLDER in WAPO: "I won't run, but I will fight to elect the right Democratic president"

-- WSJ'S JULIE BYKOWICZ in New York: "Democrats Turn to Online Tool for Organizing Volunteers: MobilizeAmerica gives campaigns a centralized sign-up system for events and canvassing." WSJ

-- ALEX THOMPSON: "DNC makes 3 key hires for 2020": "Muthoni Wambu Kraal, an EMILY's List's veteran who most recently served as the group's vice president of national outreach and training, will take over for Amanda Brown Lierman as the DNC's national political and organizing director. Patrick Stevenson, most recently the DNC's lead in grass-roots fundraising, is being promoted to chief mobilization officer. ... And the DNC confirmed that Brandon Gassaway will be national press secretary." POLITICO

CLIMATE FILES -- "Pressed by Climate Activists, Senate Democrats Plan to 'Go on Offense,'" by NYT's Coral Davenport and Sheryl Gay Stolberg: "Facing a showdown vote as early as this month over the embattled 'Green New Deal,' Senate Democrats are preparing a counteroffensive to make combating climate change a central issue of their 2020 campaigns ... Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, outlined the new strategy in an interview last week, casting it as a way to mobilize millennial voters." NYT

SPOTTED: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) in pre-check at Palm Beach International. Pic

TRANSITIONS -- NSC DEPARTURE LOUNGE -- Jim Mazzarella, senior director of global econ and development at the NSC, is leaving the White House at the end of the week. He will be SVP for policy and government affairs at the World Wildlife Fund.

-- Joel Elliott is now chief of staff for Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D-Iowa). He previously was chief of staff for Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.). ... Megan Reiss is now national security adviser to Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah). She was previously a senior fellow at the R Street Institute.

WEEKEND WEDDING -- Ana Navarro, CNN commentator and frequent guest co-host of "The View," this weekend married Al Cardenas, chair of the Latin America practice group at Squire Patton Boggs and former Florida GOP chairman, at the Indian Creek Country Club in Miami Beach. Pic ... Instapics

SPOTTED: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Ann Romney, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Jane Portman, Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), Adrienne Arsht, Mike Fernandez, Joy Behar, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Isaiah Thomas, Fred Hochberg, Mel and Kitty Martinez, Jeff Zucker, Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Don Lemon, Brooke Baldwin, Dana Bash and Spencer Garrett, Allison Gollust, Rick Davis, Mack and Donna McLarty, Jose Diaz-Balart, Eva Longoria, Norm and Laurie Coleman, Amy Entelis and Marty Raskin.

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