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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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:
BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Shakesville, Mediaite, CNBC, Daily Kos, The Week, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, twitchy.com and Politicus USA
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:
Politico, Axios, Washington Post, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, RedState, TVNewser, Townhall.com, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, Politicus USA, NBC News, Shareblue, Raw Story, Hot Air, Media Matters for America, Outside the Beltway, The Week, National Review, IJR, TheBlaze, The Guardian, CNBC, Mediaite, Mother Jones, Refinery29, Daily Kos and Washington Times
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:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Axios, NBC News, Politico, Hot Air, Shakesville, RedState, Just Security, IJR, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, New York Magazine, The Atlantic and Mediaite
Maureen Groppe / USA Today:
Mike Pence insists he didn't know Flynn was under investigation for Turkey lobbying
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, The Week, The Daily Caller and NBC News
HuffPost:
You Need To Connect The Dots Between The Bombshell Michael Flynn Stories
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Hullabaloo and The Week
Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Chaffetz: Trump ‘probably’ shouldn't have hired Flynn
Discussion:
RedState
Shane Harris / Wall Street Journal:
Israeli Source Seen as Key to Countering Islamic State Threat
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, Politicus USA 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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William Cummings / USA Today:
Special counsel vs. special prosecutor: What's the difference? — 1.4k Shares — On Wednesday, former FBI director Robert Mueller was appointed to be a special counsel to oversee the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and the possibility of collusion between Russia and President Trump's campaign.
Discussion:
Fox News, ThinkProgress, Salon, neo-neocon, Hullabaloo, Reuters, emptywheel and Daily Kos
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
The Special Counsel Who Just Might Save Trump's Presidency
Discussion:
Power Line, Geller Report, Mediaite, NBC News, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, New York Times, Raw Story, The Week, Daily Kos and Shareblue
Jchong / Lawfare:
Initial Reactions on the Appointment of Robert Mueller As Special Counsel
Discussion:
Shareblue, Washington Post, New York Times, CNBC, Daily Kos, CNN, AOL, Vox and Axios
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Rosenstein's week-long journey from Trump's man of absolute integrity to the target of rage tweets
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Atlantic and Washington Post
Nikita Vladimirov / The Hill:
Chaffetz sees no ‘actual crime’ for special Russia prosecutor to investigate
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, ABC News, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Week, Above the Law and New York Times
Mark Landler / New York Times:
Trump Calls Himself the Victim of a ‘Witch Hunt’
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Althouse
Michael Crowley / Politico:
Lieberman emerges as front-runner for FBI post — Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice-presidential nominee, is the front-runner to be named FBI director, according to several White House officials and advisers. — Senior administration officials have told others in the last 12 hours …
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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.
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Advisers Urge Trump to Hire an Outside Lawyer — WASHINGTON — Several White House advisers and personal associates of President Trump have urged him to hire an experienced outside lawyer to help him deal with issues arising from a surging controversy over whether his campaign had ties to Russia …
Discussion:
Political Wire, The Week and The Daily Caller
Reuters:
Car slams into Times Square pedestrians, killing one, injuring others — A speeding car plowed into pedestrians on a sidewalk in New York City's busy Times Square on Thursday, killing one person and injuring a dozen, according to witnesses, and police said the incident did not appear to be an act of terrorism.
Discussion:
France 24, Washington Post, NPR and IJR
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Jack Moore / Newsweek:
TRUMP CANCELS VISIT TO ANCIENT MASADA SITE AFTER ISRAEL REFUSES HELICOPTER LANDING — WORLD ISRAEL TRUMP — President Donald Trump has canceled a planned visit and speech at the ancient mountain fortress of Masada in Israel after authorities told him that he could not land his helicopter on top of the UNESCO-listed site.
Discussion:
The Hill, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones and Haaretz
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.
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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:
Vox, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Mediaite, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, The Resurgent and Washington Post
Morgan Chalfant / The Hill:
Russia tried to take over Pentagon Twitter accounts: report — Russia tried to gain access to the Twitter accounts of Defense Department officials using messages carrying malware, according to Time magazine. — Russia is said to have sent messages to over 10,000 Pentagon Twitter users …
Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
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
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 …
New York Times:
Chris Cornell, Soundgarden and Audioslave Frontman, Dies at 52 — Chris Cornell, the powerful, dynamic singer whose band Soundgarden was one of the architects of grunge music, has died at 52. — Mr. Cornell died Wednesday night in Detroit, said his representative, Brian Bumbery …
Discussion:
Detroit Free Press, The Guardian, FOX40, Refinery29, The Atlantic, CBS Philly, The Week, Mashable, CBS Boston, CBS Sacramento, Gothamist, Althouse and TheBlaze
RELATED:
CNN:
Chris Cornell dead at age 52
Discussion:
KFOR-TV, Deadline, National Review and Washington Post
Rick Wilson / Washington Post:
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
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