Top Items:
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Kelly increasingly isolated as Porter scandal rages on — Turbulence in this West Wing is typically generated by President Donald Trump, but for the past week, it's been chief of staff John Kelly — the man brought in to be a steadying hand — who's inspiring what one White House official described as a crisis of confidence.
RELATED:
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
White House Was Warned of Aide's Background Months Earlier Than Acknowledged — WASHINGTON — Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, contradicted on Tuesday the White House timeline about the domestic abuse scandal involving Rob Porter, the president's former staff secretary.
Discussion:
Political Wire, Fox News Insider and The Daily Caller
Wall Street Journal:
FBI Director's Timeline of Porter Probe Contradicts White House — Christopher Wray tells Senate committee that agency ‘administratively closed’ file on Rob Porter, contradicting White House claim that probe was ongoing — The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said his agency …
Colbie Holderness / Washington Post:
Rob Porter is my ex-husband. Here's what you should know about abuse. — Colbie Holderness was the first wife of former White House staff secretary Rob Porter. — White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Sunday that she has no reason not to believe statements that Jennifer Willoughby …
CNN:
Porter was up for promotion despite abuse allegations — (CNN)Rob Porter was involved in serious discussions to be promoted when he abruptly resigned from the White House last week amid allegations that he abused his two ex-wives, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Axios, Business Insider, Daily Kos, The Week and CNBC
Peter Baker / New York Times:
A Whirlwind Envelops the White House, and the Revolving Door Spins — WASHINGTON — The doors at the White House have been swinging a lot lately. A deputy chief of staff moved on. A speechwriter resigned. The associate attorney general stepped down. The chief of staff offered to quit.
Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
US intelligence boss to AP: Security clearances are ‘broken’
US intelligence boss to AP: Security clearances are ‘broken’
Discussion:
Axios
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
VETERAN REPUBLICAN pulls ISSA into his divorce case …
VETERAN REPUBLICAN pulls ISSA into his divorce case …
Discussion:
Variety, Business Insider and The Week
Adam Edelman / NBC News:
Ex-wife of accused WH aide rips Trump for suggesting he didn't get ‘due process’
Ex-wife of accused WH aide rips Trump for suggesting he didn't get ‘due process’
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, IJR, Washington Press, Raw Story and theGrio
Martin Matishak / Politico:
FBI director puts responsibility for Porter on White House
FBI director puts responsibility for Porter on White House
Discussion:
Washington Post, Axios and The Week
Chris Cillizza / CNN:
People are leaving the Trump White House in record numbers
People are leaving the Trump White House in record numbers
Discussion:
Vox, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com
Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:
FBI Contradicts White House on Porter Background Check
FBI Contradicts White House on Porter Background Check
Discussion:
The Mahablog
Sean Hannity:
PORTRAIT PERVERSION: Obama Portrait Features ‘SECRET SPERM,’ Artist Joked About ‘Killing Whitey’ — The widening scandal surrounding former President Barack Obama's official portrait continued to swirl on Tuesday, with shocking allegations the artist included ‘secret sperm cells’ within …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, The Stream, twitchy.com, The Atlantic, AOL and Economics Job Market Rumors
Helena Bottemiller Evich / Politico:
Trump pitches plan to replace food stamps with food boxes — The Trump administration is proposing to save billions in the coming years by giving low-income families a box of government-picked, nonperishable foods every month instead of food stamps. — White House OMB Director Mick Mulvaney …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, CNBC, Townhall.com, Washington Post, Talk Poverty, Hullabaloo, IJR, Eater, FOX6Now.com, CNNMoney, Joe.My.God. and The Daily Caller
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Peter Weber / The Week:
Trump budget chief promises food stamp recipients a ‘Blue Apron-like’ replacement, is clearly unfamiliar with Blue Apron
Erica Hunzinger / NPR:
Trump Administration Wants To Decide What Food SNAP Recipients Will Get
Trump Administration Wants To Decide What Food SNAP Recipients Will Get
Discussion:
AOL, Bloomberg, grubstreet, The Root, KQED News and Common Dreams
Caitlin Dewey / Washington Post:
Trump wants to slash food stamps and replace them with a ‘Blue Apron-type program’
Trump wants to slash food stamps and replace them with a ‘Blue Apron-type program’
Discussion:
New Republic, Common Dreams and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Lynette Rice / EW.com:
Celebrity Big Brother: Omarosa calls Vice President Mike Pence ‘scary’ — Omarosa may be on her way out but she still has plenty more to say about her time in the White House. — In this clip from tonight's episode of Celebrity Big Brother, Omarosa tells her fellow houseguests …
Discussion:
The Hill, LGBTQ Nation, Althouse, Jezebel and RedState
RELATED:
Helena Andrews-Dyer / Chicago Tribune:
Omarosa on Mike Pence: ‘He thinks Jesus tells him to say things’
Omarosa on Mike Pence: ‘He thinks Jesus tells him to say things’
Discussion:
Splinter
Bloomberg:
U.S. Strikes Killed Scores of Russian Fighters in Syria, Sources Say — More than 200 contract soldiers are said to have been killed — The casualties dwarf official Russian army death toll in Syria — U.S. forces killed scores of Russian contract soldiers in Syria last week …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Right Scoop, Washington Post, Common Dreams, The Week, twitchy.com and Political Wire
RELATED:
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
U.S. intel agencies expect Russia to escalate election meddling efforts — WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence agencies expect Russia to ramp up its efforts to meddle in the U.S. political system through hacking and social media manipulation, according to a worldwide threat assessment released Tuesday morning.
