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 …
RELATED:
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
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, The Week, Townhall, The Daily Beast and Breitbart
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, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Breitbart, Townhall and Fox News
Wall Street Journal:
A Real Attorney General — Bill Barr gets smeared for refusing to duck and cover like Loretta Lynch. — By The Editorial Board — Washington pile-ons are never pretty, but this week's political setup of Attorney General William Barr is disreputable even by Beltway standards.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast
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 …
Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
The GOP's Just a Racket Now, and Trump Is Its Godfather, Barr Its Wartime Consigliere — We see now with a new and oddly liberating clarity that these next 18 months may well be the most consequential and frightening time in living history. — Michael Tomasky — It's May Day, and this was a Mayday all right.
Discussion:
Washington Post
E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
William Barr has shamelessly corrupted the debate over the Mueller report — One of our most colorful legal concepts is the “fruit of the poisonous tree.” The phrase was introduced by Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter 80 years ago to hold that evidence obtained illegally cannot be used to convict a defendant.
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, RealClearPolitics, The Daily Signal and Daily Wire
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:
Hullabaloo and Washington Post
Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:
We Should Not Have Been Surprised About Bill Barr
We Should Not Have Been Surprised About Bill Barr
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Washington Post:
William Barr torched his reputation. His testimony compounded the damage.
William Barr torched his reputation. His testimony compounded the damage.
Discussion:
New York Times, Boston Globe, Axios and Breitbart
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:
NPR, Politico and Talking Points Memo
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
Zachary Basu / Axios:
AG Bill Barr cancels appearance before House Judiciary Committee
AG Bill Barr cancels appearance before House Judiciary Committee
Discussion:
Political Wire
Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Barr won't testify before House panel Thursday
Barr won't testify before House panel Thursday
Discussion:
Power Line, RedState, The Daily Beast, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, One America News Network, Daily Kos, Fox News and Viking Pundit
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
William Barr and his horrible hearing
William Barr and his horrible hearing
Discussion:
New York Times, The Bulwark, The Guardian and Mercury News
Washington Post:
Barr's refusal to testify before House panel increases likelihood of contempt citation from Congress
Barr's refusal to testify before House panel increases likelihood of contempt citation from Congress
Discussion:
The Week, POLITICUSUSA, Slate, Daily Kos, Vox, CNN and The Stranger
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
The real reason Bill Barr is defending Trump
The real reason Bill Barr is defending Trump
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Washington Post, Slate, Breitbart, Hullabaloo and CNN
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:
Townhall, Instapundit and RedState
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, CNN, CNBC, Vox, RealClearPolitics, The Week, Raw Story, Splinter, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, twitchy.com and FiveThirtyEight
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
Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed News:
A Former Alt-Right Member's Message: Get Out While You Still Can — If you remember Katie McHugh, it's probably because of the tweets. — A short selection: “British settlers built the USA. ‘Slaves’ built the country much as cows ‘built’ McDonald's. Amateur...”
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:
WLOS-TV, CNN, WBTV-TV, ABC11, WSB-TV, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, Washington Post and myfox8.com
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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, Splinter, Roll Call and Politico
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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 and The Daily Caller
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
RELATED:
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.
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, Al Jazeera, Raw Story and Splinter
Associated Press:
US hopes for Venezuela change fizzle for 3rd time this year — WASHINGTON (AP) — For the third time this year, the big moment in Venezuela has turned into a bust. — Trump administration officials had expected that Wednesday might turn out to be the beginning of the end for President Nicolas Maduro …
Discussion:
Politico, The Atlantic, Bloomberg and The American Conservative
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Julie Zauzmer / Washington Post:
The alleged synagogue shooter was a churchgoer who talked Christian theology, raising tough questions for evangelical pastors — Before he allegedly walked into a synagogue in Poway, Calif., and opened fire, John Earnest appears to have written a seven-page letter spelling out his core beliefs …
Discussion:
Religion News Service
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.