memeorandum: Judge temporarily blocks Microsoft Pentagon cloud contract after Amazon suit (Annie Palmer/CNBC)

6:10 PM ET, February 13, 2020

Top Items:

Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:

Barr blasts Trump's tweets on Stone case: ‘Impossible for me to do my job’: ABC News Exclusive — The attorney general spoke with ABC News Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas. — LIVE NOW — In an exclusive interview, Attorney General Bill Barr told ABC News on Thursday that President Donald Trump …

Katie Benner / New York Times:

After Trump's Attacks on Justice Dept., Barr Says He Will Not ‘Be Bullied’ — The attorney general said that the president's attacks on prosecutors' handling of his friend Roger Stone's sentencing undermine the legal system and the Justice Department. — WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Dispatch, Talking Points Memo, HuffPost, CNN, Raw Story, The Week, Big League Politics and BizPac Review

Washington Post:

Barr pushes back against Trump's criticism of Justice Dept., says tweets ‘make it impossible for me to do my job’ — Attorney General William P. Barr pushed back hard Thursday against President Trump's criticism of the Justice Department, saying, “I'm not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody.”

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and The Intercept

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

Here's What The Lead Roger Stone Juror Said During Jury Selection — A former Democratic congressional candidate revealed Wednesday that she was the foreperson on the jury that convicted Roger Stone. — Tomeka Hart said during the jury selection process that she did not …

Discussion: Redstate, BizPac Review, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Cernovich, The Federalist, JONATHAN TURLEY, Fox News, The Daily Memphian and The Commercial Appeal

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
First on CNN: Jessie Liu resigns from Treasury after pulled nomination

Discussion: The Guardian, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA, Talking Points Memo, New York Post, Vox, Mediaite and New York Times

Dan Froomkin / Press Watch:
Political journalists are sounding the alarm. They mustn't stop.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times and Daily Kos

Patrick Reis / Rolling Stone:
Roger Stone Knows Trump's Secrets. That's Why He'll Avoid Prison

Discussion: Raw Story

NBC News:
Jessie Liu, ex-U.S. attorney who oversaw Roger Stone case, resigns from Trump administration

Discussion: The Last Refuge, American Oversight, Newsy, East Bay Times, The Daily Beast, Washington Monthly, Letters from an American, Raw Story, The Guardian and USA Today

Joshua Nelson / Fox News:
Judge Napolitano: Roger Stone should get new trial in light of juror's anti-Trump tweets

Discussion: Redstate, Breitbart, HuffPost, The Post Millennial, The Daily Caller and Law & Crime

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Everyone is focusing on the wrong part of William Barr's interview

Discussion: ABC News and The Gateway Pundit

Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:
Barr: Trump tweets on cases make it ‘impossible’ to do job

Discussion: ABC News, Raw Story and The Guardian

Windsor Mann / The Week:
The Don seizes the Justice Department

Discussion: Washington Post, The Independent and Rolling Stone

Peter Nicholas / The Atlantic:

John Kelly Finally Lets Loose on Trump — MORRISTOWN, N.J.—Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the former National Security Council aide and impeachment witness President Donald Trump fired Friday, was just doing his job, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told students and guests …

William Westhoven / Daily Record:
Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly admits: ‘It was a killer’ working for Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill and Raw Story

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Trump floats halt to officials listening in on calls with foreign leaders

Discussion: Political Wire

LasVegasWeekly.com:

Our 2020 Nevada caucus endorsement: Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden — For all the talk of Democrats being divided along moderate-progressive ideological lines and for all the debate among party candidates on fractious issues like health care and immigration, poll after poll shows that the majority …

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Mediaite and VodkaPundit

Politico:
Nevada's powerful Culinary Union declines to endorse a 2020 candidate

Discussion: Townhall

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
Why Bernie Sanders's fight with a Nevada union really matters

Discussion: HuffPost, CNN and Bloomberg

Monica Hesse / Washington Post:
You like Amy Klobuchar now? Remember that when your inner sexist starts doubting her.

Discussion: National Review, VICE and CBS Boston

Washington Post:
Only two recent major party nominees have lost both Iowa and New Hampshire

Discussion: The Hill and One America News Network

New York Times:

Justice Dept. Is Investigating C.I.A. Resistance to Sharing Russia Secrets — The prosecutor was assigned by the attorney general to scrutinize the agents and analysts who sought to understand Russia's covert operation to help Donald J. Trump win the 2016 election.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Ryan Grim / The Intercept:

Mike Bloomberg Is Hiring So Many Operatives, Local and State Campaigns Are Starving for Help — Jennifer Leeper was on her last night of maternity leave with her second boy when Donald Trump was declared winner of the 2016 presidential election. When she recovered from shock …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Twitchy, WMUR and Outside the Beltway

Rebecca R. Ruiz / New York Times:
The Bloomberg Campaign Is a Waterfall of Cash

Discussion: Townhall

Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
Michael Bloomberg's Campaign Suddenly Drops Memes Everywhere

Discussion: Power Line, Instapundit, New York Post, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, Chicago Boyz, The Verge, BuzzFeed News, NB Blog, Washington Post, Breitbart, The Wrap, The Hill, Fox News, The Week, Axios, Vanity Fair, HuffPost, Mashable, Mediaite, Gothamist, VICE, IJR and WTOP, more at Mediagazer »

