Top Items:
Domenico Montanaro / NPR:
Poll: Trump Approval Down, Slips With Base — While the longest government shutdown in U.S. history continues, President Trump's approval rating is down, and there are cracks showing with his base. — A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds Trump's approval rating down and his disapproval rating up from a month ago.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Week and Political Wire
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PBS NewsHour:
57 percent of voters say they won't support Trump in 2020 — With the 2020 presidential election already underway, 57 percent of registered voters said they would definitely vote against President Donald Trump, according to the latest poll from the PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God. and Political Wire
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
The Shutdown Is Hurting Trump's Approval Rating. But Will It Hurt Him in 2020?
The Shutdown Is Hurting Trump's Approval Rating. But Will It Hurt Him in 2020?
Discussion:
Raw Story
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Rudy Giuliani just contradicted nearly all the Trump team's past collusion denials — This is at least the 10th time the denials have been watered down. It might be the most significant rollback. — President Trump's legal spokesman Rudolph W. Giuliani on Wednesday night appeared to grant …
Discussion:
Vox, Daily Kos, Patterico's Pontifications and twitchy.com
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Caroline Kelly / CNN:
Rudy Giuliani says Trump didn't collude with Russia but can't say if campaign aides did — (CNN)Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday that he never denied President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 campaign, only that the President himself was not involved in collusion.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Shakesville, Law & Crime, Media Matters for America, The Week and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Michael Burke / The Hill:
Giuliani: ‘I never said there was no collusion’ between the Trump campaign and Russia
Giuliani: ‘I never said there was no collusion’ between the Trump campaign and Russia
Discussion:
Power Line, Mother Jones, Axios, Politico, Daily Wire, emptywheel and One America News Network
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Crisis
POLITICO Playbook: Crisis
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Times and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »
Julia Arciga / The Daily Beast:
Rudy Giuliani's New Story: I ‘Never Said’ There Was No Collusion Between Campaign and Russia
Rudy Giuliani's New Story: I ‘Never Said’ There Was No Collusion Between Campaign and Russia
Discussion:
Common Dreams, Just Security, The Week and New York Magazine
Garrett M. Graff / Wired:
Trump Must Be a Russian Agent; the Alternative Is Too Awful
Trump Must Be a Russian Agent; the Alternative Is Too Awful
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Roll Call, Raw Story, Law & Crime, American Greatness and The Nation
Allyson Chiu / Washington Post:
Rudy Giuliani: ‘I never said there was no collusion’ between Trump campaign and Russia
Rudy Giuliani: ‘I never said there was no collusion’ between Trump campaign and Russia
Discussion:
Spectator USA, POLITICUSUSA and Joe.My.God.
Michael McFaul / Washington Post:
Sorry, but Trump is not ‘tough on Russia’
Wall Street Journal:
Poll-Rigging for Trump and Creating @WomenForCohen: One IT Firm's Work Order — Behind the scenes, Michael Cohen hired RedFinch Solutions, then allegedly stiffed it—and his boss — In early 2015, a man who runs a small technology company showed up at Trump Tower to collect $50,000 …
New York Times:
In a West Wing in Transition, Trump Tries to Stand Firm on the Shutdown — In a West Wing in transition, President Trump is trying to stand firm on the shutdown. — White House Redefines Who Is Essential to Get Parts of Government Moving Again — The administration is opening …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Splinter
Barbara Starr / CNN:
Trump is fraying nerves inside the Pentagon — Washington (CNN)Two years into his presidency, Donald Trump is fueling unprecedented uncertainty and anxiety inside the Pentagon. In private conversations over the past month, many of them unsolicited, more than a dozen key military officers …
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Joe Concha / The Hill:
Fox's Griffin: Was told by diplomat that Syria attack was ‘direct result’ of US pullout decision
Fox's Griffin: Was told by diplomat that Syria attack was ‘direct result’ of US pullout decision
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite and New York Times
Yoni Appelbaum / The Atlantic:
Impeach Donald Trump — On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump stood on the steps of the Capitol, raised his right hand, and solemnly swore to faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and, to the best of his ability, to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Discussion:
The Week, Raw Story, Joe.My.God. and Daily Kos
John Solomon / The Hill:
FISA shocker: DOJ official warned Steele dossier was connected to Clinton, might be biased — When the annals of mistakes and abuses in the FBI's Russia investigation are finally written, Bruce Ohr almost certainly will be the No. 1 witness, according to my sources.
Discussion:
Sara A. Carter, The Gateway Pundit, Front Page Magazine and Liberty Unyielding
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Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Key Justice Department officials, including Mueller deputy, knew about dossier
Key Justice Department officials, including Mueller deputy, knew about dossier
Discussion:
twitchy.com and New York Times
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Judge won't dismiss libel suit against Fusion GPS over dossier
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
GOP Congressmen Meet With Holocaust-Denying Troll Chuck Johnson — The two Republican lawmakers say they didn't know about the alt-right troll's past. — Notorious alt-right figure and Holocaust denier Chuck Johnson met with two Republican lawmakers in Congress on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Michael Levenson / BostonGlobe.com:
As they head to Harvard, Gary Cohn and Heidi Heitkamp criticize shutdown — Gary Cohn, President Trump's former top economic adviser, and Heidi Heitkamp, a former Democratic senator from North Dakota, got to know one another when he was president of Goldman Sachs and she was on the Senate Banking Committee.
