Top Items:
Washington Post:
As Jared Kushner's security clearance is delayed, White House hesitates to act on others with possible problems … White House Counsel Donald McGahn and other Trump administration officials have been so vexed by Jared Kushner's months-long inability to obtain a permanent security clearance …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Shareblue Media, Politico, Daily Kos and Mediaite
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.
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.
Discussion:
CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Vox, The Week, WPIX 11 New York, Roll Call, FOX40, Raw Story, Little Green Footballs and KTLA
Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
White House lurches into crisis mode, again — Chief of staff John Kelly was forced to publicly insist he's remaining in his job as he tried for a fourth day to contain the damage following allegations that a senior aide abused two ex-wives. — The White House lurched into full-scale crisis mode …
Discussion:
Vox, Breitbart, Washington Post and The Week
Mary Jordan / Washington Post:
Hope Hicks: The quiet one in Trump's White House suddenly feels the glare … In a White House full of noise, she is the quiet one. Not the TV gladiator, not press room warrior, not a general. Certainly not the Mooch. — Hope Hicks, the discreet aide always at President Trump's side whose desk …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Guardian, Mediaite, Breitbart, Axios, The Daily Caller, Splinter, Daily Kos, Business Insider and Mother Jones
Wall Street Journal:
John Kelly and Hope Hicks Face Scrutiny as Trump Questions Response to Abuse Allegations — Staff secretary Rob Porter resigned this week after published reports of domestic abuse — WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump privately questioned his team's response to domestic-abuse allegations …
Discussion:
Fox News
Katie Rogers / New York Times:
As Other Aides Face Trump's Ire Over Rob Porter's Departure, Hope Hicks Is Praised — WASHINGTON — In a White House populated by aides who have flamed out, lashed out or cashed out — some do all three in the same day — Hope Hicks, the administration's communications director …
Discussion:
bizpacreview.com, Lawyers, Guns & Money and No More Mister Nice Blog
Washington Post:
‘Very turbulent’: Trump and White House consumed with turmoil amid abuse allegations
‘Very turbulent’: Trump and White House consumed with turmoil amid abuse allegations
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, Raw Story, Jezebel, The Atlantic, VICE News, Balloon Juice, Media Matters for America and Common Dreams
Luis Alonso Lugo / Talking Points Memo:
WH Website Still Lacks Spanish Version A Year Into Trump Admin
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 …
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Philip Ewing / NPR:
The Russia Investigations: Democrats Try To Counterattack But Lose A Key Weapon
The Russia Investigations: Democrats Try To Counterattack But Lose A Key Weapon
Discussion:
Politico and The Guardian
The Hill:
Trump declines to approve release of Dem counter-memo
Trump declines to approve release of Dem counter-memo
Discussion:
Splinter, twitchy.com, Sarah Palin and Joe.My.God.
Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
Grassley-Graham Memo Affirms Nunes Memo — Media Yawns
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The White House's broken promise on the Democratic memo
The White House's broken promise on the Democratic memo
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:
Trump will not release Democrats' memo on FBI surveillance
Trump will not release Democrats' memo on FBI surveillance
Discussion:
The Week
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:
RedState, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Gizmodo, The Stream, bizpacreview.com, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Mediaite and The Atlantic
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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
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
The Smearing of Woody Allen — Soon after Rolling Stone published a sensational — and, as it turned out, false — account of a gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity, Richard Bradley, the editor of Worth magazine, suspected that something was amiss.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Outside the Beltway and Althouse
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Roger Cohen / New York Times:
One Honorable American's Love of Trump
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:
Raw Story, The Root, Washington Monthly, NPR, Washington Post, Fox News, The Week, The Capitolist, FOX40, news.walmart.com, Breitbart, Vox, Mediaite, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Above the Law, BuzzFeed, CNBC, twitchy.com, The Last Refuge, CNN, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, Daily Kos, VICE News, Joe.My.God., The Guardian and The Atlantic
Associated Press:
Pence upstaged by 2 Koreas' efforts to warm ties — Vice President Mike Pence's efforts to keep North Korea from stealing the show at the Winter Olympics proved to be short-lived, quickly drowned out by the images of the two Koreas marching and competing together, as the South appeared …
Discussion:
ABC News, One America News Network and Breitbart
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Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:
Bannon: ‘Anti-patriarchy movement’ will ‘undo ten thousand years of recorded history’ — The ups and downs of the Bannon insurgency — Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, is quoted in a new edition of the book “Devil's Bargain” as sharply criticizing what he terms the …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Mediaite
Michael Levenson / BostonGlobe.com:
Rob Porter was ‘quintessential golden boy’ from Belmont now accused of abuse — On campus, he was known as the quintessential golden boy, the clean-cut son of a Harvard professor who would follow in his father's footsteps by earning a Rhodes scholarship and working in the White House.
Discussion:
CNN, The Federalist and BBC
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.
Discussion:
Variety, The Root, Q13 FOX News, FOX2now.com and Full Feed
Laura M. Holson / New York Times:
How Joy Reid of MSNBC Became a Heroine of the Resistance — The daughter of immigrants, she spars fiercely with supporters of President Trump, both on the air and in the Twitter ether. — In early January, Joy-Ann Reid invited Pastor Mark Burns to be a guest on her MSNBC show …