Top Items:
Glenn Platt / Washington Post:
Trump's purge just got much more corrupt. Here's what's coming next. — President Trump's abrupt decision to remove the inspector general of the State Department constitutes the latest in a string of corrupt efforts to remove public servants who prioritize real oversight and accountability over protecting Trump at all costs.
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Carol Morello / Washington Post:
Pompeo says he didn't know fired inspector general was investigating him — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed Monday that he asked President Trump to fire the State Department inspector general because his work was “undermining” the department's mission, but he declined to describe any specific concerns.
Discussion:
Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, CNBC, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Law & Crime, Common Dreams, NBC News and New York Times
Zachary Cohen / CNN:
Democrats claim watchdog fired by Trump was probing Pompeo's fast-tracking of $8 billion Saudi arms sale — Washington (CNN)The State Department inspector general fired by President Donald Trump on Friday, Steve Linick, had nearly completed an investigation into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's decision …
Discussion:
emptywheel, Washington Post, Investor's Business Daily, Bloomberg, American Greatness, Raw Story and Axios
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Hypocrisy watch: Republicans who championed inspectors general under Obama stand by as Trump purges them
Hypocrisy watch: Republicans who championed inspectors general under Obama stand by as Trump purges them
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Root, Breitbart and Chuck Grassley
NBC News:
Saudi arms sale was a second area of investigation for fired State Department watchdog
Saudi arms sale was a second area of investigation for fired State Department watchdog
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News, Washington Post, IJR, The Hill, Fox News, POLITICUSUSA, Redstate and Talking Points Memo
David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
Trump Is Attacking the Final Safeguard Against Executive Abuses
Trump Is Attacking the Final Safeguard Against Executive Abuses
Discussion:
ABC News, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo
Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Fired watchdog was investigating Trump administration arms sales to Saudi Arabia
Fired watchdog was investigating Trump administration arms sales to Saudi Arabia
Discussion:
Axios, Mediaite, Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story
Associated Press:
Trump says he's taking malaria drug in case he gets virus — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he is taking a malaria drug to lessen symptoms should he get the new coronavirus, even though the drug is unproven for fighting COVID-19.
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CNBC:
Trump says he takes hydroxychloroquine to prevent coronavirus infection even though it is unproven as a treatment — President Donald Trump said Monday that he has been taking anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for over a week to prevent coronavirus infection even though it is not yet a proven treatment.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire
Washington Post:
Live updates: Trump says he is taking hydroxychloroquine to protect against coronavirus, dismissing safety concerns — The Washington Post is providing this important information about the coronavirus for free. For more free coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, sign up for our daily …
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
A Stunned Neil Cavuto Warns About Hydroxychloroquine After Trump Says He's Taking the Drug: ‘What Have You Got to Lose? ... Your Life’ — “That was stunning.” — Fox News' Neil Cavuto was so shocked by President Donald Trump announcing he's taking hydroxychloroquine that he took …
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Post, NBC News and The Verge
Libby Cathey / ABC News:
Trump taking hydroxychloraquine, unproven drug he touted for COVID-19
Trump taking hydroxychloraquine, unproven drug he touted for COVID-19
Discussion:
Politico
Yaron Steinbuch / New York Post:
Man who called coronavirus ‘fake crisis’ gets infected, issues warning — A Florida man who initially believed the coronavirus is a “fake crisis” that was “blown out of proportion” is now hospitalized along with his wife — and is sounding a cautionary note about the deadly bug.
Discussion:
KFOR-TV
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Michael Wines / New York Times:
Freed by Court Ruling, Republicans Step Up Effort to Patrol Voting — Officials seek to recruit 50,000 poll watchers and spend millions to fight voter fraud. Democrats say the real goal is to stop them from voting. — WASHINGTON — Six months before a presidential election in which turnout …
Discussion:
The Guardian
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Washington Post:
Barr installs top DOJ aide, prosecutor of Trump's Mar-a-Lago trespasser, as deputy over U.S. prosecutors in Washington — Attorney General William P. Barr has installed a new top deputy over the federal prosecutor's office for Washington, raising concerns that a key U.S. attorney's office …
Discussion:
Axios, Law & Crime and Raw Story
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CNN:
Trump to nominate new top prosecutor for Washington, DC
Trump to nominate new top prosecutor for Washington, DC
Discussion:
Raw Story and Florida Phoenix
David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
McConnell-aligned PAC to spend $10M in Montana as danger to Senate majority grows — The super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is investing a sizable $10.1 million in Montana as Republicans move to rebuff the expanding Democratic threat to GOP control of the Senate.
