Top Items:
Ruth Brown / New York Post:
Comey: Trump asked me to investigate ‘pee tape’ to reassure Melania — President Trump wanted James Comey to investigate the infamous “pee tape” allegations — to reassure Melania that he hadn't actually paid Russian hookers to urinate on a hotel bed, the former FBI chief claims in his upcoming book.
Discussion:
CNN, New York Magazine, Raw Story and Splinter
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Associated Press:
In new book, Comey says Trump ‘untethered to truth’ — WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey blasts President Donald Trump as unethical and “untethered to truth” and calls his leadership of the country “ego driven and about personal loyalty” in a forthcoming book.
The Daily Beast:
James Comey: John Kelly Called Trump ‘Dishonorable’ for Firing Me … Within minutes of his firing in May, former FBI Director James Comey received a call from John Kelly, then the head of the Department of Homeland Security and now the White House chief of staff.
Discussion:
Washington Press, Washington Post, Axios, Vox, Fox News, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, IJR, New York Magazine and Mediaite
Michiko Kakutani / New York Times:
James Comey Has a Story to Tell. It's Very Persuasive. — Truth, Lies, and Leadership — 290 pages. Flatiron Books. $29.99. — In his absorbing new book, “A Higher Loyalty,” the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey calls the Trump presidency a “forest fire” …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
James Comey's memoir: Trump fixates on proving lewd dossier allegations false … The nation's intelligence chiefs had just finished briefing Donald Trump on Russia's interference in the 2016 election when FBI Director James B. Comey stayed behind to discuss some especially sensitive material …
Discussion:
Bustle
Jeff Zeleny / CNN:
Exclusive: Inside the GOP plan to discredit Comey — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's allies are preparing an extensive campaign to fight back against James Comey's publicity tour, trying to undermine the credibility of the former FBI director by reviving the blistering Democratic criticism …
Rick Klein / ABC News:
Comey book claims President Trump sought loyalty like mafia boss ‘Sammy the Bull’
Comey book claims President Trump sought loyalty like mafia boss ‘Sammy the Bull’
Discussion:
NewsBusters and Mediaite
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
GOP launches aggressive ‘Lyin’ Comey' website ahead of release of former FBI chief's book
GOP launches aggressive ‘Lyin’ Comey' website ahead of release of former FBI chief's book
Discussion:
Breitbart, Townhall, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and CBS Chicago
NBC News:
Trump, Mueller teams prepare to move forward without presidential interview — WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office and President Donald Trump's legal team are now proceeding with strategies that presume a presidential interview will likely not take place as part of the Russia investigation …
Discussion:
Politico, Breitbart, CNBC, emptywheel, Daily Kos, The Right Scoop, Jezebel, Sputnik International, Raw Story, Washington Times, Law & Crime and POLITICUSUSA
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CNN:
White House is prepping an effort to undermine Rosenstein — Washington (CNN)The White House is preparing talking points designed to undermine Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's credibility, according to sources familiar with the plan. — The plan calls on President Donald Trump's allies …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Atlantic, Political Wire, ABC News, Breitbart, Fox News Insider, Politico, POLITICUSUSA, Above the Law, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, AOL, Townhall, Common Dreams, ThinkProgress, VICE News, Media Matters for America, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and HuffPost
Matt Bai / Yahoo:
Fire the special counsel. Please. — Let me put it to you this way, Mr. President. Who are you going to listen to — the voice of the stable genius inside your head, or the timid voices of experience, the ones that said you'd never win? — You know what you want to do. Just do it already.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
Benjamin Wittes / The Atlantic:
The Principle of Professional Law Enforcement Is Now on the Line
The Principle of Professional Law Enforcement Is Now on the Line
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, CNN, Washington Post, VICE News and Media Matters for America
Paul Rosenzweig / The Atlantic:
Firing Rosenstein Won't Save Trump
Ronan Farrow / New Yorker:
The National Enquirer, a Trump Rumor, and Another Secret Payment to Buy Silence — Late in 2015, a former Trump Tower doorman named Dino Sajudin met with a reporter from American Media, Inc., the publisher of the National Enquirer, at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania.