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post and Political Wire
Lara Bazelon / New York Times:
Kamala Harris Was Not a ‘Progressive Prosecutor’ — The senator was often on the wrong side of history when she served as California's attorney general. — Ms. Bazelon is a law professor and the former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent in Los Angeles.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon
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Politico:
'She's satin and steel': Pelosi wages war on Trump — Her move to derail Trump's State of the Union address underscores her aggressive challenge to the president. — Donald Trump may have finally met his match in Nancy Pelosi. — As the partial government shutdown grinds on with no end in sight …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Colorado Independent, No More Mister Nice Blog and Daily Wire
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Washington Post:
Top HUD official's departure follows disagreements over housing policy and Puerto Rico disaster funds — A top Department of Housing and Urban Development official is leaving the agency Thursday following disagreements with other members of the Trump administration over housing policy …
Erin Mansfield / Tyler Morning Telegraph:
Tyler Congressman Louie Gohmert says Steve King raised a fair question — A congressman from East Texas says his colleague raised a fair question about Western civilization and is being treated unfairly. — U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert said that U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Roll Call, Media Matters for America, RightWisconsin, Bleeding Heartland and FiveThirtyEight
Kate Sullivan / CNN:
House Judiciary chair says they'll subpoena Mueller report if necessary — Barr promises skeptical Democrats he'll be an independent AG — (CNN)The House Judiciary Committee chairman said Wednesday that his panel would subpoena special counsel Robert Mueller's final report if William Barr …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and KAJ-TV
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Tim Cook / TIME:
You Deserve Privacy Online. Here's How You Could Actually Get It — We all deserve control over our digital lives. That's why we must rein in the data brokers — In 2019, it's time to stand up for the right to privacy—yours, mine, all of ours. Consumers shouldn't have to tolerate another year …
Discussion:
CNBC, Washington Post, East Bay Times, Engadget, The Hill, AOL, The Verge, 9to5Mac and Axios, more at Techmeme »
Facebook:
Removing Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior from Russia — Today we removed multiple Pages, groups and accounts that engaged in coordinated inauthentic behavior on Facebook and Instagram. The two operations we found originated in Russia, and one was active in a variety of countries while the other was specific to Ukraine.
Discussion:
New York Times, Axios, Joe.My.God., The Week, RAPPLER, ABC News, VICE News, Gizmodo, Engadget, News Agency UNIAN and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
CREW:
Presidential Profiteering: Trump's Conflicts Got Worse in Year Two — INTRODUCTION — President Trump's January 11, 2017 announcement that he would not divest from his interests in the Trump Organization while serving as president caused an ethics uproar.
Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Generation Z may be most liberal demographic yet — A generation of post-Millennials is poised to enter the electorate as perhaps the most liberal age cohort ever, fueled by unprecedented diversity and expansive views of the role of government. — On issues ranging from the treatment …
Discussion:
Pew Research Center
Russell Worth Parker / New York Times:
I'm Prepared to Talk About the Things I Did in Iraq. Are People Ready to Listen? — In Iraq I had a device called a Phraselator, an unwieldy specimen of 2004 military technology that resembled a cross between a fancy walkie-talkie and an early model PalmPilot.
McClatchy Washington Bureau:
White House inches toward allowing Cuban Americans to sue for island properties left behind — A street scene in Havana's district of Regla. — MATIAS J. OCNER — WASHINGTON — The White House took a step closer to allowing thousands of Cuban Americans to sue foreign companies …
Discussion:
Babalú Blog
Eliza Relman / Business Insider:
‘#WheresMitch?’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other freshman Democrats are moving blame for the shutdown from Trump to Mitch McConnell — Freshman House Democrats marched through the halls of Congress on Wednesday to deliver a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, demanding that he hold a vote to reopen the government.
Discussion:
Chicks On The Right, Hot Air and twitchy.com
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Stacey Solie / The Daily Beast:
Louis C.K. Jokes About Sexually Harassing Women: 'I Like to Jerk Off, and I Don't Like Being Alone' — The disgraced comic, who masturbated in front of comediennes, continued to offend on the latest leg of his new tour. — SAN JOSE, California—When Louis C.K. stepped onstage to a standing ovation …
Alex Thompson / Politico:
Shutdown has dropped grenade onto Trump's 2020 team — President Donald Trump's insistence on shutting down much of the government inadvertently handed his reelection team the opening issue of the 2020 campaign. It's one many Trump political advisers would rather avoid.
Ben White / Politico:
Recession warnings pile up as shutdown wraps up fourth week — The partial government shutdown was supposed to be a brief non-event for the economy. Now it's starting to look like a serious crisis that could nudge the U.S. toward recession and threaten President Donald Trump's economic message during his reelection campaign.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, The Democrats and Political Wire
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Everything You Need to Know About Milo and Eric Metaxas — Eric Metaxas invited Milo Yiannopoulos on his show because we live in the worst possible timeline. — Want to check in on the state of American Christianity? Look no further than the radio show of pop theologian Eric Metaxas …
Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:
A Lawsuit Claims Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Retaliated Against A Staffer Who Planned To Sue The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Over An Alleged Rape — The woman, identified by a pseudonym, claimed in a lawsuit that she was raped by a former employee of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Conservative News Today, twitchy.com, Townhall, Liberty Unyielding and Front Page Magazine
The Daily Beast:
Trump Goes MIA in Effort to Win Dems Over in Shutdown Fight — The president sold himself as a great deal-maker. But hardly any Democrat from a district he won has heard from him in weeks. — As Donald Trump tries to pass legislation to fund the government and finance the construction of a border wall …
Discussion:
Contemptor, Raw Story and Washington Free Beacon