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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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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.
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BuzzFeed, CNBC, Shakesville, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, The Week, twitchy.com and Politicus USA


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 …
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Politico, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Axios, RedState, Townhall.com, NBC News, Hot Air, Shareblue, IJR, National Review, Politicus USA, Media Matters for America, Outside the Beltway, The Week, Raw Story, The Guardian, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, CNBC, Mother Jones, Refinery29, The Atlantic, Mediaite, Daily Kos and Washington Times, more at Mediagazer »


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 …
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Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, RedState, Politico, Raw Story, Just Security, Hot Air, Shakesville, IJR, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, Balloon Juice, New York Magazine, Axios and Mediaite


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.
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The Hill, The Atlantic, JustOneMinute, Infowars, Raw Story, Take Care Blog, New York Magazine and Hit & Run


You Need To Connect The Dots Between The Bombshell Michael Flynn Stories — The former national security adviser sided with the Turkish president in delaying an attack on ISIS. But before Turkey paid him, Flynn had wanted Erdogan out. — WASHINGTON Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, The Week and NBC News


Israeli Source Seen as Key to Countering Islamic State Threat
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ThinkProgress and The Daily Caller

Chaffetz: Trump ‘probably’ shouldn't have hired Flynn
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RedState

The Ghost of Mike Flynn
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Talking Points Memo, The Week, Axios, TheBlaze and Raw Story

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.
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Axios, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Bloomberg, Raw Story, White House Dossier, Mediaite, IJR, Washington Free Beacon, The Week and ABC News, more at Mediagazer »
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If you work for Trump, it's time to quit — After the Comey firing and the Russia intel leak, the I'm-taking-one-for-the-team ship has sailed. — I've been a Republican political consultant for almost 30 years, and I've dispensed a lot of private advice.
Discussion:
Politicus USA


Advisers Urge Trump to Hire an Outside Lawyer
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Political Wire

How Trump learned about the special prosecutor
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Washington Monthly, The Atlantic, ThinkProgress, Vox, TVNewser, ABC News, New York Magazine, Betsy's Page, USA Today and Althouse

Trump ‘furious’ at Guilfoyle's bid for Spicer's job, 'She's using us'
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Mercury News, White House Dossier, Mediaite and Media Matters for America

The worst job in Washington right now: Working for Trump
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Just Security, Mediaite, New York Times, CNN, Take Care Blog, The Week, Politico, BuzzFeed, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Liberal Values, TheStreet and Sunlight Foundation


The Special Counsel Mistake — Rosenstein bends to political pressure, and here we go again.
Discussion:
Infowars and The Last Tradition
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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 …
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Shareblue, Washington Post, New York Times, CNBC, Daily Kos, CNN, AOL, Vox and Axios


The Special Counsel Who Just Might Save Trump's Presidency
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NBC News, Geller Report, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Times, Raw Story, Mother Jones and The Week

Chaffetz sees no ‘actual crime’ for special Russia prosecutor to investigate
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Politico, CNN, ABC News, Daily Kos, New York Times, The Week and Above the Law

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.
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Vox, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, The Week, The Daily Caller, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, The Resurgent and Washington Post
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Chaffetz to invite Comey to testify
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ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA, The Gateway Pundit and The Week


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.
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CNBC, Common Dreams, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Free Beacon, New York Magazine, WPRI-TV and Outside the Beltway
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Speeding car mows down pedestrians in Times Square — A speeding car plowed into a crowd of pedestrians in Times Square, killing at least one person and injuring 10 others, sources said. — The driver is in police custody, according to cops. — The smoking vehicle, a maroon Honda, was wedged up against a pole on the sidewalk.
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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 …
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ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, Media Matters for America, CNN, Balloon Juice, AOL, Daily Kos, Take Care Blog, Breitbart, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Mediaite, Gizmodo, The Root, CNBC, The Week, KTLA, The Guardian, Shakesville, Axios, bradford-delong.com, NBC News, Politicus USA and Political Wire


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 …


Chris Cornell dead at age 52 — (CNN)Chris Cornell, lead singer of Soundgarden and Audioslave, died Wednesday night, his representative told CNN. — Cornell, 52, was in Detroit performing with Soundgarden, which had embarked on a US tour in April. His passing was “sudden and unexpected …
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KFOR-TV, NPR, Deadline, National Review and Washington Post
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House Dems Smash Fundraising Records Ahead of Midterms — House Democrats have already raised more money in online contributions this year ahead of the midterms than they did during all of 2015, the most recently comparable year, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee official told NBC News.
Discussion:
Politicus USA


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