memeorandum: Trump expected to retain attorney for Russia inquiry (Michael Del Moro/ABC News)

9:25 PM ET, May 23, 2017

Top Items:

Statement on coverage of Seth Rich murder investigation — On May 16, a story was posted on the Fox News website on the investigation into the 2016 murder of DNC Staffer Seth Rich. The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting.

Mary Rich / Washington Post:

We're Seth Rich's parents. Stop politicizing our son's murder. — The writers are the parents of Seth Rich, who was killed in the District in 2016. — Imagine living in a nightmare that you can never wake up from. Imagine having to face every single day knowing that your son was murdered.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Mediaite, TheBlaze, Media Matters for America and Media Matters for America

John Podhoretz / Commentary Magazine:

The Shame of Defaming Seth Rich — The conspiracy theorizing has to stop. — Seth Rich was 27 when he was killed on a dark street in a sketchy neighborhood in the nation's capital last July. He has become world-famous in the past month because his corpse is being used as a proxy in the war over the reputation of Donald J. Trump.

Discussion: Showbiz411 and Hot Air

Joe Concha / The Hill:

Hannity on Seth Rich coverage: ‘I retracted nothing’ — Fox News's Sean Hannity ripped his critics and the mainstream media on his nationally syndicated radio program Tuesday, saying, “I am not Fox.com or FoxNews.com, I retracted nothing.” — His reaction came hours after Fox News retracted …

Discussion: RedState

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:

Seth Rich's brother pleads with Hannity to stop spreading conspiracy theory — July 2016: DNC staffer Seth Rich fatally shot — The brother of slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich wrote a letter on Tuesday to the executive producer of Sean Hannity's Fox News show pleading with him to find …

Discussion: Mediaite, RedState, Business Insider, TheBlaze, IJR, KTLA, Hot Air and Media Matters for America, more at Mediagazer »

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:
Fox News removes false story on Seth Rich's murder — six days after it was debunked

Discussion: Mediaite and IJR

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The Seth Rich lie, and how the corrosion of reality should worry every American

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, more at Mediagazer »

Martin Evans / Telegraph:

Salman Abedi named as the Manchester suicide bomber - what we know about him — The suicide bomber who killed 22 people and injured dozens more at the Manchester Arena has been named as 22-year-old Salman Abedi. — Born in Manchester in 1994, the second youngest of four children his parents …

Discussion: The Guardian, BBC, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, USA Today, Media Matters for America, American Greatness, neo-neocon, The Daily Caller, Media Matters for America and Daily Wire

NBC News:

Manchester Arena Suicide Bombing: 22 Die at Ariana Grande Concert — MANCHESTER, England — Children were among the 22 people killed in a suicide attack after an Ariana Grande concert at Britain's Manchester Arena, police confirmed Tuesday. — Meanwhile, Manchester Police Chief Constable …

Jerome Hudson / Breitbart:

Katy Perry on Manchester Bombing: ‘No Barriers, No Borders, We All Just Need to Co-Exist’ — Pop megastar Katy Perry made an impassioned plea for people to “co-exist” and said that “barriers” or “borders” could detract from that goal in an interview following the terrorist bombing …

New York Times:
Britain Raises Terrorism Threat Level, Meaning New Attack May Be Imminent

Discussion: NBC News, Telegraph, The Atlantic, ABC News, Daily Mail, CBS New York, Media Matters for America, NPR, The National Interest, The Resurgent, The Guardian, IndieWire, Outside the Beltway, Gothamist, Business Insider, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Conservative News Today

Elake / The Sun:
FACE OF PURE EVIL Brit-born Manchester bomber Salman Abedi, 22, is pictured for the first time …

Discussion: RedState, Bloomberg and Infowars

CBS News:
Latest on investigation into Manchester concert bombing

Discussion: Mirror.co.uk, The Hill, Daily Wire, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Infowars, Friendly Atheist, The Daily Caller, CBS New York and Geller Report

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross / The Atlantic:
The Manchester Attack Shows How Terrorists Learn

Discussion: TheBlaze, New York Times, Raw Story, BBC and The Resurgent

Washington Post:
Manchester bombing suspect identified; Islamic State claims responsibility

Discussion: BuzzFeed, CNN, Lawfare, Hit & Run, National Review, France 24, IJR, TheBlaze and Department of Homeland …

Mitch Prothero / BuzzFeed:
US Officials Keep Talking About The Manchester Attack And It's Freaking Out European Allies

Discussion: Business Insider, IJR, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Infowars, creepingsharia.wordpress.com, Mother Jones, AOL, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire and The Week

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Budget Based on $2 Trillion Math Error [Updated] — One of the ways Donald Trump's budget claims to balance the budget over a decade, without cutting defense or retirement spending, is to assume a $2 trillion increase in revenue through economic growth. This is the magic of the still-to-be-designed Trump tax cuts.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNBC, Vox, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Politicus USA, Mother Jones and Booman Tribune

Lawrence H. Summers / Washington Post:

Larry Summers: Trump's budget is simply ludicrous — Details of President Trump's first budget have now been released. Much can and will be said about the dire social consequences of what is in it and the ludicrously optimistic economic assumptions it embodies.

