memeorandum: Romney calling Trump ‘phony,’ urging Republicans to shun him (Associated Press)

2:40 PM ET, March 3, 2016

Top Items:

Open Letter on Donald Trump from GOP National Security Leaders — We the undersigned, members of the Republican national security community, represent a broad spectrum of opinion on America's role in the world and what is necessary to keep us safe and prosperous.

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Romney to Republicans: Never Trump — Mitt Romney opened a new front in the Republican Party's civil war on Thursday, going after Donald Trump in a salt-the-earth speech that eviscerated the Republican front-runner as lacking the temperament, business record and substantive policies to occupy the White House.

Politico:

Full transcript: Mitt Romney's remarks on Donald Trump and the 2016 race — Below are Mitt Romney's full remarks on Donald Trump and the 2016 presidential race, as prepared for delivery. Romney delivered his remarks at the University of Utah. — I am not here to announce my candidacy for office.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Atlantic, American Spectator, No More Mister Nice Blog, ABC News, The Daily Caller, Mashable and Shakesville

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Mitt Romney Pulls No Punches In Major Speech Trashing Donald Trump — In what may be an unprecedented speech by a major American political figure, former presidential nominee Mitt Romney implored his fellow Republicans on Thursday not to nominate the frontrunner Donald Trump for president.

Discussion: mccain.senate.gov and Balloon Juice

Associated Press:

Romney calling Trump ‘phony,’ urging Republicans to shun him — SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is charging into the increasingly divisive White House race with a verbal lashing of Donald Trump and a plea for fellow Republicans to shun the front-runner for the good of country and party.

Discussion: ABC News, Guardian, New York Times, Right Wing Watch, Algemeiner.com, WATE-TV, The American Mirror, 2016 Election Central, The Hugh Hewitt ShowThe … and Associated Press

Geoff Earle / New York Post:

8 reasons we need to start preparing for President Trump — WASHINGTON — A few months ago, Hillary Clinton's campaign was salivating over the chance to take on Donald Trump — but the real-estate mogul is now positioned not only to win the GOP nomination, but also the White House.

Discussion: Western Journalism

Washington Post:

Mitt Romney: ‘Trump is a phony, a fraud’ who is ‘playing the American public for suckers’ — How Trump threw out the GOP playbook on Planned Parenthood — SALT LAKE CITY — Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, plans to deliver a sharp broadside against Donald Trump today …

Discussion: Politico, RedState, ABC News, CBS News, ThinkProgressPage Array, Mother Jones, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and Talking Points Memo

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Trump again threatens independent bid — Donald Trump said Thursday he is being treated unfairly by the Republican establishment and may run as an independent. — “I am watching television — and I am seeing ad, after ad, after ad put in by the establishment, knocking the hell out of me …

Discussion: RedState, New York Magazine and Daily Kos

Olivier Knox / Yahoo Politics:

Mitt Romney tells Donald Trump voters they're ‘suckers’ — Donald Trump has run an unapologetically coarse, give-the-elites-the-finger presidential campaign, ruthlessly mocking his rivals, attacking Latinos and Muslims, trampling long-held conservative ideas, and bluntly dismissing the Republican establishment.

Discussion: Politico and Hinckley Institute

TIME:

Read Mitt Romney's Speech About Donald Trump — Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney made the case against Donald Trump in Utah Thursday. — Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney made the case against Donald Trump in Utah Thursday.

Discussion: TheStreet.com, Washington Post, Hot Air and Instapundit

Inae Oh / Mother Jones:

Watch Mitt Romney Attempt to Tear Down “Phony” Donald Trump — Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney slammed Donald Trump on Thursday as “a phony” and “a fraud,” urging fellow Republicans to disavow the real estate magnate's bid for the White House.

Discussion: news9.com KWTV, Infowars, 12NewsNow.Com, Ordinary Times, Fusion and WCBD News 2

Michelle Conlin / Reuters:
Exclusive: Koch brothers will not use funds to try to block Trump nomination

Discussion: Political Wire and The Week

Mitt Romney:
My remarks on the state of the 2016 presidential race

Discussion: Vox, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Atlantic and Hullabaloo

Paul Watson / Infowars:
Mitt Romney's Niece to Stuff Republican Debate Audience With Anti-Trump Insiders?

