memeorandum: Lawyers claiming ties to Rudy Giuliani approached Michael Cohen after FBI raids; investigators looking at contacts (Eliana Larramendia/ABC News)

9:05 PM ET, March 6, 2019

Top Items:

Source: Leaked Documents Show the U.S. Government Tracking Journalists and Immigration Advocates Through a Secret Database — The documents detail an intelligence-gathering effort by the United States and Mexican authorities, targeting more than 50 people including journalists, an attorney, and immigration advocates

Discussion: Axios, Splinter and Mother Jones, more at Mediagazer »

Julia Ainsley / NBC News:

U.S. officials made list of reporters, lawyers, activists to question at border — Several people on the list told NBC News they were questioned at the border as part of what U.S. border agents called a “national security investigation.” — WASHINGTON — Customs and Border Protection …

Discussion: Townhall

Scott Bixby / The Daily Beast:
Kirstjen Nielsen Says 'We Don't Use Cages for Children'—After U.S. Put Migrant Kids in Cages

Discussion: ABC News, Breitbart and Raw Story

Washington Post:

House Democrats splinter over response to Rep. Omar's alleged anti-Semitism — House Democrats argued acrimoniously Wednesday over whether to rebuke Rep. Ilhan Omar for alleged anti-Semitic remarks, forcing party leaders to confront a growing rift over race and religion that threatened to hamstring the newfound majority.

New York Times:

Democrats Put Off Anti-Semitism Resolution After Fierce Backlash — WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders have put off a vote on a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and bigotry after a backlash from rank-and-file lawmakers who said Representative Ilhan Omar, whose comments gave rise to the measure, was being unfairly singled out.

Discussion: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Week and The Guardian

The Daily Beast:

Democrats Plan to Condemn ‘All Hate’ After Backlash Over Planned Ilhan Omar Rebuke — Democrats originally moved to formally admonish the freshman lawmaker for her perceived anti-Semitic comments, but many lawmakers now want all forms of hate to be included.

Discussion: The Hill

Sarah Ferris / Politico:
Tensions flare as Dems struggle to calm furor over Omar

Discussion: The Hill, Power Line, Mediaite, twitchy.com, Shareblue Media, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast and Patreon

Batya Ungar-Sargon / The Forward:
The Left Is Making Jews Choose: Our Progressive Values Or Ourselves

Discussion: Washington Post, The Bulwark, RedState and Breitbart

Yascha Mounk / Slate:
Ilhan Omar Shouldn't Get a Pass

Discussion: CNN, Washington Free Beacon and Mondoweiss

Washington Post:
Want to combat hate? Stop the hazing of Ilhan Omar and start listening.

Discussion: CNN, RedState, The Guardian, CNSNews, alicublog and The Daily Signal

Daniel Marans / HuffPost:
Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris Condemn Effort To Rebuke Ilhan Omar

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, Politico, Political Wire, Contemptor, Mondoweiss and Mediaite

John McCormack / National Review:
Asked about Ilhan Omar, Democrats Turn Focus to GOP

Discussion: Jewish Insider, Vanity Fair, The Hill and twitchy.com

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Democratic National Committee rejects Fox News for debates, citing New Yorker article — The Democratic National Committee has decided to exclude Fox News Channel from televising any of its candidate debates during the 2019-2020 cycle as a result of published revelations detailing …

New York Times:

In the Middle of His Official Business, Trump Took the Time to Send Checks to Michael Cohen — WASHINGTON — On a busy day at the White House, President Trump hosted senators to talk about tax cuts, accused a Democratic congresswoman of distorting his condolence call to a soldier's widow …

Discussion: Mediaite, Vox, Michigan Advance, CNN, Hullabaloo, Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Washington Post, NBC News, Contemptor, NPR, POLITICUSUSA, Just Security, Axios, The Week, Raw Story, Splinter and Politico

John Bresnahan / Politico:

‘It gets real personal, real fast’: Dems fear targeting Trump kids could backfire — House Democrats have already gone to war with President Donald Trump. But there's one target they're skittish of hitting too hard: his children. — In public and private, Democrats see potential pitfalls …

Discussion: New York Times

Betsy Klein / CNN:
What does Ivanka Trump do?

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Just Security, Vox, Raw Story and IJR

The Daily Beast: House Dems Discuss Whether to Go After Ivanka Trump

Caleb Melby / Bloomberg:
Trump Fussed Over Tablecloths and Rockettes for the Inauguration

Discussion: Politico and Talking Points Memo

Martin J. Sheil / Just Security:
Can Trump Organization Executives be Prosecuted for Money Laundering?

Discussion: Slate, Vanity Fair and Contemptor

Eliana Larramendia / ABC News:

Lawyers claiming ties to Rudy Giuliani approached Michael Cohen after FBI raids; investigators looking at contacts — In the weeks following the federal raids on former Michael Cohen's law office and residences last April, President Donald Trump's former lawyer and confidant was contacted …

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Salon

New York Times:

Giuliani Says Lawyers Have Sought Trump Pardons for Their Clients — WASHINGTON — President Trump's lead lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, said Wednesday that lawyers for several people facing scrutiny from the Justice Department in the investigations into the Trump campaign and presidency …

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Post

YouTube:

A Message From Alex Trebek | JEOPARDY! — Jeopardy! … Add to — Share More — 823 4 — “Hi everyone, I have some news to share with all of you and it's in keeping with my longtime policy of being open and transparent with our Jeopardy! fan base.

