memeorandum: C.I.A. Had Evidence of Russian Effort to Help Trump Earlier Than Believed (Eric Lichtblau/New York Times)

9:10 PM ET, April 6, 2017

Top Items:

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

Steve Bannon Calls Jared Kushner a ‘Cuck’ and ‘Globalist’ Behind His Back — Donald Trump's chief strategist Stephen Bannon has called the president's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner a “cuck” and a “globalist” during a time of high tension between the two top aides …

Axios:

Bannon to associates: “I love a gunfight” — After a series of high-level White House leaks portraying Steve Bannon as fed up with his job and ready to quit, Trump's chief strategist has told associates the stories are “100 percent nonsense” and he's playing for keeps.

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, Hullabaloo, The Times of Israel, IJR, The Atlantic and Raw Story

Washington Post: Bannon wants a war on Washington. Now he's part of one inside the White House.

Rosie Gray / The Atlantic:
Kushner and Bannon Battle for the Soul of the Trump White House

Discussion: Hot Air, Axios, Fox News, Dispatches From the …, Occupy Democrats, The Guardian, Daily Kos, Vox, Althouse, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo

CNN:
Inside the White House, paranoia and unrest among top staff

Discussion: Breitbart and NPR

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Bannon ready for White House ‘gunfight’: report

Discussion: Dispatches From the … and Axios

Media Matters for America:
To Defend Bannon, Breitbart Has Opened Fire On The President's Son-In-Law

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Raw Story, Forbes, Breitbart, Washington Post, BillMoyers.com, National Review, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog and Axios

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
White House aides clash with GOP leaders over flailing Obamacare push

Discussion: Raw Story

Eamon Javers / CNBC:
Bannon attended National Security Council meeting after his removal from top committee

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit

Matthew Cole / The Intercept:

U.S. WEIGHS “SATURATION STRIKE” AGAINST SYRIAN GOVERNMENT IN RESPONSE TO CHEMICAL ATTACK — The Pentagon has developed plans for an airstrike against Syrian government targets in response to this week's apparent chemical attack by Syrian government forces, according to two U.S. military officials.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Axios and Lawyers, Guns & Money

CNN:

Trump considering options for Syria retaliation, source says — US intel: Syrian warplanes behind gas attack — (CNN)President Donald Trump has told some members of Congress that he is considering military action in Syria in retaliation for this week's chemical attack …

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, Associated Press, Vox, Business Insider, Hot Air, New York Magazine, Daily Wire, Vocativ, The Atlantic, TheBlaze, The Week, IJR and Axios

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:

U.S. Said to Weigh Military Responses to Syrian Chemical Attack — WASHINGTON — Senior Defense Department officials are developing options for a military strike in response to the Syrian government's chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians on Tuesday, officials said on Thursday.

Discussion: Shareblue, Infowars, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Common Dreams, Political Wire and Mediaite

Sean Davis / The Federalist:
So You Want To Go To War In Syria To Depose Assad. Can You Answer These 14 Questions First?

Discussion: CNN, WTVR-TV, FOX6Now.com, Just Security and Israpundit

Courtney Kube / NBC News:
Defense Sec Mattis to Brief President Trump on Military Options in Syria

Discussion: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, RedState, Washington Times, Financial Times, CNBC, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Politico and NBC News

Washington Post:
Trump weighing military options following chemical weapons attack in Syria

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Atlantic, Hot Air and CNN

Phil Stewart / Reuters:
Trump to be briefed on full range of military options in Syria: source

Discussion: The Atlantic, ThinkProgress, Associated Press and The Daily Beast

Ari Berman / The Nation:

The GOP Has Declared War on Democracy — Going nuclear to confirm Neil Gorsuch is the latest example of how Republicans are thwarting the will of the people. — By , — Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch testifies on the second day of his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation on March 21, 2017.

Discussion: Common Dreams, BostonGlobe.com and Associated Press

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

Senate Republicans Deploy ‘Nuclear Option’ to Clear Path for Gorsuch — WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans changed longstanding rules on Thursday to clear the way for the confirmation of Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court, bypassing a precedent-breaking Democratic filibuster …

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Free Beacon, Outside the Beltway, Shakesville, Taylor Marsh, Political Wire and TheBlaze

Bob Dole / Washington Post:

Bob Dole and Trent Lott: The Senate has changed. It's time to use the nuclear option. — Bob Dole, a Republican from Kansas, was the Senate majority leader from 1985 to 1987 and 1995 to 1996 and the Republican nominee for president in 1996. Trent Lott, a Republican from Mississippi, was Senate majority leader from 1996 to 2001.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Townhall.com, The Daily Caller, RedState and Washington Free Beacon

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:
Trump's hidden back channel to Justice Kennedy: Their kids

Discussion: Washington Post, Reuters, Heat Street, AOL, IJR, The Week and Axios

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP triggers ‘nuclear option,’ gutting filibuster in Gorsuch fight

Discussion: Politico, The Moderate Voice, Occupy Democrats, Washington Monthly, Common Dreams and ABC News

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:

C.I.A. Had Evidence of Russian Effort to Help Trump Earlier Than Believed — WASHINGTON — The C.I.A. told senior lawmakers in classified briefings last summer that it had information indicating that Russia was working to help elect Donald J. Trump president, a finding that did not emerge publicly until …

Discussion: Political Wire and Daily Kos

David Ingram / Reuters:

Twitter refuses U.S. order to disclose user behind anti-Trump account — Twitter Inc on Thursday refused to reveal the user behind an account opposed to President Donald Trump's tough immigration policies and said it was challenging the demand for records by the U.S. government in court, according to a lawsuit.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Snopes.com, Occupy Democrats and TheBlaze, more at Mediagazer »