Discussion: Detroit News, CNN, The Gateway Pundit and Western Journalism

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo: Gushing Romney Accepts Trump Endorsement

McKay Coppins / BuzzFeed:
How Mitt Romney Decided To Take On Donald Trump

Discussion: Hot Air

Catherine Treyz / CNN:
Mitt Romney: Donald Trump is a ‘phony, a fraud’

Discussion: The Week, Hullabaloo, Prairie Weather, naked capitalism, Salon, Los Angeles Times, Vox Popoli, Washington Post, The Federalist, New York Magazine and Truth Revolt

Matea Gold / Washington Post:
Pandemonium in the GOP: Some embrace Trump while others rush to stop him

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, TownhallReview.com, Towleroad, Moe Lane and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

Andrew Harnik / Los Angeles Times:
Editorial Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States

Discussion: Washington Post, Algemeiner.com, The Week and Newsalert

Leigh Ann Caldwell / NBC News:
Romney Slams Trump: ‘A Business Genius He Is Not’

Discussion: 89.3 KPCC and Patterico's Pontifications

A.B. Stoddard / The Hill: Too little, too late on Trump

Jonathan Stearns / Bloomberg Business:
Romney to Attack ‘Phony’ Trump in Utah Address

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic and NPR

New York Post:
Why would anyone want Mitt Romney's political advice?

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: Mitt's Moment to Trash Trump

Discussion: Boing Boing, KFOR-TV, Politico and AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …

Matthew Jaffe / CNN:
Lindsey Graham: Brokered convention would be unfair ... to Trump

Discussion: TheStreet.com, Truth Revolt and The Daily Caller

Timothy Cama / The Hill:

Chief justice rejects plea to block air pollution rule — Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected a plea Thursday to block a contentious air pollution rule for power plants, in a big victory for the Obama administration. — Roberts's order came despite his court's 5-4 decision …

Discussion: Western Journalism, Hot Air and The Bob and Chez Show

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:

The Women Take Over — In oral arguments for the Texas abortion case, the three female justices upend the Supreme Court's balance of power. — When the Supreme Court last heard oral arguments in a landmark abortion case, it was April 1992, the case was Planned Parenthood v Casey, and Sandra Day O'Connor was the lone female justice.

Discussion: MSNBC, Jezebel, SCOTUSblog, Hullabaloo, Mother Jones, Shakesville and The Huffington Post

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Chief Justice Rejects Effort to Block E.P.A. Limit on Power Plants

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and ACS Blog

Skagit Valley Herald / Goskagit.com:

Man accidentally kills himself while taking photos with gun — A 43-year-old Concrete man died Sunday after accidentally shooting himself in the face with what he thought was an unloaded gun. — The man and his girlfriend were at a residence in the 46000 block of Baker Loop Road taking photos …

Discussion: Death and TaxesDeath and Taxes, Raw Story, Associated Press, CBS New York, WGN-TV, Fox 59, Q13 FOX News and WTVR-TV

Adam Goldman / Washington Post:

Justice Dept. grants immunity to staffer who set up Clinton email server — The Justice Department has granted immunity to the former State Department staffer who worked on Hillary Rodham Clinton's private email server, a sign the FBI investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing is progressing.

Matthew Boyle / Breitbart:

Exclusive Audio — Rubio Campaign Manager Plots Brokered Convention In Manhattan Donor Meeting To Take Nomination From Trump — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is plotting to take the Republican nomination away from Donald Trump using surreptitious tactics at a so-called “brokered convention,” …

Discussion: Infowars, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Independent Journal Review

Sasha Issenberg / Bloomberg Business: The Best-Laid Free Media Plan of Marco Rubio

New Jersey Online:

Chris Christie, resign for N.J.'s sake | Editorial — Star-Ledger Editorial Board By Star-Ledger Editorial Board — Gov. Chris Christie has made it abundantly clear that governing New Jersey is a distant second priority for him, far behind the demands of his personal ambition.

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post, CBS New York and New Jersey News …

Oliver Darcy / TheBlaze.com:

Sean Hannity Goes Scorched Earth Against Marco Rubio — Sean Hannity repeatedly ripped into Marco Rubio on his Fox News program Wednesday night, attacking the Florida senator for recent attacks on Donald Trump and saying his rhetoric was “beyond the pale” of acceptance in a presidential primary.

Discussion: rubber hose, Western Journalism and New York Magazine

Kathryn Watson / The Daily Caller:

Here's Why It's All But Impossible To Fire A Fed — Federal workers are far more likely to be audited by the IRS or get arrested for drunk driving than they are to be fired from the civil service payroll for poor performance or misconduct. — The odds are one-in-175 for the IRS audit …

Discussion: The Week and Instapundit

Alexandra Alper / Reuters:

Mexico says won't pay for Trump's ‘terrible’ border wall — MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - There is no way Mexico would fund Donald Trump's “terrible” plan to build a wall along its border with the United States if the Republican front-runner wins the U.S. presidential election, the Mexican finance minister said.