memeorandum: 'He tells me he didn't know': Trump defends Kim Jong Un over death of Otto Warmbier (Josh Dawsey/Washington Post)

11:20 AM ET, February 28, 2019

Top Items:

Peter Wehner / New York Times:

Republicans Sink Further Into Trump's Cesspool — What they left out of their questioning of Michael Cohen says more about the degradation of my former party than anything they said. — Michael Cohen's testimony before Congress on Wednesday revealed as much about the Republican Party …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Washington Post, Townhall, Vox, Philly.com and Popular Information

Joyce White Vance / Washington Post:

Yes, Michael Cohen's a liar and a criminal. So how come you believed him? — Choirboys don't end up as cooperating witnesses. But people who do can appear credible. — Michael Cohen's testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday was a master class in how prosecutors …

Discussion: Althouse, NPR and Politico

Ken White / The Atlantic:

Republicans Committed the Classic Cross-Examination Blunder — Everyone involved in the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on Wednesday needed a good lawyer. — Michael Cohen, the convicted felon, disbarred lawyer, and former fixer to Donald Trump, needed a trial lawyer to rein …

Discussion: Raw Story and Hullabaloo

Lawfare:

The Cohen of Silence Breaks: What to Make of Wednesday's Testimony — The first thing to remember about Michael Cohen's lengthy appearance on Wednesday before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform is that it was presumably a pale shadow of the full testimony Cohen could offer.

Discussion: National Review, HuffPost and Washington Post

Caroline Fredrickson / New York Times:

How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Won the Cohen Hearing — Too many representatives chose to bloviate instead of interrogate — except for one. — Ms. Fredrickson is the president of the American Constitution Society. — On Wednesday, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's one-time personal lawyer and …

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
After Michael Cohen's testimony, The Trump Organization can expect a wave of renewed scrutiny

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Michael J. Stern / USA Today:
Michael Cohen testimony was a WWE body slam against Trump. Here's why it's credible.

Discussion: Raw Story and The Atlantic

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
The Republican Party Completely and Utterly Disgraced Itself at Michael Cohen's Hearing

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Keith Griffith / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: Gambino mob heir predicts Michael Cohen will get WHACKED in prison because ‘inmates love Trump and hate rats’

Discussion: Daily Wire and The Gateway Pundit

Barbara McQuade / The Daily Beast:
The Case Against Trump Has Never Been Stronger After Cohen Testimony

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

NBC News:
Trump Org's Weisselberg not cooperating with feds, sources say

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress and New York Times

The Daily Beast:
Matt Gaetz Under Investigation by Florida State Bar Over Michael Cohen Threat

Issie Lapowsky / Wired:
How'd the Cohen Hearing Go? That Depends on Your Filter Bubble

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and NPR

John Solomon / The Hill:
Michael Cohen's pathetic ‘Cry for Me, Argentina’ performance

Discussion: Boston Globe, Pirate's Cove, New York Times, Washington Press and Viking Pundit

Noah Rothman / Commentary:
Michael Cohen's Morality Play

Discussion: Byline Times and The American Conservative

David Frum / The Atlantic:
Uncontradicted — Michael Cohen's testimony to the House …

Discussion: USA Today and CNN

Bryan Lowry / Kansas City Star: Billionaire Phil Ruffin says he's the Kansan mentioned at Michael Cohen hearing

NBC News:

U.S. drops demand for full accounting of N. Korea nuclear program ahead of talks — Negotiators focus in on Yongbyon reactor, the “heart” of North Korea's nuclear program. — HANOI, Vietnam — U.S. negotiators are no longer demanding that North Korea agree to disclose a full accounting …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Splinter, twitchy.com, POLITICUSUSA, Joe.My.God., Al Jazeera, Associated Press, NK News, CNBC and Mediaite

Edward Wong / New York Times:

Trump's Talks With Kim Jong-un Collapse Over North Korean Sanctions — “Sometimes you have to walk,” President Trump said after he and North Korea's leader abruptly ended their meeting. — “They were willing to denuke a large portion of the areas that we want, but we couldn't give …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, TheBlaze, The American Conservative, The Week, USA Today and Associated Press

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

‘Sometimes you have to walk’: Why Trump bailed on North Korea — HANOI - In the end, President Trump did the unexpected: He walked away. — A visibly deflated Trump began the press conference wrapping up his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by talking about anything else.

