Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Considering Full Withdrawal of U.S. Troops From Syria — WASHINGTON — President Trump is considering pulling 2,000 United States ground troops out of Syria in a move that would seek to describe the four-year American-led war against the Islamic State as largely won, officials said Wednesday.
Discussion:
National Review, The Atlantic, Washington Post, Observer, Raw Story, ABC News, FDD's Long War Journal, NY State of Politics, CNBC, USA Today, NPR, Bloomberg, Commentary, New Republic, The Gateway Pundit, Test Feed Using Fields, Common Dreams, Roll Call, WORLD, Outside the Beltway, Middle East Eye, Conservative Review, The DC Chronicle, twitchy.com, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Jewish Insider, CBS Denver, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos and Mediaite
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Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Trump undermines his entire national security team on Syria — On Monday, the U.S. special representative for Syria engagement publicly pledged that the U.S. commitment to Syria would not waiver. The very next day, Trump reportedly decided to rapidly withdraw all U.S. troops there.
Discussion:
Axios, NBC News, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, New York Times, Hit & Run and KXLF-TV
Dion Nissenbaum / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Military Preparing for a Full Withdrawal of Its Forces From Northeastern Syria — Move throws campaign against Islamic State into question — WASHINGTON—In an abrupt reversal, the U.S. military is preparing to withdraw its forces from northeastern Syria, people familiar with the matter …
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The Daily Beast, CNN, Bloomberg, Politico, Hit & Run, Vox, Washington Free Beacon, Splinter, The Defense Post, The Week, The Mahablog, FOX2now.com, The American Conservative, Task & Purpose, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, RedState, Townhall, Daily Wire, Military Times, Mother Jones, Axios and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
CNN:
Trump orders rapid withdrawal from Syria in apparent reversal
Trump orders rapid withdrawal from Syria in apparent reversal
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Guardian, Breitbart, Jihad Watch, Mediaite, Reuters and The Week
TASS:
US troops' withdrawal from Syria to create prospects for political solution, says diplomat
US troops' withdrawal from Syria to create prospects for political solution, says diplomat
Discussion:
Breaking Defense
Jessica Hopper / ABC News:
President Trump's troop withdrawal from Syria a ‘huge’ mistake: Senator Lindsey Graham
President Trump's troop withdrawal from Syria a ‘huge’ mistake: Senator Lindsey Graham
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Testimony From Decades Ago Indicates Knowledge of Campaign-Finance Laws — Legal experts say that could be critical if investigators pursue a case over hush-money payments to women in the 2016 campaign — Sworn statements by President Trump dating back several decades indicate …
ClickHole:
Legal Bombshell: Mueller Flipped Trump's Confidant's Lawyer's Friend's Associate Gorpman (Who Could Testify Against Bleemer!) And It's Not Even Lunchtime — The day's just getting started, and the Trump house of cards is already crumbling. This morning, Special Counsel Robert Mueller dropped …
Discussion:
The Week
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Pete Kasperowicz / Washington Examiner:
Jeff Flake strikes out: Senate blocks his third push to protect Robert Mueller
Jeff Flake strikes out: Senate blocks his third push to protect Robert Mueller
Discussion:
Axios
emptywheel:
In Defense of Emmet Sullivan: Van Grack Suggested Mueller Did Review Whether Flynn's Behavior Amounted to Treason — I'd like to defend Judge Emmet Sullivan's intemperate mentions of unregistered foreign agents and treason in the Mike Flynn sentencing hearing yesterday.
Discussion:
National Review, Raw Story, CANNONFIRE, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Atlantic
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Lawfare:
The Former National Security Advisor's Sentencing Hearing: Flynncompetent Judging — A number of years ago, a group of singing lawyers put together an excellent parody song about the egomania of federal district judges. Set to the tune of the old Turtles song, “Happy Together,” it opens: “Imagine me as God—I do.
