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

6:30 PM ET, February 14, 2017

Top Items:

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 …

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: Talking Points Memo and Lawyers, Guns & Money

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.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, alan.com, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, New Yorker, Hullabaloo, Shakesville, Daily Kos, The Week, The Mahablog, The National Interest, Business Insider and Balloon Juice

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

GOP Senate Intel Member: ‘Exhaustive’ investigation into Trump-Russia connections needed following Flynn resignation — (CNN)Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Tuesday called for an exhaustive investigation into connections between President Donald …

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, RedState, Politico, Daily Kos, The Hill, The Week, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Huffington Post, NPR, Common Dreams, TheBlaze and Talking Points Memo

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Told Weeks Ago That Michael Flynn Withheld Truth on Russia — WASHINGTON — President Trump was informed weeks ago that his national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, had not told the truth about his interactions with Russia's ambassador and asked for Mr. Flynn's resignation …

Discussion: Hot Air, CANNONFIRE and TalkLeft

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 …

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: The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, The Resurgent and Mediaite

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

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:

FBI needs to explain why Flynn was recorded, Intelligence Committee chairman says — The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Tuesday that the most significant question posed by the resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn is why intelligence officials eavesdropped …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Hill, CNNMoney, Talking Points Memo, Daily Wire, Vox, BizPac Review, The Atlantic, Daily Kos, Lawfare, Hit & Run, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Mashable, Mother Jones, Fox News Insider and Mediaite

CNN:

Republican senators call for Russia investigation, Flynn testimony — (CNN)The Senate's second-ranking Republican and other GOP senators are calling for an investigation into connections between President Donald Trump and Russia, and want former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to testify.

Discussion: The Atlantic, ThinkProgress, FiveThirtyEight, Talking Points Memo, The Geller Report, Rush and TheBlaze

Matthew Boyle / Breitbart:

As Flynn Resigns, Priebus Future In Doubt As Trump Allies Circulate List of Alternate Chief of Staff Candidates — After GOP establishment forces inside President Donald Trump's White House forced out National Security Adviser retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, sources close to the president confirm …

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, The Guardian, NBC News, Vanity Fair, The Daily Caller and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Abby Phillip / Washington Post:

Trump knew Flynn misled officials on Russia calls for ‘weeks,’ White House says — President Trump was aware that his national security adviser Michael Flynn had misled White House officials and Vice President Pence for “weeks” before he was forced to resign on Monday night.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Nation, AOL, NPR and CNN

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

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

Discussion: Boing Boing and Hullabaloo

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

Discussion: The Guardian, Media Matters for America, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, New York Magazine, The Week, New York Times, American Greatness, Politico, The Hill, Washington Post, Business Insider and AOL, more at Mediagazer »

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

Discussion: NewsBusters, Fox News Insider, BizPac Review, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Washington Times, Washington Post and twitchy.com

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: 10 unanswered questions after Michael Flynn's resignation

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Vox, The American Interest, New York Times, Raw Story, Hudson Institute, Lawfare, Politico, Washington Monthly, The Guardian and The Daily Caller

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Scarborough rips Conway as an ‘out of the loop’ liar after Flynn resignation

Discussion: Mediaite

David Rothkopf / Foreign Policy: The Fog of Trump — Come for the chaos, stay for the consequences.

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

Discussion: Raw Story, Vox and twitchy.com

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

John Parkinson / ABC News:
Chaffetz to investigate Mar-a-Lago but not Flynn's ties with Russia yet

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Associated Press, Axios and Washington Post

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

Discussion: Politico

Jake Sherman / Politico:
Schiff: More info coming soon on Flynn-Russia ties

Discussion: The Hill, Daily Wire, Fox17 and Hot Air

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Lying took down Flynn, but it seems to be just fine on the Sunday talk shows

more at Mediagazer »

Andrew Roth / Washington Post:
Russian lawmakers rush to the defense of Trump's ex-national security adviser

Discussion: The Atlantic, CNN, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, Daily Kos, The Hill, Axios and Politico

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

Discussion: Business Insider

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: Media Matters for America, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Raw Story, Joe.My.God. and New York Magazine

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

Conway denies retweeting white nationalist — White House adviser Kellyanne Conway's Twitter account retweeted a white nationalist on Tuesday, though she denounced the move and “whoever it is” who sent it out. — “@KellyannePolls Your strength & resiliency in face of vile hatred, bigotry …

Discussion: Raw Story, Hot Air and Towleroad

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Ethics office calls on White House to discipline Conway

Discussion: Politico and RedState

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: Foreign Policy, The Hill, KTLA, Business Insider, Daily Kos, The Week, The Daily Caller, Gizmodo, Joe.My.God. and Towleroad

Gregory Korte / USA Today:

White House posts wrong versions of Trump's orders on its website — WASHINGTON — The White House has posted inaccurate texts of President Trump's own executive orders on the White House website, raising further questions about how thorough the Trump administration has been in drafting some of his most controversial actions.

Discussion: Gizmodo, Political Wire and Mediaite

Jesse Singal / New York Magazine:

Donald Trump Just Broadcast a Dangerous Misconception About Autism Rates — Those who advocate for sound, evidence-based research about autism are extremely alarmed about Donald Trump, and for good reason: In addition to Trump's ties to Andrew Wakefield, the disgraced British doctor whose …

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Trump asks about autism in educators meeting

Discussion: Raw Story

Lucas Tomlinson / Fox News:

Russian spy ship off the east coast of US, officials say — A Russian spy ship was seen patrolling off the East Coast of the United States on Tuesday morning, the first such patrol since President Trump took office, officials told Fox News. — The Russian spy ship was 70 miles off the coast of Delaware …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Infowars, NO QUARTER USA NET and Raw Story

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, RedState, Washington Free Beacon and The Gateway Pundit

Matthew Albright / delawareonline:

Biden, Democrats pull out stops for state Senate race — Delaware's political universe is now focused on Middletown, Glasgow and southern Newark. Voters from those areas will determine in a special election Feb. 25 whether Republicans regain control of the Delaware Senate for the first time in 44 years.

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Trump upset by ‘SNL’ sketch in which Bannon manipulates him: report — “Saturday Night Live” has taken to habitually poking fun at the Trump administration, but a skit depicting White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon as the Grim Reaper manipulating President Trump reportedly struck a chord with Trump …

Discussion: RedState and Raw Story

Fox17:

Parents outraged by video of Bangor School staff making vulgar comments about students … BANGOR, Mich. — The secretary of the superintendent of Bangor Public Schools has resigned and several teachers were disciplined after a video surfaced online that allegedly showed teachers and school staff playing a game at a bar.

Discussion: WTVR-TV, The Daily Caller and BizPac Review

Matt Fuller / The Huffington Post:

Conservatives Take A Hard Line On Obamacare Repeal, Putting GOP In A Bind — Wait, is this how Republicans end up preventing an Obamacare repeal? — Congressional Reporter, The Huffington Post — WASHINGTON Conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus voted among themselves Monday night …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politico, CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Axios