Top Items:
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
White House ‘systems failed’ with Comey firing, but Trump pushed the buttons — In deciding to abruptly fire FBI Director James B. Comey, President Trump characteristically let himself be guided by his own instincts — fueled by his creeping anger and sense of victimhood about a probe …
Discussion:
Axios, New York Times, Refinery29, The Guardian, Shareblue, The Hill, Mediaite, CBS New York, CBS Miami, Raw Story, IJR, The Daily Caller and CNBC, more at Mediagazer »
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CNN:
Isolated and agitated, Trump rattles White House from within — Many in Trump's circle now view the past four days as the worst stretch of Trump's presidency so far — Pence wasn't fully briefed on the President's reasoning for firing Comey before he went in front of cameras, an aide said
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Hot Air, IJR, The Daily Beast, New York Times and Wall Street Journal, more at Mediagazer »
Brandon Carter / The Hill:
Cutout of Sean Spicer in the bushes becomes Internet meme
Cutout of Sean Spicer in the bushes becomes Internet meme
Discussion:
CNN, Daily Kos, Business Insider, Washington Post and Axios
Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Comey's 9-year-old neighbor baked him cookies after he was fired: report — Former FBI Director James Comey's nine-year-old neighbor reportedly baked and hand delivered chocolate chip cookies to him after he was fired by President Trump this week. — A reporter for NPR recounted a text she received from the little girl's mom.
Discussion:
RedState, Mashable and twitchy.com
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Saba Hamedy / CNN:
Democratic Rep.: ‘Very strong case’ for obstruction of justice against Trump
Democratic Rep.: ‘Very strong case’ for obstruction of justice against Trump
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Raw Story, Daily Mail, AOL, IJR, Mashable and KTLA, more at Mediagazer »
Washington Post:
THE PAINFUL TRUTH ABOUT TEETH … SALISBURY, Md. — Two hours before sunrise, Dee Matello joined the line outside the Wicomico Civic Center, where hundreds of people in hoodies, heavy coats and wool blankets braced against a bitter wind. — Inside, reclining dental chairs were arrayed in neat rows across the arena's vast floor.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Jonathan Cohn / HuffPost:
A Top Trump Official Just Flunked The Jimmy Kimmel Test — It's fine to pay for sick kids, Mulvaney says, but diabetics are another story. — You've heard of the undeserving poor? Get ready for the undeserving sick. — A top Trump administration official defended the American Health Care Act …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Axios and Politicus USA
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Alexandra Berzon / Wall Street Journal:
Former Employees of Donald Trump Say They Saw Him Tape Conversations — Three former employees say they saw Mr. Trump tape phone calls in Trump Tower before he was president — A tweet from President Donald Trump on Friday suggesting that he might have taped phone conversations …
The Guardian:
‘Accidental hero’ halts ransomware attack and warns: this is not over — Expert who stopped spread of attack by activating software's ‘kill switch’ says criminals will ‘change the code and start again’ — The “accidental hero” who halted the global spread of an unprecedented ransomware attack …
Discussion:
Sputnik International, Boing Boing, Gizmodo, Joe.My.God., NPR, Snopes.com, Daily Mail and New York Times, more at Techmeme »
Jonah Goldberg / National Review:
The Comey Debacle — Rather than rationalizing and enabling the president's behavior, conservatives need to convince Trump that he's his own worst enemy. — EDITOR'S NOTE: — The following is Jonah Goldberg's weekly “news"letter, the G-File. Subscribe here to get the G-File delivered to your inbox on Fridays.
Elaina Plott / Washingtonian:
Jason Chaffetz Has Been Telling House Republicans He Will Join Fox News — When House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz announced in April that he would not seek reelection, speculation reigned—did the powerful Utah Republican have his eyes on another office?
Discussion:
Mediaite, Axios and Talking Points Memo
Jose Pagliery / CNN:
Russian money-laundering details remain in the dark as US settles fraud case — US officials feared for Russian witness — New York (CNN)A major US investigation into Russian money laundering has come to an abrupt end. — The case aimed to expose how Russian mobsters allegedly stole $230 million …
Ali Vitali / NBC News:
Trump at Liberty University Bashes ‘Critics’ in First Commencement Address — LYNCHBURG, Va. — President Donald Trump wasn't in Washington, but the politics the nation's capital embodies wasn't far from his mind after a week of uproar engulfing his administration.
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Emma Green / The Atlantic:
Trump: ‘In America We Do Not Worship Government, We Worship God’
Trump: ‘In America We Do Not Worship Government, We Worship God’
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mother Jones and Christianity Today
Kyle Smith / New York Post:
Why working class Americans voted with their middle finger — MORE FROM: … 'We're voting with our middle finger," a Trump supporter in South Carolina told a reporter last fall. No doubt. — Many a liberal observer saw the Trump vote as a rageful taunt aimed at racial and sexual minorities.
Discussion:
Instapundit
Michael Walsh / New York Post:
Comey's firing is a gift to the FBI … Let's cut right to the chase: James Comey should have been fired immediately following his disastrous press briefing last July, in which he candidly laid out the case against Hillary Clinton over her mishandling of classified information and then refused to recommend charges.
Masha Gessen / NYR Daily:
The Autocrat's Language — Donald Trump has an instinct for doing violence to language. Using words to lie destroys language. Using words to cover up lies, however subtly, destroys language. Validating incomprehensible drivel with polite reaction also destroys language.
New York Times:
The Election Is Over, but Trump Can't Seem to Get Past It — WASHINGTON — In the small dining room next to the Oval Office where he works much of the time, President Trump keeps a stack of color-coded maps of the United States representing the results of the 2016 election.
Discussion:
CNN and RealClearPolitics