Discussion: Washington Post, Shareblue Media, Power Line, Breitbart, One America News Network, ABC News and New York Times

Washington Post:

Trump and Kim abruptly cut short summit after failing to reach nuclear deal — HANOI — President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un abruptly cut short their two-day summit here Thursday after the two leaders failed to reach an agreement to dismantle that country's nuclear weapons.

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, Defense One, Media Matters for America, Breitbart, Shareblue Media, The Hill, The Week, One America News Network, The Daily Beast, NPR, ABC News and Power Line

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:

'He tells me he didn't know': Trump defends Kim Jong Un over death of Otto Warmbier — HANOI — President Trump on Thursday defended North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the death of American college student Otto Warmbier, whose family says he was “brutally tortured” while imprisoned …

Discussion: NBC News, ABC News, IJR and Political Wire

Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
The Three Problems with the North Korea Walk-Out

Discussion: USA Today, Breitbart and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Associated Press:
Trump, Kim summit collapses amid failure to reach deal

Discussion: The Daily Beast, fox8.com and WQAD-TV

New York Times:
Trump-Kim Summit Updates: ‘Sometimes You Have to Walk,’ Trump Says as Talks Collapse

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Reuters and Outside the Beltway

Washington Post:
‘Sometimes you have to walk’: Trump leaves summit empty-handed at tough point in presidency

Discussion: Politico and Breitbart

Hazel Shearing / BuzzFeed News:
Trump Claimed Michael Cohen “Lied A Lot” During His Testimony

Discussion: Washington Press and Law & Crime

New York Times: White House Bars 4 U.S. Journalists From Trump's Dinner With Kim in Hanoi

Matthew Choi / Politico:

Tlaib: Lawmakers ‘gasped’ when Meadows brought up black Trump employee — Rep. Rashida Tlaib said Thursday that she and others in the House Oversight Committee room gasped on Wednesday when Rep. Mark Meadows pointed to a black Trump administration official as evidence that President Donald Trump …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Washington Post

Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post: Videos of Mark Meadows saying ‘send Obama home to Kenya’ resurface hours after he's accused of racist stunt

Michael Tesler / Washington Post:
No, Mark Meadows. Having a black friend doesn't mean you're not racist.

Discussion: NPR and Breitbart

Kate Sullivan / CNN:
Lawmakers clash in Cohen hearing after Republican accused of using black woman as a ‘prop’

Discussion: Townhall, Fox News and Washington Post

Kate Riga / Talking Points Memo:

LePage: Eliminating Electoral College Would Make Whites ‘A Forgotten People’ — Former Gov. Paul LePage (R) tore apart a bill currently in the Maine state legislature that proposes essentially eliminating the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote because it would only “be minorities that elect” the President.

Ronn Blitzer / Law & Crime:
Former GOP Governor: We Need Electoral College or Else ‘White People Will Not Have Anything to Say’

Discussion: Raw Story

Mike Tipping / Beacon:
LePage claims national popular vote bill will silence ‘white people’

Discussion: Political Wire

Kyle Kondik / Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball:

The 2020 Electoral College: Our First Look — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — Our initial Electoral College ratings reflect a 2020 presidential election that starts as a Toss-up. — We start with 248 electoral votes at least leaning Republican, 244 at least leaning Democratic, and 46 votes in the Toss-up category.

Discussion: The Week

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:

GOP nightmare as Alabama's Roy Moore signals he might run again — Roy Moore, a conservative lightening rod who cost the Republican party a Senate seat in deep-red Alabama, is signaling fresh interest in mounting another campaign in 2020, sparking alarm on the right that Democratic Sen. Doug Jones …

Discussion: IJR

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: A new conservative media company — Jonah Goldberg is leaving National Review in the coming months to start a new conservative media company with Steve Hayes, who was editor-in-chief of The Weekly Standard when its owner shut it down in December. — Details: Goldberg and Hayes tell …

Discussion: Splinter, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

Virginia first lady under fire for handing cotton to African American students on mansion tour — A Virginia state employee has complained that her eighth-grade daughter was upset during a tour of the historic governor's residence when first lady Pam Northam handed a ball of cotton …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, Richmond Times-Dispatch, IJR, theGrio, AOL, Liberty Unyielding, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, Splinter, Daily Wire, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Root and The Daily Caller

Gromer Jeffers Jr / Dallas Morning News:

Sources: Beto O'Rourke won't challenge John Cornyn for Senate, paving way for presidential bid — Beto O'Rourke has decided not to run for Senate next year against Republican incumbent John Cornyn and likely will announce a campaign for president soon, confidants close to the former El Paso congressman told …