memeorandum: Florida sixth-grader charged with misdemeanor after refusing to recite Pledge of Allegiance (Kristine Phillips/Washington Post)

3:40 PM ET, February 18, 2019

Top Items:

Smollett developments leave some baffled, others outraged — LOS ANGELES (AP) — The national outrage that simmered after actor Jussie Smollett said he was attacked by people shouting racial and anti-gay slurs was fueled in part by celebrities who spoke out loud and strong on social media.

Discussion: Breitbart, The Guardian, twitchy.com, KBZK, The Week and Associated Press

TMZ.com:

Jussie Smollett Case to Go to Grand Jury — A grand jury will hear the Jussie Smollett case early next week ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ. — Law enforcement sources connected to the investigation tell TMZ, the 2 brothers who were arrested and then released are staying somewhere around …

Discussion: The Bulwark, RedState, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, AOL, The Root, New York Times, Page Six, BlackSportsOnline, Daily Wire, Law & Crime and Associated Press

CBS Chicago:

Jussie Smollett Case: Clues Into Potential Motive Behind The Attack — (CBS) -"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, upset after a racist letter sent to the show's studio didn't get a “bigger reaction,” is suspected of paying two men to attack him a week later, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.

Caleb Howe / Mediaite:
Did the Media Jump the Gun on the Jussie Smollett Story?

Discussion: Breitbart, National Review, USA Today, Real Clear Politics, Daily Wire, Contemptor, The Federalist, TheBlaze and twitchy.com

Nana Efua Mumford / Washington Post:
I doubted Jussie Smollett. It breaks my heart that I might be right.

Discussion: The New Neo, The Daily Caller, CNN, AOL, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, Althouse, IJR, Instapundit and RedState

Lia Eustachewich / Page Six:
Al Sharpton: Hold Jussie Smollett accountable if he staged attack

Discussion: Law & Crime, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com

Kyle Smith / New York Post:
Don't expect apologies from the left over Jussie Smollett ‘attack’ fraud

Discussion: Hollywood in Toto, The Daily Beast and Louder With Crowder

Victor Davis Hanson / American Greatness:

Autopsy of a Dead Coup — The illegal effort to destroy the 2016 Trump campaign by Hillary Clinton campaign's use of funds to create, disseminate among court media, and then salt among high Obama administration officials, a fabricated, opposition smear dossier failed.

Discussion: CNN and Fox News

Carrie Johnson / NPR:
Andrew McCabe, Ex-FBI Deputy, Describes ‘Remarkable’ Number Of Trump-Russia Contacts

Discussion: Law & Crime, Politico, USA Today, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Scott Pelley / CBS News:
Andrew McCabe: The full 60 Minutes interview

Discussion: Vox, Shareblue Media, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Washington Press, Hullabaloo, POLITICUSUSA, The Guardian, Althouse, emptywheel, AOL, Breitbart, VICE News, New York Post, IJR, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit

Fox News:
Rush Limbaugh on whether Trump is justified in taking executive action to secure funding for his border wall

Discussion: Daily Wire and The Week

Quint Forgey / Politico:
McCabe: ‘I was fired because I opened a case against the president’

Discussion: Breitbart, Axios, Splinter and The Daily Beast

CBS News:
McCabe's “bizarre” job interview with President Trump and other clips

Discussion: The Guardian

Laura Jarrett / CNN:
Former acting FBI director: Trump's ‘own words’ prompted counterintelligence investigation

Discussion: RedState and POLITICUSUSA

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Trump can't run the Mueller playbook on New York feds — Even as speculation mounts that special counsel Robert Mueller might be winding down his investigation, a parallel threat to President Donald Trump only seems to be growing within his own Justice Department: the Southern District of New York.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA

Morgan Chalfant / The Hill: Five things to watch as Barr takes the reins of Justice, Mueller probe

Jacob Solis / The Nevada Independent:

Warren: If officials believe Trump cannot fulfill duties, they must invoke 25th Amendment — Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks to a crowd at a Las Vegas campaign rally on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. Photo by Jeff Scheid//The Nevada Independent — Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren …

