Top Items:
BuzzFeed News:
President Trump Directed His Attorney To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project — President Donald Trump directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Atlantic, RedState, Associated Press, Washington Post, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, CNN, National Review, Shareblue Media, Axios, The Guardian, Reuters, Breitbart, KAJ-TV, Roll Call, Lawfare, Common Dreams, Spectator USA, Hullabaloo, Raw Story, Law & Crime, Daily Kos, Faithwire, Politico, Washington Free Beacon, FOX31 Denver, The Real Deal New York, Splinter, POLITICUSUSA, USA Today, Just Security, Florida Politics, Towleroad Gay News, The Week, The Intercept, Mediaite, Contemptor, The New Civil Rights Movement, Taylor Marsh, Boing Boing, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Above the Law and Mother Jones
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CNN:
Trump startled by cozy Barr-Mueller relationship — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump was startled Tuesday as he watched television coverage of his nominee for attorney general describing a warm relationship with the special counsel Robert Mueller in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Wall Street Journal:
Lawmakers to Investigate Report That Trump Directed Cohen to Lie to Congress — House Democrats say they will look into whether President Trump asked former lawyer Michael Cohen to commit perjury — WASHINGTON—Lawmakers said they would investigate a report that President Trump directed …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
The circular firing squad: Mueller targets turn on each other — Rudy Giuliani sent an unmistakable message Wednesday night: It's everyone for themselves. — During a CNN interview, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer blurted out that the only person he knows about who didn't collude with Russia was Trump himself.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Press, Raw Story, BuzzFeed News, USA Today, RELEVANT Magazine and Mediaite
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
14 Republican senators are on-record holding a president accountable for obstruction: Bill Clinton — On Aug. 5, 1974, shortly after losing a case at the Supreme Court, the administration of Richard Nixon released an Oval Office recording that it had kept secret to that point.
Discussion:
National Review, Raw Story and Politico
Tim Elfrink / Washington Post:
Democrats demand investigation after report that Trump ordered Michael Cohen to lie to Congress — Democratic leaders reacted with fury and demanded an investigation late Thursday following a new report that President Trump personally directed his former attorney, Michael Cohen …
Discussion:
CNN, BuzzFeed News, Common Dreams, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Spectator USA, Axios, VICE News, Joe.My.God. and Political Wire
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Trump, Cohen, and Buzzfeed: Is This the Big One?
Trump, Cohen, and Buzzfeed: Is This the Big One?
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story and The Week
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
BuzzfeedNews Bombshell Reporter: No We Have Not Seen the Evidence Supporting Our Report
BuzzfeedNews Bombshell Reporter: No We Have Not Seen the Evidence Supporting Our Report
Discussion:
RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and twitchy.com
Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:
Power Up: Cohen bombshell could significantly change Mueller debate
Power Up: Cohen bombshell could significantly change Mueller debate
Discussion:
Vox, Talking Points Memo and The Week
Washington Post:
McConnell courting Pompeo to run for an open Senate seat in Kansas — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has personally courted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to consider leaving his post to run for the Senate, according to people familiar with the effort, a move …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
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Jordain Carney / The Hill:
McConnell blocks bill to reopen most of government
McConnell blocks bill to reopen most of government
Discussion:
Conservative News Today, Splinter, Joe.My.God. and The Gateway Pundit
Mitch McConnell / Washington Post:
Behold the Democrat Politician Protection Act
Behold the Democrat Politician Protection Act
Discussion:
The Week and electionlawblog.org
Debbie Wasserman Schultz / USA Today:
Why I refuse to walk with the Washington Women's March — It should not be this difficult to condemn hate speech. Until national leaders get it right, local marches will carry the mission forward. — CONNECT — I walked away from the Women's March on Washington two years ago absolutely electrified …
Discussion:
Townhall, Commentary, New York Times, Fortune, NPR, Washington Post and Washington Free Beacon
Brent Scher / Washington Free Beacon:
PICTURE: Trump Returns CODEL Luggage to Pelosi's Office — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's luggage has been returned to the halls of congress by cart, according to a picture sent to the Washington Free Beacon by a snap-happy tipster. — The picture shows the luggage were returned to Pelosi on “military liaison” marked carts.
Discussion:
RedState, CNN, Conservative News Today, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, The Right Scoop and The Daily Caller
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The Daily Beast:
What Trump Just Wrecked by Canceling Pelosi's Trip to Afghanistan — 'We're still gathering information just like you,' one Pentagon official told The Daily Beast. ‘We are trying to figure out what is going on.’ — For more than three weeks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her staff …
Discussion:
CNN, Politico and The Guardian
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
“Are We Really Where We Are?”: Trump, Putin, and Washington's Unbelievable New Normal — Regardless of whether Trump ends up making a speech on Capitol Hill on January 29th, the state of the union is not strong, and everyone knows it. — Sunday will mark the second anniversary of Donald Trump's Presidency.
