memeorandum: Top Venezuela official breaks with government, protests mount (Reuters)

5:35 PM ET, March 31, 2017

Top Items:

Michael Flynn's Immunity Request Rejected By Senate Intelligence Committee — The Senate Intelligence Committee turned down the request by former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's lawyer for a grant of immunity in exchange for his testimony, two congressional sources told NBC News.

Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:

Senate Intelligence Committee turned down Flynn's request for immunity: NBC — The Senate Intelligence Committee has turned down former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's request for immunity.

Discussion: Fox News Insider, BostonGlobe.com, BizPac Review, Vox, Daily Kos, TheStreet, Axios, CBS News, The Week, TheBlaze, Joe.My.God. and Wall Street Journal

Austin Wright / Politico:

Schiff heads to White House to review controversial intelligence — Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, went to the White House Friday to review classified intelligence that President Donald Trump's spokesman describes as evidence of possible surveillance abuses by the Obama administration.

Discussion: ABC News, Daily Wire and The Hill

Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:
Devin Nunes Is Just the Errand Boy in the Trump-Russia Scandal

Discussion: Just Security

Katie Bo Williams / The Hill:
Senate intel panel declines Flynn immunity offer ‘at this time’: report

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post, Occupy Democrats and Deadline

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Grassley asks State for details on Clinton's security clearance — (R-Iowa) is asking the State Departments for details on the security clearances of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — and her top aides. — Grassley, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, sent a letter this week …

Discussion: Raw Story

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Diplomats instructed to ‘avoid eye contact’ with Tillerson: report

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, RedState, The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Refinery29, National Review, twitchy.com, New York Magazine, Washington Free Beacon, Daily Kos, Mediaite, The Week, Axios and Business Insider

Joe Concha / The Hill:
AP reporter disputes Washington Post's Tillerson eye-contact report

Discussion: IJR and The Daily Caller

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Avert your eyes: AP reporter says sensational WaPo claim on Tillerson “not true”

Discussion: Politico, Heat Street, SARAH PALIN and The Week

Lorne Cook / Associated Press: US gives NATO allies 2 months for defense spending plans

CNN:
Tillerson: US to maintain Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia until Crimea is returned

Discussion: Vox, New York Magazine and Washington Free Beacon

Mike Allen / Axios:

1 big thing: Trump, baffled and brooding — Trump, during an opioid and drug abuse listening session Wednesday n the Cabinet Room with Chris Christie, Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos / AP's Evan Vucci — President Trump brought his chaos …

Michael Gerson / Washington Post:

Trump's failing presidency has the GOP in a free fall — In the aftermath of the GOP health-care debacle came a revealing act of candor. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan admitted that his party, which controls the House, Senate and White House, is not yet a “governing party” because it could not …

Senator Claire McCaskill:

Gorsuch: Good for Corporations, Bad for Working People — This is a really difficult decision for me. I am not comfortable with either choice. While I have come to the conclusion that I can't support Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court—and will vote no on the procedural vote and his confirmation …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Vox, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Axios, Kansas City Star and Reuters

Associated Press:
Democratic Supreme Court opposition grows; Schumer warns GOP

Discussion: Power Line, Politico, Breitbart and ABC News

Joanna L. Grossman / Vox:

Vice President Pence's “never dine alone with a woman” rule isn't honorable. It's probably illegal. — An employment lawyer weighs in. — “I don't work with women. If they're attractive, I'm too tempted. And if they're not attractive, what's the point?”

Jason Easley / Politicus USA:
Rachel Maddow Explains How Mike Pence Is Going To Go Down With Trump For Russia Scandal

Discussion: Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog and Shakesville

National Review:
Pence and Prudence — Traditional Christians face a double standard.

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com and The Huffington Post

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

The road to single-payer health care — Repeal-and-replace (for Obamacare) is not quite dead. It has been declared so, but what that means is that, for now, the president has (apparently) washed his hands of it and the House Republicans appear unable to reconcile their differences.

Discussion: New York Magazine and Instapundit

Sarah Kliff / Vox:
The Freedom Caucus's new health care demand: let insurers charge sick people more

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Mother Jones and Axios

Sarah Kliff / Vox:
An Obamacare adviser walks into the Trump White House...

