Top Items:
Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
Ambassador's cellphone call to Trump from Kyiv restaurant was a stunning breach of security, former officials say — A U.S. ambassador's cellphone call to President Trump from a restaurant in the capital of Ukraine last summer was a stunning breach of security, exposing the conversation …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Week, New York Times, Politico and POLITICUSUSA
RELATED:
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
Crazy for Trump: On the G.O.P. Plan to Keep Impeachment Partisan — The hearings open with diplomatic gravitas—and nutty conspiracy theories. — It didn't take long for the crazy to start. Even before the first two witnesses in the public impeachment hearings of Donald Trump had been sworn …
Discussion:
The Hill, Progress Pond, New York Times and Washington Post
Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:
10 Takeaways From Day One of Impeachment — After weeks of Republican complaints about the secret “Soviet-style” hearings, there was something deliciously ironic about watching Devin Nunes pivoting to complain that Wednesday's public impeachment hearing was a “televised theatrical performance.”
Discussion:
Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, The Week and Mother Jones
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Why Democrats did much better than expected in the first hearing — There is a fashionable, cynical and a-factual brand of coverage of historic events like the first day of impeachment that posits “Well, no one changed his or her mind” or “The average American isn't listening to ...” …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and Daily Kos
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Fox's prime time stars are telling Trump that the impeachment hearings are a ‘disaster’ for Democrats
Fox's prime time stars are telling Trump that the impeachment hearings are a ‘disaster’ for Democrats
Discussion:
Fox News
William Saletan / Slate:
The Seven Ways Wednesday's Hearing Clarified Trump's Real Motives
The Seven Ways Wednesday's Hearing Clarified Trump's Real Motives
Discussion:
Breitbart, Law & Crime and The Guardian
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: What Democrats and Republicans are telling us about Wednesday's impeachment show
POLITICO Playbook: What Democrats and Republicans are telling us about Wednesday's impeachment show
Discussion:
New York Times, Associated Press and The Week
Anton Troianovski / New York Times:
As Talks With Putin Loom, Ukraine Looks in Vain for U.S. Help
As Talks With Putin Loom, Ukraine Looks in Vain for U.S. Help
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Matthias Williams / Reuters:
U.S. envoy Sondland did not link Biden probe to aid: Ukraine minister
U.S. envoy Sondland did not link Biden probe to aid: Ukraine minister
Discussion:
Breitbart
Noah Bookbinder / New York Times:
The Evidence of Wrongdoing by Trump Is Overwhelming
The Evidence of Wrongdoing by Trump Is Overwhelming
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Guardian and The Atlantic
Just Security:
Highlights of Taylor-Kent Hearing and Connections to Other Witnesses
Highlights of Taylor-Kent Hearing and Connections to Other Witnesses
Discussion:
Washington Post and CNN
Andrew McCarthy / New York Post:
Dems trot out new charge as initial focus of impeachment hearings falls flat
Dems trot out new charge as initial focus of impeachment hearings falls flat
Discussion:
Geller Report News
Perry Bacon Jr / FiveThirtyEight:
Why Deval Patrick Is Making A Late Bid For The Democratic Nomination — It may seem strange that former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is entering the presidential race, as he will reportedly announce on Thursday. It's really late. The field still has 16 “major” candidates.
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post, The Hill, New York Post, New York Times, CBS Boston and Althouse
RELATED:
YouTube:
Deval Patrick Announcement Video — In a spirit of profound gratitude for all the country has given to me, with a determination to build a better, more sustainable, more inclusive American Dream for everyone: — I am today announcing my candidacy for President of the United States.
