Top Items:


Why Trump doesn't admit Russian election interference — Was Russia's effort to interfere in the 2016 election the most important issue on the table at President Trump's Helsinki summit with President Vladimir Putin? No. But it's not an unimportant issue either, and Trump knew the American press is obsessed with it.
RELATED:


‘Very much counter to the plan’: Trump defies advisers in embrace of Putin — Administration officials had hoped that maybe, just maybe, Monday's summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladmir Putin would end differently — without a freewheeling 46-minute news conference …
Discussion:
Axios, Talking Points Memo, Dallas Morning News, CNN, Breitbart, The Hill, Hullabaloo, The Atlantic, CBS Miami, NPR, The Week, ABC News, TheBlaze, Shareblue Media, Mother Jones, RedState, RAPPLER, Power Line, Vox and Al Jazeera English


The Trump First Doctrine — Putin respects strength but Trump showed weakness. — Donald Trump left for Europe a week ago with his reputation enhanced by a strong Supreme Court nomination. He returned Monday with that reputation diminished after a tumultuous week of indulging what amounts to the Trump First Doctrine.


Come home, Ambassador Huntsman, your country needs you — Ambassador Huntsman, you work for a pawn, not a president. It's time to come home. — There is no other reasonable course of action to take after Monday's disgraceful joint news conference with President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Discussion:
Fox News


Trump officials embarrassed by Putin show — President Trump sucking up to Vladamir Putin after the summit in Helsinki yesterday was such an unbelievable, indelible moment that many deflated White House officials didn't even bother to defend or explain it. — Between the lines …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Common Dreams, Political Wire and CBS San Francisco


What Critics Missed About the Trump-Putin Summit — When Presidents Trump and Vladimir Putin ended their joint press conference in Helsinki, the punditocracy predictably swarmed all over it like ants around a pile of crumbs. Was Trump winking at Putin? Did he really say he believes Putin …
Discussion:
Grabien News, The Hill and The Daily Beast


Maria Bartiromo: Trump's Presser ‘Was Probably the Low Point’ of His Presidency — Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo, usually a staunch defender of President Donald Trump, criticized him for his widely panned press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.


The Republican Party Is Now the Blame America Party … At some point in the last week or so, “Make America Great Again” became “Blame America First.” — What we saw on Monday from Helsinki is why conservatives (like me) can't back Trump—even with two Supreme Court picks.
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, TheBlaze and Washington Post


Putin tussles with Chris Wallace in Fox interview — Russian President Vladimir Putin sparred Monday with Fox News anchor Chris Wallace over allegations that the Kremlin sought to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, with Putin declining to address the contents of a federal indictment …
Discussion:
Washington Post and Politico


Trump Shows the World He's Putin's Lackey — Maybe the president is exactly as compromised as he looks. — No matter how low your expectations for the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Monday, it was hard not to be staggered by the American president's slavish and toadying performance.
Discussion:
USA Today, Shareblue Media, NYLON, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Daily Kos, Real Clear Politics and Spectator USA


Trump's Own Team: He ‘Looked Incredibly Weak’ Next to Putin … Donald Trump's much-anticipated meeting with Vladimir Putin on Monday offered him yet another opportunity to defy those who've criticized his coziness with the Russian leader. — But on a global stage, Trump didn't just cower …
Discussion:
Bustle, Splinter, Joe.My.God., POLITICUSUSA, WEEK-TV and Vox

Putin eats Trump's lunch in Helsinki — This is no way to win against Russia
Discussion:
New York Times, Test Feed Using Fields, Mediaite, Meduza.io, The Atlantic, mccain.senate.gov and Raw Story

Trump Sheds All Notions of How a President Should Conduct Himself Abroad
Discussion:
1A, Washington Post, Townhall, Politico, Mediaite, The Guardian, CNN, fox8.com, Bustle, Al Jazeera English, Breitbart, France 24, The Moderate Voice, NewsBusters and HuffPost

Fox News's Chris Wallace gives Putin the grilling Trump won't
Discussion:
RedState, Fox News Insider, Fox News, Patterico's Pontifications and Vox

Rand finds lots to like in Trump's presser with Putin
Discussion:
National Review, Townhall, CNN, MSNBC, Joe.My.God., @thebudgetguy, Daily Kos, New York Times and Washington Post

We just watched a U.S. president acting on behalf of a hostile power
Discussion:
CNN, New York Magazine and NewsBusters

