Top Items:
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:
Washington Post, Raw Story, New Republic, ThinkProgress, Vox, RedState, National Review, Politico, Common Cause, NPR, Business Insider, The Stranger …, VICE, Politicus USA, The Right Scoop, Breitbart, IJR, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Common Dreams, Fox News, TheBlaze, Weekly Standard, New York Magazine, The Week, CANNONFIRE, Towleroad, CNBC, VICE News, KTLA, NBC News, thecut, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Press, Washington Times, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Post, FOX40, Axios, The Daily Beast, KFOR-TV, Jezebel and The Big Lead
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Orin Kerr / Reason:
Did Trump's Lawyer Pay Stormy Daniels Out of His Own Pocket? — This isn't the biggest story in the world, but I was interested in the statement by Trump's personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, about the payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. A month ago, the Wall Street Journal broke the story that began:
Discussion:
Washington Post, National Review, ThinkProgress, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Week, Raw Story, Business Insider, RedState, Politico and Mediaite
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 …
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Axios:
Scoop: Trump threatens veto on immigration deal — A senior administration official said Tuesday night that President Trump “will veto any bill that doesn't advance his common-sense immigration reforms” — a hardening of the White House bargaining position as the Senate begins an epic debate.
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Schiff: We're not going to revise Democratic memo … (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday night that members of his party won't revise their countermemo, despite requests from the White House to do so. — “We're not going to make any revisions to it.
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Last Refuge, TheBlaze and The Stream
Axios:
Trump creep: bad habits spread fast — All habits, good and bad — in all organizations, big and small — flow down fast from the top. This dynamic is particularly true in the White House, and unmistakably true in this Trump White House. — The big picture: Trump's lifelong habits …
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Magazine and Dispatches From the …
Louis Nelson / Politico:
Lawmakers question Trump's security procedures after Porter resignation — Republican lawmakers raised questions Wednesday about the Trump administration's security clearance process and an oversight panel launched an investigation, as the controversy surrounding former aide Rob Porter starts …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Veronica Stracqualursi / CNN:
House oversight investigating WH handling of Rob Porter — Washington (CNN)The House Oversight Committee is investigating the White House's handling of Rob Porter's employment, chairman Trey Gowdy told CNN Wednesday. — “We are directing inquiries to people that we think have access to information we don't have.
Discussion:
NPR
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Democrats must be ready to take this drastic step against Trump
Democrats must be ready to take this drastic step against Trump
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine and Dispatches From the …
Erica Werner / Washington Post:
Trump's military parade would cost between $10 million and $30 million, White House budget director says
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Gowdy: House Oversight has launched investigation into Porter
Gowdy: House Oversight has launched investigation into Porter
Discussion:
RedState
Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:
‘Big Fat Liar’: WaPo Reports On White House Staff's Frustration With Kelly
‘Big Fat Liar’: WaPo Reports On White House Staff's Frustration With Kelly
Discussion:
Washington Post, The White House and The Week
Emily Stephenson / Politico:
White House imposed a ban on new interim security clearances last fall
White House imposed a ban on new interim security clearances last fall
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Mail, VICE News and Raw Story
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Jared Kushner credit line debts increased in 2017
Jared Kushner credit line debts increased in 2017
Discussion:
Washington Post and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »
Public Policy Polling:
Democrats Lead by 8 Points On Generic House Ballot Nationally — Here are the highlights of PPP's first public national poll of the year: — 2018 Landscape — Democrats have a solid 49-41 lead on the generic Congressional ballot, although that's down a shade from December when it was 51-40.
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: GOP gains on generic ballot, Trump approval ticks upward — Republicans have erased the Democratic advantage on the generic congressional ballot in a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll that, for the first time since April, also shows President Donald Trump's approval rating equaling …
Discussion:
RedState, Breitbart, CNBC, Axios, Scared Monkeys, The Week, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller and Real Clear Politics
Lisa Rein / Washington Post:
Veterans Affairs chief Shulkin, staff misled ethics officials about European trip, report finds — Veterans Affairs Secretary David J. Shulkin's chief of staff doctored an email and made false statements to create a pretext for taxpayers to cover expenses for the secretary's wife on a 10 …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Donovan Slack / USA Today:
VA Secretary David Shulkin misused government resources, agency watchdog report says — VA Secretary David Shulkin says taxpayers did not foot the bill for his sightseeing during a European trip. He also dismisses rumors that he is in the running to become the next HHS secretary. — CONNECT
Associated Press:
Suspect wounded, SUV stopped after shooting at NSA gate — FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — One person was wounded in a shooting Wednesday morning outside the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade. — Authorities surrounded a handcuffed man after a black SUV ran into a barrier outside the Maryland base.
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Zaid Jilani / The Intercept:
REPUBLICAN SCARE-MONGERING ON “SANCTUARY CITIES” BACKFIRES, DEMOCRATS WIN BIG UPSET IN FLORIDA SPECIAL ELECTION — In a special election on Tuesday, Florida's Republicans took a page from Ed Gillespie's playbook and deployed the threat of “sanctuary cities” to scare up the votes to win.
Discussion:
AOL
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Zac Anderson / Sarasota Herald:
Democrat Margaret Good wins upset victory in state House race
Democrat Margaret Good wins upset victory in state House race
Discussion:
Splinter and Florida Politics
Jim Windolf / New York Times:
After a Twitter Storm, The Times and a New Hire Part Ways — On Tuesday afternoon, The New York Times announced that it had hired Quinn Norton, a journalist and an essayist known for her work at Wired magazine, as the editorial board's lead opinion writer on technology.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Splinter, Business Insider and twitchy.com
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Heather Long / Washington Post:
Wall Street might not like this: Inflation rises 2.1 percent, faster than expected … The Consumer Price Index, which measures how quickly prices are going up in the U.S. economy, rose at a faster than anticipated 2.1 percent in January compared to a year ago, triggering fears of another rocky run on Wall Street.
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Shawn Musgrave / Politico:
Kelli Ward touts endorsement from fake-news site — It looked as if Arizona Senate candidate Kelli Ward had scored a big endorsement: On Oct. 28, she posted a link on her campaign website and blasted out a Facebook post, quoting extensively from a column in the Arizona Monitor.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and The Week
CBS News:
EPA's Scott Pruitt got waiver to fly business class on foreign carrier from Italy to U.S. — WASHINGTON — EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has been under fire for frequently flying in first and business class at taxpayer expense. CBS News has learned more about one of those flights …
Discussion:
New Republic, Gizmodo and Washington Press
Samuel Chamberlain / Fox News:
GOP rep unveils ‘Crumbs Act’ to make bonuses tax-free, in swipe at Pelosi — A Republican lawmaker is set to unveil legislation that would make most bonuses given out as a result of President Trump's tax reform plan tax-free — and took a jab at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi with the bill's name.
Discussion:
RedState, IJR, The Daily Caller and Roll Call
David Abel / BostonGlobe.com:
After more than a year, Trump still doesn't have a science adviser — CAMBRIDGE — When the Ebola virus began sweeping through West Africa four years ago, killing thousands of people and threatening to spread beyond the continent, President Obama turned to his science adviser for options.
Miles Weiss / Bloomberg:
New Hedge-Fund Tax Dodge Triggers Wild Rush Back Into Delaware — Firms set up LLCs in plan to avoid carried-interest change — Congress may have stumbled in narrowing loophole for managers — Wall Street's fast-money crowd is returning to well-trodden ground to elude Trump-era tax laws: Delaware.
Christian Caryl / Washington Post:
Christopher Steele is a hero - and Americans owe him their thanks … Christopher Steele, the former British spy whose claims about Donald Trump's ties with Russia hold center stage in Washington right now, drives Republicans crazy. They have recommended that the Department of Justice open a criminal investigation into his work.
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Trump's ‘Harvest Box’ Isn't Viable in SNAP Overhaul, Officials Say — WASHINGTON — The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program offers about 46 million low-income Americans both sustenance and economic choice by providing an allowance to buy the fruit, meat, fresh vegetables, soda, ice cream and kind of bread they want to eat.
Discussion:
Splinter
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Democrats, here's how to win over the newly independent, ex-Republicans … The Post reported this week: … There are fewer President Trump supporters in part because there are fewer Republicans: “In January 2017, about 156 million people approved of Trump on average, more than half of them — 81.2 million — Republican.
Gabriel Rossman / Weekly Standard:
Open Letter to the Bruin Republicans Who Invited Milo Yiannopoulos to UCLA — This is a bad idea. — Editor's note: On February 13, UCLA's college Republican group, the Bruin Republicans, announced that they would be hosting Milo Yiannopoulos on campus to give a talk titled “10 Things I Hate About Mexico.”
Discussion:
abc7.com and National Review
John Koblin / New York Times:
Ryan Murphy Heads to Netflix in Deal Said to Be Worth Up to $300 Million — The streaming giant Netflix has won yet another battle against old Hollywood. — On Tuesday night, Netflix announced that it had poached the hit-making producer Ryan Murphy from 21st Century Fox.
Discussion:
The Ringer, Deadline, Investor's Business Daily, The Verge and Engadget, more at Mediagazer »
Katy Bergen / Kansas City Star:
Russian Twitter trolls stoked KKK fears at Mizzou during 2015 protests, report says — On Nov. 11, 2015, after “#PrayforMizzou” started to trend on Twitter in the wake of student protests over racial issues at the University of Missouri, a Twitter user with the handle @Fanfan1911 dispatched a warning.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Kyle Smith / National Review:
So Long, Huck Finn and Atticus Finch — The desire to stamp out disturbing expression is illiberal. — When the censors come, it will be with a smile on their face and unctuous talk about your feelings on their lips. It's for your own good, they'll say. Art that takes a stand against hatred will be confused with hate speech.
Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Dems: Bill Clinton too toxic to campaign in midterms — Democrats are looking to embrace the #MeToo moment and rally women to push back on President Donald Trump in the midterms—and they don't want Bill Clinton anywhere near it. — In a year when the party is deploying all their other big guns …
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon and Althouse
The Michigan Chronicle:
Voting Reform in Michigan marches forward — The Promote the Vote coalition's effort to make voting in Michigan more secure and accessible has moved one step closer to getting on the November ballot as the State Board of Canvassers today approved the petition form.