memeorandum: Trump Faces Furor Over Unsubstantiated Claim Obama Wiretapped Him (Ted Mann/Wall Street Journal)

10:15 AM ET, March 5, 2017

Top Items:

Trump mingles with Mar-a-Lago guests outside charity ball — President Donald Trump mingled with guests outside a charity ball at his Mar-a-Lago Club on Saturday night. — As attendees danced inside the ballroom where the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute held its gala, the president was spotted nearby …

Discussion: Politico

Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:

It's literally pay to play at Mar-a-Lago — If you pay $200,000 a year to the company Donald Trump owns, you too can have access most weekends to the president and his top officials. As an alternative, your organization could cut a $150,000 check to bring in a couple of hundred people …

CNN:

Trump angry and frustrated at staff over Sessions fallout — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump is extremely frustrated with his senior staff and communications team for allowing the firestorm surrounding Attorney General Jeff Sessions to steal his thunder in the wake of his address to Congress, sources tell CNN.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Balloon Juice

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:
Trump flashes anger over Sessions recusal, Russia stories in tense Oval Office meeting

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, American Greatness, Raw Story, Business Insider, New York Magazine and The Mahablog

Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump fumes over Sessions' recusal from Russia probe

Discussion: Raw Story, ABC News, Mother Jones and New York Times

Ted Mann / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Faces Furor Over Unsubstantiated Claim Obama Wiretapped Him — President adds meeting with attorney general and homeland security secretary as allies and foes react to his claims on Twitter — PALM BEACH, Fla.—President Donald Trump called together several top advisers Saturday …

Dan Balz / Washington Post: Russia is the slow burn of the Trump administration, and it's not going away

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
The Associated Press Springs to Obama's Defense

Discussion: Associated Press, The Last Refuge and National Review

Neil Munro / Breitbart:
Obama's State Department Sponsored 2016 Meeting of Russian Ambassador with Sen. Sessions

Discussion: The Guardian

Jon Schwarz / The Intercept:

If Trump Tower Was Wiretapped, Trump Can Declassify That Right Now — If in fact Trump Tower was wiretapped during the 2016 presidential campaign, as President Trump claimed in several tweets Saturday morning, he can do much more than say so on twitter: Presidents have the power …

Discussion: Reuters, RedState, CNBC, The Week, ABC News, Politico, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, CANNONFIRE, The Gateway Pundit, BizPac Review, Politicus USA, TheBlaze, Snopes.com, Fox News Insider, Lawfare and ThinkProgress

Robert Barnes / LawNewz:

Yes, There Could Be Serious Legal Problems if Obama Admin Involved in Illegal Surveillance — President Trump recently tweeted claiming that former President Obama wiretapped him during his campaign. One can only imagine how nuts the media would have gone if the roles had been reversed …

Discussion: Vox Popoli, The Last Refuge and Power Line

emptywheel:
The Conspiratorial Game of Telephone in Bannon's Rag that Made Left, Right, and POTUS Go Crazy

Discussion: National Review, The Gateway Pundit and The Last Refuge

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Graham: 'I'm very worried' about Trump's wiretapping accusation

Discussion: TheBlaze, Washington Examiner, The Week and ThinkProgress

CNN:
Trump falsely accuses Obama of wiretapping his phone

CNN:

Trump plans to sign updated travel ban early next week — Cabinet members have advocated for Iraq to be removed from the administration's list of banned countries — (CNN)President Donald Trump is planning to sign an updated executive order banning travel from certain Middle Eastern …

Discussion: RedState and ImmigrationProf Blog

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill: Trump expected to sign new travel order Monday: reports

Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump expected to sign new executive order on travel ban on Monday

Discussion: TheBlaze, Mediaite, Political Wire and Axios

Daily Mail:

Revealed: Tony Blair's secret White House summit as he launches astonishing bid to work for Donald Trump... as his Middle East peace envoy — Tony Blair has attended a secret meeting at the White House to discuss working for Donald Trump, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Discussion: The Guardian and CANNONFIRE

Barak Ravid / Haaretz:

EXCLUSIVE Netanyahu offered opposition leader to push together for regional peace initiative - and then backtracked — Netanyahu and Herzog reached dramatic understandings six months ago; a joint declaration in Cairo, including readiness for territorial compromise and curb on settlement building …

Discussion: Israpundit

Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:

Ivanka Trump Tours Holocaust Museum as Father Considers Visit — The first daughter visited the Washington museum on Monday — The president has said it's ‘very important’ that he visit — Ivanka Trump took a private tour of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum this week without her father …

Discussion: Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Bradley P. Moss / Politico:

Trump's Wiretap Rant Betrays Ignorance of the Law — President Donald Trump set the political and national security community on fire Saturday morning, starting the day with a four-part Twitter rant alleging that former President Barack Obama had “tapped” his phones during the presidential campaign.

Discussion: The Guardian

Vivian Yee / New York Times:

Migrants Confront Judgment Day Over Old Deportation Orders — There are a little more than two weeks between Juan, an electrician in the Bronx, and the date he cannot forget: March 21, 2017, at 8 a.m., when the federal government has told him to report for deportation.

Liam Deacon / Breitbart:

FAKE NEWS: Sweden's Integration Minister Admits Lying to BBC About Rape Stats — Sweden's ruling liberal party Integration Minister has been forced into an embarrassing U-turn after she falsely told BBC the number of reported rapes in the country was falling.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

SNL has a blockbuster in search of a hero: The Republican who stands up to Trump — “Saturday Night Live” just ran a two-minute liberal's dream sequence disguised as a movie trailer. — The trailer for “Republican” features a notable omission: a title character.