Top Items:
Washington Post:
Mueller says accusing Trump of a crime ‘not an option’ under Justice Dept. guidelines — BREAKING NEWS: A House Democratic leadership aide said Wednesday moments after Robert S. Mueller III's statement that they were hoping to avoid a compulsory measure to get his testimony, but a subpoena remains an option.
Discussion:
Power Line, Axios, Reuters, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story
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Eileen Sullivan / New York Times:
Robert Mueller to Make Statement on Russia Investigation — WASHINGTON — Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, will speak about the Russia investigation at 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning, his first public comments since he took over the inquiry two years ago, the Justice Department announced.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair, Political Wire, Liberty Unyielding, Althouse and VICE News
Alexander Mallin / ABC News:
Robert Mueller breaks silence, does not want to testify, says charging Trump ‘not an option’ — Special counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday broke more than two years of silence about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice …
Discussion:
Conservative Review, NPR, Politico, Vox, Washington Post and The Week
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Mueller: “We would have said” if confident Trump did not commit a crime — In his first on-camera public statement since he was appointed two years ago, special counsel Robert Mueller told the country: “If we had confidence that the president did not commit a crime, we would have said so.”
Allan Smith / NBC News:
Robert Mueller to make public statement about Russia probe on Wednesday — The special counsel has never before commented about his two-year investigation. — Special counsel Robert Mueller will make a public statement at 11 a.m. Wednesday on the Russia investigation, the Department of Justice announced.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Week and Politico
U.S. Department of Justice:
Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III Makes Statement on Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election — Two years ago, the Acting Attorney General asked me to serve as Special Counsel, and he created the Special Counsel's Office.
CNN:
Mueller: ‘If we had confidence the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so’
Mueller: ‘If we had confidence the President clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so’
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Rolling Stone, WREG-TV, Sara A. Carter and The Colorado Sun
Grace Segers / CBS News:
Mueller: If it was clear president committed no crime, “we would have said so”
Mueller: If it was clear president committed no crime, “we would have said so”
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
Ted Barrett / CNN:
In reversal from 2016, McConnell says he would fill a potential Supreme Court vacancy in 2020 — (CNN)Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday if a Supreme Court vacancy occurs during next year's presidential election, he would work to confirm a nominee appointed by President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Daily Wire, ThinkProgress, Vox, NBC News, Politico, WPSD Local 6WPSD Local 6, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, The Resurgent, The Daily Caller, Conservative News Today, Fox News, NPR, Shakesville, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, RedState, Hullabaloo, Splinter, New York Post, Raw Story, Washington Times, Washington Free Beacon, Slate, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Political Wire
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Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
McConnell Hasn't Reversed Himself — The Washington Post joins a host of media outlets this morning in contending that Mitch McConnell has “reversed” his position on considering Supreme Court appointments in presidential election years. McConnell said last night that he would “fill” any Supreme Court vacancy that arose next year.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Washington Post and Instapundit
Daniel Victor / New York Times:
McConnell Says Republicans Would Fill a Supreme Court Vacancy in 2020, Drawing Claims of Hypocrisy
McConnell Says Republicans Would Fill a Supreme Court Vacancy in 2020, Drawing Claims of Hypocrisy
Discussion:
CNN, VICE News, Shareblue Media, Politico, Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone
Zach Montellaro / Politico:
DNC makes it more difficult to qualify for 3rd debate — ABC News, in partnership with Univision, will host the third Democratic presidential debate in September, the Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday, saying it was raising both the polling and fundraising bars for candidates to qualify.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, CBS News, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, The Week and Splinter
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Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
DNC to raise qualifying threshold for third presidential debate
DNC to raise qualifying threshold for third presidential debate
Discussion:
Shakesville
Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
Democrats up requirements for 2nd round of primary debates
Democrats up requirements for 2nd round of primary debates
Discussion:
Axios
Sheena McKenzie / CNN:
Boris Johnson, favorite to be Britain's next PM, to face court for alleged Brexit lies — London (CNN)The leading candidate to succeed Theresa May as British Prime Minister has been ordered to appear in court to face allegations he lied to the public during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign.
