Quote of the Day:
“Ah. We finally get to the good stuff: Every question that begins with ‘When was the president aware…'”
— Jared Yates Sexton, associate prof of creative writing.
Former Speaker John Boehner gives a Politico reporter a nickname
Politico reporter Tim Alberta, who wrote a must-read profile on the former Speaker earned a nickname in the course of his interviews with Boehner: “Shithead.”
Read the piece here.
The White House presser to end all pressers
“Sarah Huckabee Sanders is making it sound like George Papadopoulos wasn’t on the campaign. His Linkedin says he was adviser for 11 months.” — Rebecca Shabad, reporter, CBS Politics.
“@PressSec says ‘it might not be a bad idea’ for Congress to investigate Hillary Clinton.” — Sabrini Siddiqui, political reporter, Guardian.
Congressman says Sarah Huckabee Sanders needs to resign
“Sarah Huckabee Sanders should resign as @PressSec She lacks any credibility, outright lies to the American.” — Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas).
Mark Halperin sexual harassment fallout…
“I did not report [Mark] Halperin to ABC because I thought I was the only one, and I blamed myself, and I was embarrassed and I was scared of him. …I will NOT let stand this Mark Halperin denial of what he physically did to me in this article. Stay tuned.”
— Emily Miller, author, Emily Gets Her Gun.
Rachel Sklar, founder, The List: “So sorry you had to go through that.”
CNN’s Kate Bennett: “Thinking of you.”
Sexual Harassment 101
“If you need to avoid being alone with women to treat them with dignity and not violate their rights, no rule will make you a decent man.” — Kelly Jane Torrance, writer, editor.
The Federalist‘s co-founder Sean Davis replied, “If recent news is any indication, a lot of men in media should have been following the Pence rule.”
Patrick Howley. Sexual harassment. Kevin Spacey.
“‘I heard many stories about Kevin Spacey, who is most definitely a sexual predator. …When you meet him, he might come over and put his hand right on your crotch.'” – A professional-type to me, regarding Kevin Spacey, years ago. I’m glad to say I didn’t ‘meet him.'” — Patrick Howley, editor, founder, Big League Politics.
Uh oh.
“I’m in Shelbyville, TN, where this AM several white supremacist groups are holding a ‘white lives matter’ rally.” — WaPo race reporter Wesley Lowery. Read here.
Sexual harassment on Capitol Hill
“What 40-something man is taking a 16-year-old woman out to lunch?”
Read the whole damn thing here.
Confessional.
“I wrote so many stories today and yet my most popular is about Kellyanne Conway and a goddamn squirrel.” — Amber Athey, The Daily Caller.
Indictment assumptions…
“I keep thinking of Manafort running around town today tidying things up while calling home to tell his brother to keep stirring the sauce.” — Matthew Miller, MSNBC justice and security analyst.
More on Mark Halperin…
“Very few narrators had the power that Mark Halperin did to shape the political discourse– which was often specifically about gender.” — Jodi Kantor, NYT.
The Observer
“Covering the Middle East in the Trump age is like reporting from the iceberg about to hit the Titanic while everyone watches the Apprentice.” — Sulome Anderson, Beirut/Brooklyn freelancer, author of The Hostage’s Daughter.
Deep Thoughts With Sally Kohn
“That rumbling sound you hear is mountains of truth just beginning to reach the surface.” — Sally Kohn, writer, activist, and host of STATE OF RESISTENCE podcast.
Tabloid-Gossip Roundup
TMZ: Kevin Spacey comes out of the closet as news surfaces that he tried to molest a 14-year-old in 1986. Turns out Spacey’s “House of Cards” character isn’t so different from the one in real life. The past is not off limits, folks. See here.
NYP‘s Page Six: NBC “TODAY” Show co-host Matt Lauer is purportedly no friend to Megyn Kelly. See here.
Daily Mail: Netflix nixes “House of Cards.” See here.
Variety: NBC finally cuts ties with Game Change co-author and “Morning Joe” regular Mark Halperin. Contract: ended. See here.