memeorandum: When Will Republicans Dump Trump? (Liam Donovan/Politico)

3:05 AM 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: New York Magazine, Shareblue, Grabien News RSS, The Daily Beast, Axios, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Mediaite, Althouse, National Review, The Week, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Financial Times, Power Line, Raw Story, CNN, Fox News, Lawfare, CNBC, RealClearPolitics, Just Security, USA Today, Breitbart, Gizmodo, Washington Post, Common Dreams, The Guardian, twitchy.com, Political Insider blog, Snopes.com, CBS Boston, Politico, The Daily Caller, IJR, The Resurgent, Media Matters for America, AOL, Daily Kos, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, ThinkProgress, Vox, The Atlantic, Outside the Beltway, Daily Mail, Al Jazeera English, NPR, The Mahablog, Hit & Run, Mother Jones, FiveThirtyEight, TheBlaze, Mashable, CBS New York, TheStreet, KQED News, The Last Tradition, Patterico's Pontifications, The Gateway Pundit, KFOR-TV, Shakesville, Hot Air, Politicus USA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, WTVR-TV, Fox News Insider and Washington Free Beacon, 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: IJR, The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA, New York Times, Washington Post, Mother Jones, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, Daily Kos, Raw Story, The Week and Media Matters for America

Washington Post:

Notes made by former FBI Director Comey say Trump pressured him to end Flynn probe — President Trump asked the FBI to drop its investigation into his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and urged the FBI director James B. Comey instead to pursue reporters in leak investigations …

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:

Republican Darrell Issa gives reporter the silent treatment — and the finger — for asking about Comey memos — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — With scandal upon scandal piling up for the Republican Party, the stress is clearly getting to some prominent Republicans.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Post, Politicus USA, RedState and The Daily Caller

Fox News:

Gregg Jarrett: Comey's revenge is a gun without powder — James Comey was lying in wait. — His gun was cocked, he took aim and fired. But his weapon was empty. — Three months ago, the then-FBI Director met with President Trump. Following their private conversation …

Discussion: Viking Pundit

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: Mediaite

Noah Feldman / Bloomberg:

Trump Should Worry: Comey Memo Describes a High Crime — Trying to end the Flynn investigation isn't a legal crime, but it is an impeachable offense. — If President Donald Trump asked FBI Director James Comey to stop investigating National Security Adviser Mike Flynn and his ties to Russia, that's obstruction of justice.

Discussion: Washington Post

Liam Donovan / Politico:

When Will Republicans Dump Trump? — Spoiler alert: Not yet, and maybe never. — By this point it's almost a routine. Major media outlet breaks allegation of administration malfeasance. White House spokesman denies and dissembles. Feeding frenzy ensues.

Discussion: Crooked Timber

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

Discussion: Vox and RedState

Seung Min Kim / Politico:
White House rocked by allegation Trump tried to shut down FBI's Flynn probe

Discussion: Vox, Axios and NPR

Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart:
New York Times Oversells 'Comey's Revenge' Story

Discussion: New York Magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Power Line, twitchy.com, IJR, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, Politico, Media Matters for America, CNBC, The Week, Vox, The Guardian and Talking Points Memo

Associated Press:
Key moments of Trump-Comey clash and what's come after

Discussion: Politico

Matt Ford / The Atlantic: Did President Trump Obstruct Justice?

Dan Balz / Washington Post: As Trump's woes mount, congressional Republicans arrive at a moment of reckoning

Austin Wright / Politico:
Graham invites Comey to testify before Senate panel

Discussion: The Hill, twitchy.com, The Atlantic, The Week and Talking Points Memo

CNN:
Chaffetz: I'm ready to subpoena for Comey memo

Discussion: Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Congressional Dems making early calls for Trump's impeachment

Discussion: IJR, Washington Post and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:

At a Besieged White House, Tempers Flare and Confusion Swirls — WASHINGTON — The disclosure that President Trump divulged classified intelligence to two high-ranking Russian officials was a new blow to an already dispirited and besieged White House staff still recovering from the uproar …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Hot Air, USA Today, Hullabaloo, RedState, AOL, The Daily Signal, Raw Story, Shareblue, Mediaite, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog and Vox, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Israel Was Source of Secret Intelligence That Trump Gave to Russians, Officials Say — WASHINGTON — The classified intelligence that President Trump disclosed in a meeting last week with Russian officials at the White House was provided by Israel, according to a current …

