Top Items:
Washington Post:
How Trump's anger and impatience prompted him to fire the FBI director — Every time FBI Director James B. Comey appeared in public, an ever-watchful President Trump grew increasingly agitated that the topic was the one that he was most desperate to avoid: Russia.
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New York Times:
‘Enough Was Enough’: How Festering Anger at Comey Ended in His Firing — WASHINGTON — The countdown to President Trump's dismissal of James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, began last weekend, which the president spent stewing over Mr. Comey's testimony to Congress last week in which he provided …
Discussion:
The Hill, Axios, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, Gizmodo, Power Line, Mediaite, Boing Boing and New York Magazine
New York Times:
An Open Letter to the Deputy Attorney General — Dear Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein: — It's rare that any single person has to bear as much responsibility for safeguarding American democracy as you find yourself carrying now. Even before President Trump's shocking decision …
Discussion:
Conservative News Today and Media Matters for America
Jake Tapper / CNN:
Source close to Comey says there were 2 reasons the FBI director was fired — Washington (CNN)There are two reasons why President Donald Trump fired James Comey, according to a source close to the now-former FBI director: — Comey never provided the President with any assurance of personal loyalty.
Wall Street Journal:
As the FBI Reels, Candidates Emerge to Run Agency — The Justice Department moved on Wednesday to find a temporary successor for fired FBI Director James Comey, as Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his top deputy interviewed five candidates amid continuing fallout over the controversial dismissal.
David Choi / Business Insider:
Trump's deputy attorney general reportedly threatened to resign after being painted as the mastermind behind Comey's firing — While President Donald Trump's decision to fire FBI director James Comey came as a shock for many, one of the alleged architects of the dismissal was also reported …
Discussion:
New York Times, Mediaite, Raw Story and The Week
National Review:
The Comey Ouster — A combination photo of James Comey and Donald Trump (Reuters:Jonathan Ernst/Kevin Lamarque) — President Trump has fired FBI director James Comey, who had made himself eminently fireable. — Last July, Comey took it upon himself to become not only the nation's top policeman …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Fox News, Mediaite, Business Insider and Washington Post
John Hinderaker / Power Line:
The Associated Press Goes Around the Bend on Comey — Associated Press news stories on controversial topics are generally adapted from Democratic National Committee press releases, but when the AP really wants to cut loose it labels its stories “AP Analysis.”
Discussion:
LifeZette and The Daily Caller
The Daily Beast:
White House Lawyers Warned Trump: Stay Away From Michael Flynn … White House lawyers have had to warn President Donald Trump repeatedly against reaching out to his fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, two people familiar with the matter tell The Daily Beast.
Discussion:
portal.liberalamerica.org, Vox, The Atlantic, New York Times, Raw Story, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and Politico
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
The Easy Tells of Comey's Canning — With Donald Trump, the tells are always easy. — When the president says, “I'm, like, a smart person,” you know he nurses deep insecurities about his intelligence. When he says, “I'm really rich,” you know that he knows that you know that, really, he probably isn't.
Marc Fisher / Washington Post:
Why Trump expected only applause when he told Comey, 'You're fired.' — Donald Trump has always acted in the moment, with little regard for the past and proud contempt for the way things are usually done. — For half a century, he's believed that by refusing to be weighed down by precedent or procedure …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
The White House Story On Comey Just Gets Worse and Worse
The White House Story On Comey Just Gets Worse and Worse
Discussion:
USA Today, Discourse.net and The Week
Wall Street Journal:
Comey's Firing Came As Investigators Stepped Up Russia Probe
Comey's Firing Came As Investigators Stepped Up Russia Probe
Discussion:
Axios, The Hill, Daily Kos, Boing Boing, Hot Air, Business Insider, Political Wire and Politico
Reuters:
Comey infuriated Trump with refusal to preview Senate testimony: aides
Comey infuriated Trump with refusal to preview Senate testimony: aides
Discussion:
Mediaite, Political Wire and Axios
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
For Trump Supporters, the Real Outrage Is the Left's Uproar Over Comey
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Sessions emerges as Trump's most valuable ally
Mike Allen / Axios:
Trump puts agenda, presidency at risk
Trump puts agenda, presidency at risk
Discussion:
Politico, CNN, Hot Air and Politicus USA
Bbauer / Lawfare:
How It Was Done: The Problem is Not Only That Trump Fired Comey, but How He Did It
How It Was Done: The Problem is Not Only That Trump Fired Comey, but How He Did It
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Raw Story, New York Times and The Week
Shimon Prokupecz / CNN:
First on CNN: Comey sends farewell letter to friends and agents
First on CNN: Comey sends farewell letter to friends and agents
Discussion:
The Guardian, AOL, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, The Week, Washington Times and Washington Free Beacon
Joshua Keating / Slate:
If It Happened There: Political Chaos as Regime Purges Powerful Security Chief
New York Times:
How Every Lawmaker Has Reacted to Comey's Firing So Far
How Every Lawmaker Has Reacted to Comey's Firing So Far
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit and Vox
New York Times:
Days Before He Was Fired, Comey Asked for Money for Russia Investigation
Days Before He Was Fired, Comey Asked for Money for Russia Investigation
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Washington Post, Take Care Blog, CNN, The Week, Vox, The Moderate Voice, portal.liberalamerica.org, Politicaldog101.Com, Fox News Insider, Business Insider, CNBC, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News, neo-neocon, Los Angeles Times, Talking Points Memo, New Yorker, Raw Story, NPR, Mashable, AOL, Mediaite, The Guardian, FiveThirtyEight, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, WNYC News, The American Conservative, ThinkProgress, Just Security, Washington Examiner, Daily Mail, Washington Monthly, IJR, Daily Kos, RedState, Shareblue, Axios, Liberal Values, Lawfare, The Hill, Morning Consult, Mother Jones, TheBlaze and Media Matters for America
