Top Items:
Gardiner Harris / New York Times:
State Dept. Was Granted $120 Million to Fight Russian Meddling. It Has Spent $0. — WASHINGTON — As Russia's virtual war against the United States continues unabated with the midterm elections approaching, the State Department has yet to spend any of the $120 million it has been allocated since late 2016 …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Washington Press, Balloon Juice, Politicus USA, Political Wire and Axios, more at Mediagazer »
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Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Mueller's hit list — Axios has reviewed a Grand Jury subpoena that Robert Mueller's team sent to a witness last month. — What Mueller is asking for: — Mueller is subpoenaing all communications — meaning emails, texts, handwritten notes, etc. — that this witness sent and received regarding the following people:
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, The Daily Beast, emptywheel, CNBC, Washington Press, The Gateway Pundit, Political Wire and CANNONFIRE
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NBC News:
Special counsel wants documents from Trump, numerous campaign associates — WASHINGTON — The grand jury investigating alleged collusion between Russia and Donald Trump's presidential campaign has issued a subpoena seeking all documents involving the president and a host of his closest advisers …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Donald Trump's bubble presidency — When President Barack Obama felt he needed to show off his common touch, he'd go for cheeseburgers at Ray's Hell Burger — where he treated the Russian president to an onion-jalapeño-and-mushroom- topped patty — or to Five Guys …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
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New York Times:
Defying the Odds, Kellyanne Conway Steps Back and Hangs On — WASHINGTON — A year ago, few “on the outside” — a phrase perhaps tellingly favored in the Trump White House — would have guessed that Kellyanne Conway would be the one hanging on as other high-profile aides pull their rip cords.
Discussion:
Mediaite
Marlow Stern / The Daily Beast:
John Oliver: Donald Trump Has More ‘Sexual Chemistry’ With Ivanka Than Jared Kushner
John Oliver: Donald Trump Has More ‘Sexual Chemistry’ With Ivanka Than Jared Kushner
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Jane Mayer / New Yorker:
Christopher Steele, the Man Behind the Trump Dossier — How the ex-spy tried to warn the world about Trump's ties to Russia. — In January, after a long day at his London office, Christopher Steele, the former spy turned private investigator, was stepping off a commuter train in Farnham …
Jason Horowitz / New York Times:
Italy Election Gives Big Lift to Far Right and Populists — ROME — Italians registered their dismay with the European political establishment on Sunday, handing a majority of votes in a national election to hard-right and populist forces that ran a campaign fueled by anti-immigrant anger.
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Ishaan Tharoor / Washington Post:
Italy's election is another blow to the European establishment … Sign up for the Today's WorldView newsletter. — On Feb. 22, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker offered an anodyne statement about Italy's elections: “Whatever the outcome, I am confident that we will have a government …
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Rudy Giuliani's tasteless Hillary joke — On Friday night, President Trump entertained around 250 Republican donors in his Mar-a-Lago ballroom. Spotted in the audience: Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen, who recently admitted to paying $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Discussion:
Washington Press, IJR and Mediaite
Mike Allen / Axios:
Democrats may have already won the House — Top Republicans sound increasingly resigned to losing a special House election in Pennsylvania Trump Country a week from today, after party-affiliated groups spent more than $9 million on a race that should be a “gimme.”
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Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:
Jimmy Kimmel Opens Oscars with Killer Jabs at Weinstein, Trump and Pence … Last year, the elephant in the room at the Academy Awards was the newly-elected President Donald Trump. This time, there were many more elephants for host Jimmy Kimmel to address, starting with the biggest, most disgusting one of them all: Harvey Weinstein.
Discussion:
One America News Network, Breitbart and Politico
BuzzFeed:
Secret NYPD Files: Officers Can Lie And Brutally Beat People — And Still Keep Their Jobs — Internal NYPD files show that hundreds of officers who committed the most serious offenses — from lying to grand juries to physically attacking innocent people — got to keep their jobs, their pensions …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Bethany Mandel / New York Times:
I Wanted to Be a Good Mom. So I Got a Gun. — A few months after my father left our family home for good, my mother heard me screaming in the middle of the night. It was the kind of scream that made her grab her rifle in one hand and some ammo in another.
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Washington Post:
10 years after financial crisis, Senate prepares to roll back banking rules … The Senate is preparing to scale back the sweeping banking regulations passed after the 2008 financial crisis, with more than a dozen Democrats ready to give Republicans the votes they need to weaken …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Molly Hensley-Clancy / BuzzFeed:
The Lefty Democratic Shift On Wall Street Is Happening For Real
Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Ryan Seacrest Faces Potential Oscar Red Carpet Delay From E! Over Allegations — EXCLUSIVE: Concerns that sexual harassment allegations against Ryan Seacrest could see things become very uncomfortable or even become confrontational today on E!'s pre-Oscars Live From the Red Carpet show …
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Bustle, thecut, AOL, East Bay Times, Page Six and Mother Jones
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Washington Post:
‘Like a pinball machine’: Lawmakers struggle to negotiate with an erratic Trump … President Trump began last week trumpeting his idea to arm teachers. A couple of days later, he alarmed fellow Republicans by embracing broader background checks and suggesting police should seize guns …
Discussion:
RedState, AOL, Power Line, Politicus USA, Daily Kos and Associated Press
Rachel Wolfe / Vox:
Exclusive: Congress requires many unpaid interns to sign nondisclosure agreements — What happens in Congress stays in Congress. — For unpaid interns on Capitol Hill, secrecy is so much a part of the job that on their first day, many are required to sign sweeping nondisclosure agreements.
Discussion:
Politico and Political Wire
Sam Thielman / Talking Points Memo:
Despite Parkland, States Plow Ahead With New Pro-Gun Bills — Last month's massacre in Parkland, Fla., which killed 17 high school students and staff, kicked off a national conversation about the need for increased gun control. — But gun rights supporters are playing offense as well as defense.
Justin Caruso / The Daily Caller:
Trey Gowdy — A Second Special Counsel ‘May Be Unavoidable’ — Trump Brought Attention To Sweden's Immigrant Gang Problem And The New York Times Attacked Him. Now, They're Reporting On It — MEDIA | WILL RACKE — The EU Said It Would Slap Tariffs On American Items Like Blue Jeans, Harleys And Bourbon.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
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