memeorandum: Collusion or not, Russia probe is worst political scandal in decades (NBC News)

11:15 AM ET, February 26, 2018

Top Items:

Supreme Court declines Trump request to take up DACA controversy now … The Supreme Court on Monday declined to enter the national controversy over “dreamers,” turning down the Trump administration's request to immediately review lower court decisions that keep in place the program …

Discussion: The Hill

USA Today:

Supreme Court snubs Trump, keeps DACA immigration program in place for now — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court refused Monday to review a federal judge's order that the Trump administration continue a program protecting undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.

Discussion: RedState and Althouse

Sam Baker / Axios:
Public-sector unions prepare to be kneecapped at the Supreme Court

Discussion: Politico, ABC News and Breitbart

Bloomberg: U.S. Supreme Court Rebuffs Trump, Won't Hear Immigration Appeal

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Supreme Court won't hear case challenging DACA, tells Trump to wait in line with everyone else

Discussion: Daily Kos

CNN:

In Russia probes, Republicans draw red line at Trump's finances — Mueller charges lawyer with lying about Gates interaction — (CNN)Top Republicans on Capitol Hill have made a concerted decision in their Russia inquiries: They are staying away from digging into the finances of President Donald Trump and his family.

Discussion: Axios, Political Wire and Raw Story

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Kelly and Kushner stuck at an impasse after Trump's punt on clearance — The chief of staff is unlikely to grant the president's son-in-law a permanent clearance, but isn't likely to quit over the issue, either. — President Donald Trump's decision to punt the issue of whether Jared Kushner …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Raw Story

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

How Long Can John Kelly Hang On? — Last year, Democrats and Republicans alike agreed that if anyone could bring order to the Trump administration, it was the retired four-star Marine general. Were they wrong? — On a Saturday afternoon last July, the day after John Kelly agreed …

Catherine Lucey / Associated Press:

Ivanka Trump believes father's denials of sexual misconduct — WASHINGTON (AP) — Ivanka Trump says she believes her father's denials of sexual misconduct, arguing that questions to her on the topic are “pretty inappropriate.” — Trump serves as a senior adviser in President Donald Trump's administration …

Discussion: Washington Post and Jezebel

Phil McCausland / NBC News:

Ivanka Trump: Arming teachers an option that ‘needs to be discussed’ — Ivanka Trump said in an exclusive interview with NBC News on Sunday that her father's suggestion of arming teachers is an option worth discussing. The president made the proposal after a gunman killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida, this month.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, VICE News, NBC News, IJR and Joe.My.God.

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
An attack on North Korea would be massive - and massively stupid

Discussion: Just Security and The American Conservative

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Exclusive: Trump privately pushing personal pilot to run FAA — The president's personal pilot is on the administration's short list to head the Federal Aviation Administration. Trump has told a host of administration officials and associates that he wants John Dunkin — his longtime personal pilot …

Discussion: RedState, AOL, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Magazine, Gizmodo, FOX2now.com, Washington Press, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Reports: Trump's Personal Pilot Under Consideration To Lead The FAA

Discussion: Washington Post and Shakesville

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:

David Hogg: Gov. Rick Scott Should Be ‘Held Accountable’ For Sheriff's Deputies That Didn't Confront Shooter — David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland, Florida high school shooting, told Morning Joe on Monday that he thinks Gov. Rick Scott should be “held accountable” for the failure of three sheriff's deputies to confront the gunman.

Discussion: NBC News and Joe.My.God.

