Top Items:
BuzzFeed News:
President Trump Directed His Attorney Michael Cohen 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 …
Discussion:
Conservative Review, CNN, Vox, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, emptywheel, Washington Post, Politico, Bloomberg, Patterico's Pontifications, ThinkProgress, Spectator USA, The Atlantic, Shareblue Media, Axios, RedState, New York Magazine, Townhall, Lawfare, Reuters, Media Matters for America, Fox News Insider, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, POLITICUSUSA, IJR, Contemptor, VICE News, Political Wire, The Right Scoop, Al Jazeera, Conservative News Today, National Review, Deadline, East Bay Times, PoliticalCharge, Roll Call, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, Splinter, Daily Kos, myfox8.com, The Guardian, Breitbart, Hmm Daily, Shakesville, USA Today, Common Dreams, Law & Crime, FOX31 Denver, Towleroad Gay News, Just Security, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Hullabaloo, Florida Politics, Faithwire, The Real Deal New York, Washington Free Beacon, Taylor Marsh, Boing Boing, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mother Jones, The New Civil Rights Movement, Above the Law, AOL and Balloon Juice
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Ryan Goodman / Just Security:
Why Trump's Directing Cohen, Others to Lie Would Be Far Worse Than Watergate — If the President of the United States directed his personal attorney and fixer to help sabotage the Russia investigation by lying to Congress, there is no turning back for the nation.
Discussion:
Political Wire, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, RedState, Splinter and Contemptor
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Reporter with checkered past comes back with Trump Tower Moscow bombshells for BuzzFeed — New York (CNN Business)Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier, two reporters for BuzzFeed News, may have just scored the scoop that, if it is ultimately confirmed, irrevocably changes the course of the Trump presidency.
Discussion:
RedState, Washington Post, Chicks On The Right, Roll Call, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Buzzfeed News Bombshell Reporter: No We Have Not Seen the Evidence Supporting Our Report — Anthony Cormier is one of the two investigative reporter at BuzzfeedNews who co-authored the bombshell report published Thursday night — a report which claimed President Donald Trump directed …
Discussion:
Townhall, RedState, Liberty Unyielding, Chicks On The Right, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and twitchy.com
Natasha Bertrand / The Atlantic:
Why Democrats Have Suddenly Started Talking About Impeachment — Late Thursday night, BuzzFeed News published a report that, if true, could prove historic: President Donald Trump allegedly directed his then-personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about a real-estate deal he was pursuing in Moscow during the 2016 election.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, IJR, Vox, Contemptor and POLITICUSUSA
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 …
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Trump, Cohen, and Buzzfeed: Is This the Big One?
Trump, Cohen, and Buzzfeed: Is This the Big One?
Discussion:
Vox, CNN and Washington Post
Mehdi Hasan / The Intercept:
Trump's Articles of Impeachment Are Writing Themselves, With Echoes of Richard Nixon Growing Stronger
Trump's Articles of Impeachment Are Writing Themselves, With Echoes of Richard Nixon Growing Stronger
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Daily Kos
Mary Clare Jalonick / Associated Press:
Congress to probe report that Trump directed lawyer to lie
Congress to probe report that Trump directed lawyer to lie
Discussion:
National Review and POLITICUSUSA
Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
Trump reportedly told Michael Cohen to lie. His own attorney general pick testified that's a crime.
Trump reportedly told Michael Cohen to lie. His own attorney general pick testified that's a crime.
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Common Dreams, The Week and Joe.My.God.
