Donald Trump and Sean Hannity Like to Talk Before Bedtime  —  Life inside the bunker of Fox News' resident Trumplegänger.  —  Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images (Trump head); Rob Kim/Getty Images (Hannity head); NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images (phone)

White House Aide's Plan to Stop Leaks: Spy on His Co-Workers … A former National Security Council official now working for Attorney General Jeff Sessions explored ways to surreptitiously monitor the communications of White House staff for leaks or perceived political disloyalty to Donald Trump …

White House leakers leak about leaking  —  This White House leaks like there's no tomorrow.  —  The big picture: The leaks come in all shapes and sizes: small leaks, real-time leaks, weaponized leaks, historical leaks.  Sensitive Oval Office conversations have leaked, and so have talks in cabinet meetings and the Situation Room.

He Was a Tireless Critic of the Iran Deal.  Now He Insists He Wanted to Save It.  —  WASHINGTON — While many hands gripped the sword that undercut the Iran nuclear deal, no one outside the Trump administration was a more persistent or effective critic than Mark Dubowitz, the chief executive of a hawkish Washington think tank.

Trump says US will help penalized Chinese company  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — In a surprising overture to China, President Donald Trump said Sunday he would help a Chinese telecommunications company get “back into business,” saying too many jobs in China are at stake after the U.S. government cut off access to its American suppliers.

Michael Cohen's D.C. Consulting Career: Scattershot, With Mixed Success  —  Pitching himself as the president's lawyer to companies expecting a Clinton win, Mr. Cohen won AT&T and Novartis but was spurned by Ford and Uber  —  When Michael Cohen came knocking after the 2016 election …    SL 

Qatari Investor Accused in Bribery Plot Appears With Michael Cohen in Picture Posted by Stormy Daniels' Lawyer  —  Members of the Trump transition team appear to have met on December 12, 2016 with a group from Qatar that included Ahmed Al-Rumaihi, the former Qatari diplomat and current head …

Kudlow brings kill 'em with kindness approach to White House  —  He's trying to avoid the collapse of NAFTA and a trade war with China by seeking consensus and sticking close to Trump.  —  Larry Kudlow thinks he can steer Donald Trump's chaotic White House away from economic disaster by being the nicest guy in the West Wing.

Mueller's Investigation Crosses the Legal Line  —  It's unconstitutional under Morrison v. Olson—the decision, not the dissent.  —  Judge T.S. Ellis has expressed skepticism about the scope of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.  “What we don't want in this country is …    SL 

Trying for House Gains, Democrats Bless Moderates and Annoy Liberals  —  CONWAY, Ark. — To many Democratic leaders, the path to power in Washington looks like Clarke Tucker.  —  He supports the Affordable Care Act, but not a single-payer system.  He signals misgivings about Nancy Pelosi as the next House speaker.

‘Buckle up’: As Mueller probe enters second year, Trump and allies go on war footing … The grand jury witnesses arrive one by one at the windowless room in the federal courthouse on Constitution Avenue in downtown Washington.  They are struck first by how commonplace the setting feels …

All the problems at NBC News aren't just coincidence.  They're symptoms.  —  As months go, this has been a terrible one for NBC News.  Among the low points:  —  The ace reporter whose work the network's management couldn't seem to support adequately — Ronan Farrow — broke another huge story for the competitor he fled to.

As Israel Celebrates Dream of Independence, Many See Nightmare Taking Shape  —  JERUSALEM — When Israel declared its independence in 1948, President Harry Truman rushed to recognize it.  He took just 11 minutes, and Israelis, about to go to war to defend their infant state, were euphoric.

Trump is more popular than Dems want to admit  —  It's time for the Democrats to stop bashing President Trump.  —  It's not going to be easy, given his policies and personality.  It might even mean checking into a 12-step program.  But setting a winning agenda is like maneuvering an aircraft carrier.

Jerusalem soccer team to be renamed ‘Beitar Trump’  —  Controversial sports team permanently rebrands itself in honor of US president recognizing Israel's capital and moving embassy  —  Jerusalem's largest soccer club announced Sunday that it has changed its name to “Beitar Trump Jerusalem …

Trump's decision to blow up the Iran deal is a massive attack on Europe  —  Few ideas are as holy in President Trump's international liturgy as the concept of national sovereignty.  His National Security Strategy speaks of a “beautiful vision—a world of strong, sovereign, and independent nations …

Jake Tapper: ‘The very notion of empirical fact is being attacked and corroded’  —  Washington (CNN)CNN's Jake Tapper urged graduating students to be kind to one another and to be critical and independent thinkers in a commencement speech at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Education Department Unwinds Unit Investigating Fraud at For-Profits  —  WASHINGTON — Members of a special team at the Education Department that had been investigating widespread abuses by for-profit colleges have been marginalized, reassigned or instructed to focus on other matters, according to current and former employees.

When Mahathir Met Mandela.  And Regan.  And Suharto.  And Soros  —  At the age of 92 Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad has burst back onto the world's political scene, 15 years after slipping into retirement.  With the world's eyes on the probe into the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal …

‘A rogue state’  —  As California defies federal immigration policy, calling itself a sanctuary, the state's conservatives are pushing back  —  For nearly two decades, Alameda County sheriff's Sgt. Don Laventure has kept inmate records at what was once one of the nation's largest jails …

Surest Way to Face Marijuana Charges in New York: Be Black or Hispanic  —  The police explanation that more black and Hispanic people are arrested on marijuana charges because complaints are high in their neighborhoods doesn't hold up to scrutiny.  —  They sit in courtroom pews …

Apple CEO Lauds Gun-Control Activists; Jabs at Google, Facebook  — Fearlessness a major theme of Cook address to Duke graduates  — Cook went to Duke's business school three decades ago  —  Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook waded into divisive political topics such as gun control …

No apology forthcoming for 'he's dying anyway' quip about McCain … Advisers to President Trump paid tribute Sunday to the long service of Sen. John McCain but stopped short of apologizing to him for a cruel remark by a White House communications aide about the Arizona Republican's battle with brain cancer.

The Senate Democrats who keep saying no to Trump nominees  —  A handful of Senate Democrats are committed to opposing President Trump's executive branch nominations at every turn — and the group bears an uncanny resemblance to the rumored 2020 frontrunners.

Axios of weasel  —  Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei are two of the three founders of the news site Axios.  Allen came out of Politico via the Washington Post; VandeHei had co-founded Politico after work at the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.  They are heavy hitters in the news business.