memeorandum: Did Erdogan STAGE the coup? … (Darren Boyle/Daily Mail)

11:25 AM ET, July 17, 2016

Top Items:

Darren Boyle / Daily Mail:

Did Erdogan STAGE the coup? US-based Turkish cleric facing extradition over botched rebellion claims president orchestrated plot to justify a clampdown on civil rights — A US-based Turkish cleric accused of plotting a coup to overthrow the Ankara government has claimed President Recep Erdogan staged …

Edward Luttwak / Foreign Policy:

Why Turkey's Coup d'État Failed — And why Recep Tayyip Erdogan's craven excesses made it so inevitable. — Rule No. 2 in planning a successful military coup is that any mobile forces that are not part of the plot — and that certainly includes any fighter jet squadrons — must be immobilized or too remote to intervene.

Discussion: Chicago Boyz

Spencer Ackerman / Guardian:
Pentagon loses Turkish airspace access crucial in airstrikes against Isis

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Washington Post, Shakesville and NPR

Bradley Klapper / Associated Press:
US would consider extradition request for exiled cleric

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and CBS Miami

Amana Fontanella-Khan / Guardian:
Fethullah Gülen: Turkey coup may have been ‘staged’ by Erdoan regime

Discussion: Vocativ, France 24, Informed Comment, Associated Press, Instapundit, RedState, NO QUARTER USA NET, NPR, Observer and The Week

Associated Press:
Questions Now Swirl About Turkey, Key Western Ally

Discussion: ABC News and Politico

Justin Fishel / ABC News:
U.S. Troops at Turkish Air Base on Highest Force Protection Level

Discussion: Townhall.com, MichelleMalkin.com, Washington Post and Associated Press

Evelyn Rupert / The Hill:

Anti-Trump delegates plot convention havoc: report — delegates are hoping to stir up trouble for the RNC and wreak havoc on the Republican National Convention next week, The Washington Post reports. — A group of delegates opposed to their party's presumptive nominee is plotting a variety …

Discussion: RedState and Washington Post

Naja Rayne / People.com:

Ivanka Trump's Rabbi Pulls Out of Speaking Engagement at Republican National Convention — Haskel Lookstein — rabbi to Ivanka Trump — has pulled out of his speaking commitment at the Republican National Convention, according to a report. — In an email obtained by Politico …

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Never Trump plots last stand at Cleveland convention

Discussion: The Week

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post: Anti-Trump delegates consider several attempts to upend convention

Dan Balz and / Washington Post:

Clinton holds narrow lead over Trump on eve of conventions — CLEVELAND — On the eve of two national political conventions that will shape the images of the major party presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are in a competitive contest nationally but with the presumptive …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

ABC News:

Clinton vs. Trump Leaves 6 in 10 Unhappy; Contest Tightens as Conventions Loom (POLL) — Most Americans express dismay at their choices in the 2016 presidential election, with a tighter contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump reflecting damage to Clinton from her email controversy …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

CBS News:

What Pence thinks of Trump campaign's tone — Presumptive Republican VP nominee Mike Pence comments on the negativity and tone of the Trump presidential campaign — Indiana Gov. Mike Pence comments on the negativity and tone of the political team he joins today as presumptive Republican …

Discussion: Mediaite and ABC News

Sara Jerde / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Rambles Through Introducing Pence As VP: He's A Solid Person

Discussion: Political Wire and Daily Kos

Jason Easley / Politicus USA:
Trump Had To Grab Tourists Off The Street To Fill The Room For VP Announcement

Discussion: Media Matters for America

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Donald Trump Delivers a Long, Passionate Speech. He Introduces Mike Pence, Too.

Discussion: Indianapolis Star, Political Wire, AOL, Hot Air and Friendly Atheist

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Donald Trump's speech introducing Mike Pence showed why he shouldn't be president

Discussion: Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, ABC News, Hullabaloo, WHNT-TV, New York Magazine, Mother Jones, alan.com, New York Times, neo-neocon, Politicus USA and Politico

Associated Press:
The Latest: Pence Back Home in Indiana, Now a VP Candidate

Discussion: ABC News and Politico

New York Times: A Grounded Plane and Anti-Clinton Passion: How Mike Pence Swayed the Trumps

Julia Hahn / Breitbart:

Reeling from Falling Polls, Paul Ryan Floods District with Mailers on Border Security After Funding Every Obama Open Borders Initiative — Following a new primary election poll showing that House Speaker Paul Ryan has plummeted to well below 50 percent in his home district …

Discussion: PoliPundit.com

Peter Allen / Mirror.co.uk:

Bono rescued by armed police after being caught up in Nice terror attack following ISIS lorry slaughter — The 56-year-old U2 lead singer was on the terrace of La Petite Maison, next to the seafront in the French city when mass murderer Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel struck

New York Times:

Philando Castile, Fatally Shot in His Car, Was a Magnet for Minor Traffic Stops — ST. PAUL — Turning into a parking lot without signaling. Failing to repair a broken seatbelt. Driving at night with an unlit license plate. Driving with tinted windows.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Harper Neidig / The Hill:

Former governor: Europeans ‘aghast’ at Trump — Former United Nations Ambassador and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) said that Europeans are “aghast” about the possibility of Donald Trump — being elected president. — Speaking with John Catsimatidis in a radio interview Sunday, Richardson, who supports Hillary Clinton

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Mike Pence Criticized Bush 41 In An Editorial For Signing Civil Rights Act Of 1991 — As executive director of a conservative think tank in Indiana, Mike Pence wrote an editorial sharply criticizing then-President George H.W. Bush for signing the 1991 Civil Rights Act

Discussion: The Root

New York Times:

Donald Trump Forces G.O.P. to Choose Between Insularity and Outreach — As Republicans stream into Cleveland to nominate Donald J. Trump for president, they confront a party divided and deeply imperiled by his racially divisive campaign. He has called for cracking down on Muslims …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

David Weigel / Washington Post:

Clinton will push constitutional amendment to ‘overturn Citizens United’ — ST. LOUIS — Hillary Clinton will call for a constitutional amendment to “overturn Citizens United” in her first 30 days as president and plans to make that announcement today to progressive activists at the annual Netroots Nation conference.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, CBS News, Balloon Juice, Eclectablog and The Nation