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, TMZ.com, New York Times and Fortune

Colleen Long / Associated Press:

Sen. McSally, ex-Air Force pilot, says officer raped her — WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Martha McSally, the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat, said Wednesday that she was raped in the Air Force by a superior officer. — The Arizona Republican, a 26-year military veteran …

Discussion: ABC News, Slate, twitchy.com and Axios

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez / Arizona Republic:
Sen. Martha McSally reveals she was raped by superior officer while in the Air Force

Discussion: NPR and Daily Wire

CNN:
GOP senator reveals she was sexually assaulted when she served in the military

Discussion: Townhall and The Daily Caller

Katie Galioto / Politico:
McSally says she was raped in the Air Force by a superior officer

Discussion: New York Times and VICE News

Washington Post:

‘Not my fault’: Trump struggles to defend his record amid setbacks on immigration, trade, North Korea — President Trump proclaimed in a freewheeling speech to a conference of conservatives last weekend that “America is winning again.” But his administration has been on a pronounced losing streak over the past week.

Discussion: One America News Network, Los Angeles Times, Breitbart and Outside the Beltway

David J. Lynch / Washington Post:

Trump promised to shrink the trade deficit. Instead it exploded. — BREAKING NEWS: U.S. posted record-breaking $891.2 billion merchandise trade deficit in 2018, despite Trump's ‘America First’ policies — President Trump's tariffs and tough policies have failed to shrink a trade gap …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, The Week, Cafe Hayek, Bloomberg, Hullabaloo, Raw Story and Shakesville

Adam Behsudi / Politico:
Why can't Trump cut the trade deficit with China?

Discussion: Washington Post

The White House:

Executive Order on Revocation of Reporting Requirement — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: — Section 1. Findings. (a) Section 3 of Executive Order 13732 of July 1, 2016 …

Discussion: New York Times, Shareblue Media, ThinkProgress, Splinter, Common Dreams and Axios

Margaret Talev / Bloomberg: Trump Cancels U.S. Report on Civilian Deaths in Drone Strikes

Summer Concepcion / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Revokes Obama-Era Rule For Reporting Civilians Killed In Intel Ops

Discussion: Shakesville

Elizabeth Dwoskin / Washington Post:

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg says he'll reorient the company toward encryption and privacy — The firm's focus will shift from a social network in which people broadcast information to large groups of people to one in which people communicate with smaller groups and their content disappears after a short period.

more at Techmeme »

Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook:
A Privacy-Focused Vision for Social Networking

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Intercept, Recode, CNN, Slate, The Verge, NPR, Observer, Politico, TechCrunch, The Wrap, Engadget, New York Times, GeekWire, Snopes.com, CBS San Francisco, Variety, Q13 FOX News, Fortune, The Week, SFist, 9to5Mac, The Daily Caller and Mother Jones, more at Techmeme »

CNN:

Cohen gives documents to House panel on Trump attorney alleged changes to 2017 testimony — (CNN)Michael Cohen on Wednesday provided the House Intelligence Committee with new documents showing edits to the false written statement he delivered to Congress in 2017 about the Trump Organization's pursuit …

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, Daily Kos, The Week, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, New York Post, Axios, Q13 FOX News and Mediaite

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller: CNN Leak During Michael Cohen Testimony Recalls Memories Of Network's Bungled Don Jr. Story

Washington Post:

The president's sons entrusted their private hunting retreat to a caretaker. He was working in the country illegally. — WINGDALE, N.Y. — One morning last May, Eric Trump sent a text message to the caretaker of the shooting range he and his brother own in Upstate New York.

Discussion: CNN, Slate, Daily Kos and Raw Story

Isaac Arnsdorf / ProPublica:

Trump Mar-a-Lago Buddy Wrote Policy Pitch. The President Sent It to VA Chief. — In late 2017, on one of President Donald Trump's retreats to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, he caught up with an old friend: Albert Hazzouri. — When Hazzouri is not at Mar-a-Lago …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Hollywood Reporter:

“I Need to Be Careful”: Texts Reveal Warner Bros. CEO Promoted Actress Amid Apparent Sexual Relationship — Hundreds of leaked text messages between Kevin Tsujihara, actress Charlotte Kirk and partners Brett Ratner and James Packer show the powerful executive, under pressure …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, New York Times and The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »

Los Angeles Times:

White House prepares for Robert Mueller's report — whatever it says … The White House made a quiet but notable personnel change a few weeks ago, moving a veteran staff attorney to a press office that is preparing a response to the much-anticipated final report from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III …

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Associated Press:

Ahead of court ruling, Census Bureau seeks citizenship data — As the U.S. Supreme Court weighs whether the Trump administration can ask people if they are citizens on the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau is quietly seeking comprehensive information about the legal status of millions of immigrants.

Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:

I am sick of hearing about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from myself, talking about her — Enough is enough! Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez needs to stop inserting herself into our every waking moment! — I am sick of hearing about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from my voice talking about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Slate

CBS News:

R. Kelly breaks his silence on sexual abuse claims: “I have been assassinated” — In an explosive interview, R. Kelly is breaking his silence about the sexual abuse charges that landed him in jail last month. The embattled R&B singer spoke with “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King for nearly 80 minutes Tuesday.

Discussion: Entertainment Tonight, The Atlantic, Page Six, CBS Chicago, National Review, USA Today, Vox, FOX31 Denver, IJR, Observer, RedState, The Week, WTVR-TV and Mediaite

Taylor Swift / ELLE:

30 Things I Learned Before Turning 30 — According to my birth certificate, I turn 30 this year. It's weird because part of me still feels 18 and part of me feels 283, but the actual age I currently am is 29. I've heard people say that your thirties are “the most fun!”