memeorandum: Kushner and Flynn Met With Russian Envoy in December, White House Says (New York Times)

6:20 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: The Hill, Washington Post, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Raw Story, The Week, Daily Kos, NO QUARTER USA NET, Business Insider and The Mahablog

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, Fox News Insider, Business Insider, Hit & Run, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, BizPac Review, The Guardian, Geller Report, The Gateway Pundit and Talking Points Memo

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

Adam Entous / Washington Post:

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: Breitbart, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, Vox, Washington Monthly, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Politico, Power Line, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, ACLU, ABC News, The Guardian, Slate, Geller Report, Raw Story, CNN, Fox News Insider, NBC News, National Review, BBC, Axios, Hit & Run, New York Magazine, Mediaite, FiveThirtyEight, Common Dreams, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Washington Examiner, JONATHAN TURLEY, Daily Kos, BuzzFeed, NPR, Western Journalism, The Nation, Al Jazeera English, Business Insider, Associated Press, IJR, The Daily Caller, EXPOSEDbyCMD, Daily Wire, Rewire, Media Matters for America, KTLA, Bloomberg, TheStreet.com, Reuters, WTVR-TV, twitchy.com, Above the Law, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Free Beacon, fox4kc.com, The Week, AOL, Right Wing Watch, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Mashable and TheBlaze

USA Today:

Sessions' credibility is shot: Column — America needs a top law enforcement officer people can trust, that's why the former senator has to go. — Yesterday's bombshell revelation that Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Breitbart, IJR, NBC News, Al Jazeera English, Western Journalism and Common Dreams

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

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, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

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

Bloomberg:

Sessions Removes Himself From Russia Probes Over Envoy — Move comes amid uproar over meetings with Russian ambassador — Trump said he still has ‘total’ confidence in Sessions — Attorney General Jeff Sessions removed himself from investigations into Russian interference in American politics …

Discussion: ABC News

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 Post, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, IJR, CNN and ThinkProgress

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Advocate, Rewire, ThinkProgress and Raw Story

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

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Breitbart, Daily Kos and Media Matters for America

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

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

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

Discussion: Washington Post, AOL and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

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

Discussion: Fox News and No More Mister Nice Blog

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

Discussion: Political Wire

New York Times:
Jeff Sessions Recuses Himself From Russia Inquiry

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, Raw Story, JustOneMinute, Political Wire, MSNBC, Balloon Juice, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA, ABC News, Towleroad and The Guardian

John Hudson / Foreign Policy: Trump Taps Putin Critic for Senior White House Position

Brian Ross / ABC News:
For Donald Trump Jr., lingering questions about meeting with pro-Russia group

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Wall Street Journal:
Investigators Probed Jeff Sessions' Contacts With Russian Officials

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, al.com, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, The Hill, Mediaite, Politico, BuzzFeed, The Daily Caller, The Resurgent and Fox News

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

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

CNN:
Sessions did not disclose meetings with Russian ambassador

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

Discussion: Breitbart, The Atlantic, Vox, Washington Post, Mother Jones, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Political Insider blog

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Vox, The Hill, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, Breitbart and Daily Kos

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

Discussion: Hullabaloo

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

Discussion: Hot Air

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

Paulina Firozi / The Hill:

Rand Paul blasts GOP for keeping ObamaCare bill in ‘secure location’ — (R-Ky.) on Thursday blasted House Republicans for keeping their ObamaCare repeal and replace legislation under wraps. — “I have been told that the House Obamacare bill is under lock & key, in a secure location …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, Bloomberg, The Slot, KTLA and The Resurgent

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

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Daily News, Political Wire and Hot Air

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

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

Tim Chapman / The Hill:
Voters won't forgive Republicans if they fail to repeal ObamaCare

Discussion: IJR

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

Discussion: Daily Wire, Washington Times and Talking Points Memo

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

Discussion: Hot Air

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, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Wire and CBS Sacramento

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

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: Infowars and Politicus USA

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 …