memeorandum: McCain calls on Trump to clarify wiretapping claim (Eli Watkins/CNN)

7:55 PM ET, March 12, 2017

Top Items:

Preet Bharara's Probes Likely to Continue After His Exit — Long-term direction of the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office is unclear — The sudden departure of Preet Bharara, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, isn't likely to change the course of several high-profile investigations …

Discussion: Political Wire

David Edwards / Raw Story:

US Attorney fired by Trump was banned from entering Russia by Vladimir Putin — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who was fired by President Donald Trump over the weekend, was so despised by Vladimir Putin's …

Mike Allen / Axios:

1 big thing: Why Preet was toast — Why did Trump insiders instantly know that the “Sheriff of Wall Street,” Preet Bharara of Manhattan, would be fired when he resisted President Trump's resignation order to all the holdover U.S. attorneys? — There's a school of thought that the whole purge …

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Post, The Atlantic, Gothamist, Washington Free Beacon, The Last Tradition, Political Wire and Daily Kos

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:

Fired U.S. attorney invokes shuttered New York corruption panel in tweet — Preet Bharara, one of the most high-profile federal prosecutors in the country, who was fired Saturday by President Donald Trump — , tweeted Sunday that he now understood what the “Moreland Commission” felt like.

Discussion: Reuters, Political Wire, Raw Story, IJR and CNBC

New York Daily News: Russian spies in New York City: Preet Bharara announces espionage charges against 3 men

Kailani Koenig / NBC News:

HHS Sec. Tom Price: ‘Nobody Will Be Worse Off Financially’ Under GOP Health Plan — WASHINGTON — No one will be adversely affected by the Republicans' new health care bill once its enacted, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. — “I firmly believe that nobody …

Discussion: Vox, NBC News, Hot Air, Booman Tribune, AOL, Daily Wire, Mediaite, The Intercept, The Week and Political Wire

Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:
Trump economic head: Whether millions have insurance is ‘interesting’ but beside the point

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Bloomberg:
White House Pledges No One ‘Worse Off’ in Obamacare Replacement

Discussion: Daily Kos and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi

New York Times:
The G.O.P.'s High-Risk Strategy for Health Law Repeal

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Raw Story

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
Price on Obamacare replacement: ‘Nobody will be worse off financially’

Discussion: Axios and ABC News

David Edwards / Raw Story: HHS Secretary Tom Price boldly promises ‘nobody will be worse off’ after Obamacare is repealed

Eli Watkins / CNN:

McCain calls on Trump to clarify wiretapping claim — Washington (CNN)Sen. John McCain said Sunday that President Donald Trump should either retract or substantiate his claim that President Barack Obama wire-tapped him in the final weeks of the presidential campaign and added he expects …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, RedState, New York Magazine and Associated Press

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Kremlin spokesman: Russian ambassador met with advisers to Clinton campaign too

Discussion: RedState, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com

Kelsey Snell / Washington Post:
McCain to Trump: Retract wiretapping claim or prove it

Discussion: CBS New York, NBC News and IJR

Mitch Smith / New York Times:

New Ferguson Video Adds Wrinkle to Michael Brown Case — In the two and a half years since Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., the explosive case has been parsed in intricate detail. Witnesses offered varying descriptions of the fatal encounter.

Discussion: New York Daily News, New York Magazine, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, RedState, The Gateway Pundit and The Root

Ari Melber / NBC News:

After Pledging to Donate Salary, Trump Declines to Release Proof — President Donald Trump pledged to forego a presidential salary, but as his second payday approaches, the White House is declining to say if the president has donated any of his earnings yet.

Jill Disis / CNNMoney:

Trump's budget director claims Obama was ‘manipulating’ jobs data — President Trump's budget director claims the Obama administration was “manipulating” jobs data. — Mick Mulvaney told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday that he has long thought the previous administration framed data …

Discussion: Political Wire

Paul Sonne / Wall Street Journal:

What WikiLeaks Really Revealed About the CIA's Spying Techniques — WASHINGTON—The “Vault 7” trove of documents released Tuesday by WikiLeaks has been cited by commentators to claim that the Central Intelligence Agency may have been masquerading as other foreign states while conducting its cyberhacks.

Discussion: Media Matters for America

Morgan Chalfant / The Hill:
WikiLeaks aids doubters of Russian election hacking

Discussion: RedState

Wall Street Journal: Authorities Question CIA Contractors in Connection With WikiLeaks Dump

Elliot Hannon / Slate:

GOP Congressman's White Supremacist Tweet: “We Can't Restore Our Civilization With Somebody Else's Babies.” — Republican Congressman Steve King, who has a history of tip-toeing around white nationalist rhetoric, fired off a tweet Sunday afternoon that reeked of white supremacist ideology.

Stuart Anderson / Forbes:

83% Of America's Top High School Science Students Are The Children Of Immigrants — What would we lose if immigrants could no longer come to America? Surprisingly, one of the most important things America would lose is the contributions made by their children.

Jessica Contrera / Washington Post:

They are poor, sick and voted for Trump. What will happen to them without Obamacare? — Another morning, another list — of patients and problems in the hands of 35-year-old Keisha Saunders. Diabetes, depression, heart disease. Robert needs lower blood pressure. Buffy needs prescriptions filled.

Discussion: The Mahablog and Balloon Juice

New York Times:

Trump Lets Key Offices Gather Dust Amid ‘Slowest Transition in Decades’ — WASHINGTON — At the State Department, the normally pulsating hub of executive offices is hushed and virtually empty. At the Pentagon, military missions in some of the world's most troubled places are being run …

Vaughn Hillyard / NBC News:

Donald Trump Jr: At Fundraiser, President's Son Says ‘Zero Contact’ With Dad — DALLAS — Donald Trump Jr. said he has had virtually no contact with his father since the real estate tycoon and reality star became president and ceded control of his business empire to his oldest sons.

Discussion: Washington Post and Political Wire

Leonard Pitts, Jr / miamiherald:

‘Can we all get along?’ Apparently not — So this driver is stopped at an intersection. A pedestrian is dawdling in the crosswalk. Driver leans out the window and yells, “Get out of the street, you damned liberal!” — It's been years since I read that in a magazine.

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

Intel panel calls for wiretap evidence by Monday — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and ranking member Adam Schiff — (D-Calif.) have asked the White House to offer by Monday any evidence showing Trump Tower was wiretapped. — A congressional aide confirmed …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Associated Press, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and RedState