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
The circular firing squad: Mueller targets turn on each other
The circular firing squad: Mueller targets turn on each other
Discussion:
Washington Post, Raw Story, Washington Press, BuzzFeed News, Mediaite and RELEVANT Magazine
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
14 Republican senators are on-record holding a president accountable for obstruction: Bill Clinton
14 Republican senators are on-record holding a president accountable for obstruction: Bill Clinton
Discussion:
National Review, Politico and Axios
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 CNN
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Trump White House reportedly sought to put Pelosi ‘in her place’ — One of the most striking aspects of Donald Trump's petty decision to cancel House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Afghanistan is the degree to which it was lacking in any sense of proportionality.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Task & Purpose and Raw Story
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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:
CNN, US Macmillan, Joe.My.God., Mediaite and The Week
Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
Pelosi abandons Afghanistan trip, accuses Trump of imperiling lawmakers with disclosure — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi abandoned her plans to travel commercially to Afghanistan after President Trump canceled her military flight, while leveling the remarkable allegation that the commander in chief …
Discussion:
Hot Air, ABC News, Townhall, TheBlaze, Conservative News Today, The Gateway Pundit and Political Wire
Brent Scher / Washington Free Beacon:
PICTURE: Trump Returns CODEL Luggage to Pelosi's Office
PICTURE: Trump Returns CODEL Luggage to Pelosi's Office
Discussion:
Mediaite, CNN, The Daily Caller, RedState, Townhall, Conservative News Today, The Right Scoop and The Gateway Pundit
CNBC:
First lady Melania flies to Florida on government jet after Trump postpones Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip …
First lady Melania flies to Florida on government jet after Trump postpones Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Conservative News Today, Shakesville, East Bay Times and AOL
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.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
Waiting for a Shutdown to End in Disaster — As the longest government shutdown in American history lurches toward its fifth week, a grim but growing consensus has begun to emerge on Capitol Hill: There may be no way out of this mess until something disastrous happens.
Discussion:
Althouse
Heather Caygle / Politico:
'Feel like I'm going to strangle you': Shutdown breaks Congress' spirit
'Feel like I'm going to strangle you': Shutdown breaks Congress' spirit
Discussion:
Splinter, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Raw Story and ThinkProgress
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, The Root, Washington Free Beacon, Associated Press, Florida Politics, The Stranger, New York Times, Fortune, Commentary, NPR and Washington Post
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, Daily Kos, WHOTV, Joe.My.God., POLITICUSUSA, Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Roll Call
Nicole Weisensee Egan / The Daily Beast:
Is a Serial-Killer Gang Murdering Young Men Across the U.S.? — Dozens of college-age men dead from ‘accidental’ drownings—but a team of retired detectives say the boys were drugged and killed by a shadowy gang with a sinister symbol. — On the evening of Dec. 15, 2016, Dakota James called his friend Shelley in a panic.
Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
Trump's Prayer-Rug Paranoia — The president is tweeting again. — Three weeks into a government shutdown triggered when the president reneged on a deal to fund the government, insisting instead that any deal had to include money for a wall on the southern border, Donald Trump tweeted …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.
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Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Trump touts story about finding ‘prayer rugs’ along border
Trump touts story about finding ‘prayer rugs’ along border
Discussion:
Washington Post, Splinter and VICE News
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Larry 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 …
Discussion:
Mediaite
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Tim Miller / The Bulwark:
Unto the Breach — An open letter to those considering a Trump primary.
Unto the Breach — An open letter to those considering a Trump primary.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Pew Research Center:
Trump Begins Third Year With Low Job Approval and Doubts About His Honesty — Views of economy remain positive, divided by partisanship — At the second anniversary of his inauguration, public views of Donald Trump's job performance, as well as his honesty and administration's ethics, are decidedly negative.
Discussion:
Political Wire and CNN
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 …
Discussion:
CNN, KAJ-TV and Political Wire
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 …
Washington Post:
Trump meets with top North Korean official amid speculation of a second summit with Kim Jong Un — President Trump met with a senior North Korean official at the White House on Friday amid speculation that the two sides could soon announce a second summit between him and Kim Jong Un.
Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
AJC poll shows a deeply divided Georgia and tough numbers for Kemp — Editor's note: For a detailed explanation about how this poll was conducted, see the end of this story. — After an intensely partisan race for Georgia governor, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released Friday shows …
Gabriel Debenedetti / New York Magazine:
Kamala Harris Zeroes In on Baltimore for 2020 Headquarters — 2020 is really, truly here, and that means New York Magazine national correspondent Gabriel Debenedetti is on the trail, tracking the intricacies of the presidential election action. Here, some of this week's brand-new behind …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Dara Lind / Vox:
Even with the shutdown, the Trump administration is suing to take land for the border wall — Most federal lawsuits have been postponed due to shutdown — except where a delay would compromise “the safety of human life.” — President Donald Trump hasn't yet gotten Democrats to acquiesce …
Discussion:
ABC News
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Ted Hesson / Politico:
DOJ hiring attorneys to handle property seizures for border wall
DOJ hiring attorneys to handle property seizures for border wall
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo