memeorandum: Graham mocks Nunes over ‘Inspector Clouseau investigation’ (Jonathan Easley/The Hill)

2:40 PM ET, March 28, 2017

Top Items:

Trump administration sought to block Sally Yates from testifying to Congress on Russia — The Trump administration sought to block former acting attorney general Sally Yates from testifying to Congress in the House investigation of links between Russian officials and Donald Trump's presidential campaign …

Manu Raju / CNN:

Amid turmoil, House Intel Committee scraps meetings this week — Democrats believe he is too close to the White House to lead a thorough investigation into Russia — Washington (CNN)The House Intelligence Committee has scrapped all meetings this week amid growing partisan rancor …

Discussion: MSNBC, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Towleroad, Mediaite, Shakesville, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Louis Nelson / Politico:

Swalwell on Nunes: ‘This is what a cover-up to a crime looks like’ — House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes' announcement last week that officials from the transition team of President Donald Trump had been inadvertently surveilled by the U.S. intelligence community came at the behest …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, NBC News, The Hill and Common Dreams

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Graham mocks Nunes over ‘Inspector Clouseau investigation’ — Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday mocked House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes's (R-Calif.) investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. election, likening him to the bumbling fictional character played by Peter Sellers in the “Pink Panther” movies.

Discussion: RedState

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Graham: Nunes is running ‘an Inspector Clouseau investigation’

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, ABC News, Political Wire and The Federalist

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Administration, Nunes blocked ex-acting AG from testifying

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Washington Post

Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
The Note: Nunes' crisis of credibility

Discussion: New York Times and Scared Monkeys

Martin Matishak / Politico:
Schiff: Yates would have testified on Flynn ‘cover-up’

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider, AOL and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Read the letters on Sally Yates's potential congressional testimony on Russia

Discussion: Axios and New York Magazine

Michael Isikoff / Yahoo:
Russia probe in turmoil as top Dem calls for Nunes' recusal

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Politico and Political Wire

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
Nunes, White House defiant as Russia controversy deepens

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Raw Story and Daily Kos

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Kushner met Russian bank executives: report

Discussion: RedState, ThinkProgress, Reuters, Salon, Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller and Shareblue

ABC News:
WATCH: Paul Ryan says Devin Nunes shouldn't recuse himself from Russia investigation

Discussion: Axios, Hot Air, Politico and The Hill

New York Times:

Affordable Care Act Repeal Is Back on the Agenda, Republicans Say — WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders and the White House, under extreme pressure from conservative activists, have restarted negotiations on legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, with House leaders declaring …

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire, RedState, New York Times, Daily Kos, Daily Wire, CNBC, Business Insider, Washington Times, Mediaite, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Instapundit, TheBlaze and Washington Post

Hunter Woodall / Kansas City Star:

Kansas Senate votes to expand Medicaid as Gov. Sam Brownback doubles down on opposition — TOPEKA — Kansas lawmakers ignored Gov. Sam Brownback's wishes Monday and gave initial approval to a bill that would expand Medicaid to thousands in the state. — The Kansas Senate voted 25 to 13 …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mother Jones and Vox

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: New momentum for Medicaid expansion, as more Republicans conclude Obamacare won't get repealed

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press and Political Insider blog

Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg:
Senate GOP Leaders Push for Health-Care Effort After House Plan Implodes

Discussion: Politico

Paul Gattis / al.com:
Rep. Mo Brooks files bill to repeal Obamacare

Discussion: Breitbart, IJR, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Vox Popoli, TheBlaze and RedState

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Congress may stiff Trump on wall funding — Congressional Republicans might deliver some more bad news for President Donald Trump, fresh off their embarrassing failure to scrap Obamacare: No new money is coming to build his wall. — Trump hoped to jump-start construction of a massive wall …

Discussion: Vox, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Associated Press, CNN and The Daily Caller

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Schumer headed for epic clash with McConnell

Discussion: TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Common Dreams and RedState

Joan Biskupic / CNN:
Inscrutable Gorsuch raises Democratic ire

Discussion: Fox News, Hot Air and electionlawblog.org

Fox News:

