Top Items:
James Comey / New York Times:
How Trump Co-opts Leaders Like Bill Barr — Accomplished people lacking inner strength can't resist the compromises necessary to survive this president. — Mr. Comey is the former F.B.I. director. — People have been asking me hard questions. What happened to the leaders in the Trump administration …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, RedState, Washington Monthly, The Hill, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Slate, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, POLITICUSUSA, Splinter, Axios, CNN, Mediaite, Vox, emptywheel, Talking Points Memo, Sara A. Carter, Reuters, NB Blog, Mother Jones, Boing Boing, Daily Kos, New York Post and The Stranger
RELATED:
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Barr Released the Mueller Report. How Is That a Scandal? — The attorney general has acted properly in his oversight of the Mueller report and investigation. — It was only a month ago that many Democrats were hoping Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Bulwark and The Editorial Board
Zachary Basu / Axios:
AG Bill Barr cancels appearance before House Judiciary Committee — Attorney General Bill Barr has canceled his scheduled appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, after the panel voted today to allow an extra hour of questioning by staff lawyers against the objections of the Justice Department.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Political Wire
Washington Post:
William Barr torched his reputation. His testimony compounded the damage. — ATTORNEY GENERAL William P. Barr entered office with more credibility than many Trump appointees. A veteran of the George H.W. Bush administration, Mr. Barr avowed loyalty to the Justice Department's mission and …
Discussion:
Axios, Vox, Politico and Boston Globe
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
The real reason Bill Barr is defending Trump — Bill Barr didn't want to work for President Donald Trump. — At age 68 and semi-retired for a decade, the attorney general resisted three efforts over two years to recruit him into Trump's fold. When approached in late 2018 for his current job …
Discussion:
Slate, Breitbart, Hullabaloo, The Atlantic, Politico and Raw Story
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Moderate Democrats fret they made a ‘big mistake’ backing Barr — Three Senate Democrats voted for William Barr to be attorney general. And now at least two of them say they might have made a mistake. — After revelations that special counsel Robert Mueller took issue with Barr's presentation …
Discussion:
ABC News, The Week, Raw Story, twitchy.com and The Daily Beast
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
4 early takeaways from William Barr's tense hearing — Attorney General William P. Barr ventured up to Capitol Hill on Wednesday an embattled man. About 15 hours before his testimony, The Washington Post reported that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III had sent Barr a letter saying Barr's summary …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Shareblue Media, Bloomberg, Townhall and New York Post
Andrew McCarthy / Fox News:
Mueller's letter to Barr - A neat trick by the Washington Post before hearings begin — “Mueller complained to Barr about memo on key findings.” That's the banner headline at the top of the Washington Post's website Wednesday. But when you click your way to the actual story, it turns out that the headline is not true.
Discussion:
RedState and Instapundit
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
Mueller Pushed in Letter for Barr to Release Report's Summaries — WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, pushed Attorney General William P. Barr twice to release more of his investigative findings in late March after Mr. Barr outlined the inquiry's main conclusions …
Discussion:
Vox, New Republic, Washington Post, Raw Story, Florida Politics, CBS News, USA Today, Washington Press, The Week, Townhall, Outside the Beltway, Political Wire, Mercury News and The Daily Beast
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
William Barr and his horrible hearing — So far, Attorney General William P. Barr's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee has done himself and the administration no favors. To the contrary, former acting solicitor general Neal Katyal observes, “Barr has been evasive and misleading from the first paragraph.
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, Fox News, Daily Wire and VICE News
Jerry Portwood / Rolling Stone:
Barr Didn't Even Try to Pretend He's an Honest Broker for the Justice Department
Barr Didn't Even Try to Pretend He's an Honest Broker for the Justice Department
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, NPR and New York Times
Eli Watkins / CNN:
Hirono calls Barr a liar and says he should resign
Hirono calls Barr a liar and says he should resign
Discussion:
The Week, Daily Wire, Balloon Juice, Townhall and WTVR-TV
NBC News:
Barr declines to testify before House Judiciary Committee, setting stage for subpoena battle
Barr declines to testify before House Judiciary Committee, setting stage for subpoena battle
Chris Stevenson / The Independent:
Robert Mueller to testify to congress about Trump-Russia report, senior Democrat says
David French / National Review:
Three Thoughts on Barrgate
Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
House Dems pass motion to allow Judiciary staff to question Barr
House Dems pass motion to allow Judiciary staff to question Barr
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, American Greatness, The Gateway Pundit, IJR and Daily Caller News Foundation
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
William Barr's ‘snitty’ slip-up gives away his game
William Barr's ‘snitty’ slip-up gives away his game
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Breitbart and BuzzFeed News
