Top Items:
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Russia probe lawyers think Mueller could indict Trump — Special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation has gathered enough steam that some lawyers representing key Donald Trump associates are considering the possibility of a historic first: an indictment against a sitting president.
Discussion:
RedState, Washington Post, Shakesville, Politicus USA and Raw Story
RELATED:
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
House Intelligence memo released: What it says — The House Intelligence Committee has released its controversial memo outlining alleged abuses of secret surveillance by the FBI and Justice Department in the Trump-Russia investigation. Here are some key points:
Discussion:
ABC News, RedState, Fox News, The Stream, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, The Federalist, Mediaite and JustOneMinute
Joe Walsh / Washington Post:
Devin Nunes is acting like a partisan hack. That's just how I remember him. — My former colleague doesn't seem to grasp what his job in Congress is. — I served in Congress with Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). Based on my experience working with him, nothing about the way he's behaving …
Discussion:
Raw Story
The Daily Beast:
Sean Hannity Has Been Advising Donald Trump on the Nunes Memo, Because of Course He Has … President Donald Trump is at odds with his own chief law enforcement officers over a controversial memo fueling Republican allegations of a conspiracy against the Trump presidency.
Discussion:
CNN, Vox, Mother Jones, Washington Post, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Axios, RedState, Business Insider, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, bizpacreview.com, The Week, New York Magazine, Media Matters for America, Politicus USA, Media Matters for America, IJR, Mediaite, Daily Kos, twitchy.com, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hit & Run and Shareblue Media
Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:
Memo Reading for Nonpartisans — Ignore the spin. When the document goes public, here's what to look for. — The White House looks set to release the House Intelligence Committee memo on 2016 government surveillance abuses, which means the attacks on the document by Democrats …
Washington Post:
GOP memo criticizing FBI surveillance is released … A GOP memo alleging surveillance abuses by the FBI has been released, intensifying a fight between the White House and Republican lawmakers, on one side, and the nation's top law enforcement agency over whether the origins of a probe …
Discussion:
New York Times, Sunlight Foundation, Political Wire, Balloon Juice and Politico
Massimo Calabresi / TIME:
How Donald Trump Is Sowing Distrust in American Justice — U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress Joshua Roberts—Reuters — President Trump delivered a fairly traditional mix of barbs and bromides during his 80-minute State …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Washington Post:
A process that tarnishes the House — “WHAT THIS is not is an indictment of our institutions, of our justice system,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday about the now infamous “Nunes memo.” “It does not impugn the Mueller investigation or the deputy attorney general,” the speaker insisted.
Brian Flood / Fox News:
Media's longtime crusade for transparency ends with Nunes memo as ‘The Post’ remains in theaters
Media's longtime crusade for transparency ends with Nunes memo as ‘The Post’ remains in theaters
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Just Security and Washington Post
Ben Riley-Smith / Telegraph:
Donald Trump's FBI memo release ‘risks revealing British spying methods’
Donald Trump's FBI memo release ‘risks revealing British spying methods’
Discussion:
Raw Story
Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
Nunes memo centers on a 40-year-old law written to prevent surveillance abuses
Nunes memo centers on a 40-year-old law written to prevent surveillance abuses
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Rising White House fear: Nunes memo is a dud
Rising White House fear: Nunes memo is a dud
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Guardian, Salon, ABC News, Hullabaloo, Politico, Washington Examiner, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Shareblue Media, RedState, Balloon Juice, No More Mister Nice Blog, IJR, National Review, Althouse, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, CNN and CBS News
Axios:
White House sees price for release of Nunes memo
White House sees price for release of Nunes memo
Discussion:
New Republic, Talking Points Memo, The Week, RedState and Politicus USA
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
PLAYBOOK SCOOP: FUNNY OR DIE spending 8 million on midterms …
PLAYBOOK SCOOP: FUNNY OR DIE spending 8 million on midterms …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Daily Kos and CNN
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Trump rips into Kasich at RNC dinner — The president also described to the audience how he aced a mental acuity test. — President Donald Trump on Thursday evening, tore into Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a GOP rival and potential 2020 primary challenger. — Appearing before a Republican …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Charlie Spiering / Breitbart:
After Sending Media Away, President Donald Trump Joked with RNC About Mental Test — President Donald Trump spoke at an RNC meeting at the Trump International hotel, but the White House press pool was escorted out after he derided them as “haters.” — Breitbart News obtained an audio recording …
Discussion:
RedState, Business Insider, Washington Examiner, Mediaite and New York Magazine
Desmond Butler / Associated Press:
Senator seeks documents on Russia money links to the NRA — WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Democrat is seeking documents from the National Rifle Association and the Treasury Department following reports of an FBI investigation into whether a Russian central banker funneled money to the group during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo and Roll Call
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Treasury Warns of Wide Impact If U.S. Sanctions Russian Debt — Would slow Russian growth and provoke retaliation,report finds — Report is one of three ordered by Congress on Russia sanctions — The U.S. Treasury Department warned that expanding sanctions to new Russian sovereign debt …
Discussion:
emptywheel and The Week
Jamie McIntyre / Washington Examiner:
Jim Mattis hints at military action if US confirms sarin use in Syria — The U.S. strongly suspects the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad continues to use sarin nerve gas against his own people based on various reports from inside Syria, despite its promise to give up its stockpiles of deadly chemical weapons.