Discussion:
The Week
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Edward Helmore / The Guardian:
Bannon described Trump Organization as ‘criminal enterprise’, Michael Wolff book claims — Former White House adviser says financial investigations will take down president in sequel to Fire and Fury — The former White House adviser Steve Bannon has described the Trump Organization …
Discussion:
Mediaite, CNBC, Raw Story, Contemptor, TheBlaze, National Review and American Greatness
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Renae Merle / Washington Post:
House subpoenas for Trump's bank records put on hold while president appeals
House subpoenas for Trump's bank records put on hold while president appeals
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Mark Landler / New York Times:
White House Insider Account Has Feel of an Outside View, and Prompts a Mueller Denial
White House Insider Account Has Feel of an Outside View, and Prompts a Mueller Denial
Discussion:
RedState, New Republic, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic and Spectator USA
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Planned Parenthood's false stat: ‘Thousands’ of women died every year before Roe — “We face a real situation where Roe could be overturned. And we know what will happen, which is that women will die. Thousands of women died every year pre-Roe.” — “Before Roe v. Wade …
Discussion:
National Review, Fox News, LifeNews.com, The Daily Caller, Students For Life, Daily Wire, Washington Free Beacon and Althouse
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Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
Clarence Thomas Pens Screed Comparing Women Who Obtain Abortions to Eugenicists
Clarence Thomas Pens Screed Comparing Women Who Obtain Abortions to Eugenicists
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, New York Times, The Root and Common Dreams
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Maggie Haberman Reacts to Criticism of Her Reporting: ‘The Tenor Has Gotten Extremely Personal’ — NY Times reporter and CNN contributor Maggie Haberman addressed a recent New York magazine article entitled “Of Course Trump Hates Maggie Haberman. Why Does the Left?” Wednesday morning.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Daily Wire, New York Magazine and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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James Comey / Washington Post:
No ‘treason.’ No coup. Just lies — and dumb lies at that. — James Comey is a former director of the FBI and a former deputy attorney general. — It is tempting for normal people to ignore our president when he starts ranting about treason and corruption at the FBI. I understand the temptation.
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, Raw Story, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Reuters, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Dan Bongino, PJ Media Home, Mediaite, Breitbart, twitchy.com, The Last Refuge, Townhall, Politico, CNN, The Week, Washington Times and The Guardian
Greg P. / twitchy.com:
CRINGE: Joe Biden gets handsy with young girl, says 'I'll bet you're as bright as you are good-looking' — Just to update you on this story we told you about last night, we now have video of 2020 frontrunner Joe Biden getting handsy with a young girl at an AFT town hall and telling her …
Discussion:
YouTube, Summit News, Washington Times and Althouse
Michael R. Gordon / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Says Russia Likely Conducting Low-Yield Nuke Tests, Defying Test Ban Treaty — Intelligence assessment marks first time U.S. has said Kremlin failed to observe Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty commitments — Russia has likely been secretly carrying out very low-yield nuclear tests …
Discussion:
Meduza.io and Political Wire
Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:
Can Jaime Harrison End the Democrats' Drought in South Carolina? — The Times talked to Mr. Harrison, the first black chairman of the state's Democratic Party, about his bid to unseat Senator Lindsey Graham. — Let's begin with the obvious: No Democrat has won a statewide race in South Carolina since 2006.
Pew Research Center:
Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X outvoted older generations in 2018 midterms — Midterm voter turnout reached a modern high in 2018, and Generation Z, Millennials and Generation X accounted for a narrow majority of those voters, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly available Census Bureau data.
Discussion:
The Week
Melanie Zanona / Politico:
GOP impeachment champion gets a hero's welcome back home — GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Rep. Justin Amash is a lonely man in Congress, the sole Republican to back Donald Trump's removal from office. But back home on Tuesday night, the Michigan lawmaker got the red-carpet treatment in his first face …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, The Daily Beast, New York Times, The Resurgent, The Hill, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, NBC News, IJR, CNN and The Week
Sandra Sobieraj Westfall / People.com:
Last-Minute Dress Code Left NYT Reporter Wearing Her Wedding Dress to Cover Trump's Dinner at Japan's Imperial Palace — “Here I am, pooling a presidential event in my wedding dress,” reporter Annie Karni tweeted Monday — There is a saying among veteran White House correspondents that theirs is …
Discussion:
Japan Times
Bloomberg:
U.S. Warns Europe That Its Iran Workaround Could Face Sanctions — The Trump administration escalated its battle with European allies over the fate of the Iran nuclear accord, threatening penalties against the financial body created by Germany, the U.K. and France to shield trade …
Discussion:
The American Conservative
Yahoo Finance:
China Gears Up to Weaponize Rare Earths in Trade War — (Bloomberg) — Beijing is gearing up to use its dominance of rare earths to hit back in its deepening trade war with Washington. — A flurry of Chinese media reports on Wednesday, including an editorial in the flagship newspaper …
Discussion:
The Week
Mad Dog PAC:
Manning Assange WikiLeaks - EDVA Volume 1 — Manning + Assange + Lamo = Oh God.. National Security Damaged — I've purposefully waited to dissect this trifecta. The complexity and dynamic of the Manning and Assange relationship, left me with a lot of questions.. Oddly it was difficult for me to wrap my head around this issue.
Axios:
Trump's 2020 plan to target black, Hispanic and suburban female voters — Trump campaign officials have been discussing a digital campaign to boost President Trump's 2020 support among three key demographic groups: African Americans, Hispanics and suburban women, two sources familiar with the plan tell Axios.
New York Times:
New York Can Tell Congress Lots About Trump's Taxes — His state returns will give the House a glimpse of past I.R.S. audits, before and after he entered the Oval Office. — Mr. Hemel is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Law School. Mr. Rosenthal is a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
Discussion:
Raw Story