Top Items:
Lisa Mascaro / Associated Press:
AP Interview: Pelosi: 'I don't trust Barr; I trust Mueller' — WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she doesn't trust Attorney General William Barr and suggested his statements alleging President Donald Trump's campaign was spied on undermine Barr's independence as the nation's top law enforcement officer.
Discussion:
Axios, Politico, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The Week, Media Matters for America, Daily Kos, Political Wire, twitchy.com and Bloomberg
RELATED:
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Barr walks back claim that law enforcement spied on Trump campaign — Attorney General Bill Barr told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday that he believes spying by law enforcement officials on the 2016 Trump campaign “did occur,” before clarifying at the end of the hearing …
Discussion:
Fox News, Law & Crime, Mother Jones, Herman Cain, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire and Townhall
Garrett M. Graff / Wired:
William Barr Sends Troubling Signals Ahead of Mueller Report Release — THE MUELLER REPORT has been sitting in the Justice Department for nearly two weeks. Attorney general William Barr told Congress Wednesday he's hoping the public will finally get a look at the 300-plus page document sometime within …
Ryan Goodman / Just Security:
What the President May Now Fear Most in Mueller Report — Special Counsel Robert Mueller's final report is predicated, as far as we know, on a potentially explosive assumption. — Consider a head scratching set of conclusions. The Special Counsel wrote that “the evidence does not establish …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
Bill Barr Is Trying Hard to Be President Trump's Roy Cohn
Bill Barr Is Trying Hard to Be President Trump's Roy Cohn
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Guardian, Vanity Fair and Mercury News
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
William Barr's highly questionable use of Trump's ‘spying’ talking point
William Barr's highly questionable use of Trump's ‘spying’ talking point
Discussion:
RedState, The Federalist, twitchy.com and Raw Story
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
William Barr, Trump toady
William Barr, Trump toady
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Shareblue Media, RealClearPolitics, CNN, Washington Press, Raw Story and The Mahablog
John Solomon / The Hill:
The single-sentence Russia bombshell that Attorney General Barr delivered to Congress
The single-sentence Russia bombshell that Attorney General Barr delivered to Congress
Discussion:
New York Times and Washington Examiner
Andy Kroll / Rolling Stone:
Trump Is Getting Exactly the Attorney General He Wants
Trump Is Getting Exactly the Attorney General He Wants
Discussion:
Raw Story, Law & Crime and Politico
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
FBI brass discussed possibility Trump fired Comey ‘at the behest of’ Russia
FBI brass discussed possibility Trump fired Comey ‘at the behest of’ Russia
Discussion:
Raw Story
Washington Post:
National Enquirer expected to be sold imminently as parent company faces pressure — American Media Inc. is actively seeking to sell off the National Enquirer, according to three people familiar with the process who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »
Wall Street Journal:
Hush-Money Probe Gathered Evidence From Trump's Inner Circle — Federal investigators, looking into payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, questioned longtime aides of the president and amassed more evidence than previously known — The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office has gathered …
Discussion:
Politico, Bipartisan Report, Talking Points Memo, New York Post, Raw Story, CNN and Mediaite
RELATED:
Sarah Grossbart / E! Online:
Broken Friendships, Family Fights and Prison Sentence Anguish: How Lori Loughlin Is Coping With Her New Normal — Whatever happened to the woman who once declared her family wasn't interesting enough for prime time TV? — “We've been asked to do a reality show a couple times,” …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Daily Wire and Vanity Fair
New York Times:
Retiring as a Judge, Trump's Sister Ends Court Inquiry Into Her Role in Tax Dodges — President Trump's older sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, has retired as a federal appellate judge, ending an investigation into whether she violated judicial conduct rules by participating in fraudulent tax schemes with her siblings.
Washington Post:
Treasury denies Democrats' request to hand over Trump's tax returns by the end of Wednesday, says it will confer with Justice — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin denied House Democrats' demand to release six years of President Trump's tax returns, saying the department could not complete …
Discussion:
Political Wire
RELATED:
Aaron Rupar / Vox:
Steve Mnuchin tried to tell Maxine Waters how to run a congressional hearing. It did not go well.
Steve Mnuchin tried to tell Maxine Waters how to run a congressional hearing. It did not go well.
Discussion:
Common Dreams, ABC News, IJR and The Root
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Fox News Hosts Back Mnuchin in His Testy Exchange With Maxine Waters
Fox News Hosts Back Mnuchin in His Testy Exchange With Maxine Waters
Discussion:
Politico, CNN and Contemptor
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Trump's ‘truly bizarre’ visit to Mt. Vernon — President Donald Trump had some advice for George Washington. — During a guided tour of Mount Vernon last April with French president Emmanuel Macron, Trump learned that Washington was one of the major real-estate speculators of his era.
