Top Items:
Washington Post:
A second White House aide has resigned amid past domestic abuse allegations, which he denies — The abrupt departure of speechwriter David Sorensen comes after his former wife claimed that he was violent and emotionally abusive during their turbulent two-and-a-half-year marriage — allegations that he vehemently denied.
RELATED:
Elise Viebeck / Washington Post:
Second White House official departs amid abuse allegations, which he denies … A White House speechwriter resigned Friday after his former wife claimed that he was violent and emotionally abusive during their turbulent two-and-a-half-year marriage — allegations that he vehemently denied, saying she was the one who victimized him.
Discussion:
Politicus USA, Mother Jones, Axios, Boing Boing, The Guardian, VICE News, The Root, NBC News, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Vox, Jezebel, Talking Points Memo, thecut and Weekly Standard
New York Times:
Trump Praises Top Adviser Accused of Abusing Ex-Wives — WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday praised Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary who resigned on Wednesday amid spousal abuse allegations, saying it was a “tough time” for the disgraced former aide and noting that Mr. Porter had denied the accusations.
Jonathan Karl / ABC News:
Sources: Chief of Staff John Kelly expressed to President Trump willingness to resign — President Donald Trump, furious over the handling of domestic abuse allegations involving one of his closest aides, has spoken to confidantes about the possibility of replacing embattled Chief of Staff John Kelly …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, CNN, The Root, New York Magazine, Breitbart, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, BloombergQuint, Splinter, Mediaite and PolitiFact
Washington Post:
Kelly offers account of Porter exit that some White House aides consider untrue … White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly on Friday morning instructed senior staff to communicate a version of events about the departure of staff secretary Rob Porter that contradicts the administration's previous accounts …
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, CNN, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, KTLA, The Week, Splinter, Mother Jones, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, Business Insider, Raw Story, Balloon Juice and AOL
CNN:
Trump frustrated with Hicks' role in Porter scandal — Porter's ex-wife: I don't think he's changed — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Hope Hicks, his communications director and one of his closest confidantes, amid the fallout from the Rob Porter scandal …
Discussion:
ABC News, Talking Points Memo, BBC, Fortune, Washington Post, twitchy.com, Jezebel, The Root, Common Dreams, Washington Free Beacon, New Republic, Mediaite, Vox, CNBC, Outside the Beltway, Mother Jones, KTLA, The Daily Caller, Axios, Eschaton, Daily Kos, The Week, JONATHAN TURLEY and The Guardian
CNN:
Dozens of Trump officials still lack full security clearance — Source: Kelly knew of abuse claims for months — Washington (CNN)Thirty to 40 White House officials and administration political appointees are still operating without full security clearances, including senior adviser …
Discussion:
Boing Boing
Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Top White House official to leave West Wing to become drug czar — WH: We all could have done better with Porter — (CNN)White House deputy chief of staff Jim Carroll, who has served in that role for nearly three months, is expected to leave the White House to helm the Office …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Stephen L. Miller / Fox News:
John Kelly needs to go
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump has floated 3 potential Kelly replacements
Trump has floated 3 potential Kelly replacements
Discussion:
Breitbart, ABC News, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Magazine, Raw Story and The Week
Jen Kirby / Vox:
Trump reportedly thinks Hope Hicks put herself before White House in the Porter scandal
Trump reportedly thinks Hope Hicks put herself before White House in the Porter scandal
Discussion:
CNN, Shareblue Media, Washington Post, The Week, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Joe.My.God. and CNNMoney
Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:
American Spies Paid $100,000 to Russian Who Wanted to Sell Material on Trump — BERLIN — After months of secret negotiations, a shadowy Russian bilked American spies out of $100,000 last year, promising to deliver stolen National Security Agency cyberweapons in a deal that he insisted …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Political Wire, Mediaite and The Atlantic
RELATED:
James Risen / The Intercept:
U.S. Secretly Negotiated With Russians to Buy Stolen NSA Documents — and the Russians Offered Trump-Related Material, Too — The United States intelligence community has been conducting a top-secret operation to recover stolen classified U.S. government documents from Russian operatives, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Katie Benner / New York Times:
No. 3 Official at the Justice Department Is Stepping Down — WASHINGTON — Rachel L. Brand, the No. 3 official at the Justice Department, plans to step down after nine months on the job as the country's top law enforcement agency has been under attack by President Trump, according to two people briefed on her decision.
Discussion:
Vox, Mother Jones, BuzzFeed, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Axios, Mediaite, NPR, Business Insider, CNBC, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, VICE News, Above the Law, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, CNN, twitchy.com, The Last Refuge, Joe.My.God., Washington Times and The Guardian
RELATED:
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Trump Blocks Release of Memo Rebutting Republican Claims — WASHINGTON — President Trump blocked on Friday the release of a classified Democratic memo rebutting Republican claims that top federal law enforcement officials had abused their surveillance powers in spying on a former Trump campaign aide …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Daily Beast, The Moderate Voice and The Hill
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Breaking with tradition, Trump skips president's written intelligence report and relies on oral briefings … For much of the past year, President Trump has declined to participate in a practice followed by the past seven of his predecessors: He rarely if ever reads the President's Daily Brief …
Discussion:
MSNBC, Shareblue Media, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, VICE News, NewsBusters, Splinter, Hullabaloo, ThinkProgress, RedState, Joe.My.God., Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Axios, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Week and Balloon Juice
Michael Lewis / Bloomberg:
Has Anyone Seen the President? — Michael Lewis goes to Washington in search of Trump and winds up watching the State of the Union with Steve Bannon. — Back when he was president, Barack Obama told me that only two people treated any interaction with him as a zero-sum game.
