Top Items:
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
In Bonkers Interview, Trump Threatens to Seize Control of Justice Department — While many reporters have described President Trump's aggrieved psychology, his phone call this morning on Fox & Friends gave outsiders unfiltered access to the sorts of rants he routinely imposes upon his staff.
Discussion:
HuffPost, MSNBC and Common Dreams
RELATED:
Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:
U.S. Attorney General Sessions says Mueller probe has taken on ‘life of its own’ — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday defended his decision not to appoint a second special prosecutor to investigate Republicans' concerns about the FBI by noting …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
In Warning to Trump, Senators Advance Bill to Protect Mueller — WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee fired a political warning shot at the White House on Thursday, advancing on a bipartisan vote long-stalled legislation to allow special counsels such as Robert S. Mueller III to appeal …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
Senate panel advances bill to protect Mueller from firing, but it's unlikely to become law — The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced legislation Thursday that would protect special counsel Robert S. Mueller III from being fired by President Trump after the panel's Republican chairman backed off changes …
Discussion:
National Review and MSNBC
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Trump says Comey ‘guilty of crimes,’ warns DOJ he won't ‘stay away’ forever
Trump says Comey ‘guilty of crimes,’ warns DOJ he won't ‘stay away’ forever
Discussion:
Townhall, Philly.com, Vox, Washington Post, IJR, The Daily Caller and CNN
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Senate panel approves bill to protect special counsel
Senate panel approves bill to protect special counsel
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Common Dreams and Sean Hannity
Rebecca Morin / Politico:
Trump says he may change his mind on not getting involved in DoJ's Russia probe
Trump says he may change his mind on not getting involved in DoJ's Russia probe
Discussion:
ABC News, Associated Press, Hot Air, Politico and Washington Post
Wall Street Journal:
‘Boss, I Miss You So Much’: The Awkward Exile of Michael Cohen — Donald Trump's self-described ‘fixer’ brooded about failing to get a White House post; now under criminal investigation, he has the president's attention — In the 15 months since Donald Trump shut him out of a White House job …
Discussion:
New York Magazine and Political Wire
New York Times:
Bill Cosby Found Guilty of Sexual Assault After Years of Accusations — NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A jury found Bill Cosby guilty Thursday of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home near here 14 years ago, capping the downfall of one of the world's best-known entertainers …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Hot Air, Glamour, Mediaite, The Mahablog, Outside the Beltway, Why Evolution Is True, IJR, Raw Story and Taylor Marsh
RELATED:
Lee Fang / The Intercept:
Secretly Taped Audio Reveals Democratic Leadership Pressuring Progressive to Leave Race — Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives, has for years been a prolific campaigner on behalf of current and potential members of Congress. It was no surprise, then …
Discussion:
Vox, Politico, Common Dreams, Washington Free Beacon and Breitbart
RELATED:
Quint Forgey / Politico:
Trump says Cohen ‘represented me’ in Stormy Daniels scandal — Donald Trump said Thursday that attorney Michael Cohen “represented me” by cutting a deal with porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, after the president previously said he didn't know about the “hush money” payment.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, National Review, Common Dreams, Taylor Marsh and New York Times
RELATED:
Alex Roarty / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Fox, Friends and Trolls: New anti-Pruitt ad to run on Trump's favorite channel
Fox, Friends and Trolls: New anti-Pruitt ad to run on Trump's favorite channel
Discussion:
CNN, CBS Miami and fox13now.com
Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
Attorney Michael Avenatti hints $1.6 million abortion payout was for Trump — not GOP donor
Attorney Michael Avenatti hints $1.6 million abortion payout was for Trump — not GOP donor
Discussion:
The Root
New York Times:
Senate Confirms C.I.A. Chief Mike Pompeo to Be Secretary of State — WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday easily confirmed Mike Pompeo as the nation's 70th secretary of state, elevating the current C.I.A. director and an outspoken foreign policy hawk to be the nation's top diplomat.
Discussion:
National Review, Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, The Root, Political Wire, The Week and Daily Wire
RELATED:
Harper Neidig / The Hill:
Diamond and Silk say under oath they weren't paid by Trump campaign; FEC filings say otherwise — The conservative social media personalities known as Diamond and Silk claimed under oath at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday that they were never paid for their consulting work by President Trump
Discussion:
RedState
RELATED:
Brad Reed / Raw Story:
FLASHBACK: Trump supporters Diamond and Silk were paid $7K to cut campaign ad for Wisconsin neo-Nazi
Kathryn Watson / CBS News:
Pro-Trump social media stars Diamond and Silk offer inaccurate testimony under oath — live updates
Pro-Trump social media stars Diamond and Silk offer inaccurate testimony under oath — live updates
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Splinter, Mediaite and Raw Story
Ashley Gold / Politico:
'We've been censored,' Diamond and Silk tell Congress
'We've been censored,' Diamond and Silk tell Congress
Discussion:
ABC News, Washington Post, The Week, Breitbart and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
The Hill:
House chaplain forced out by Ryan — House Chaplain Patrick Conroy's sudden resignation has sparked a furor on Capitol Hill, with sources in both parties saying he was pushed out by Speaker Paul Ryan — (R-Wis.). — Conroy's own resignation announcement stated that it was done at Ryan's request.
