Top Items:
NBC News:
Feds tapped Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's phones — Federal investigators have wiretapped the phone lines of Michael Cohen, the longtime personal lawyer for President Donald Trump who is under investigation for a payment he made to an adult film star who alleged she had an affair with Trump …
Discussion:
The Hill, Vox, ThinkProgress, National Review, RedState, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Above the Law, The Western Journal, emptywheel, IJR, Washington Press, Splinter, HuffPost, VICE News, The Week, Balloon Juice, The Root, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., twitchy.com, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh and Daily Wire
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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, Talking Points Memo and Breitbart
Washington Post:
Giuliani: Trump repaid attorney Cohen for Stormy Daniels settlement … Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor and a recent addition to President Trump's legal team, said Wednesday night that Trump made a series of payments reimbursing his attorney Michael Cohen for a $130,000 settlement …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Vox, New York Times, CNN, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Shareblue Media, Raw Story, Fox News, Mediaite, The Atlantic, Politico, The Daily Beast, Washington Press, The American Conservative, The Week, Balloon Juice, Axios, Splinter, MSNBC, Washington Times, Daily Wire, Joe.My.God. and Breitbart
CNN:
Trump, Giuliani strategizing leaves White House in the dark — (CNN)Rudy Giuliani's cable rollout as a member of President Donald Trump's legal team, and the torrent of statements he made Wednesday night, caught many in the White House offguard and flat-footed, highlighting the continued chaotic nature …
Discussion:
Political Wire and KTLA
Fox News Insider:
Judge Nap: Giuliani's Claim That Trump Didn't Know About Stormy Daniels Payment Is ‘Unworthy of Belief’ — Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday said that President Trump reimbursed his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, the $130,000 that Cohen paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange …
Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:
Giuliani follows up disastrous Hannity appearance with equally damaging Fox & Friends spot — A day after contradicting Donald Trump's and longtime Trump general counsel Michael Cohen's claims that the president knew nothing about Cohen's payments to Stormy Daniels, Rudy Giuliani contradicted himself in a Fox & Friends interview.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, USA Today, Mediaite, Booman Tribune, Vox, Outside the Beltway, Joe.My.God., IJR and twitchy.com
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:
Politico, The Atlantic, CNN, NPR, The Mahablog, Wall Street Journal and Breitbart
Eileen Sullivan / New York Times:
Trump Says Payment to Stormy Daniels Did Not Violate Campaign Laws — WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday directly contradicted his earlier statements that he knew of no payment to Stormy Daniels, the pornographic film actress who says she had an affair with Mr. Trump.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Common Cause, Shareblue Media, Washington Post, RedState, Roll Call, CBS Los Angeles and CNN
Eddie Scarry / Washington Examiner:
CNN does live segment on Stormy Daniels at White House prayer event — CNN aired a segment on porn actress Stormy Daniels live from the White House just as an event recognizing religious freedom began. — President Trump recognized Thursday as the “National Day of Prayer” …
Discussion:
Townhall and twitchy.com
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.
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:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Vox and Balloon Juice
New York Times:
Giuliani Says Trump Repaid Cohen for Stormy Daniels Hush Money
Giuliani Says Trump Repaid Cohen for Stormy Daniels Hush Money
Discussion:
CNBC, Political Wire, NBC News, New York Magazine, ThinkProgress, The Week, Mother Jones, Daily Kos, Common Dreams, POLITICUSUSA, Hullabaloo, AOL, HuffPost, JustOneMinute, Washington Free Beacon, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, Patterico's Pontifications, Politico, Washington Press, IJR, Joe.My.God., twitchy.com, TheBlaze, Washington Times, Althouse and The Daily Caller
Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
Fox & Friends Grills Giuliani on Stormy Daniels Payment: ‘Sounds Like the Story is Changing’
Fox & Friends Grills Giuliani on Stormy Daniels Payment: ‘Sounds Like the Story is Changing’
Discussion:
Vox, The Week, Boing Boing, twitchy.com, Political Wire and Splinter
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The question underlying Giuliani's very unusual explanation of how Trump repaid Michael Cohen
The question underlying Giuliani's very unusual explanation of how Trump repaid Michael Cohen
Discussion:
New York Times, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite
Dan Balz / Washington Post:
The president and his attorney didn't tell the truth. Now Giuliani has. Will that change anything?
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Feds tapped phones of Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and caught one call with White House: NBC News
Richard L. Hasen / Slate:
Rudy Giuliani May Have Just Implicated President Trump In Serious Campaign Finance Violations
Rudy Giuliani May Have Just Implicated President Trump In Serious Campaign Finance Violations
Discussion:
Bloomberg, New York Times, Washington Post, Hot Air, New York Magazine, Shakesville, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, BuzzFeed and VICE News
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The blatant coverup of Trump's Stormy Daniels payment
The blatant coverup of Trump's Stormy Daniels payment
Discussion:
ABC News, Sputnik International, The Guardian and Deadline
Wall Street Journal:
Giuliani Says Trump Repaid Cohen for Stormy Daniels Payment
Giuliani Says Trump Repaid Cohen for Stormy Daniels Payment
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Raw Story, New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog, KTLA and The Week
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:
Political Wire and Joe.My.God.