Discussion:
NBC News, ABC News, Fox News, The Atlantic, The Guardian, NPR, Washington Times, One America News Network, Bloomberg and Axios
The Boston Globe:
Deval Patrick to launch 2020 presidential bid in N.H. today: ‘I feel I have something to offer’
Deval Patrick to launch 2020 presidential bid in N.H. today: ‘I feel I have something to offer’
Discussion:
Politico, Political Wire, WBUR, The Daily Beast, New York Times, The Week and WWLP-TV
CNN:
Deval Patrick announces presidential campaign
Deval Patrick announces presidential campaign
Discussion:
Q13 FOX News, Political Wire, HuffPost, The Guardian and The Hill
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Erdogan upends Oval meeting to play anti-Kurd film on iPad — An Oval Office meeting yesterday with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took a dark turn when Erdoğan pulled out his iPad and made the group watch a propaganda video that depicted Kurds as terrorists …
Discussion:
National Review, VICE, The Week, CNN, The Hill, Mediaite, Political Wire, Wall Street Journal and Politico
RELATED:
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Graham blocks resolution recognizing Armenian genocide after Erdoğan meeting — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) blocked a resolution on Wednesday that would have formally recognized the Ottoman Empire's genocide against the Armenian people. — Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) …
Uri Friedman / The Atlantic:
How Trump's ‘Green Light’ Moment in Syria Shook the World
How Trump's ‘Green Light’ Moment in Syria Shook the World
Discussion:
NPR
Renato Mariotti / Politico:
Impeachment Is Not a Fair Fight, and on Day One It Showed — If it looked like House Republicans were throwing a lot of mud at the wall to see what might stick during the first day of public impeachment hearings, that's because they had settled into a strategy many defense attorneys adopt …
RELATED:
CNN:
Exclusive: Trump DC hotel sales pitch boasts of millions to be made from foreign governments — The hotel's biggest selling point though, according to a copy of the brochure seen by CNN, is the one thing that the Trump family insists it didn't take advantage of: profiting off foreign governments.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Guardian and Raw Story
Associated Press:
AP-NORC/USA Facts poll: Americans struggle to ID true facts — WASHINGTON (AP) — In a sharply divided country, here's something many Americans agree on: It's hard to know what's a true and honest fact. — A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research …
Discussion:
Political Wire and The Hill
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Elizabeth Warren buys CNBC commercial time to blast billionaires in a fiery new campaign ad — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is firing back against a group of billionaires who have criticized her plans with a new TV ad set to air on CNBC later this week. — The ad takes aim at longtime investor …
Discussion:
New York Post, Common Dreams, New York Times, HuffPost, TheStreet, The Hill, Twitchy, The Week, Raw Story and Mediaite
RELATED:
Jim Tankersley / New York Times:
Warren Wealth Tax Could Slow Economy, Early Analysis Finds
Warren Wealth Tax Could Slow Economy, Early Analysis Finds
Discussion:
Political Wire and Washington Post
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Michael Bloomberg Has a History of Demeaning Comments About Women — As he prepares a presidential run, Mr. Bloomberg's crude remarks are likely to draw scrutiny. His team issued a statement saying that some of them were “disrespectful and wrong.” — It was a cheeky birthday gift …
Discussion:
Mediaite and Associated Press
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Trump's Best Defense on Impeachment Undermines His Case for Re-Election — Insubordinate bureaucrats may save him from being removed from office, but they also show him to be a weak president. — The best defense of President Donald Trump on the first day of the House's public impeachment hearings came …
Discussion:
Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog and CNN
The Guardian:
Trump proposed sending migrants to Guantánamo, claims book by anonymous author — Plan to designate migrants as ‘enemy combatants’ provoked astonishment and mortification, says author of A Warning — Donald Trump proposed designating all migrants entering the US without permission as …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Contemptor and Washington Post
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Facebook fetes Kavanaugh — Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has kept a relatively low-profile since the Senate narrowly confirmed him last year amidst serious allegations of sexual assault. That will change tonight when Kavanaugh is the keynote speaker at the annual convention …
Discussion:
Washington Post and The Verge
ProPublica:
A Trump Tax Break To Help The Poor Went To a Rich GOP Donor's Superyacht Marina — Wealthy donors Wayne Huizenga Jr. and Jeff Vinik lobbied then-Gov. Rick Scott for the lucrative tax break — and won it. Poorer communities lost out. … The Rybovich superyacht marina lies on the West Palm Beach …
Discussion:
Orlando Sentinel, Boing Boing and Florida Politics
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
RNC plunges into Louisiana gov's race amid signs of trouble — The Republican National Committee is pouring another $1 million into the Louisiana governor's race ahead of Saturday's runoff — a move that comes amid mounting GOP concerns about losing a second major election in a conservative state in as many weeks.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball
Ann Marimow / Washington Post:
Congress can seek eight years of Trump's tax records, appeals court rules — Congress can seek eight years of President Trump's tax records, according to a federal appeals court order Wednesday that moves the separation-of-powers conflict one step closer to the Supreme Court.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, HuffPost, Common Dreams, Axios and Political Wire
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Rush Limbaugh Mocks Bill Taylor, George Kent as ‘Self-Important Nerds’ Who ‘Believe in Their Own Superiority’ — As the impeachment hearing was underway today, Rush Limbaugh said that both Bill Taylor and George Kent are “self-important nerds” who are only upset because the president wouldn't do foreign policy their way.
Michael Edison Hayden / Southern Poverty Law Center:
Emails Detail Miller's Ties to Group That Touted White Nationalist Writers — White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller demonstrates a connection to an anti-immigrant think tank that promoted white nationalist writers, according to emails acquired by Hatewatch.
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Times and NBC News
Blake Flayton / New York Times:
On the Frontlines of Progressive Anti-Semitism — I am a young, gay, left-wing Jew. Yet I am called an “apartheid-enabler,” a “baby killer” and a “colonial apologist.” — Mr. Flayton is a sophomore at George Washington University. — I have never done 23-and-me, nor have I “ancestry.com'd” myself.
The Daily Beast:
Revealed: The Pro-Trump Playbook for Smearing U.S. Diplomats — Ukraine isn't the only place a U.S. official was sidelined after ethically dubious officials peddling conspiracy theories saw an in with Trump's personal attorney. — Foreign governments have settled on a new strategy …