Top Items:
Washington Post:
Trump's claim that he didn't violate campaign finance law is weak — and dangerous — The case against the president would be far stronger than the case against John Edwards was. — Last week, in their case against Michael Cohen, federal prosecutors in New York filed a sentencing brief concluding that …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, Bloomberg, Joe.My.God., Law & Crime, Fox News Insider, Dan Bongino and ABC News
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George Stephanopoulos / ABC News:
Ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen says Trump knew it was wrong to make hush-money payments during campaign — Donald Trump directed Michael Cohen to arrange hush-money payments with two women because then-candidate Trump “was very concerned about how this would affect the election” …
Discussion:
Vox, HuffPost, Mother Jones, Fox News Insider, Breitbart, Wonkette, Daily Wire, NPR, Joe.My.God., The Gateway Pundit, Chicks On The Right, The Daily Caller, AOL, VICE News, POLITICUSUSA, The Hill, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, CNBC, Washington Times, Daily Kos, Political Wire, USA Today, Bloomberg, LifeZette, Washington Press, Washington Post, Townhall, Law & Crime, New York Times, Roll Call, Raw Story and Sputnik International
Tom Winter / NBC News:
Trump was in the room during hush money discussions, NBC News confirms — A source confirms to NBC News that the “other member of the campaign” present when Michael Cohen and David Pecker agreed to silence women was Donald Trump. — Donald Trump was the third person in the room in August 2015 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Press, Daily Kos, Just Security, Contemptor, Hot Air, HuffPost, ThinkProgress, Law & Crime, Chicks On The Right, Breitbart, Fox News Insider, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg, Joe.My.God., IJR, RedState, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, CNBC, The Guardian, Daily Wire, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Axios, Wonkette, Salon and Mother Jones, more at Mediagazer »
George Stephanopoulos / ABC News:
Michael Cohen talks to George Stephanopoulos: TRANSCRIPT
Michael Cohen talks to George Stephanopoulos: TRANSCRIPT
Discussion:
Washington Times and The Guardian
Washington Post:
Trump's falsehoods on hush-money payments are ‘coming home to roost’
Trump's falsehoods on hush-money payments are ‘coming home to roost’
Discussion:
ABC News and Washington Free Beacon
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Michael Cohen just dealt another big blow to Trump's hush-money defense
Michael Cohen just dealt another big blow to Trump's hush-money defense
Discussion:
Fox News Insider, Business Insider and Joe.My.God.
Wall Street Journal:
President Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has said the president directed him to become involved …
The Daily Beast:
Jared Kushner Replaced Michael Cohen as Trump's National Enquirer Connection — The president's son-in-law grew tight with David Pecker during the early months of the administration. — Shortly after the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was handed …
Washington Post:
7-year-old migrant girl taken into Border Patrol custody dies of dehydration, exhaustion — A 7-year-old girl from Guatemala died of dehydration and shock after she was taken into Border Patrol custody last week for crossing into the United States illegally with her father and a large group …
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Richard Gonzales / NPR:
7-Year-Old Migrant Girl Dies Of Dehydration And Shock In U.S. Border Patrol Custody
7-Year-Old Migrant Girl Dies Of Dehydration And Shock In U.S. Border Patrol Custody
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, The Crime Report, HuffPost, Breitbart and Splinter
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Inauguration Spending Under Criminal Investigation by Federal Prosecutors — Probe looking into whether committee misspent funds and top donors gave money in exchange for access to the administration — Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether President Trump's …
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Chicks On The Right, Washington Times, Shareblue Media, New York Times, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, Hullabaloo, Vox, Al Jazeera, HuffPost, Splinter, POLITICUSUSA, Daily Wire, Law & Crime, The Guardian, FOX2now.com, Liberty Unyielding, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, AOL, Breitbart, Joe.My.God., Axios, twitchy.com, Political Wire and Mediaite
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New York Times:
Trump Inaugural Fund and Super PAC Said to Be Scrutinized for Illegal Foreign Donations — WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors are examining whether foreigners illegally funneled donations to President Trump's inaugural committee and a pro-Trump super PAC in hopes of buying influence over American policy …
Discussion:
Middle East Eye, Raw Story, CNN, Chicks On The Right and Talking Points Memo
HuffPost:
Trump Considering Son-In-Law Jared Kushner For Next Chief Of Staff — The president is in the third round of his search for a job not many people seem to want. — WASHINGTON Having run through his first choices for his chief of staff vacancy without any luck, President Donald Trump is considering his own son-in-law for the job.
Discussion:
Jewish Insider, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Shakesville, Breitbart, East Bay Times, Raw Story, Chicks On The Right, Hot Air, Mediaite, CBS News, Booman Tribune, Spectator USA, KXLF-TV, Splinter, Joe.My.God., twitchy.com, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Liberty Unyielding, NESN.com, Townhall, Law & Crime, AOL, The Daily Caller and Conservative News Today
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Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump meets with Chris Christie to discuss chief of staff role — President Trump met with Chris Christie on Thursday evening and considers him a top contender to replace John Kelly as chief of staff, according to a source familiar with the president's thinking.
