memeorandum: FBI's Russian-influence probe includes a look at far-right news sites (McClatchy Washington Bureau)

11:55 PM ET, March 20, 2017

Top Items:

Glenn Thrush / New York Times:

Trump's Weary Defenders Face Fresh Worries — WASHINGTON — President Trump began Monday as he has started so many other presidential mornings — by unleashing a blistering Twitter attack on critics who suggested his 2016 campaign colluded with the Russians.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mediaite and Business Insider

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

FBI's Russian-influence probe includes a look at far-right news sites — WASHINGTON — Federal investigators are examining whether far-right news sites played any role last year in a Russian cyber operation that dramatically widened the reach of news stories — some fictional …

Discussion: Geller Report, Occupy Democrats, The Gateway Pundit, Vox Popoli and Media Matters for America, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

President Trump faces his hardest truth: He was wrong — On the 60th day of his presidency came the hardest truth for Donald Trump. — He was wrong. — James B. Comey Jr. — the FBI director whom Trump celebrated on the campaign trail as a gutsy and honorable “Crooked Hillary” …

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

All the President's Lies — The ninth week of Donald Trump's presidency began with the F.B.I. director calling him a liar. — The director, the very complicated James Comey, didn't use the L-word in his congressional testimony Monday. Comey serves at the pleasure of the president, after all.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Stranger …

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

What Did We Learn Today? — Judged by time, today's House Intelligence Committee hearing was mainly an exercise in hypotheticals and ‘no comments’. For those who hadn't gotten the full treatment until now, it was also an exposure to what we might term James Comey's militant earnestness.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CANNONFIRE and New York Daily News

New York Times:
Comey Confirms F.B.I. Inquiry on Russia; Sees No Evidence of Wiretapping

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
Roger Stone responds to Comey hearing, denies claims of Russia collusion

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo and Axios

Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Mook: Trump aides ‘should be prosecuted for treason’ if they conspired with Russia

Discussion: ABC News, Raw Story and Politicus USA

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Spicer digs in after FBI confirms Russia probe

Discussion: Daily Kos

New York Times:
F.B.I. Is Investigating Trump's Russia Ties, Comey Confirms

Discussion: The Atlantic, Vox, Washington Post, Jamie Dupree, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Daily Signal, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Deadline, IJR, Mashable, Mother Jones and Political Wire

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Comey: ‘No Information’ To Back Trump's Claim Obama Wiretapped Him

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Clinton camp unloads on Comey

Discussion: RedState

Martin Matishak / Politico:
Roger Stone takes center stage as Congress lines up Russia probe witnesses

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story, NBC News and Business Insider

Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:

Fox News pulls Judge Napolitano over his Trump wiretap claims — Judge Andrew Napolitano, the senior judicial analyst for Fox News, is being kept off the air indefinitely. (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images) — Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano is being kept off …

Discussion: Mediaite, Media Matters for America, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Politicus USA, The Daily Caller, Occupy Democrats, Daily Wire, Raw Story, TheBlaze and twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:

Fox News pulls Napolitano after his Trump wiretap claims — Fox News has reportedly pulled Andrew Napolitano from the air indefinitely after his claims that a British intelligence agency had wiretapped Trump Tower. — Napolitano, a Fox News analyst, is not scheduled to appear on the network …

Media Matters for America:

The Bigotry And Idiocy Of Donald Trump's Favorite News Show — “For the record,” a top Fox News executive explained to the network's newsroom a decade ago, “seeing an item on a website does not mean it is right. Nor does it mean it is ready for air on FNC.”

Discussion: The Guardian and The Hill

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

GOP leaders pile on sweeteners to sell Obamacare repeal — House Republican leaders are making a last-ditch attempt to win enough support to pass their Obamacare repeal, revealing an expansive series of changes to the bill on Monday night designed to woo wary GOP lawmakers.

