memeorandum: How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Won the Cohen Hearing (Caroline Fredrickson/New York Times)

2:50 PM ET, February 28, 2019

Top Items:

John Bresnahan / Politico:

‘This is not a day at the beach’: Pelosi tells moderate Dems to stop voting with GOP — House Democrats held an emotional debate behind closed doors Thursday over how to stop losing embarrassing procedural battles with Republicans — a clash that exposed the divide between moderates and progressives.

Discussion: Political Wire and twitchy.com

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

After Cohen's hearing, the BuzzFeed bombshell that Mueller disputed looks better — and worse — In mid-January, a BuzzFeed News report hit the news cycle like a mile-wide asteroid landing on Earth. — Its assertion was stunning: that President Trump had directed his fixer, Michael Cohen …

Discussion: Vox, ThinkProgress, Roll Call and AOL, more at Mediagazer »

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 …

Marcy Wheeler / New York Times:

Did Cohen Give a Peek at the Mueller Report? — The special counsel is still hiding events that lie at the core of his investigation — events that involve the president directly. — Ms. Wheeler writes about national security at the website Emptywheel. — Even before Michael Cohen appeared …

Discussion: Byline Times, The Daily Beast and ThinkProgress

Emily Stewart / Vox:

Why the answers Michael Cohen gave to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's questions mattered — AOC got Cohen to name names — and help build a case for getting Trump's tax returns. — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-NY) questioning of Michael Cohen during his congressional testimony …

Discussion: Washington Post and The Daily Beast

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, Pirate's Cove, The Hill, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Vox, Washington Post, Townhall and Popular Information

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

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and twitchy.com

Ken White / The Atlantic:
Republicans Committed the Classic Cross-Examination Blunder

Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story and Hullabaloo

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
The winners and losers of Michael Cohen's House hearing

Discussion: Raw Story, CNBC and Townhall

Joyce White Vance / Washington Post:
Yes, Michael Cohen's a liar and a criminal. So how come you believed him?

Discussion: Althouse, NPR and Politico

Lawfare:
The Cohen of Silence Breaks: What to Make of Wednesday's Testimony

Discussion: National Review, HuffPost and Washington Post

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
House Oversight seeks interviews with Ivanka Trump, Don Jr.

Discussion: Axios, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast and Wall Street Journal

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, ABC News, ThinkProgress and New York Times

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

Jerry Dunleavy / Washington Examiner:
2016 video shows Michael Cohen lied to Congress about not wanting a Trump administration job

Discussion: IJR, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Big League Politics, Daily Wire, Pacific Standard and The Federalist

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

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Edward Wong / New York Times:

Trump's Talks With Kim Jong-un Collapse, and Both Sides Point Fingers — HANOI, Vietnam — President Trump and Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader, abruptly ended their second summit meeting on Thursday after talks collapsed with the two leaders failing to agree on any steps toward nuclear disarmament …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Hullabaloo, Just Security, The Week, The American Conservative, TheBlaze, Shareblue Media and Althouse

Washington Post:

North Korea's foreign minister says country seeks only partial sanctions relief, contradicting Trump — HANOI — President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un abruptly cut short their two-day summit Thursday amid contradictory accounts over why they were unable to reach an agreement to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear weapons.

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, Axios, Shareblue Media, Conservative Review, One America News Network, Breitbart, IJR, Power Line, ABC News and New York Times

NBC News:
U.S. drops demand for full accounting of N. Korea nuclear program ahead of talks

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNN, Vox, The Resurgent, Daily Kos, Splinter, POLITICUSUSA, Joe.My.God., twitchy.com and Al Jazeera

James Jay Carafano / Fox News:
North Korea summit ends with no deal but Trump's move sent a message that matters - What will Kim do now?

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Daily Wire

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

Discussion: Vox, Breitbart, USA Today and NBC News

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

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

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

NBC News:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicted on bribe and fraud charges — The indictment marks the first time in Israeli history that a sitting prime minister has been charged with a crime. — Israel's attorney general announced Thursday that his office had indicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu …

Discussion: BBC, Associated Press, Washington Post, Shakesville, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Joe.My.God., Political Wire and The Resurgent

Raoul Wootliff / The Times of Israel:

Netanyahu to stand trial for bribery and breach of trust, pending hearing — AG's decision is legal bombshell ahead of April 9 elections, marks first time in Israel's history that serving PM is told he faces criminal charges; premier to speak at 8 p.m. — In a move that drastically shakes …

Discussion: Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CNN, Law & Crime and The Week

New York Times:
Prosecutor Moves to Indict Netanyahu on Corruption Charges

Discussion: The Times of Israel and Outside the Beltway

Haaretz:
Netanyahu to Be Charged With Bribery Pending Hearing

Discussion: Vox, Politico, Townhall and The Daily Beast

Ian Austen / New York Times:
Trudeau's Ex-Attorney General: ‘Veiled Threats’ Were Made to Drop Case

Discussion: Globe and Mail

Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:

Videos of Mark Meadows saying ‘send Obama home to Kenya’ resurface hours after he's accused of racist stunt — The most emotionally fraught moment during the Michael Cohen hearing had nothing directly to do with President Trump's former lawyer but was a tense exchange after one lawmaker accused another …

Discussion: Breitbart, Contemptor and Boing Boing

Matthew Choi / Politico:
Tlaib: Lawmakers ‘gasped’ when Meadows brought up black Trump employee

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, theGrio, Breitbart and POLITICUSUSA

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: Joe.My.God., Hot Air and IJR

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

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: Big League Politics and Splinter, more at Mediagazer »

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.

Discussion: Beacon, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Week

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

Discussion: Towleroad Gay News and Raw Story

John Harwood / CNBC:

Trump and GOP promised economic growth much better than Obama's. That's not what happened — Throughout the 2016 campaign and since, the president and his party have vowed to kick-start tepid Obama-era economic growth. — New government data show that Trump, too …

Discussion: U.S. Bureau …, Shareblue Media, Mother Jones, IJR, Outside the Beltway and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:

Andrew Wheeler, former energy lobbyist, confirmed as nation's top environmental official — As acting chief at the EPA, Wheeler has advanced the Trump administration's deregulation agenda. — The Senate on Thursday approved former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to head the Environmental Protection Agency …

Discussion: Boing Boing

Zachary Basu / Axios:
Senate confirms Andrew Wheeler as EPA administrator

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:

Under Peace Plan, U.S. Military Would Exit Afghanistan Within Five Years — WASHINGTON — All American troops would withdraw from Afghanistan over the next three to five years under a new Pentagon plan being offered in peace negotiations that could lead to a government in Kabul that shares power with the Taliban.