memeorandum: Sen. Orrin Hatch: What to expect in Gorsuch confirmation hearing (USA Today)

9:20 AM ET, March 18, 2017

Top Items:

Osita Nwanevu / Slate:

Paul Ryan: I've Been Dreaming About Kicking Poors Off Medicaid Since I Was a Drunk Frat Boy — At the National Review Institute's Ideas Summit on Friday, House Speaker Paul Ryan had an interesting exchange with National Review editor Rich Lowry about the AHCA's changes to Medicaid:

Robert King / Washington Examiner:

Scalise: GOP won't wait for new CBO score on health bill — Republicans are pushing forward on a vote next week on their bill to repeal Obamacare and won't wait for a new estimate on the impact of major changes the legislation makes to Medicaid. — House Whip Steve Scalise, R-La. …

Discussion: Politico

Ezra Klein / Vox:

Does Donald Trump know what the GOP health bill does? — Maybe not. — “I want everyone to know I'm 100 percent behind [the American Health Care Act],” President Trump said today. “The press has not been speaking properly about how great this is going to be. I watch, I say, 'That's not the bill we're passing.'

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Paul Ryan says he fantasized about cutting health care for the poor at his college keggers

Discussion: Occupy Democrats, No More Mister Nice Blog, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week and Eschaton

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Paul Ryan says he's been “dreaming” of Medicaid cuts since he was “drinking out of kegs”

Discussion: ABC News and Political Wire

John Parkinson / ABC News:
Some conservatives line up behind health care plan for vote next week

Discussion: NBC News, Politico, The Daily Signal and Jamie Dupree

CNN:

DOJ provides wiretap documents to Congress — Cooper: We know Trump has no wiretapping facts — The House Intelligence Chairman and ranking member have said Trump Tower was clearly not wiretapped — (CNN)The Justice Department delivered documents Friday to House and Senate investigators …

Discussion: Business Insider, Little Green Footballs, Axios and Mediaite

Eli Lake / Bloomberg: The Resistance Cheers Tactics Trump Will Likely Use Against Them

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:
Trump drags key foreign allies into controversy over unproven wiretap claims

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Politico

Wall Street Journal:
Kellyanne Conway's Husband Is Set to Lead Justice Department Division

Discussion: Raw Story and Axios

Erin McPike / IJR:

Transcript: Independent Journal Review's Sit-Down Interview with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — In his first sit-down interview since becoming secretary of state, Rex Tillerson spoke with Independent Journal Review's Erin McPike about the challenges of American diplomacy with China …

Steven Perlberg / BuzzFeed:

A Top Adviser To Mike Pence Is An Investor In Favored Media Outlet — Nick Ayers, a top adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, is an investor in Independent Journal Review, a social media-geared site for young conservatives. IJR got special access to the Secretary of State this week.

Discussion: Media Matters for America and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Shin Hyon-hee / The Korea Heald:
US says ‘strategic patience’ on NK is over

Discussion: The Guardian, twitchy.com, Washington Monthly, Fox News Insider, The Week, Daily Wire, Daily Kos and ThinkProgress, more at Mediagazer »

Reuters:

Russian elite invested nearly $100 million in Trump buildings — A Reuters review found that at least 63 individuals with Russian passports or addresses have bought at least $98.4 million worth of property in seven Trump-branded luxury towers in southern Florida.

Discussion: Political Wire

Robert Faturechi / ProPublica:

Fired U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Said to Have Been Investigating HHS Secretary Tom Price — Trump's head of the Department of Health and Human Services traded stocks of health-related companies while working on legislation affecting the firms. A source says Bharara was overseeing an investigation.

Discussion: New York Magazine, TheStreet.com, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Political Wire and Axios

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

Clinton: 'I'm ready to come out of the woods' — spoke at the Society of Irish Women's 19th Annual St Patrick's Day dinner in Scranton, Pa., Friday and encouraged people not to let politics divide them. — “I do not believe that we can let political divides harden into personal divides …

Discussion: Political Wire

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Fox's Andrew Napolitano Stirred the Pot for Trump's British Tempest — Andrew Napolitano was a Superior Court judge in New Jersey until, frustrated by the constraints of his salary, he left the bench for more lucrative pastures: talk radio, a syndicated small-claims court TV series …

Discussion: NO QUARTER USA NET, Mediaite, Media Matters for America and Deadline

Josh Barro / Business Insider:
Sean Spicer's absurd accusation against British intelligence is the scariest news this week

Discussion: twitchy.com, New York Magazine, RedState, Talking Points Memo, Vox, CANNONFIRE, Hot Air, Daily Wire, IJR, Hullabaloo, Media Matters for America, Taylor Marsh, Mashable and ABC News

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Trump Organization: First Treasury donation on hotel stays to come in 2018 — The Trump Organization will wait until 2018 to make its first annual donation to the U.S. Treasury on any profits it earns from foreign government officials who stay at one of President Donald Trump's luxury hotels, a company official said Friday.

