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:
Washington Post, The Hill, Spectator USA, Washington Press, Sara A. Carter, The Mahablog, Rolling Stone, Washington Monthly, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Splinter, RedState, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, CNN, Axios, The Atlantic, Vox, emptywheel, Reuters, NB Blog, Mother Jones, Boing Boing, New York Post, Daily Kos and The Stranger
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Burgess Everett / Politico:
Moderate Democrats fret they made a ‘big mistake’ backing Barr — Three Senate Democrats voted for William Barr to be attorney general. 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:
Associated Press, ABC News, Splinter, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, The Week, twitchy.com, The Daily Beast and Breitbart
Neal K. Katyal / New York Times:
Why Barr Can't Whitewash the Mueller Report — We have a system in place for our government to uncover evidence against a sitting president. And it's working. — Mr. Katyal drafted the special counsel regulations under which Robert Mueller was appointed.
Discussion:
PBS NewsHour
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 Editorial Board, Slate and IJR
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
William Barr's ‘snitty’ slip-up gives away his game — Attorney General William P. Barr came in front of Congress on Wednesday having been accused of misleading about and pre-spinning the Mueller report for President Trump. He also came on the heels of a newly reported letter …
Discussion:
New York Post, Fox News, Daily Wire, Breitbart and Mediaite
David French / National Review:
Three Thoughts on Barrgate — The controversy over Robert Mueller's letter to Bill Barr strikes me as much ado about not much at all. Here are my quick thoughts: — 1. Mueller's frustration is understandable. Yes, I totally understand Mueller's argument that Barr's short memo …
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:
New York Times, Politico, Boston Globe and Axios
emptywheel:
William Barr Absolved Trump of Obstruction without Having the Faintest Clue What He Obstructed — Bill Barr just finished testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee. — It was remarkable. — Among the opinions the Attorney General espoused are that:
Discussion:
Washington Post and Hullabaloo
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:
Political Wire
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
The real reason Bill Barr is defending Trump
The real reason Bill Barr is defending Trump
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Slate, Breitbart and Hullabaloo
E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
William Barr has shamelessly corrupted the debate over the Mueller report
William Barr has shamelessly corrupted the debate over the Mueller report
Discussion:
The Daily Signal, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Townhall and NB Blog
Andrew McCarthy / Fox News:
Mueller's letter to Barr - A neat trick by the Washington Post before hearings begin
Mueller's letter to Barr - A neat trick by the Washington Post before hearings begin
Discussion:
Instapundit, RedState and Washington Post
Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Barr won't testify before House panel Thursday
Barr won't testify before House panel Thursday
Discussion:
Power Line, RedState, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Vanity Fair, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, Fox News, Viking Pundit, Just Security, The Moderate Voice, The Week and Politico
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
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, Crooked Media, Bloomberg and Mercury News
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
William Barr and his horrible hearing
William Barr and his horrible hearing
Discussion:
New York Times, CNN, The Atlantic and Tampa Bay 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:
Daily Wire, Balloon Juice, The Week, 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
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
4 early takeaways from William Barr's tense hearing
4 early takeaways from William Barr's tense hearing
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Shareblue Media, The Guardian, Raw Story and Fox News
Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:
We Should Not Have Been Surprised About Bill Barr
We Should Not Have Been Surprised About Bill Barr
Discussion:
Washington Post and Hullabaloo
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:
Politico, The Daily Beast, Yahoo Finance, Vox, CNBC, Breitbart, FiveThirtyEight, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Townhall and The Week
New York Times:
Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies — WASHINGTON — It was a foreign policy role Joseph R. Biden Jr. enthusiastically embraced during his vice presidency: browbeating Ukraine's notoriously corrupt government to clean up its act.
Discussion:
Political Wire and Vanity Fair
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:
Dallas Morning News, Politico, Roll Call and Splinter
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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, WBTV-TV, WLOS-TV, Breitbart, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit, myfox8.com, WSB-TV, The Daily Beast, ABC News and WFAE
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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.
Discussion:
NPR
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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:
The Daily Beast, Trump, Inc., Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, The Week, Washington Times, Boing Boing, Eater, POLITICUSUSA, Politico and The Guardian
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
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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) …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Splinter, Al Jazeera, Raw Story and KTLA
John Solomon / The Hill:
Nellie Ohr's ‘Hi Honey’ emails to DOJ about Russia collusion should alarm us all — First came the text messages between FBI lovebirds Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, which gave us a painful glimpse at potential political bias inside America's most famous crime-fighting bureau.
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, Judicial Watch and The Daily Caller
CNN:
How an anti-Semitic cartoon ended up in The New York Times — New York (CNN Business)Reporters in The New York Times (NYT) newsroom could hear the protesters outside on Monday. “Shame on you!” they shouted. Some held signs that accused the newspaper of being anti-Semitic.
Discussion:
New York Times, Yahoo News, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, PJ Media Home and Townhall
Elise Herron / Willamette Week:
Nationwide, same-sex couples, and in particular black same-sex couples, are less likely to be accepted as renters than their straight, white counterparts. — LGBTQ people are not currently protected from discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act, which is meant to ensure equal access to housing in the United States.
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.
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 …
Nancy Scola / Politico:
Exclusive: New privacy oversight on the table for Facebook, Zuckerberg — Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission are negotiating a possible settlement that would require the company to place privacy-minded executives at the company's highest levels, a source close to the talks told POLITICO …