Top Items:
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 …
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Magazine, New York Times, USA Today, Political Wire, TheBlaze, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite
RELATED:
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 …
Discussion:
RedState, CNN, The Hill, Washington Monthly, Shareblue, The Atlantic, Occupy Democrats, IJR, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Townhall.com, The Daily Signal, Morning Consult, Investor's Business Daily, Fox News Insider, The Last Tradition, CBS New York, CBS Philly, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, ABC News, Talking Points Memo and CNBC
Wall Street Journal:
Mike Flynn Offers to Testify in Exchange for Immunity — Former national security adviser tells FBI, the House and Senate intelligence committees he's willing to be interviewed in exchange for deal, officials say — WASHINGTON—Mike Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Vox, Politico, The Guardian, Daily Mail, Talking Points Memo, Axios, RedState, Salon, Hullabaloo, New York Times, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, NBC News, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Atlantic, Hot Air, News, Indy Week, Just Security, RT, Business Insider, Shakesville, The Huffington Post, CNBC, New York Magazine, Daily Wire, Politicus USA, The Week, New York Post, Heat Street, Towleroad, Occupy Democrats, The Root, NPR, TheBlaze, Shareblue, The Slot, IJR, Mother Jones, The Last Tradition, Joe.My.God., Political Wire and Refinery29
NBC News:
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.
Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:
Devin Nunes Is Just the Errand Boy in the Trump-Russia Scandal — For a week, Washington has stared slack-jawed at the antics of Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Flopsweat), the clown prince of the Trump-Russia intelligence and influence scandal. — To the bemusement of his colleagues on both side of the aisle …
Alex Whiting / Just Security:
Flynn's Public Offer to Testify for Immunity Suggests He May Have Nothing to Say
Flynn's Public Offer to Testify for Immunity Suggests He May Have Nothing to Say
Discussion:
Breitbart, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Politico, ThinkProgress, USA Today, Infowars, New York Times, France 24, Daily Mail, Balloon Juice, NBC News, CNBC, Mediaite, Raw Story, Politicus USA, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, RedState, The Week, The Guardian, Business Insider, IJR, Talking Points Memo and Axios
Rachel Stockman / LawNewz:
Flynn Wants Immunity. So Does That Mean President Trump is Screwed?
Flynn Wants Immunity. So Does That Mean President Trump is Screwed?
Discussion:
CNBC, Breitbart, Mediaite, The Week, Daily Mail, CNN, Politico, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Vox, Talking Points Memo and Washington Post
Heather Caygle / Politico:
Democrats in Trump territory in no mood to deal
Democrats in Trump territory in no mood to deal
Discussion:
Washington Post, RedState, Daily Kos, CNN, IJR, FiveThirtyEight, CBS Philly, The Week, BizPac Review, TheBlaze, Fox News Insider and The Hill
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Devin Nunes and the Tragedy of the Russia Inquiry
Devin Nunes and the Tragedy of the Russia Inquiry
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Magazine, NBC News, The Hill, Taylor Marsh, CBS News and The Week
Barton Gellman / The Century Foundation:
Is the Trump White House Spying on the FBI?
Is the Trump White House Spying on the FBI?
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, emptywheel and The Week
Anne Gearan / Washington Post:
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spends his first weeks isolated from an anxious bureaucracy — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson takes a private elevator to his palatial office on the seventh floor of the State Department building, where sightings of him are rare on the floors below.
RELATED:
Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Diplomats instructed to ‘avoid eye contact’ with Tillerson: report — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has remained relatively removed from President Trump's administration and his own department, a new report by The Washington Post says, adding that many diplomats have yet to meet him and some have been told to avoid eye contact.
Discussion:
RedState, twitchy.com and The Daily Caller
Sarah Kliff / Vox:
The Freedom Caucus's new health care demand: let insurers charge sick people more — The House Freedom Caucus laid out two demands on Thursday for a health care bill its members would support: ending Obamacare's essential health benefits and its “community rating” provisions.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Washington Examiner and Axios
RELATED:
Lisa Hagen / The Hill:
Freedom Caucus fires back at Trump: We're ‘keeping our promise’ on healthcare
Freedom Caucus fires back at Trump: We're ‘keeping our promise’ on healthcare
Discussion:
RedState, Talking Points Memo, Red Alert Politics and TheBlaze
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
The road to single-payer health care
The road to single-payer health care
Discussion:
New York Magazine
Ed Kilgore / New York Magazine:
Conservative Governors Still Not Ready to Accept Free Medicaid Money
Conservative Governors Still Not Ready to Accept Free Medicaid Money
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Kos
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?”
RELATED:
Jason Easley / Politicus USA:
Rachel Maddow Explains How Mike Pence Is Going To Go Down With Trump For Russia Scandal
Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:
Mike Pence's role in the Flynn's scandal ‘is flashing like a red beacon’: Maddow
Mike Pence's role in the Flynn's scandal ‘is flashing like a red beacon’: Maddow
Discussion:
Shakesville
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, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, The Slot, The Week and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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:
The Daily Caller, Daily Mail, Daily Wire and AOL
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:
Raw Story and Occupy Democrats
RELATED:
Richard Greenberg / NBC News:
Obama Officials Made List of Russia Probe Documents To Keep Them Safe
Obama Officials Made List of Russia Probe Documents To Keep Them Safe
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Political Wire
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 Root, Daily Kos, Joe.My.God., The Federalist, Raw Story and twitchy.com
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 and No More Mister Nice Blog
Associated Press:
Clinton criticizes Trump budget cuts to diplomatic programs — Hillary Clinton on Friday criticized President Donald Trump's proposal to slash billions of dollars from diplomacy and jabbed rhetorically at her former rival, remarking on her penchant for “talking about research, evidence and facts.”
Discussion:
Politico
RELATED:
Jeremy Binckes / Salon:
Donald Trump thought immunity was a sign of guilt: A flashback to Trump on the campaign trail
Donald Trump thought immunity was a sign of guilt: A flashback to Trump on the campaign trail
Discussion:
CNBC, Geller Report, Axios and NewsHounds blog
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
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