Top Items:
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Trump's next chief of staff may be walking into a nightmare — (CNN)The job of White House chief of staff is close to impossible at the best of times, but President Donald Trump's new West Wing enforcer faces an even tougher mission — one that may eventually evolve into an effort to save his presidency itself.
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Trump considering Mark Meadows for chief of staff — Over the past 24 hours, President Trump has been privately asking many people who they think should be his new chief of staff, according to three sources with direct knowledge. — What's happening: Trump has asked confidants …
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Nick Ayers, Aide to Pence, Declines Offer to Be Trump's Chief of Staff — Nick Ayers, President Trump's top choice to replace John F. Kelly as chief of staff, has declined to take the job, according to three people familiar with the talks. — Mr. Ayers, 36, the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence …
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
From pinnacle to punchline: How Trump diminished the job of his chief of staff
From pinnacle to punchline: How Trump diminished the job of his chief of staff
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Times, The Intercept, twitchy.com and Daily Wire
Michael C. Bender / Wall Street Journal:
Pence Chief of Staff Nick Ayers Won't Be Next White House Staff Chief
Pence Chief of Staff Nick Ayers Won't Be Next White House Staff Chief
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Steven Mnuchin is under consideration to become Trump's next chief of staff, but he has indicated …
Steven Mnuchin is under consideration to become Trump's next chief of staff, but he has indicated …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Resurgent, New Republic and CBS News
Nic Robertson / CNN:
'I can't breathe.' Jamal Khashoggi's last words disclosed in transcript, source says — Khashoggi messages reveal sharp criticism of MBS — (CNN)"I can't breathe." These were the final words uttered by Jamal Khashoggi after he was set upon by a Saudi hit squad at the country's consulate in Istanbul …
Discussion:
miamiherald, Talking Points Memo, VICE News, Washington Post, AOL, WBUR, middleeastmonitor.com, Mediaite, Middle East Eye and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
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Just Security:
Declassify the Khashoggi Assessment — There was no shortage of outrage on Capitol Hill this week when CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed a select group of Senators on her agency's reported judgement that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “probably” ordered the killing of U.S. resident …
Jackson Diehl / Washington Post:
Mike Pompeo swaggers his way to failure
Mike Pompeo swaggers his way to failure
Discussion:
The American Conservative and Raw Story
Theodoric Meyer / Politico:
Diminished Saudi influence on display in Senate debate over Yemen
Diminished Saudi influence on display in Senate debate over Yemen
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, One America News Network and ThinkProgress
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Meet the Bottomless Pinocchio, a new rating for a false claim repeated over and over again — It was President Trump's signature campaign promise: He would build a wall along the nation's southern border, and Mexico would pay for it. — Shortly after becoming president, Trump dropped the Mexico part …
Discussion:
Splinter and Balloon Juice
New York Times:
Done With Michael Cohen, Federal Prosecutors Shift Focus to Trump Family Business — When federal prosecutors recommended a substantial prison term for President Trump's former lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, they linked Mr. Trump to the crimes Mr. Cohen had committed in connection with the 2016 presidential campaign.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit
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John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump: Payments to silence women were a ‘simple private transaction,’ not illegal campaign contributions — President Trump asserted Monday that payments to buy the silence of two women about alleged affairs were not illegal campaign contributions, as federal prosecutors contend, but instead a “simple private transaction.”
Discussion:
Vox, Mediaite and Political Wire
Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:
Michael Cohen Wanted to Cooperate in His Own Way. Prosecutors Had Other Ideas.
Michael Cohen Wanted to Cooperate in His Own Way. Prosecutors Had Other Ideas.