Sam Biddle / The Intercept:
The U.S. Government Is Trying to Unmask an Anonymous Anti-Trump Twitter Account

Discussion: Liberal Values and Gizmodo

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed: Twitter Sues Feds Over Attempt To Reveal Identity Behind @ALT_USCIS Account

Kartikay Mehrotra / Bloomberg:
Trump Bid to Unmask @Alt Critic User Met by Twitter Lawsuit

Discussion: The Week

Tim Mak / The Daily Beast:

Devin Nunes Steps Aside; Ethics Committee Investigating for Spilling Secrets — Rep. Devin Nunes said Thursday he is stepping aside as chairman of the House intelligence committee because he is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly disclosing intelligence without proper authorization.

Discussion: Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Fox News, Daily Kos, BizPac Review, Politicus USA, Occupy Democrats, New York Magazine and IJR

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Nunes steps aside from Russia probe

Discussion: House Committee on Ethics, Speaker.gov, Dallas Morning News, The Mahablog, ABC News, The Nation, Daily Wire, vice, The Week, Gizmodo, Shareblue, Hot Air, Vocativ, Towleroad and Common Dreams

The Hill:
Ethics panel opens investigation into Nunes

Discussion: Shareblue, New York Times, Politico and Mother Jones

Elena Schneider / Politico:

House Republicans pump last-minute money into Kansas special election — The NRCC is pouring money into a last-minute TV ad buy in Kansas ahead of a Tuesday special election, seeking to pump up Republican enthusiasm and turnout in a district that President Donald Trump carried by 27 percentage points just a few months ago.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Politicus USA, Occupy Democrats and Daily Kos

Dion Lefler / Wichita Eagle: National Republicans pour last-minute money into Estes-Thompson race

Annie Karni / Politico:

Ivanka's secret Planned Parenthood outreach — In the weeks following her father's inauguration, Ivanka Trump quietly reached out to the president of Planned Parenthood seeking common ground on the contentious issue of abortion. — The first daughter requested a sit-down with Cecile Richards …

Discussion: Breitbart, New York Times, BuzzFeed, The Hill, Washington Times, Heat Street, Talking Points Memo, Occupy Democrats, Balloon Juice, Raw Story, IJR, BizPac Review, ABC News, RedState, Hot Air, AOL, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, LifeNews.com, Mediaite, The Slot and The Week

Mattie Kahn / ELLE:
Shonda Rhimes Has Never Been Afraid to Tell Abortion Stories. Now She's Joining the Board of Planned Parenthood

Discussion: The Daily Caller, LifeNews.com, Washington Post, Associated Press, Refinery29, New York Magazine, Mashable and TheBlaze

Richard Natale / Variety:

Don Rickles, Legendary Insult Comic, Dies at 90 — Abrasive comic Don Rickles, the honorary Rat Pack member and celebrity roast guest whose career spanned six decades, has died. He was 90. — Rickles died Thursday morning at his home in Los Angeles from kidney failure, his longtime publicist Paul Shefrin confirmed.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Towleroad and Daily Wire

Hollywood Reporter:
Don Rickles, Legendary Comic With a Gift for the Insult, Dies at 90

Discussion: New York's PIX11, Snopes.com and Washington Post

New York Times:
Don Rickles, Comedy's Equal Opportunity Offender, Dies at 90

Discussion: Religion News Service, vice and Outside the Beltway

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Clinton: ‘Misogyny played a role’ in 2016 … Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton — said on Thursday that misogyny “played a role” her 2016 defeat. — “Certainly, misogyny played a role,” Clinton said at the Women of the World Summit in New York. “I mean, that just has to be admitted.

Discussion: RedState, Breitbart, Daily Wire, twitchy.com, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Mashable and Mediaite

Yahoo: Misogyny ‘played role’ in election loss: Clinton

Niamh McIntyre / The Independent:

Donald Trump's travel expenses in 10 weeks cost US taxpayers as much as Barack Obama spent in two years — US President has spent seven weekends at Mar-a-Lago since taking office 10 weeks ago — Donald Trump's trips to his luxury Florida resort have already cost the US taxpayer at least $24 million …

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:

Senator Mitt Romney? — Republican leaders and high-powered donors in Utah are waging a quiet but concerted campaign to convince 83-year-old incumbent Senator Orrin Hatch not to seek reelection next year—and now, they may have found a successor. Mitt Romney, the one-time presidential nominee …

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Politicus USA and Axios

New York Times:

Preet Bharara Links Firing to Trump Team's ‘Helter-Skelter Incompetence’ — Nearly a month after he was fired by the Trump administration, Preet Bharara, the former United States attorney in Manhattan, remains mystified by the circumstances of his ouster, saying he had never been told …

Discussion: Raw Story and Business Insider

Michael Kazin / New York Times:

Should America Have Entered World War I? — One hundred years ago today, Congress voted to enter what was then the largest and bloodiest war in history. Four days earlier, President Woodrow Wilson had sought to unite a sharply divided populace with a stirring claim that the nation …

Discussion: NPR, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Wire

Arthur Herman / National Review:
How 'Mr. Wilson's War' Shaped the World Order

Discussion: Daily Wire

Joseph Curl / Daily Wire:

Ben Carson Finds $500 Billion (Billion!) In Errors During Audit Of Obama HUD — Ben Carson was the first neurosurgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins, so, he's kind of a super hero. — But apparently, he's also not a bad accountant. — President Trump picked Carson to head …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit