memeorandum: College ‘study group’ to address ‘depravity of whiteness’ (Campus Reform)

9:45 PM ET, March 2, 2017

Top Items:

Kushner and Flynn Met With Russian Envoy in December, White House Says — WASHINGTON — Michael T. Flynn, then Donald J. Trump's incoming national security adviser, had a previously undisclosed meeting with the Russian ambassador in December to “establish a line of communication” …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Hill, Washington Post, AOL, NBC News, Balloon Juice, Mediaite, Vox, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Towleroad, Mother Jones, Business Insider, NO QUARTER USA NET, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Week and The Mahablog

Steve Reilly / USA Today:

Exclusive: Two other Trump advisers also spoke with Russian envoy during GOP convention — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is not the only member of President Trump's campaign who spoke to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at a diplomacy conference connected to the Republican National Convention in July.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Alex Griswold / Mediaite:

Claire McCaskill Claims She'd Never Meet With Russian Ambassador, But Tweets Prove She Has — In a pointed tweet Thursday, Democratic Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill attacked Attorney General and her former Senate colleague Jeff Sessions for meeting with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 election …

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Rep. Schiff accuses Comey of withholding information on Russia probe — The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday accused FBI Director James Comey of withholding crucial information about its probe into Russian interference in the election and raised the prospect of subpoenaing the agency.

Discussion: CNN, ABC News, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Little Green Footballs, Western Journalism and Axios

Richard W. Painter / New York Times:

Jeff Sessions Needs to Go — In the wake of Wednesday's revelation that Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke with Russia's ambassador to the United States while working with the Trump campaign, despite denying those contacts during his confirmation hearings, key Republican and Democratic lawmakers …

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

The nearly indestructible bond between Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump — President John F. Kennedy picked his younger brother to be attorney general. President Trump might have picked the next closest thing. — Jeff Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump at a time when few Republican lawmakers supported the candidate.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Western Journalism, NBC News, Business Insider and IJR

Washington Post:

Six times Jeff Sessions talked about perjury, access and special prosecutors — when it involved the Clintons — Not a month into the job, Attorney General Jeff Sessions finds himself in the hot seat for not disclosing at his confirmation hearing that he spoke twice last year with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Raw Story, Media Matters for America, NPR, CNN, Hit & Run, Politicus USA, Patterico's Pontifications, ABC News and Business Insider

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:

GOPer: Info On Sessions-Russia Contact ‘Should Never’ Have Become Public — House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) said Thursday that information about Attorney General Jeff Sessions' conversations with a Russian ambassador “should never have made it to the public domain.”

Discussion: NBC News, FiveThirtyEight and Right Wing Watch

Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:
Nunes Tells Reporters: ‘Do You Want Us To Conduct An Investigation On You?’

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Two more former Trump aides spoke with Russian ambassador: report

Discussion: Mediaite

Bloomberg:
Sessions Removes Himself From Russia Probes Over Envoy

Discussion: ABC News

USA Today:
Sessions' credibility is shot: Column

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, Slate, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, National Review, Fox News Insider, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, Geller Report, Vox, Western Journalism, Al Jazeera English, TheBlaze and EXPOSEDbyCMD

Kevin Johnson / USA Today:
Sessions was more than Trump surrogate in meetings with Russian envoy

Discussion: Raw Story, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress and Taylor Marsh

Ari Berman / The Nation:
Jeff Sessions Is a Disgrace to the Justice Department

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Washington Post, Vox, The Daily Caller, Rewire, Breitbart, Advocate, AOL, Western Journalism and ThinkProgress

NBC News:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions : ‘I Will Recuse Myself’ If Necessary

Michael Weiss / The Daily Beast:
Did Sessions Meet With a Spymaster? Questions Swirl Around Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

Discussion: Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CNN, Business Insider, Vox, Talking Points Memo and Breitbart

Deirdre Shesgreen / USA Today:
Claire McCaskill accused of lying in attack on Jeff Sessions

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, CNN, Washington Monthly, Raw Story and Political Insider blog, more at Mediagazer »

USA Today:
Trump team issued at least 20 denials of contacts with Russia

Discussion: Common Dreams

Edmund Kozak / LifeZette:
Sessions Under Fire: GOP Rushes to Eat Their Own Again

Discussion: The Last Tradition, Fox News and No More Mister Nice Blog

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Transcript of Jeff Sessions's recusal news conference, annotated

Discussion: The Root, Power Line, The Daily Signal, New York Magazine and Hot Air

Erick Erickson / The Resurgent: The Jeff Sessions Attack Is a Nothingburger

Katie Pavlich / Townhall.com:
BREAKING: House Oversight Chairman Calls On Sessions to Recuse Himself, Clarify Russia Testimony

Discussion: The Hill, Hot Air and The Resurgent

Tony Cook / Indianapolis Star:

Pence used personal email for state business — and was hacked — Vice President Mike Pence routinely used a private email account to conduct public business as governor of Indiana, at times discussing sensitive matters and homeland security issues. — Emails released to IndyStar in response …

Discussion: Mediaite, Axios, The Guardian, Political Wire, Business Insider, The Week, Engadget, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politicus USA, Raw Story, The Verge and Fox 59

Paul McLeod / BuzzFeed:

Lawmakers Hunt The Capitol For An Obamacare Bill Moved Between Secret Locations — Speaker Paul Ryan says Republicans are unified behind the secret Obamacare replacement plan, but lawmakers were searching in vain for the bill on Thursday. The committee working on the bill says it is still a work in progress.