emptywheel:
William Barr Absolved Trump of Obstruction without Having the Faintest Clue What He Obstructed
William Barr Absolved Trump of Obstruction without Having the Faintest Clue What He Obstructed
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Guy Benson / Townhall:
Analysis: Democrats' Dubious Barr Derangement is an Emotional Stand-in For Impeachment
Analysis: Democrats' Dubious Barr Derangement is an Emotional Stand-in For Impeachment
Discussion:
Washington Post, Fox News and Mercury News
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Lindsey Graham kicked off Barr's testimony by whipping up a Hillary Clinton conspiracy theory
Lindsey Graham kicked off Barr's testimony by whipping up a Hillary Clinton conspiracy theory
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and Vanity Fair
Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
William Barr's congressional testimony was shameful
William Barr's congressional testimony was shameful
Discussion:
Fox News, CNN, Mercury News and The Mahablog
Brian Beutler / Crooked Media:
The Democrats' Fatal Impeachment Error
The Democrats' Fatal Impeachment Error
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Reason, The Daily Signal and Tampa Bay Times
Brad Reed / Raw Story:
Mueller's letter to Barr is ‘screaming this is really wrong’: CNN's David Gregory
Mueller's letter to Barr is ‘screaming this is really wrong’: CNN's David Gregory
Discussion:
Washington Post
Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
The Barr-Mueller breakup: AG works to discredit special counsel
The Barr-Mueller breakup: AG works to discredit special counsel
Discussion:
Breitbart, CNN, Just Security, The Hill and The Guardian
Lucien Bruggeman / ABC News:
Mueller didn't intend report to be roadmap for Congress, AG Barr tells lawmakers
Mueller didn't intend report to be roadmap for Congress, AG Barr tells lawmakers
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, The Daily Beast, Politico, FiveThirtyEight, Vox, The Week, CNBC, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Business Insider
Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Barr won't testify before House panel Thursday
Barr won't testify before House panel Thursday
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Breitbart, The Moderate Voice and The Week
Derek Kravitz / ProPublica:
How Taxpayers Covered a $1,000 Liquor Bill for Trump Staffers (and More) at Trump's Club — A top-shelf, closed-door drinking session. $546-a-night hotel rooms. A special government credit card for Mar-a-Lago. Taxpayers foot the costs — and the president profits.
Discussion:
Trump, Inc., Vanity Fair, The Week, Rolling Stone, Eater, Washington Times, POLITICUSUSA, Boing Boing and Politico
RELATED:
Jamie Ross / The Daily Beast:
Taxpayers Paid Team Trump's $1,000 Mar-a-Lago Bar Bill: Report
Taxpayers Paid Team Trump's $1,000 Mar-a-Lago Bar Bill: Report
Discussion:
Mother Jones
Bill Lambrecht / Houston Chronicle:
Rep. Joaquin Castro won't run for U.S. Senate in 2020 — WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro has decided not to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. John Cornyn, choosing instead to continue pursuing a fast-rising career in Congress focusing on security and border issues.
Discussion:
Politico, Splinter, Roll Call, Dallas Morning News and Political Wire
RELATED:
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Biden calls for end to U.S. support for Saudi war in Yemen — Former vice president Joe Biden is taking his first major foreign policy stance since officially announcing his candidacy for president by calling for the United States to end its assistance to Saudi Arabia for its war in Yemen.
Discussion:
NBC News, Outside the Beltway, RealClearPolitics and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Former CIA officer Jerry Lee admits conspiracy to spy for China — A former CIA case officer long suspected in the intelligence community of being a devastating mole for the Chinese government admitted Wednesday he conspired to commit espionage in that country.
RELATED:
Michael Edison Hayden / Southern Poverty Law Center:
Prolific Alt-Right Propagandist's Identity Confirmed — Thanks to the anonymity of the internet, a man can become a major player in the white supremacist “alt-right” movement without ever revealing his face to his audience. And that's just what Joseph Jordan did.
Hamed Aleaziz / BuzzFeed News:
A 16-Year-Old Unaccompanied Immigrant Boy Has Died In US Government Custody — A 16-year-old unaccompanied immigrant boy died in US government custody in Texas on Tuesday, officials said. — The boy was handed over to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) …
Benjy Sarlin / NBC News:
‘Democracy Dollars’: Gillibrand's plan to give every voter $600 to donate to campaigns — The Democratic presidential hopeful wants to use a voucher system to clean up politics — but it's got strings attached. — WASHINGTON — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., unveiled a plan on Wednesday …
WSOC-TV:
Source: UNCC shooting victim jumped on gunman to save others — Two people were killed and four others injured after a gunman opened fire in a classroom at UNCC Tuesday — Police arrested and charged 22-year-old Trystan Terrell with 2 counts of murder and 4 counts of attempted murder
Discussion:
CNN, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, ABC News, Faithwire, myfox8.com, WSB-TV, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Daily Beast and WFAE
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
‘Make Sh*t Up’: Inside Jacob Wohl's Bonkers Investment Plan — The bumbling political operative pitched investors on a scheme to use fake news stories to manipulate political betting markets for profit. — Bumbling conservative provocateur Jacob Wohl pitched investors this spring on a scheme …
Discussion:
The Daily Dot