memeorandum: Presence of Russian photographer in Oval Office raises alarms (Carol Morello/Washington Post)

12:55 PM ET, May 11, 2017

Top Items:

How Trump's anger and impatience prompted him to fire the FBI director — Every time FBI Director James B. Comey appeared in public, an ever-watchful President Trump grew increasingly agitated that the topic was the one that he was most desperate to avoid: Russia.

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:

Experts on authoritarianism are absolutely terrified by the Comey firing — “Trump has talked like a would-be authoritarian since day one. ... This is the first clear warning sign that he's attempting to [act like one].” — Those are the words not of a Democratic political operative …

Discussion: Shareblue, CNN and CNBC

Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:

Trump Considering Ex-Congressman Mike Rogers for FBI Director, Official Says — President Donald Trump is considering Mike Rogers, a former congressman and FBI agent from Michigan, to replace James Comey as FBI director, a White House official said. — Rogers, 53, a former chairman …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Axios, New York Magazine, Political Wire, Politico and NY State of Politics

Ali Watkins / Politico:

Rosenstein meets with Senate Intel leaders after Comey firing — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was seen arriving at the Senate Intelligence Committee's secure office spaces Thursday afternoon. Sources told POLITICO Rosenstein had requested to meet with the Intelligence Committee leaders …

Discussion: New York Times, Axios, Washington Post, The Week, AOL and Shareblue

Wall Street Journal:

As the FBI Reels, Candidates Emerge to Run Agency — The Justice Department moved on Wednesday to find a temporary successor for fired FBI Director James Comey, as Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his top deputy interviewed five candidates amid continuing fallout over the controversial dismissal.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Week and New York Magazine

New York Times:

An Open Letter to the Deputy Attorney General — Dear Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein: — It's rare that any single person has to bear as much responsibility for safeguarding American democracy as you find yourself carrying now. Even before President Trump's shocking decision …

Discussion: RedState, Raw Story, Conservative News Today, Media Matters for America, Politicaldog101.Com and Mediaite

Mike Allen / Axios:

Trump puts agenda, presidency at risk — The answers to why Trump canned Comey are becoming clear: The president was filled with grievance about the FBI probe and acted on impulse without clearly thinking through the fallout, numerous sources tell me. — The consequences are also becoming clear …

Discussion: Politico, Raw Story, CNN, The American Conservative, Politicus USA, AOL and Washington Free Beacon

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Sources: Comey sought to expand Trump-Russia probe of former campaign officials — WASHINGTON — The FBI-led probe into whether Russian influence operations helped put Donald Trump in the White House is on a knife's edge and could easily veer into either of two distinct directions.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Week, Talking Points Memo and Lawfare

Brian Beutler / New Republic:

Our Rendezvous With Authoritarianism Has Arrived — Comey's firing should be a frightful awakening from complacency. If Trump gets away with it, he will read it as permission to run amok. — The firing of James Comey has restarted a conversation about the vulnerability of public institutions …

Discussion: The Week, Mediaite, FiveThirtyEight, Hit & Run and Raw Story

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

For Trump Supporters, the Real Outrage Is the Left's Uproar Over Comey — WASHINGTON — The script should be familiar by now. President Trump takes action that stuns the country, eliciting indignation and disbelief from Democrats and leading them to conclude that the vitality of American democracy is under assault.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Shane Savitsky / Axios:

Acting FBI Director: Trump-Russia probe “highly significant” — Andrew McCabe, the acting FBI director, told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday that James Comey had not, as the White House said, lost the broad confidence of the bureau's employees:

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Political Wire, Politico and The Week

Chuck Grassley:
Grassley discusses Comey and Russia Investigation at Executive Business Meeting

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

Brett T. / twitchy.com:
WaPo story on Trump and Comey cites more than 30 officials but can't beat this one editor's note

Discussion: Hot Air and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
Sen. Mike Lee tweets Trump: Nominate Merrick Garland to replace Comey

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Uri Friedman / The Atlantic:
America Isn't Having a Constitutional Crisis

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, CNN and New York Times

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Dem reps: Trump is ‘moving’ toward impeachment

Discussion: Balloon Juice

New York Times:
‘Enough Was Enough’: How Festering Anger at Comey Ended in His Firing

