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, Raw Story, AOL, IJR, Common Dreams, Fox News Insider, Vox, Mediaite and Political Wire
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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:
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:
Politico, Raw Story, VICE News, Vox, Fox News Insider, ThinkProgress 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:
RedState, The Hill, CBS News, Raw Story, AOL, Balloon Juice, Mediaite, 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.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Fox News, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, Vox, EW.com, CBS News, New York Magazine, Business Insider, Little Green Footballs, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Shareblue Media, The Root, IJR, Daily Kos, ABC News, theGrio, Washington Free Beacon, thecut, Taylor Marsh, Splinter, Jezebel, New Republic, Washington Examiner, Political Wire and CNN
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, Washington Post, Women in the World, Daily Kos, CNBC, Washington Press, The Root, Axios, Business Insider, The Week, Talking Points Memo and AOL
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Porter blamed ex-wife's black eye on an accident in off-the-record meeting with reporters — When now-former White House staff secretary Rob Porter sat down for an off-the-record meeting with four reporters hours after the publication of a Daily Mail story showing his first wife with a black eye …
Discussion:
IJR and Business Insider
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 and Raw Story
Martin Matishak / Politico:
FBI director puts responsibility for Porter on White House
FBI director puts responsibility for Porter on White House
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, CNN, The Mahablog, Axios, Washington Press and The Week
David Edwards / Raw Story:
Sanders flails after she's busted lying about Porter scandal: ‘We relay the best and most accurate information’
David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
How the White House Gamed the Security-Clearance System
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’
Omarosa on Mike Pence: ‘He thinks Jesus tells him to say things’
Discussion:
Washington Post, NewsBusters, Splinter, Politico and Washington Free Beacon
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Washington Examiner, twitchy.com, ThinkProgress, RedState, The Week, The Wrap, CANNONFIRE, theGrio, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Press, AOL, The Stream, Mediaite, Joe.My.God., Economics Job Market Rumors, The Atlantic and Washington Post
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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 and Media Matters for America
Lawrence Bonk / Mediaite:
Hannity's Blog Posts, Then Deletes Story That Obama Portrait Has Hidden ‘Secret Sperm’ (UPDATED)
Hannity's Blog Posts, Then Deletes Story That Obama Portrait Has Hidden ‘Secret Sperm’ (UPDATED)
Discussion:
Breitbart, Right Wing Watch and twitchy.com
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
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Washington Post:
The nation's top spies said Russia will attempt to undermine the 2018 midterm elections
The nation's top spies said Russia will attempt to undermine the 2018 midterm elections
Discussion:
NBC News, USA Today, Vox, Axios, Washington Free Beacon, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
FBI chief: Trump hasn't directed me to stop Russian meddling in midterms
FBI chief: Trump hasn't directed me to stop Russian meddling in midterms
Discussion:
IJR
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, Daily Kos and The Guardian
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
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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, Vox, BBC, NPR, Political Wire and Mother Jones
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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 …
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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:
VICE News, Political Wire, Axios, Washington Times, Washington Post, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, Front Page Magazine and The Daily Caller
Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:
Salon Wants to Hijack Your Browser to Mine Cryptocurrency … If you want to read Salon and you don't want to deal with ads, you'll have to agree to get into the cryptocurrency business. — On Sunday night, the famously liberal site began testing a new formula: If non-subscribers using ad-blocking software …
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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.
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Jared Kushner credit line debts increased in 2017 — Jared Kushner, a White House aide and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, appears to have drawn more money out of three separate lines of credit in the months after he joined the White House last year, a newly released document shows.
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
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 …
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:
Political Wire
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:
Booman Tribune and Washington Monthly
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:
twitchy.com, CPB, Breitbart, The Daily Caller and Washington Press
Travis Waldron / HuffPost:
Ban The United States From The Olympics — The U.S. Olympic Committee enabled systemic sexual abuse in order to win medals. By what moral logic is that not worse than Russia's crimes? — At a press briefing last week with International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
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:
Washington Post, Mother Jones and Axios
Dan Levine / Reuters:
Second U.S. judge blocks Trump administration from ending DACA program — (Reuters) - A second U.S. judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's decision to end a program that protects immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children from deportation.
Discussion:
Daily Kos