Discussion: New York Magazine and The Week

Sarah Kliff / Vox:
“We cannot find the bill”: inside the frantic hunt for the GOP Obamacare replacement

Discussion: The Slot, Common Dreams, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Axios

David Weigel / Washington Post:
Rand Paul protests outside room where House Republicans are hammering out Obamacare replacement

Discussion: Washington Times, Daily Wire and Talking Points Memo

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Paul blocked from seizing GOP Obamacare bill

Discussion: The Hill, New York Daily News, ThinkProgress, Hot Air, The Resurgent, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Political Wire

The Huffington Post:

Dreamer Arrested After Speaking To Media Will Be Deported Without Hearing, Attorney Says — “ICE's assertion that her detention is ‘routine’ is absurd and seems anything but,” one lawmaker said. — WASHINGTON A 22-year-old undocumented immigrant arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Jackson …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Slot, CBS News, New York Times and Daily Kos

The Huffington Post:
Authorities Arrest 22-Year-Old Dreamer After She Speaks To Media

Discussion: Daily Kos, USA Today, KFOR-TV, Common Dreams, ThinkProgress and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Kim Sengupta / The Independent:

US Senate calls on British spy Christopher Steele to give evidence on explosive Trump-Russia dossier — Exclusive: Republicans and Democrats in Congress keen to facilitate discreet meetings in the UK or on neutral territory, as pressure grows on President — Christopher Steele …

Discussion: Axios, Infowars and Politicus USA

NBC News:
Senate May Question Ex-British Spy Who Compiled Trump Dossier

Discussion: New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: Kellyanne Conway Speaks Out After Congressman Said She Looked ‘Familiar’ On Her Knees — Kellyanne Conway believes the news media would be more outraged about a Democratic congressman's crude joke that the White House staffer looks “familiar” with being on her knees …

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post, Western Journalism, Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit and Liberty Unyielding

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:
Democratic congressman: Kellyanne Conway ‘really looked kind of familiar’ kneeling on Oval Office couch

Discussion: Breitbart, IJR, Business Insider, Western Journalism, Washington Free Beacon, AOL and The Week

ESPN:

Colin Kaepernick to stand during national anthem next season — Quarterback Colin Kaepernick will stand during the national anthem next season, sources told ESPN on Thursday. — Kaepernick no longer wants his method of protest to detract from the positive change he believes has been created, sources told ESPN.

Discussion: USA Today, Breitbart, Daily Wire, Hot Air, CBS Sacramento, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, NESN.com, TheBlaze and The Guardian

Wall Street Journal:

Donald Trump Jr. Was Likely Paid at Least $50,000 for Event Held by Hosts Allied With Russia on Syria — October appearance by son of then-candidate is one of string of contacts between members of the president's inner circle and individuals connected to Moscow

Discussion: Daily Kos, Mediaite, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Axios

Joshua Rhett Miller / New York Post:

Woman arrested for having sex with high school football players — More On: — A 42-year-old California woman has been arrested for allegedly having sex with three high school football players. — Mary Frances Fletcher, also known as Debbie Fletcher, was arrested Tuesday on charges …

Discussion: Daily Wire

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

What The CIA and FBI Knew About Trump Before 2016 — As you've likely inferred from my recent posts I've spent a lot of time in recent days and weeks piecing together different elements of the Trump/Russia story. I've brought other colleagues into the work and plan to expand that once …

Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:

McMaster rebuked by Army in 2015 for his handling of sexual assault case — President Trump's new national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, was investigated by the Army and admonished two years ago for mishandling a case involving two junior officers accused of sexual assault, military documents show.

Steven Mufson / Washington Post:

New EPA head told Congress he never used personal email for government business. But it turns out he did. — Attorney General Jeff Sessions isn't the only Trump Cabinet official being pressed to explain omissions in congressional testimony at his confirmation hearing.

Benny Johnson / IJR:

Sec. Mattis Has a New Nickname to Replace ‘Mad Dog’... Oh, and He Does His Own Laundry at The Pentagon, Too — You never know who you are going to run into when the President of the United States addresses Congress. — Rounding a corner in the Capitol building approximately one hour …