Top Items:
Eileen Sullivan / New York Times:
Trump Undercuts Giuliani About Payments to Stormy Daniels — WASHINGTON — President Trump undercut his attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, on Friday, and said the former New York mayor will eventually get the facts right regarding a payment to a pornographic actress who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump.
Discussion:
Political Wire and TIME
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Wall Street Journal:
The Stormy Daniels Damage — Does Trump want Americans to believe him in a genuine crisis? — Most storms pass eventually. This week Donald Trump tried to ensure that Stormy Daniels doesn't rain down permanent distraction on his Presidency, though at the cost of further damage to his credibility.
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Hot Air, Mediaite, Raw Story and Political Wire
NBC News:
Rudy Giuliani insists Trump wasn't aware of Stormy Daniels reimbursement until recently — Giuliani said when he found out, the president responded “'Oh my goodness, I guess that's what it was for.'” — President Donald Trump only recently found out that he reimbursed his personal attorney …
Discussion:
Townhall, ThinkProgress, Philly.com, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Shareblue Media, DCReport.org and Political Wire
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Rudy Giuliani tries to clean up his hubris-inspired mess … Update: And now Trump suggesting Giuliani got his Cohen story wrong, too. “Rudy is a great guy, but he just started a day ago,” Trump said. “He's working hard, learning the subject matter.” Trump added: “He'll get his facts straight. ...
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Washington Press and CNN
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump lives out his LBJ fantasy: no chief of staff — LBJ withheld the title of chief of staff from his top aides, and President Trump is now living out that fantasy even with John Kelly in the building. — As part of his exasperation with being handled, Trump has taken to telling friends that …
Discussion:
Washington Post, ABC News, Politico and MSNBC
Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Trump walks back Giuliani: 'He'll get his facts straight' — (CNN)President Donald Trump said Friday his new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is “a great guy” and “he'll get his facts straight.” — Giuliani gave a series of interviews this week, including claiming Trump had paid back his lawyer Michael Cohen …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God. and New Century Times
Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
MSNBC's Deutsch: Michael Cohen Told Me Giuliani 'Doesn't Know What He's Talking About'
MSNBC's Deutsch: Michael Cohen Told Me Giuliani 'Doesn't Know What He's Talking About'
Discussion:
Bloomberg
NBC News:
Democrats might have a better chance to flip the Senate than you think
Democrats might have a better chance to flip the Senate than you think
Discussion:
The Guardian, Daily Kos, Political Wire and MSNBC
Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump's loyal outsiders elbow Kelly out
Trump's loyal outsiders elbow Kelly out
Discussion:
Axios, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos and Washington Post
Cristiano Lima / Politico:
Trump says Giuliani will ‘get his facts straight’
Trump says Giuliani will ‘get his facts straight’
Discussion:
RedState, Washington Monthly, Breitbart and Splinter
Alayna Treene / Axios:
Trump: I'd “love” to be interviewed by Mueller
Trump: I'd “love” to be interviewed by Mueller
Discussion:
Politico and Associated Press
Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Federal judge in Virginia grills special counsel on Manafort investigation … A federal judge in Virginia on Friday grilled lawyers from the office of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about the motivations for bringing a bank and tax fraud case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
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Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Judge challenges Mueller's actions in Manafort case — A federal judge sharply challenged Special Counsel Robert Mueller's prosecution team Friday, questioning how its indictment of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on financial charges relates to Mueller's core mandate …
Jake Gibson / Fox News:
Federal judge accuses Mueller's team of ‘lying,’ trying to target Trump: 'C'mon man!' — Giuliani: Mueller investigation should be dismissed — A federal judge on Friday harshly rebuked Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team during a hearing for ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort …
Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:
U.S. judge questions special counsel's powers in Manafort case
U.S. judge questions special counsel's powers in Manafort case
Discussion:
Instapundit
Rep. Louie Gohmert / LifeZette:
40 Questions Special Counsel Robert Mueller Needs to Answer Now
40 Questions Special Counsel Robert Mueller Needs to Answer Now
Discussion:
Feeds, Talking Points Memo and Instapundit
Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:
Why the Justice Department Is Defiant — A House subpoena, another missed deadline. What is the department hiding? — The feud that has simmered for months between Congress and the Justice Department erupted this week into a cage match. That's because the House is homing in on the goods.
RELATED:
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
Donald Trump's Pursuit of an Oval Office Meeting with Vladimir Putin — Inside the mystery behind the President's surprise invitation to Russia's leader, and his team's struggle to figure out what to do about it. — Late on Monday evening, the Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, started making calls to European allies.
