Trump hides the details of his chats with Putin while the FBI investigates whether he’s compromised, the government shutdown becomes the longest in history, Julian Castro and Tulsi Gabbard announce their presidential campaigns, and Republicans might finally take action against white nationalist Steve King. Then Jon Lovett talks to Los Angeles teachers on the first day of their strike. Also – Pod Save America is going on tour! Get your tickets now: crooked.com/events

Show Notes:

No puppet (puppet!) 

• New York Times: F.B.I. Opened Inquiry Into Whether Trump Was Secretly Working on Behalf of Russia
• NBC News: Trump’s firing of Comey triggered an FBI counterintelligence investigation. Here’s what ‘counterintelligence’ entails.
• Lawfare: Jim Baker on Counterintelligence
• Washington Post: The FBI can’t neutralize a security threat if the president is the threat – Op-Ed
• Lawfare: On What Grounds Can the FBI Investigate the President as a Counterintelligence Threat?
• Lawfare: Why the FBI’s Investigation Into the President Was Unavoidable
• New Yorker: How the Times Reported the F.B.I. Counterintelligence Investigation Into President Trump: An Interview with the Journalist Adam Goldman
• Empty Wheel: A LESS OBVIOUS QUESTION ABOUT NYT’S REPORTING ON TRUMP-RUSSIA
• Empty Wheel: TRUMP’S “OFFICIAL ACTS” TO PAY OFF A RUSSIAN BRIBE SHOULD MAKE IMPEACHMENT A LEGAL ISSUE, NOT JUST A POLITICAL ONE
• Washington Post: Why the FBI might’ve thought Trump could be working for Russia
• NPR: Ex-FBI Agent Puts ‘New York Times’ Report On Trump In Perspective
• Mediaite: WATCH: Sen. Mark Warner Gives Jake Tapper Huge List of Reasons FBI Had to Suspect Trump
• NBC News: ‘So many questions raised’: Lawmakers respond to two bombshell Trump, Russia reports
• The Guardian: Was Comey’s FDR Trump tweet linked to Obama 2012 ‘insider threat’ memo?
• Lawfare: What if the Obstruction Was the Collusion? On the New York Times’s Latest Bombshell
• Vox: How the big new New York Times scoop changes our understanding of the Trump-Russia probe
• Mother Jones: Why the FBI’s Counterintelligence Investigation Into President Trump Is Such a Big Deal
• Esquire: There Is a Bombshell of a Word in the New York Times Report on the Trump FBI Investigation
• New York Times: Trump Tweets Lengthy Attack on F.B.I. Over Inquiry Into Possible Aid to Russia
• New Yorker: As the Shutdown Drags On, the Trump-Russia Story Is Back at Center Stage
• Politico: It’s Already Collusion
• Washington Post: Trump has concealed details of his face-to-face encounters with Putin from senior officials in administration
• Politico: Trump: ‘I couldn’t care less’ if Putin conversation becomes public
• Vox: Trump reportedly hid details of his meetings with Putin from his own administration
• The Guardian: Trump fails to answer yes or no when asked if he ever worked for Russia
• Think Progress: Here are the 358 words Donald Trump said when asked if he works for Putin. (None of them were ‘no’)
• USA Today: Trump’s team had over 100 contacts with Russian-linked officials, according to think tank analysis
• CNN: Trump’s very private meetings are a huge favor to Putin – Op-Ed
• Los Angeles Times: Democrats vow to step up investigations amid explosive new reports of Trump and Russia
• Washington Post: Revelations about Manafort’s 2016 interactions with Russian associate show special counsel’s intense focus on Russia contacts
• Washington Post: Trump’s border wall battle could soon give way to bigger fights with Democrats over Russia and impeachment
• Washington Post: William Barr’s confirmation hearing expected to be a battle over Mueller’s future
• NBC News: Democrats warn Trump not to ‘discourage’ or ‘intimidate’ Michael Cohen from testifying
• NBC News: Congress now interested in that other Trump Tower once planned for Russia
• New York Times: Democrats Push to Block Sanctions Relief for Russian Oligarch’s Companies
• Newsweek: MUELLER DRAFT REPORT SAYS TRUMP ‘HELPED PUTIN DESTABILIZE THE UNITED STATES’, WATERGATE JOURNALIST SAYS
• CNN: Trump says he had ‘great conversation’ with Putin, calls media reports ‘nonsense’
• Boston Globe: Trump responded to word of FBI probe, and it wasn’t nice
• Axios: Pompeo: It’s “ludicrous” to suggest Trump is a threat to U.S. security
• Associated Press: Trump tweets into the void as shutdown sets record
• Huffington Post: GOP Shrugs Off Report That Trump Concealed Details Of Putin Meetings