Discussion: The Hill and Morning Consult

Caitlin Dewey / Washington Post:

GOP lawmaker: The Bible says ‘if a man will not work, he shall not eat’ — One lawmaker is citing a godly reference to justify changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Tex.) recently quoted the New Testament to question the strength of current work requirements.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Federalist, Occupy Democrats, Washington Free Beacon, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., The Root and twitchy.com

Anita Kumar / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

1 in 3 voters give President Trump a grade F — WASHINGTON — After more than two months in office, America's new president, Republican Donald Trump, got a grade of F from 1 in 3 voters, according to a new McClatchy-Marist Poll. — By contrast, the same number graded predecessor Democrat …

Discussion: Daily Wire, Political Wire, Daily Mail, The Daily Caller and AOL

Michael Cabanatuan / San Francisco Chronicle:

President Jerry Brown? 'Don't rule it out' — Gov. Jerry Brown went to Concord on Thursday to promote a plan to fix the state's roads and highways, acknowledging that the $52 billion plan may be a “heavy lift” for some motorists but promising he's motivated only by a desire to improve transportation.

Discussion: Daily Wire

Lisa Hagen / The Hill:
Jerry Brown on running for president: 'Don't rule it out'

Discussion: Faithwire, Political Wire and The Daily Caller

Richard Greenberg / NBC News:

Obama Officials Made List of Secret Russia Probe Documents To Protect Them … LATEST POSTS FROM INTEL DESK — Obama administration officials were so concerned about what would happen to key classified documents related to the Russia probe once President Trump took office that they created …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Raw Story and Occupy Democrats

Richard Greenberg / NBC News:
Obama Officials Made List of Russia Probe Documents To Keep Them Safe

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:

The Prince of Oversight — When Donald Trump's now-notorious Access Hollywood tape first leaked in October last year, Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz reacted to the news the way he usually does—he got himself in front of a camera, and fast. — Within hours after the story broke …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, The Slot, The Week and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Reuters:

Top Venezuela official breaks with government, protests mount — Venezuela's powerful attorney general on Friday broke ranks with President Nicolas Maduro's government after the judiciary annulled congress, a rare show of internal dissent as protests and international condemnation grew.

Discussion: Hot Air and Instapundit

BBC:
Venezuela ‘coup’: Alarm grows as court takes power

Discussion: Hot Air

The Guardian:

Michael Flynn: new evidence spy chiefs had concerns about Russian ties — US and UK officials were troubled by Moscow contacts and encounter with woman linked to Russian spy agency records — US intelligence officials had serious concerns about Michael Flynn's appointment …

Discussion: Raw Story and Business Insider

Shannon Dooling / WBUR:

ICE Arrests Green Card Applicants In Lawrence, Signaling Shift In Priorities — Federal immigration officers arrested five people in Lawrence on Wednesday when they showed up for scheduled appointments at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office.

Discussion: Raw Story and rubber hose

Michael Alison Chandler / Washington Post:

D.C. is among the first in nation to require child-care workers to get college degrees — Debbie James-Dean graduated from high school in 1979 and has spent much of her career working in child care. She was anxious when her director at Kids Are Us Learning Center in Southeast Washington told her she needed to go back to school.

Discussion: Hit & Run and Washington Free Beacon

Stephanie Coontz / New York Times:

Do Millennial Men Want Stay-at-Home Wives? — Millennials, generally defined as people born between 1982 and 2000, were supposed to be the generation that forged what has been called “a new national consensus” in favor of gender equality. Indeed, in February the prominent Columbia professor …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Refinery29, The Week and New York Magazine

Bloomberg:

Verizon Said to Plan Online TV Package for Summer Launch — Phone giant is obtaining online rights to television networks — Service follows similar offerings from Dish, AT&T's DirecTV — Verizon Communications Inc. has been securing streaming rights from television network owners …

Discussion: BGR, 9to5Mac, Engadget, The Verge and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:

Mistakes, He's Made a Few Too Many — Crisis will inevitably strike, so America needs stability and strength. Will Trump be ready? — Near the end of the campaign I wrote a column called “Imagine a Sane Donald Trump,” lamenting that I believed he was crazy, and too bad.

Discussion: alicublog, No More Mister Nice Blog and Washington Post