memeorandum: EPA's Scott Pruitt blames security concerns for costly first-class flights (Michael Cousineau/UnionLeader.com)

9:45 PM ET, February 13, 2018

Top Items:

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: National Review, Mother Jones, AOL, Raw Story, IJR, Fox News Insider, Mediaite, Vox, Political Wire and Politico

Washington Post:

White House reels as FBI director contradicts official claims about alleged abuser … The White House struggled Tuesday to contain a widening crisis over its handling of domestic violence allegations against a senior official, as it reeled from sworn testimony by the FBI chief …

Discussion: Political Wire, Mediaite and Raw Story

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 …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, CNN, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Axios

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

White House official: “Kelly cover-up is unraveling” — Chief of Staff John Kelly's White House enemies are ready to use FBI Director Chris Wray's testimony as a weapon: “Wray's FBI timeline makes one thing clear: the Kelly coverup is unraveling right before our eyes,” a White House official says.

Discussion: Reuters, Politico, Vox, Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Fox News Insider, TheBlaze, VICE News and Political Wire

Piers Morgan / Daily Mail:

The wife-beater, the witch and the White House: Why the hell did Trump ever tell Rob Porter and Omarosa 'you're hired'? — ‘Shut the f**k up, a**hole,’ snarled Omarosa Manigault-Newman at me. 'How are your kids going to feel when they wake up and discover their dad's a f**king f*gg*t?'

Discussion: CBS News, Raw Story, AOL, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, theGrio and twitchy.com

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.

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: The Hill, CNBC, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Women in the World, Axios, The Root, Business Insider, AOL, The Week and Talking Points Memo

Josh Gerstein / Politico: Jared Kushner credit line debts increased in 2017

Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Porter blamed ex-wife's black eye on an accident in off-the-record meeting with reporters

Discussion: IJR and Business Insider

Emily Stephenson / Politico:
White House imposed a ban on new interim security clearances last fall

Discussion: Raw Story and Vox

David Edwards / Raw Story: Sanders flails after she's busted lying about Porter scandal: ‘We relay the best and most accurate information’

Martin Matishak / Politico:
FBI director puts responsibility for Porter on White House

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, CNN, Axios, The Mahablog and Washington Press

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
How the White House Gamed the Security-Clearance System

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Splinter and VICE News

Helena Andrews-Dyer / Chicago Tribune:
Omarosa on Mike Pence: ‘He thinks Jesus tells him to say things’

Discussion: Washington Post, NewsBusters, Splinter, Washington Free Beacon and Politico

John Bowden / The Hill:
Piers Morgan accuses Omarosa of offering him sex to win ‘Celebrity Apprentice’

Discussion: RedState, The Right Scoop, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
FBI director contradicts White House's Porter timeline

Discussion: Washington Press, Common Dreams, Mediaite, The Week, New York Magazine and New York Times

Carrie Battan / ELLE:

Louise Linton Is Super-Duper Sorry — Louise Linton has accomplished the near-impossible task of locating an ordinary meeting place in the most moneyed stretch of the Upper East Side, where she and her husband, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, own an apartment.

Discussion: Splinter, Hollywood Life, Political Wire, Jezebel, Mediaite, thecut and The Week

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 …

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:

Sean Hannity Promotes, Then Deletes Bonkers Obama Portrait ‘Secret Sperm’ Conspiracy Theory … The official portraits of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama received a wide array of reactions when they were unveiled on Monday. But none has been quite as insane …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, boards.4chan.org, newsmediawatchdog, Media Matters for America, twitchy.com and The Atlantic

Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:

Democrat Margaret Good Flips Seat in Florida, the 36th Democratic Flip Since Trump's Inauguration … Margaret Good won a special election for state representative in Florida's 72nd district on Tuesday night, the Democratic party's 36th legislative flip since President Donald Trump's inauguration last year.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Politicus USA and Florida Politics

Zac Anderson / Sarasota Herald:

Democrat Margaret Good wins upset victory in state House race — Democrats seized the national spotlight with another victory in a legislative district that President Donald Trump carried and added more momentum to their midterm election ambitions by propelling Siesta Key attorney Margaret …

Marc Caputo / Politico:

In third bellwether contest, Florida Democrats again carry the day and hope for a blue wave — Strike three. — For the third Florida bellwether election in a row, the Republican candidate lost to the Democrat, giving activists and elites in both parties a sense that the GOP's political grip …

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Trump's Longtime Lawyer Says He Paid Stormy Daniels Out of His Own Pocket — Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal lawyer, said on Tuesday that he paid $130,000 out of his own pocket to a pornographic-film actress who had once claimed to have had an affair with Mr. Trump.

