Top Items:
Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Ilhan Omar Knows Exactly What She Is Doing — The Minnesota Democrat is bringing Corbynism to the Democratic Party. — There's an old joke about upper-class British anti-Semitism: It means someone who hates Jews more than is strictly necessary. Ilhan Omar, the freshman representative from Minnesota …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, RedState, American Greatness, New York Post, National Review and Breitbart
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Mike Lillis / The Hill:
New cracks emerge in Dem unity — House Democrats are showing more cracks in their united front just two months into the new Congress. — Leaders are scrambling to contain high-profile rifts between liberals and centrists on everything from the Green New Deal and “Medicare for all,” …
Discussion:
Daily Wire, The Federalist, RedState, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Examiner, IJR, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, Politico and CNN
Rahm Emanuel / The Atlantic:
I've Faced the Charge of Dual Loyalty — I'm all for new voices in the U.S. Congress. But lately, some of those new voices have been voicing some very old canards. — I'm talking about Representative Ilhan Omar, one of the newly elected Democrats who populate the 116th Congress.
Discussion:
CNN, Splinter, Washington Times and middleeastmonitor.com
Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
Jim Clyburn's defense: Ilhan Omar's experience is ‘more personal’ than Jews who had parents in the Holocaust — As Democrats line up to defend Rep. Ilhan Omar and come up with her excuses for her anti-Semitism, House whip Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., tried to minimize he comments by arguing …
Discussion:
RedState, Conservative Review and twitchy.com
Politico:
Omar uproar swamps Pelosi
Omar uproar swamps Pelosi
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Axios, NBC News, Power Line and Talking Points Memo
Melanie Zanona / Politico:
Dems look to move past Omar turmoil with speedy vote
Dems look to move past Omar turmoil with speedy vote
Discussion:
RedState, Roll Call, The Hill, Washington Free Beacon and Breitbart
John Parkinson / ABC News:
House to vote on resolution ‘opposing hate’ in effort to end Democrat infighting over Omar comments
House to vote on resolution ‘opposing hate’ in effort to end Democrat infighting over Omar comments
Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:
Embassy Staffers Say Jared Kushner Shut Them Out of Saudi Meetings — When a member of the administration travels overseas, the embassy often helps coordinate the trip. Not when Jared Kushner meets his buddy MBS. — Officials and staffers in the U.S. embassy in Riyadh said they were not read …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story
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Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
John Kelly, Out of White House, Breaks With Trump Policies — The former White House chief of staff, John F. Kelly, on Wednesday declined to answer questions about the existence of a memo he wrote saying that President Trump had ordered officials to give his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a security clearance in May 2018.
Discussion:
ABC News, Political Wire, The Wrap, Vox, IJR and Just Security
Carol E. Lee / NBC News:
John Kelly differs with Trump on immigration, mum on security clearances
John Kelly differs with Trump on immigration, mum on security clearances
Discussion:
New York Post, Splinter, The Week, Raw Story and Axios
Reid Standish / Foreign Policy:
U.S. Cancels Journalist's Award Over Her Criticism of Trump — Jessikka Aro was to receive a “Women of Courage” prize. Then officials read her Twitter feed. — Jessikka Aro, a Finnish investigative journalist, has faced down death threats and harassment over her work exposing Russia's …
Discussion:
Raw Story
KNSD-TV:
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:
Common Dreams, VICE News, IJR, Shareblue Media, Fortune, Times of San Diego, Mediaite, Townhall, Axios, Mother Jones, Splinter, The Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »
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Julia Ainsley / NBC News:
U.S. officials made list of reporters, lawyers, activists to question at border
U.S. officials made list of reporters, lawyers, activists to question at border
Discussion:
Shakesville, Slate, New York Post and Townhall
Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:
Attorney Says Cohen Directed His Lawyer to Seek Trump Pardon, Contradicting Testimony — Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for President Trump, directed his attorney last spring to inquire about the possibility of a presidential pardon, weeks after federal agents raided his properties, Mr. Cohen's lawyer said Wednesday.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, Townhall, CNBC, twitchy.com, Splinter, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Raw Story and Axios