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Hope Hicks to Return to the White House After a Nearly Two-Year Absence — President Trump's former communications director will return as an aide to Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser. — Hope Hicks, a close aide to President Trump who resigned nearly two years ago …

Discussion: Axios, Slate, Deseret News, CNN, VICE, National Review, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, The Daily Caller, The Wrap, Breitbart, The Week, Townhall, The American Independent and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »

ABC News:
Hope Hicks returning to Trump White House as senior adviser

Discussion: Townhall, Politico, Joe.My.God. and The Hill

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:

Sanders Cements Front-Runner Status After New Hampshire Win — Vermont senator expands lead over Biden to 10 points — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) takes the stage on Tuesday, Feb. 11, in Manchester, N.H. New polling shows the senator cementing his status as the race's front-runner.

Discussion: National Review, Axios, Bern Notice, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, Joe.My.God., Common Dreams, The Week and New Republic

Froma Harrop / The National Memo: Bernie Sanders Isn't Doing So Hot

Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Bernie Sanders Isn't a Socialist

Discussion: Twitchy

Washington Post:

The president's rhetoric has changed the way hundreds of children are harassed in American classrooms, The Post found — Left: Students at Royal Oak Middle School in Michigan chant “Build the wall!” the day after the 2016 election. Students' faces blurred in provided video (Storyful).

Discussion: The Independent, Mediaite, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

The Hill:

Republicans expect Trump to withdraw controversial Fed nominee — Senate Republican sources expect President Trump to withdraw his nomination of Judy Shelton to serve on the Federal Reserve Board following bipartisan resistance on Capitol Hill. — The White House has not made a final decision since Trump …

Felix Salmon / Axios:
Judy Shelton vs. Fed independence

Discussion: Politico and New York Times

Heather Long / Washington Post:
Trump's Fed nominee Judy Shelton could be in trouble as key GOP senators express concerns about ‘outlier’ views

Discussion: Mother Jones and UPI

Politico:

Senate votes to limit Trump's military authority against Iran — The Senate on Thursday passed a resolution limiting President Donald Trump's authority to attack Iran without congressional approval, delivering the president another bipartisan foreign-policy rebuke and flexing its constitutional power over military actions.

Discussion: The Hill, Axios, Washington Post, Associated Press, HuffPost, The National Interest, NPR, New York Post, Raw Story, The American Independent, Daily Kos and UPI

Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
In Bipartisan Bid to Restrain Trump, Senate Passes Iran War Powers Resolution

Discussion: Vox, BuzzFeed News, JNS.org, PJ Media Home, POLITICUSUSA and The Week

Mairead McArdle / National Review: Senate Passes Resolution Limiting Trump's War Powers in Iran

Matt Fuller / HuffPost:

The Big Roadblock For Bernie Sanders' Agenda — Moderates shouldn't be too scared of a Sanders presidency when all Republicans and most Democrats in Congress publicly oppose “Medicare for All.” — WASHINGTON ― It's no exaggeration to say the biggest flashpoint in the Democratic …

Discussion: Axios and Twitchy

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Trump accused of another quid pro quo, this time with New York — President Donald Trump appeared Thursday to link his administration's policies toward New York to a demand that the state drop investigations and lawsuits related to his administration as well as his personal business and finances.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill, Political Wire, The American Independent, Raw Story and Twitchy

Hunter Walker / Yahoo News:

Documents reveal DNC was ‘intimately involved’ in development of troubled Iowa caucus app — While the Democratic National Committee over the last 10 days has tried to distance itself from the troubled app that through the results of the Iowa caucus into disarray, a copy of the contract …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, The National Memo and New York Post

Adele Ankers / IGN:

NASA Spots ‘Potentially Hazardous’ Asteroid Rapidly Approaching Earth — Asteroid alert! — NASA has confirmed that an asteroid larger than the tallest man-made structure in the world is currently travelling towards Earth at a speed of almost 34,000 miles per hour.

Discussion: WHDH-TV

Matthew Rozsa / Salon:

President Trump rehires Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer to White House roles — Since leaving the West Wing, Spicer competed on “Dancing With the Stars” and Priebus joined the U.S. Navy — President Donald Trump has rehired his former chief of staff Reince Priebus and former press secretary …

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and BizPac Review

Media Matters for America:

Right-wing media figures try and fail to clock Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's patriotism for Drag Race appearance — Ocasio-Cortez responds: “They can go back to Party City” … RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BRIANNA JANUARY & ALEX PATERSON — Right-wing media figures including Turning …

Discussion: NB Blog, The Wrap and The Daily Caller

Politico:

Pentagon to shift $3.8B for fighter planes, ships toward border wall — The Trump administration plans to sap money intended to build fighter jets, ships, vehicles and National Guard equipment in order to fund barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, the Pentagon told Congress on Thursday …

Discussion: ABC News, Associated Press, Mother Jones, POLITICUSUSA and One America News Network

Annie Palmer / CNBC:

Judge temporarily blocks Microsoft Pentagon cloud contract after Amazon suit — A federal judge ordered Thursday a temporary block on the JEDI cloud contract in response to a lawsuit filed by Amazon. — Last month, Amazon filed a motion asking the court to pause Microsoft's work on the $10 billion cloud contract.