memeorandum: Trump Team Planning Possible Retaliation for Classified Leak Allegations (Jenna McLaughlin/Foreign Policy)

8:15 PM ET, May 18, 2017

Top Items:

That Didn't Go Great — Let me share a few thoughts on the press conference President Trump just held with the President of Colombia. In the nature of the moment, I'll just focus on the questions President Trump fielded on the investigations. — First, on question one …

Discussion: Mother Jones

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Senate Dems: Deputy AG knew Comey was being removed before writing memo

Discussion: Politico and Political Wire

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

Discussion: Politico, RedState and Axios

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

Discussion: The American Interest, The Atlantic, Geller Report, Power Line, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog and Mediaite

Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Rubio on Trump's ‘witch hunt’ tweet: 'We're a nation of laws'

Discussion: RedState, ABC News and TheBlaze

Wall Street Journal:
The Special Counsel Mistake

Discussion: Infowars

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

Discussion: Politico and RedState

CNN:
Trump lashes out over special counsel appointment

New York Times:
'There's no collusion' between Trump and Russians, he says.

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

Discussion: Axios

Reuters:

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: Mother Jones, Little Green Footballs, Hullabaloo, ThinkProgress, BuzzFeed, Washington Times, Political Wire, Daily Kos, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Shakesville, The Week, New York Magazine, CNBC, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air and Raw Story

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, HuffPost, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Post, Townhall.com, RedState, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, IJR, The Week, Politicus USA, TheBlaze and Shareblue

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

Discussion: The Week

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

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, Politico, Washington Post, CNBC, The Guardian and Axios

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 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, NBC News, Hot Air, Political Wire, Politicus USA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos and ACASignups.net

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

House leaders worry more meetings secretly recorded — House Republican leadership is agitated after the Washington Post published a transcript from a secret recording of one of the inner-sanctum conversations in the office of Speaker Paul Ryan. — The transcript shows House Majority …

Discussion: Breitbart, RedState, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Shareblue, Salon, Hullabaloo, ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice, New York Magazine and Media Matters for America

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

Comey Is Said to Have Become Unsettled by Interactions With Trump — WASHINGTON — President Trump called the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, weeks after he took office and asked him when federal authorities were going to put out word that Mr. Trump was not personally under investigation, according to two people briefed on the call.

Discussion: Lawfare, Washington Post, Just Security, Infowars, SOOPERMEXICAN and Betsy's Page

New York Times:

Advisers Urge Trump to Hire Outside Lawyer in Russia Inquiry — 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 …

Discussion: RedState, Politicus USA, JustOneMinute, The Week, The Daily Caller, Political Wire and The Federalist

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
Comey prepared extensively for his conversations with Trump

Discussion: Political Wire

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, CNN, RedState, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon and IJR

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Joe Lieberman might be FBI director. Really. — The perfect choice for America's troll-in-chief. — Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic senator from Connecticut with a complicated history with his political party, has emerged as the frontrunner to replace the now-fired James Comey as FBI director …

Discussion: Politico, Newsweek, The Atlantic, Daily Kos and Political Wire

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: Washington Examiner, ABC News, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Axios, AOL, Raw Story and White House Dossier, more at Mediagazer »

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: The Atlantic, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Shareblue, Vox, NPR, Washington Post, twitchy.com, TheBlaze and The Daily Caller

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

Rachael Bade / Politico:
Gowdy poised to replace Chaffetz as Oversight chief

Discussion: Axios, New York Magazine, IJR, Washington Free Beacon and DCist

Jenna McLaughlin / Foreign Policy:

Trump Team Planning Possible Retaliation for Classified Leak Allegations — White House officials concoct “ludicrous” revenge plan targeting former Obama administration. — President Donald Trump's inner circle is war-gaming how best to respond to the Washington Post's bombshell report …

Discussion: The Week, Fox News Insider, PRI, Common Dreams and ThinkProgress

Bill O'Reilly / USA Today:

Roger Ailes had my back at Fox News — Roger experienced hatred, and it killed him. — CONNECT — To say that Roger Ailes led a full life is a massive understatement. A force of nature with an agenda, RA, as fellow executives called him, was a man on a mission.

Discussion: Fox News, TheBlaze, White House Dossier, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

Erin McClam / CNNMoney:
Roger Ailes, who built Fox News into a powerhouse, dies at 77

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, CNBC, Common Dreams, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon and The Root

Joan Walsh / The Nation:
My Only Meeting With Roger Ailes

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Mediaite, IJR, The Week and Mashable

Noam N. Levey / Los Angeles Times:

Health insurers and state officials say Trump is undermining Obamacare, pushing up rates — President Trump meets in February with the heads of major health insurers. Many industry officials and state regulators now believe they cannot rely on Trump to effectively manage the country's insurance markets.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Axios and New York Magazine

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, Mashable, Axios, Common Dreams, The Week and Mother Jones

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

Video Emerges Of Turkey's President Watching As His Goons Attack Protesters [VIDEO] — Video has emerged showing Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan calmly looking on as members of his security detail attack a group of Kurdish protesters outside of the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.

Discussion: Voice of America

Megan R. Wilson / The Hill:
Turkish Embassy calls violent clash with protesters in DC ‘self-defense’

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, Fox News, Washington Post, The Week, IJR, NPR and Mother Jones

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, Mediaite, Axios, Engadget, RedState and The Week

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

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