Top Items:
Ed Silverman / STAT:
Trump's lawyer pitched himself as a fixer to Novartis and got paid $1.2 million — T — he curious relationship between one of the world's biggest drug makers and President Trump's personal lawyer began early last year when Michael Cohen, a longtime fixer for the president …
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Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Avenatti Accuses The Wrong Michael Cohens Of Making ‘Fraudulent’ Payments — Michael Avenatti, porn star Stormy Daniels' lawyer, released a seven-page dossier on Tuesday containing a list of payments purportedly made to Michael Cohen, the lawyer for President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Washington Times, Haaretz, twitchy.com, The Right Scoop, The Political Insider, Conservative News Today and Daily Wire
CNN:
Inside Michael Cohen's aggressive pitch promising access to Trump — Analyst: This is the swampiest of swampy — (CNN)Michael Cohen served loyally as Donald Trump's right-hand man for more than a decade, taking care of anything and everything the New York real estate baron needed to get done.
Discussion:
The Federalist, Hot Air and Raw Story
Justin Elliott / ProPublica:
Russian Oligarch-Linked Firm That Paid Michael Cohen Was Also Represented by Trump Lawyer Marc Kasowitz — The news on Tuesday that the same shell company that Michael Cohen, a longtime personal lawyer for Donald Trump, had used to pay $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels had also received …
Discussion:
Axios, RedState, New Republic, NPR, VICE News, New York Times and Above the Law
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Novartis paid Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen more than $1 million for work he was unable to do, company says — Drug giant Novartis paid President Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen more than $1 million for work that he actually ended up being “unable” to do, the company said Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, USA Today, Reuters, Breitbart, Jamie Dupree - AJC, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Vox, Political Wire, Daily Kos, Little Green Footballs, twitchy.com, Politico, New York Times and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »
Washington Post:
Treasury inspector general launches probe into possible leak of Michael Cohen's banking records — The Treasury Department's inspector general is investigating whether confidential banking information related to a company controlled by President Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen may have been leaked, a spokesman said.
Discussion:
Politico, ABC News, Axios, Washington Press, IJR and Talking Points Memo
Brian Bennett / TIME:
Trump Told His Lawyers He Knows Nothing About Michael Cohen's Business — President Trump told his lawyers on Tuesday night he didn't know about payments made to his personal attorney by a Russian oligarch and businesses lobbying the federal government. — After the payments were revealed …
NBC News:
Stormy lawyer: Transactions suggest Cohen was ‘selling access’ to Trump
Stormy lawyer: Transactions suggest Cohen was ‘selling access’ to Trump
Discussion:
Washington Post, ThinkProgress, CNBC, Crooked Media, Motherboard, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Bustle, Daily Wire, Shakesville, MSNBC and The Week
Margaret Talev / Bloomberg:
Giuliani Says Trump Was ‘Unaware’ of Cohen's Consulting Income
CNBC:
AT&T paid Trump lawyer Michael Cohen up to $600,000 for ‘understanding inner workings’ of the president: Source
AT&T paid Trump lawyer Michael Cohen up to $600,000 for ‘understanding inner workings’ of the president: Source
Discussion:
New York Times
Amanda Terkel / HuffPost:
Michael Cohen Was Selling Access To Trump, Says Group That Paid Into His Shell Company
Michael Cohen Was Selling Access To Trump, Says Group That Paid Into His Shell Company
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reuters, Fox News, STAT and Jezebel
Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
The Special Counsel's Office Has Been Looking Into Payments To Michael Cohen's Company Since Last Year
The Special Counsel's Office Has Been Looking Into Payments To Michael Cohen's Company Since Last Year
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Political Wire
Brian Flood / Fox News:
New York Times slams AWOL Pompeo, then learns he was rescuing Americans — As the New York Times was bashing Mike Pompeo for being missing in action while President Trump tore up the Iran nuclear deal, it turned out the secretary of state was busy rescuing three Americans who have been held captive in North Korea.
Discussion:
New York Times, CNBC, Washington Post, The Guardian, NBC News, Axios, Fox News Insider and Daily Wire, more at Mediagazer »
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CNN:
Trump officials prepare for Singapore summit with North Korea
Trump officials prepare for Singapore summit with North Korea
Discussion:
The Week, The Right Scoop and Bustle
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Can Trump's efforts at foreign policy breakthroughs erase damage of scandals at home?
Can Trump's efforts at foreign policy breakthroughs erase damage of scandals at home?
Discussion:
CBS Denver and IJR
Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:
McCain Confirms He Gave Trump Dossier to Comey: ‘Duty Demanded I Do’ It … In his new book, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) confirms that he gave a controversial dossier about President Trump to former FBI chief James Comey. — “I agreed to receive a copy of what is now referred to as 'the dossier …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Political Wire, Washington Times and Mediaite
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Lawyer Helped Recruit Corporate Client With Ties to Kushner Probe — U.S. Immigration Fund LLC, which supplied Chinese investors to Kushner Cos., is among clients Michael Cohen delivered to Squire Patton Boggs — President Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen helped a law …
Discussion:
Washington Post
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Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:
Law Firm That Partnered With Michael Cohen Says Shell Company Work Was A Side Hustle
Law Firm That Partnered With Michael Cohen Says Shell Company Work Was A Side Hustle
Discussion:
Fight for the Future
mccain.senate.gov:
STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON THE NOMINATION OF GINA HASPEL TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE CIA — Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on the nomination of Gina Haspel to be Director of the CIA:
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Mattias / Leah Vukmir:
While 9/11 mastermind calls for obstruction of Haspel nomination, Baldwin stays silent
While 9/11 mastermind calls for obstruction of Haspel nomination, Baldwin stays silent
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and New York Times
Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
‘She Should Have Fought Back. Other People Did’: Inside Gina Haspel's Black Site
‘She Should Have Fought Back. Other People Did’: Inside Gina Haspel's Black Site
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Cipher Brief, CNN, Politico, ABC News, ProPublica, Hit & Run, Breitbart, Sputnik International, Media Matters for America, Mother Jones, Splinter, Jezebel, The Week and RedState
CNN:
CNN poll: Democrats' 2018 advantage is nearly gone — CNN Poll: Trump approval holding steady — Washington (CNN)The generic congressional ballot has continued to tighten, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, with the Democrats' edge over Republicans within the poll's margin of sampling error for the first time this cycle.
