memeorandum: Journalists shot dead in Dominican Republic during Facebook Live video (The Guardian)

1:10 AM ET, February 15, 2017

Top Items:

Trump Campaign Aides Had Repeated Contacts With Russian Intelligence — WASHINGTON — Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Donald J. Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year …

CNN:

Trump aides were in constant touch with senior Russian officials during campaign — Trump campaign aides communicated with Russians — The communications stood out to investigators due to the frequency and the level of the Trump advisers involved — (CNN)High-level advisers close …

Discussion: Refinery29 and The Week

New York Times:

F.B.I. Interviewed Flynn in Trump's First Days in Office, Officials Say — WASHINGTON — F.B.I. agents interviewed Michael T. Flynn when he was national security adviser in the first days of the Trump administration about his conversations with the Russian ambassador, current and former officials said on Tuesday.

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

What Trump Is Doing Is Not O.K. — Thank God for the resignation in shame by Mike Flynn, President Trump's national security adviser. And not just because he misled the vice president and engaged in deeply malignant behavior with Russia, but, more important, because maybe it will finally …

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
‘Unbelievable Turmoil’: Trump's First Month Leaves Washington Reeling

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Boing Boing, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo and The Week

Neil MacFarquhar / New York Times:
With Michael Flynn Gone, Russia Sees a Different Trump

Discussion: Business Insider

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

Rand Paul on Flynn: ‘Makes no sense’ to investigate fellow Republicans — (CNN)Republican Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday an investigation into the resignation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn would be excessive and it would not make sense to investigate other Republicans.

Discussion: New York Times, Talking Points Memo and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:

The Political Assassination of Michael Flynn — If we are to believe the Trump White House, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn just resigned because he lied about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the vice president. As White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway told NBC's …

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:

Former Obama Officials, Loyalists Waged Secret Campaign to Oust Flynn — The abrupt resignation Monday evening of White House national security adviser Michael Flynn is the culmination of a secret, months-long campaign by former Obama administration confidantes to handicap President Donald …

Discussion: TheBlaze, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, Patterico's Pontifications, The Daily Caller, The Resurgent, Hot Air, Mediaite and The Geller Report

Richard Pollock / The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: In Final Interview, Defiant Flynn Insists He Crossed No Lines, Leakers Must Be Prosecuted — In the final hours before his resignation, now-former White House National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn said he “crossed no lines” in his discussion with Russia's ambassador …

Discussion: Breitbart, Lawfare, CNN, The Intercept, ABC News, AOL, Mediaite, The Atlantic, Politico, New York Magazine, PRI, US News, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Jill Lawrence / USA Today:

The Michael Flynn problem starts at the top: Jill Lawrence — Trump is his role model. That's the uncomfortable truth at the heart of his abrupt exit. — If you start firing people for lying, for purveying fake news, for making U.S. foreign policy before you take office …

Discussion: twitchy.com, The Atlantic and Washington Post

Daniel Benjamin / Politico:

Who Told Flynn to Call Russia? — Hours after national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned amid reports that he misled top officials about his pre-inauguration talks with the Russian ambassador, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to encourage everyone to move on.

Discussion: New York Magazine and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:
Mike Pence Told About Flynn Warning Two Weeks After Trump, White House

Discussion: CNN, CNNMoney, The Resurgent, Raw Story, NBC News, Hot Air, Mediaite, Axios, AOL, The Week, NPR, The Daily Caller, Vox, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, Politico, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Lawfare

United States House Committee on Oversight …:
Chaffetz Probes White House's Handling of Sensitive Information

Discussion: IJR and WTVR-TV

Joe Concha / The Hill:
New York Times, Newsmax fall victim to fake Flynn Twitter account

Discussion: Power Line, NewsBusters, The Gateway Pundit, Mashable, Washington Times, TheBlaze, Fox News Insider, BizPac Review, Washington Post, twitchy.com, Need To Know Network and The American Mirror

Annie Karni / Politico:
Flynn's ouster leads to more chaos in Trump world

Discussion: ABC News and Political Wire

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
GOP Senate Intel Member: ‘Exhaustive’ investigation into Trump-Russia connections needed following Flynn resignation

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, The Week, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, Rush, TheBlaze and RedState

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump Told Weeks Ago That Michael Flynn Withheld Truth on Russia

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and Hot Air

Abby Phillip / Washington Post:
Trump knew Flynn misled officials on Russia calls for ‘weeks,’ White House says

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Times, NPR, The Week, AOL, The Nation and War in Context

Damon Linker / The Week:
America's spies anonymously took down Michael Flynn. That is deeply worrying.