Discussion: Vox, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and Axios

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Republican leaders are adding a $75 billion magic asterisk to their Obamacare repeal plan — It will help older people in some totally unspecified way. Allegedly. — In an effort to blunt the American Health Care Act's disastrous effect on older Americans, House Republican leaders …

Discussion: ACASignups.net

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

The Republican Health-Care Plan Has Disappeared Again — The greatest advantage the Republican Party held, through eight years of political war over the provision of health care, was not having a plan to defend. After November's elections handed them full control of government …

The Hill:

GOP mulls ObamaCare tweak to win NY support — House GOP leaders aiming to win votes from vulnerable New York Republicans are considering a change to their ObamaCare repeal legislation, several sources told The Hill. — The change, aimed at securing the votes of several Empire State Republicans …

Discussion: Uticaod

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:
Conservative chair: ObamaCare talks ‘over’ but bill won't pass

Discussion: Vox

Jacob Gardenswartz / Vox:
Every House Republican who could sink the GOP health care bill

Discussion: Politico

Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:

The Blaze Suspends Tomi Lahren — Conservative media company The Blaze has suspended political commentator Tomi Lahren, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Daily Caller. — Lahren's show is suspended for effect for at least one week starting Monday, according to TheDC's sources.

Discussion: Glenn Beck, Raw Story, Heat Street, Daily Wire, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Business Insider, The Federalist, Washington Free Beacon, The Resurgent, New York Magazine, TVNewser, Axios, twitchy.com and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:
Glenn Beck Publicly Battles Tomi Lahren, His Most Famous Employee

Discussion: Mediaite, The Hill, Dallas Morning News, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit

Annie Karni / Politico:

Ivanka Trump set to get West Wing office as role expands — Ivanka Trump, who moved to Washington saying she would play no formal role in her father's administration, is now officially setting up shop in the White House. — The powerful first daughter has secured her own office …

Discussion: RedState, TalkLeft, ABC News, Political Wire, Washington Post, Business Insider, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Occupy Democrats, NBC News and Axios

Arnie Seipel / NPR:

Amid Charges By Former Law Student On Gender Equality, Former Clerks Defend Gorsuch — Editors' note 12:55 p.m. ET: Since this story was first published, we have added material from another former student and former law clerks of Gorsuch, as well as more information about Jennifer Sisk's political affiliations.

Cortney O'Brien / Townhall.com:
Feinstein: I'm Concerned that Gorsuch Is an ‘Originalist’

Discussion: twitchy.com and MichelleMalkin.com

Joe Concha / The Hill:
Survey: Only 43 percent can name a Supreme Court justice

Discussion: The Daily Caller

New York Times:
Six Highlights From the Gorsuch Confirmation Hearing

Discussion: NBC News, NPR, CNN, New Republic, Bloomberg, Economist, Fox News, New York Magazine, The Daily Signal, SCOTUSblog, Daily Wire, Raw Story, FOX31 Denver, KFOR-TV, Denver Post, NWLC, Fox News Insider, Political Wire, Take Care Blog and Politico

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
SCOTUS nominee Neil Gorsuch faces extraordinary sexism allegation from former student

Discussion: Shareblue, Mother Jones, Shakesville, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Magazine, The Daily Signal, Washington Free Beacon and Washington Monthly

Reuters:

Exclusive: Tillerson plans to skip NATO meeting, visit Russia in April - sources — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to skip an April 5-6 meeting of NATO foreign ministers for a U.S. visit by the Chinese president and will travel to Russia later in the month, U.S. officials said on Monday …

Discussion: Axios and Occupy Democrats

Jon Ostrower / CNNMoney:

Electronics banned from cabins on some Middle Eastern and African flights to U.S. — Airlines that fly from certain countries in the Middle East and Africa to the U.S. must require passengers to check in almost all electronic devices rather than carry them into the cabin, said a U.S. official.

Discussion: WPMT FOX43, The Hill, Business Insider and TheBlaze, more at Techmeme »

Sam Thielman / The Guardian:
US forbids any device larger than cellphone on airlines from 13 countries

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Stranger …

Jonathan O'Connell / Washington Post:

Trump drops 208 spots on Forbes list of billionaires — Donald Trump is $1 billion poorer since becoming president, according to Forbes's latest list of the world's billionaires. — The magazine's newest ranking, released Monday, estimated that Trump's net worth has fallen from $4.5 billion …

Discussion: The Hill, Forbes and CNBC

Rupert Neate Wealth / The Guardian:
Forbes billionaire list: Trump loses $1bn as elite club gets 233 new members

Discussion: Occupy Democrats and AOL

Frank Rich / New York Magazine:

The Trump Voters Who Don't Deserve Democrats' Sympathy — Democrats need to stop trying to feel everyone's pain, and hold on to their own anger. — On the morning after, traumatized liberals set out hunting for answers as if Election Day were 9/11 all over again.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hullabaloo and Power Line