New York Times:
Florida Students Return, Gingerly, to Their Scarred High School

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Joanne Jacobs, AOL and miamiherald

Matt Dixon / Politico:
NRA battles Florida Republicans over gun crackdown

Discussion: Fox News, CNBC and Political Wire

NBC News:

Collusion or not, Russia probe is worst political scandal in decades — First Read is your briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter — Trump responds to Democrats' release of controversial memo 2:47

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Politico and Mediaite

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Exclusive: Trump privately talks up executing all big drug dealers — In Singapore, the death penalty is mandatory for drug trafficking offenses. And President Trump loves it. He's been telling friends for months that the country's policy to execute drug traffickers is the reason its drug consumption rates are so low.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA, The Root, Outside the Beltway, Joe.My.God., CNBC, Raw Story, Mediaite and New York Magazine

Stephanie M. Lee / BuzzFeed:

The Inside Story Of How An Ivy League Food Scientist Turned Shoddy Data Into Viral Studies — Brian Wansink won fame, funding, and influence for his science-backed advice on healthy eating. Now, emails show how the Cornell professor and his colleagues have hacked and massaged low-quality data …

Discussion: Marginal REVOLUTION

Alex Horton / Washington Post:

A CDC researcher left work sick two weeks ago — then vanished … Dr. Timothy J. Cunningham had been a rising official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — The Harvard-educated epidemiologist was promoted in July at the U.S. Public Health Service in Atlanta and contributed …

Christina Caron / New York Times:
C.D.C. Employee Is Missing Nearly Two Weeks After Leaving Work Sick

Discussion: Washington Post

Monica Lewinsky / Vanity Fair:

Emerging from “the House of Gaslight” in the Age of #MeToo — On the 20th anniversary of the Starr investigation, which introduced her to the world, the author reflects on the changing nature of trauma, the de-evolution of the media, and the extraordinary hope now provided by the #MeToo movement.

Discussion: NBC News, AOL, thecut and Jezebel

Bob Bernick / utahpolicy.com:

Chaos in the Utah GOP! Hardliners adopt rule change that could kick Mitt Romney (and other candidates) out of the party — You may have thought the internal workings of the Utah Republican Party were really screwed up before. — But now get this: — If former U.S. GOP presidential …

Discussion: Political Wire

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:

The Schiff Memo Harms Democrats More Than It Helps Them — It confirms that the FBI and the DOJ relied heavily on uncorroborated, third-hand, anonymous sources in their FISA application. — Maybe Adam Schiff has more of a sense of humor than I'd have given him credit for.

Discussion: Power Line

Wall Street Journal:
Democrats for Eavesdrop Abuse

Discussion: Betsy's Page and The Daily Caller

Shannon Valladolid / 10NEWS:

Florida Gun Show sees “record number” of attendees despite gun control debate — Manager for the Florida Gun Show, George Fernandez says they've never seen such a big crowd. — TAMPA — Thousands of gun enthusiasts flocked to the Florida State Fairgrounds for the Florida Gun Show event.

Discussion: New York Times, Daily Wire, AOL, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit

Devan Cole / CNN:

Trump campaign emails photo of Parkland survivor, asks for donations — (CNN)President Donald Trump's re-election campaign used a photo of a survivor of the Parkland, Florida, shooting in an email Saturday that asks its recipients to donate money to the campaign.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Press, RedState, Joe.My.God., Breitbart and Mediaite

Thomas Fox-Brewster / Forbes:

The Feds Can Now (Probably) Unlock Every iPhone Model In Existence — In what appears to be a major breakthrough for law enforcement, and a possible privacy problem for Apple customers, a major U.S. government contractor claims to have found a way to unlock pretty much every iPhone on the market.

The Intercept:

Koch Document Reveals Laundry List of Policy Victories Extracted from the Trump Administration — In the backdrop of a chaotic first year of Donald Trump's presidency, the conservative Koch brothers have won victory after victory in their bid to reshape American government to their interests.

Discussion: Washington Post

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Trump has long vowed to slash government. Now the knives are finally coming out. — The four muskrats last roamed free on Nov. 20, 1908, near Farmington, N.M., when Charles Birdseye trapped, skinned and delivered them to the nation's capital. — The naturalist would go on to become famous as the father of the frozen food industry.

Discussion: Politico and Daily Kos