memeorandum: White House Lawyers Warned Trump: Stay Away From Michael Flynn (The Daily Beast)

8:50 PM ET, May 10, 2017

Top Items:

Days Before He Was Fired, Comey Asked for Money for Russia Investigation — WASHINGTON — Days before he was fired, James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, asked the Justice Department for a significant increase in money and personnel for the bureau's investigation into Russia's interference …

Jake Tapper / CNN:

Source close to Comey says there were 2 reasons the FBI director was fired — Washington (CNN)There are two reasons why President Donald Trump fired James Comey, according to a source close to the now-former FBI director: — Comey never provided the President with any assurance of personal loyalty.

Discussion: ABC News, National Review, The Atlantic, Mediaite, Politicus USA, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, AOL, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

New York Times:

‘Enough Was Enough’: How Festering Anger at Comey Ended in His Firing — WASHINGTON — The countdown to President Trump's dismissal of James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, began last weekend, which the president spent stewing over Mr. Comey's testimony to Congress last week in which he provided …

Discussion: Axios

The Daily Beast:

White House Lawyers Warned Trump: Stay Away From Michael Flynn … White House lawyers have had to warn President Donald Trump repeatedly against reaching out to his fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, two people familiar with the matter tell The Daily Beast.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Mediaite and ABC News

John Hayward / Breitbart:

Gorka: Trump Fired FBI Director to Make a Statement After Comey's Latest Testimony — On Wednesday's Breitbart News Daily, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to President Trump, said the firing of FBI Director James Comey was an example of how “incredibly decisive” the president is.

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

By firing James Comey, Trump has put impeachment on the table — A whiff of obstruction of justice is in the air. — The old saw that the cover-up is worse than the crime often obscures more than it reveals. But in the case of President Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey, it carries an important element of truth.

Discussion: portal.liberalamerica.org, Washington Post, CNN, Politico, ABC News, New Yorker, Business Insider, TheBlaze, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Hit & Run, The Daily Beast, Liberal Values, Mother Jones and neo-neocon

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Behind Comey's firing: An enraged Trump, fuming about Russia — President Donald Trump weighed firing his FBI director for more than a week. When he finally pulled the trigger Tuesday afternoon, he didn't call James Comey. He sent his longtime private security guard to deliver …

Rosie Gray / The Atlantic:

‘There Is a Real Risk Here Things Will Spin Out of Control’ — As news of FBI Director James Comey's firing unfolded Tuesday night, it took on all the hallmarks of a distinctively Trumpian drama. In Los Angeles, news choppers chased Comey's SUV down a freeway.

Discussion: Media Matters for America

New York Times:

Inside the F.B.I., Stunned Agents Wonder About Future of Russia Inquiry — WASHINGTON — These are not happy times at the F.B.I. — Morale at the country's premier law enforcement agency plummeted months ago, after James B. Comey, its director, revived the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use …

Discussion: Business Insider and Washington Post

New York Times:
How Every Lawmaker Has Reacted to Comey's Firing So Far

Discussion: Vox, Media Matters for America and The Gateway Pundit

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: Firing FBI director Comey is already backfiring on Trump. It's only going to get worse.

Discussion: CNBC and Washington Monthly

Ali Watkins / Politico:
Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenas Flynn

Discussion: ABC News and Axios

Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart:
Stephen Colbert Corrects Audience for Cheering News of Comey Firing

Discussion: twitchy.com, Maggie's Farm, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Gothamist, The Daily Caller, National Review and NBC News

Keven Ann Willey / Dallas Morning News:
Pete Sessions: Comey should have been removed ‘in a more gracious way’

Discussion: Shareblue, Washington Post, Breitbart, Los Angeles Times and The Week

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
To fire Comey, Trump team waited for Rosenstein

Discussion: Washington Post and Hot Air

Michael R. Bloomberg / Bloomberg:
After Comey, Justice Must Be Served

Discussion: Lawfare, NY State of Politics, Vox, TheBlaze, The Hill, The Guardian and Business Insider

Mike Levine / ABC News:
After Comey's firing, acting FBI chief jokes Benghazi controversy was ‘the good ol’ days'

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Business Insider and Vox

Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart:
Dershowitz: Comey Firing ‘Appropriate,’ No Special Prosecutor

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Rachael Bade / Politico:
GOP scrambles to shield agenda from Comey fallout

Discussion: Washington Post and Politicus USA

CNBC:
Russia probe: Senate requests Trump documents from agency that monitors money laundering

Discussion: IJR

Anita Kumar / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Exclusive: Oval Office meeting led to fire Comey recommendation

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Alice Ollstein / Talking Points Memo:
Democrats Grind Senate's Work To A Halt Over Comey Firing

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider, Mother Jones and Common Dreams

Jack Shafer / Politico:
No, Firing Comey Won't Prove Trump's Undoing

Discussion: Washington Post, Media Matters for America, CNN, Washington Examiner, TheBlaze, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos and The Guardian

