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 …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Lawfare, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Axios, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, Vox, New York Magazine, The Mahablog, The Times of Israel, The Daily Caller, MichelleMalkin.com, NBC News, Mediaite, The Week, Washington Monthly, BillMoyers.com, Shakesville, Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic
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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.
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 …
Maureen Groppe / USA Today:
Mike Pence insists he didn't know Flynn was under investigation for Turkey lobbying
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, Washington Post, Politico, CNBC, The Guardian and Axios
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
BuzzFeed sues for records on Trump-Obama tapping tweets
Discussion:
The Week
Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Senate Dems: Deputy AG knew Comey was being removed before writing memo … Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein knew FBI Director James Comey was going to be fired before he wrote a memo recommending Comey's dismissal, a pair of Democratic senators said Thursday.
Discussion:
Politico and Political Wire
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New York Times:
Advisers Urge Trump to Hire Outside Lawyer in Russia Inquiry
Discussion:
Just Security, Politicus USA, JustOneMinute, The Week, The Federalist, The Daily Caller and Political Wire
William Cummings / USA Today:
Special counsel vs. special prosecutor: What's the difference?
Discussion:
Fox News, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, emptywheel, neo-neocon and Reuters
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
The Special Counsel Who Just Might Save Trump's Presidency
Discussion:
The American Interest, Geller Report, The Atlantic, Power Line, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and No More Mister Nice Blog
CNN:
Trump lashes out over special counsel appointment
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, CNBC, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Congressman Ted Lieu, Geller Report, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Refinery29, The Daily Caller, New York Times, White House Dossier, Power Line, Mediaite, Infowars, Vox, CBS New York, The National Interest, The Resurgent, Hot Air and IJR
New York Times:
'There's no collusion' between Trump and Russians, he says.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, CNN, Politico, New York Magazine, The White House, Washington Monthly, Refinery29, The Daily Caller, The Times of Israel, CNBC, Raw Story, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Common Dreams, RedState, AOL, IJR, Fox News Insider, Outside the Beltway, Mashable, RT, NPR, twitchy.com, Mother Jones, Political Wire, Washington Times, The Week, CBS Dallas and Washington Free Beacon
Billy House / Bloomberg:
House May Be Forced to Vote Again on GOP's Obamacare Repeal Bill — Two weeks after passage, measure still not sent to Senate — CBO report could force Ryan, other party leaders into redo — House Republicans barely managed to pass their Obamacare repeal bill earlier this month …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Politico, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, Political Wire, NBC News, Hot Air, Politicus USA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos and ACASignups.net
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Jonathan Swan / Axios:
House leaders worry more meetings secretly recorded — House Republican leadership is agitated after the Washington Post published a transcript from a secret recording of one of the inner-sanctum conversations in the office of Speaker Paul Ryan. — The transcript shows House Majority …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Shareblue, Salon, Hullabaloo, ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice, New York Magazine, Media Matters for America and AOL
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.
Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Joe Lieberman might be FBI director. Really.
Discussion:
Politico, The Atlantic, Daily Kos, Newsweek and Political Wire
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, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Washington Times, The Week, Fox News and Washington Free Beacon
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Jason Chaffetz / Chaffetz:
Chaffetz Letter to Utah's 3rd Congressional District — f t # e — Dear 3rd District Constituents: — Serving you in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly nine years has been a rare honor and privilege. When I first ran for Congress in 2008 I promised I would get in, serve, and get out.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Shareblue, Vox, NPR, Washington Post, twitchy.com, TheBlaze and The Daily Caller
Rachael Bade / Politico:
Gowdy poised to replace Chaffetz as Oversight chief — Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) is expected to become the next chairman of the House Oversight Committee, replacing Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) in the high-profile post when he leaves Congress late next month, according to multiple senior House Republicans.
Discussion:
Axios, New York Magazine, IJR, Washington Free Beacon and DCist
Bill O'Reilly / USA Today:
Roger Ailes had my back at Fox News — Roger experienced hatred, and it killed him. — CONNECT — To say that Roger Ailes led a full life is a massive understatement. A force of nature with an agenda, RA, as fellow executives called him, was a man on a mission.
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Erin McClam / CNNMoney:
Roger Ailes, who built Fox News into a powerhouse, dies at 77
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, CNBC, Common Dreams, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon and The Root
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, Mashable, Common Dreams, The Week and Mother Jones
Noam N. Levey / Los Angeles Times:
Health insurers and state officials say Trump is undermining Obamacare, pushing up rates — President Trump meets in February with the heads of major health insurers. Many industry officials and state regulators now believe they cannot rely on Trump to effectively manage the country's insurance markets.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and New York Magazine
Jenna McLaughlin / Foreign Policy:
Trump Team Planning Possible Retaliation for Classified Leak Allegations — White House officials concoct “ludicrous” revenge plan targeting former Obama administration. — President Donald Trump's inner circle is war-gaming how best to respond to the Washington Post's bombshell report …
Discussion:
PRI, Common Dreams, ThinkProgress and Just Security
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Video Emerges Of Turkey's President Watching As His Goons Attack Protesters [VIDEO] — Video has emerged showing Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan calmly looking on as members of his security detail attack a group of Kurdish protesters outside of the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Voice of America
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Megan R. Wilson / The Hill:
Turkish Embassy calls violent clash with protesters in DC ‘self-defense’
Discussion:
Associated Press, Fox News, Washington Post, The Week, IJR, NPR and Mother Jones
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
That Didn't Go Great — Let me share a few thoughts on the press conference President Trump just held with the President of Colombia. In the nature of the moment, I'll just focus on the questions President Trump fielded on the investigations. — First, on question one …
Discussion:
Mother Jones
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Burgess Everett / Politico:
Senators: Rosenstein knew Comey would be fired before writing memo
Discussion:
Axios
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:
Reuters, RedState, Congressman Ted Lieu, The Atlantic, CBS New York and Common Dreams
Laurel Raymond / ThinkProgress:
Sen. Lindsey Graham: Congress should abandon Russia investigation, go back to Clinton's emails — “There's a new front opening here.” — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News on Thursday that now that special counsel has been appointed to investigate alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia …
Discussion:
RedState and The Gateway Pundit
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 …
Tom LoBianco / CNN:
First on CNN: House Russia investigators get access to Treasury data — (CNN)Investigators on the House intelligence committees have obtained access to valuable data from the Treasury Department, a development that will open their doors to investigate possible connections between President …
Daniel Cox / FiveThirtyEight:
Way More Americans May Be Atheists Than We Thought — After signing an executive order earlier this month that seeks to relax restrictions on the political activities of tax-exempt churches, President Trump said the order was an important affirmation of the American identity. “We're a nation of believers,” he said.
Discussion:
Telegraph
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