memeorandum: Now we know why Trump panicked about Russia probe (Jennifer Rubin/Washington Post)

5:20 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, Yahoo, The Federalist, Mediaite, Towleroad, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Shakesville and Political Wire

Scott Wong / The Hill:

First GOP lawmaker calls for Nunes to recuse himself — Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) on Tuesday told The Hill that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) should “absolutely” recuse himself from his panel's investigation into Russia's meddling in last year's election.

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Times

Louis Nelson / Politico:

Swalwell on Nunes fallout: ‘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 …

Discussion: ABC News, Common Dreams, The Hill and NBC News

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Now we know why Trump panicked about Russia probe — You know things are looking grim for President Trump when he starts tweeting about Hillary Clinton again. Monday evening he sounded trapped and wounded: “Why isn't the House Intelligence Committee looking into the Bill & Hillary deal …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Booman Tribune, Progress Pond, Hot Air, IJR and Daily Kos

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

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, Scared Monkeys and New York Times

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

Discussion: Business Insider, Daily Kos, AOL and Washington Free Beacon

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

Discussion: Common Dreams, ABC News, Political Wire and The Hill

David Harsanyi / The Federalist:
Devin Nunes Has Absolutely No Reason To Recuse Himself

Discussion: Politico, Instapundit, Weekly Standard and KQED News

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The White House's Sally Yates problem

Discussion: The Last Refuge, Fox News Insider, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and The Daily Caller

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

Discussion: RedState, Politico, Towleroad, Daily Kos and Washington Post

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

Discussion: Axios, New York Magazine and The Guardian

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

Discussion: RedState

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

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

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: Vox, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Politico, USA Today, Hot Air, New York Times, Political Wire, Daily Kos, CNBC, Washington Times, RedState, Mediaite, Business Insider, Daily Wire, IJR, TheBlaze and Instapundit

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: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Vox and Mother Jones

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, Business Insider, The Daily Beast, Salon, Washington Post, The Slot, Raw Story, Shakesville, Politicus USA and Towleroad

Tom Kludt / CNNMoney:

Bill O'Reilly apologizes after making racially charged joke about congresswoman — Fox News host Bill O'Reilly apologized Tuesday after coming under fire for mocking a black congresswoman's hair. — During an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” O'Reilly reacted to a clip of Rep. Maxine Waters …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Gateway Pundit

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: Washington Monthly, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Vox, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Associated Press and CNN

Alexander Bolton / The Hill: Border wall funding likely to be put on hold

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

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

Coral Davenport / New York Times:

Trump Signs Executive Order Unwinding Obama Climate Policies — WASHINGTON — President Trump signed on Tuesday a much-anticipated executive order intended to roll back most of President Barack Obama's climate-change legacy, celebrating the move as a way to promote energy independence …

Discussion: Washington Post, The FADER, Engadget, New York Post and Common Dreams

Dan Merica / CNN:
In executive order, Trump to dramatically change US approach to climate change

Discussion: Mashable, Count on Coal, ThinkProgress, AOL, IJR, RedState and The Guardian

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
Trump moves decisively to wipe out Obama's climate-change record

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, Daily Wire, Gothamist, Fox News, Washington Monthly, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Politico

Cassandra Sweet / Wall Street Journal:
Despite Trump Move on Climate Change, Utilities' Shift From Coal Is Set to Continue

Discussion: The Atlantic and New York Magazine

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, Hullabaloo and Raw Story

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Argues He's Immune From Accuser's Defamation Suit As POTUS

Discussion: Daily Kos

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

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: Washington Post, Curbed NY - All, Raw Story, Political Wire and Gothamist

Fox News:

Sanctuary city mayors fire back at Trump administration's threat to cut fed funding — The Justice Department's threat Monday to pull funding from local and state governments that refuse to comply with federal immigration enforcement laws drew a defiant response from big-city mayors.

Discussion: Common Dreams, Los Angeles Times, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, BizPac Review and Fox News Insider

Derek Hawkins / Washington Post:
California chief justice blasts immigration crackdown, says rule of law is ‘being challenged’

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

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

Discussion: Breitbart

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.

Discussion: electionlawblog.org

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: EAGnews.org, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, RedState, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, The Last Tradition and The Last Refuge

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Mar-a-Lago can't release visitor logs — because it doesn't keep them — PALM BEACH, Fla. — Democrats just came up with a catchy-sounding bill to force President Donald Trump to cough up a list of visitors to his private clubs. — But there's just one problem: There are no lists yet.

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos, CNN and AOL

Meredith Newman / capitalgazette.com:

Naval Academy grads ask alumni group to rescind honor for former Sen. Jim Webb — Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb speaks in Baltimore in June 2015 where he announced his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. He's been named a 2017 Distinguished Graduate by the Naval Academy Alumni Association …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Jill Filipovic / CNN:

We all know why the right is angry at Tomi Lahren — Tomi Lahren's show suspended for a week — Jill Filipovic: It's clear now that Tomi Lahren didn't know her role, and the same men who helped usher her to fame are now keen to shut her up — It turns out for all their talk …

Discussion: RedState and twitchy.com