memeorandum: Travel group urges Trump to include ‘welcome message’ in new executive order (Melanie Zanona/The Hill)

3:25 PM ET, March 2, 2017

Top Items:

Sessions met with Russian envoy twice last year, encounters he later did not disclose — Then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) spoke twice last year with Russia's ambassador to the United States, Justice Department officials said, encounters he did not disclose when asked about possible contacts between members …

Discussion: The Guardian, The Daily Beast, USA Today, Vox, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Hill, Mediaite, ABC News, CNN, Breitbart, BuzzFeed, Politico, Daily Kos, TheStreet.com, Hit & Run, Media Matters for America, Daily Wire, Fox News Insider, Above the Law, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, IJR, Al Jazeera English, The Daily Caller, AOL, Bloomberg, The Nation, Power Line, Politicus USA, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Washington Free Beacon, fox4kc.com, Western Journalism, WTVR-TV, Business Insider, twitchy.com, Right Wing Watch, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Reuters, NPR, RedState, Mashable, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Common Dreams, The Mahablog, Political Insider blog, emptywheel, The Week, The Slot, The Gateway Pundit, Q13 FOX News, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, CANNONFIRE, Outside the Beltway, Gothamist, Shakesville, TheBlaze, PinkNews, Hullabaloo, NBC News, BizPac Review, Townhall.com, CBS San Francisco and Towleroad

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 …

Discussion: America Rising, Washington Post, Politico, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, RedState, The Guardian, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Liberty Unyielding, Geller Report and AOL

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: Little Green Footballs, Axios and Western Journalism

New York Times:

Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking — WASHINGTON — In the Obama administration's last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates …

Kevin Johnson / USA Today:

Sessions was more than Trump surrogate in meetings with Russian envoy — WASHINGTON — At the time Jeff Sessions met with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the midst of last year's bitter campaign, the Alabama senator was not only serving as a surrogate for candidate Donald …

Discussion: Daily Kos

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: Mediaite and Raw Story

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 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Vox, Sunlight Foundation, Daily Wire, CNN, Power Line, Hot Air, Politico and TheBlaze, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions : ‘I Will Recuse Myself’ If Necessary — Attorney General Jeff Sessions denied meeting with Russian officials during the course of the presidential election to discuss the Trump campaign, he told NBC News in exclusive remarks early Thursday.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, TheStreet.com, CNN, The Atlantic, The Daily Banter, Liberty Unyielding, New York Magazine, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Hill, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Politicus USA and Western Journalism

Wall Street Journal:

Investigators Probed Jeff Sessions' Contacts With Russian Officials — Communications from the then-senator occurred during presidential campaign — WASHINGTON—U.S. investigators have examined contacts Attorney General Jeff Sessions had with Russian officials during the time he was …

Discussion: al.com, Townhall.com, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, The Resurgent, Washington Post and The Hill

John Hudson / Foreign Policy:

Trump Taps Putin Critic for Senior White House Position — The hiring of Brookings scholar Fiona Hill comes as the Trump administration comes under fire for contacts with Russian officials. — The Trump administration has offered a well-respected scholar and sober critic …

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Magazine

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Trump has ‘total’ confidence in Sessions

Discussion: Political Wire and The Week

The Huffington Post:
Jeff Sessions Called For A Special Counsel After Loretta Lynch Met With Bill Clinton

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos, Media Matters for America and Talking Points Memo

CNN:
Sessions did not disclose meetings with Russian ambassador

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Axios, The Hill, Business Insider, Washington Post, Breitbart, ThinkProgress, The Federalist, Politicus USA, Mediaite, Vox, Politico and The Guardian

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Sessions offers to recuse himself from Russia investigation

Discussion: New York Magazine, Politico, ABC News, Western Journalism, Washington Post, RedState, Hot Air and Common Dreams

Louis Nelson / Politico:
McCarthy walks back suggestion that Sessions should recuse himself from Russia investigation

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, The Hill, Business Insider and MSNBC

NBC News:
Sessions Met With Russian Ambassador but Didn't Mislead Senate: Spokeswoman

