Top Items:
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
Comey Is Said to Have Become Unsettled by Interactions With Trump — WASHINGTON — President Trump called the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, weeks after he took office and asked him when federal authorities were going to put out word that Mr. Trump was not personally under investigation, according to two people briefed on the call.
Discussion:
Politico, Shakesville, Daily Mail, The Week, Hot Air, Washington Post, Mashable, Politicus USA, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, Raw Story, Axios and ABC News
RELATED:
Bwittes / Lawfare:
What James Comey Told Me About Donald Trump — The New York Times is reporting tonight: … I did not know this particular fact, but it doesn't surprise me at all. The principal source for the rest of this story is, well, me—specifically a long interview I gave to reporter Michael Schmidt …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, PBS NewsHour, USA Today, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, Mother Jones, Axios, Politico, CNN, Politicus USA, Washington Post, The Week, Booman Tribune, AOL, BuzzFeed, Mashable, VTDigger, The Last Tradition, Fox News Insider, PRI and The Root
Brooke Seipel / The Hill:
Comey was ‘disgusted’ by hug with Trump … A friend of James Comey said Thursday that the former FBI director was “disgusted” when President Trump hugged him at a White House event earlier this year, calling it an “intentional attempt to compromise [Comey] in public.”
Discussion:
RedState
New York Times:
Senate Inquiries Narrow as Rosenstein Suggests Plan to Fire Comey Predated Memo — WASHINGTON — Republican senators signaled on Thursday that the Justice Department's special counsel investigation into Russia's interference in the presidential election and possible collusion by associates …
Discussion:
ABC News and Washington Post
Tyler Durden / Zero Hedge:
Senate Demands White House Tapes, Comey Memos On Just About Everyone
Senate Demands White House Tapes, Comey Memos On Just About Everyone
Discussion:
Vox Popoli
New York Times:
Anthony Weiner to Plead Guilty to Resolve ‘Sexting’ Inquiry — Anthony D. Weiner, the former Democratic congressman whose “sexting” scandals ended his political career and embroiled him in a tumultuous F.B.I. investigation of Hillary Clinton before the election, is to appear in a federal courtroom …
Discussion:
Axios, Talking Points Memo, RedState, Townhall.com, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, The Root, IJR, Refinery29, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, New York's PIX11, The Week, Gothamist, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, Political Wire, TheBlaze, National Review, twitchy.com, AOL and Althouse
RELATED:
Aaron Katersky / ABC News:
Anthony Weiner expected to plead guilty to transferring obscene material to a minor
Anthony Weiner expected to plead guilty to transferring obscene material to a minor
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and John Hawkins' Right Wing News
Vaughn Hillyard / NBC News:
Source: Pence Never Informed About Flynn — Vice President Mike Pence has been kept in the dark about former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn's alleged wrongdoing, according to a source close to the administration, who cited a potential “pattern” of not informing the vice president and calling it …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Mediaite, Political Wire and NBC News
RELATED:
Dylan Matthews / Vox:
Why the special counsel should make Trump's aides very nervous — The Department of Justice investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russia isn't just a scandal about the president's conduct. The investigation could quickly engulf those surrounding the president — including his next in line.
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Monthly and CNN
Elizabeth Landers / CNN:
Pence is a loyal solider, but news cycle is wearing on him
Pence is a loyal solider, but news cycle is wearing on him
Discussion:
The Week
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Tips for Leaders Meeting Trump: Keep It Short and Give Him a Win — WASHINGTON — As Saudi Arabia's leaders prepared to make a pitch to the White House for a visit by President Trump, a PowerPoint presentation was put together complete with slides describing Saudi demographics …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, BuzzFeed, Daily Kos, Raw Story and The Week
RELATED:
Annie Karni / Politico:
Ivanka and Jared get a rabbinical pass to fly Air Force One — Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner will be flying aboard Air Force One to Saudi Arabia with President Donald Trump on Friday, after receiving a rabbinical dispensation to travel on the Jewish Sabbath, according to a White House official.
Discussion:
ABC News, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and The Times of Israel
New York Times:
Julian Assange Rape Investigation Is Dropped in Sweden — STOCKHOLM — Prosecutors in Sweden said on Friday that they would drop their investigation into Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who sought refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London five years ago after the authorities …
Discussion:
IJR, Scared Monkeys and The Week, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Mynewsdesk:
Statement on Julian Assange
Statement on Julian Assange
Discussion:
The Atlantic, The Verge, Forbes, The Daily Caller, Gizmodo, RT, Engadget and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »
CNN:
Sweden drops Julian Assange rape investigation
Sweden drops Julian Assange rape investigation
Discussion:
Fox News, Mediaite, Hot Air, NPR and CBS New York
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Biden disses Clinton: ‘I never thought she was a great candidate. I thought I was a great candidate.’ — Former vice president Joe Biden stirred the Democratic pot a little bit on Thursday night. — Appearing at the SALT hedge fund conference in Las Vegas, the possible 2020 presidential candidate weighed …
Discussion:
Political Wire and The Week
RELATED:
John Bowden / The Hill:
Biden on Clinton: ‘I never thought she was a great candidate’
Biden on Clinton: ‘I never thought she was a great candidate’
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Isaac Chotiner / Slate:
We Live in the World Roger Ailes Broke — Roger Ailes, the former head of the Fox News Channel, passed away on Thursday at the age of 77. The news was announced via a statement from his wife, Elizabeth, who wrote that “his work in entertainment, in politics, and in news affected the lives of many millions.”
Discussion:
Political Insider blog
RELATED:
Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:
Roger Ailes Was One of the Worst Americans Ever
Roger Ailes Was One of the Worst Americans Ever
Discussion:
USA Today, The Nation, New York Times, Refinery29, IJR, The Week, Common Dreams, Mediaite, Mashable, RedState, AOL, Media Matters for America, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Root, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
F.B.I. Once Warned G.O.P. Congressman That Russian Spies Were Recruiting Him — WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. warned a Republican congressman in 2012 that Russian spies were trying to recruit him, officials said, an example of how aggressively Russian agents have tried to influence Washington politics.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politicus USA, Mediaite, Political Wire, Raw Story, The Week, Shareblue, Hullabaloo, Salon, Vox and twitchy.com
Mark Hensch / The Hill:
GOP rep: Comey may testify as soon as next week … Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) says that former FBI Director James Comey could break his silence as soon as next week following his firing by President Trump. — Experts had speculated that Comey might be unlikely to accept the slew …
RELATED:
Jeff Poor / Breitbart:
Dershowitz Questions Purpose of Special Counsel — ‘What Is the Crime?’
Dershowitz Questions Purpose of Special Counsel — ‘What Is the Crime?’
Discussion:
White House Dossier
Jason Willick / The American Interest:
After Mueller, Trump Critics Worry: Maybe There's No Scandal
After Mueller, Trump Critics Worry: Maybe There's No Scandal
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Common Dreams, Talking Points Memo and Power Line
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 …
RELATED:
Cameron Easley / Morning Consult:
Trump's Approval Sinks Further Amid Avalanche of Bad Headlines — Political observers have said it's been a very bad week for President Donald Trump, and that notion is underscored by a new Morning Consult/POLITICO survey that shows his support continues to decline as many voters expressed concern about his fitness for office.
Discussion:
The Hill
John Bowden / The Hill:
‘Art of the Deal’ co-writer: Trump will resign so he doesn't ‘lose’ — The co-writer of President Trump's bestselling book “The Art of the Deal” predicted Thursday that Trump will resign before he is consumed by one of the scandals rocking the White House. — In an interview with CNN …
Discussion:
RedState
Rachel B. Tiven / The Nation:
THE AIRPORT LAWYERS WHO STOOD UP TO TRUMP ARE UNDER ATTACK — The Department of Justice is perverting a rule to shut down immigrant-rights lawyers. — While the country has been fixated on President Trump's firings, leaks and outbursts involving the Department of Justice …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Above the Law
Robert Snell / Detroit News:
Feds use anti-terror tool to hunt the undocumented — Detroit — Federal investigators are using a cellphone snooping device designed for counter-terrorism to hunt undocumented immigrants amid President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, according to federal court records obtained by The Detroit News.
Discussion:
The Verge
Brian Rogers / Houston Chronicle:
14-year-old could face life as sex offender for sex with 12-year-old girlfriend — A 14-year-old junior high student is facing the possibility of life as a registered sex offender after being arrested for having sex with his 12-year-old girlfriend, according to his attorney.