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, IJR, PRI, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Mail, CNBC, Politico, Hot Air, Power Line, TheBlaze, The Daily Signal, Washington Monthly, The Atlantic, NBC News, Political Insider blog, Daily Kos and The Daily Caller

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: Mediaite, Hot Air, Axios and Political Wire

Sheera Frenkel / BuzzFeed:

Israeli Official: Trump Sharing Intelligence With Russia Is “Worst Fears Confirmed” — Two Israeli officials tell BuzzFeed News that the intelligence shared by Trump “syncs up” with intelligence Israel shared with its US counterparts. — SAN FRANCISCO — Two Israeli intelligence officials confirmed …

Discussion: CNN, The Times of Israel, The Hill, Daily Kos, New York Times, Washington Post, PRI, RealClearPolitics, AOL, Balloon Juice, RedState, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, The Atlantic, Mediaite and Axios

Evan Perez / CNN:
Inside the US effort to keep laptop bomb intel secret

Bre Payton / The Federalist:
FLASHBACK: Obama's CIA Director Leaked Top Secret Bin Laden Raid Intel To Hollywood

Discussion: Breitbart, NBC News and Center for Security Policy

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Inside the Oval Office with Trump and the Russians: Broad smiles and loose lips

Discussion: New York Times and The Guardian

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, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and Balloon Juice

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
DNC Staffer's Murder Draws Fresh Conspiracy Theories

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, DCist, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Snopes.com, Right Wing Watch and Media Matters for America, more at Mediagazer »

Joseph Bernstein / BuzzFeed:
Meet The Private Detective Who Ignited A Clinton Conspiracy Theory

Discussion: Media Matters for America and Fox News

Casey Tolan / Mercury News:

Exclusive: Kimberly Guilfoyle says she's talking with Trump administration about press secretary job — The Fox News host and former First Lady of San Francisco tells the Bay Area News Group: 'I'm a patriot, and it would be an honor to serve the country.' — NEW YORK — Kimberly Guilfoyle …

Discussion: CNNMoney, New York Times, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit, AOL, Politico, TheBlaze, RedState, Washington Post and BuzzFeed, more at Mediagazer »

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The 25th Amendment Solution to Remove 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: politics.blog.mystatesman.com

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: CNN, The Week and The Daily Caller

Erick Erickson / The Resurgent:

I Know One of the Sources — I tend to take these stories about the President with a grain of salt. We have seen key details of a number of salacious stories retracted within 48 hours. The media hates the President so much that they'll run a negative story about him without very much provocation.

Discussion: The Hill, US News, The Atlantic, RedState, Raw Story, The Last Tradition and TheBlaze

Roger Friedman / Showbiz411:

MSNBC Ending Lawrence O'Donnell “The Last Word” Show Despite Top Ratings (Exclusive) — I can confirm that MSNBC is ending the top rated “The Last Word” with Lawrence O'Donnell, the popular show that follows Rachel Maddow at 10pm. O'Donnell's contract is up shortly, and the network has not made any overtures about keeping him on.

Discussion: Politicus USA and The Daily Caller

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Gingrich urges Trump to shut down White House press room — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump should “close down the White House press briefing room.” — “I am personally offended by the American news media. I think it is destructive and disgusting.

Discussion: Axios and Mediaite

Paulina Firozi / The Hill:
Huckabee blasts 'SNL's' ‘sexist,’ ‘misogynist’ portrayal of daughter

Discussion: The Daily Caller

NBC News:

Feds Subpoena Records for $3.5M Mystery Mortgage on Manafort's Home — Federal investigators have subpoenaed records related to a $3.5 million mortgage that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort took out on his Hamptons home just after leaving the campaign, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

McCain: Trump scandals reaching ‘Watergate size and scale’ — (R) reportedly said Tuesday that scandals within President Trump's administration are reaching a “Watergate size and scale.” — McCain made the statement at a International Republican Institute dinner on Tuesday night.

Discussion: Axios and The Week