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Washington Post, Breitbart, Raw Story, Sputnik International, Daily Kos, ABC News, AOL, NBC News and Townhall.com

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

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
Jeff Sessions's Unforced Error

Discussion: Vox, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Mother Jones, Breitbart, Politico, IJR, Business Insider and Mediaite

ACLU:
ACLU Calls for Investigation Into Potential Perjury by Sessions

Discussion: Raw Story

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Schumer calls for Sessions to resign

Discussion: Townhall.com, Politico, Common Dreams and Hot Air

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

Discussion: Advocate, Rewire, ThinkProgress and Washington Post

Adrienne LaFrance / The Atlantic:
Why Do the Big Stories Keep Breaking at Night?

Discussion: Washington Post and Talking Points Memo

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Pelosi calls for Sessions's resignation

Discussion: Politico, Vox, ABC News, Daily Kos, The Guardian, Business Insider, Townhall.com, BizPac Review and Talking Points Memo

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Paul blocked from seizing GOP Obamacare bill — Sen. Rand Paul tried unsuccessfully to wrest a draft of the House GOP's Obamacare bill from a secure room in the Capitol on Thursday, an escalation of his opposition to the party's health care plans. — The bill had apparently been moved from the room …

Discussion: Political Wire and Hot Air

Paulina Firozi / The Hill:
Rand Paul blasts GOP for keeping ObamaCare bill in ‘secure location’

Discussion: Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, The Slot, WREG-TV, Mediaite and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Sen. Ted Cruz / Politico:
The Right Way to Repeal Obamacare

Discussion: Hot Air

Leon Wagener / Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Barack Obama's close confidante Valerie Jarrett has moved into his new DC home, which is now the nerve center for their plan to mastermind the insurgency against President Trump — Obama's goal is to oust Trump from the presidency either by forcing his resignation or through his impeachment …

Discussion: Fox News, Western Journalism, Fox News Insider, FOX News Radio, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Geller Report, The Gateway Pundit, BizPac Review, Washington Free Beacon, Althouse, The Resurgent, The Daily Caller and Infowars

The Huffington Post:

Authorities Arrest 22-Year-Old Dreamer After She Speaks To Media — “I feel like I am an American,” Daniela Vargas said. — WASHINGTON Federal immigration authorities arrested a 22-year-old woman in Jackson, Mississippi, on Wednesday shortly after she spoke to the media about the detention of her family.

Discussion: Washington Post, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, USA Today, KFOR-TV and CBS News

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Trump's team nixed ethics course for White House staff — President Donald Trump's team rejected a course for senior White House staff, Cabinet nominees and other political appointees that would have provided training on leadership, ethics and management, according to documents obtained by POLITICO.

Discussion: Mediaite, New York Magazine, Common Dreams, Raw Story and RedState

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:

Democratic congressman: Kellyanne Conway ‘really looked kind of familiar’ kneeling on Oval Office couch — On the list of things to say about any woman — let alone one of the most powerful women in Washington right now — well, this tops it. — At Wednesday's annual Washington Press Club …

Discussion: Breitbart, IJR, Western Journalism and AOL

Rene Stutzman / Orlando Sentinel:

Judge: Casey Anthony may have killed her child by accident — Former Circuit Judge Belvin Perry Jr. on Wednesday said he believes Casey Anthony may have killed her daughter by accident when she tried to quiet the child with chloroform and simply used too much.

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:

Barack Obama Will Return To National Stage For Award Honoring JFK's 100th Birthday — In one of the first public appearances of his post-presidency, Barack Obama will accept the Centennial John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award this spring for a career of “grace under pressure” and …

Discussion: Mediaite

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Obama to receive JFK award

Discussion: RedState

Numbers / Pew Research Center:

Large Majorities See Checks and Balances, Right to Protest as Essential for Democracy — 77% say it would be ‘too risky’ to give presidents more power — Large majorities of the public, Republicans and Democrats alike, say open and fair elections and a system of governmental checks …

Discussion: Washington Post