CBS News:
Acting FBI director testifies at Senate hearing on worldwide threats — live updates

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com and CBS Detroit

Lucian K. Truscott IV / Salon: Americans are witnessing a slow-motion coup

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Trump angry Comey would not back wiretap claims about Obama: report

Discussion: RedState

National Review:
The Comey Ouster — A combination photo of James Comey …

Discussion: Fox News, The Atlantic, Mediaite, Business Insider and Washington Post

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:
Deputy AG Rosenstein was on the verge of resigning, upset over WH pinning Comey firing on him

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Mediaite and IJR

The Daily Beast:
New FBI Boss Could Be More Controversial Than Comey

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post and Breitbart

United States House Committee on Oversight …:
Chaffetz Statement on Comey Firing

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon and Washington Post

David Choi / Business Insider:
Trump's deputy attorney general reportedly threatened to resign after being painted as the …

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, New York Times, CNN, Betsy's Page, Just Security and Axios

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
DOJ official who recommended Comey's firing threatened to resign: report

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, RedState, Lawfare, The Week and Mediaite

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
US ambassador to Qatar appears to criticize Trump in tweet

Discussion: RedState, MichelleMalkin.com, twitchy.com, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story

Bret Stephens / New York Times:
The Easy Tells of Comey's Canning

Discussion: USA Today and The Atlantic

Joshua Keating / Slate: If It Happened There: Political Chaos as Regime Purges Powerful Security Chief

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
The Associated Press Goes Around the Bend on Comey

Discussion: LifeZette and The Daily Caller

Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Comey firing shows Sessions' growing clout

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and The Week

Bianca Padró Ocasio / Politico:
Chaffetz requests DOJ IG expands probe to include Comey firing

Discussion: RedState, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, TheBlaze, Raw Story, Mediaite, Axios and The Daily Caller

Economist:

What is Trumponomics and how does it differ from standard Republican economics? — Well it's an interesting question. I don't think it's ever been asked quite that way. But it really has to do with self-respect as a nation. It has to do with trade deals that have to be fair, and somewhat reciprocal, if not fully reciprocal.

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Trump tells The Economist he invented the phrase ‘priming the pump’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Hot Air, Refinery29, Mashable and CNBC

Economist:
Why Trumponomics won't make America great again

Discussion: Axios

TIME.com:

From where the 45th President works, eats and sleeps, everything is going just great. Now if only everyone else would see it that way. A TIME exclusive — PHOTOGRAPHS BY BENJAMIN RASMUSSEN FOR TIME — In a few minutes, President Donald Trump will release a new set of tweets …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Gizmodo, Eater, Politicus USA, The Verge, Mediaite, AOL, The Week and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:

Republicans Don't Feel Your Pain — Well before the House voted last week to replace Obamacare with President Trump's American Health Care Act, Senator Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat from West Virginia who is up for re-election in 2018, met with the president. By his own account, Manchin told Trump:

Discussion: Philly.com

ABC News: Constituent loses his temper at Rep. Tom MacArthur over health care

David Weigel / Washington Post:
'I didn't come here to defend the president tonight' — Republican who rescued health-care bill faces voters

Discussion: Vox, Los Angeles Times and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:

Conway links Anderson Cooper's eye roll to sexism … White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Thursday appeared to accuse CNN's Anderson Cooper of sexism for rolling his eyes during an on-air interview with her. — “I face sexism a lot of times when I show up for interviews like that,” Conway said on “Fox & Friends.”

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Fox News Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Conservative News Today, New York Magazine, The Week, twitchy.com, Joe.My.God., Washington Post and Mashable

Katherine Faulders / ABC News:

President Trump expected to launch commission on ‘election integrity’ — President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order today establishing a commission to review alleged voter fraud and voter suppression in the American election system, multiple senior administration officials tell ABC News.

Discussion: Politico, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Axios, IJR, Common Dreams, TheBlaze, Take Care Blog, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, electionlawblog.org, Political Wire and The Week

Carol Morello / Washington Post:

Presence of Russian photographer in Oval Office raises alarms — A photographer for a Russian state-owned news agency was allowed into the Oval Office on Wednesday during President Trump's meeting with Russian diplomats, a level of access that was criticized by former U.S. intelligence officials as a potential security breach.