memeorandum: Trump: The End Game (Robert Kuttner/American Prospect)

4:35 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: BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, New York Magazine, Hot Air, Shakesville, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Raw Story, 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: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, New York Magazine, The Week, Politicus USA and Axios

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

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

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

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, Axios, Politico, Hot Air, Shakesville, RedState, Balloon Juice, IJR, Just Security, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, New York Magazine and Mother Jones

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

Discussion: The Week

HuffPost:
You Need To Connect The Dots Between The Bombshell Michael Flynn Stories

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, The Week and Axios

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, Salon, neo-neocon, Hullabaloo, Reuters, emptywheel and Daily Kos

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:

The Special Counsel Who Just Might Save Trump's Presidency — Trump won't like Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia ties. — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein just did Donald Trump a favor. — It may not look like that from the perspective of the president.

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

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

Discussion: Political Wire

New York Times:
Trump Says He's Close to Choosing new F.B.I. Director

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, The Times of Israel, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Federalist, JustOneMinute, Raw Story and Take Care Blog

Austin Wright / Politico:
Senators press Rosenstein on Comey firing

Discussion: Axios

CNN:
Trump lashes out over special counsel appointment

Discussion: CNBC, The Atlantic, Geller Report, New York Times, Axios, NBC News, Mother Jones, AOL, Washington Post, CBS Boston, White House Dossier, Power Line, Refinery29, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Raw Story, Infowars and Vox

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

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

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

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

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

Discussion: emptywheel and The Intercept

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

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

Nikita Vladimirov / The Hill:
Chaffetz sees no ‘actual crime’ for special Russia prosecutor to investigate

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, CNN, HuffPost, IJR, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The Week and Above the Law

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: CNN, ABC News, Vox, RedState, 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: New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, AOL, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Raw Story, IJR, White House Dossier, Political Wire, The Week and Washington Free Beacon, 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

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, Vox, Talking Points Memo, IJR, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, Hot Air, The Week, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, 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: DCist, NPR, twitchy.com, Washington Post and The Daily Caller

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, 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

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

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

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 and IJR

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

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 …

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:

House Dems Smash Fundraising Records Ahead of Midterms — House Democrats have already raised more money in online contributions this year ahead of the midterms than they did during all of 2015, the most recently comparable year, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee official told NBC News.

Discussion: Politicus USA

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

Robert Kuttner / American Prospect:

Trump: The End Game — President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 17, 2017, to board Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, then to speak at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Commencement Ceremony. — Trump will be forced from the presidency.

Megan R. Wilson / The Hill:

Turkish Embassy calls violent clash with protesters in DC ‘self-defense’ — The Turkish Embassy in Washington said on Wednesday that bodyguards for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were acting in “self-defense” when they were involved in a violent clash in front of the ambassador's residence …