Top Items:
NBC News:
Feds monitored Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's phones — EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier today, NBC News reported that there was a wiretap on the phones of Michael Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal attorney, citing two separate sources with knowledge of the legal proceedings involving Cohen.
Discussion:
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Washington Post:
‘I was going to get this over with’: Inside Giuliani's explosive Stormy Daniels revelation — He may have had a strategy, but Rudolph W. Giuliani hatched it almost entirely in secret. — The White House counsel had no idea. Neither did the White House chief of staff …
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, CNN, The Daily Beast, New Republic, Talking Points Memo, The Week and Breitbart
Niall Stanage / The Hill:
EXCLUSIVE: Giuliani calls for Sessions to ‘step in’ on Cohen investigation — Rudy Giuliani called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions — to intervene in the Michael Cohen case and put the people behind the probe “under investigation” in a phone call with The Hill on Thursday.
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Raw Story, Washington Post, Political Wire, CNN, Joe.My.God., IJR, Washington Times, Daily Wire, Mediaite and The Week
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Giuliani: I Don't Believe That Michael Cohen Was Wiretapped … President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said on Thursday he doubted the veracity of a bombshell NBC News report from earlier in the day that federal authorities wiretapped the president's longtime counsel, Michael Cohen.
Discussion:
Mediaite, CBS News, Vox, CNN, The Western Journal, New York Times, IJR, Breitbart, Washington Post, emptywheel, Washington Press, Raw Story, The Week, courthousenews.com, Joe.My.God. and HuffPost
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders basically just blamed Trump for misleading her … Almost nobody was aware Rudolph W. Giuliani was going to blow up the Stormy Daniels situation Wednesday night, and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed Thursday that this included her.
Discussion:
New York Times, Politico, New Century Times and Breitbart
Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:
NBC News corrects explosive story on Michael Cohen — NBC News on Thursday afternoon corrected an explosive story it had reported earlier in the day that said federal authorities had wiretapped Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer. — The correction was announced on MSNBC during …
Discussion:
Shakesville
Anna North / Vox:
Donald Trump just tweeted out the rich man's guide to buying women's silence — His tweets make clear how men with money can avoid any repercussions for their actions. — If anyone in America still needed an explanation of how rich people use their money to silence others, President Donald Trump has you covered.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Mahablog, Politico and Breitbart
Fox News Insider:
Judge Nap: Giuliani's Claim That Trump Didn't Know About Stormy Daniels Payment Is ‘Unworthy of Belief’
Judge Nap: Giuliani's Claim That Trump Didn't Know About Stormy Daniels Payment Is ‘Unworthy of Belief’
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Rudes in Twilight — I've heard from a lot of people …
Rudes in Twilight — I've heard from a lot of people …
Discussion:
USA Today, No More Mister Nice Blog, Vox and Balloon Juice
CNN:
Trump, Giuliani strategizing leaves White House in the dark
Trump, Giuliani strategizing leaves White House in the dark
Discussion:
KTLA, The Week and Political Wire
Jordan Libowitz / CREW:
CREW Supplements Criminal, Ethics Complaint on Stormy Daniels Payment
CREW Supplements Criminal, Ethics Complaint on Stormy Daniels Payment
Discussion:
CNN, Mother Jones, New York Times, Washington Press and Fox News
Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Trump and his attorney didn't tell the truth, if Giuliani is right. Will that change anything?
Eileen Sullivan / New York Times:
Trump Says Payment to Stormy Daniels Did Not Violate Campaign Laws
Trump Says Payment to Stormy Daniels Did Not Violate Campaign Laws
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNBC, TIME, Common Cause, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Slate, Wall Street Journal, NY State of Politics, CNN, Mediaite, Raw Story and Hot Air
Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:
Giuliani follows up disastrous Hannity appearance with equally damaging Fox & Friends spot
Giuliani follows up disastrous Hannity appearance with equally damaging Fox & Friends spot
Discussion:
USA Today, Mediaite, Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, Vox, Joe.My.God., IJR and twitchy.com
Washington Post:
Giuliani: Trump repaid attorney Cohen for Stormy Daniels settlement
Giuliani: Trump repaid attorney Cohen for Stormy Daniels settlement
Discussion:
NBC News, MSNBC, CNN, Hot Air, Mediaite, New York Times, Media Matters for America, New York Magazine, Little Green Footballs, Fox News, Shareblue Media, The Atlantic, Vox, Raw Story, ThinkProgress, The Daily Beast, Daily Wire, twitchy.com, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Washington Press, Splinter, Balloon Juice, The American Conservative, Politico and Outside the Beltway
Quint Forgey / Politico:
White House's Sanders says she learned ‘last night’ that Trump repaid Michael Cohen
White House's Sanders says she learned ‘last night’ that Trump repaid Michael Cohen
Discussion:
Washington Post, ABC News and The Week
Eddie Scarry / Washington Examiner:
CNN does live segment on Stormy Daniels at White House prayer event
CNN does live segment on Stormy Daniels at White House prayer event
Discussion:
The Western Journal, Townhall, twitchy.com and IJR
Elaina Plott / The Atlantic:
A Pruitt Aide's Attack on Zinke Angers the White House — As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt faces a seemingly endless stream of scandal, his team is scrambling to divert the spotlight to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. And the White House isn't happy about it.
