Top Items:
Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:
Bolton Was Early Beneficiary of Cambridge Analytica's Facebook Data — WASHINGTON — The political action committee founded by John R. Bolton, President Trump's incoming national security adviser, was one of the earliest customers of Cambridge Analytica, which it hired specifically …
Discussion:
Washington Post, New Republic, Axios, VICE News, Daily Kos, Global Voices, Raw Story, Vox, AOL, Bangor Daily News, Althouse, ABC News, Gizmodo and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
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Matthew Waxman / Lawfare:
The John Bolton I Knew — Most of the commentary about John Bolton's appointment as national security advisor has focused on his extreme policy views, especially with regard to military strikes against North Korea and Iran. I want instead to offer here a few firsthand thoughts about his formidable skills …
Discussion:
Vox, Politico, The American Conservative, Washington Post, The Guardian, Niskanen Center and New York Times
The Guardian:
Leaked: Cambridge Analytica's blueprint for Trump victory — Exclusive: Former employee explains how presentation showed techniques used to target voters … The blueprint for how Cambridge Analytica claimed to have won the White House for Donald Trump by using Google, Snapchat, Twitter …
Discussion:
Mashable
Foreign Policy:
John Bolton Is a National Security Threat — John Bolton wants regime changes in North Korea and Iran, and he'll do whatever it takes to get them. — Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster is out as Trump's national security adviser and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (and current Fox News contributor) John Bolton is in.
Discussion:
USA Today, Washington Post, New York Times and VICE News
New York Times:
McMaster to Resign as National Security Adviser, and Will Be Replaced by John Bolton — WASHINGTON — Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, the battle-tested Army officer tapped as President Trump's national security adviser last year to stabilize a turbulent foreign policy operation …
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The Intercept, The Daily Beast, CNNMoney, IJR, Right Wing Watch, Washington Post, New York Magazine, NewsBusters, Talking Points Memo, VICE News, Taylor Marsh, FiveThirtyEight, AOL, LobeLog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Home Page Rotator, The Week, The Root, Splinter, NBC News, Vox, Scripting News, Politicus USA, The American Spectator, Mother Jones, MelaniePhillips.com, Mediaite, National Review, Washington Free Beacon, Little Green Footballs and Joe.My.God., more at Mediagazer »
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Bolton bombshell: the clashes to come — Sources close to President Trump say he feels John Bolton, hurriedly named last night to replace H.R. McMaster as national security adviser, will finally deliver the foreign policy the president wants — particularly on Iran and North Korea.
Discussion:
ABC News, Politico, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams, The Week, The Daily Beast, CANNONFIRE and Breitbart
Washington Post:
The return of John Bolton, a hawk on North Korea and Iran, sparks concerns around the world
The return of John Bolton, a hawk on North Korea and Iran, sparks concerns around the world
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Vox, Bloomberg, CNN, Just Security and The Guardian
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Nobody Is Left to Save the World From Trump Now
Nobody Is Left to Save the World From Trump Now
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Daily Kos and CNBC
Max Boot / Washington Post:
Add another zealot to the White House
Add another zealot to the White House
Discussion:
CNN, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal and ThinkProgress
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
It's Time to Panic Now — It's time to push the panic button.
It's Time to Panic Now — It's time to push the panic button.
Discussion:
South China Morning Post, LobeLog, Weekly Standard, NPR, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Fox News, twitchy.com, Common Dreams, Breitbart, France 24, Roll Call, Investor's Business Daily, Deadline, CBS Dallas, ABC News, 89.3 KPCC, Jamie Dupree - AJC, FOX59, The Gateway Pundit, CBS New York, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Daily Kos, KFOR-TV and The Week
Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
John Bolton, Trump's ultra-hawkish new national security adviser, explained
John Bolton, Trump's ultra-hawkish new national security adviser, explained
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Atlantic, Haaretz, Axios, Salon, New York Times, The Nation, IJR, Hullabaloo, HuffPost, Common Dreams, Foreign Policy, CNN, The Guardian, The Week, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, TVNewser, Politicus USA, Hit & Run, New Republic, ThinkProgress, VICE News, Breitbart, Mother Jones, CNBC, NPR, Fox News Insider, Mediaite and The Federalist
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
White House lawyer McGahn eager to exit — President Donald Trump's top White House lawyer, Don McGahn, is expected to step down later this year, though his resignation is contingent on the president finding a replacement and several other factors, according to four sources familiar with McGahn's thinking.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and Mediaite
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Eliana Johnson / Politico:
McMaster firing upends plan to oust other top Trump officials — President Donald Trump's decision to abruptly fire national security adviser H.R. McMaster surprised senior White House aides who had been preparing a single statement announcing the departure of multiple top Trump officials …
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Mediaite, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, The Week, Axios, IJR, The Hill and Political Wire
Bloomberg:
Inside Trump's Snap Decision to Oust McMaster — McMaster Ousted Days After His Briefing to Trump on Putin Call — Trump names ex-U.S. envoy Bolton as national security adviser — President Donald Trump made a snap decision to oust H.R. McMaster as national security adviser …
Discussion:
Politico
Cory Bennett / Politico:
Bolton, McMaster present contrast on Russian hacking — John Bolton, President Donald Trump's pick to replace H.R. McMaster as his national security adviser, could bring a vastly different approach on Russia's election meddling to the White House. — In their public comments …
Discussion:
CBS News, Reuters, One America News Network, Shakesville and israpundit.org
Adam Shaw / Fox News:
Trump threatens veto of $1.3 trillion spending bill, risking government shutdown — President Trump sparked fears of an impending government shutdown Friday by threatening to veto a $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress, citing the lack of a deal that would include protection …
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Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:
Trump threatens to veto omnibus spending bill over DACA and the border wall
Trump threatens to veto omnibus spending bill over DACA and the border wall
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, RedState, National Review, Weekly Standard and Washington Free Beacon
U.S. Department of the Treasury:
Treasury Sanctions Iranian Cyber Actors for Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities Targeting Hundreds of Universities — Washington - Today, in a coordinated action with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) …
Discussion:
IJR, The Week, The Verge, Cyberscoop and NBC News
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Eric Geller / Politico:
U.S. busts ‘massive’ Iranian hacking scheme
U.S. busts ‘massive’ Iranian hacking scheme
Discussion:
Axios and One America News Network
Tal Kopan / CNN:
US disrupts ‘massive and brazen’ Iranian hacking scheme, DOJ says
US disrupts ‘massive and brazen’ Iranian hacking scheme, DOJ says
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation
Former U.S. Senator Al Franken:
“Lack of candor.” — That's one of the reasons that Attorney General Jeff Sessions used to justify his decision to fire former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe last week, just two days before Mr. McCabe was set to retire from a distinguished 21-year career with the Bureau.