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Manu Raju / CNN:
Michael Caputo says 'it's clear' Mueller investigators focused on Russia collusion
Michael Caputo says 'it's clear' Mueller investigators focused on Russia collusion
Discussion:
Salon, Hullabaloo, IJR, Raw Story, Splinter, POLITICUSUSA, Power Line and Daily Mail
New York Times:
Pruitt's Coziness With Lobbyists Includes Secretly Buying a House With One — Since moving to Washington, Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has attracted the attention of federal investigators because of his unusual association with lobbyists …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and The Root
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Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Another Top EPA Official Is Leaving, Sources Say — Liz Bowman's exit follows two other departures just this week — At least 10 federal investigations target EPA Chief Pruitt — A third top EPA official is leaving the agency amid intensifying scrutiny of Administrator Scott Pruitt's travel, spending and condo rental.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Elaina Plott / The Atlantic:
A Pruitt Aide's Attack on Zinke Angers the White House
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:
Joe.My.God., The Real Deal New York and TheBlaze
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David A. Fahrenthold / Washington Post:
Judge rules New York condo board may remove ‘Trump’ name
Judge rules New York condo board may remove ‘Trump’ name
Discussion:
Political Wire, New Century Times, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.
Washington Post:
Charlie Rose's misconduct was widespread at CBS and three managers were warned, investigation finds … Incidents of sexual misconduct by Charlie Rose were far more numerous than previously known, according to a new investigation by The Washington Post, which also found three occasions …
Discussion:
Breitbart, NBC News, Hot Air, Refinery29, CBS Los Angeles, TheBlaze, Daily Wire, CBS New York, The Daily Caller, Gothamist, TVNewser, Shakesville, The Week, Mediaite, Eschaton and AOL, more at Mediagazer »
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:
Washington Post, NBC News, TheBlaze, Washington Free Beacon, twitchy.com and The Daily Caller
New York Times:
Army Green Berets Secretly Help Saudis Combat Threat From Yemen Rebels — WASHINGTON — For years, the American military has sought to distance itself from a brutal civil war in Yemen, where Saudi-led forces are battling rebels who pose no direct threat to the United States.
Discussion:
Defense One, The Week and The Daily Caller
Kit Chellel / Bloomberg:
The Gambler Who Cracked the Horse-Racing Code — Bill Benter did the impossible: He wrote an algorithm that couldn't lose at the track. Close to a billion dollars later, he tells his story for the first time. — Horse racing is something like a religion in Hong Kong, whose citizens bet more than anyone else on Earth.
Eric Lichtblau / TIME:
The FBI Is in Crisis and America Is Paying the Price — Former FBI Director James Comey leaves a Senate hearing on June 8, 2017, after testifying about Donald Trump Stephen Voss — In normal times, the televisions are humming at the FBI's 56 field offices nationwide, piping in the latest news as agents work their investigations.
Perry Stein / Washington Post:
Three black teens are finalists in a NASA competition. Hackers spewing racism tried to ruin their odds. … The three D.C. students couldn't believe the news. They'd developed a method to purify lead-contaminated water in school drinking fountains, and NASA announced last month …
Discussion:
Shakesville
Ron Elving / NPR:
Exclusive Audio: In New Memoir, Sen. John McCain Rests His Case — EXCLUSIVE AUDIO: John McCain Reads From ‘The Restless Wave’ — Anyone who has followed the saga of Sen. John McCain or ever reacted with emotion to his words or actions will recognize the man speaking in this valedictory volume.
Discussion:
Mediaite
Julia Reinstein / BuzzFeed:
The Boston Marathon Will Now Award Prize Money To Top Female Runners After A BuzzFeed Story — A fifth place runner — who typically would've won $15,000 — was not paid due to differing rules between the men's and women's races. That's changing after a BuzzFeed News report sparked outrage.
Discussion:
Vox
Gordon Lubold / Wall Street Journal:
Laser from Chinese Base Aimed at U.S. Military Pilots In Africa's Skies, Pentagon Charges — Incidents in recent weeks increase tensions, threaten Flight safety, U.S. says — WASHINGTON—Chinese military personnel are targeting American flight crews in the skies over the east African nation …
Discussion:
Zero Hedge, The Daily Caller and globaltimes.cn
Politico:
Corker-Blackburn drama risks must-win Senate seat for GOP — The GOP incumbent's kind words for former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen have given centrist Republicans tacit permission to break ranks. — Republicans are increasingly unnerved by the rift between retiring Sen. Bob Corker and Marsha Blackburn …
Discussion:
Washington Post
New York Times:
Kelly Finds Himself in a Familiar Place in the Trump White House: Eyeing the Exits — WASHINGTON — When President Trump learned this week that his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, reportedly called him “an idiot” on several occasions, he expressed little in the way of frustration or anger …
Discussion:
IJR, CBS Boston, New York Magazine, Axios and Deadspin
Matt Robinson / Bloomberg:
Jay-Z Draws Subpoena for Refusing to Cooperate in SEC Probe — Agency is seeking rapper's testimony in probe of Iconix — Iconix has written down Rocawear after buying from Jay-Z — Jay-Z is in hot water with Wall Street's top regulator. — The hip-hop mogul …
Nancy Kaffer / Detroit Free Press:
Here's why Michigan Medicaid work requirements will kill people | Kaffer — Michigan Sen. Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City) represents Cheybogan County, where unemployment is high, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics: around 20.9% in February.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Vox and ACA Signups