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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.
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RedState, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, The Atlantic, Washington Post, National Review, CNN, Reuters, KAJ-TV, Axios, Daily Kos, Faithwire, USA Today, FOX31 Denver, The Real Deal New York, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, POLITICUSUSA, Splinter, Just Security, Florida Politics, Politico, Towleroad Gay News, The Week, The Intercept, Contemptor, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Guardian, Taylor Marsh, Boing Boing, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Shareblue Media, Above the Law, Mother Jones and The New Civil Rights Movement
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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


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:
Vox, National Review and Raw Story


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, Politico and USA Today


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:
Talking Points Memo, BuzzFeed News, CNN, Daily Kos, Spectator USA, RedState, Axios, VICE News, Joe.My.God. and Political Wire


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 …
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McConnell blocks bill to reopen most of government
Discussion:
Conservative News Today, Splinter, Joe.My.God. and The Gateway Pundit

Behold the Democrat Politician Protection Act
Discussion:
The Week and electionlawblog.org


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 Hill, The Gateway Pundit, The Right Scoop and The Daily Caller
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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


Letter from President Donald J. Trump to Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi
Discussion:
Townhall, New York Daily News, New York Times, Breitbart, Common Dreams, Daily Wire and IJR

Washington as Unruly Sandbox: Squabbles, Antics and Tantrums
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Townhall, CNN and Washington Post


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:
New York Times, Fortune, NPR, Washington Post and Washington Free Beacon


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:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Political Wire and Splinter


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


Democrats will push to retake vote on funding government after chaos on the floor — Democrats will seek a revote on a measure to reopen the government after a Thursday vote devolved into an argument on the House floor. — Chaos broke out after Republicans blasted Democrats for passing …
Discussion:
Splinter
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“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.


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 and Daily Kos

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 …
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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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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


Beto's excellent adventure drips with white male privilege — (CNN)Imagine this: A 46-year-old former congresswoman and mother of three, who just lost a Senate bid to one of the most despised incumbents, sets off on a road trip adventure to clear her head. — She instagrams part of her trip to the dentist.
Discussion:
Denver Post, twitchy.com and Sara A. Carter
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Group aiming to draft Beto O'Rourke unveils first 2020 video
Discussion:
Althouse


‘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 …


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 …


'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


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:
Mediaite, The Root and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »


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 …

Washington's Foreign-Influence Racket: A Clear and Present Muddle — Among the forgotten and ignored laws revived during the Trump era such as the Logan Act and “emoluments clause,” none has been used more effectively against the president's allies than the Foreign Agents Registration Act.


How the shutdown will inflict lasting damage — The longest government shutdown in U.S. history will scar the federal bureaucracy and U.S. economy long after the doors are unlocked and workers return. — The feds will struggle to dig out of a backlog of hiring and training that's essential …


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.


Model Who Claimed Trump Secrets Detained at Moscow Airport — A model from Belarus who claimed to have evidence of Russian interference in U.S. President Donald Trump's election was detained in an airport in Moscow on Thursday after being deported from Thailand, Interfax cited the police as saying.
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Model who claimed U.S.-Russian collusion tape held in Moscow on prostitution charges
Discussion:
The Last Refuge and The Gateway Pundit


Clue in Mueller filing suggests Manafort kept working on topic of interest to Russia after indictment — In a tiny font at the top of the 82nd page of a lengthy document filed in court this week by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is a key clue to his ongoing interest in Paul Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairman.
Discussion:
Politico, Raw Story, The Daily Beast and Boing Boing
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