Brad Reed / Raw Story:
Chris Cuomo stunned as Kellyanne Conway says it's inappropriate to question Trump's Comey firing

Discussion: portal.liberalamerica.org

Jeff Stein / Vox:
Democrats' nuclear option over Comey's firing: shut down the Senate

Discussion: KTLA, Shareblue and Daily Kos

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Sessions was told to find reasons to fire Comey: reports

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, ABC News, Vox, Just Security, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Snopes.com and The Guardian

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Inside the WH scramble to defend Trump on Comey

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News, Vox, Mediaite and Raw Story

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

Sean Spicer ‘spent several minutes hidden in the bushes’ — There are plenty of popular political television shows set in Washington, D.C. - “Scandal,” “House of Cards,” “Madam Secretary,” etc. - and for people who've never worked in Beltway politics, it's only natural to wonder which shows best capture real life.

Discussion: Washington Post and Shakesville

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:

After Trump fired Comey, White House staff scrambled to explain why — White House press secretary Sean Spicer wrapped up his brief interview with Fox Business from the White House grounds late Tuesday night and then disappeared into the shadows, huddling with his staff behind a tall hedge.

Discussion: Politico, Mashable, New York Magazine, CNNMoney, CNN, Talking Points Memo, FiveThirtyEight, New York's PIX11, AOL, The Root, Mother Jones, The Atlantic, Mediaite and Axios

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Anderson Cooper's eyeroll is all of us right now

Discussion: Mediaite and The Root

CNNMoney:
Sean Spicer under fire during crucial week for Trump

Discussion: Washington Post and Raw Story

Clive Irving / The Daily Beast:

U.S. to Ban Laptops in All Cabins of Flights From Europe … The Department of Homeland Security will ban laptops in the cabins of all flights from Europe to the United States, European security officials told The Daily Beast. The announcement is expected Thursday.

Discussion: View from the Wing, Axios, Daily Mail, CBS San Francisco, Lawfare, TheBlaze and New York Magazine

Andrew Joseph / STAT:

Tom Price commends West Virginia officers who arrested journalist asking questions — ONCORD, N.H. — Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price on Wednesday commended police in West Virginia for “doing what they thought was appropriate” in arresting a journalist who shouted questions at him …

Discussion: USA Today, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Daily Kos, IJR and Associated Press, more at Mediagazer »

Samantha Schmidt / Washington Post:
West Virginia journalist arrested after asking HHS Secretary Tom Price a question

Discussion: Esquire, WV MetroNews, The Atlantic, NPR, New York Times, Political Insider, Common Dreams, IJR and Political Insider blog

WSAZ-TV:
Reporter arrested at W.Va. Capitol during visit from Conway and Price

Discussion: TheBlaze, more at Mediagazer »

GQ:

Dwayne Johnson for President! — No one gets up earlier than Dwayne Johnson. Or goes to bed later. Or is more awake during the hours in between. No one in Hollywood is more buff, more driven, or gets paid better. The man has so much charisma and ambition he can do anything.

Discussion: TheBlaze, The Hill, KFOR-TV, KTLA, Refinery29, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, CBS Denver and Mediaite

Jessica Bakeman / Politico:

Graduating seniors boo Betsy DeVos at commencement in Florida — DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Hundreds of graduating seniors of a historically black university here booed and turned their backs on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as she struggled to deliver their commencement address over the raucous crowd.

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post, Refinery29, The Gateway Pundit and Mashable

Susan Svrluga / Washington Post:
Students boo Betsy DeVos as commencement speaker at historically black university

Discussion: CNN, Business Insider, The Week, The Hill, MLive.com, US News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Common Dreams, NPR, The FADER, ThinkProgress and IJR

Tommy Christopher / Shareblue:
Massive student resistance brings Betsy DeVos commencement speech to a halt

Discussion: Mediaite

Susan B. Glasser / Politico:

Russia's Oval Office Victory Dance — When President Donald Trump hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Oval Office Wednesday just hours after firing the FBI director who was overseeing an investigation into whether Trump's team colluded the Russians, he was breaking …

Bloomberg: Russia's Lavrov Visits White House After Trump Fires Comey

Brittany De Lea / Fox Business:

Aetna to Completely Pull Out of ObamaCare Exchanges by 2018 — (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) ) (AP) — Health insurance company Aetna (AET) will completely exit the ObamaCare exchanges in 2018. — The company announced late Wednesday it will not offer insurance plans in Delaware or Nebraska …

Discussion: Hot Air

Zachary Tracer / Bloomberg: Aetna Is Latest Health Insurer to Quit Obamacare Markets

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

More very bad news for Trump: His poll numbers just hit a bunch of new lows — President Trump is dealing with a budding scandal after firing FBI Director James B. Comey on Tuesday. — But even before that, he appears to have hit a new low with the American people.