Discussion: The Hill

Steve Reilly / USA Today: Trump hasn't donated hotel profits from foreign governments yet

Jane Mayer / New Yorker:

The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency … Last month, when President Donald Trump toured a Boeing aircraft plant in North Charleston, South Carolina, he saw a familiar face in the crowd that greeted him: Patrick Caddell, a former Democratic political operative and pollster who …

Discussion: The Atlantic and Highline

Matea Gold / Washington Post: The Mercers and Stephen Bannon: How a populist power base was funded and built

Donna Brazile / TIME:

Donna Brazile: Russian DNC Narrative Played Out Exactly As They Hoped — Brazile is a Democratic political strategist — For weeks now, we've seen a steady stream — not just leaks — of information about possible contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russians.

Discussion: Fox News, Mediaite, The Hill, BizPac Review, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, ABC News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Fox News Insider, The Root, TheBlaze, The Last Tradition, Politico, TVNewser and Political Wire

Washington Post:

White House fence jumper roamed grounds for more than 16 minutes before arrest — A California man carrying Mace roamed for nearly 17 minutes inside the secured White House perimeter before he was taken into custody March 10 near the South Portico entrance, the Secret Service acknowledged Friday.

Discussion: The Resurgent, Axios and CNN

Rocco Parascandola / New York Daily News:
Laptop holding Trump Tower floor plans, Hillary Clinton email investigation info stolen from Secret Service agent

Media Matters for America:

NY Times Public Editor Helps Out An “Alt-Right” Harassment Campaign — What is wrong with Liz Spayd? — This morning, The New York Times' public editor fell for an “alt-right” harassment campaign against a reporter of color for the paper, devoting her entire column to scolding the writer over a tweet.

Discussion: New York Times

Veronica Rocha / Los Angeles Times:

16-year-old girl who was fatally shot by Fremont police was pregnant, authorities says — A 16-year-old girl who was fatally shot by Fremont police during a robbery investigation was pregnant, authorities say. — The girl, who was a passenger in a stolen vehicle linked to a series of robberies …

Discussion: The Root

Dakin Campbell / Bloomberg:

Cohn Offers Plan to Sell China Bank Stake to Avoid Conflict — Former Goldman president owns 23.4 million shares of ICBC — Stake is valued at more than $15 million, disclosure shows — Gary Cohn, President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, disclosed a plan to sell his stake …

Lawfare:

The Revolt of the Judges: What Happens When the Judiciary Doesn't Trust the President's Oath — It's been a busy 24 hours in the increasingly fascinating relationship between President Trump and the federal judiciary. — First, a federal district judge in Hawaii entered …

Discussion: bradford-delong.com, Washington Post, RedState, BuzzFeed, neo-neocon, Take Care Blog, Josh Blackman's Blog and Instapundit

Robbie Gramer / Foreign Policy:

Apache Helicopter Guns Down Boat Full of Somali Refugees Fleeing Yemen — Refugees crossing oceans to flee war and famine have to contend with the risks drowning, dehydration and other perils on their journey. Now add Apache helicopters to the list. — On Friday, an Apache military …

John Anderson / New York Times:

Left-Leaning Documentary World Seeks Right-Wing Perspective — Three of the 10 top-grossing political documentaries ever are the work of the right-wing polemicist Dinesh D'Souza. The most powerful documentarian in the country is the White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon.

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel / Washington Post:

Trump administration rolls back protections for people in default on student loans — Days after a report on federal student loans revealed a double-digit rise in defaults, President Trump's administration revoked federal guidance Thursday that barred student debt collectors from charging high fees on past-due loans.

Discussion: Consumerist, Investor's Business Daily, Occupy Democrats and The Atlantic