Discussion:
USA Today, Washington Post, Media Matters for America, Taylor Marsh, ABC News and WORLD
Washington Post:
Mueller seeks Roger Stone's testimony to House intelligence panel, suggesting special counsel is near end of probe of Trump adviser — Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III asked the House Intelligence Committee on Friday for an official transcript of Trump adviser Roger Stone's testimony …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, Political Wire, Mediaite and Shareblue Media
Anna Massoglia / OpenSecrets.org:
Trump 2020 campaign used a shell company to pay ad buyers at the center of alleged illegal coordination scheme with NRA — The Trump campaign funneled money to ad buyers alleged to have facilitated illegal coordination between the campaign and the NRA by routing funds through a secretive LLC …
David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
South Carolina GOP could scrap 2020 primary to protect Trump — The South Carolina Republican Party could cancel its marquee presidential nominating contest in 2020 in a move to protect President Trump from any primary challengers. — Drew McKissick, chairman of the South Carolina GOP …
Discussion:
New Republic, Hot Air, Hullabaloo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Splinter, Raw Story, CNN, Hill Reporter, IJR and Politico
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
New secret filing in case of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen placed in NY federal court vault — A document that is sealed from public view was placed in a New York federal court vault in a criminal case against President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen.
Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
Trump sensitive to criticism about so-far failed border wall promise — McConnell announces continuing resolution — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump has become increasingly sensitive to criticism that he's backing off his signature promise to build a wall along the US-Mexico border …
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Saagar Enjeti / The Daily Caller:
Is Trump Blowing His Last Chance To Get The Wall?
Is Trump Blowing His Last Chance To Get The Wall?
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mediaite, The Daily Signal, Hot Air, Hill Reporter and The Week
Kate Sullivan / CNN:
Trump signed letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow project despite Giuliani insisting he didn't — (CNN)A newly obtained document shows President Donald Trump signed a letter of intent to move forward with negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Russia, despite his attorney Rudy Giuliani claiming …
Discussion:
Roll Call, Raw Story, Vox, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, The Independent, New York Post, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, twitchy.com, IJR, Hill Reporter, Axios, The Week, AOL and Shakesville
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New York Daily News:
Rudy Giuliani admits President Trump signed ‘bulls—t’ letter of intent for Moscow tower during 2016 campaign
Rudy Giuliani admits President Trump signed ‘bulls—t’ letter of intent for Moscow tower during 2016 campaign
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Politico, NY State of Politics, The Hill, The Week, Law & Crime, Wonkette, Splinter, Balloon Juice, The Root, Axios, ThinkProgress, Washington Times and Mediaite
Brian X. Chen / New York Times:
How to Delete Facebook — Lost faith in Facebook after data leakages, breaches and too much noise? Here's a guide to breaking up with the social network and its photo-sharing app for good. — You may have decided enough is enough: It's time to delete Facebook.
Discussion:
CBC News, Hill Reporter and NewsBusters, more at Techmeme »
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NBC News:
United States added to list of most dangerous countries for journalists for first time — At least 63 professional journalists were killed doing their jobs in 2018, a 15 percent increase over last year, Reporters Without Borders said. — PARIS — The murder of the Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi …
Discussion:
The Hill, National Review, TIME, Fortune, Breitbart, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com
Eliza Dushku / BostonGlobe.com:
I worked at CBS. I didn't want to be sexually harassed. I was fired — The narrative propagated by CBS, actor Michael Weatherly, and writer-producer Glenn Gordon Caron is deceptive and in no way fits with how they treated me on the set of the television show “Bull” and retaliated …
Discussion:
Deadline, AOL and IndieWire, more at Mediagazer »
Washington Post:
We were FBI agents. We want to know why Flynn lied to the bureau. — He could have been covering his tracks — or hiding something worse. — Tuesday's sentencing hearing for Michael Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser, took an unexpected twist after his attempts to shift blame to the government backfired.
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Adolfo Flores / BuzzFeed News:
A 5-Month-Old Girl Has Been Hospitalized With Pneumonia After Being Detained By Border Patrol — A five-month-old girl who traveled with the migrant caravan has been hospitalized with pneumonia after spending five days inside freezing cells operated by border authorities in California, her mother said.
