Top Items:
Washington Post:
Kushner's overseas contacts raise concerns as foreign officials seek leverage … Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements …
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Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Hope Hicks Acknowledges She Sometimes Tells White Lies for Trump — WASHINGTON — Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, told House investigators on Tuesday that her work for President Trump, who has a reputation for exaggerations and outright falsehoods, had occasionally required her to tell white lies.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Weekly Standard, New York Magazine, AOL, KTLA, Political Wire, Mediaite and CNN
Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Kushner loses access to top-secret intelligence — Presidential son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded — a move that will prevent him from viewing many of the sensitive documents to which he once had unfettered access. — Kushner is not alone.
Discussion:
CNN, Just Security, New York Times, Axios, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Mediaite, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, ABC News, The Atlantic, IJR, The Guardian, Vox, CBS Los Angeles, KTLA, New York Magazine, Gizmodo, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Press, emptywheel, Politicus USA, Shareblue Media, RedState, CNBC, Mother Jones, VICE News, FOX31 Denver, Talking Points Memo, FOX2now.com, Associated Press, WGN-TV, Daily Kos, Washington Times and Political Wire
Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:
The Deep State Takes Out the White House's Dark Clown Prince … If you've ever filled out a form SF-86 for a U.S. government security clearance, you'll know the hassle of dealing with the sheer volume of information it entails. Listing contacts, personal, financial and travel information in enormous …
Washington Post:
Four Commerce Department appointees lose their posts after problems in background checks … Four Commerce Department political appointees working on interim security clearances lost their jobs Tuesday because of problems in their background checks, the latest fallout from the intensifying public scrutiny …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Trump family v. John Kelly — The Trump family — and the president's oldest son, Don Jr., in particular — was angry about the overwhelmingly negative TV coverage about Jared Kushner last night, and feels White House Chief of Staff Kelly is hanging Jared out to dry, a source familiar with the situation tells Axios.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story, Mediaite and The Daily Caller
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Josh Raffel leaving White House
Scoop: Josh Raffel leaving White House
Discussion:
Politico, Bloomberg, New York Magazine, Washington Post and AOL
Peter Grant / Wall Street Journal:
Kushner Cos. in Talks to Buy Remaining Stake in 666 Fifth Ave.
Kushner Cos. in Talks to Buy Remaining Stake in 666 Fifth Ave.
Discussion:
Curbed NY
Julie Creswell / New York Times:
Dick's, Major Gun Retailer, Will Stop Selling Assault-Style Rifles — One of the nation's largest sports retailers, Dick's Sporting Goods, said Wednesday morning it was immediately ending sales of all assault-style rifles in its stores. — The retailer also said that it would no longer …
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Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Ben Carson's HUD, Planning Cuts, Spends $31,000 on Dining Set for His Office — WASHINGTON — Department of Housing and Urban Development officials spent $31,000 on a new dining room set for Secretary Ben Carson's office in late 2017 — just as the White House circulated its plans …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Post, ABC News, The Root, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Washington Press, Shareblue Media, Axios, Political Wire and The Guardian
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Jon Swaine / The Guardian:
US housing department to spend $165,000 on own furniture as it faces $6.8bn budget cut
US housing department to spend $165,000 on own furniture as it faces $6.8bn budget cut
Discussion:
Raw Story
CNN:
Mueller team asks about Trump's Russian business dealings as he weighed a run for president — (CNN)Investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller have recently been asking witnesses about Donald Trump's business activities in Russia prior to the 2016 presidential campaign as he considered …
Discussion:
Washington Press, Raw Story, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, Political Wire and The Root
NBC News:
U.S. intel: Russia compromised seven states prior to 2016 election — The U.S. intelligence community developed substantial evidence that state websites or voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian-backed covert operatives prior to the 2016 election …
Jeff Horwitz / Associated Press:
Trump campaign chief lends name to penny stock tied to felon — WASHINGTON (AP) — The political strategist and online guru who was named President Donald Trump's 2020 campaign manager Tuesday has a close financial relationship with a penny-stock firm with a questionable history …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