The Daily Beast:
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Lone DNC Hacker’ Guccifer 2.0 Slipped Up and Revealed He Was a Russian Intelligence Officer … Guccifer 2.0, the “lone hacker” who took credit for providing WikiLeaks with stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee, was in fact an officer of Russia's military intelligence directorate …
Discussion:
VICE News, Motherboard, Daily Kos, Shakesville, Hullabaloo, emptywheel, The Gateway Pundit, Mashable, RedState, Balloon Juice, Vox, The Week, Mother Jones, Axios, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Trump Fundraiser Offered to Help Lift Sanctions on Russian Firms — Elliott Broidy proposed work for clients of Moscow lawyer — Pre-inauguration discussions didn't lead to Broidy's hiring — Elliott Broidy, a top fundraiser for President Donald Trump, offered last year to help …
Amy L. Wax / Wall Street Journal:
The University of Denial — Aggressive suppression of the truth is a central feature of American higher education. — 'Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away," observed Philip K. Dick in “I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon. Somewhere deep in a file drawer …
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Instapundit
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Paul Campos / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
How to win friends and influence people
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Stormy Daniels' lawyer posts photo of mystery disc in a safe — Stormy Daniels's attorney hinted on Thursday that he may have hard evidence that the adult-film actress had an affair with President Trump — , posting a photo on Twitter of what appeared to be a compact disc in a safe.
Discussion:
IJR, Daily Wire, Raw Story, Washington Times and Joe.My.God.
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Digby / Hullabaloo:
Stormy, Summer and Karen are the GOP's worst nightmares
Stormy, Summer and Karen are the GOP's worst nightmares
Discussion:
New York Times
Eli Watkins / CNN:
Karen McDougal tells CNN Trump tried to pay her after sex — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump once tried to offer Karen McDougal money after they had been intimate, the former Playboy model told Anderson Cooper Thursday in an exclusive interview on CNN. — “After we had been intimate …
Discussion:
VICE News, East Bay Times, The Week, thecut, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, New York Times, Law & Crime, WGN-TV, Mashable and Politicus USA
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Eli Watkins / CNN:
McDougal says she was intimate with Trump ‘many dozens’ of times
McDougal says she was intimate with Trump ‘many dozens’ of times
Discussion:
CBS Pittsburgh, Daily Caller News Foundation, FOX59, Daily Wire and Political Wire
George Clooney / The Guardian:
George Clooney to Parkland students: ‘You make me proud of my country again’ — When student journalists from the Parkland high school newspaper requested an interview with George and Amal Clooney, this is what he wrote back … embed — Dear Emma, Lauren and Rebecca,
Discussion:
CBS Miami and AOL, more at Mediagazer »
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Denise Petski / Deadline:
George Clooney's Letter To Parkland Students: “You Make Me Proud Of My Country Again”
George Clooney's Letter To Parkland Students: “You Make Me Proud Of My Country Again”
Discussion:
IndieWire
Marc Caputo / Politico:
'Oh my God...It's fake': Far right falls for hoax about Broward County sheriff — In the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, the far-right fever swamps buzzed with false information and conspiracy theories about student “crisis actors” who were paid to lie about the mass shooting.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Orlando Weekly and ABC News
Phil Mattingly / CNN:
Idaho senator holds up bill over political rivalry with deceased governor — Congress facing government shutdown, yet again — (CNN)As Congress raced toward another spending deadline, most were watching Sen. Rand Paul's objections to a proposed spending plan.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Daily Kos, Mother Jones and Conservative Review
David Brooks / New York Times:
Speaking as a White Male ... How much are you in control of your own opinions? I ask this sincerely because, as you'll see, I'm trying to think this through and I'm not sure how. — If you go back to the intellectuals of the 1950s, you get the impression that they thought individuals could very much determine their own beliefs.
Discussion:
Splinter