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Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:
Russia Sees Midterm Elections as Chance to Sow Fresh Discord, Intelligence Chiefs Warn
Russia Sees Midterm Elections as Chance to Sow Fresh Discord, Intelligence Chiefs Warn
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and The Guardian
David Brooks / New York Times:
The End of the Two-Party System — In the first half of the 1990s, I worked in Europe for The Wall Street Journal. I covered nothing but good news: the reunification of Germany, the liberation of Central Europe, the fall of the Soviet Union, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the Oslo peace process in the Middle East.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune
Darwin Paz / Governor Tom Wolf:
Governor Tom Wolf Rejects Partisan Gerrymandered Map — Analyses, Non-Partisan Experts Say GOP Submission is Partisan, Gerrymandered — Harrisburg, PA - Governor Tom Wolf today told the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that he will not accept the proposed map Republican legislative leaders submitted because it …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Axios and Washington Post
Washpostpr / Washington Post:
Megan McArdle named Washington Post Opinions columnist — The Washington Post today announced Megan McArdle will be a columnist for the Opinions section starting March 1. In this role, McArdle will write columns with a focus on the intersection of economics, business and public policy.
Dan Alexander / Forbes:
Trump's Biggest Potential Conflict Of Interest Is Hiding In Plain Sight — The largest American office of China's largest bank sits on the 20th floor of Trump Tower, six levels below the desk where Donald Trump built an empire and wrested a presidency. It's hard to get a glimpse inside.
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Real Deal New York and Political Wire
Jake Seiner / 2018 Winter Olympics:
Inside the halfpipe finals with Chloe Kim's Korean family — PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) _ Chloe Kim's father pointed to himself and said “American dream!” then let out a whoop. — Nearly a decade after the Korean immigrant quit his job in California to help his precocious daughter become a snowboarder …
Discussion:
People.com, Reuters, twitchy.com, HuffPost, IJR, Breitbart, New York Times, The Ringer, The Stream, Women in the World, USA Today, The Week and thecut
RELATED:
Walter Russell Mead / Wall Street Journal:
Kim Yo Jong's Shattered Olympic Dream
Kim Yo Jong's Shattered Olympic Dream
Discussion:
alicublog and The American Conservative
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
Trump's Lawyer Michael Cohen Is Shopping a Book About the First Family, Stormy Daniels, and Russia … Donald Trump's longtime personal lawyer is writing a book about his life and relationship with the president. — According to a proposal shopped to multiple publishers and obtained by The Daily Beast …
Rob Port / Say Anything:
Emineth Says Cramer Is in Senate Race as He Withdraws His Candidacy — I haven't heard any sort of an announcement that Congressman Kevin Cramer is, for certain, running for the U.S. Senate but fellow Republican candidate Gary Emineth just sent out an email saying he's withdrawing his candidacy.
Discussion:
Associated Press and Political Wire
Alex Roarty / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Internal Dem polling shows Trump's standing on the rise — A leading Democratic group — Priorities USA — is warning party leaders they could squander a strong political climate in 2018 if they don't start to emphasize pocketbook issues over loose and unfocused critiques of Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed:
Kirsten Gillibrand Pledges To Stop Accepting Donations From Corporate PACs — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is pledging to refuse contributions from corporate PACs — a move that puts her in a small group of national Democrats and sets a new bar on the issue of campaign finance for other potential presidential candidates in 2020.
Joe Concha / The Hill:
Trump proposes eliminating federal funding for PBS, NPR — 's newly proposed budget includes a proposal to end federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), part of a package that includes $300 billion in new spending overall. — CPB provides federal funding for PBS and National Public Radio stations.
Discussion:
CPB, Breitbart and Washington Press
Andrew Dodson / MLive.com:
Rising star in Michigan Republican Party blasts Trump and resigns — BAY CITY, MI — Expressing disappointment over President Donald Trump and vowing to no longer be affiliated with any political party, the chairman of the Bay County Republican Party has stepped down from his post.
USA Today:
Justice Department turnover is bad news for Mueller, ethics and democracy — Rachel Brand had the backbone to refuse wrongful orders. She provided a measure of protection for Mueller and Justice independence. But now she's gone. — CONNECT — Under normal circumstances …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Just Security, Washington Press, The Gateway Pundit and Shareblue Media
Associated Press:
KS Sec. of State's Office: Hutch dog not allowed to run for governor — HUTCHINSON, Kan. Update 9: 15 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12: — Not so fast. The Kansas Secretary of State's Office says Angus cannot serve as the state's governor. While there is nothing specifically written …
Discussion:
Political Wire, thecut, VICE News and The Week