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, RedState, Washington Monthly, The Hill, Washington Press, Sara A. Carter, Rolling Stone, Slate, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Splinter, Fox News, Mediaite, Axios, CNN, emptywheel, NB Blog, Vox, Mother Jones, Boing Boing, Daily Kos, New York Post and The Stranger
RELATED:
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:
Associated Press, ABC News, Splinter, Raw Story, The Week, Breitbart, twitchy.com and The Daily Beast
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
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
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 and The Atlantic
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, Boston Globe, Breitbart and Fox News
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
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, Daily Wire, VICE News and Breitbart
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:
Townhall, Instapundit and RedState
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:
Washington Post and Hullabaloo
David French / National Review:
Three Thoughts on Barrgate
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, Bloomberg, Townhall and The Daily Beast
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
William Barr and his horrible hearing
William Barr and his horrible hearing
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Fox News and Mercury 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:
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
Discussion:
Vox
Chris Stevenson / The Independent:
Robert Mueller to testify to congress about Trump-Russia report, senior Democrat says
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, The Week, Balloon Juice, Townhall and WTVR-TV
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, The Gateway Pundit, American Greatness, IJR and Daily Caller News Foundation
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, Breitbart, Vox, CNBC, The Week, FiveThirtyEight, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Townhall
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:
Slate, POLITICUSUSA, Political Wire, CNN, The Week, Vox, Daily Kos and The Stranger
Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Barr won't testify before House panel Thursday
Barr won't testify before House panel Thursday
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Vanity Fair, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Just Security, The Moderate Voice, The Week and Politico
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
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
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 and Mercury News
Brian Beutler / Crooked Media:
The Democrats' Fatal Impeachment Error
The Democrats' Fatal Impeachment Error
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Signal, Reason and Tampa Bay Times
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, Boing Boing, Washington Times, POLITICUSUSA 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, Dallas Morning News, Splinter, Roll Call and Political Wire
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.
Discussion:
NPR
RELATED:
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, WLOS-TV, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, Faithwire, myfox8.com, ABC News, WSB-TV, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Daily Beast and WFAE
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:
Al Jazeera, CNN, Raw Story and KTLA
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, RealClearPolitics, Outside the Beltway and The Daily Caller
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.
Discussion:
Yahoo News, Instapundit, PJ Media Home and Townhall
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 …
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