They’re still at it I guess there’s nothing really new about this. Congressional loyalists talking in back channels to the president happened during Watergate too. (The great hero Howard Baker…) And remember Devin Nunes and his Midnight Ride? But I’m pretty sure it’s unprecedented for loyalists to be using the investigative powers of the congress to help a former president, not to mention doing it to help him pressure prosecutors in criminal investigations as a candidate for the GOP nomination. What could be more “deep-statey, swampy” than this? A number of top House GOP lawmakers have disclosed in recent days their efforts to keep the former president informed on the pace and substance of their investigations. Lines of communication appear to go both ways. Not only are Trump, his aides and close allies regularly apprised of Republicans’ committee work, they also at times exert influence over it, multiple people familiar with the talks tell CNN. The constant, and sometimes direct, communication between Trump and the committees has emerged as a crucial method for Trump to shape Republicans’ priorities in their newly-won House majority. It also underscores the extraordinary sway an ex-president still holds over his party’s lawmakers and the deference many still afford him. That dynamic has been on full display over the past week, as top House Republicans attempted to intervene in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation of hush money payments Trump allegedly made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. That’s led to an acrimonious back and forth between three powerful Republican committee chairs and…