memeorandum: Pretend Clinton did what Trump has done (USA Today)

12:35 PM ET, May 17, 2017

Top Items:

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation — WASHINGTON — President Trump asked the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, to shut down the federal investigation into Mr. Trump's former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, in an Oval Office meeting in February …

Discussion: Shareblue, Washington Monthly, The Atlantic, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, ABC News, Vox, CBS News, Bloomberg, CNN, New York Magazine, TheStreet, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Media Matters for America, RT, CNNMoney, The Daily Caller, IJR, Politico, Hot Air, CNBC, The Hill, The National Interest, NBC News, Fox News Insider, Axios, National Review, SiliconBeat, USA Today, TheBlaze, Washington Times, Just Security, Washington Examiner, Hullabaloo, Feeds, The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Fox News, Hit & Run, The Daily Beast, Indy Week, Real Clear Politics, KQED News, CBS New York, AOL, Take Care Blog, DCReport.org, Politicus USA, CBS Boston, Informed Comment, Gizmodo, Snopes.com, Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart, Grabien News RSS, Common Dreams, twitchy.com, Althouse, Lawfare, Financial Times, Power Line, RedState and Al Jazeera English, more at Mediagazer »

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: ABC News, Political Wire, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Politico and Shareblue

Matthew Nussbaum / Politico:

White House on edge: ‘We are kind of helpless’ — It was, in the words of one senior White House official, the worst day of Trump's presidency. — White House officials spent early Tuesday wondering who was leaking details of President Donald Trump's classified conversations with Russian officials …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, Mediaite, The Week, Raw Story and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

The Daily Beast:

Trump Officials on Comey Memo: 'Don't See How Trump Isn't Completely F*cked' … If you come at James Comey, you best not miss. — The former FBI director—who President Donald Trump fired and then later threatened on Twitter last week—reportedly kept notes of their conversations …

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Axios, CBS News, Politico, Shareblue, Shakesville, Raw Story, New York Times, NBC News, Politicus USA, Daily Kos, Fox News Insider, The Week, CNN, IJR, RedState, AOL, Vox, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »

USA Today:

Pretend Clinton did what Trump has done — Republicans in Congress and conservative media would be clamoring for investigations, if not impeachment: Our view — Imagine what would have happened had a President Hillary Clinton abruptly fired the man overseeing an investigation of her campaign's ties to a hostile foreign government.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, CNBC, The Week, Indy Week and Politico

New York Times:

The Criminal President? — After the revelations of the past 24 hours, it appears that President Trump's conduct in and around the firing of the F.B.I. director, James Comey, may have crossed the line into criminality. The combination of what is known and what is credibly alleged would …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, The Atlantic and twitchy.com

Brian Beutler / New Republic:

Trump Has Really Screwed Himself This Time — He suggested he taped conversations with James Comey. Now, a memo by the former FBI director reveals damaging details about those conversations. — Last Friday, several days after firing FBI Director James Comey, President Donald Trump tweeted something …

Discussion: Washington Post, Balloon Juice, The Hill, Politicus USA, twitchy.com, Politico and The Week

Mike Allen / Axios:
“Comey's revenge” may be far from over

Discussion: Washington Post and NBC News

Reuters:
Embroiled in controversies, Trump seeks boost on foreign trip

Discussion: RedState, Shareblue, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Week, twitchy.com and Political Wire

Fox News:
Gregg Jarrett: Comey's revenge is a gun without powder

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys and Viking Pundit

Tim Mak / The Daily Beast:
McCain: Trump Scandal Has Hit ‘Watergate Size’

Discussion: NBC News, The Hill, The Week, Axios and Mediaite

Washington Examiner:
GOP fears Trump will take the Republican Party down with him

Discussion: Raw Story

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
The Trump Presidency Falls Apart

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Week and AOL

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:
Republican Darrell Issa gives reporter the silent treatment — and the finger — for asking about Comey memos

Discussion: Daily Kos, Politico, Political Wire, ABC News and RedState

Evan Perez / CNN: Comey and the art of the well-timed leak

Josh Rogin / Washington Post: Trump to unveil plans for an ‘Arab NATO’ in Saudi Arabia

David Remnick / New Yorker:
Is the Comey Memo the Beginning of the End for Trump?

Discussion: The Week and Political Wire

Washington Post:
Notes made by former FBI Director Comey say Trump pressured him to end Flynn probe

Liam Donovan / Politico:
When Will Republicans Dump Trump?

Discussion: Washington Post and Crooked Timber

Pierre Thomas / ABC News:
Comey documented Trump request to drop Flynn investigation in memo: Source

Discussion: Raw Story

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trump's Protective Republican Wall In Congress Cracks

Discussion: Vox, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos, RedState and Politicus USA

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: ThinkProgress, Raw Story and The Week

Brian Ross / ABC News:

Trump's disclosure endangered spy placed inside ISIS by Israel, officials say — The life of a spy placed by Israel inside ISIS is at risk tonight, according to current and former U.S. officials, after President Donald Trump reportedly disclosed classified information in a meeting with Russian officials last week.

Discussion: Sputnik International, Just Security, Associated Press, IJR, Hot Air, Mediaite and CNN

Andrew Roth / Washington Post:
Putin offers to provide Congress with details of Trump disclosures to Russian envoys

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Root and Political Wire

CNN:
Russia claims to have transcript of Trump meeting with Lavrov

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Vox, Washington Times, RT, Bloomberg, The Nation, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic, Fox News Insider, The Week, WGN-TV, Daily Kos and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

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: AOL, Shakesville, Refinery29, Mashable and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

The Guardian:

'Erdoan's bodyguards' in violent clash with protesters in Washington DC — Nine people hurt and two arrests made during the altercation at the Turkish ambassador's residence in the US capital … Nine people were hurt and two arrests were made during an altercation at the Turkish ambassador's residence …

Discussion: BillMoyers.com, Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air, CNBC, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Week, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Christopher Mele / New York Times:
Fight Outside Turkish Embassy in Washington Injures 9

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, RT and ABC News

Tom Roussey / WJLA-TV:
Officials: 9 people hurt, 2 arrested after large fight in DC

Discussion: Politico, Common Dreams and TheBlaze

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The 25th Amendment Solution for Removing Trump — It was just three days and a lifetime ago that I wrote a column about Donald Trump's unfitness for the presidency that affected a world-weary tone. Nothing about this White House's chaos was surprising given the style of Trump's campaign, I argued.

Discussion: Mother Jones and The Federalist

Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
On Ross Douthat and the 25th Amendment

Discussion: Marginal REVOLUTION

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: The Daily Caller, IndieWire, Refinery29, AOL, TheBlaze, Mashable, Fox News Insider, EW.com and Daily Mail

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:

Story on DNC staffer's murder dominated conservative media — hours later it fell apart — It took only hours for one of the biggest stories in conservative media this week, which some outlets had chosen to focus on over news that President Trump disclosed classified information to senior Russian officials, to fall apart.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Raw Story, Washingtonian, The Week and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, more at Mediagazer »

Stephen Ohlemacher / AP News:

NC senator collapses during race, taken away in ambulance — WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina collapsed during a Washington, D.C., race Wednesday morning and was taken away by ambulance. — Tillis, 57, was seen on the ground being administered CPR by bystanders …

Discussion: Political Wire, TheBlaze and Hot Air

Fox News:
Sen. Thom Tillis collapses during DC race

Discussion: New York Times, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, NPR, Indy Week, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, WSPA-TV, WTKR-TV and twitchy.com

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: Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Infowars, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, AOL, Refinery29, Raw Story and The Week

Judah Ari Gross / The Times of Israel:

Former Israeli spymasters rip into Trump, say Israel must reassess intel sharing — Shabtai Shavit says the US president is like a ‘bull in a china shop’; notes, ‘If tomorrow I were asked to pass information to the CIA, I would do everything I could to not pass it to them’

Discussion: The Week

Naomi Jagoda / The Hill:

House GOP not sold on Ryan's tax reform plan — Dozens of Republican lawmakers are raising concerns or say they are undecided on Paul Ryan — 's (R-Wis.) proposed tax on imports, suggesting the Speaker's broader tax reform plan may not have the votes to pass the House.

Discussion: CNBC and The Daily Caller