Top Items:
Michael Isikoff / Yahoo News:
Mueller preparing end game for Russia investigation — WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller's prosecutors have told defense lawyers in recent weeks that they are “tying up loose ends” in their investigation, providing the clearest clues yet that the long-running probe into Russia's interference …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Shakesville, Fox News Insider, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Taylor Marsh, KBZK, POLITICUSUSA and Axios
RELATED:
Adam Schiff / USA Today:
Trump is compromised. What else is he hiding and who else knows about it? — Now we know Trump, like Flynn, was compromised by the Russians. Was the Moscow deal their only financial leverage over the president, or is there more? — CONNECT — For more than a century …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Salon and Law & Crime
Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:
Why Michael Cohen, Trump's Fixer, Confessed to It All — Of all of President Trump's former associates who have come under scrutiny in the special counsel's Russia investigation, his former personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, has undertaken perhaps the most surprising and risky legal strategy.
Discussion:
The Crime Report
Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:
Mueller's office to recommend sentencing for ex-Trump aide Flynn — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office will make a sentencing recommendation for former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Tuesday, in a court filing that is expected to shed light …
Discussion:
Political Wire and Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
Mike Flynn Report Expected to Shed Light on Mueller Probe — Filing Tuesday could say how the former Trump aide has helped the Russia investigation — WASHINGTON—A new filing Tuesday is expected to detail how former Trump adviser Mike Flynn has been helping federal investigators since pleading guilty …
Discussion:
CNBC
USA Today:
Maybe now we know why Donald Trump won't criticize Vladimir Putin: Today's talker — President Donald Trump called for ex-lawyer Michael Cohen to receive a long prison sentence for his admitted crimes. Trump also accused special counsel Robert Mueller of seeking “lies” from witnesses.
Discussion:
The Guardian, HuffPost, Raw Story and LifeZette
Washington Post:
Did Trump obstruct justice in public on Monday?
Did Trump obstruct justice in public on Monday?
Discussion:
CNN, Lawfare and New York Daily News
NBC News:
Think President Trump seems rattled now? There may be more to come
Think President Trump seems rattled now? There may be more to come
Discussion:
Political Wire, Washington Post, RAPPLER, New York Times and Hot Air
Deanna Paul / Washington Post:
Trump's latest tweets cross clear lines, experts say: Obstruction of justice and witness tampering
Trump's latest tweets cross clear lines, experts say: Obstruction of justice and witness tampering
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Law & Crime, Breitbart, The Week, Mediaite, The Guardian and Vox
Elie Honig / CNN:
Mueller is about to have his say — in a big way
John Ziegler / Mediaite:
Here's What Trump's ‘Cult 45’ Refuses to Understand About the Michael Cohen Revelations
Allan Smith / NBC News:
Trump hailed Roger Stone for standing up to Mueller. Some legal experts said that's tampering.
Trump hailed Roger Stone for standing up to Mueller. Some legal experts said that's tampering.
Discussion:
Washington Post, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite and The Guardian
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Republicans plan vote Tuesday on curbing powers of Gov.-elect Tony Evers, limiting early voting — MADISON - Wisconsin lawmakers are set to take up plans Tuesday to diminish the powers of the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general that brought opponents to the state Capitol this week …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and NPR
RELATED:
Donald P. Moynihan / Washington Post:
Wisconsin Republicans are trying to subvert the will of the voters. They're part of a larger trend.
Wisconsin Republicans are trying to subvert the will of the voters. They're part of a larger trend.
Scott Bauer / Associated Press:
Wisconsin Republicans forge ahead with power-stripping bills
Wisconsin Republicans forge ahead with power-stripping bills
Discussion:
NBC News, Beloit Daily News, Hullabaloo, The Week, Washington Post, Feeds, CBS Chicago, Political Wire and American Prospect
Arlette Saenz / CNN:
Joe Biden believes he is the “most qualified person in the country to be president” — Biden: We must reset our nation's moral compass — (CNN)During a stop for his book tour in Missoula, Montana, Monday night, former Vice President Joe Biden discussed his 2020 prospects …
Discussion:
Politico, Political Wire, Louder With Crowder, Mediaite, The Week, Outside the Beltway and Contemptor
RELATED:
John Wagner / Washington Post:
Biden says he's ‘the most qualified person in the country’ to be president — Former vice president Joe Biden said Monday that he considers himself “the most qualified person in the country” to be president and that he would make a decision about moving forward with a 2020 bid in the next two months.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
Biden: ‘I think I am the most qualified person in the country to be president’
Biden: ‘I think I am the most qualified person in the country to be president’
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller
Joe Bruno / WSOC-TV:
Channel 9 uncovers similarities between absentee ballots in U.S. House District 9 race — BLADEN COUNTY, N.C. - Channel 9 was back in Bladen County, North Carolina Monday, tracking down people involved in the controversy surrounding mail-in-absentee ballots in the U.S. House District 9 election.