Discussion:
Washington Post and The Hill
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Alayna Treene / Axios:
McConnell taps Rubio as acting chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee
McConnell taps Rubio as acting chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee
Discussion:
The Hill
Joan E Greve / The Guardian:
Democrats feel tide turning their way in battle to flip US Senate
Democrats feel tide turning their way in battle to flip US Senate
Discussion:
Raw Story
Jason Wilson / The Guardian:
US lockdown protests may have spread virus widely, cellphone data suggests — Devices associated with protesters travelled up to hundreds of miles after rallies where few precautions were taken — Cellphone location data suggests that demonstrators at anti-lockdown protests …
Discussion:
Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA
Dexter Filkins / New Yorker:
The Twilight of the Iranian Revolution — For decades, Ayatollah Khamenei has professed enmity with America. Now his regime is threatened from within the country. — One night last December, the chief resident physician at a hospital in the Iranian city of Gorgan was asked to consult on a baffling case …
Maxine Bernstein / Oregonian:
Judge finds Oregon governor's coronavirus restrictions on religious gatherings ‘null and void.’ Governor to seek state Supreme Court review — A Baker County judge on Monday ruled that Gov. Kate Brown's restrictions on religious gatherings were “null and void” because her emergency order amid …
Discussion:
Twitchy
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Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:
Barr says he does not expect Obama or Biden will be investigated by prosecutor reviewing 2016 Russia probe — Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday that he did not expect the prosecutor he handpicked to review the 2016 FBI investigation into President Trump's campaign …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Denise Grady / New York Times:
Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Shows Promising Early Results — The company said its preliminary test in 8 healthy volunteers was safe. It is on an accelerated timetable to begin a larger human trial soon. — The first coronavirus vaccine to be tested in people appears to be safe …
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Peter Loftus / Wall Street Journal:
Moderna Says Initial Covid-19 Vaccine Results Are Positive
Moderna Says Initial Covid-19 Vaccine Results Are Positive
Discussion:
Townhall, Moderna, Inc., MIT Technology Review and National Review
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The media is helping Trump turn the bogus ‘Obamagate’ into the 2020 version of Clinton's emails — It's becoming clear that journalists never fully reckoned with the mistakes of 2016 campaign coverage. We know this because they seem poised to repeat them.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »
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Ben Lefebvre / Politico:
Biden White House would yank Keystone XL permit — The Monday statement is the first from Biden's campaign about how he would handle the project. — Former Vice President Joe Biden. Sean Rayford/Getty Images — Joe Biden would rescind President Donald Trump's permit allowing …
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Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump's reopening troubles play out in his White House
Trump's reopening troubles play out in his White House
Discussion:
Associated Press, Breitbart and The Hill
CNN:
Former Australian PM calls out the ‘Murdoch mafia’ — Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister of Australia, argues that Rupert Murdoch's media empire is a “cancer on democracy” in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, using “mafia"-like intimidation tactics against dissenting voices.
Ariane de Vogue / CNN:
House Democrats tell Supreme Court they need Mueller grand jury materials to decide on new articles of impeachment — Washington (CNN)The Democratic-led House of Representatives on Monday told the Supreme Court that the House needs secret Mueller grand jury materials to determine …
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Bloomberg:
Over 100 Million in China's Northeast Face Renewed Lockdown — Conditions return to height of China's epidemic in February — Frustration as restrictions tighten again after earlier easing — Some 108 million people in China's northeast region are being plunged back under lockdown conditions …
Discussion:
Gizmodo
Peter Hamby / Vanity Fair:
Why the Uncle Joe-Can't-Internet Criticism Is Mostly Malarkey — Joe Biden is definitely losing the internet—but the North Star of his campaign is the normie voter, which means it shouldn't become a meme factory. The golden rule: “Does this work for Joe?”
New York Times:
F.B.I. Finds Links Between Pensacola Gunman and Al Qaeda — The gunman in December's shooting, a Saudi cadet who had trained with the U.S. military, had been in contact with the terrorist group, officials said. — WASHINGTON — The gunman in last year's deadly shooting at a military base …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Axios
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Andrew O'Reilly / Fox News:
Defiant Whitmer slams anti-lockdown protests, questions political motives behind demonstrations — EXCLUSIVE: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is going on offense against mounting protests rocking Lansing over her strict stay-at-home orders - saying she will not apologize for protecting people's health during …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Washington Times
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