Top Items:
NBC News:
Feds monitored Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's phones — CORRECTION: 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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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:
Raw Story, Mediaite and Political Wire
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:
HuffPost, Washington Post, Politico, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., IJR, Daily Wire, Hot Air, Washington Times, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and The Week
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 …
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:
Political Wire, Breitbart, IJR and Raw Story
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump lives out his LBJ fantasy: no chief of staff
Trump lives out his LBJ fantasy: no chief of staff
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico and The Week
Washington Post:
Analysts: Giuliani's media blitz gives investigators new leads, new evidence
Analysts: Giuliani's media blitz gives investigators new leads, new evidence
Discussion:
The Atlantic, New York Times, Vox and Jezebel
New York Times:
The Legal Issues Raised by the Stormy Daniels Payment, Explained
The Legal Issues Raised by the Stormy Daniels Payment, Explained
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and ThinkProgress
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
MSNBC Issues HUGE Correction To Michael Cohen ‘Wiretap’ Story
MSNBC Issues HUGE Correction To Michael Cohen ‘Wiretap’ Story
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Post, twitchy.com, ThinkProgress, The Western Journal, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, IJR and Vox
Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
Welcome To The Giuliani Phase Of The Trump Presidency
Welcome To The Giuliani Phase Of The Trump Presidency
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, Breitbart and Talking Points Memo
New York Times:
Giuliani May Have Exposed Trump to New Legal and Political Perils
Giuliani May Have Exposed Trump to New Legal and Political Perils
Discussion:
CNBC, ABC News and Common Cause
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Giuliani: I Don't Believe That Michael Cohen Was Wiretapped
Giuliani: I Don't Believe That Michael Cohen Was Wiretapped
Discussion:
Mediaite, CBS News, HuffPost, The Western Journal, Breitbart, Washington Post, CANNONFIRE, Townhall, CNN, Joe.My.God., IJR, Raw Story, The Week, CNBC, courthousenews.com, The Stream, MSNBC and emptywheel
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders basically just blamed Trump for misleading her
Sarah Huckabee Sanders basically just blamed Trump for misleading her
Discussion:
Politico, New Century Times, Breitbart and New York Times
John Santucci / ABC News:
Giuliani believes ‘50/50’ chance Mueller subpoenas President Trump
Giuliani believes ‘50/50’ chance Mueller subpoenas President Trump
Discussion:
Washington Press, Mediaite, Political Wire and CNN
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:
Talking Points Memo, The Week, Political Wire and POLITICUSUSA, more at Mediagazer »
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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:
Politico, Washington Press, Vox, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, New York Times, Jezebel, Joe.My.God., Political Wire and The Week
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.
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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 …
Discussion:
CNN, Just Security, KTLA, VICE News, The Hill, Reuters, Bloomberg, New York Magazine, CNBC, HuffPost, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, New York Post and Axios
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.
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.
Rep. Louie Gohmert / LifeZette:
40 Questions Special Counsel Robert Mueller Needs to Answer Now — A Republican lawmaker contends the prosecutor has a lot to explain about his present job and prior posts as well — A firestorm was ignited earlier this week when The New York Times published a list of 40 questions …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Instapundit and The Nation
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Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Special counsel Robert Mueller focusing sharply on links between Trump confidant Roger Stone …
Special counsel Robert Mueller focusing sharply on links between Trump confidant Roger Stone …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, Political Wire and Joe.My.God.
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:
HuffPost, MSNBC, The Hill, Politico, NBC News, Hullabaloo, New York Magazine, Washington Press, Shareblue Media, ThinkProgress, Vox, The Daily Caller, Townhall, Axios, The Week, Splinter, CNN, Joe.My.God. and NY State of Politics
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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:
Deadline, Raw Story, Splinter, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Mediaite
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.
Discussion:
The American Conservative and Mediaite
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:
The Daily Beast, Balloon Juice, Snopes.com, The Guardian, ThinkProgress and Off the Kuff
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.
New York Times:
No 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, Panel Says 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:
Politico and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »
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 …
Avery Anapol / The Hill:
Detroit radio station boycotting Kanye West music after controversial comments — A hip-hop and R&B radio station in Detroit has decided to stop playing Kanye West's music after the rapper's controversial remarks about slavery. — On-air DJs BIGG and Shay Shay at Detroit's 105.1 …
Discussion:
Detroit Metro Times, The Daily Caller and 105.1 The Bounce, more at Mediagazer »
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
Azeen Ghorayshi / BuzzFeed:
New York City Just Announced It Will Open Safe Injection Sites — New York is now the fourth city in the US to announce it will open sites for people to inject illegal drugs. None currently exist in the US. — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday evening that the city …
Discussion:
Front Page Magazine
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 …
Justin Elliott / ProPublica:
Whoops! Jared Kushner Made Even More Mistakes in His Federal Filings — It keeps happening. Jared Kushner filed the wrong information about two of his loans in Brooklyn. He has had to update his disclosure form at least 40 times. — Jared Kushner's ethics disclosure filing misstated …