memeorandum: To Portland panhandlers, program may offer welcome change: Jobs (Randy Billingsstaff/Press Herald)

4:35 PM ET, March 5, 2017

Top Items:

Kailani Koenig / NBC News:

Former DNI James Clapper: ‘I Can Deny’ Wiretap of Trump Tower — WASHINGTON — Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Sunday denied any suggestion that Trump Tower communications were wiretapped before the election. — For the part of the national security apparatus that he oversaw …

Discussion: The Hill, The Last Tradition, AOL, New York Magazine, CNBC, Politico, Taylor Marsh, NBC News, IJR and Axios

New York Times:

Trump Seeks Inquiry Into Allegations That Obama Tapped His Phones — WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump, a day after leveling a widely disputed allegation that President Barack Obama had ordered the tapping of his phones, demanded a congressional inquiry into whether Mr. Obama abused …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, RedState, Washington Post, AOL, The Atlantic, NPR, Mother Jones, Althouse, The Root and Raw Story

Jon Schwarz / The Intercept:

If Trump Tower Was Wiretapped, Trump Can Declassify That Right Now — If in fact Trump Tower was wiretapped during the 2016 presidential campaign, as President Trump claimed in several tweets Saturday morning, he can do much more than say so on twitter: Presidents have the power …

Christopher Ruddy / Newsmax:

Trump and Democratic Smokescreens — When I woke up Sunday, I thought the morning news shows would all be talking about the unusual, perhaps dangerous, decision of the Obama administration to wiretap the offices of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. — I've been watching Chuck Todd's “Meet the Press” as I write this.

Associated Press:

The Latest: House intel panel to probe Trump wiretap claims — The Latest on President Donald Trump's claim that then-President Barack Obama had Trump's telephones tapped during last year's election (all times EST): — House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes says President Donald Trump's allegations …

Discussion: Politico

Brian Ross / ABC News:

With tweetstorm, Trump may have exercised exclusive declassification authority — In tweeting accusations that former President Barack Obama ordered surveillance of his campaign, President Donald Trump potentially made public the existence of Top Secret wiretaps - a move that would be a federal crime …

Discussion: RedState

Ted Mann / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Faces Furor Over Unsubstantiated Claim Obama Wiretapped Him

Eric Bradner / CNN:
Rubio: Whether Trump's claims are true will become clear ‘over the next few days’

Discussion: RedState, Politico, Hot Air and Political Wire

Associated Press:
THE LATEST: OBAMA INTEL DIRECTOR ON WIRETAP: ‘I CAN DENY IT’

Discussion: IJR

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Clapper denies wiretap of Trump Tower

Discussion: twitchy.com, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, The Week and The Gateway Pundit

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:
White House calls on Congress to investigate Trump's wiretap claims

Discussion: RedState, BizPac Review, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, CBS New York, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and TheBlaze

Cory Bennett / Politico:
How the feds could have listened to Trump's phone calls

Discussion: RedState, The Last Refuge, ThinkProgress, twitchy.com, Washington Post, The Hill and The Week

New York Times:

Leashes Come Off Wall Street, Gun Sellers, Miners and More — WASHINGTON — Telecommunications giants like Verizon and AT&T will not have to take “reasonable measures” to ensure that their customers' Social Security numbers, web browsing history and other personal information are not stolen or accidentally released.

Discussion: Balloon Juice and NRA-ILA

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:

The Obama Camp's Disingenuous Denials on FISA Surveillance of Trump — President Trump's early Saturday morning tweeting has exploded to the forefront an uncovered scandal I've been talking about since early January (including in this weekend's column): The fact that the Obama Justice Department …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Gateway Pundit and Power Line

Robert Barnes / LawNewz:
Yes, There Could Be Serious Legal Problems if Obama Admin Involved in Illegal Surveillance

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Vox Popoli, The Last Refuge and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Riley Beggin / ABC News:

Franken: 'We don't know what the Russians have on Donald Trump' — Democratic Sen. Al Franken said President Trump's assertion that former President Obama tapped his phones at Trump Tower during the 2016 election campaign are “just ridiculous and a distraction.”

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Russia is the slow burn of the Trump administration, and it's not going away

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Politico and The Daily Caller

Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:

It's literally pay to play at Mar-a-Lago — If you pay $200,000 a year to the company Donald Trump owns, you too can have access most weekends to the president and his top officials. As an alternative, your organization could cut a $150,000 check to bring in a couple of hundred people …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Kristina Webb / Palm Beach Post:
Trump mingles with Mar-a-Lago guests outside charity ball

Discussion: Politico, CNN and Balloon Juice

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:

Rogers: Trump feeding the ‘conspiracy parking meter’ — Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said on Sunday that President Trump fed the “conspiracy parking meter” when he accused former President Barack Obama — of wiretapping his office. — “He just put another quarter in the conspiracy parking meter.

Discussion: RedState

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Patience Gone, Koch-Backed Groups Will Pressure G.O.P. on Health Repeal — WASHINGTON — Saying their patience is at an end, conservative activist groups backed by the billionaire Koch brothers and other powerful interests on the right are mobilizing to pressure Republicans to fulfill …

Discussion: Axios

Kristine Phillips / Washington Post:

Thousands of ICE detainees claim they were forced into labor, a violation of anti-slavery laws — Tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were forced to work for $1 day, or for nothing at all — a violation of federal anti-slavery laws — a lawsuit claims.

Randy Billingsstaff / Press Herald:

To Portland panhandlers, program may offer welcome change: Jobs — Using Albuquerque as a model, Portland would pay $10.68 per hour to those willing and able to work. — Dana Burnell said he'd rather be working. — But that's difficult when you're homeless and struggling with substance abuse issues …

Discussion: WREG-TV

Charlie Nash / Breitbart:

10 Arrested in Berkeley, Elderly Man Assaulted Following Violent Anti-Trump Protest — Ten people were arrested in Berkeley, California on Saturday following an anti-Trump protest that sought to counter a march in support of President Trump. — “A total of 10 people were arrested …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, twitchy.com, Washington Post, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, BizPac Review and CBS San Francisco

New York Times:

President Trump's Island Mentality — Throughout history, American presidents have declared it their job to protect and advance the interests of the United States and its citizens. President Trump has shoehorned that wholesome, uncontroversial idea into a narrow-minded …