Discussion:
Vox, Mother Jones, Political Wire, Jezebel, The Week, Daily Kos, Joe.My.God. and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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New York Times:
Pruitt's Coziness With Lobbyists Includes Secretly Buying a House With One
Pruitt's Coziness With Lobbyists Includes Secretly Buying a House With One
Discussion:
CNN
Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Another Top EPA Official Is Leaving, Sources Say
Another Top EPA Official Is Leaving, Sources Say
Discussion:
Political Wire
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
House chaplain rescinds resignation after furor over his ouster by Ryan … The Rev. Patrick J. Conroy, the House chaplain who announced his resignation under pressure last month, informed Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) Thursday that he wanted to rescind his offer and remain in his position at least through the end of this year.
Discussion:
Politico, ThinkProgress, Vox, Townhall, Axios, CNN, NBC News, HuffPost, Shareblue Media, The Daily Caller, The Week, Joe.My.God. and Splinter
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Washington Post:
House chaplain rescinds resignation after furor over Speaker Paul D. Ryan's decision to force out the Catholic priest — In a two-page letter, the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy informed Ryan that he gave in to pressure from the speaker's staff when he agreed in mid-April to resign …
Discussion:
The Hill, Political Wire and Daily Kos
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Special counsel Robert Mueller focusing sharply on links between Trump confidant Roger Stone and former campaign official Rick Gates, sources say — Special counsel Robert Mueller is focusing intensely on alleged interactions between former top Trump campaign official Rick Gates and political operative Roger Stone.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and Political Wire
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Brandi Buchman / courthousenews.com:
Mueller Seeks 70 Blank Subpoenas in Manafort Case — Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Thursday filed a request for 70 blank subpoenas in the Virginia court presiding over one of two criminal proceedings involving former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. — Strike Ends as Arizona Raises Teacher Pay
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
Twitter:
Keeping your account secure — When you set a password for your Twitter account, we use technology that masks it so no one at the company can see it. We recently identified a bug that stored passwords unmasked in an internal log. We have fixed the bug, and our investigation shows no indication of breach or misuse by anyone.
Discussion:
RedState, Reuters, France 24, Politico, BuzzFeed, abc13.com, twitchy.com, KTLA, East Bay Times, Vox, The Guardian, The FADER, WPIX 11 New York, WGN-TV, New York Magazine, Breitbart, FOX31 Denver, The Verge, The Daily Caller, Gizmodo, 9to5Mac, Joe.My.God., Engadget, CBS Los Angeles, The Week, WINK NEWS, CBS Boston, Mashable and CBS Philly, more at Mediagazer »
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Heather Kelly / CNNMoney:
Twitter says all 336 million users should change their passwords
Twitter says all 336 million users should change their passwords
Discussion:
Mediaite
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Blankenship goes after McConnell's ‘China family’ in new ad — West Virginia GOP Senate hopeful Don Blankenship is amping up his racial attacks on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with a new ad declaring, “Swamp captain Mitch McConnell has created millions of jobs for China people.”
Discussion:
Townhall, Mother Jones, Joe.My.God. and The Daily Caller
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Dan Merica / CNN:
Trump's son urges West Virginia Republicans to reject Blankenship
Trump's son urges West Virginia Republicans to reject Blankenship
Discussion:
The Week
CNN:
Pruitt reimbursed himself $65,000 from Oklahoma attorney general campaign — Pruitt target of at least 11 federal probes — (CNN)A CNN analysis has found that embattled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt paid himself nearly $65,000 in reimbursements from his two campaigns …
Ashley Feinberg / HuffPost:
Leak: The Atlantic Had A Meeting About Kevin Williamson. It Was A Liberal Self-Reckoning. — In a staff meeting, Jeffrey Goldberg and Ta-Nehisi Coates discussed the hiring and firing of a conservative writer. But it wound up being about a lot more than that.