Robin Opsahl / Des Moines Register:
Rep. Steve King raising money off controversy from white nationalism, supremacy comments — The House has approved a Democratic measure disapproving of Republican Rep. Steve King's comments about white supremacy. The nine-term Iowa congressman was among those supporting the measure, which was approved, 416-1.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, WHOTV, POLITICUSUSA, Joe.My.God., Roll Call, The Hill, Political Wire and Splinter
Julia Ainsley / NBC News:
Trump admin weighed targeting migrant families, speeding up deportation of children — A draft plan obtained by NBC News also shows officials wanted to specifically target parents in migrant families for increased prosecutions. — WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials weighed speeding …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, KAJ-TV, ABC News, CNN, Hit & Run, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos and Washington Post, more at Techmeme »
Heather Caygle / Politico:
'Feel like I'm going to strangle you': Shutdown breaks Congress' spirit — A dismal mood has descended on Capitol Hill as the shutdown concludes its 27th day. — The House speaker and the president are at war. A bipartisan Senate push to reopen the government failed for a second consecutive week.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Raw Story
RELATED:
McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
Waiting for a Shutdown to End in Disaster
Herman Wong / Washington Post:
Congressman who yelled ‘go back to Puerto Rico’ apologizes to Latino colleague — A Republican congressman apologized for shouting “Go back to Puerto Rico” on the House floor on Thursday, said Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), who Democrats had believed was the target of the verbal attack.
RELATED:
Juliegrace Brufke / The Hill:
Democrats will push to retake vote on funding government after chaos on the floor
Democrats will push to retake vote on funding government after chaos on the floor
Discussion:
Splinter
The White House:
Letter from President Donald J. Trump to Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi — Speaker of the House of Representatives — Dear Madame Speaker: — Due to the Shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed.
Discussion:
Townhall, New York Daily News, New York Times, Breitbart, Common Dreams, Daily Wire and IJR
RELATED:
Mark Landler / New York Times:
Washington as Unruly Sandbox: Squabbles, Antics and Tantrums
Washington as Unruly Sandbox: Squabbles, Antics and Tantrums
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Townhall, Washington Post and CNN
Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
So, I Got an Email From Matthew Whitaker's Wife — In her message, Marci Whitaker says the Mueller investigation is “wrapping up” and that the government shutdown is affecting her family's ability to earn a living. — On Monday, Dahlia Lithwick and I wrote an article in Slate arguing …
Discussion:
CNN, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo
Associated Press:
Talks between US, NKorea take place in Sweden — COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A senior North Korean diplomat has arrived in Sweden to take part an unannounced high-level meeting in Stockholm, officials said Friday. — Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman Vilhelm Rundquist …
RELATED:
Jason Rezaian / Washington Post:
‘Their job is to scare me’: Jason Rezaian describes first terrifying hours inside Iranian prison — The author, then The Washington Post's correspondent in Tehran, and his wife, Yeganeh, were arrested by Iranian authorities on July 22, 2014. Jason would spend 18 months in Iran's Evin prison …
Carla Herreria / HuffPost:
Vice President Says Outrage Over Wife Karen Pence's Discriminatory School Is ‘Offensive’ — Mike Pence's wife took a job teaching art at a school that bans LGBTQ families and individuals, HuffPost first reported Tuesday. — Vice President Mike Pence defended second lady Karen Pence's decision …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Towleroad Gay News and PinkNews
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David French / National Review:
Karen Pence, Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, Part of a Christian Ministry?
Karen Pence, Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been, Part of a Christian Ministry?
Discussion:
The American Conservative, Washington Post, NB Blog, Mashable, Splinter, Washington Times, TheBlaze, CNN, Townhall, DCist and The Federalist
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Hogan stokes speculation he'll primary Trump in 2020 — Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is acting a lot like a guy who wants to run against Donald Trump in 2020 — and the president's reelection team is taking notice. — The second-term Maryland governor has been implicitly going after Trump in speeches …
Brett McGurk / Washington Post:
Trump said he beat ISIS. Instead, he's giving it new life. — The president decided to withdraw U.S. forces without consulting allies or understanding the facts on the ground. — On Dec. 17, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked for an important call with me and a few …
Ashley Feinberg / HuffPost:
Jack Dorsey Has No Clue What He Wants — A Q&A with Twitter's CEO on right-wing extremism, Candace Owens, and what he'd do if the president called on his followers to murder journalists. — A conversation with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey can be incredibly disorienting.
Discussion:
East Bay Times, Mediaite, The Root and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »
Axios:
Exclusive: Former aide describes in new book how Trump demanded names of leakers — President Trump was frustrated about leaks — specifically leaks attributed to “White House officials” — that were critical of him. — Behind the scenes: Cliff Sims, a young White House communications aide …
Discussion:
US Macmillan, The Week, Joe.My.God. and Mediaite
CBC News:
Twins get some ‘mystifying’ results when they put 5 ancestry DNA kits to the test — Chief geneticist at a popular ancestry company admits it's ‘kind of a science and an art’ — One set of identical twins, two different ancestry profiles. — At least that's the suggestion …
Grant Stern / The Stern Facts:
Did Russian developers give Trump a $1 million payment on the Moscow Trump Tower contract? — Trump's contract required a hefty up-front fee to him from the Moscow developers licensing his brand. — The signed contract for a Trump Tower Moscow real estate licensing deal which CNN's Chris Cuomo obtained …
Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:
Learning From Cuba's ‘Medicare for All’ — Many Americans would welcome some traits of the island's free, universal health care system. — HAVANA — Claudia Fernández, 29, is an accountant whose stomach bulges with her first child, a girl, who is due in April.