Washington Post:
Influential outsiders have played a key role in Scott Pruitt's foreign travel … Scott Pruitt's itinerary for a February trip to Israel was remarkable by any standard for an Environmental Protection Agency administrator: A stop at a controversial Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
Discussion:
HuffPost, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, The Week, Splinter, CBS News, CNN, Political Wire, New York Times and POLITICUSUSA
RELATED:
Elaina Plott / The Atlantic:
A Pruitt Aide's Attack on Zinke Angers the White House
A Pruitt Aide's Attack on Zinke Angers the White House
Discussion:
Washington Post, MSNBC, Associated Press, CBS News, Politico, Weekly Standard, Daily Kos, Vox, Jezebel and The Week
The Daily Beast:
Report: Qatar Just Bought $6.5M Apartment in Trump Property — Qatar's mission to the United Nations bought an apartment valued at $6.5 million in New York's Trump World Tower on Jan. 17, one month after a judge ruled that President Donald Trump was not violating the Emoluments Clause …
RELATED:
New York Times:
2018 Nobel Prize in Literature Postponed Amid Sexual Abuse Scandal — STOCKHOLM — The Swedish panel that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature said on Friday that it would take the extraordinary step of not naming a laureate this year — not because of a shortage of deserving writers …
Discussion:
BBC, New Republic, Svenska Akademien, Jezebel, Althouse, CNN, Washington Post and Politico, more at Mediagazer »
Nathaniel Meyersohn / CNNMoney:
Unemployment is below 4% for the first time since 2000 — The job market hasn't been this good in a very long time. — The unemployment rate dropped below 4% in April for the first time since 2000. The Labor Department reported Friday that it fell to 3.9% — inching closer to territory not seen in half a century.
Discussion:
Grabien News, twitchy.com and CBS San Francisco
RELATED:
Lucia Mutikani / Reuters:
U.S. job growth rebounds modestly; unemployment rate hits 3.9 percent
U.S. job growth rebounds modestly; unemployment rate hits 3.9 percent
Discussion:
IJR
Mark Landler / New York Times:
Trump Orders Pentagon to Consider Reducing U.S. Forces in South Korea — WASHINGTON — President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare options for drawing down American troops in South Korea, just weeks before he holds a landmark meeting with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un …
RELATED:
New York Times:
They Voted for Obama, Then Went for Trump. Can Democrats Win Them Back? — RITTMAN, Ohio — In the daily race that is her life, Sharla Baker does not think about politics very much. — She rises early, drives to the gas station to buy coffee, feeds her baby, dresses her two other children …
Adam B. Schiff / New York Times:
Democrats: Don't Take the Bait on Impeachment — In 2010, as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, I led the effort to impeach a federal judge from New Orleans named Thomas Porteous Jr. He was accused of multiple acts of corruption, some of which preceded his appointment to the federal bench …
Discussion:
National Review
Washington Post:
Behind Erik Prince's China venture — The Blackwater founder has cut a lucrative security-training deal with Chinese insiders. But is it against U.S. interests? — Beijing's International Security Defense College, which boasts of becoming “the largest private security training school in China …
Justin Miller / The Texas Observer:
How Greg Abbott Got Played by the Russians During His Jade Helm Freakout — Texas Governor Greg Abbott's willingness to pander to the manic extremism broadcast through AM radio airwaves and streamed on the margins of YouTube apparently has him playing right into the hands of Russian disinformation campaigns.
Discussion:
The Guardian
RELATED:
CBS Chicago:
Deputy Consul General Of Israel Allegedly Forced Out Of Uber Ride For Speaking Hebrew On Phone — CHICAGO (CBS) - The Deputy Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, Itay Milner, says he was ten minutes into his Uber ride on Lower Wacker Drive Thursday night when he was thrown out by the driver.
Discussion:
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Meagan Flynn / Washington Post:
Fox's Cavuto to Trump: 'That's your stink. Mr. President, that's your swamp.' … Fox News host Neil Cavuto ripped into President Trump's trail of conflicting and false statements in a monologue on Thursday, targeting Trump for everything from the Stormy Daniels payment to his exaggerations …
Discussion:
RedState, Fox News Insider, Politico, Hullabaloo, The Daily Beast and Breitbart
Billy House / Bloomberg:
House Republicans Prepare to Endorse Trump's Military Parade — Lawmakers say it would honor ‘a century of military service’ — President called for a parade after seeing one in France — House Republicans are preparing to endorse President Donald Trump's plan for a military parade …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Lingling Wei / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. and China Make Scant Progress in Trade Talks — High-level talks in Beijing end without joint comment after both sides exchange lists of tough demands — BEIJING—The U.S. and China asked one another to make sweeping concessions in trade talks, failing to bridge sharp divisions …
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNNMoney, Financial Times, CNBC, Axios, NTK Network and New York Times
Reuel Marc Gerecht / The Atlantic:
The Iran Deal Is Strategically and Morally Absurd — Editor's Note: This article is part of a debate about whether to stay in the Iran deal. Read the other entries here. — It was surely Barack Obama's profound aversion to the use of American military power that so enfeebled …
Discussion:
Power Line
Nian Hu / INSIDER:
A black woman says she was removed from a plane because flight attendants believed she had a contagious disease — and she's accusing the airline of racism — Jeanne Lehman, a black woman from Edmonton, was removed from an Air Canada flight because crew members believed she had a contagious disease.
Discussion:
Atlanta Black Star, The Root, TheBlaze and Raw Story