The Longest Shutdown Ever

• Washington Post: Americans blame Trump and GOP much more than Democrats for shutdown, Post-ABC poll finds
• CNN: CNN Poll: Trump bears most blame for shutdown
• Politico: Trump and GOP taking messaging hit on shutdown
• The Guardian: Trump losing battle to avoid blame for shutdown as day 23 rolls on
• Politico: Shutdown now longest in history as Congress skips town
• Axios: Trump dressed down Mulvaney in front of congressional leaders
• Washington Post: ‘In the White House waiting’: Inside Trump’s defiance on the longest shutdown ever
• New York Times: Trump’s Wall Stance Upends Washington’s Usual Border Bargaining
• Vox: Trump wants credit for staying at the White House over weekends while the shutdown drags on
• New York Times: Trump Confronts the Prospect of a ‘Nonstop Political War’ for Survival
• New York Times: Trump’s Five Craziest Arguments About the Shutdown – Op-Ed
• Politico: Bipartisan blowback hits idea of tapping Army Corps for wall money
• New Yorker: The Republican Test at the Border
• Politico: White House warns shutdown could carry on after emergency declaration
• Politico: Freedom Caucus members tell Trump to back off wall emergency
• Washington Post: Graham urges Trump to reopen government — but declare national emergency if border deal remains elusive
• Washington Post: As Trump eyes a potential national emergency, Democrats see a possible lawsuit
• The Atlantic: Why Hasn’t Trump Folded?
• Washington Post: Pressure on Senate Republicans to break shutdown impasse grows
• The Atlantic: The Impact of the Government Shutdown Is About to Snowball
• Axios: Behind the scenes: Mass confusion on how to end the shutdown
• Vox: Congress approves bill guaranteeing back pay for furloughed federal employees when the shutdown is over
• New York Times: Government Shutdown Across America
• Vox: The astonishing effects of the shutdown, in 8 charts – The longest shutdown, by the numbers.

2020

• New York Times: Julián Castro, Former Housing Secretary, Announces 2020 Presidential Run
• Washington Post: Castro’s 2020 policy agenda: Universal pre-K, ‘comprehensive’ immigration reform, Medicare-for-all
• Washington Post: Former HUD secretary Julián Castro joins 2020 Democratic presidential field
• Politico: Welcome to 2020, Julián Castro! Here’s How To Win by Losing.
• Mother Jones: Julián Castro Is Democrats’ Most Serious Latino Presidential Contender. Can He Mobilize Latino Voters?
• Daily Beast: Will Julian Castro Be Our First Mexican-American President?
• New York Times: Is America’s Political Future in San Antonio?
• PBS Newshour: What does Julián Castro believe? Where the candidate stands on 8 issues
• Vanity Fair: JULIÁN CASTRO FORMALLY CONFIRMS 2020 PRESIDENTIAL RUN
• Vox: Julián Castro declares his 2020 presidential candidacy

Tulsi Gabbard

• Associated Press: Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Is Running for President in 2020
• Washington Post: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii says she will seek the 2020 Democratic nomination for president
• Huffington Post: Tulsi Gabbard’s Homophobic Remarks Surface After 2020 Presidential Announcement
• Washington Post: The Trailer: Will Sanders’s 2016 supporters rally behind him this time?
• New York Times: Tulsi Gabbard, Representative From Hawaii, Announces Democratic Presidential Bid
• Axios: Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is running for president

Tom Steyer

• New York Times: Tom Steyer, Billionaire Impeachment Activist, Won’t Run Against Trump
• CNN: Billionaire Tom Steyer will not run for president in 2020

Steve King

• NBC News: Republicans say Steve King’s ‘stupid,’ ‘racist’ remarks may result in action against him
• Politico: McCarthy: ‘Action will be taken’ over King’s racist comments
• New York Times: Before Trump, Steve King Set the Agenda for the Wall and Anti-Immigrant Politics
• New York Times: Steve King’s White Supremacy Remark Is Rebuked by Iowa’s Republican Senators
• Huffington Post: Ted Cruz Won’t Rule Out Future Support For White Supremacist Steve King
• Washington Post: Tim Scott: Why are Republicans accused of racism? Because we’re silent on things like this. – Op-Ed
• Vox: Rep. Steve King wonders how the phrase “white supremacist” became “offensive”
• Washington Post: A brief guide to Steve King’s ‘long history of racist statements’