memeorandum: Pence spokesman dodges Fox News questions about whether the VP met with Russians (Josh Israel/ThinkProgress)

2:10 PM ET, July 12, 2017

Top Items:

Trump-Russia investigators probe Jared Kushner-run digital operation — WASHINGTON — Investigators at the House and Senate Intelligence committees and the Justice Department are examining whether the Trump campaign's digital operation - overseen by Jared Kushner - helped guide Russia's …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, AOL, The Atlantic, Daily Kos and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Rancor at White House as Russia Story Refuses to Let the Page Turn — WASHINGTON — If President Trump emerged from his meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last week hoping he had begun to “move forward” from the controversy over the Kremlin's election meddling, as advisers put it …

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

‘Category 5 hurricane’: White House under siege by Trump Jr.'s Russia revelations — The White House has been thrust into chaos after days of ever-worsening revelations about a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a lawyer characterized as representing the Russian government …

Discussion: Vox, Washington Free Beacon, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Axios, JustOneMinute, Reuters, Mediaite, Raw Story, ABC News, New York Times, New York Magazine, The American Conservative and Politicus USA, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Natalia Veselnitskaya, Lawyer Who Met Trump Jr., Seen as Fearsome Moscow Insider — MOSCOW — When American prosecutors accused a senior Russian official's son of laundering $14 million by investing in Manhattan property and other assets, she was called to defend him.

New York Post:

Donald Trump Jr. is an idiot — We see one truly solid takeaway from the story of the day: Donald Trump Jr. is an idiot. — SEE ALSO — In the heat of your father's presidential campaign, a bozo British publicist e-mails you to set up a sitdown with a “Russian government attorney” …

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Post, IJR, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Breitbart, Business Insider and Talking Points Memo

Kevin G. Hall / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Lawyer that met Don Jr. had ties to Russian government, spy agency — WASHINGTON — The Russian lawyer at the center of Donald Trump Jr.'s scandal over possible collusion with Kremlin election meddlers has denied she has ties to the Russian government. — But she threatened action …

New York Times:

Did Donald Jr. Break the Law? — The revelation that Donald Trump Jr. enthusiastically accepted an offer to meet with an individual described as a “Russian government attorney” bringing “official documents and information” to help the Trump campaign and injure the Clinton campaign is a bombshell.

Discussion: Politicus USA

Anousha Sakoui / Bloomberg: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Are Headed to Sun Valley, Source Says

Bloomberg:
Russian Lawyer Who Met Trump Jr. Saw a Clinton Scandal in Tax Inquiry

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, Business Insider, Vanity Fair, USA Today, Raw Story, NBC News, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Post

Wall Street Journal: Keystone Kops Collusion

Aaron Rupar / ThinkProgress:
House Republican threatens new Clinton investigations unless Democrats stop talking about Russia

Discussion: Raw Story

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
White House aides feeling ‘helpless’ as Trump Jr. scandal explodes

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, CNNMoney, Business Insider, Media Matters for America, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Vox and ABC News

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
The blackmail factor: Trumpworld's Russia lies are a major risk to national security

Discussion: Mother Jones

Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly:
Who Dished the Dirt on Donald Trump Jr?

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg and Mother Jones

Elizabeth Preza / Raw Story:
President Trump personally signed off on false statement claiming Don Jr.'s meeting was about adoption: report

Discussion: IJR, New York Magazine, New York Times, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Wall Street Journal:
Emails Pose Potential Problem for Trump Jr. After Meeting With Russian Lawyer

Discussion: Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNN, Slate and electionlawblog.org

Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:
Pence spokesman dodges Fox News questions about whether the VP met with Russians

Discussion: Indianapolis Star and Shareblue

Jake Lahut / Politico:
Trump: ‘I have very little time for watching T.V.’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Ben Shapiro / Daily Wire:
On ‘Whataboutism’ And Its Moral Hazards

Discussion: The Federalist, Politicus USA and Power Line

National Review:
Don Jr.'s Disgraceful Meeting

Discussion: CNBC

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Trump-Russia investigation takes sharp turn toward the dumb

Discussion: Power Line, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Media Matters for America, The Atlantic, Washington Post, Scared Monkeys, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Politico

