memeorandum: Sources: Joe Lieberman is front-runner for FBI director (CNN)

5:15 PM ET, May 18, 2017

Top Items:

Exclusive: Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians: sources — Michael Flynn and other advisers to Donald Trump's campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race …

Michael Isikoff / Yahoo:

As investigators circled Flynn, he got a message from Trump: Stay strong — Late last month, fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn—under investigation by federal prosecutors, with his lawyer seeking immunity for him to testify to Congress-met with a small group of loyalists at a restaurant in the northern Virginia suburbs.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, CNBC, Hot Air, Shakesville, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Raw Story, New York Magazine, The Week, twitchy.com and Politicus USA

The Daily Beast:

Donald Trump Talked Michael Flynn Into White House Job … President Donald Trump pressured a “reluctant” Michael Flynn into accepting a job as the White House's top national security official even after Flynn warned the president that he was under investigation over undisclosed lobbying …

Discussion: Hot Air, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, The Week, CNBC, Politicus USA and NBC News

New York Times:
Trump Team Knew Flynn Was Under Investigation Before He Came to White House

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
BuzzFeed sues for records on Trump-Obama tapping tweets

Discussion: The Week

Vera Bergengruen / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Flynn stopped military plan Turkey opposed - after being paid as its agent

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, DCist, NBC News, Politico, Hot Air, Axios, Shakesville, RedState, Balloon Juice, IJR, Just Security, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week and New York Magazine

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:

Senate Dems: Deputy AG knew Comey was being removed before writing memo … Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein knew FBI Director James Comey was going to be fired before he wrote a memo recommending Comey's dismissal, a pair of Democratic senators said Thursday.

Discussion: Politico and Political Wire

Wall Street Journal:

The Special Counsel Mistake — Rosenstein bends to political pressure, and here we go again.

Discussion: Infowars and The Last Tradition

William Cummings / USA Today:

Special counsel vs. special prosecutor: What's the difference? — 1.4k Shares — On Wednesday, former FBI director Robert Mueller was appointed to be a special counsel to oversee the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and the possibility of collusion between Russia and President Trump's campaign.

Discussion: Fox News, ThinkProgress, neo-neocon, emptywheel, Salon, Reuters, Daily Kos and Hullabaloo

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
The Special Counsel Who Just Might Save Trump's Presidency

Discussion: Power Line, Geller Report, Mediaite, NBC News, New York Times, No More Mister Nice Blog and Mother Jones

CNN:
Trump lashes out over special counsel appointment

Maureen Groppe / USA Today:
Mike Pence insists he didn't know Flynn was under investigation for Turkey lobbying

Discussion: Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Washington Post, Politicus USA, The Week, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Axios

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Trump: Special counsel appointment ‘hurts the country’

Discussion: RedState

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Senators: Rosenstein knew Comey would be fired before writing memo

Discussion: Axios

Democracy Now:
Could Narrow Scope of New Special Counsel Miss Wider Corruption in Trump White House?

Discussion: emptywheel and The Intercept

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Rosenstein's week-long journey from Trump's man of absolute integrity to the target of rage tweets

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, The Atlantic and New York Times

Philip Shenon / Politico:
Trump's Worst Nightmare Comes True

Discussion: New York Times, ABC News, The Week and Scared Monkeys

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Report: Kushner urged aggressive Trump response to special counsel

Discussion: RedState

Jchong / Lawfare:
Initial Reactions on the Appointment of Robert Mueller As Special Counsel

Discussion: Shareblue, Washington Post, New York Times, CNBC, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, CNN, AOL and Vox

Michael Crowley / Politico:

Lieberman emerges as front-runner for FBI post — Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice-presidential nominee, is the front-runner to be named FBI director, according to several White House officials and advisers. — Senior administration officials have told others in the last 12 hours …

Discussion: ABC News, Vox, RedState, IJR, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and Raw Story

Annie Karni / Politico:

Trump weighs downsizing Spicer's public role — President Donald Trump is considering scaling back White House press secretary Sean Spicer's public role, according to several officials familiar with the president's thinking, as Trump also weighs a broader shakeup of his communications shop in the wake of several scandals.