Discussion: Townhall, Power Line, Front Page Magazine, Washington Times, Hill Reporter, IJR, The Daily Caller and Daily Wire

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Why allegations of a ‘coup’ against Trump are unfounded

Discussion: Daily Wire, The Daily Caller and IJR

Andrew Prokop / Vox:
The 25th Amendment, explained: how a president can be declared unfit to serve

Discussion: Townhall, No More Mister Nice Blog and Breitbart

Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:

Trump Considering Powell, Craft, Grenell, James for UN Job, Sources Say — Ivanka Trump may also be considered, person familiar says — State Department spokeswoman Nauert withdrew nomination — President Donald Trump is considering four people to be his next UN ambassador …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, HuffPost, Political Wire, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The Week and NPR

Kristine Phillips / Washington Post:

Florida sixth-grader charged with misdemeanor after refusing to recite Pledge of Allegiance — A Florida student is facing misdemeanor charges after a confrontation with his teacher that began with his refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and escalated into what officials described as disruptive behavior.

Discussion: NBC News, Vox, Chicago Tribune, Daily Wire, Atlanta Black Star, Splinter, myfox8.com, Orlando Weekly, Daily Mail and Tribunist

FiveThirtyEight:

Could Congress Block Trump's Emergency Declaration? — President Trump has declared a national emergency in order to pay for physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, but will Congress block it? That's a long shot — but we can't rule it out either.

Discussion: Law & Liberty, Raw Story and KBZK

Camilo Montoya-Galvez / CBS News:

Hurd says 1,000 Texas farmers could have land seized to build Trump's border wall — Texas Rep. Will Hurd, the sole Republican representing a congressional district along the southern border, said more than 1,000 farmers in his state are at risk of having their land seized by the federal government …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Arizona Republic

Alexander Burns / New York Times:

Obama Quietly Gives Advice to 2020 Democrats, but No Endorsement — A secret meeting of former President Barack Obama's financial backers convened in Washington early this month: Organized by David Jacobson and John Phillips, Mr. Obama's former ambassadors to Canada and Italy …

BBC:

Seven MPs leave Labour Party in protest at Jeremy Corbyn's leadership — Seven MPs have resigned from the Labour Party in protest at Jeremy Corbyn's approach to Brexit and anti-Semitism. — They are: Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Mike Gapes, Gavin Shuker and Ann Coffey.

Discussion: NPR, Breitbart, Axios, Mediaite and Mashable

Darby Beane / WBKO-TV:

Man accused of pulling gun on victim wearing MAGA hat — BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) — A Tennessee man is in jail after being accused of pulling a gun on a Sam's Club customer Saturday. — According to the police report, officers were called to Sam's Club due to a person with a gun.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, Breitbart, Louder With Crowder, The Daily Caller, Big League Politics and twitchy.com

Ashraf Khalil / Associated Press:

DC's many prankster activists turn anger into street theater — WASHINGTON (AP) — In the nation's capital, it can be hard for protesters to stand out. A group of 50 people — or even 500 — holding signs and shouting hardly merits a second glance in this city of protests.

Discussion: Axios

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Republicans Already Are Demonizing Democrats as Socialists and Baby Killers — WASHINGTON — In the 116th Congress, if you're a Democrat, you're either a socialist, a baby killer or an anti-Semite. — That, at least, is what Republicans want voters to think, as they seek to demonize Democrats …

Discussion: Power Line, NB Blog, Daily Wire and Hullabaloo

Cameron Cawthorne / Washington Free Beacon:

Farrakhan: The ‘Wicked Jews’ Use Me to Attack Women's Movement, March Leaders — Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan on Sunday blamed “wicked Jews” for trying to use him to criticize Women's March leadership and “break up the women's movement.” — Farrakhan, who has a long history …

Jackson Diehl / Washington Post:

The Democrats have an Israel problem — and it's not Ilhan Omar — The Democratic Party has problems with Israel. But Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), the new members of Congress who have attracted attention with toxic tweets and support for boycott, are not the main protagonists.