David Hogg Is Fair Game for Critics — The Parkland survivor has chosen to insert himself into an important national policy debate. We who disagree with his views on guns have a duty to speak up against them. — David Hogg, the telegenic 17-year-old who survived the shooting in Parkland …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Resurgent, The American Spectator, The Daily Beast and ThinkProgress
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Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Infowars one strike away from YouTube ban
Infowars one strike away from YouTube ban
Discussion:
RedState, Axios, Gizmodo, Jezebel, Washington Press, Joe.My.God. and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
Lauren DeBellis Appell / Fox News:
The NRA just got a new member. Here's why this mom of two joined the group — As a mom of kids in elementary school, I became a proud member of the NRA for the first time last week. I did so because the absence of common sense that I've witnessed recently is alarming to me as a parent.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Wire, The Resurgent and The Daily Beast
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Tampa Bay Times:
Shooting survivor's father admits email changes in CNN spat — Colton Haab's father acknowledges omitting some words from the email but says he didn't do it on purpose. — Last week's televised town hall on guns and school safety has led to finger-pointing by the father of a Florida school shooting survivor and CNN.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, RedState, Raw Story, twitchy.com, Washington Press and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
CNN Chief Jeff Zucker, Jake Tapper Respond to Town Hall Critics: “They'll Get Over It”
CNN Chief Jeff Zucker, Jake Tapper Respond to Town Hall Critics: “They'll Get Over It”
Discussion:
Breitbart and The Daily Caller
Anton Troianovski / Washington Post:
A self-described sex expert says she will spill information on Trump and Russia to get out of a Thai jail … MOSCOW — A self-described sex expert whose videos highlighted the ties between one of Russia's richest men and the Kremlin has been jailed in Thailand and is calling for U.S. help …
Discussion:
Washington Press and New York Times
Addy Baird / ThinkProgress:
EXCLUSIVE: FedEx's secret deal with the NRA and the gun industry — More than two dozen companies have cut ties with the National Rifle Association (NRA) in recent days, having come under scrutiny for doing business with the gun lobby following the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 people dead earlier this month.
Discussion:
Washington Press, Breitbart, Guns.com, RedState, CBS New York, Balloon Juice, WRIC-TV, Mashable, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, FOX31 Denver, IJR and twitchy.com
Natasha Bertrand / The Atlantic:
Roger Stone's Secret Messages with WikiLeaks — On March 17, 2017, WikiLeaks tweeted that it had never communicated with Roger Stone, a longtime confidante and informal adviser to President Donald Trump. In his interview with the House Intelligence Committee last September, Stone …
Discussion:
Washington Press, Talking Points Memo, The Smoking Gun, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Mediaite and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »
David Wasserman / The Cook Political Report:
PA-18 Special Election Moves from Lean Republican to Toss Up — It's not normal for Republicans to be worried about losing a seat President Trump carried by 20 points. But with two weeks to go before the March 13 special election, Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone is locked …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Daily Beast, Washington Free Beacon and Democrats.com
Hamed Aleaziz / San Francisco Chronicle:
ICE confirms 150-plus arrests in California sweep, slams Schaaf's early warning — Federal officials said Tuesday they arrested more than 150 undocumented immigrants in a Northern California sweep aimed at countering local sanctuary laws, while suggesting Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf's decision …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Breitbart and Front Page Magazine
Ned Oliver / The Roanoke Times:
GreenTech, the electric car company once led by McAuliffe, files for bankruptcy — The electric car company founded by former Gov. Terry McAuliffe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, blaming in part a wave of negative coverage by a conservative news website for its financial woes.
Ali Winston / The Verge:
Palantir has secretly been using New Orleans to test its predictive policing technology — Palantir deployed a predictive policing system in New Orleans that even city council members don't know about — Illustrations by Garret Beard and Alex Castro — In May and June 2013 …
Alberto Nardelli / BuzzFeed:
The Professor At The Center Of The Russia-Trump Probe Boasted To His Girlfriend In Ukraine That He Was Friends With Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — A Ukrainian woman named Anna says Joseph Mifsud asked her to marry him in a restaurant overlooking the Kremlin.
Discussion:
Washington Press, Daily Kos and Raw Story
Tony Badran / Tablet Magazine:
‘Ambassador Samantha Power Lied to My Face About Syria,’ by Kassem Eid — One day after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Saturday demanding a truce in the besieged Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta to allow for aid access and medical evacuations, Russia, Iran …