Top Items:
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
In a Private Dinner, Trump Demanded Loyalty. Comey Demurred. — WASHINGTON — Only seven days after Donald J. Trump was sworn in as president, James B. Comey has told associates, the F.B.I. director was summoned to the White House for a one-on-one dinner with the new commander in chief.
Discussion:
Business Insider, Washington Post, RedState, Politico, New York Magazine, Political Insider blog, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, NBC News, Associated Press, Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Politicaldog101.Com, Axios, Washington Free Beacon, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Politicus USA, The Week and Liberal Values, more at Mediagazer »
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NBC News:
My Dinner With Comey: Current and Former FBI Officials Dispute Trump Account of Meeting With FBI Director — Despite what President Donald Trump said earlier in the day, James Comey did not seek a dinner with the president to retain his job, one current and one former FBI official close to Comey told NBC News Thursday evening.
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNBC, Hot Air, New York Times, Taylor Marsh, Politico, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Business Insider, The Week, Political Wire, Fox News Insider and Mother Jones
Tara Palmeri / Politico:
Trump's attempt to fix the Comey crisis made it worse — President Donald Trump spent many of the first 48 hours after he fired his FBI director grumbling to friends and associates about his lousy media coverage — and about the shortcomings of his senior aides.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Mediaite, The Week, Raw Story, ABC News, Political Wire and Bloomberg
Bwittes / Lawfare:
Et Tu Rod? Why The Deputy Attorney General Must Resign — President Trump speaks with Lester Holt on Comey's firing / NBC News — “He made—he made a recommendation,” Donald Trump said yesterday of his Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein in an interview with NBC News.
Discussion:
The Hill, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Washington Post, RedState, New York Times, WJLA-TV, Vox, Power Line and Wall Street Journal
Mike Allen / Axios:
Building walls — around Trump — White House officials talk freely about putting “fences” around President Trump and his decision-making to protect him from his self-indulgent instincts. — The wall strategy has worked pretty well so far on national security.
Discussion:
Politico
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump Warns Comey and Says He May Cancel Press Briefings — WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday warned James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director he fired this week, if Mr. Comey leaks anything negative about the president and warned the news media that he may cancel all future White House briefings.
CNN:
White House: Removing Comey will help bring Russia investigation to end — (CNN)The White House said Thursday that removing FBI Director James Comey from his post may hasten the agency's investigation into Russian meddling. — “We want this to come to its conclusion …
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Post, MSNBC, JONATHAN TURLEY, The Week, Axios, TheBlaze, New York Times, Hot Air and McClatchy Washington Bureau
NBC News:
Trump No Longer Expecting to Visit FBI Headquarters After Comey Firing: Officials — The White House has abandoned the idea of President Trump visiting FBI headquarters after being told he would not be greeted warmly, administration officials tell NBC News.
Discussion:
CNBC, The Root, Business Insider, ThinkProgress, Joe.My.God., Balloon Juice and Politicus USA
New York Times:
The Trump-Russia Nexus — The acting director of the F.B.I., Andrew McCabe, told Congress on Thursday that President Trump's firing of James Comey has not derailed the agency's investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Which is good news.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Washington Free Beacon, The Federalist and The Week
CBS News:
Source: There is “whole lot of interfering” in Russia investigation
Source: There is “whole lot of interfering” in Russia investigation
Discussion:
Politicus USA
HuffPost:
Donald Trump Has Compromised Every Major Investigation Into Alleged Russian Interference
Donald Trump Has Compromised Every Major Investigation Into Alleged Russian Interference
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Corky Siemaszko / NBC News:
Trump Interview With Lester Holt: President Asked Comey If He Was Under Investigation
Trump Interview With Lester Holt: President Asked Comey If He Was Under Investigation
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Vox, New York Times, Washington Post, CNBC, CNN, Hit & Run, Fox News Insider, Raw Story, AOL, New York Magazine, The Week, The Guardian, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, NY State of Politics, Media Matters for America, Mother Jones, The Root, Daily Mail, The Atlantic, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Business Insider, his vorpal sword, JONATHAN TURLEY and Lawfare