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New York Times:
Giuliani Says Lawyers Have Sought Trump Pardons for Their Clients
Giuliani Says Lawyers Have Sought Trump Pardons for Their Clients
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, ABC News, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Axios and Hullabaloo
Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:
Michael Cohen discussed pardons with a second Trump lawyer, he tells Congress
Michael Cohen discussed pardons with a second Trump lawyer, he tells Congress
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Associated Press and The Moderate Voice
Fred Barbash / Washington Post:
Wilbur Ross broke law, violated Constitution in census decision, judge rules — Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross acted in “bad faith,” broke several laws and violated the constitutional underpinning of representative democracy when he added a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
It's time — high time — to take Fox News's destructive role in America seriously — Chris Wallace is an exceptional interviewer, and Shepard Smith and Bret Baier are reality-based news anchors. — Now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk about the overall problem of Fox News …
Axios:
The biggest political scandal in American history — Even without seeing Robert Mueller's report, or knowing what prosecutors with the Southern District of New York have unearthed, or what congressional investigators will find, we already have witnessed the biggest political scandal in American history.
Discussion:
emptywheel and Raw Story
Kate Briquelet / The Daily Beast:
Jeffrey Epstein, Alan Dershowitz, and Pals Accused of Sex-Trafficking Ring — A lawyer for one of Epstein's victims claims he was trafficking girls to Dershowitz and others—but the Harvard attorney says sealed documents will prove his innocence. — Kate Briquelet
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David Von Drehle / Washington Post:
Open the Jeffrey Epstein files. All of them.
Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
That Time Trump Got $18.3 Million in Palm Beach — Scrutiny of his business dealings is just the start of a long and possibly harrowing experience for the president and his entourage. — A series of hurricanes tore through Florida in 2005, and Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's business …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Hullabaloo and VICE News
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Bernard Condon / Associated Press:
Out of the shadows: Loyal money man swept into Trump probes
New York Times:
Biden's 2020 Plan is Almost Complete. Democrats Are Impatient. — WASHINGTON — The pieces for a Joseph R. Biden Jr. presidential campaign are falling into place: His nucleus of advisers has begun offering campaign positions to seasoned Democratic strategists.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and The Week
Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
Why I am critic, not a NeverTrump absolutist — CNN commentator Matt Lewis recently observed the bitter fights breaking out on social media among conservatives who in an earlier era might have seen themselves as ideological allies. — “We are at the stage where the (last?) …
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Wall Street Journal:
Martin Shkreli Steers His Company From Prison—With Contraband Cellphone — The disgraced pharmaceutical executive dubbed “Pharma Bro” remains the shadow power at the drug company that became a national lightning rod for jacking up the prices of rare drugs.
Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
Biden in 1993 speech pushing crime bill warned of ‘predators on our streets’ who were ‘beyond the pale’ — Joe Biden in 1993 speech warned of ‘predators on our streets’ — (CNN)Joe Biden in a 1993 speech warned of “predators on our streets” who were “beyond the pale” …
Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
House Democrats poised to take the baton from Mueller, move toward impeachment — Analysis: Democrats are divided over whether — and how fast — to impeach the president. That hasn't stopped them from launching down that path. — WASHINGTON — This city is waiting with bated breath …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Roll Call
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The Hill:
Schultz recruiting GOP insiders ahead of possible 2020 bid — Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has recruited at least three veteran House Republican staffers and consultants to join his presidential campaign-in-waiting, bringing on seasoned and well-connected GOP operatives who know their way around …
Luke O'Brien / HuffPost:
Swastikas Show Up At Sidwell Friends School, Bastion Of Progressivism — This is the third time in months that swastikas have appeared at the elite D.C. private school that educated Malia Obama and Chelsea Clinton. — A student assembly on Wednesday at Washington's Sidwell Friends School …
Discussion:
Slate