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

11:15 AM 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 …

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, Conservative News Today, Politicaldog101.Com, Media Matters for America and AOL

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 …

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: Raw Story, The Week and Talking Points Memo

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: Political Wire

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, The Daily Caller and The Week

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, CNN, The American Conservative and Politicus USA

Brett T. / twitchy.com:

WaPo story on Trump and Comey cites more than 30 officials but can't beat this one editor's note — Former FBI Director James Comey's termination was big enough news that CNN added a special “Non-Comey news” section to its homepage Wednesday. — .@CNN website right now.

Discussion: Hot Air and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Uri Friedman / The Atlantic:

America Isn't Having a Constitutional Crisis — When news broke that Donald Trump had fired James Comey, who was in the midst of investigating possible collusion between the Russian government and the president's campaign, Brian Schatz knew just what to call it.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, CNN and AOL

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

Jake Tapper / CNN:
Source close to Comey says there were 2 reasons the FBI director was fired

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

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and The Daily Caller

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

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

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

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Brian Beutler / New Republic:
Our Rendezvous With Authoritarianism Has Arrived

Discussion: The Week, Hit & Run and FiveThirtyEight

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

Discussion: RedState and Politico

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

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politico, Washington Post, RedState, Talking Points Memo, Lawfare, Raw Story, Mediaite, Shareblue and The Week

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

Discussion: Washington Post and Breitbart

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

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

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

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

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

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

Morgan Winsor / Yahoo:
Deputy AG Rosenstein developed case to fire Comey ‘on his own,’ White House says

Discussion: ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press and Fox News Insider

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

Wall Street Journal: Rod Rosenstein's Justice

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

Discussion: USA Today and The Atlantic

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

Discussion: LifeZette and The Daily Caller

Reuters:
Comey infuriated Trump with refusal to preview Senate testimony: aides

Discussion: The Week, The Hill, Axios, Political Wire and Mediaite

Hadas Gold / Politico:
Trump holds auditions while Spicer's away

Discussion: Political Wire, Raw Story, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Marc Fisher / Washington Post:
Why Trump expected only applause when he told Comey, 'You're fired.'

Discussion: Raw Story

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

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

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

Discussion: RedState, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, TheBlaze, Axios, The Daily Caller and New York Magazine

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.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Vox, Politico, CNBC, National Review, TheStreet, Daily Kos, Political Wire, Axios, Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, rubber hose, The Week, Need To Know Network, AOL, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Root

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: Eater, Politicus USA, The Verge, Mediaite, The Week and New York Magazine

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, Talking Points Memo, Axios, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Political Wire, The Week and electionlawblog.org

Elizabeth Landers / CNN:
Trump finally to launch voter fraud panel

Discussion: CNBC, Media Matters for America and Joe.My.God.

Roxana Hegeman / Associated Press: Kansas' Kobach Told to Disclose Voting Plan He Took to Trump

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.

Discussion: Daily Kos, New York Times, Gizmodo, New York Magazine and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Susan B. Glasser / Politico:
Russia's Oval Office Victory Dance

Discussion: The Hill, New York Magazine, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Raw Story, rubber hose and Mother Jones

ABC News:

Constituent loses his temper at Rep. Tom MacArthur over health care — Coming up in the next {{countdown}} {{countdownlbl}} — Coming up next: — {{nextVideo.title}} — {{nextVideo.description}} — Skip to this video now — Related Extras Related Videos Video Transcript

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 »

Ken Silverstein / Observer:

The John Oliver Property Tax Scam: HBO Comedian Secretly Buys Manhattan Mansion — Liberal deity avoids taxes by using loophole created by Donald Trump — Donald Trump is wildly unpopular with coastal elites, but few despise him as feverishly as the Hollywood Brigades, led by Meryl Streep …

Discussion: Breitbart and The Daily Caller

Michael Brendan Dougherty / National Review:

Experts Now Agree: The Deplorables Really Are Deplorable — New social-science surveys help Democrats explain away Trump's win: Yes, his voters are racist. — Scene: The lab-coated man comes in from the room. “It was a troubling case,” he admits. “This question of why you voted for Trump.”

Discussion: TheBlaze