Discussion:
Townhall, Washington Post, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Shakesville, Washington Press, alicublog, Shareblue Media, Rolling Stone, The Week, IJR, Bipartisan Report, The Daily Caller, CNN, New York Post, Splinter, Political Wire, Althouse, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Times, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite
Tucker Higgins / CNBC:
Mike Pence, facing criticism from 2020 Democratic hopeful Pete Buttigieg over his record on gay rights, says South Bend mayor ‘knows better’ — Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg “knows better” days after the South Bend, Indiana …
RELATED:
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Pete Buttigieg, Gay and Christian, Challenges Religious Right on Its Own Turf
Pete Buttigieg, Gay and Christian, Challenges Religious Right on Its Own Turf
Discussion:
New Republic, The Daily Beast and The Atlantic
Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
A Texas bill would make it possible to put women to death for having abortions — Men and women, young and old, native Texans and immigrants, they rose to ask lawmakers to protect life, describing a “genocide” and foreseeing the arrival of “God's wrath.” — The act of public atonement …
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, TheBlaze, Faithwire, Right Wing Watch, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Common Dreams, Shakesville, Dallas Morning News and LifeNews.com
RELATED:
WTTG-TV:
Texas lawmakers consider the death penalty for abortion
Texas lawmakers consider the death penalty for abortion
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Townhall and Essence
Sean Gallagher / Ars Technica:
DHS, FBI say election systems in all 50 states were targeted in 2016 — Joint Intelligence Bulletin issued in March says Russian hacking efforts were wide-ranging. — A joint intelligence bulletin (JIB) has been issued by the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation …
Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:
Is This the Dumbest Moment in Congressional History? — A Kentucky congressman's impossibly daft line of questioning left John Kerry flabbergasted — Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) may have studied robotics at MIT, but he is now responsible for one of the most asinine moments in congressional history.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite, Splinter, The Mahablog and CNN
Carol Morello / Washington Post:
Netanyahu win would complicate prognosis for peace plan, analysts say — The apparent victory of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party in Israeli elections clouds prospects for the Trump administration's yet-to-be-released peace plan and could further undermine bipartisan support for Israel in Congress, according to analysts.
Discussion:
Political Wire and Haaretz
RELATED:
Damon Linker / The Week:
There is no left left in Israel
There is no left left in Israel
Discussion:
Washington Post, The American Spectator, USA Today and Brookings
Washington Post:
European leaders offer a long Brexit delay, avoiding chaotic exit on Friday — BREAKING NEWS: Although British Prime Minister Theresa May had asked for an extension until the end of June, E.U. leaders are tired of emergency Brexit summits and skeptical of what she can accomplish in less than three months.
Discussion:
The Guardian and Political Wire
Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
White House eyeing former head of anti-immigration group for DHS job — The White House is considering nominating the former head of an anti-immigration group to lead U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to a White House official and three people briefed on the deliberations …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, Breitbart, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Splinter, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Shareblue Media, VICE News and Booman Tribune
Michael Brendan Dougherty / National Review:
The Smear Of Roger Scruton — The attempt to remove Roger Scruton from an honorary advisory role on the U.K. government's “Building Better, Building Beautiful” commission failed when it was tried last November. But it succeeded today. — “You expect people who spend their lives on Twitter …
Discussion:
New Statesman, Coffee House, Spectator USA and The American Conservative
RELATED:
Lawfare:
Memo to the Press: How Not to Screw Up on the Mueller Report — Back in February, writing with Susan Hennessey and Mikhaila Fogel, we laid out “Four Principles for Reading the Mueller Report.” The report was then still vapor, a document whose preparation was widely hypothesized by most analysts …
Discussion:
Associated Press, WGN-TV, Media Matters for America and KTLA
Bloomberg:
Amazon Workers Are Listening to What You Tell Alexa — Tens of millions of people use smart speakers and their voice software to play games, find music or trawl for trivia. Millions more are reluctant to invite the devices and their powerful microphones into their homes out of concern that someone might be listening.
CNN:
Tiny bees found in woman's eye, feeding off tears — (CNN)Doctors treating a Taiwanese woman for a swollen eye were shocked to find four tiny bees living under her left eyelid. — The miniscule insects, known as sweat bees, are 3 to 4 millimeters (0.12-0.16 inches) in length, according to CNN affiliate CTS.
Discussion:
Liberty Unyielding, The Daily Caller and The Guardian
Dennis Overbye / New York Times:
Darkness Visible, Finally: Astronomers Capture First Ever Image of a Black Hole — Astronomers at last have captured a picture of one of the most secretive entities in the cosmos. — Astronomers announced on Wednesday that at last they had captured an image of the unobservable: a black hole …
Discussion:
New Republic, Slate, Dealbreaker, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, twitchy.com, Splinter, Boston Magazine and Fox News
Joshua Partlow / Washington Post:
Amid Trump's immigration crackdown, the administration is silent on whether the president's own company is being scrutinized — President Trump has shown he is willing to take dramatic steps to stop the flow of illegal immigration into the United States, but his administration has been silent …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly and New York Times
Washington Post:
If Trump has his way, this major federal agency is on the way out — The White House is moving to do what no president has accomplished since the end of World War II: eliminate a major federal agency. — If the Trump administration succeeds at dismantling the Office of Personnel Management …
Discussion:
CNN, TheBlaze, Daily Wire and Axios
Trisha Thadani / San Francisco Chronicle:
SF supervisors reject housing complex that would cast shadow on SoMa park — The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously rejected a 63-unit apartment complex, including 15 below-market-rate units, because it would cast an evening shadow on a South of Market park.
Discussion:
Curbed SF and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Sophie Lewis / CBS News:
“Consent condom” requires four hands to open, making powerful statement about consent — With consent at the forefront of modern conversations about sex, one company is highlighting its importance in a unique way. Argentinian company Tulipán has created a “consent condom” …
Ben Lefebvre / Politico:
The confidential oil plan that could cost Trump reelection — The Trump administration is considering auctioning off Florida's coastal waters for oil and gas drilling — and Republicans are warning it could cost the president dearly in Florida in the 2020 election.
Discussion:
Salon, Orlando Weekly, POLITICUSUSA and Splinter
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
A QAnon Believer Is Running for Congress and Is Currently Unopposed in His Republican Primary — Matthew Lusk says he is not a ‘brainwashed cult member.’ He just has some questions. — Believers in the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory are fond of telling each other to “Trust the Plan” …
Discussion:
New York Post and Mediaite
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Inside the (semi-)secret society for young Trump staffers — On the first Wednesday evening in February, Anthony Scaramucci entertained a packed house of like-minded souls at Rewind, a retro diner off Dupont Circle. — There, the former White House communications director fielded friendly questions …