Discussion:
RedState and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Wesley Morgan / Politico:
Mattis warns Syria not to use chemical weapons again
Mattis warns Syria not to use chemical weapons again
Discussion:
One America News Network and Washington Free Beacon
Eric Boehlert / Shareblue Media:
Black unemployment rate soars days after Trump bragged about how low it was — The White House spent the entire month of January bragging about delivering jobs for black Americans. But that whole storyline just blew up. — Donald Trump and his White House team can stop bragging …
Discussion:
Vox and twitchy.com
RELATED:
Mary Ann Georgantopoulos / BuzzFeed:
A Father Of Three Girls Abused By Larry Nassar Attacked The Ex-Gymnastics Doctor In Court — Randall Margraves charged at Nassar after two of his daughters delivered victim impact statements. — A father of three girls who were sexually abused by Larry Nassar tried to attack …
Discussion:
CBS Chicago, WREG-TV, NESN.com, CBS Pittsburgh and CBS New York
RELATED:
Olivia Messer / The Daily Beast:
Victims' Father Lunges at Sex Abuser Larry Nassar in Michigan Courtroom
Victims' Father Lunges at Sex Abuser Larry Nassar in Michigan Courtroom
Discussion:
Lansing State Journal, Breitbart, The Week and IJR
William D. Cohan / Vanity Fair:
“F—ing Sith Lord,” “Horrific Leakers," and “Berserkazoid Craziness”: The Mooch Recalls His Brief Shining Fortnight at the Center of American Politics — Steve Bannon is the ultimate swamp creature, Reince Priebus acts like Richie Cunningham, Donald Trump is like Michael Jordan, and other observations of Anthony Scaramucci.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Raw Story, AOL, bizpacreview.com, The Week, The Liberty Review and The Daily Caller
CNN:
Emails show Carson family fingerprints at HUD despite warnings — Washington (CNN)Newly obtained documents show the extensive involvement that family members of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, especially his son, Benjamin Jr., play in official business, despite strong warnings from agency lawyers.
Tim Weiner / New York Times:
In Trump vs. the F.B.I., Trump Will Lose — President Trump entered office last year as a singular figure. But he has come to resemble two of his predecessors in one crucial respect. Though he's more paranoid than Richard Nixon and more mendacious than Bill Clinton …
Discussion:
the way of improvement … and Vox
RELATED:
Sarah Kliff / Vox:
Congress has quietly created a new health care crisis for 26 million Americans — They let funding for community health centers lapse 124 days ago. — Last fall, Kim Wagenaar started to plan how she would close the health clinic she runs in rural North Carolina — when Congress let funding lapse …
Discussion:
Business Insider
Wall Street Journal:
Ahead of Super Bowl, Poll Shows NFL Is Losing Its Core Audience — Adults who report following the NFL closely have dropped 9% since 2014, the poll finds. Just 51% of men aged 18 to 49 say they follow the NFL closely, down from 75% four years ago. — Ahead of a Super Bowl that caps …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, AOL, The Liberty Review and The Week
Arizona Republic:
Next Slide — Even before the vote, tensions escalated inside the House building. — Mesnard said Shooter alarmed some colleagues as he walked the halls, popping into offices and saying, “It's a great day for a hanging.” — That led Mesnard, accompanied by law enforcement …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Steve Bousquet / Tampa Bay Times:
Judge strikes down Florida's system for restoring felons' voting rights — U.S. District Mark Walker said Florida's voter restoration process unfairly relies on the personal support of Gov. Rick Scott. — TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge ruled Thursday that Florida's lifetime ban on restoring …
Discussion:
miamiherald, AOL, NPR, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Political Wire and Joe.My.God.
New York Times:
White House Wants Pentagon to Offer More Options on North Korea — WASHINGTON — The White House has grown frustrated in recent weeks by what it considers the Pentagon's reluctance to provide President Trump with options for a military strike against North Korea, according to officials …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Defense One, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Washington Post and RedState
Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:
We Want to Hear From You — I'm writing to let you know that we're creating a place online for your ideas and feedback. Our new Letters section, like its counterpart in print, will feature the smartest, most compelling responses to our journalism. It will be a venue for respectful dialogue …
U.S. Department of the Treasury:
Treasury Targets Hizballah Financial Network in Africa and the Middle East — WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted the business operations of Hizballah by designating six individuals and seven entities pursuant to Executive Order …
Discussion:
Axios