Discussion:
The Root, Daily Kos, CNN, twitchy.com, ABC News, Mediaite, Washington Post and PerezHilton
RELATED:
Associated Press:
$30,000 rumor? Tabloid paid for, spiked, salacious Trump tip — NEW YORK (AP) — Eight months before the company that owns the National Enquirer paid $150,000 to a former Playboy Playmate who claimed she'd had an affair with Donald Trump, the tabloid's parent made a $30,000 payment …
Discussion:
New York Times, Politico, Bloomberg, Hullabaloo, POLITICUSUSA, Splinter, Vox, Washington Post, RedState, WGN-TV, MSNBC, Washington Press, The Daily Beast, IJR, VICE News, ThinkProgress, KTLA, fox5sandiego.com, Jezebel, New Republic, Mediaite and CBS Miami, more at Mediagazer »
New York Daily News:
Ex-wife of former Trump building doorman who claimed the President has a love child says he's a liar — The former Trump building doorman who claimed he heard the President has a love child is “a pathological liar,” his ex-wife told the Daily News. — “He's infamous for making up stories …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit and twitchy.com
Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
National Enquirer paid second source with embarrassing Trump rumor
National Enquirer paid second source with embarrassing Trump rumor
Washington Post:
Trump weighs rejoining Trans-Pacific Partnership amid trade dispute with China — President Trump told top administration officials Thursday to look at rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the multination trade agreement he pulled the United States out of shortly after taking office.
Discussion:
Axios, RedState, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Roll Call, TheBlaze, Little Green Footballs, Hullabaloo and Political Wire
RELATED:
Ana Swanson / New York Times:
Trump Reverses Course and Proposes Rejoining Trans-Pacific Partnership — WASHINGTON — President Trump, in a stunning reversal, told a gathering of farm state lawmakers and governors on Thursday morning that he was directing his advisers to look into rejoining the multicountry trade deal known …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, National Review, New York Magazine, Mother Jones, Common Dreams and Daily Wire
Zeeshan Aleem / Vox:
Trump is desperately looking for ways to save farmers from his trade war with China
Trump is desperately looking for ways to save farmers from his trade war with China
Discussion:
RT, One America News Network and Senator Ben Sasse
Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Lawmakers' Letter Claims Further Spending Abuses by the E.P.A. Head, Scott Pruitt — WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, insisted on staying in luxury hotels that were costlier than allowed by government standards, while also pushing to fly on an airline …
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Press, Friendly Atheist, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and The Week
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Washington Post:
Senate confirms a former coal lobbyist as Scott Pruitt's second-in-command at EPA
Senate confirms a former coal lobbyist as Scott Pruitt's second-in-command at EPA
Discussion:
Political Wire
Zahra Hirji / BuzzFeed:
A New Bombshell Letter Alleges “Unethical And Potentially Illegal” Acts By EPA Head Scott Pruitt
A New Bombshell Letter Alleges “Unethical And Potentially Illegal” Acts By EPA Head Scott Pruitt
Discussion:
ProPublica, HuffPost, New Republic and Grist
Emma Platoff / The Texas Tribune:
Former Texas Congressman Steve Stockman found guilty of 23 felonies — A federal jury in Houston has ruled that Steve Stockman, a conservative former Texas congressman, is guilty of all but one charge in his federal fraud trial. — Steve Stockman, a former Texas congressman …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, RedState, Washington Monthly, Political Wire, Booman Tribune, TheBlaze and Joe.My.God.
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Staring Down on Syria — On Saturday I took my family to have a closer look at Syria. — This was on the Golan Heights, from a roadside promontory overlooking the abandoned Syrian town of Quneitra. The border is very green at this time of year, a serene patchwork of orchards and grassland …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
FBI raid sought Trump lawyer's communications with bank that loaned him money against his taxi business … A federal investigation into what role President Trump's personal attorney played in facilitating payments to two women who alleged affairs with Trump is also examining the lawyer's interactions …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and POLITICUSUSA
Maggie Astor / New York Times:
Holocaust Is Fading From Memory, Survey Finds — For seven decades, “never forget” has been a rallying cry of the Holocaust remembrance movement. — But a survey released Thursday, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, found that many adults lack basic knowledge of what happened …
Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:
Diamond & Silk Claim Facebook Never Contacted Them. Facebook Emails Prove Otherwise. … Pro-Trump vloggers Diamond & Silk found themselves the center of two high-profile congressional hearings this week lawmakers obsessed over claims the duo were “censored” by Facebook.
