memeorandum: Justice Dept. names Mueller special counsel for Russia probe (Josh Dawsey/Politico)

8:35 PM ET, May 17, 2017

Top Items:

House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump — KIEV, Ukraine — A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation …

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

First Republican raises impeachment for Trump — (R-Mich.) on Wednesday said reports that President Trump pressed ousted FBI Director James Comey to end an investigation would merit impeachment if true, becoming the first Republican lawmaker to broach the idea.

Discussion: Politico, Shareblue, ABC News, Refinery29, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, NPR and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan Turley / The Hill:

The Comey memo offers no proof for impeachment of Trump — With the scandal du jour of the Comey memo, President Donald Trump — 's trip to Saudi Arabia looks less like a diplomatic flight as fleeing the jurisdiction. For the first time, the Comey memo pushes the litany …

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Comey Memo Fallout: Mueller Is Named Special Counsel — Right Now: Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced he has appointed Robert S. Mueller III, the former F.B.I. director, to serve as a special counsel to oversee its Russia election meddling investigation.

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Politico, The Atlantic, Little Green Footballs and Gizmodo

Dan Merica / CNN:
Trump to graduates: ‘No politician in history... has been treated worse’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, New York Times, Mediaite, Hit & Run, IJR, TheBlaze and Booman Tribune

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
First Republicans talk possibility of impeachment for Trump

Discussion: Vox, Mother Jones, Breitbart, The Daily Signal, TheStreet, NBC News, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller and Talking Points Memo

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Trump to interview Joe Lieberman, 3 others for FBI post

New York Times:
The Criminal President? — After the revelations of the past 24 hours …

Discussion: New York Post, USA Today, IJR, TheBlaze, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh and Shakesville

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Trump considering Joe Lieberman for FBI director

Discussion: Mediaite, Latest from Crooks and Liars and Hullabaloo

Brian Beutler / New Republic:
Trump Has Really Screwed Himself This Time

Discussion: USA Today, Axios, CBS News, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, New York Times and Balloon Juice

Politico:
Democratic leaders seek to stifle impeachment talk

Discussion: RedState

Associated Press:
White House offers muted response on Comey memo

Discussion: ABC News

Matthew J. Belvedere / CNBC:
Jack Welch: Impeachment of Trump would ‘blow the market away’

Discussion: Breitbart and Washington Post

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The guy who predicted Comey's memos thinks the former FBI director may be trying to take down Trump

Discussion: Raw Story

Josh Barro / Business Insider:
Here's why Comey couldn't just quit in February

Discussion: Townhall.com, New York Magazine, HuffPost, Lean Left, Hot Air and AOL

Rebecca R. Ruiz / New York Times:
Comey's Memos Were a Product of a Culture of Note-Keeping

Discussion: The Atlantic, Above the Law, Sunlight Foundation, The Guardian, ABC News and IJR

Tara Palmeri / Politico:
Trump turns to ex-campaign aides as scandals pile up

Discussion: Mediaite

Washington Post:

Deputy attorney general appoints special counsel to oversee probe of Russian interference in election — The Justice Department has decided to appoint a special counsel to investigate possible coordination between Trump associates and Russian officials seeking to meddle in last year's election …

Discussion: Power Line, Political Wire, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Daily Kos, twitchy.com and TheBlaze

NBC News:

Flynn, Manafort Are Key Figures In Russia Probe Mueller Will Lead — Former Trump aides Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort have emerged as key figures in the FBI's investigation into Russian campaign interference, which has just been taken over by a special counsel, four law enforcement officials told NBC News.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Daily Kos, NBC News, The Week and Talking Points Memo

Rebecca R. Ruiz / New York Times:

Robert Mueller, Former F.B.I. Director, Named Special Counsel for Russia Investigation — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has appointed Robert S. Mueller III, the former F.B.I. director, to serve as a special counsel to oversee its investigation into Russian meddling in the election …

Discussion: Mediaite, Booman Tribune, Political Wire and Althouse

Katie Bo Williams / The Hill:

Justice names special counsel for Russia investigation — The Justice Department has appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russia's involvement in the U.S. election. — Mueller, a former prosecutor who served a 12-year term at the helm of the bureau …

Discussion: RedState and ABC News

Mike Levine / ABC News:

Robert Mueller appointed special counsel to oversee probe into Russia's interference in 2016 election — The United States Department of Justice has announced that a special counsel has been appointed to investigate Russian interference into last year's presidential election and links …

Discussion: Axios, Politico, Little Green Footballs and Washington Free Beacon

Bloomberg: Former FBI Chief Mueller Named Special Counsel on Russia Probe

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Justice Dept. names Mueller special counsel for Russia probe

Discussion: RedState and Axios

Dave Lawler / Axios:
Russia probe special counsel led FBI under Bush, Obama

Discussion: New York Magazine

Jeff Larson / ProPublica:

