Wednesday's Headlines: Trump urged halt to Flynn probe, former FBI director’s notes say

Trump might have obstructed justice if Comey's allegation is true, legal analysts say; Trump is careening toward an inevitable showdown with an undeniable truth; As scandals grow, GOP senators say they're 'troubled' but not much else; As Trump's woes mount, the GOP arrives at a moment of reckoning; Behind the wide grins and loose lips: How Trump agreed to meet with the Russians; The NSA feared its potent hacking tool would be stolen. Then it was.;   Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories Trump urged halt to Flynn probe, former FBI director's notes say According to a set of notes taken by former FBI director James Comey following a February meeting with President Trump, the president brought up the counterintelligence investigation into Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser, and urged Comey to drop the investigation. By Devlin Barrett, Ellen Nakashima and Matt Zapotosky  •  Read more » Trump might have obstructed justice if Comey's allegation is true, legal analysts say More evidence would likely be required to warrant action and, as one expert noted, "Intent is key, and intent here can be difficult to prove." But Comey's memo offers a plausible case that the president obstructed justice. By Matt Zapotosky  •  Read more »   Analysis Trump is careening toward an inevitable showdown with an undeniable truth Time and time again, the public has been forced to decide: Whom do you believe — Donald Trump, or some other source? Whether it's Trump's word against that of his campaign rivals or of the media or of James Comey, it seems only a matter of time until Trump is up against someone or something that leaves him no wiggle room. By Philip Bump  •  Read more »   As scandals grow, GOP senators say they're 'troubled' but not much else It's the equivalent of sending "thoughts and prayers" — the phrase is always appropriate, though eventually meaningless. But as lawmakers grapple with troubles amid another scandal in the Trump administration, nobody was exactly sure what to do about the situation, at least not yet. By Ben Terris and Monica Hesse  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   The Take | Analysis As Trump's woes mount, the GOP arrives at a moment of reckoning Republicans chose a strategy of compartmentalization over confrontation, preferring to look away and hope the storm passes. The last eight days may have run that approach aground. By Dan Balz  •  Read more »   Behind the wide grins and loose lips: How Trump agreed to meet with the Russians Eight days before the Oval Office meeting in which Trump shared highly classified information, Russian President Vladi­mir Putin asked him to meet Sergei Lavrov, a senior Russian statesman. Despite grievances with Russia, U.S. officials moved forward to make it happen. By Philip Rucker and Karen DeYoung  •  Read more »   The NSA feared its potent hacking tool would be stolen. Then it was. When the National Security Agency began using a new hacking tool called EternalBlue, those entrusted with deploying it marveled at both its uncommon power and the widespread havoc it could wreak if it ever got loose. But for more than five years, the NSA kept using it, and now the officials' worst fears have been realized. By Ellen Nakashima and Craig Timberg  •  Read more »   Opinions   Trump's presidency is beginning to unravel By David Ignatius  •  Read more »   Comey may have gotten his man By Jennifer Rubin  •  Read more »   Why didn't Trump want anyone else to hear his conversation with Comey? By Ruth Marcus  •  Read more »   Trump's disclosures to the Russians might actually have been illegal By Steve Vladeck  •  Read more »   Trump just can't seem to stop telling the truth By Kathleen Parker  •  Read more »   The country needs to hear from James Comey By Editorial Board  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   EPA asked the public which regulations to gut — and got an earful about leaving them alone "Know your history or you'll be doomed to repeat it," one commenter wrote of air and water pollution in the United States. By Brady Dennis  •  Read more » The Fix | Analysis Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle is openly gunning for Sean Spicer's job Amid reports that President Trump is considering Guilfoyle as his White House press secretary, the co-host of "The Five" told a reporter that "it would be an honor to serve the country." By Callum Borchers  •  Read more » WorldViews | Analysis Why does North Korea hate the United States? Let's go back to the Korean War. North Korea tells its people terrible things about what the American forces did during the Korean War. And it's not all wrong. By Anna Fifield  •  Read more » Trump, Erdogan commit to cooperation despite tensions over Syrian militias The president welcomed his Turkish counterpart to Washington just a week after the Pentagon announced a plan to directly arm Kurdish militiamen in Syria for the first time. By Missy Ryan  •  Read more » Is this development disrupter a crusader or an extortionist? In an ever-gentrifying and increasingly affluent Washington, Chris Otten, a ponytailed law school dropout, is using his knowledge of the municipal code to fight projects across the city. By Paul Schwartzman  •  Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Headlines. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2017 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071