Discussion:
Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, HuffPost and VICE News, more at Mediagazer »
Chris Sommerfeldt / New York Daily News:
Trump federal judicial nominee refuses to say whether she supports racial segregation in schools — Brown v. Wendy Vitter? — A Louisiana lawyer nominated by President Trump for a federal judgeship refused to affirm whether she's opposed to school segregation during a congressional hearing Wednesday.
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Hill, twitchy.com, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos and Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
Ariane de Vogue / CNN:
Trump judicial nominee refuses to say if landmark civil rights opinion was correctly decided
Trump judicial nominee refuses to say if landmark civil rights opinion was correctly decided
Discussion:
Townhall, ABC News, HuffPost, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Bustle, theGrio, twitchy.com and PerezHilton
Madeleine Marr / miamiherald:
This Parkland teacher left his gun in a public bathroom. It was loaded, BSO says. — Not the most normal sight: a gun left in the bathroom stall. — But that's exactly what went down on Sunday in a men's room at the Deerfield Beach Pier. — The circumstances of how the Glock 9mm got there are unusual.
Discussion:
ABC News, New York Times, KTLA, KFOR-TV, CBS San Francisco, WPLG-TV, NPR, Vox, Orlando Weekly, Bearing Arms, Washington Press, Bustle, The Root, Splinter, TheBlaze, National Review, The Week, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com and Law & Crime
Fox News:
Biblical prophecy claims the Rapture is coming April 23, numerologist says — Is the Rapture finally here? One Christian numerologist says a biblical sign strongly suggests it. — David Meade tells the U.K.'s Daily Express newspaper that on April 23, the sun and moon will be in Virgo, as will Jupiter, which represents the Messiah.
Discussion:
Sploid, Faithwire, Mashable, AOL, BGR, Friendly Atheist and CBS Philly
James Oliver Cury / Hollywood Reporter:
Charlie Rose's Life Now: “Broken,” “Brilliant” and “Lonely” — Before the devastating allegations of sexual misconduct hit, Rose was a legendary man-about-town. Now, the former CBS and PBS star, one of TV's most feted journalists, is hiding out on Long Island with occasional …
Discussion:
Mediaite
The Right Scoop:
Former FEC Chairman tells Mark Levin why Stormy Daniels hush money CANNOT be an in kind campaign contribution — Last night Mark Levin interviewed a former FEC Chairman who explained why a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels cannot be considered an in kind contribution to the Trump campaign, thus violating campaign finance law.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Rob Haskell / Vogue:
Disney CEO Bob Iger On Taking the Biggest Risk of His Career — Disney's plan to acquire 21st Century Fox is about keeping up with a rapidly changing world. “The status quo, to me, is a joke,” says Iger, photographed at home in Los Angeles. — Photographed by Mark Peckmezian, Vogue, May 2018.
Discussion:
BloombergQuint, The Daily Caller and Deadline
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Ricky Waddell is leaving the White House — Trump's deputy National Security Adviser Ricky Waddell will leave the White House, according to two sources briefed on the decision. New National Security Adviser John Bolton wants to bring his own person in, and Waddell was H.R. McMaster's hand-picked deputy.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Washington Post, Politico, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, IJR, New Republic, MSNBC and Shareblue Media
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Mike Pompeo's confusing answer about whether Trump asked him to intervene in the Russia probe … One of the biggest questions hanging over Mike Pompeo's secretary of state nomination is whether he's too willing to do President Trump's bidding. — An answer he gave at Thursday's confirmation hearing …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Politico and Mother Jones
Adam Schefter / ESPN:
Seahawks postpone visit after Colin Kaepernick won't say if he'll stop kneeling — After arranging for Colin Kaepernick to work out for the Seattle Seahawks this week, team officials postponed the trip when the quarterback declined to say he would stop kneeling during the national anthem next season …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Mediaite, AOL, TheBlaze, The Root and Daily Wire
Cameron Easley / Morning Consult:
America's Most and Least Popular Senators — There's good news and bad news for Senate Democrats up for re-election — Sanders (I-Vt.) and McConnell (R-Ky.) remains the most popular and unpopular senators, respectively. — 2018's first quarter was a volatile one for several senators …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune and Washington Free Beacon