Top Items:
Reuters:
Exclusive: Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians: sources — Michael Flynn and other advisers to Donald Trump's campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race …
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New York Times:
Trump Team Knew Flynn Was Under Investigation Before He Came to White House — WASHINGTON — Michael T. Flynn told President Trump's transition team weeks before the inauguration that he was under federal investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the campaign …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Axios, RedState, Washington Post, Politico, NBC News, Shareblue, National Review, Outside the Beltway, TheBlaze, Politicus USA, The Guardian, Media Matters for America, The Week, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, CNBC, The Atlantic, Refinery29, Mother Jones, Mediaite, Daily Kos and Washington Times, more at Mediagazer »
Adam Entous / Washington Post:
House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump — KIEV, Ukraine — A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation …
Discussion:
CNN, AOL, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Take Care Blog, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Mother Jones, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Mediaite, Gizmodo, The Root, CNBC, The Week, KTLA, New York Magazine, The Guardian, Shakesville, Politicus USA, Axios, bradford-delong.com, NBC News and Political Wire
Vera Bergengruen / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Flynn stopped military plan Turkey opposed - after being paid as its agent — WASHINGTON — One of the Trump administration's first decisions about the fight against the Islamic State was made by Michael Flynn weeks before he was fired - and it conformed to the wishes of Turkey …
Discussion:
Washington Post, RedState, Shakesville, Balloon Juice, Raw Story, Just Security, Hot Air, IJR, The Week, New York Magazine, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Axios, Mediaite and Politico
Michael Isikoff / Yahoo:
As investigators circled Flynn, he got a message from Trump: Stay strong — Late last month, fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn—under investigation by federal prosecutors, with his lawyer seeking immunity for him to testify to Congress-met with a small group of loyalists at a restaurant in the northern Virginia suburbs.
Discussion:
The Week and Politicus USA
Shane Harris / Wall Street Journal:
Israeli Source Seen as Key to Countering Islamic State Threat
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and ThinkProgress
Rosie Gray / The Atlantic:
The Ghost of Mike Flynn
Discussion:
The Week, TheBlaze, Politicus USA, Raw Story and Axios
Wall Street Journal:
The Special Counsel Mistake — Rosenstein bends to political pressure, and here we go again.
Discussion:
Infowars and The Last Tradition
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Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Deputy Attorney General to Appear in Rare All-Senate Hearing — The Justice Department appointed Robert S. Mueller III, a former F.B.I. director, as a special counsel to oversee its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, announced on Wednesday.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Raw Story, Take Care Blog, The Atlantic, New York Magazine, Politico and Hit & Run
Philip Shenon / Politico:
Trump's Worst Nightmare Comes True — The most daunting assignment in Robert Mueller's career in law-enforcement and public service might have arrived on Wednesday night, with his appointment as the special prosecutor in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 president campaign …
Discussion:
ABC News, New York Times, Washington Post, Scared Monkeys, The Week, Washington Free Beacon, Axios and Outside the Beltway
Jchong / Lawfare:
Initial Reactions on the Appointment of Robert Mueller As Special Counsel — FBI Director Robert Mueller leads a briefing for President Obama on the Boston Marathon bombings, April 2013 / Official White House Photo by Pete Souza — There's a lot of reason to be cheered this evening …
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, Daily Kos, CNN, AOL, Vox and Axios
Annie Karni / Politico:
How Trump learned about the special prosecutor
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Vox, New York Magazine, ABC News, Betsy's Page and USA Today
Brandon Carter / The Hill:
Kellyanne Conway cancels Fox appearance after special prosecutor announcement
CNN:
Inside an embattled Trump's most consequential evening of turmoil yet
Discussion:
The Hill, The Week, Balloon Juice, Above the Law, TheBlaze and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
The Special Counsel Who Just Might Save Trump's Presidency
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, NBC News, New York Times, Mother Jones and The Week
Erin McClam / CNNMoney:
Roger Ailes, who built Fox News into a powerhouse, dies at 77 — Roger Ailes dead at 77 — Roger Ailes, who transformed cable news and then American politics by building Fox News into a ratings powerhouse, died Thursday. He was 77. — The death was announced by his family and reported on Fox News Channel.