Discussion: The Atlantic, USA Today, Axios, Business Insider, AOL, CNBC, The Guardian, Fusion and New York Times

Michael Grunwald / Politico:
Trump's Budget Scam

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, CRFB Papers and Blog Posts, ThinkProgress, CNBC and Business Insider

Damian Paletta / Washington Post:
Trump's budget proposal slashes spending by $3.6 trillion over 10 years

Discussion: Center on Budget …, CNN, Mother Jones, The Atlantic, Washington Monthly, Vox, Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, CNNMoney, The Resurgent, Media Matters for America, vice, FiveThirtyEight, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:
President's Budget Relies on Rosy Assumptions

Discussion: Vox and Business Insider

Dylan Scott / Vox:
Who knew bringing down drug prices could be so complicated

Discussion: Politico and ABC News

The Intercept:

TRUMP CALLED RODRIGO DUTERTE TO CONGRATULATE HIM ON HIS MURDEROUS DRUG WAR: “YOU ARE DOING AN AMAZING JOB” — Photo Illustration: The Intercept/Getty Images — In a phone call from the White House late last month, U.S. President Donald Trump heaped praise on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte …

Discussion: Political Wire and ThinkProgress

David Nakamura / Washington Post:

Trump calls Kim Jong Un a ‘madman with nuclear weapons,’ according to transcript of Duterte call — President Trump labeled North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un a “madman with nuclear weapons” during a private phone conversation with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte last month …

Discussion: Politico, Axios, Political Wire, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Raw Story

The Intercept:

Read the Full Transcript of Trump's Call With Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte — Last month Donald Trump spoke by phone with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and was widely criticized by members of both parties for inviting the strongman to meet with him in the White House.

Sharon Begley / STAT:

Trump wasn't always so linguistically challenged. What could explain the change? — t was the kind of utterance that makes professional transcribers question their career choice: — “ ... there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign, but I can always speak for myself — and the Russians, zero.”

Discussion: The Week

Katie Jennings / Politico:

MacArthur resigns as co-chairman of ‘clearly divided’ Tuesday Group — Rep. Tom MacArthur resigned Tuesday as co-chairman of the caucus of GOP moderates known as the Tuesday Group in the wake of deep divisions among its members over the House Obamacare replacement bill he helped craft.

Discussion: Business Insider, Washington Post, Vox, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, Axios, NY State of Politics, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Shibani Shah / Washington Post: Q&A: Rep. Tom MacArthur and the agony of GOP moderates in Trump's Washington

patribotics:

EXCLUSIVE: Marshal of the Supreme Court Warned Trump over ‘Muslim Ban’ — Multiple sources confirm that Pamela Talkin, Marshal of the Supreme Court, was dispatched to the White House by Chief Justice Roberts last Friday. The decision to send her was taken, sources say, when White House Counsel …

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
No, Impeachment Doesn't Work That Way — Let's step back and talk …

Discussion: Daily Wire

Austin Wright / Politico:

Brennan: Russia may have successfully recruited Trump campaign aides — Former CIA Director John Brennan said on Tuesday that he had concerns that Russian officials may have successfully recruited aides from Donald Trump's campaign to help in the Kremlin's efforts to influence last year's presidential election.

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Daily Kos, Hot Air, Townhall.com and The Week

David Corn / Mother Jones:
Republicans Focus on Protecting Trump at Russia Hearing

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Matt Apuzzo / New York Times:
Ex-C.I.A. Chief Reveals Mounting Concern Over Trump Campaign and Russia

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Vox, CNN, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, Mother Jones, Common Dreams, The Guardian, Townhall.com and ThinkProgress

Emily Jane Fox / Vanity Fair:

Exclusive: Sources Say Chris Christie Says He Gave Jared Kushner Legal Advice About Trump — The two, whose spokespeople deny this claim, used to be adversaries. But the New Jersey governor knows something about being investigated, and the president's son-in-law knows how Christie investigates.

Discussion: AOL, Raw Story and Business Insider

Scott Adams' Blog:

Scott Adams' Blog — President Trump just gave ISIS its new name: Losers. (Short for Evil Losers). — If you think that's no big deal, you're wrong. It's a big deal. This is - literally - weapons-grade persuasion from the most powerful Master Persuader of our time.

Susan Page / USA Today:

Al Franken, comedian-turned-senator, takes on Donald Trump, TV-star-turned-president — WASHINGTON — For Al Franken, it's finally safe to be funny again just at a moment all the news around him has taken a decidedly unfunny turn. — The two-term Minnesota senator and one-time Saturday Night Live comedian …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, The Week and Political Wire

Alex Koppelman / CNNMoney:

The case for why InfoWars' White House press pass is a good thing — InfoWars is the fringe right-wing outlet best known for spreading 9/11 Truther theories, the scurrilous idea that the massacre at Sandy Hook was a hoax, and a founder who has ranted about malevolent forces conspiring …

Discussion: The Resurgent and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

Sheriff David Clarke says he's unsure if Trump administration will still hire him after plagiarism report — Sheriff Clarke plagiarized parts of thesis — “This is about weakening, like I said, the support that I give and that I have with President Donald Trump and Secretary Kelly …

Discussion: Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Townhall.com, American Greatness and Mediaite

Saleha Mohsin / Bloomberg:

Mnuchin's Recruiting Tool: Titles That Don't Need Senate Confirmation — Treasury relying on four ‘counselors’ to advise secretary — Goldman's Donovan, nominee for No. 2 job, dropped out Friday — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is trying to fill a leadership vacuum in his department …

Discussion: Political Wire

Michael Del Moro / ABC News:

Trump expected to retain attorney for Russia inquiry — President Donald Trump is expected to retain lawyer Marc Kasowitz as his private attorney representing him on matters related to the Russia investigation being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, a source close to Kasowitz …

Discussion: Politico and The Week

Rafael Olmeda / Sun-Sentinel:

Margate man acquitted in murder case after oral-sex defense — Richard Henry Patterson, the Margate man accused of choking his girlfriend to death in 2015 and leaving her body to decompose for two days before hiring a defense lawyer instead of calling the police, was found not guilty Monday of murder.

Discussion: IJR, New York Post and The Daily Caller