Louis Nelson / Politico:
Trump: Tester has a ‘big price to pay’ over VA nominee's withdrawal — President Donald Trump said Thursday that Sen. Jon Tester should “have a big price to pay” with voters this November for his role in the controversy surrounding Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, who earlier in the day withdrew …
Discussion:
CANNONFIRE, Raw Story, Washington Post, ABC News and Breitbart
RELATED:
Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:
Why Aren't U.S. Liberals Outraged About Alfie Evans? — A British baby's right to life should be clear to everyone. — What the British government is doing to a baby and his family is almost unbelievable. The government has determined that Alfie Evans, afflicted as he is by a rare …
Discussion:
The Guardian, twitchy.com and Louder With Crowder
RELATED:
Rachel Bishop / Mirror.co.uk:
BREAKING: Alfie Evans' father calls on 'Alfie's Army to ‘stand down’ …
BREAKING: Alfie Evans' father calls on 'Alfie's Army to ‘stand down’ …
Discussion:
RedState, National Review, LBC and LifeNews.com
NBC News:
Trump's biggest problem might be the competency question — 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 — WASHINGTON — This morning, President Trump's pick to head the Department …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh and IJR
KMSP:
Explosion at Superior, Wisconsin oil refinery: Multiple injuries, evacuations ordered — Across the harbor from the explosion at Superior, Wisconsin oil refinery — Refinery fire in Superior visible 13 miles away — Superior, Wisconsin oil refinery explosion
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
RELATED:
Lawrence Ferber / New York Post:
New Yorkers are flocking to this Midwest sanctuary — The year was 2012. A native of Columbus, Ohio's Worthington suburb, Bryan Williamson had studied interior design and learned furniture-making in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, while his NJ-born wife, Catherine, miserably slaved away at a public accounting firm.
Washington Post:
The military paid for a study on sea level rise. The results were scary. … More than a thousand low-lying tropical islands risk becoming “uninhabitable” by the middle of the century — or possibly sooner — because of rising sea levels, upending the populations of some island nations …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Climate Impact Lab and Mother Jones
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Bush 41, Trump, and American Decline — George H.W. Bush once vomited on the prime minister of Japan. It was a mortifying but innocent incident, the result of a nasty stomach bug. Donald Trump has spent the last couple of days effectively doing likewise on France's Emmanuel Macron.
Discussion:
Instapundit
Associated Press:
Mattis Breaks With Trump, Says Iran Nuclear Deal Includes ‘Robust’ Verification — Without giving his opinion about whether the U.S. should stick with the agreement, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that after reading the deal three times he was struck by how tough it is
Erik Pedersen / Deadline:
‘Firing Line’: PBS Reloads Public-Affairs Show With Host Margaret Hoover — EXCLUSIVE: PBS is bringing back an iconic property after nearly two decades. The pubcaster said today that a new version of Firing Line, the William F. Buckley-hosted public-affairs show it aired from 1966-99, will premiere in June.
RealClearInvestigations:
Unpacking the Other Clinton-Linked Russia Dossier — A copy of the little-publicized second dossier in the Trump-Russia affair, acquired by RealClearInvestigations, raises new questions about the origins of the Trump investigation, particularly about the role of Clinton partisans and the extent …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, Power Line and Judicial Watch
The Montgomery Advertiser:
Our shame: The sins of our past laid bare for all to see — We were wrong. — On the day when people from across the globe come to our capital city to consider the sordid history of slavery and lynching and try to reconcile the horrors of our past, the Montgomery Advertiser recognizes …
Discussion:
The Root
Megan McArdle / Washington Post:
A farewell to free journalism — Bloomberg, my former employer, is reportedly moving to a paywall. If that turns out to be true, I can't say I'll be surprised. — When I announced that I was leaving Bloomberg View for the Post Opinion section in February, many longtime readers gently reproached …
Kyle Kondik / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
Raising the Ceiling, but Not the Floor, on Potential Democratic House Gains — Playing field widens even as odds of turnover don't change — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — The number of potentially vulnerable Republican seats is growing, and we're adding an extra 10 GOP-held seats to the Likely Republican column this week.
Kevin Robillard / HuffPost:
Here's The White House Questionnaire For GOP Candidates Who Want Trump's Backing — It asks about immigration, Pakistan and trade. — The White House has a few questions for candidates in Republican primaries hoping for President Donald Trump's endorsement. — Do you support ending foreign aid to Pakistan?
Discussion:
Washington Monthly