Discussion:
New York Times, Common Dreams, Washington Free Beacon, The Root, New York Magazine, WPRI-TV and Outside the Beltway
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Katie Little / CNBC:
Fox News' ex-CEO Roger Ailes dead
Discussion:
New York Times, Forbes, Mediaite, IJR, TVNewser, The Times of Israel, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, AOL, Mashable, RT, Infowars, The Week, New York's PIX11, Deadline and Washington Free Beacon
Washington Post:
Roger Ailes, Fox News founder and former chairman, dies at 77, family says
Discussion:
Gothamist, more at Mediagazer »
Fox News:
Roger Ailes, founder of Fox News, dead at 77
Discussion:
Daily Mail, White House Dossier, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, WKBN-TV, Mediaite, TMZ.com and TheBlaze
Marc Fisher / Washington Post:
Roger Ailes, architect of conservative TV juggernaut Fox News, is dead at 77
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Althouse
Annie Karni / Politico:
Trump weighs downsizing Spicer's public role — President Donald Trump is considering scaling back White House press secretary Sean Spicer's public role, according to several officials familiar with the president's thinking, as Trump also weighs a broader shakeup of his communications shop in the wake of several scandals.
Discussion:
Axios, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Raw Story, Mediaite, IJR, Washington Free Beacon, The Week and ABC News, more at Mediagazer »
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Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:
Trump ‘furious’ at Guilfoyle's bid for Spicer's job, 'She's using us' … President Trump is “furious” at reports that Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle is gunning for White House spokesman Sean's Spicer's job, telling aides that his press secretary is a vital part of his operation, according to insiders.
Discussion:
Mercury News, White House Dossier, Mediaite and Media Matters for America
Bill Allison / Bloomberg:
Pence Takes Steps to Build War Chest as White House Stumbles
Discussion:
The Last Tradition
Vaughn Hillyard / NBC News:
Pence Creates PAC ahead of 2018, 2020 Elections — Vice President Mike Pence is launching his own PAC — the “Great America Committee” — to aid his own future political interests, including helping Republican candidates ahead of the 2018 midterms. — The group, which filed paperwork …
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Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
Neil Gorsuch will be the enduring symbol of a disastrous presidency.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Salon, Infowars, The Daily Caller, CNN, Newsmax and Common Dreams, more at Mediagazer »
Theodoric Meyer / Politico:
Conservatives begin to whisper: President Pence
Discussion:
Infowars, Breitbart, The Resurgent, The Last Tradition, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, Bloomberg and The Gateway Pundit
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Chaffetz to announce early departure from Congress — Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is expected to announce Thursday that he is resigning before the end of this congressional term, according to three sources familiar with his plans. — Chaffetz did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Week, RedState, Washington Free Beacon and Washington Post
Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Trump isn't a toddler — he's a product of America's culture of impunity for the rich — “When you're a star, they let you do it.” — Ross Douthat's column arguing for the superiority of “25th Amendment remedies” to impeachment for Donald Trump's various misdeeds is impressive in its ability …
Alvin Chang / Vox:
We tracked the Trump scandals on right-wing news sites. Here's how they covered it. — We're experiencing these historical events very differently. — The past week of Trump scandals for people reading mainstream news outlets has gone something like this: President Trump fired …
Discussion:
CNBC
Alex Pfeiffer / The Daily Caller:
Pat Buchanan: It Isn't Watergate Yet, But How Long Can This Sustain? — Pat Buchanan says the nonstop uproar following Trump's firing of former FBI director James Comey is not comparable to Watergate, but he does wonder if the Trump presidency can function with this level of drama.
Discussion:
Vox Popoli
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