Discussion:
RedState, National Review, American Greatness, Washington Post, The Daily Caller and Axios
CNNMoney:
Salem executives pressured radio hosts to cover Trump more positively, emails show — Executives at Salem Media Group, a conservative media company that syndicates some of the country's most recognized talk radio hosts and operates a batch of popular commentary websites …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Haaretz:
Iranian Force Launches Missiles at Golan; Syria Says Intercepted Rockets Launched by Israel — In first, army attributes attack on Israeli territory to Iran Golan residents requested to stay in shelters until warning lifted Syrian reports claim Israel struck regime targets in Golan Heights
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Washington Post:
Nunes sought all documents on person described as longtime intelligence source — A subpoena that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) issued to the Justice Department last week made a broad request for all documents about an individual who people close to the matter …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, CNN, Daily Kos, Politico and The Week
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Phil Owen / The Wrap:
Colbert Goes Off on Trump Over Iran Nuclear Deal: ‘You Literally Just Backed Out of an American Promise’ (Video) — Host was not having Trump's excuses on Tuesday's episode of “The Late Show” — Tuesday was a fairly routine day for the Trump administration, and when I say that I mean …
Discussion:
twitchy.com
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Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Trump's new Iran strategy succeeds or fails in Syria
Trump's new Iran strategy succeeds or fails in Syria
Discussion:
Brookings, BBC and Common Dreams
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Special Counsel Mueller's Team Questioned Blackwater Founder Erik Prince … Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team has spoken with Blackwater founder Erik Prince, two sources familiar with the matter tell The Daily Beast. It was not immediately clear what questions Mueller's team …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God., Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos
Emily Peck / HuffPost:
Town & Country Magazine Uninvited Monica Lewinsky From An Event Because Of Bill Clinton — Lewinsky seemingly referred to the situation in a tweet Wednesday. — Town & Country magazine disinvited Monica Lewinsky from its annual philanthropic summit on Wednesday because Bill Clinton was attending, HuffPost has learned.
Discussion:
New York Post, Vox, The Root, Bustle, RedState, Townhall, Mashable, Jezebel, IJR, Daily Wire, Mediaite and The Daily Caller
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Trump is no longer the worst person in government … Donald Trump, with his feral cunning, knew. The oleaginous Mike Pence, with his talent for toadyism and appetite for obsequiousness, could, Trump knew, become America's most repulsive public figure. And Pence, who has reached this pinnacle …
Lauren Weber / HuffPost:
Head Of White House Global Health Security Leaves Amid Ebola Outbreak — Rear Adm. Tim Ziemer is among the departures since John Bolton became head of the National Security Council. — Rear Adm. Tim Ziemer, the head of global health security on the White House's National Security Council, left the Trump administration on Tuesday.
Britton O'Daly / Yale Daily News:
Black student reported to YPD for napping in dormitory common room — Yale Police officers on Monday evening interrogated a black graduate student, Lolade Siyonbola GRD '19, for more than 15 minutes, after a white graduate student reported Siyonbola to the police for sleeping in the HGS common room.
Discussion:
The Root, Refinery29 and theGrio
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Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: Steve Bannon was target of bribery plot by top Qatari who invested in Ice Cube's basketball league to get to Trump's strategist and boasted ‘Mike Flynn took our money’, rapper claims in court — Rapper Ice Cube claims that he and his basketball league BIG3 were targeted …
Alex Roarty / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Is Krystal Ball's PAC a fresh approach or a get-rich scheme? — A new Democratic group — one with support from Democratic congressmen and three of the biggest names in the tech industry — is testing the boundary between a new approach to politics and a self-enriching scam.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon
Eric Geller / Politico:
Bolton pushing to eliminate White House cyber job — The move could send the message ‘that the U.S. is taking the gas pedal off of cybersecurity,’ one former NSC official says. — President Donald Trump's national security team is weighing the elimination of the top White House cybersecurity job …
Peter Hamby / Vanity Fair:
“People Get Subpoenas, Shit Gets Real”: What John Edwards Should Teach the Media About Covering Trump — If you were in Las Vegas and could win $1 million by placing a simple prop bet on whether Trump enjoyed some pee play with Russian hookers in Moscow in 2013, would you bet yes or no?
Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:
Congresswoman close to soldier killed in Niger raises suspicions about Pentagon investigation … A congresswoman close to the family of a U.S. soldier whose remains were not recovered for more than a day after he was killed in Niger last year raised suspicions Wednesday about a Pentagon investigation due to be released.
Benjamin Siegel / ABC News:
House Democrats obtain new documents from estate of GOP operative in Russia inquiry — Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have received new materials from the estate of Peter Smith, a GOP operative who reportedly led a campaign to obtain missing Hillary Clinton emails …