Discussion:
Splinter
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Zach Baron / GQ:
The Fresno Bee and the War on Local News — Local newspapers like The Fresno Bee have long been an endangered institution in America, and that was before California Rep. Devin Nunes began waging a public campaign against his hometown paper. Zach Baron spent time with the reporters fighting …
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
President Trump is telling allies he wants Vice President Mike Pence to stay on the ticket in 2020 — President Donald Trump has been telling his closest political advisors in recent weeks that he wants Vice President Mike Pence to be with him on the ticket in 2020, CNBC has learned.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Why not indict the Trump Organization? — Legal scholars debate whether a sitting president can be indicted or only impeached. If the latter, it's not clear given the statutes of limitation on most crimes whether he could ever be prosecuted for certain crimes.
New York Times:
Illinois Attorney General Says Catholic Church Withheld Names of at Least 500 Accused Priests — A scathing report by the Illinois attorney general accused the Roman Catholic Church in the state of failing the victims of clergy sexual abuse by neglecting to investigate their allegations …
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
BREAKING: John McCain Associate Gave Dossier To BuzzFeed — A longtime associate of late Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain provided a copy of the infamous Steele dossier to BuzzFeed News, according to an explosive court filing released Wednesday. — David Kramer, a former State Department official …
Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:
Federal judge strikes down Trump asylum rules for domestic and gang violence victims — In a ruling Wednesday, Judge Emmet Sullivan struck down large portions of Justice Department policies that made it harder for immigrants to claim asylum. — A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Justice …
Karen K. Ho / Columbia Journalism Review:
Sinclair fires reporter as she battles cancer — Alex George had already been through a lot. In the summer of 2017, four weeks after graduating from the University of Michigan, she moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the age of 22, to work as a general assignment reporter at WTVC, an ABC-affiliate, on a two-year-contract.
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Fed hikes rate, lowers 2019 projection to 2 increases — Central bank officials now forecast two hikes next year, down from three rate raises previously projected. — However, the Fed continued to include in its statement that further ‘gradual’ rate hikes would be appropriate.
Discussion:
Board of Governors …, Washington Post and The Week
Rebecca Traister / The Cut:
The Imagined Threat of a Woman Who Governs Like a Man — On Tuesday, Politico posted a provocative, anonymously sourced piece claiming that New York congresswoman elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might be planning, in concert with Justice Democrats, to recruit a Democratic primary challenger …
Bloomberg:
Markets Revolt as Steadfast Powell Downplays Recent Sell-Off — S&P 500 careens to 15-month low as Fed chairman speaks — Dollar firms and Treasury yields tumble on latest policy move — The Federal Reserve leaned dovish during its latest policy meeting. Financial markets wanted more.
Bloomberg:
Trump Poised to Lift Sanctions on Rusal as Deripaska Cuts Stake — Russian billionaire will cut ownership stake below 50 percent — Treasury also plans to lift sanctions on his EN+ Group — The Trump administration is ready to remove sanctions on Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska's …
Discussion:
Law & Crime and Raw Story
Andrew Kerr / The Daily Caller:
Revealed: Antifa Leader Relied On Anonymity To Push Radical, Violent Communist Agenda — Editor's note: The subject of this story is being identified because he's pushed radical rhetoric and has advocated for politically-motivated violence from behind a mask.
Discussion:
twitchy.com and Instapundit
Jeremy Pelzer / Plain Dealer:
John Kasich says he couldn't beat President Donald Trump in a GOP primary — COLUMBUS, Ohio—Gov. John Kasich on Wednesday voiced doubts about challenging President Donald Trump in 2020, saying right now he couldn't beat the president in a Republican primary.
Discussion:
Breitbart and Political Wire
Alex Kotch / Sludge:
Facebook Took Money From White Nationalist Candidate to Promote Neo-Nazi Podcast — White nationalist and former Wisconsin Republican House candidate Paul Nehlen was kicked off Twitter in February for posting deeply racist and anti-Semitic material. But Facebook didn't seem to have a problem with Nehlen's social media habits.