Discussion:
Jamie Dupree - AJC, TheBlaze, Political Wire and Popular Information
RELATED:
Washington Post:
North Carolina election-fraud investigation centers on operative with criminal history who worked for GOP congressional candidate — DUBLIN, N.C. — In a low-slung, aging commercial strip across the street from an online-gaming parlor here, a local operative named Leslie McCrae Dowless ran …
Discussion:
WSOC-TV and POLITICUSUSA
Ruth Graham / Slate:
Don't Spend Your Emotional Energy on Sully H.W. Bush — In January 2009, a pilot named Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger steered his struggling aircraft to a safe landing in the Hudson River and became a national hero. Almost 10 years later, a dog named for the pilot has become a beloved “hero” …
Jolyon Maugham / The Guardian:
Britain can legally cancel Brexit. That's EU advice - but will parliament agree? — A senior adviser to the EU court of justice has said the UK can revoke article 50. The path to remain is hard - but now clearer — We can cancel Brexit. That's what the advocate general to the court …
RELATED:
Zoya Sheftalovich / Politico:
EU top judge: UK can unilaterally withdraw Article 50
EU top judge: UK can unilaterally withdraw Article 50
Discussion:
Al Jazeera and One America News Network
New York Times:
Manafort Tried to Broker Deal With Ecuador to Hand Assange Over to U.S. … GLOBAL ECONOMY — Despite Trade Truce, Trump Chooses Hard-Liner for Talks With China … Wynn Resorts was one of the biggest beneficiaries from the trade truce between the U.S. and China.
Discussion:
emptywheel, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, CNN, RT, Axios and CNBC
Salvador Rizzo / Washington Post:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's $21 trillion mistake — “$21 TRILLION of Pentagon financial transactions ‘could not be traced, documented, or explained.’ $21T in Pentagon accounting errors. Medicare for All costs ~$32T. That means 66% of Medicare for All could have been funded already by the Pentagon.”
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Free Beacon, twitchy.com, Politifact.com Truth …, RedState, Vox, Townhall, Hot Air and The Daily Caller
Kate Riga / Associated Press:
With State Official's Fate Looking Grim, NH Could Lose First In Nation Status — CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The longtime protector of the New Hampshire presidential primary could get ousted by the Legislature this week despite concerns from his supporters that replacing him could jeopardize the state's coveted first-in-the-nation status.
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Trump handles Bush's death with abnormal normality — A taboo-busting president who has often trashed the Bush clan observes traditional norms of etiquette after its patriarch's passing. — For President Donald Trump, there was once no worse insult than being “a Bushie.”
Discussion:
Associated Press, Talking Points Memo and Washington Post
Ronald Brownstein / CNN:
Trump's alienation of younger voters is a generational gamble for GOP — (CNN)The sharp turn against the Republican Party by young people in the 2018 election may be only the overture to an even greater political risk for the GOP in 2020. — Both historical voting patterns …
Steven Mufson / Washington Post:
‘A kind of dark realism’: Why the climate change problem is starting to look too big to solve — In the daunting math of climate action, individual choices and government policies aren't adding up. — Solar panels are being nailed to rooftops, colossal wind turbines bestride the plains and oceans …
Bloomberg:
The Trump-Xi Trade Truce Stock Rally Lasted 24 Hours. Here's Why — The 90-day cease-fire in the U.S.-China trade war added about $520 billion of market value back to Asia's equity markets on Monday. Now, it looks like the party is over. — Here is where we are: Asian shares took a breather Tuesday …
Discussion:
CNN
Gabby Orr / Politico:
Homeland Security chief Nielsen has saved her job — for now — Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who was recently on the brink of losing her job, is now expected to survive the Cabinet shake-up President Donald Trump has spent weeks teasing — and she may have the caravan to thank.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Crime Report and The Week
Daniel Strauss / Politico:
Lack of minority staffers threatens to hobble 2020 Democrats — Potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates in the early stages of assembling campaign staffs are running into an uncomfortable truth: Among the already small pool of capable operatives, there's an even smaller pool of nonwhite campaign managers and senior advisers.
Discussion:
Political Wire and Scared Monkeys
ProPublica:
Trump Jr. Invested in a Hydroponic Lettuce Company Whose Chair Was Seeking Trump Administration Funds — “Trump, Inc.” Podcast Extra — Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, took a stake last year in a startup whose co-chairman is a major Trump campaign fundraiser who has sought financial support …
Philly.com:
Bob Brady aide Smukler found guilty on 9 of 11 counts in campaign finance case — A federal jury Monday found U.S. Rep. Bob Brady's top political strategist, Ken Smukler, guilty of nine of 11 counts of repeatedly flouting campaign finance laws in a case that once threatened to ensnare the congressman himself.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Karen Ruiz / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Get this b***h under control!’ Joy Behar tears into Meghan McCain off-air after the conservative host lashed out at her for throwing shade on President Trump during The View's tribute to George H. W. Bush — Whoopi Goldberg was forced to cut to commercial break during another …
Discussion:
TheBlaze and twitchy.com
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Bush Made Willie Horton an Issue, and for African-Americans, the Scars Are Still Fresh — WASHINGTON — The tributes to former President George Bush in recent days have focused on his essential decency and civility, and his embrace of others, including even his onetime opponents.
Adam Nossiter / New York Times:
France Suspends Fuel Tax Increase That Spurred Violent Protests — PARIS — In a major concession by President Emmanuel Macron, France will suspend for six months a tax increase on gasoline and diesel fuel that had been slated for January, in an attempt to quell weeks of protests and rioting by the so-called Yellow Vests movement.
Discussion:
twitchy.com, The Week, Business Insider and The Daily Caller
Brian Naylor / NPR:
Voice Of America Vows Independence, As Trump Calls For ‘Worldwide Network’ — President Trump, who has frequently railed against the U.S. news media and reporters, tweeted last week there should be, as he put it, a “Worldwide Network to show the World the way we really are, GREAT!”