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Alan Dershowitz Hired as Harvey Weinstein Consultant — The Harvard Law professor is helping the embattled movie mogul get “exclupatory” emails from The Weinstein Co. — Alan Dershowitz may not want to jump aboard Donald Trump's legal team, but apparently, he has no qualms with advising Harvey Weinstein's legal team.
Discussion:
Mediaite
David French / National Review:
An Open Letter to Trump's Evangelical Defenders — A Christian's primary purpose is not to defend his own religious liberty. It's not even to fight abortion — as vital as that task is. His basic task on this Earth isn't protecting Christian education or preserving the freedom of Christian artists.
The Texas Tribune:
Hysteria over Jade Helm exercise in Texas was fueled by Russians, former CIA director says — Gov. Greg Abbott's decision in 2015 to ask the Texas State Guard to monitor a federal military exercise prompted significant criticism. A former CIA director said Wednesday that the move emboldened Russians to next target elections.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and The Guardian
Eric Swalwell / USA Today:
Ban assault weapons, buy them back, go after resisters: Ex-prosecutor in Congress — Ban assault weapons and buy them back. It might cost $15 billion, but we can afford it. Consider it an investment in our most important right, the right to live. — Gary Jackson never stood a chance.
Discussion:
Townhall, Louder With Crowder, Washington Post, IJR, NBC News, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, twitchy.com and Washington Free Beacon
Howard Kurtz / Fox News:
Trump eyes Lewandowski for Kelly's job amid White House infighting — ‘MediaBuzz’ host Howard Kurtz weighs in on the possibility of Corey Lewandowski returning to the Trump team, perhaps as the next chief of staff. — There are growing whispers that if John Kelly is eased out or bails …
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Daily Caller
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Kelly Mclaughlin / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: Corey Lewandowski's lawyers fire off demand letter to New York Magazine claiming …
EXCLUSIVE: Corey Lewandowski's lawyers fire off demand letter to New York Magazine claiming …
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Daily Caller
Washington Post:
Rep. Tony Cárdenas denies lawsuit's allegations of child sex abuse in 2007 — Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.) identified himself as the subject of a lawsuit in Los Angeles County claiming a local politician sexually abused a 16-year-old girl in 2007, and he vehemently denied the allegations through his attorney.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Tamar Auber / Mediaite:
Neil Cavuto Calls Out Trump on His Pattern of False Statements: 'Mr. President, That's Your Swamp' — During a monologue on his Fox News show Thursday, Neil Cavuto called out President Donald Trump for railing against “fake news” while constantly giving them ammunition with his inconsistent and often contradictory statements.
Charles V. Bagli / New York Times:
Trump Place Does Not Have to be a Forever Name, Judge Says — Over the opposition of lawyers for a company owned by President Donald J. Trump, State Supreme Court Judge Eileen Bransten ruled Thursday that a condominium on the Upper West Side could remove the bronze letters spelling out his name from its 46-story building.
Discussion:
Washington Post, VICE News, The Real Deal New York, TheBlaze and Joe.My.God.
David Brody / CBN News:
'There's Prayer on a Regular Basis in This White House': Mike Pence on Religious Freedom, Praying for Jerusalem — WASHINGTON - After President Donald Trump held a celebration for the National Day of Prayer in the Rose Garden, and signed an executive order setting up a new faith-based office …
Discussion:
The Stream
Steven Perlberg / BuzzFeed:
A New Book On Hillary Clinton Has Reporters Angry At The New York Times — Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images — At a book party Tuesday evening, reporters and editors at the New York Times toasted the publication of Chasing Hillary, a rollicking new memoir by Amy Chozick …
Discussion:
Mediaite and twitchy.com
Patrick Tucker / Defense One:
A Criminal Gang Used a Drone Swarm To Obstruct an FBI Hostage Raid — And that's just one of the ways bad guys are putting drones to use, law enforcement officials say. — DENVER, Colorado — Last winter, on the outskirts of a large U.S. city, an FBI Hostage Rescue Team set …
Kylie Atwood / CBS News:
U.S. freezes funding for Syria's “White Helmets” — Less than two months ago the State Department hosted members of the White Helmets at Foggy Bottom. At the time, the humanitarian group was showered with praise for saving lives in Syria. — “Our meetings in March were very positive.
Monmouth University Polling Institute:
Dems +8 On House Ballot — McConnell, Schumer, Ryan, Pelosi viewed negatively — West Long Branch, NJ - Democrats hold an 8 point lead over Republicans in the generic House ballot as public opinion on the new tax reform law continues to be divided. The Monmouth University Poll also finds …
Discussion:
Vox