Top Items:
The Guardian:
Revealed: Trump team hired spy firm for ‘dirty ops’ on Iran arms deal — Israeli agency told to find incriminating material on Obama diplomats who negotiated deal with Tehran — Aides to Donald Trump, the US president, hired an Israeli private intelligence agency to orchestrate a “dirty ops” …
RELATED:
Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:
Giuliani: Trump is ‘committed to’ regime change in Iran
Giuliani: Trump is ‘committed to’ regime change in Iran
Discussion:
The Times of IsraelEric …, Talking Points Memo, The Week, The American Conservative and Politico
Justin Fishel / ABC News:
Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani won't rule out that president could take the Fifth Amendment in Russia probe — President Donald Trump's top personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said he can't rule out the possibility of the president taking the Fifth Amendment if he testifies in the Russia investigation.
Discussion:
Political Wire and Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
The Naked Truth About Trump — WASHINGTON — Before I get to America's Mayor and America's Nightmare, I would like to say this: — Michelle Wolf was right when she turned a gimlet eye on the media. — “You guys are obsessed with Trump,” the comedian said at the White House Correspondents Dinner.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Vanity Fair and AOL
Associated Press:
Trump attorney not ruling out his taking the 5th Amendment — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's new attorney won't rule out the possibility that the president would assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the swirling Russia investigation.
Morgan Gstalter / The Hill:
McCain says he regrets picking Palin as running mate — (R-Ariz.) said he regrets choosing former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to be his running mate during the 2008 presidential campaign. — The New York Times reported on Saturday that McCain, while still defending Palin's performance …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God., New York Magazine, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
McCain doesn't want Trump at funeral, friends tell White House — WASHINGTON — People close to Sen. John McCain have told the White House that the ailing Arizona Republican does not want President Donald Trump to attend his funeral and would like Vice President Mike Pence to come instead …
Discussion:
USA Today, Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, Conservative News Today, The Hill, RedState, Mediaite, CNN, AOL, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Raw Story and New York Times
Frank Bruni / New York Times:
John McCain Battles Donald Trump With His Dying Breaths — Senator Lindsey Graham once described his friend John McCain as someone who would “run across the street to get in a good fight.” — McCain's final battle came straight to him. — I'm not talking about the one against brain cancer …
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
McCain's inner circle planning on having Pence, not Trump, at funeral: report
McCain's inner circle planning on having Pence, not Trump, at funeral: report
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Jezebel, Axios and The Gateway Pundit
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Blankenship surging on eve of West Virginia Senate primary — There is growing concern among Republicans that Don Blankenship, a bombastic coal baron who has spent time in prison, is surging ahead of Tuesday's West Virginia Senate primary — and a last-minute campaign is underway to stop him.
RELATED:
Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
Early GOP primaries shaping up as rightward march with Trump
Early GOP primaries shaping up as rightward march with Trump
Discussion:
RedState and Political Wire
Salena Zito / New York Post:
The 2016 election was far from a fluke — America's political experts got it wrong in 2016 — not because they took too few polls, but because they made the false assumption that American elections are immune to societal change. — They are, in large part, still getting things wrong …
Discussion:
twitchy.com
Jonathan Cohn / HuffPost:
This Is The Toughest Gun Law In America — Reformers love what Massachusetts is doing. The NRA? Not so much. — NEWTON, Mass. A thirtysomething man sought to buy a rifle here last September, and if he had been living in almost any other part of the country, he could have done so easily.
Associated Press:
APNewsBreak: Mueller team questions Trump friend Tom Barrack — WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller have interviewed one of President Donald Trump's closest friends and confidants, California real estate investor Tom Barrack, The Associated Press has learned.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, CNN, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Vox, Washington Press, Axios, Hullabaloo, Political Wire and Mediaite
RELATED:
Anna Sanders / New York Post:
Rosie O'Donnell's campaign donations to Dems went over legal limit — Rosie O'Donnell made illegally over-sized campaign donations to at least five Democratic federal candidates, according to a Post analysis of campaign filings. — The liberal comedian has regularly broken Federal Election …
Discussion:
Conservative News Today, The Daily Caller, Deadline and Front Page Magazine
Greg B. Smith / New York Daily News:
EXCLUSIVE: Former NYC media player finds himself living in homeless shelter after life took ‘unfathomable’ downward spiral — Once upon a time in New York City, Sherman Jackson lived at the glittering heights of public life in a privileged place of bold-faced names and media stars.
Jonathan Karl / ABC News:
Trump's coming war on Mueller: ANALYSIS — With the shakeup of the president's legal team, he is now all-in on a new strategy to deal with special counsel Robert Mueller: fight, delay, vilify. — The legal strategy dovetails with the Trump team's political strategy: rallying the base …
New York Times:
How Michael Cohen, Trump's Fixer, Built a Shadowy Business Empire — He was a personal-injury lawyer who often worked out of taxi offices scattered around New York City. — There was the one above the run-down auto repair garage on West 16th Street in Manhattan, on the edge of the Meatpacking District before it turned trendy.
Travis M. Andrews / Washington Post:
SNL brings in Ben Stiller, Scarlett Johansson, Stormy Daniels and more for star-studded cold open … Now, that was a cold open. — Ben Stiller, Martin Short, Jimmy Fallon, Scarlett Johansson, Alec Baldwin and Stormy Daniels herself all showed up for one of the more star-studded cold opens …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and The Week
Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Carville: Clinton unlikely to run again but she's ‘always gotten the most votes’ — Democratic strategist James Carville says that Hillary Clinton — is unlikely to seek political office again, but remarked that “she's never run an election where she didn't get the most votes.”
Discussion:
Political Wire
Vianna Davila / The Seattle Times:
Fury, frustration erupt over Seattle's proposed head tax for homelessness services — A day after Amazon's surprise announcement regarding a proposed new business tax for homelessness services, flare-ups of opposition show deep frustration with Seattle's handling of the crisis.
Bill Cummings / Connecticut Post:
Popular vote for president passes General Assembly — HARTFORD — The General Assembly on Saturday agreed to join a compact with 10 other states to use the national popular vote to elect a president. — “When you change our system, it takes thoughtful debate and moments when people …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:
Trump callously plays games with families of hostages: ‘Stay tuned!’ — Like a deranged showman, Trump is turning hostage negotiations with North Korea into a high-stakes reality show. — As the White House works to secure the release of three Americans held hostage by North Korea …
Discussion:
NBC News and Talking Points Memo
Scott Johnson / Power Line:
Mueller's got a secret — The transcript of the hearing before Judge Ellis on Paul Manafort's motion to dismiss the indictment pending against him in the case transferred to the Eastern District of Virginia has been posted online here and probably elsewhere.
Discussion:
Conservative News Today, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Gateway Pundit