Discussion:
HuffPost
New York Times:
Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They're Not Keeping It Secret — Dozens of companies use smartphone locations to help advertisers and even hedge funds. They say it's anonymous, but the data shows how personal it is. — The millions of dots on the map trace highways …
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New York Times:
How to Stop Apps From Tracking Your Location — Hundreds of apps can follow your movements and share the details with advertisers, retailers and even hedge funds. Here's how to limit the snooping. — At least 75 companies receive people's precise location data from hundreds …
Ezra Klein / Vox:
Paul Ryan's long con — He betrayed his promises and left a legacy of debt and disappointment. — House Speaker Paul Ryan's legacy can be summed up in just one number: $343 billion. — That's the increase between the deficit for fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2018 — that is …
Gregory Krieg / CNN:
Comey calls on Americans to ‘use every breath we have’ to oust Trump in 2020 — New York (CNN)Former FBI Director James Comey asked American voters Sunday night to end Donald Trump's presidency with a “landslide” victory for his opponent in 2020. — “All of us should use every breath …
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, POLITICUSUSA, Daily Wire, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Front Page Magazine, Talking Points Memo and AOL
Alex Johnson / NBC News:
Roger Stone associate Jerome Corsi sues Mueller, Justice, CIA, FBI, NSA for $350 million — The suit accuses the special counsel of blackmailing him to lie as part of a “legal coup d'etat” against President Donald Trump. — The conservative writer and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi filed …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
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Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
Jerome Corsi suing Robert Mueller, claims he's being unfairly targeted
Jerome Corsi suing Robert Mueller, claims he's being unfairly targeted
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and POLITICUSUSA
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Conspiracy theorist sues Mueller alleging illegal leaks and surveillance
Conspiracy theorist sues Mueller alleging illegal leaks and surveillance
Discussion:
Townhall and Conservative News Today
Alex Morales / Bloomberg:
May Said to Pull Parliament Vote on Her Deal: Brexit Update — U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has called off a crucial vote in Parliament on whether to approve her Brexit deal, after being warned she was on course for a devastating defeat, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Political Wire
RELATED:
Charles Duhigg / The Atlantic:
The Real Roots of American Rage — I. An Angry Little Town — Soon after the snows of 1977 began to thaw, the residents of Greenfield, Massachusetts, received a strange questionnaire in the mail. “Try to recall the number of times you became annoyed and/or angry during the past week,” the survey instructed.
Robby Mook / Washington Post:
The sad truth about Russian election interference — Robby Mook, a CNN political commentator, was Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign manager. — New filings by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III on Friday provided fresh clues about where the investigation into Russian interference …
Discussion:
Shakesville
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Natasha Korecki / Politico:
Elizabeth Warren forges a 2020 machine — Sen. Elizabeth Warren has the core of her 2020 team in place if she runs for president. She has the seed money — there's $12.5 million ready to go, left over from her recent Senate run — and a massive email list she's amassed over years …
Discussion:
CNN, POLITICUSUSA, SARAH PALIN and No More Mister Nice Blog
Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Supreme Court declines to review rulings that blocked efforts to end Planned Parenthood funding — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review lower court decisions that blocked efforts in two states to end public funding to Planned Parenthood, refusing for now to get involved in state battles over abortion rights.
Discussion:
Politico
Heather Caygle / Politico:
'His word isn't good': Dems don't trust Trump to make shutdown deal — Donald Trump's meeting Tuesday with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer may go a long way toward determining whether the government enters a partial shutdown before Christmas. — But as Democrats seriously re-engage with Trump …
Discussion:
Splinter
Darren Sands / BuzzFeed News:
Beto O'Rourke Spoke With Al Sharpton As He Considers A Presidential Campaign — Beto O'Rourke and Rev. Al Sharpton spoke on Friday, a source familiar with the interaction told BuzzFeed News, as O'Rourke considers a presidential campaign and courts allies of Barack Obama.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Splinter and New York Times
New York Times:
Battered ISIS Keeps Grip on Last Piece of Territory for Over a Year — BAGHDAD — The Islamic State has been stripped of nearly all the territory it ruled in Iraq and Syria and has been pummeled by nearly 30,000 airstrikes. But the extremist group has still managed to retain a small pocket …