Any Half-Decent Hacker Could Break Into Mar-a-Lago — We tested internet security at four Trump properties. It's not good. — Two weeks ago, on a sparkling spring morning, we went trawling along Florida's coastal waterway. But not for fish. — We parked a 17-foot motor boat in a lagoon …

Discussion: The Hill, Gizmodo, Axios, Mashable and The Week, more at Techmeme »

Michelle Kosinski:

This is How Your Government Responds to Unfavorable News Coverage — Monday night, as the story of the President giving classified information to the Russians was in full evolution, I get a call from this guy: — RC Hammond, the State Department's communications advisor, who had his facts wrong about what was reported and by whom.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke accepts job in Department of Homeland Security — Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. will leave office next month to accept a federal appointment as an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Mother Jones, The Resurgent, New York Magazine, RT, Raw Story, The Week and IJR

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Sheriff David Clarke lands job at Homeland Security

Discussion: TheBlaze, Talking Points Memo, Axios, FOX6Now.com, Right Wing Watch and The Daily Caller

Natalie Johnson / Washington Free Beacon:
Sheriff David Clarke Says He's Joining DHS

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Hit & Run, The Root and Media Matters for America

Sandra Sobieraj Westfall / People.com:

What Does Barack Obama Really Think of Donald Trump? 'He's Nothing But a Bullsh-ter' — She packs her own lunch, and he still isn't allowed to drive. Subscribe now for all about Michelle and Barack Obama's lives after moving out of the White House - only in PEOPLE

Discussion: Politicus USA, The Root, IJR, Infowars, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Fox News Insider, Raw Story, AOL, Instapundit, The Week and Washington Free Beacon

Wall Street Journal:

Russian State-Run Bank Financed Deal Involving Trump Hotel Partner — A Russian-Canadian developer put money into a Donald Trump hotel project in Toronto after receiving hundreds of millions from a deal involving Russian state-run bank VEB.

Discussion: Axios, ThinkProgress, AOL, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Raw Story and The Week

Max Kutner / Newsweek:

FBI NOT PROBING DNC STAFFER SETH RICH'S MURDER, DESPITE WIKILEAKS CLAIM — U.S. SETH RICH #DNCLEAKS DNC HACK DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE — The FBI is not investigating the unsolved murder of former Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, Newsweek has learned.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post, New York Times, NPR, The Daily Caller, RT, Right Wing Watch and WTTG-TV, more at Mediagazer »

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:
Family of slain DNC staffer demands retractions from Fox News, local TV station

Discussion: Infowars, IJR, Mediaite, Media Matters for America, Media Matters for America and ThinkProgress

Austin American-Statesman:

‘THIS IS CRAZY’: Austin man sues date for texting during movie — A man is suing a Round Rock woman for texting during a movie date at the Barton Creek Square theater, according to a petition filed in small claims court in Travis County. — Brandon Vezmar, 37, of Austin filed the claim Thursday against his date.

Discussion: Breitbart, IJR, The Daily Caller, Refinery29, IndieWire and AOL

Dave Itzkoff / New York Times:

Jimmy Fallon Was on Top of the World. Then Came Trump. — Ambling onto the Art Deco set of “The Tonight Show” for his monologue rehearsal one Monday afternoon, Jimmy Fallon gave the crowd here at Studio 6B a warm, practiced welcome before trying out a new batch of jokes about the French election …

Discussion: TheBlaze, AOL, Refinery29, Gothamist, The Guardian, IndieWire, Shakesville, The Daily Caller and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »

Bill Allison / Bloomberg:

Pence Takes Steps to Build War Chest as White House Stumbles — Political action committee registered Wednesday with FEC — Neither Biden nor Cheney had active leadership PACs in office — While President Donald Trump's White House grapples with the fallout from his firing of the former FBI director …

Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:
Column Dear Vice President Pence: What are you thinking?

Discussion: Fox News Insider

David Montero / Los Angeles Times:

Alex Jones settles Chobani lawsuit and retracts comments about refugees in Twin Falls, Idaho — Inside the Chobani Yogurt factory in Twin Falls, Idaho. — Alex Jones backed down. Again. — The far-right conspiracy theorist agreed Wednesday to settle a defamation lawsuit filed against him by Greek yogurt manufacturer Chobani.

Discussion: Right Wing Watch, more at Mediagazer »

Matt O'Brien / Washington Post:

Why liberal democracy only dies when conservatives help — Liberal democracy is not dead, but it's not well. From Hungary to Poland to even the United States, far-right populists have won power, and, in a few cases, are busy consolidating it. — In some sense, it shouldn't be too surprising …

Bloomberg:

Trump Said to Rule Out Moving Israel Embassy to Jerusalem — The embassy will remain in Tel Aviv for now, official says — Administration seeks to avoid provoking Palestinians — President Donald Trump has decided not to immediately move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem …