memeorandum: Fearing U.S. Withdrawal, Europe Considers Its Own Nuclear Deterrent (Max Fisher/New York Times)

11:20 AM ET, March 6, 2017

Top Items:

Towergate: Trump's great gamble — I have learned that some — though definitely not all — members of President Trump's inner circle share his belief that the Obama administration tapped his Trump Tower phones in October. And a White House official told me President Trump not only doesn't regret …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and CANNONFIRE

Reuters:

Why Trump might suspect Obama bugged Trump Tower — President Trump's claim that his predecessor bugged Trump Tower during the election has sent the media into fits, wondering where on earth he could've gotten such an idea. But it's all-too-obvious why Trump would be suspicious.

Media Matters for America:

Right-Wing Media Scramble To Recast Obama As Trump-Era Villain — In science, nature abhors a vacuum. On cable news, Fox News abhors not having a Democratic villain. So the network is trying to bring back former President Barack Obama for the starring role.

Discussion: The Guardian, Hot Air, The Last Tradition and AOL

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Chaffetz: I've seen no evidence Obama ordered wiretap of Trump

Discussion: Daily Kos

Fox News:
Conway challenges Comey to release info on Trump's wiretap allegation

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Hill and BizPac Review

Louis Nelson / Politico:
White House spokeswoman: Trump doesn't believe Comey that Obama didn't wiretap

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

NBC News:
Analysis: Does Obama Have Grounds to Sue Trump for Libel?

Discussion: CNBC, The Week, Hot Air, NBC News, AOL, Vox and Politico

New York Times:
A Conspiracy Theory's Journey From Talk Radio to Trump's Twitter

Discussion: American Prospect, New York Magazine, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Week, Shakesville, TheBlaze, Daily Wire, CNN, WRBL-TV, Washington Post, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, Media Matters for America, Patterico's Pontifications, Little Green Footballs, Fox News Insider and Talking Points Memo

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Former Bush attorney general: Trump right that there was surveillance

Discussion: Politico, The Gateway Pundit, The Last Tradition, IJR, Liberty Unyielding, The Last Refuge, Associated Press and New York Times

Michael Edison Hayden / ABC News:
WH spokeswoman doesn't think Trump accepts FBI's reported denial of alleged wiretapping

Discussion: Daily Kos and Hot Air

Ryan Struyk / ABC News:
The Note: Trump's whirlwind weekend on wiretapping

Discussion: ThinkProgress, RedState, Political Wire, The Week and Axios

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 3-5-17: Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Josh Earnest, and Sen. Al Franken

Discussion: Washington Post

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Inside Trump's fury: The president rages at leaks, setbacks and accusations — President Trump spent the weekend at “the winter White House,” Mar-a-Lago, the secluded Florida castle where he is king. The sun sparkles off the glistening lawn and warms the russet clay Spanish tiles …

Discussion: RedState, Vox, Politico, Daily Kos, Politicus USA, New York Magazine, Lawyers, Guns & Money, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Week, Balloon Juice, Mother Jones and CNN

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Knives are out for Reince — With the White House struggling to gain its footing almost two months into Donald Trump's presidency, administration officials are increasingly putting the blame on one person: Reince Priebus. — In interviews, over a dozen Trump aides, allies …

Discussion: RedState, Raw Story, Little Green Footballs and The Week

Perry Bacon Jr / FiveThirtyEight: The Eight Power Centers Of The Trump Administration

Michael Riley / Bloomberg:

Russian Hackers Said to Seek Hush Money From Liberal U.S. Groups — Post-election crime wave by attackers demanding bitcoins — Center for American Progress said to be among victims — Russian hackers are targeting U.S. progressive groups in a new wave of attacks …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Verge, The Daily Caller and The Week

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: Wiretapping allegations accomplished what Trump wanted - but may backfire bigly

Discussion: Townhall.com, New York Times and Breitbart

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court Won't Hear Major Case on Transgender Rights — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it would not hear a major case on transgender rights after all, acting after the Trump administration changed the federal government's position on whether public schools …

Discussion: Politico, Daily Kos and The Week

Associated Press:

Supreme Court scraps case on transgender bathroom rights — The Supreme Court is handing a transgender teen's case back to a lower court without reaching a decision. — The justices said Monday they have opted not to decide whether federal anti-discrimination law gives high school senior Gavin Grimm …

Discussion: RedState, twitchy.com and The Resurgent

David Marchese / Vulture:

In Conversation: David Letterman … Since retiring after 33 years on the late night television, David Letterman has kept a low public profile — aided by the growth of a truly impressive beard. But that doesn't mean he hasn't been as fixated on politics as the rest of us.

Discussion: Breitbart, Business Insider, Washington Post, Mediaite, AOL, Raw Story, Politicus USA, TVNewser and The Week

Jana Winter / The Daily Beast:

U.S. Warned of Foreign Intel Operations After Russian Met With Team Trump at RNC — The day Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak mingled with Trump campaign advisers—including then-Sen. Jeff Sessions—at a conference near the Republican National Convention, the Department of Homeland Security began preparing …

Discussion: Axios and Washington Post

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:

Pause This Presidency! — The American people must immediately demand a cessation of all consequential actions by this “president” until we can be assured that Russian efforts to hack our election, in a way that was clearly meant to help him and damage his opponent, did not also include collusion …

Discussion: Liberty Unyielding and Raw Story

Nahal Toosi / Politico:

State Dept. staffers have one question: Where's Rex? — The State Department resumes its formal press briefing on Monday — an event that offers Secretary of State Rex Tillerson an ideal setting to assert to the world that America remains a diplomatic force and reassure his jittery employees …

Discussion: The Week and Washington Examiner

Bloomberg:
Fox Anchor Heather Nauert Said to Land Spokeswoman Job at State

Discussion: TVNewser, more at Mediagazer »

Adam Davidson / New Yorker:

Donald Trump's Worst Deal — The President helped build a hotel in Azerbaijan that appears to be a corrupt operation engineered by oligarchs tied to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. — Heydar Aliyev Prospekti, a broad avenue in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, connects the airport to the city.

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

David Bossie: The Man the Trump Train Left Behind — Late last month, Fox News Channel announced that it had signed David Bossie, the Citizens United president and Donald Trump's former deputy campaign manager, as a contributor for political analysis on Fox News and Fox Business.

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

‘We are in crisis’: Morning Joe warns president's Twitter meltdown has ‘shaken this government to the core’ — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — A deadly serious Joe Scarborough lambasted President Donald Trump on Monday morning over his outrageous accusations that President Barack Obama …

CNN:

CNN/ORC poll: Most back special prosecutor for Russia investigation — Washington (CNN)About two-thirds of Americans say a special prosecutor should investigate contacts between Russians and Trump campaign associates, according to a new CNN/ORC poll, and 55% say they are at least somewhat concerned …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Washington Times and The Week

Paulina Neuding / Weekly Standard:

The Truth About Sweden — As Saul Bellow said, ‘A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep’ — Firemen extinguish a burning car on the third straight night of riots by immigrant youths around Stockholm, May 21, 2013.