United States House Committee on Oversight …:
Chaffetz Statement on Comey Firing
Chaffetz Statement on Comey Firing
Discussion:
The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Washington Free Beacon, TheBlaze and Washington Post
Michael R. Bloomberg / Bloomberg:
After Comey, Justice Must Be Served
After Comey, Justice Must Be Served
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, Shareblue, Washington Post, Politico, TheBlaze, National Review, NY State of Politics, Vox, The Guardian, Dallas Morning News and Axios
Josh Dawsey / Politico:
‘He got tired of him’ — Telling Congress that he was …
‘He got tired of him’ — Telling Congress that he was …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, New York Times, Washington Post and Mediaite
New York Times:
Inside the F.B.I., Stunned Agents Wonder About Future of Russia Inquiry
Inside the F.B.I., Stunned Agents Wonder About Future of Russia Inquiry
Discussion:
Politicaldog101.Com, Business Insider and Washington Post
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
More very bad news for Trump: His poll numbers just hit a bunch of new lows
More very bad news for Trump: His poll numbers just hit a bunch of new lows
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The Hill, CNBC, Business Insider, AOL, Outside the Beltway, Shareblue, Joe.My.God., Mashable, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hullabaloo, Washington Times and The Week
Mike Levine / ABC News:
After Comey's firing, acting FBI chief jokes Benghazi controversy was ‘the good ol’ days'
After Comey's firing, acting FBI chief jokes Benghazi controversy was ‘the good ol’ days'
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Take Care Blog, AOL, Media Matters for America, Raw Story, Associated Press, New York Magazine, neo-neocon and Vox
Rosie Gray / The Atlantic:
‘There Is a Real Risk Here Things Will Spin Out of Control’
‘There Is a Real Risk Here Things Will Spin Out of Control’
Discussion:
Mediaite and Media Matters for America
Rachael Bade / Politico:
GOP scrambles to shield agenda from Comey fallout
GOP scrambles to shield agenda from Comey fallout
Discussion:
Washington Post, ABC News and Politicus USA
Economist:
What is Trumponomics and how does it differ from standard Republican economics? — Well it's an interesting question. I don't think it's ever been asked quite that way. But it really has to do with self-respect as a nation. It has to do with trade deals that have to be fair, and somewhat reciprocal, if not fully reciprocal.
Discussion:
Politico, Political Wire, Axios, CNBC and The Week
Carol Morello / Washington Post:
Presence of Russian photographer in Oval Office raises alarms — A photographer for a Russian state-owned news agency was allowed into the Oval Office on Wednesday during President Trump's meeting with Russian diplomats, a level of access that was criticized by former U.S. intelligence officials as a potential security breach.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, New York Times, New York Magazine and The Week, more at Mediagazer »
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Susan B. Glasser / Politico:
Russia's Oval Office Victory Dance — When President Donald Trump hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Oval Office on Wednesday just hours after firing the FBI director who was overseeing an investigation into whether Trump's team colluded the Russians, he was breaking …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Raw Story and Mother Jones
Clive Irving / The Daily Beast:
U.S. to Ban Laptops in All Cabins of Flights From Europe … The Department of Homeland Security will ban laptops in the cabins of all flights from Europe to the United States, European security officials told The Daily Beast. The announcement is expected Thursday.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Lawfare, View from the Wing, New York Magazine, TheBlaze, CBS San Francisco, Engadget, Daily Mail, Mashable and Axios
Hadas Gold / Politico:
Trump holds auditions while Spicer's away — Press secretary Sean Spicer's absence from the briefing room on Wednesday comes at a tenuous time, as President Donald Trump has asked senior advisers for weeks if he needs to change the face of his administration, several White House officials and outside advisers to the president said.
Discussion:
Political Wire, Axios and Raw Story
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Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Sean Spicer ‘spent several minutes hidden in the bushes’
Sean Spicer ‘spent several minutes hidden in the bushes’
Discussion:
Washington Post, Political Wire, Gizmodo, CNNMoney, Big League Politics, The Week, Shakesville, Politico, New York's PIX11, Mediaite, The Root and Mashable
StarTribune.com:
St. Olaf: Report of racist note on black student's windshield was ‘fabricated’ — NORTHFIELD, MINN. - A racist threat against a St. Olaf student that touched off campuswide protests and forced the college to cancel classes earlier this month was a hoax, the school revealed Wednesday.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Shot in the Dark
RELATED:
Nathan Rubbelke / The College Fix:
CONFIRMED: Racist note that prompted St. Olaf College shut down is hate-crime hoax
CONFIRMED: Racist note that prompted St. Olaf College shut down is hate-crime hoax
Discussion:
Star Tribune, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Power Line, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com
Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:
Aetna exiting all ACA insurance marketplaces in 2018 — Aetna will complete its withdrawal from Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges for 2018, announcing on Wednesday that lingering financial losses and uncertainty about the marketplaces' future was prompting it to exit two final states.
Discussion:
Mediaite
Katherine Faulders / ABC News:
President Trump expected to launch commission on ‘election integrity’ — President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order today establishing a commission to review alleged voter fraud and voter suppression in the American election system, multiple senior administration officials tell ABC News.
Discussion:
Political Wire and electionlawblog.org