Discussion:
CNN, Joe.My.God., Talking Points Memo, Politico, Breitbart and Washington Times
George Packer / The Atlantic:
The Corruption of the Republican Party — Why has the Republican Party become so thoroughly corrupt? The reason is historical—it goes back many decades—and, in a way, philosophical. The party is best understood as an insurgency that carried the seeds of its own corruption from the start.
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Dan Morain / CALmatters:
Chief justice of the California Supreme Court leaves the Republican Party, citing Kavanaugh — California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye has quietly given up her Republican registration and re-registered as a no-party-preference voter, saying Thursday she had become increasingly uncomfortable …
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Times, Raw Story and HuffPost
Morgan Gstalter / The Hill:
Chief Justice of California Supreme Court leaves GOP over Kavanaugh confirmation
Chief Justice of California Supreme Court leaves GOP over Kavanaugh confirmation
Discussion:
CALmatters and San Francisco Chronicle
Yvonne Wingett Sanchez / Arizona Republic:
Jon Kyl will resign from the U.S. Senate on Dec. 31, setting up another appointment by Ducey to John McCain's seat — U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl will resign from the U.S. Senate on Dec. 31, The Arizona Republic has confirmed, setting up a second appointment by Gov. Doug Ducey to the seat once occupied by the late John McCain.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
“This Is Not a Normal Time”: Trump and the Rapidly Expanding “Witch Hunt” — The criminality of the key figures in the President's inner circle is now established, and they have started to implicate Trump himself. — Shortly after 11 a.m. on Thursday, Senator Jeff Flake, of Arizona, took to the Senate floor for his farewell speech.
John Nichols / The Nation:
What the Hell Is Wrong With Paul Ryan? — It is outrageous that the House Speaker continues to block action to end US support for Saudi atrocities against Yemen. — What the hell is wrong with Paul Ryan? At a point when the whole world is demanding urgent action to end the Saudi-led bombardment …
Discussion:
Washington Post, USA Today, Washington Press and Common Dreams
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Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Sanders and Warren Meet and Agree: They Both Are Probably Running — WASHINGTON — Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders met Wednesday night at her condominium in Washington to discuss their political intentions but did not reach any accord about coordinating …
Discussion:
The Intercept, Joe.My.God. and BostonGlobe.com
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New York Times:
Behind CBS's Secret $9.5 Million Settlement With the Actress Eliza Dushku — In March 2017, Eliza Dushku, an actress known for her work on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” signed on to play a major role in three episodes of the CBS prime-time drama “Bull,” and there were plans to make her a full-time cast member.
Discussion:
twitchy.com, AOL, IndieWire and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »
Lisa Girion / Reuters:
Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder — A REUTERS INVESTIGATION A REUTERS INVESTIGATION — Facing thousands of lawsuits alleging that its talc caused cancer, J&J insists on the safety and purity of its iconic product.
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Mueller Target Raised $25,000 In Charity To Pay Cancer Doctor Who Doesn't Appear To Exist — Business records and evidence from social media raise questions about a cancer fundraiser touted during the summer by Jerome Corsi, the right-wing author ensnared in the Mueller probe.
Washington Post:
N.C. congressional candidate sought out aide, despite warnings over tactics — North Carolina congressional candidate Mark Harris (R) directed the hiring of a campaign aide now at the center of an election-fraud investigation, according to three individuals familiar with the campaign …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, Joe.My.God. and Splinter
Washington Post:
‘Her skills are real’: How Pelosi put down a Democratic rebellion in bid for speaker — Rep. Nancy Pelosi's opponents knew they had an opportunity. But what they really needed was an alternative. — This past summer, they thought they had identified the perfect candidate to replace Pelosi …
Discussion:
Politico, New York Times and Political Wire
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Facebook bug exposed up to 6.8M users' unposted photos to apps — Reset the “days since the last Facebook privacy scandal” counter, as a Facebook has just revealed a Photo API bug gave app developers too much access to the photos of up to 5.6 million users.
Discussion:
Facebook for Developers, more at Techmeme »
Lawfare:
The Steele Dossier: A Retrospective — The dossier compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele remains a subject of fascination—or, depending on your perspective, scorn. Indeed, it was much discussed during former FBI Director Jim Comey's testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 7.
Sohrab Ahmari / New York Post:
A fare-beater crackdown is just what New York needs … On a breezy fall day in 1990, New Yorkers descending into the subway for their morning commute witnessed an unusual sight: Some two dozen men and women lined up on the platform, faces ashen and grave, as a team of undercover transit officers cuffed …
Katie Lobosco / CNN:
Betsy DeVos will cancel $150 million in student debt after being sued for delays — New York (CNN)The Department of Education said Thursday that it would wipe away student debt for 15,000 borrowers, implementing an Obama-era rule that Secretary Betsy DeVos has fought to block for more than a year.
Discussion:
Axios
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Navy Is Struggling to Fend Off Chinese Hackers, Officials Say — Intruders gain access to sensitive information about advanced military technology through vulnerable contractors, subcontractors — WASHINGTON—Chinese hackers are breaching Navy contractors to steal everything …
Discussion:
Washington Post