Discussion:
CNBC, BloombergQuint, Front Page Magazine and Axios
Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
Fox News Removes Exec's “Darker, Gayer” Olympics Column After Uproar — Three gay rights organizations had criticized the piece. — Fox News has removed an online column by executive vp and executive editor John Moody following intense criticism online and from gay rights activists, who roundly attacked the piece.
RELATED:
Nicole Lafond / Talking Points Memo:
‘Zero Editorial Oversight’: Fox Yanks Editor's Offensive Olympics Column
‘Zero Editorial Oversight’: Fox Yanks Editor's Offensive Olympics Column
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Mediaite, Shareblue Media and Hullabaloo
Rob Delaney:
I have very sad news. My two and a half year year old son Henry has passed away. Henry had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016, shortly after his first birthday, following persistent vomiting and weight loss. He had surgery to remove the tumor and further treatment through the early part of 2017.
Roll Call:
Minnesota Rep. Rick Nolan Won't Seek Re-Election — Minnesota Rep. Rick Nolan announced Friday he won't run for re-election, opening up a top targeted seat for Republicans in 2018. — “There is a time and a purpose for everything and now is the time for me to pass the baton to the next generation,” Nolan said in a statement.
Discussion:
Inside Elections and Washington Free Beacon
RELATED:
TMZ.com:
‘House of Cards’ Star Reg E. Cathey Dead From Cancer at 59 — ‘House of Cards’ Star — Reg E. Cathey Dead at 59 — EXCLUSIVE — Reginald E. Cathey, who had huge roles in “House of Cards” and “The Wire,” has died ... TMZ has learned. — The beloved actor passed away at his home in New York, surrounded by friends and family.
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Fox News Host Questions Why Rubio's ‘Covering for’ Mark Warner: ‘How Deep Is the Deep State?’ — As Fox News' The Five discussed the Democratic rebuttal memo and Christopher Steele this afternoon, guest host Rachel Campos-Duffy questioned Marco Rubio's defense of a Democratic colleague.
Discussion:
Fox News
RELATED:
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Trump lawyer slams Mark Warner over Russia texts
Trump lawyer slams Mark Warner over Russia texts
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Townhall.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Last Refuge and Raw Story
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
Newsweek Editors Blast Exec to His Face: 'What You're Doing Is Bulls**t. You Don't Understand Journalism.' … During a private meeting with editors this week, a top Newsweek executive blamed his own journalists for the magazine's recent turmoil and refused to answer whether the company committed financial crimes.
Discussion:
CNNMoney, Splinter, Mediaite and Politico, more at Mediagazer »
Marist Poll:
2/9: Showdown with the Intelligence Community: Americans More Likely to Believe the FBI than President Trump — Two-thirds of Americans (66%) say, if President Donald Trump and the FBI disagree, they would believe the FBI over the president. Only 24% of U.S. residents report they would take the side of Mr. Trump.
Uber Newsroom:
Uber and Waymo Reach Settlement — Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmailMore sharing options — Below is a statement from Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, regarding a settlement reached in our litigation with Waymo. — My job as Uber's CEO is to set the course for the future of the company …
Discussion:
The Verge, New York Times, NBC News, KQED News, 89.3 KPCC, GeekWire, The Atlantic, Engadget and Mashable, more at Techmeme »
Sam Levin / The Guardian:
California police worked with neo-Nazis to pursue ‘anti-racist’ activists, documents show — Officers expressed sympathy with white supremacists and sought their help to target counter protesters after a violent 2016 rally, according to court documents
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Hullabaloo, The Root, The Week, Common Dreams, Splinter, theGrio, Raw Story and Shakesville
Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Arizona G.O.P. Tiptoes Between a Trump-Loving Base and a Leery Wider Electorate — PHOENIX — Representative Martha McSally of Arizona worked hard to carve out a moderate profile since her election in 2014 to a border district seat that had been held for decades by paragons of centrism from both political parties.
New York Times:
Developers Seek $6 Million Tax Break for Trump-Managed Hotel — As President Trump's family business prepares to open a hotel in the Mississippi Delta this fall, its local development partners have asked the state of Mississippi to subsidize the project with up to $6 million in tax breaks …
Will Stancil / The Atlantic:
Democrats' ‘Resistance’ to Trump Is Eroding, and So Are Their Poll Numbers — Remember “this is not normal?” — A year ago, it was the motto of the self-styled “Resistance”—the coalition of liberals, Democrats, and a few wayward conservatives who were implacably opposed to the Trump administration.