White House Reviews Military Plans Against Iran, in Echoes of Iraq War  —  WASHINGTON — At a meeting of President Trump's top national security aides last Thursday, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan presented an updated military plan that envisions sending as many as 120,000 troops …

Barr Assigns U.S. Attorney in Connecticut to Review Origins of Russia Inquiry  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr has assigned the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut to examine the origins of the Russia investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter …

Before Trump's purge at DHS, top officials challenged plan for mass family arrests  —  In the weeks before they were ousted last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and top immigration enforcement official Ronald Vitiello challenged a secret White House plan to arrest thousands …

Trump Tower Is Now One of NYC's Least-Desirable Luxury Buildings  — Most condo owners who sold since 2016 have recorded a loss  — ‘No one wants in that building,’ says one former owner  —  Trump Tower, once the crown jewel in Donald Trump's property empire, now ranks …

Republicans surrender to Trump's China tariffs  —  The GOP is starting to give up on thwarting President Donald Trump's trade agenda.  —  Senate Republicans acknowledge that the president's latest tariff increase on Chinese imports are harming farm state economies, their own constituents and some of Trump's most reliable voters.

Fair Shot  —  About a hundred years ago, this was “the richest hill on earth.”  —  The men who owned it were called kings.  —  With their money, they bought politicians; attacked unions, exploited workers, and left us all with a toxic reminder of what happens when our democracy is put up for sale.

Rosenstein unloads on Comey, says he broke ‘bright lines that should never be crossed’  —  Rod Rosenstein unloaded on former FBI Director James Comey in remarks to the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) on Monday evening, slamming Comey's turn as a “partisan pundit,” reiterating that he deserved to be fired …

White House explores new farmer bailout plan as U.S.-China trade war heats up  —  White House officials are scrambling to come up with a new bailout plan to placate furious farmers after President Trump's initial idea of donating unused crops to poor countries came under scrutiny, people briefed on the planning said.

YouTube's Newest Far-Right, Foul-Mouthed, Red-Pilling Star Is A 14-Year-Old Girl  —  “Soph” has nearly a million followers on the giant video platform.  Its executives only have themselves to blame.  —  What does a 14-year-old girl dressed in a chador have to say on YouTube to amass more than 800,000 followers?

Donald Trump Jr.'s No-Shows Led to Subpoena, Republican Senator Says  —  WASHINGTON — Allies of Donald Trump Jr. may have stirred up a firestorm among Republicans over a subpoena to recall the president's eldest son to the Senate Intelligence Committee, but the panel's Republican chairman …

Russia Has Americans' Weaknesses All Figured Out  —  What are Americans supposed to think when their leaders contradict one another on the most basic question of national security—who is the enemy?  This is happening every day on the floors of the House and the Senate, in committee hearing rooms …

WhatsApp voice calls used to inject Israeli spyware on phones  —  A vulnerability in the messaging app WhatsApp has allowed attackers to inject commercial Israeli spyware on to phones, the company and a spyware technology dealer said.  —  WhatsApp, which is used by 1.5bn people worldwide …

‘When Biden announced, everything changed’  —  First came the Cory Booker relaunch.  Then a pivot from Kamala Harris.  Now, Beto O'Rourke is hosting high-dollar fundraisers and courting national TV.  —  It's reset season in the presidential primary campaign.

NRA Legal Bills Raise ‘All Sorts of Red Flags’  —  Ollie North claims the NRA faces unfathomably high legal expenses.  Experts say his concerns are serious.  ‘The IRS would definitely be interested in it,’ one tells The Daily Beast.  —  Betsy Woodruff  —  “One hundred thousand dollars a day?

The Navy's probe into sky penis  —  It prompted viral guffaws from some and online outrage from others.  —  There are shot glasses commemorating the event and it birthed memes ahead of the annual Army-Navy game.  —  But the inside story of how an EA-18G Growler jet crew drew a penis across …

The Damage That Harvard Has Done  —  Defense attorneys often arouse what John Adams called a “clamor of popular suspicions and prejudices” when representing reviled clients.  Just last week, the attorney Christopher Darden stopped representing a California man charged with killing …

Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly's Rural Voter Project Tied To “Medicare For All” Opponents  —  A dark money organization designed to help Democrats win rural votes in 2020 is getting support from anti-Medicare for All forces — and pushing their message with a pair of former Democratic senators.

Judge set to rule on Trump's subpoena challenge  —  President Donald Trump's strategy of outright resistance to House subpoenas will face its first test in federal court on Tuesday, setting up a ruling that could boost Democrats' efforts to investigate the president's business dealings.

Steve Bannon sought alliance with FBI in 2017 White House meeting  —  Bannon, then Trump's closest adviser, told FBI officials to put their past differences with the White House ‘behind them’  —  Steve Bannon urged two senior FBI officials to put their differences with the White House …

An Open Memo: Comparison of Clinton Impeachment, Nixon Impeachment and Trump Pre-Impeachment  —  [Editor's note: Just Security will publish a series in conversation with Blumenthal's Open Memo including from John Dean, Ryan Goodman, Hon. Elizabeth Holtzman, Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer (co-authored), and Walter Pincus.]

Behind The Scenes, Trump Diligently Tries To Slash Social Programs  —  In the shadows of his constitutional crisis, the president is still doing a lot of regular Republican stuff — without help from Congress.  —  WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump's administration is doing some wild …

Why Trump's Iran Strategy Puts America on the Road to Nowhere Good  —  Trump has given up allied leverage over Iran, setting America on a collision course with chaos in the region.  —  THE DAILY DOSE  —  I am struggling to understand the Trump administration's policy toward Iran and hoping …

San Francisco's disturbing press crackdown  —  Bryan Carmody says several San Francisco police officers tried to break into his Outer Richmond home with a sledgehammer, detained him in handcuffs for hours, and seized computers, notes and more from his residence and office.

Beto O'Rourke Tells Rachel Maddow: ‘I Recognize That I Can Do a Better Job’  —  WASHINGTON — Former Representative Beto O'Rourke said Monday he “can do a better job” of communicating his 2020 campaign message, acknowledging that he must take steps to revive his once-promising presidential bid …