Discussion: ABC News, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, AOL, Hot Air, Mediaite, Raw Story, Axios, Talking Points Memo, IJR, White House Dossier, The Week, Washington Free Beacon, Political Wire and Bloomberg, more at Mediagazer »

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Advisers Urge Trump to Hire an Outside Lawyer — WASHINGTON — Several White House advisers and personal associates of President Trump have urged him to hire an experienced outside lawyer to help him deal with issues arising from a surging controversy over whether his campaign had ties to Russia …

Discussion: Political Wire, The Week and The Daily Caller

CNN:
Sources: Joe Lieberman is front-runner for FBI director

Discussion: Daily Kos and Political Wire

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Chaffetz to announce early departure from Congress — Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is expected to announce Thursday that he is resigning before the end of this congressional term, according to three sources familiar with his plans. — Chaffetz did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.

Discussion: ABC News, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, IJR, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Washington Times, Fox News, Washington Free Beacon, The Resurgent and Washington Post

Jason Chaffetz / Chaffetz:

Chaffetz Letter to Utah's 3rd Congressional District — f t # e — Dear 3rd District Constituents: — Serving you in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly nine years has been a rare honor and privilege. When I first ran for Congress in 2008 I promised I would get in, serve, and get out.

Discussion: Vox, DCist, NPR, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze and Washington Post

Jack Moore / Newsweek:

TRUMP CANCELS VISIT TO ANCIENT MASADA SITE AFTER ISRAEL REFUSES HELICOPTER LANDING — WORLD ISRAEL TRUMP — President Donald Trump has canceled a planned visit and speech at the ancient mountain fortress of Masada in Israel after authorities told him that he could not land his helicopter on top of the UNESCO-listed site.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Axios, Mother Jones, Mashable, The Week, Common Dreams, Ynetnews and Haaretz

Reuters:

Car slams into Times Square pedestrians, killing one, injuring others — A speeding car plowed into pedestrians on a sidewalk in New York City's busy Times Square on Thursday, killing one person and injuring a dozen, according to witnesses, and police said the incident did not appear to be an act of terrorism.

Discussion: New York Times, France 24, NPR, Washington Post and IJR

New York Post:
Speeding car mows down pedestrians in Times Square

Discussion: Hot Air

Erin McClam / CNNMoney:

Roger Ailes, who built Fox News into a powerhouse, dies at 77 — Roger Ailes dead at 77 — Roger Ailes, who transformed cable news and then American politics by building Fox News into a ratings powerhouse, died Thursday. He was 77. — The death was announced by his family and reported on Fox News Channel.

Discussion: New York Post, Washington Post, CNBC, Common Dreams, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, WPRI-TV, Outside the Beltway and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Billy House / Bloomberg:

House May Be Forced to Vote Again on GOP's Obamacare Repeal Bill — Two weeks after passage, measure still not sent to Senate — CBO report could force Ryan, other party leaders into redo — House Republicans barely managed to pass their Obamacare repeal bill earlier this month …

CBS News:

U.S. aircraft conduct strike on Syrian army convoy — BEIRUT — The U.S. sent aircraft to strike Syrian regime vehicles on Thursday that violated a deconfliction zone set up around al-Tanf, an army base where special forces are training Syrian militias, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

Discussion: RedState, The Atlantic, CBS New York, Common Dreams, Congressman Ted Lieu and IJR

Morgan Chalfant / The Hill:

Russia tried to take over Pentagon Twitter accounts: report — Russia tried to gain access to the Twitter accounts of Defense Department officials using messages carrying malware, according to Time magazine. — Russia is said to have sent messages to over 10,000 Pentagon Twitter users …

Discussion: TIME.com, Axios, RedState and The Week

Kurt Schlichter / Townhall.com:

This Is A Coup Against Our Right To Govern Ourselves — The blizzard of lies and distraction blowing through Washington is not just any routine stuffstorm, but a calculated attempt to bring down a president - our president, not the establishment's president.

Discussion: The Hugh Hewitt Show

Laurel Raymond / ThinkProgress:

Sen. Lindsey Graham: Congress should abandon Russia investigation, go back to Clinton's emails — “There's a new front opening here.” — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News on Thursday that now that special counsel has been appointed to investigate alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia …

Discussion: RedState and The Gateway Pundit

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Trump isn't a toddler — he's a product of America's culture of impunity for the rich — “When you're a star, they let you do it.” — Ross Douthat's column arguing for the superiority of “25th Amendment remedies” to impeachment for Donald Trump's various misdeeds is impressive in its ability …

Rick Wilson / Washington Post:

If you work for Trump, it's time to quit — After the Comey firing and the Russia intel leak, the I'm-taking-one-for-the-team ship has sailed. — I've been a Republican political consultant for almost 30 years, and I've dispensed a lot of private advice.

Discussion: Politicus USA