Schumer goes off on Trump supporter at NYC restaurant, witness says — Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., caused a scene at a Manhattan restaurant when he began yelling at a wealthy and well-connected Donald Trump supporter that the POTUS is “a liar.” — Schumer, the top Senate Democrat …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Geller Report, Daily Wire, TheBlaze, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Althouse, BizPac Review, Daily Mail, Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit, SARAH PALIN, Instapundit and twitchy.com

Ilya Marritz / WNYC News:

Paul Manafort's Puzzling New York Real Estate Purchases — Paul J. Manafort, the former Trump campaign manager facing multiple investigations for his political and financial ties to Russia, has engaged in a series of puzzling real estate deals in New York City over the past 11 years.

Discussion: Raw Story, Political Wire and Gothamist

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Whatever Trump does next, it has to be about jobs and wages — What will President Trump do after the Obamacare debacle? For 48 hours, some Hill Republicans — and Trump himself — spoke as if the president and the GOP could smoothly, seamlessly, and swiftly pivot to tax reform.

Axios:
Scoop: Trump wants to make tax reform and infrastructure a package deal

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Investor's Business Daily, New York Magazine, Business Insider, TheBlaze, FiveThirtyEight, Mediaite and New York Times

Axios:
Trump's grand bargain

Discussion: CNBC, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos and Daily Mail

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Donald Trump Claims U.S. Constitution Bars ‘Apprentice’ Star's Defamation Suit While in Office — The president believes the Supremacy Clause bars state lawsuits against a sitting president and looks to tackle an issue “not decided” by the Supreme Court in Bill Clinton v. Paula Jones.

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Derek Hawkins / Washington Post:

California chief justice blasts immigration crackdown, says rule of law is ‘being challenged’ — Tani Cantil-Sakauye, chief justice of the California Supreme Court, is fast emerging as one of the Trump administration's most vocal critics in the judiciary. — Her main concern …

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, CBS News and ImmigrationProf Blog

Elizabeth Chou / L.A. Daily News:
LA mayor vows to fight Trump administration attempt to strip ‘sanctuary city’ funding

Discussion: Breitbart

NBC News:

Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner: Rising Powers at the White House — The speculation began almost immediately after Donald Trump was elected: Who would have the ear of the famously unpredictable 45th president? — For a time it appeared that White House adviser Steve Bannon …

Discussion: Salon, The Hill, Vox, Politicus USA, Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon, CNN, FOX6Now.com, Towleroad, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post and Refinery29

Roger Cohen / New York Times: The Offender of the Free World

Media Matters for America:

Bill O'Reilly: I “Didn't Hear A Word” Rep. Maxine Waters Said Because Of Her “James Brown Wig” — BILL O'REILLY: I didn't hear a word [Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)] said. I was looking at the James Brown wig. If we have a picture of James, it's the same wig. — STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): It's the same one.

Discussion: Shareblue, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Politicus USA and Towleroad

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

A 2016 Review: Turnout Wasn't the Driver of Clinton's Defeat — In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, many analysts suggested that Hillary Clinton lost to Donald J. Trump because of poor Democratic turnout. — Months later, it is clear that the turnout was only modestly better for Mr. Trump than expected.

Dan Merica / CNN:

In executive order, Trump to dramatically change US approach to climate change — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump will sign a sweeping executive order Tuesday at the Environmental Protection Agency, which looks to curb the federal government's enforcement of climate regulations …

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Mail, IJR, Mashable, Count on Coal, ThinkProgress, AOL, RedState and The Guardian

John Gregory / abc7.com:

NOHO SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS DUE TO HIGH WHITE STUDENT PERCENTAGE SPARKS OUTRAGE … <iframe width="476" height="267" src="http://abc7.com/video/embed/?pid= 1817703" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> — NORTH HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Outrage has grown at Walter Reed Middle School …

Discussion: RedState, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, The Last Tradition, The Daily Caller and The Last Refuge

Jonathan O'Connell / Washington Post:

Government watchdog to review Trump's use of Mar-a-Lago — A government watchdog agency, the Government Accountability Office, has agreed to review the costs and security precautions associated with President Trump's travel and stays at Mar-a-Lago after a request for inquiry from leading Democrats on Capitol Hill.