Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit — WASHINGTON — President Trump ordered the firing last June of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, according to four people told of the matter …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Vox, Mother Jones, RedState, Axios, Hit & Run, New York Magazine, NPR, Business Insider, Raw Story, Daily Wire, CBS New York, NBC News, Palmer Report, bizpacreview.com, JONATHAN TURLEY, Washington Press, Mediaite, The Week, Boing Boing, The Gateway Pundit, WGN-TV, myfox8.com, Media Matters for America, CNBC, Splinter, The Daily Caller, Politicus USA, CBS San Francisco, The Guardian, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV and FOX 61
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Washington Post:
Trump moved to fire special counsel Mueller in June, bringing the White House's top lawyer to the brink of quitting — President Trump sought the firing of Robert S. Mueller III last June, shortly after the special counsel took over the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election …
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Trump's Attorney Says No Decision to Talk to Mueller — John Dowd, a lawyer for President Donald Trump, told The Daily Beast on Wednesday he will be the one to decide whether or not Trump sits down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. Dowd also said he hasn't made any decision …
Discussion:
Palmer Report, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Mueller Wasn't Interested in Bannon Until ‘Fire and Fury,’ Source Says
Mueller Wasn't Interested in Bannon Until ‘Fire and Fury,’ Source Says
Discussion:
RedState and Political Wire
Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
I've Watched Trump Testify Under Oath. It Isn't Pretty.
I've Watched Trump Testify Under Oath. It Isn't Pretty.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Raw Story, Weekly Standard, Political Wire, The Hill and Mediaite
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Source: Trump ordered special counsel Robert Mueller to be fired last year
CNN:
READ: President Trump's full exchange with reporters
READ: President Trump's full exchange with reporters
Discussion:
Bloomberg, IJR, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Daily Caller, New Republic and Axios
Bloomberg:
Mueller Almost Done With Obstruction Part of Trump Probe, Sources Say
Mueller Almost Done With Obstruction Part of Trump Probe, Sources Say
Discussion:
Washington Times, Washington Press, Raw Story and IJR
Ryan Goodman / New York Times:
Seeing Through the Fog in the Mueller Russia Probe
Seeing Through the Fog in the Mueller Russia Probe
Discussion:
The Hill, Raw Story, Esquire, Booman Tribune, Washington Monthly and Just Security
Lorraine Woellert / Politico:
White House jumps back into Dreamer battle with citizenship offer — President Donald Trump on Monday will propose a pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children — a key concession to Democrats that he hopes will win their support for a massive border wall with Mexico.
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Tal Kopan / CNN:
White House proposes path to citizenship for 1.8 million people — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump is proposing giving 1.8 million young undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship in exchange for $25 billion for his long-promised wall and a host …
Discussion:
National Review, KTLA, The Daily Signal, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA and FOX 61
Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg:
Cruz Blasts Citizenship Path for Dreamers Suggested by Trump — Senator Ted Cruz blasted the idea of giving young undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship, a day after President Donald Trump said he was open to the idea as part of immigration legislation being negotiated in Congress.
New York Times:
Trump Immigration Plan Demands Tough Concessions From Democrats — WASHINGTON — President Trump proposed legislation on Thursday that provides a path to citizenship for as many as 1.8 million young, undocumented immigrants in exchange for an end to decades of family-based migration policies …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, New York Magazine and Outside the Beltway
David Nakamura / Washington Post:
Trump supports path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million ‘dreamers’ in new White House proposal — President Trump's immigration proposal to Congress will include a path to citizenship for an estimated 1.8 million young undocumented immigrants, White House officials said Thursday …
Discussion:
Politico, Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, Splinter and No More Mister Nice Blog
Paul Schwartzman / Washington Post:
The Trumps asked to borrow a Van Gogh for the White House. The Guggenheim offered an 18K gold toilet instead. — The emailed response from the Guggenheim's chief curator to the White House was polite but firm: the museum could not accommodate a request to “borrow” a painting by Vincent Van Gogh …
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Press, The A.V. Club, Boing Boing, IJR, Addicting Info, Talking Points Memo, AOL, The Guardian, KTLA, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, The Root, Splinter, thecut, Common Dreams, VICE, theGrio, Mediaite and 444
Jonathan Tamari / Philly.com:
Rep. Pat Meehan will not seek reelection after sexual harassment furor — Rep. Pat Meehan will not seek reelection amid a furor over his use of taxpayer dollars to settle a sexual harassment claim against an aide, and the national response to his describing the woman as his “soul mate.”
Discussion:
Axios and Joe.My.God.
Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:
‘Secret Society’ FBI Text Actually Began With A ‘Beefcake’ Putin Calendar — The backstory to the message that's been blowing up conservative media is pretty funny. — WASHINGTON It was hours after Donald Trump became the president-elect, and two FBI officials, like many of their fellow citizens, were flabbergasted.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Politicus USA, Hit & Run, IJR, Mediaite, The Guardian, Salon and Hullabaloo
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Dell Cameron / Gizmodo:
Kris Kobach's Office Leaks Last 4 Social Security Digits of Nearly Every Kansas Lawmaker and Thousands of State Employees, Including Kris Kobach — This is starting to just get sad. — Prior to receiving notice from Gizmodo this morning, Kris Kobach's office was leaking sensitive information belonging …
Discussion:
Mother Jones and New York Magazine
Craig Timberg / Washington Post:
Russians got tens of thousands of Americans to RSVP for their phony political events on Facebook — Russian operatives used Facebook to publicize 129 phony event announcements during the 2016 presidential campaign, drawing the attention of nearly 340,000 users — many of whom said they were planning …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump and the great GOP abdication
Trump and the great GOP abdication
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill, RedState, Little Green Footballs, IJR, CNN, Daily Wire, Politicus USA, Weekly Standard, Talking Points Memo and Taylor Marsh
Sharyl Attkisson / The Hill:
As walls close in on FBI, the bureau lashes out at its antagonists
As walls close in on FBI, the bureau lashes out at its antagonists
Discussion:
Power Line, Washington Post, American Greatness and Breitbart
Mike Fleming / Deadline:
Casey Affleck Withdraws From Oscars: Won't Present Best Actress Award — EXCLUSIVE: Casey Affleck has withdrawn from presenting the Best Actress Award at the upcoming Oscars, Deadline hears. He has notified the Academy he will not be attending the event, sources said.
Discussion:
Mashable, thecut, Mediaite, NPR, The Ringer, Daily Wire, East Bay Times, The A.V. Club, Decider, Glamour and Vox, more at Mediagazer »
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Gregg Kilday / Hollywood Reporter:
Oscars: Casey Affleck Won't Present Best Actress Award
Oscars: Casey Affleck Won't Present Best Actress Award
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Daily Caller and The Week
Huib Modderkolk / De Volkskrant:
Dutch agencies provide crucial intel about Russia's interference in US-elections — Hackers from the Dutch intelligence service AIVD have provided the FBI with crucial information about Russian interference with the American elections. For years, AIVD had access to the infamous Russian hacker group Cozy Bear.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, emptywheel and Washington Press
David Edwards / Raw Story:
GOP Senate candidate flips out over 'women's rights': ‘I want to come home to a cooked dinner every night’ — Republican U.S. Senate candidate for Missouri Courtland Sykes blasted “women's rights” this week. — In a statement posted to Facebook on Tuesday, Sykes said that he had been asked if he “supports women's rights.”
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Johnny Manziel / ESPN:
Vince McMahon: XFL to return in 2020 without gimmicks — WWE founder and chairman Vince McMahon announced Thursday he is giving a professional football league another go. — It will be called the XFL, the same name of the league McMahon and NBC tried for one season in 2001 …
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Big Lead, Daily Wire, The Comeback, Breitbart, The Guardian, IJR, NESN.com, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and USA Today
Chris Spargo / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: NBC staffers ‘horrified’ Megyn Kelly will be covering State of the Union in her primetime debut for the network — NBC staff members are ‘horrified’ that Megyn Kelly will be part of the team covering the State of the Union for the network a source tells DailyMail.com
Discussion:
Political Wire and Mediaite
RELATED:
Mark Krikorian / National Review:
The Art of the Choke — The White House immigration outline was released today and it's not good. It could change tomorrow, for all we know, but as it stands now, this is a preemptive surrender on several issues. — The enforcement component is fine, as far as it goes - there's no E-Verify …
Discussion:
Mother Jones
RELATED:
Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg:
Grassley Says ‘Spooked’ Kushner Won't Agree to Russia Interview — Committee to release other transcripts on Trump Tower meeting — ‘That section of our investigation is done,’ senator says — A “spooked” Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media and Palmer Report
Fred Imbert / CNBC:
Trump says dollar will get ‘stronger and stronger,’ Mnuchin was misinterpreted — “The dollar is going to get stronger and stronger and ultimately I want to see a strong dollar,” Trump told CNBC in an exclusive interview. — On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he welcomed …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, Breitbart, Business Insider, RealityChek, WGNO, Politico and myfox8.com
Ian Kerner / CNN:
Cuckolding can be positive for some couples, study says — (CNN)In our current political climate, the term “cuck” — short for “cuckservative” — has become an insult of the so-called alt-right, aimed at men they view as spineless and emasculated. The slur has its roots in the concept of cuckolding, or having an adulterous partner.
Discussion:
Daily Wire, NewsBusters, The Daily Caller, Breitbart and Towleroad
BostonGlobe.com:
Joe Kennedy to deliver Democratic response to State of the Union address — WASHINGTON - Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III, one of the Democratic Party's rising political stars, has been tapped by top party leaders to deliver the official Democratic response to President Trump's State of the Union address next week.
Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:
The Photo That Never Saw The Light of Day: Obama With Farrakhan In 2005 — A journalist announced last week that he will publish a photograph of then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D) and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan that he took in 2005 at a Congressional Black Caucus meeting …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Breitbart, Daily Wire, Instapundit, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, National Review, Geller Report and The Daily Caller
John Nolte / Breitbart:
CNN's Climate of Hate Comes Home to Roost — For nearly five years, going all the way back to the Trayvon Martin uproar, Breitbart News has aggressively documented CNN's devolution into a 24/7 hate network. This week, CNN's climate of hate finally came home to roost when a Michigan man …
Discussion:
Mediaite