Discussion: NBC News

CNN:

Trump still unconvinced Russia meddled in 2016 election — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump still isn't buying that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. — Even as his intelligence chiefs unanimously told a Senate panel Tuesday that Russia meddled in 2016 and is planning to do so again in 2018 …

Discussion: Mediaite

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
FBI chief: Trump hasn't directed me to stop Russian meddling in midterms

Discussion: IJR

Washington Post:
The nation's top spies said Russia will attempt to undermine the 2018 midterm elections

Discussion: USA Today, NBC News, Vox, Axios, Washington Free Beacon, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:
Russia Sees Midterm Elections as Chance to Sow Fresh Discord, Intelligence Chiefs Warn

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos and The Guardian

New York Times:

Netanyahu Should Be Charged With Bribery and Fraud, Israeli Police Say — JERUSALEM — The Israeli police recommended on Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, casting a pall over the future of a tenacious leader who has become almost synonymous with his country.

Discussion: Washington Post, BBC, Vox, NPR, Political Wire and Mother Jones

Josef Federman / Associated Press:
Police recommend corruption charges for Netanyahu

Discussion: RedState, The Daily Beast, Jerusalem Post and Balloon Juice

Haaretz:
To really understand Israeli politics and the Netanyahu cases - subscribe to Haaretz

Discussion: CNN, Towleroad, Common Dreams, The Right Scoop, Joe.My.God., IJR, TheBlaze and Axios, more at Mediagazer »

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: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Beast, New Republic and Political Wire

Matt Lopez / Priorities USA: RE: New Poll & Messaging Guidance: Democrats Must Keep Focus on Economy and Health Care

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

BuzzFeed Is Suing the D.N.C. Over Issues Involving the Russia Dossier — BuzzFeed believes that evidence of the alleged D.N.C. break-in by Russian hackers might help the online publisher in a libel suit. But the D.N.C. says releasing information might make it vulnerable to more hacking.

Discussion: Axios, Political Wire, The Gateway Pundit, VICE News, Washington Times, Washington Post, TheBlaze, Front Page Magazine, The Daily Caller, Foreign Policy and The Week

New York Times:

Dozens of Russians Are Believed Killed in U.S.-Led Syria Attack — MOSCOW — Four Russian nationals, and perhaps dozens more, were killed in fighting between pro-government forces in eastern Syria and members of the United States-led coalition fighting the Islamic State, according to Russian and Syrian officials.

Discussion: Reuters, Fox News, CNN, NBC News, The Guardian, Middle East Eye, Breitbart, Power Line and Al Jazeera English

Bloomberg:
U.S. Strikes Killed Scores of Russian Fighters in Syria, Sources Say

Discussion: The Right Scoop, The Daily Beast, Washington Free Beacon, The Atlantic, Common Dreams, twitchy.com, The Week, Washington Post, New York Times and Political Wire

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Corker Reconsiders Retirement, but He Must Win Over Trump to Do It — WASHINGTON — Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee has been reconsidering his decision to retire this year, but Mr. Corker's hopes for retaining his seat are running into a potentially insurmountable object: President Trump.

Discussion: Axios and Political Wire

Jim Dalrymple II / BuzzFeed:

In The Wake Of Rob Porter Allegations, Mormon Women Say Church Leaders Encouraged Them To Stay With Their Abusers — Nearly two dozen women told BuzzFeed News they went to Mormon church leaders after suffering abuse at home and were counseled to remain in their relationships.

Discussion: Raw Story, Jezebel and thecut

bluestockings magazine:

Silencing and “Free” Speech — Today, February 13th, 2018, the Brown Republicans and the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs are hosting an event entitled, “The Millennial Conservative: A Conversation with Guy Benson” on Brown's campus. Benson, a conservative journalist …

Discussion: The College Fix and twitchy.com

WTTG-TV:

White powdery substance under investigation at former President Obama's DC office — WASHINGTON - The Secret Service is investigating after reports that a white powdery substance had been found at former President Barack Obama's D.C. office. — The incident was reported Tuesday around 12:30 p.m …

Discussion: New York Post, IJR, Raw Story, theGrio, Breitbart, AOL and ABC News

Chicago Tribune:

Chicago police commander shot to death at Thompson Center in Loop — A high-ranking Chicago police officer died after he was shot Tuesday afternoon while assisting a tactical team responding to a robbery at the Thompson Center, sources said. — The officer, identified as a commander …

Dan Savage / The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper:

Pennsylvania Pastor Caught in Parked Car with Bound Naked Man — “I have nothing to hide,” says Pastor George Gregory of Waterfront Christian Community Church, “I did nothing wrong.” But according to the police report, Pastor George Gregory of Munhall, PA, was sitting fully clothed …

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Friendly Atheist, Raw Story, AOL and LGBTQ Nation