memeorandum: A Putin Opponent Is Doused in Green. He Makes It Work. (Dan Bilefsky/New York Times)

6:35 AM ET, March 21, 2017

Top Items:

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: Balloon Juice, Mediaite, Raw Story, ThinkProgress and Business Insider

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: Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress and The Stranger …

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” …

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

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

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Fox News pulls Napolitano after his Trump wiretap claims

Discussion: Business Insider

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Report: Fox News Pulls Judge Andrew Napolitano Following Trump Wiretap Comments (UPDATED)

Discussion: Deadline

Media Matters for America:
The Bigotry And Idiocy Of Donald Trump's Favorite News Show

Discussion: The Guardian and The Hill

Ezra Klein / Vox:

The new Republican health care bill doesn't fix the old bill's problems — Work requirements for Medicaid, bigger tax cuts for the rich, but nothing for the uninsured. — There are three problems you could have imagined the manager's amendment to the American Health Care Act trying to fix:

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine, New York Times, IJR, RedState and Common Dreams

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: Lawyers, Guns & Money, ACASignups.net and Politico

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: RedState, Forbes, Talking Points Memo, Vox, Business Insider and Axios

Jessie Hellmann / The Hill:

Conservative chair: ObamaCare talks ‘over’ but bill won't pass — The chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus says the negotiations on the ObamaCare repeal plan are “over” but predicts the legislation won't pass the House. — “We've communicated very clearly what we'd like to see and have done.

Discussion: Vox

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 …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight

CNN:
Republicans change health care bill in search for votes

Discussion: Occupy Democrats

The Hill:
GOP mulls ObamaCare tweak to win NY support

Discussion: Uticaod

Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast: Sen. Pat Toomey's Serious Medicaid Idea

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

Discussion: Politico

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

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

Michael Isikoff / Yahoo:

FBI probe of Trump-Russia ties began 3 months before election — The FBI's counterintelligence investigation into possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, confirmed by FBI director James Comey in congressional testimony Monday, began as early as late July …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Business Insider

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

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo and Axios

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

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Balloon Juice, NBC News, Raw Story and Business Insider

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

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

Discussion: Daily Kos

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

Discussion: ABC News, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Raw Story, Politicus USA, CANNONFIRE and CNN

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Clinton camp unloads on Comey

Discussion: RedState

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, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Occupy Democrats, Washington Post, ABC News, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Raw Story, NBC News, TalkLeft, Political Wire and Axios

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, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, Mediaite, Heat Street, Washington Free Beacon, The Resurgent, New York Magazine, Business Insider, TVNewser, Axios and The Federalist, more at Mediagazer »

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

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

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: Occupy Democrats, The Guardian, Axios and New York Magazine

Sam Thielman / The Guardian:

US forbids any device larger than cellphone on airlines from 13 countries — New TSA requirement blocks passengers from bringing laptops, iPads, Kindles and cameras, with a lack of specifics on whether flight crews are included in rule — US authorities have secretly required airlines …

Discussion: Business Insider and The Stranger …

Jon Ostrower / CNNMoney:
Electronics banned from cabins on some Middle Eastern and African flights to U.S.

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

Melanie Zanona / The Hill:
Feds temporarily ban electronics on certain flights to US

Discussion: NBC News, BizPac Review, Business Insider, The Verge, The Daily Caller and Engadget

Joe Concha / The Hill:

Survey: Only 43 percent can name a Supreme Court justice — Only 43 percent of like U.S. voters can name a Supreme Court justice, according to a C-SPAN survey released Sunday. — The survey comes as President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, began confirmation hearings on Monday.

Discussion: The Daily Caller