Zachary Cohen / CNN:
Kushner under fire for role in meeting after Trump Jr. email release

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Weekly Standard, WREG-TV, Washington Post, New York Times, The Hill, Bloomberg and AOL

Michael Crowley / Politico:
Trump Jr.'s love affair with Moscow

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill, Yahoo, Forbes and CNBC

Samuel Chamberlain / Fox News:
Donald Trump Jr. tells Sean Hannity: ‘In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently’

Discussion: Vox, Politico, IJR, Business Insider, The Guardian, Daily Wire, AOL, Raw Story, NPR.org, CNBC, Axios and Real Clear Politics

Diamond Naga Siu / Politico:
Obama and Bush ethics lawyers call Trump Jr.'s defense of Russia meeting ‘nonsense’

Discussion: RedState

New York Times:
Donald Trump Jr. Makes the Russian Connection

Sen. Rand Paul / Breitbart:

Exclusive - Sen. Rand Paul: Senate GOP Decides to Keep Obamacare — I miss the old days, when Republicans stood for repealing Obamacare. Republicans across the country and every member of my caucus campaigned on repeal - often declaring they would tear out Obamacare “root and branch!”

Discussion: Business Insider

Bloomberg:

Senators Explore Bipartisan ‘Plan B’ to Troubled GOP Health Bill — McConnell to push for vote on his Obamacare repeal next week — Some senators seek instead to shore up Obamacare markets — More than half a dozen Republican and Democratic senators have discussed alternatives …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Balloon Juice and CNN

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Republicans Reluctantly Acknowledge a Failure of Governing

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ABC News, Vox, Mediaite, Political Insider blog, Talking Points Memo and CNN

Wall Street Journal:

Mark Zuckerberg Hits the Road to Meet Regular Folks—With a Few Conditions — As he tours America, Facebook CEO appears at homes and businesses with little notice, asks not to be quoted; not always recognized — Mark Zuckerberg is trying to understand America, so he's embarked on a journey …

Project MIDAS:

Larsen C calves trillion ton iceberg — A one trillion tonne iceberg - one of the biggest ever recorded - has calved away from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The calving occurred sometime between Monday 10th July and Wednesday 12th July 2017, when a 5,800 square km section of Larsen C finally broke away.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Guardian, Washington Post, Mashable, The Daily Caller, NBC News, The Verge, Gizmodo, Grist, AOL and New York Times

Lauren Said-Moorhouse / CNN:
Massive iceberg breaks away from Antarctica

Discussion: Refinery29 and IJR

Eric Boehlert / Shareblue:

Trump goes AWOL, hasn't shown up to work all week — Donald Trump's public schedule has gone blank once again, as the amorphous Republican retreats behind the walls of the White House. — His strange disappearing act comes as Trump's family becomes deeply embroiled in the Russia collusion story …

Discussion: NPR, NBC News, Rewire and The Guardian

ProPublica:

Trump's Russia Lawyer Isn't Seeking Security Clearance, And May Have Trouble Getting One — The ongoing investigations into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia involve reams of classified material. Yet Marc Kasowitz, the New York lawyer whom President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

HuffPost:

Hillary Clinton Campaign Aide To Press: We Told You Russia Was A BFD — A top aide details the many attempts to get the media to pay more attention to the election meddling. — The most ignored story of the 2016 presidential campaign is the press corps' unwillingness to focus …

Discussion: Raw Story, Political Wire, Shakesville and Axios

New York Post:

Teen blasted ‘F-k Tha Police’ during slain officer's funeral — A Bronx teen defiantly blasted the NWA song “F— Tha Police” out his third-floor apartment window Tuesday as thousands of cops were gathered below to mourn slain cop Miosotis Familia — prompting a house call from about 20 officers.

Discussion: Breitbart, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, AOL, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller and The Root

Amy Brittain / Washington Post:

State Department spent more than $15,000 for rooms at new Trump hotel in Vancouver — The State Department spent more than $15,000 to book 19 rooms at the new Trump hotel in Vancouver when members of President Trump's family headlined the grand opening of the tower in late February.