Trump surprised at fierce criticism of Putin news conference
Discussion:
Hot Air, Splinter and Test Feed Using Fields


Trump's Appeasement Summit with Putin
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Federalist, NBC News, BBC, Fox News, Joe.My.God. and The American Spectator

Donald Trump Is Fulfilling All of Those Obama Conspiracy Theories
Discussion:
BloombergQuint and HuffPost

Putin's poodle: Trump sells out U.S. intelligence agencies with the world watching
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Guardian, The Week and Mediaite

Mariia Butina, Who Sought ‘Back Channel’ Meeting for Trump and Putin, Is Charged as Russian Agent

Trump just colluded with Russia. Openly.
Discussion:
Breitbart, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, Defense One, BloombergQuint and The Mahablog

Russian National Charged in Conspiracy to Act as an Agent of the Russian Federation Within the United States
Discussion:
The Intercept, Washington Post, NPR, The Week, Daily Kos, Lawfare, BuzzFeed, CNN, Splinter, Hot Air, Jamie Dupree - AJC, The Trace, Roll Call, Sputnik International, Vox, HuffPost, Washington Monthly, The Gateway Pundit, Balloon Juice, emptywheel, twitchy.com, TheBlaze, National Review, The Guardian, RT, Bustle, Law & Crime, WGN-TV, Joe.My.God. and CANNONFIRE

A New Servility — Donald Trump's atrocious performance …
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Magazine, Washington Post and Axios

Diplomacy 101 Versus Politics Writ Small
Discussion:
Power Line, NPR and Politico

Trump replaces national pride with personal vanity
Discussion:
CBS News, Front Page Magazine and The Daily Beast

Putin's view triumphs in Helsinki as Trump questions U.S. intelligence
Discussion:
Political Wire, Axios, USA Today, NorthJersey.com and Law & Crime


I Was a White House Stenographer. Trump Wasn't a Fan. — On Friday, at a news conference with Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain a reporter asked President Trump about disparaging comments he had made about her to The Sun newspaper. He denied ever having said them and declared …
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:


Protests erupt outside of White House as Trump returns from Putin summit — as he returned from his summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday, with dozens gathering outside the White House and yelling “traitor” late into the night. — The impromptu protest …
Discussion:
twitchy.com and Joe.My.God.


Video Montage: Cable News Sees the Apocalypse in Trump/Putin Summit
Discussion:
The Federalist, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Wire

After Trump-Putin Summit, The Pearl-Clutching Media Is A Laughingstock
Discussion:
National Review

Watchdog: First lady spokeswoman may have violated Hatch Act with ‘MAGA’ tweet
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mediaite, RedState and USA Today


MGM Resorts Sues Victims of Las Vegas Mass Shooting — MGM Resorts International has reportedly filed federal lawsuits against hundreds of victims of last year's mass shooting in Las Vegas in an apparent bid to pre-empt any compensation claims. MGM, which owns the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino …
Discussion:
Las Vegas Review-Journal, Joe.My.God. and Law & Crime


Trump's ‘Missing DNC Server’ Is Neither Missing Nor a Server … Donald Trump turns to right-wing conspiracy theories when he's cornered, and he was cornered on Monday. Standing feet away from Vladimir Putin at a press conference following their Helsinki tete-a-tete, a reporter challenged Trump …
Discussion:
Politifact.com Truth …, Motherboard and Gizmodo


One Country, Two Radically Different Narratives — The United States is one country, but Americans are living in two separate worlds. — In one version of America, the country is headed in the totally wrong direction. Billionaires control politics. Foreign governments meddle in elections.
RELATED:


U.S. Treasury moves to protect identities of ‘dark money’ political donors — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury said on Monday that it will no longer require certain tax-exempt organizations including politically active nonprofit groups, such as the National Rifle Association and Planned Parenthood …
Discussion:
Axios

Legal Experts Say Manafort Could Be Cutting Plea Deal as Judge Suddenly Delays Proceedings — The judge overseeing Paul Manafort's federal court case on charges of tax evasion and bank fraud in Virginia delayed proceedings in a surprise move on Monday afternoon.
Discussion:
Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA and CANNONFIRE


Publishing Executives Argue Facebook Is Overly Deferential to Conservatives — Critique comes just before social-media executives are to appear before House committee — At a private meeting late last week, some publishing executives criticized Facebook Inc. FB -.04% for being overly accommodating …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo