Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Expected to Name Richard Grenell as Acting Head of Intelligence — The move would place a Trump loyalist atop the intelligence agencies long viewed skeptically by the White House. — WASHINGTON — President Trump was expected to name Richard Grenell, the American ambassador to Germany …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Townhall, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, The Hill, Mediaite, The Last Refuge, Raw Story, KTLA, Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times and The Week
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Axios:
Trump to install loyalist Ric Grenell as acting intelligence chief — President Trump confirmed in a tweet Wednesday night that he will install Richard Grenell, the current U.S. ambassador to Germany and a staunch defender of the president, as the acting director of national intelligence.
Discussion:
Politico, Bloomberg and Washington Blade
CNN:
Trump expected to name current US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as acting intelligence chief — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump is expected to name US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell as the next acting director of national intelligence, according to two sources familiar with the decision.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Nico Hines / The Daily Beast:
Trump Offered Assange Pardon if He Covered Up Russian Hack, WikiLeaks Founder's Lawyer Claims — Lawyers acting for the WikiLeaks founder said Dana Rohrabacher, a former Republican congressman, had brought the message to London from Trump. — LONDON—President Trump offered to pardon Julian Assange …
Discussion:
The American Independent, CNBC, Mediaite, Law & Crime, The Last Refuge, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller, The Verge, Twitchy, Mother Jones, The Week and Raw Story
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Owen Bowcott / The Guardian:
Donald Trump ‘offered Julian Assange a pardon if he denied Russia link to hack’ — Donald Trump offered Julian Assange a pardon if he would say Russia was not involved in leaking Democratic party emails, a court in London has been told. — The extraordinary claim was made at Westminster magistrates court …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Mahablog, The Hill, VICE, РБК, IJR and UPI
Washington Post:
Assange lawyer claims congressman offered pardon on behalf of Trump in exchange for absolving Russia in WikiLeaks DNC case — LONDON — A lawyer for Julian Assange said in a British court Wednesday that former Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher, an ally of President Trump …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The White House denies Julian Assange's pardon claim. Here's what we know about it. — A day after President Trump issued executive clemency to 11 people including former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, another potential Trump pardon is in the news. — This one: For Julian Assange.
Tim Miller / The Bulwark:
The Skeptic's Case Against Bloomberg — Just a few questions before we anoint Mayor Mike as the moderate savior. — A friend texted—actually “signaled,” because that's what all the cool operatives are doing these days—me yesterday. The exchange went as such:
Discussion:
Washington Post and National Review
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Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Several Joe Biden fundraisers jump ship from his struggling campaign to back Mike Bloomberg
Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:
Democracy 2020 Digest: Bloomberg wars with Biden ahead of debate debut
Democracy 2020 Digest: Bloomberg wars with Biden ahead of debate debut
Discussion:
Associated Press, NBC News and The Hill
Ezra Klein / Vox:
Bloomberg's plan to buy the presidency endangers democracy
Bloomberg's plan to buy the presidency endangers democracy
Discussion:
The Atlantic, In These Times and CNN
Wall Street Journal:
Bloomberg Bankrolls a Social-Media Army to Push Message — Campaign is hiring workers for $2,500 per month to promote Bloomberg to all their contacts — Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign is hiring hundreds of workers in California to post regularly on their personal social-media accounts …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, CNET, Vox, Breitbart, Axios, National Review, Raw Story and Twitchy
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New York Times:
Trump, Campaigning in West, Fixates on Democrats and His Poll Numbers
Trump, Campaigning in West, Fixates on Democrats and His Poll Numbers
Discussion:
The American Independent, Rolling Stone, Raw Story and The Daily Caller
New York Times:
Tonight's Democratic Debate in Nevada: When It Is and What to Watch For
Tonight's Democratic Debate in Nevada: When It Is and What to Watch For
Discussion:
Slate
Emily Zanotti / The Daily Wire:
Michael Bloomberg Is Paying People $2500 A Month To Say Nice Things About Him On Social Media
Michael Bloomberg Is Paying People $2500 A Month To Say Nice Things About Him On Social Media
Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:
Trump's Phoenix rally kicks off counterprogramming spree
Trump's Phoenix rally kicks off counterprogramming spree
Discussion:
Associated Press
Tyler Olson / Fox News:
Trump and Bloomberg spar on Twitter ahead of debate
Trump and Bloomberg spar on Twitter ahead of debate
Discussion:
NBC News, Foreign Policy, Breitbart, CBS News and NPR, more at Mediagazer »
The Hill:
The Hill's review of John Solomon's columns on Ukraine — On Nov. 18, 2019, The Hill announced it was reviewing John Solomon's opinion columns on Ukraine after State Department diplomats criticized several of those columns during House impeachment hearings.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, VICE, Raw Story and Politico, more at Mediagazer »
Charlie Warzel / New York Times:
Twitter Is Real Life — Elites just pretend it's not. — Mr. Warzel is an Opinion writer at large. — For the better part of a year I've been hearing the same refrain. Friends, colleagues, peers, respected pollsters have cautioned: Twitter is not real life.
Brian Beutler / Crooked Media:
House Democrats Stand Down — After Senate Republicans voted to conceal the evidence of Donald Trump's high crimes, and acquit him of them without holding a real trial, House Democrats seemed to understand that he'd interpret the outcome not as a chastening brush with accountability but as permission to commit further crimes unbound.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
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Politico:
Republicans plead with Trump to leave Barr alone
Republicans plead with Trump to leave Barr alone
Discussion:
Associated Press and NBC News
Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:
Former Nevada Sen. Harry Reid says ‘not a chance in hell’ Medicare for All would pass — The former Senate Majority Leader also refuses to endorse a candidate just yet. — Former longtime Nevada lawmaker Harry Reid has declined to endorse a candidate ahead of the state's Democratic caucus …
Discussion:
Associated Press and The Hill
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Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:
The Hidden History of Sanders's Plot to Primary Obama — Bernie Sanders got so close to running a primary challenge to President Barack Obama that Senator Harry Reid had to intervene to stop him. — It took Reid two conversations over the summer of 2011 to get Sanders to scrap the idea …
Discussion:
The Independent, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Twitchy, National Review, Fox News, The Week and Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
China Expels Three Wall Street Journal Reporters — China's Foreign Ministry says move was punishment for a recent opinion piece published by the Journal — China revoked the press credentials of three Wall Street Journal reporters based in Beijing, the first time in the post-Mao era …
Nicolas Vega / New York Post:
Mark Zuckerberg reportedly gets his armpits blow dried before speeches — It's not one of Facebook's better perks. — Communications employees at the social network routinely blow-dry CEO Mark Zuckerberg's armpits before big speeches, a new book claims. — Zuckerberg — who became famous …
Discussion:
The Independent and Fox News
Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Mike Pompeo and lawmakers spar over ‘deep state’ attacks in private Munich meeting — Congressional frustration with the perceived failure by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to defend State Department personnel from political attacks spilled over during a “heated” private meeting last weekend in Munich.
Discussion:
Business Insider
Washington Post:
Sanders surges into national lead in new Post-ABC poll — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), on the strength of his performances in Iowa and New Hampshire, has surged nationally and now holds a sizable lead over all of his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Discussion:
National Review, NBC News, Mediaite, Marist Poll, Axios, Breitbart, Fox News, VICE, Slate, Outside the Beltway and Mother Jones
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Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
What a Sanders Win in Nevada Would Really Mean
What a Sanders Win in Nevada Would Really Mean
Discussion:
Washington Post, National Review and Mediaite
Brandy Zadrozny / NBC News:
What is the ‘boogaloo?’ How online calls for a violent uprising are hitting the mainstream — The movement says it wants a second Civil War targeting liberal political opponents and law enforcement. — An anti-government movement that advocates for a violent uprising targeting liberal political opponents …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Kira Lerner / The Appeal:
Florida Can't Bar People From Voting Because of Inability to Pay, Appeals Court Says — The court found that a law critics described as a poll tax violates the Constitution. — Florida cannot bar people with felony convictions from voting if they can't pay court-issued fines and fees, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.
Discussion:
The American Independent, Slate and Reason
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Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
Court sides with ex-felons who challenged Florida voting requirement
Court sides with ex-felons who challenged Florida voting requirement
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, The Root and Fox News
Ariane de Vogue / CNN:
Judges postpone emergency meeting to discuss Trump/Barr concerns — Source: Barr thought about resigning over Trump's interference — Washington (CNN)A group of federal judges hastily postponed an emergency meeting that was scheduled to take place Wednesday to discuss concerns …
Discussion:
Slate, NBC News, Raw Story, CNBC and The National Memo
Jonah Goldberg / The Dispatch:
Does Anyone Really Believe Free Market Fundamentalists Are ‘Running the Show’? — Let's hope not. — 1 hr — Dear Reader, — “Conservative intellectuals launch a new group to challenge free-market ‘fundamentalism’ on the right.” —Washington Post, February 18, 2020
Discussion:
National Review and Big League Politics
CNN:
Top Pentagon policy official resigns at Trump's request — Washington (CNN)The Pentagon's top policy official John Rood resigned on Wednesday at the request of President Donald Trump, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by CNN. — John Rood, Under Secretary of Defense …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, New York Times, UPI, KTLA, Politico, Daily Kos, Defense One, Foreign Policy, Law & Crime, The Daily Caller, Axios and Talking Points Memo
Ian Lee / CBS News:
How Jewish American pedophiles hide from justice in Israel — Tel Aviv — It's a tense stakeout, waiting for Jimmy Julius Karow to appear. He is a wanted man and is considered dangerous. Accused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl in Oregon in 2000, he fled to Israel before authorities …
Andy Greene / Rolling Stone:
Neil Young Pens Open Letter to Donald Trump: ‘You Are a Disgrace to My Country’ — Now an American citizen, Young rallies against the President — Neil Young has never hidden his contempt for Donald Trump, but now that he's officially an American citizen, he raising his voice even louder.
Discussion:
Breitbart, Fox News and The Independent
Siraj Qureshi / India Today:
Monkey menace at Taj Mahal could spoil Donald Trump's trip — The monkeys and other stray animals have attacked numerous domestic and foreign tourists till date inside the Taj Mahal. All the efforts made by the local CISF unit and ASI staff, to control the monkeys, have gone in vain. — Agra