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:
Talking Points Memo, BuzzFeed, New York Magazine, Shakesville, CNBC, Mediaite, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Raw Story, The Week, twitchy.com, NBC News and Politicus USA
The Daily Beast:
Donald Trump Talked Michael Flynn Into White House Job … President Donald Trump pressured a “reluctant” Michael Flynn into accepting a job as the White House's top national security official even after Flynn warned the president that he was under investigation over undisclosed lobbying …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, New York Magazine, The Week 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:
Mother Jones, Axios, Washington Post, Politico, Little Green Footballs, The Hill, Political Wire, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic, The Mahablog, RedState, The Daily Caller, TVNewser, Townhall.com, CNN, NBC News, Shareblue, Raw Story, Hot Air, The Week, Outside the Beltway, Politicus USA, National Review, TheBlaze, Media Matters for America, The Guardian, IJR, CNBC, Daily Kos and Mediaite
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
The Special Counsel Who Just Might Save Trump's Presidency — Trump won't like Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia ties. — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein just did Donald Trump a favor. — It may not look like that from the perspective of the president.
Discussion:
Power Line, Geller Report, Mediaite, New York Times, NBC News, No More Mister Nice Blog and Mother Jones
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:
The Hill, Washington Post, Politico, The Atlantic, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Fox News Insider, Refinery29, AOL, CNBC, White House Dossier, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, Mediaite, Just Security, JustOneMinute, Infowars, Vox, Raw Story, The National Interest, Hot Air, Common Dreams, New York Magazine, RT and NPR
Vera Bergengruen / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Flynn stopped military plan Turkey opposed - after being paid as its agent
Flynn stopped military plan Turkey opposed - after being paid as its agent
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, DCist, NBC News, Axios, Politico, Hot Air, Shakesville, RedState, IJR, Just Security, Balloon Juice, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week and New York Magazine
Maureen Groppe / USA Today:
Mike Pence insists he didn't know Flynn was under investigation for Turkey lobbying
Mike Pence insists he didn't know Flynn was under investigation for Turkey lobbying
Discussion:
Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, The Week, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Politicus USA, NBC News and Axios
HuffPost:
You Need To Connect The Dots Between The Bombshell Michael Flynn Stories
You Need To Connect The Dots Between The Bombshell Michael Flynn Stories
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, The Week and Axios
Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Chaffetz: Trump ‘probably’ shouldn't have hired Flynn
Chaffetz: Trump ‘probably’ shouldn't have hired Flynn
Discussion:
RedState
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
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Rosenstein's week-long journey from Trump's man of absolute integrity to the target of rage tweets
Rosenstein's week-long journey from Trump's man of absolute integrity to the target of rage tweets
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Atlantic, Washington Post and New York Times
Jchong / Lawfare:
Initial Reactions on the Appointment of Robert Mueller As Special Counsel
Initial Reactions on the Appointment of Robert Mueller As Special Counsel
Discussion:
Shareblue, Washington Post, New York Times, Outside the Beltway, CNBC, Daily Kos, CNN, AOL and Vox
CNN:
Trump lashes out over special counsel appointment
Trump lashes out over special counsel appointment
Discussion:
CNBC, The Atlantic and Geller Report
Philip Shenon / Politico:
Trump's Worst Nightmare Comes True
Trump's Worst Nightmare Comes True
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, New York Times, ABC News, Scared Monkeys and The Week
Brandon Carter / The Hill:
Kellyanne Conway cancels Fox appearance after special prosecutor announcement
Kellyanne Conway cancels Fox appearance after special prosecutor announcement
Nikita Vladimirov / The Hill:
Chaffetz sees no ‘actual crime’ for special Russia prosecutor to investigate
Chaffetz sees no ‘actual crime’ for special Russia prosecutor to investigate
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, HuffPost, ABC News, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Week and Above the Law
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.
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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 …
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and Raw Story
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
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:
Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Axios, Mother Jones, Mashable, The Week, Ynetnews and Haaretz
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:
ABC News, Vox, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, IJR, Hot Air, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Mediaite, Fox News, Washington Free Beacon, The Resurgent and Washington Post
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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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:
New York Times, France 24, NPR, Washington Post and IJR
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CBS News:
U.S. aircraft conduct strike on Syrian army convoy — BEIRUT — The U.S. sent aircraft to strike Syrian regime vehicles on Thursday that violated a deconfliction zone set up around al-Tanf, an army base where special forces are training Syrian militias, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.
Discussion:
RedState, The Atlantic, CBS New York, Common Dreams and IJR
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
CNN:
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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Josh Gerstein / Politico:
BuzzFeed sues for records on Trump-Obama tapping tweets — BuzzFeed is suing the federal government for records about President Donald Trump's use of Twitter, including his most attention-grabbing tweets claiming that he was wiretapped by former President Barack Obama.
Discussion:
The Week
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 …
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