Andrew Prokop / Vox:
Trump has now admitted he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation
Trump has now admitted he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation
Discussion:
Gothamist, Newsweek, ABC News, Business Insider, Shareblue, Mashable, Lawfare, The Atlantic, Outside the Beltway and TheBlaze
Adrian Carrasquillo / BuzzFeed:
White House: “Oh My God, For The Billionth Time” Spicer Is Not Being Fired
White House: “Oh My God, For The Billionth Time” Spicer Is Not Being Fired
NBC Nightly News:
Watch Lester Holt's Extended Interview With President Trump
Watch Lester Holt's Extended Interview With President Trump
Discussion:
Shareblue and Business Insider
Associated Press:
Contradicting previous White House explanations, President Donald Trump …
Contradicting previous White House explanations, President Donald Trump …
Discussion:
Politico, CANNONFIRE and patribotics
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Huckabee Sanders stands by claim FBI ‘rank and file’ lost faith in Comey
Huckabee Sanders stands by claim FBI ‘rank and file’ lost faith in Comey
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, Hot Air, Mediaite and Daily Kos
Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
Trump said he was thinking of Russia controversy when he decided to fire Comey
Trump said he was thinking of Russia controversy when he decided to fire Comey
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Root, Politico, ABC News, Balloon Juice, CNN, Axios, Slate, Mother Jones, NBC News, RedState, Washington Free Beacon and No More Mister Nice Blog
Sari Horwitz / Washington Post:
Sessions issues sweeping new criminal charging policy — Attorney General Jeff Sessions overturned the sweeping criminal charging policy of former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. and directed his federal prosecutors Thursday to charge defendants with the most serious, provable crimes carrying the most severe penalties.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and The Week
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Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Sessions moves to lengthen drug sentences — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reversing one of the central elements of the Obama administration's criminal justice reform agenda: a Justice Department policy that led to prosecutors in drug cases often filing charges in a way that avoided …
Discussion:
Axios and No More Mister Nice Blog
Laura Jarrett / CNN:
AG Sessions paves way for stricter sentencing in criminal cases — Sessions formally rescinded prior guidance aimed at reducing the number of harsh mandatory minimum sentences — Under Sessions' memo, prosecutors must charge and pursue the “most serious, readily provable offense”
Discussion:
Political Wire
Ellen Mitchell / The Hill:
Trump wants ‘goddamned steam’ catapults on new aircraft carriers — President Trump said he has told the Navy to return to decades-old steam-powered catapult technology to launch aircraft from the new Gerald Ford-class aircraft carriers, rather than use a new digital launch system.
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Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:
Why James Comey Had to Go — The FBI head's sense of perfect virtue led him to ignore his own enormous conflicts.
Discussion:
Instapundit
Françoise Mouly / New Yorker:
Barry Blitt's “Ejected” — “It's probably a bit of a leap,” Barry Blitt says, about his cover of the May 22, 2017, issue. “James Comey is six feet eight—he probably would have been happy to give up his seat in a cramped cabin.” — Françoise Mouly has been the art editor at The New Yorker since 1993.
Discussion:
CNBC, Mediaite, Mashable and Business Insider
Brent Budowsky / The Hill:
The Feds have ‘Trump tapes’ akin to Nixon's ‘Watergate tapes’ — With President Trump acting increasingly like former President Nixon during the Watergate scandal coverup, there is one similarity between the two scandals that is not receiving the media attention it deserves.
Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:
Trump Official: We ‘Let the Biggest Perpetrator of Fake News into the Oval Office’ … Senior members of the Trump administration are livid that the White House allowed the Russian government to steer the narrative of the president's Wednesday meeting with top Russian diplomats …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and Balloon Juice
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Scott Wartman / Cincinnati.com:
9 victims alleged in sex charges against Tim Nolan — The Enquirer/Cara Owsley The Enquirer/Cara Owsley — A human trafficking and rape case against a former Northern Kentucky judge grew more bizarre at a tense arraignment and bond hearing Wednesday in Kenton County. — It started normally.
Discussion:
Raw Story