memeorandum: A Seeker of Kansas Voter Fraud Gets a National Soapbox (New York Times)

9:40 PM ET, May 14, 2017

Top Items:

Mark Murray / NBC News:

NBC/WSJ Poll: Just 29 Percent Approve of Trump's Firing of James Comey — Just 29 percent of Americans say they approve of President Donald Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, while 38 percent disapprove, according to results from a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politicus USA, Hullabaloo, The Guardian, CNBC, New York Magazine, Common Dreams, Shareblue, Mediaite, AOL, TheBlaze, The Week, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, Politico and Political Wire

Preet Bharara / Washington Post:

Are there still public servants who will say no to the president? — Preet Bharara, a scholar in residence at New York University Law School, was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2009 until this March. — The most dramatic hearing I helped to arrange as chief counsel …

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:

Republicans and Democrats agree: If Trump has tapes, he'll need to turn them over to Congress — Lawmakers in both parties said Sunday that President Trump will need to hand over any recordings of conversations in the White House if such a taping system does exist.

Discussion: Political Wire and Raw Story

Aaron Zitner / Wall Street Journal:

Opinion on Trump Stable Despite Tumult Over Comey Firing, Poll Finds — More Americans disapprove than approve of president's decision to fire FBI director, Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey shows — WASHINGTON—More Americans disapprove than approve of President Donald Trump's decision …

Discussion: New York Times

Jonah Engel Bromwich / New York Times:

U.S. Checks and Balances ‘Under Assault’ by Trump, Clapper Says — James R. Clapper Jr., a former director of national intelligence, said on Sunday that he found the firing of the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, to be “very disturbing” and that the country's systems of checks and balances was “under assault” by the White House.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, WiredPen, ThinkProgress and AOL

Eli Watkins / CNN:
Schumer: No new FBI director without a special counsel on Russia

Discussion: ABC News, twitchy.com and IJR

Ayesha Rascoe / Reuters:
U.S. lawmakers ask Trump to turn over any Comey tapes

Discussion: The Hill and The Week

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Warner: I will ‘absolutely’ subpoena tapes between Comey and Trump if they exist

Discussion: ABC News and Hot Air

Chris Willman / Variety:

With a New Collaborations Album, Todd Rundgren Talks About Loving Reznor, Fagen and Robyn... and Loathing Trump — Todd Rundgren's new album, “White Knight,” is a grab-bag of collaborations with fellow artists — among them, Trent Reznor, Daryl Hall, Bettye LaVette, Robyn, Donald Fagen …

Discussion: Breitbart and Raw Story

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:

Songwriter: 'If you're a Trump supporter, don't come to my show' — Todd Rundgren, a singer and songwriter, warned fans not to attend his concerts if they are Donald Trump — supporters, saying “buyer beware.” — “If I had the power, I'd say: If you're a Trump supporter, don't come to my show …

Discussion: RedState

Lucian K. Truscott IV / Salon:

Dead man lying — Unyielding dishonesty and belligerence have landed Trump one investigation away from impeachment — We've reached a magical time in the great story unfolding before us, the time when everybody knows that Trump is guilty, but the verdict is not yet in.

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker: Firing Comey Was a Grave Abuse of Power

CNN:

Callista Gingrich set to be named ambassador to the Vatican — Washington (CNN)Callista Gingrich, the wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is the preferred nominee to be the next ambassador to the Vatican. — The White House hopes to announce her nomination before President Donald Trump meets …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Valerie Strauss / Washington Post:

Trump thinks that exercising too much uses up the body's ‘finite’ energy — President Trump reportedly eschews exercise because he believes it drains the body's “finite” energy resources, but experts say this argument is flawed because the human body actually becomes stronger with exercise.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Political Wire

Daily Progress:

Torch-wielding protesters gather at Lee Park — Several dozen torch-wielding protesters gathered in Charlottesville's Lee Park just after 9 p.m. Saturday, chanting “You will not replace us,” “Russia is our friend” and “Blood and soil.” — After about 10 minutes, Charlottesville police arrived …

Discussion: Washington Post, AOL, The Hill, The Guardian, NPR, ThinkProgress, Hullabaloo, ABC News, Mediaite, Canada - The Huffington Post, The Root and The Week

Colin Campbell / Raleigh News & Observer:

At 3 a.m., NC Senate GOP strips education funding from Democrats' districts — N.C. Senate Republicans were visibly upset with Democrats for prolonging the budget debate with amendments during an after-midnight session Friday morning. — As the clock approached 1 a.m. …

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress and Raw Story

David Wright / All Things Nuclear:

North Korea's Missile in New Test Would Have 4,500 km Range — North Korea launched a missile in a test early in the morning of May 14, North Korean time. If the information that has been reported about the test are correct, the missile has considerably longer range than its current missiles.

Discussion: New York Times, The Diplomat and New York Magazine

Michael Edison Hayden / ABC News:
Nikki Haley: Trump is ‘CEO of the country,’ can ‘fire anyone he wants’

Discussion: Politico

Reuters:
North Korea fires missile days after new South Korea leader pledges dialogue

Discussion: Mediaite, Reuters, The Atlantic, CBS New York, BBC, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Politico, New York Times and The Gateway Pundit

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: Trump, irked at cabinet and staff, mulls sweeping shake-up — At the urging of longtime friends and outside advisers, most of whom he consults after dark, President Trump is considering a “huge reboot” that could take out everyone from Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon …

Discussion: Politicus USA, The Hill, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, AOL, The Daily Caller, RedState, Gizmodo, Vox Popoli, Booman Tribune, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Last Tradition, TheBlaze, Political Wire and Talking Points Memo

Greg Miller / Washington Post:

Political chaos in Washington is a return on investment for Moscow — Russia has yet to collect much of what it hoped for from the Trump administration, including the lifting of U.S. sanctions and recognition of its annexation of Crimea. — But the Kremlin has gotten a different return …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Wall Street Journal:

Senate Conservatives Look to Cut Medicaid — Conservative Senate Republicans are weighing faster and steeper cuts to Medicaid that could drop millions of people from coverage and mark the biggest changes to the program in its 52-year history.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Mother Jones

Sarah Ferris / Politico:
Republicans plan massive cuts to programs for the poor

Discussion: Political Wire

Ginni Thomas / The Daily Caller:

Scholar Unravels ‘The Big Lie’ Surrounding The Tump Campaign And Russian Collusion [VIDEO] — Scholar Victor Davis Hanson says there's a “big lie” surrounding the “boogeyman of Russian collusion” that Democrats and the media rally around, according to an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and The Last Tradition

New York Times:

A Seeker of Kansas Voter Fraud Gets a National Soapbox — Kris W. Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, oversees an office whose clerical and regulatory work costs the state's taxpayers barely $5.5 million a year. But he has parlayed that modest post into a national platform for tough restrictions …

Discussion: ACLU