memeorandum: Chris Christie ally David Wildstein pleads Fifth to panel (Elizabeth Titus/Politico)

10:00 AM ET, January 10, 2014

Top Items:

CNN:

Christie's choice: Be seen as a crook or a schnook? — Scandal is unfolding around New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over lane closures on the George Washington Bridge as part of a political vendetta to punish a local mayor who wouldn't support him at the polls.

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Week, The Daily Caller, Democratic Strategist, ThinkProgress, The Daily Beast and The Raw Story

Steve Benen / msnbc.com:

At the heart of the scandal — It's no longer in dispute that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) administration crippled the community of Fort Lee last September on purpose. It's also no longer in dispute that the governor's team did so as an act of political retaliation.

Discussion: Shakesville and Talking Points Memo

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

Chris Christie's damage control — Chris Christie did about as well as he could, given the circumstances. All he can do now is wait, and hope it passes without many more revelations. — That was the sentiment coming from people who wanted to offer support to the Republican governor of New Jersey …

Discussion: Guardian

Nate Schweber / New York Times:

Woman Says Lane Closings Were Not to Blame for Her Mother's Death — The daughter of a 91-year-old woman from Fort Lee, N.J., who died on the day of a major traffic jam precipitated by top aides to Gov. Chris Christie said on Thursday that she did not believe the inability of an ambulance …

Michael Falcone / ABC News:

So, Christie Says He Couldn't Pick Fort Lee Mayor ‘Out of a Lineup’... Really? — A photo posted on the New Jersey governor's own website, taken at a news conference on Dec. 8, 2011, tells a different story. The photo shows Christie speaking on the issue of sick pay reform with several mayors …

Discussion: Washington Post, New Jersey Online, TheBlaze.com, ABC News and Politico

Rush Limbaugh:
RINOs Stampede Away from Christie

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Politico

msnbc.com:
An alternate theory of the Christie scandal

Discussion: Real Clear Politics

Dan Merica / CNN:
U.S. attorney probing Christie has opened wallet to Democrats

Discussion: Politico, NewsBusters blogs, Jammie Wearing Fools, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, The Moderate Voice, New York Times and No More Mister Nice Blog

Elizabeth Titus / Politico:
Chris Christie ally David Wildstein pleads Fifth to panel

Discussion: CNN, The Fix, Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon

John Dickerson / Slate:
His press conference was bold, but if anything he said turns out to be false, he could be finished.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Hot Air, American Spectator and The Daily Caller

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Kean: Christie questions remain

Discussion: The Fix and CNN

The Hill:
Christie tries to stop the bleeding

Discussion: Politico

First Read / NBCNews:
Graham: Bridge controversy reinforces ‘troublesome’ rap on Christie

Discussion: First Read, CNN, Roll Call, Mediaite, The Hill, Hot Air and Talking Points Memo

Josh Barro / Business Insider:
Four Uncomfortable Questions From Chris Christie's Bridgegate Press Conference

Discussion: The Dish, The Daily Beast, Hullabaloo and Talking Points Memo

The Star-Ledger Editorial Page:
Chris Christie bridge scandal: Humbled gov still has explaining to do (Editorial)

Discussion: Firedoglake, New Jersey Online, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, CNN and The Rude Pundit

Josh Kraushaar / NationalJournal.com:
Conservatives on Chris Christie: Diva Getting What He Deserves

Discussion: First Read, Forbes, Ross Douthat, The Political Carnival, ThinkProgress, Politico and New York Times

David Voreacos / Bloomberg:
Christie Ally Seeks to Block Testimony on Bridge Scandal

Discussion: The Reaction

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Liberal Self-Identification Edges Up to New High in 2013 — Fifteen-percentage-point conservative advantage ties as smallest to date — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans continue to be more likely to identify as conservatives (38%) than as liberals (23%). But the conservative advantage …

Discussion: Politico, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Real Clear Politics, CNN, Weasel Zippers and The Dish

New York Times:

Obama Seeks Balance in Plan for Spy Programs — WASHINGTON — As he assembles a plan to overhaul the nation's surveillance programs, President Obama is trying to navigate what advisers call a middle course that will satisfy protesting national security agencies while tamping down criticism by civil liberties advocates.

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
FBI chief warns on intel reforms, Snowden

Discussion: ABC News

Jeremy Herb / The Hill:
Intel panel: DOD report finds Snowden leaks helped terrorists

Discussion: Washington Post, Firedoglake, Freedom of the Press …, Politico, Hit & Run and The Moderate Voice

Communications / OpenSecrets.org:

Millionaires' Club: For First Time, Most Lawmakers are Worth $1 Million-Plus — For the first time in history, most members of Congress are millionaires, according to a new analysis of personal financial disclosure data by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Discussion: TIME, The Verge, Political Capital, DCist, Politico, CNN and First Read

Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Half of Congress Members Are Millionaires, Report Says

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Josh Hicks / Washington Post:

Obama donor leading Justice Department's IRS investigation — Two Republican lawmakers and a conservative legal group are questioning the Justice Department's selection of a Democratic donor to lead the agency's probe into the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of certain advocacy groups during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.

Discussion: Hot Air, Da Tech Guy On DaRadio Blog, The Other McCain and Washington Times

Wall Street Journal:
Contrast the Governor's contrition with Obama's lack thereof.

Discussion: Betsy's Page, The Hugh Hewitt Show and National Review

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Reid's Uncompromising Power Play in Senate Rankles Republicans — WASHINGTON — With his strong-armed change to the filibuster rule and an iron-fisted control of the Senate floor, Senator Harry Reid has engaged in the greatest consolidation of congressional power since Newt Gingrich ruled the House …

Discussion: Liberaland

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

Begich misses jobless vote for speech in Hawaii — Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) missed a procedural vote on extending unemployment benefits to deliver a speech to a lobby group in Hawaii, The Hill has learned. — Begich delivered a keynote speech Wednesday morning to the American Aviation Issues conference …

Discussion: Roll Call

John P / Pew Research Center:

Who is this man? Many Americans don't recognize top news anchor — Nightly News is now the nightly White House propaganda , it's talking points , personal attacks and lies. They don't even give reeivent news. I stopped watching the communist run media when I got my first computer.

Discussion: NewsBusters blogs, Poynter, Mediaite, TVNewser and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Steven Russolillo / MoneyBeat:

Live From New York! It's Jobs Friday! … Yes, it's that time again, folks. The time when for one ever-so-brief moment the interests of Wall Street, Washington and Main Street are all aligned on one thing: Jobs. — The Labor Department said U.S. payrolls rose by 74,000 last month and the unemployment rate fell to 6.7% from 7%.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Lucia Mutikani / Reuters:

U.S. job growth weakest in three years — (Reuters) - U.S. employers hired the fewest workers in almost three years in December, but the setback was likely to be temporary amid signs that cold weather conditions might have had an impact. — Nonfarm payrolls rose only 74,000 last month …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Hot Air

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:

The Kids Are Alright: Another Obamacare Lesson from Massachusetts — Last month, everybody wanted to know how many people were signing up for Obamacare. This month, everybody wants to know how many healthy people are signing up for Obamacare. — It's a reasonable question.