Discussion: Fox News Insider, The American Conservative and The Daily Caller

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:
'That's the definition of treason': Democratic lawmaker levels serious charge against Trump administration

Discussion: Politico

Nikita Vladimirov / The Hill:
Michael Moore to Trump: ‘Vacate you Russian traitor’

Discussion: ABC News, Fox News Insider, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and CBS Denver

Rosie Gray / The Atlantic:
The Nationalist Right Is Coming for Reince Priebus

Discussion: New York Magazine, New York Times, Breitbart, Washington Post, Media Matters for America, The Guardian, Hudson Institute and Vox

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
FBI needs to explain why Flynn was recorded, Intelligence Committee chairman says

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, Hit & Run, Fox News Insider, Daily Wire, Daily Kos, BizPac Review, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Howard Fineman / The Huffington Post: The White House Is Already In Flames

Christian Datoc / The Daily Caller: Mensch: Flynn Investigation Will Lead To Trump's Impeachment, ‘Sooner Rather Than Later’ [VIDEO]

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
GOP chairman: Oversight won't investigate Flynn

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Informed Comment, Defense One, ABC News, BillMoyers.com, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Committee on Oversight …, TheBlaze, New York Magazine, Washington Monthly and War in Context

Paul Joseph Watson / Infowars:
THE REAL REASON GENERAL FLYNN WAS FORCED TO RESIGN

Discussion: Raw Story, Mike Cernovich Presents …, Media Matters for America, Sputnik International and Mother Jones

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
In the early weeks of the new administration, the humbling of a president

Discussion: The Atlantic

Tasneem Nashrulla / BuzzFeed:

Kellyanne Conway Claims She Doesn't Know Who Retweeted A White Nationalist From Her Twitter Account — Kellyanne Conway wasn't really feeling the love Tuesday morning, after Today host Matt Lauer told her her responses made no sense when she appeared to dodge his repeated questions …

Discussion: The Hill, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Post, Mother Jones, AOL, Gizmodo, Washington Monthly, Joe.My.God., TheBlaze and Towleroad

NBC News:

Harrison Ford in Incident With Passenger Plane at California Airport — Actor Harrison Ford was involved in a potentially serious incident Monday in California as he was piloting his private plane, a single-engine Husky, NBC News has learned. — Ford, an experienced pilot who collects vintage planes …

Discussion: New York Times, WNEP-TV, KTLA, The Week, Mashable, Full Feed, Mediaite, NBC News, Joe.My.God. and Fox News Insider

Peter Suderman / Hit & Run:

Major Blow to Obamacare Mandate: IRS Won't Reject Tax Returns That Don't Answer Health Insurance Question — How much difference does a single line on a tax form make? For Obamacare's individual mandate, the answer might be quite a lot. — Following President Donald Trump's executive …

Discussion: Washington Times

Tami Luhby / CNNMoney:

Humana pulls out of Obamacare for 2018 — The Obamacare exodus has begun. — Humana (HUM) announced it is pulling out of Obamacare for 2018 on Tuesday, the same day it ended a merger agreement with Aetna (AET). — It's the first major insurer to exit Obamacare under President Trump, who has promised to repeal the law.

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:
Humana to drop out of ObamaCare marketplace at end of 2017

Discussion: Thomson IR, AOL, CNBC, Vox, New York Times and Hot Air

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:

Russia Deploys Missile, Violating Treaty and Challenging Trump — Russia Deploys Missile That Violates Treaty, U.S. Says — Moscow is believed to have two battalions of a new cruise missile, and has deployed a fully operational unit despite U.S. protests. — THE UPSHOT

Discussion: CNN, Business Insider, Hot Air, Daily Wire, Daily Kos, The National Interest, KTLA, Axios, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God., Towleroad, The Week, Gizmodo, The Hill and New York Magazine

Dan Rather / Facebook:

Watergate is the biggest political scandal of my lifetime, until maybe now. It was the closest we came to a debilitating Constitutional crisis, until maybe now. On a 10 scale of armageddon for our form of government, I would put Watergate at a 9. This Russia scandal is currently somewhere around a 5 or 6 …

Discussion: twitchy.com

Adolfo Flores / BuzzFeed:

A DREAMer Was Arrested During A Raid And Now Immigration Officials Have Been Ordered To Explain Why — Foreign nationals are arrested during a targeted enforcement operation. — Charles Reed / U.S. Immigration and Customs Enf — A federal magistrate judge has ordered officials to defend …

Discussion: Josh Blackman's Blog

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:

Secret Service director to step down, giving Trump chance to select his own security chief — The head of the Secret Service, a retired detail leader who was given the assignment of shoring up the agency in a period of crisis, is leaving his post, a little more than two years after arriving in one of Washington's toughest jobs.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, CNN, The Root, Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit and RedState