memeorandum: Facebook's Role in European Elections Under Scrutiny (Mark Scott/New York Times)

11:15 AM ET, June 7, 2017

Top Items:

Comey Told Sessions: Don't Leave Me Alone With Trump — WASHINGTON — The day after President Trump asked James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, to end an investigation into his former national security adviser, Mr. Comey confronted Attorney General Jeff Sessions and said he did not want to be left alone again …

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, The Hill, New York Post, CNN, NBC News, CANNONFIRE, IJR, Lawfare, The Week, Taylor Marsh, RedState, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Politicus USA, Mediaite, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic, TheStreet, Axios and Washington Free Beacon

Adam Entous / Washington Post:

Top intelligence official told associates Trump asked him if he could intervene with Comey on FBI Russia probe — The nation's top intelligence official told associates in March that President Trump asked him if he could intervene with then-FBI Director James B. Comey to get the bureau …

Colin Packham / Reuters:

Watergate ‘pales’ compared with Trump-Russia: former U.S. intelligence head — The Watergate scandal pales in comparison to events in Washington surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump and alleged links between his campaign and Russia, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Wednesday.

Discussion: Axios, Politico, Mediaite, Fox News Insider, The Week and Political Wire

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions suggested he could resign amid rising tension with President Trump — As the White House braces for former FBI Director James Comey's testimony Thursday, sources tell ABC News the relationship between President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions …

Murray Waas / Vox:

3 senior FBI officials can vouch for Comey's story about Trump — Sources: McCabe, Rybicki, and Baker could corroborate the ex-director's claims that the president asked him to back off investigating Michael Flynn. — One by one this winter, then-FBI Director James B. Comey pulled aside three …

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, Political Wire and New York Magazine

Washington Post:

Post-ABC Poll: Most say Trump is interfering with Russia investigations — A majority of Americans report grave suspicions about President Trump's firing of FBI Director James B. Comey and his conduct during investigations of Russia's interference in the 2016 election, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Discussion: Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Week, CNBC and Axios

New York Times:

Trump Picks Christopher Wray to Be F.B.I. Director — WASHINGTON — President Trump said Wednesday that he had selected the former federal prosecutor Christopher Wray, a partner at the Washington law firm King & Spalding, to be his new F.B.I. director. — The president revealed his decision in a morning tweet.

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

Trump, furious and frustrated, gears up to punch back at Comey testimony — Alone in the White House in recent days, President Trump — frustrated and defiant — has been spoiling for a fight, according to his confidants and associates. — Glued even more than usual to the cable news shows …

Discussion: Axios, Shareblue, Politico, The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog, Sunlight Foundation, Mediaite, CNBC, Balloon Juice and AOL

Tim Marcin / Newsweek:
DONALD TRUMP'S APPROVAL RATING IS BETTER THAN BILL CLINTON'S AT THIS POINT IN HIS FIRST TERM

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Comey talked with Mueller's team ahead of testimony

Discussion: ABC News, National Review, Political Wire, New York Magazine, The Hill, Politicus USA, Daily Wire and Raw Story

Edward Morrissey / The Week:
James Comey's credibility problem

Discussion: Young Conservatives and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News:
The Note: Trump preps for war with Comey

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post and CNBC

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Taps Former Assistant Attorney General as New FBI Chief

Discussion: Washington Post, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, The Week, CBS New York, Washington Free Beacon and NPR

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Trump taps Christopher Wray to head FBI

Discussion: Axios and Refinery29

John Bresnahan / Politico:
Texas Democrat intensifies Trump impeachment push

Discussion: ACS Blog, Political Wire, The Daily Caller, ABC News, Axios, The Hill and RedState

Tim Johnson / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Republicans worried about leaks consider cutting back surveillance authority

Discussion: RedState and Washington Examiner

Mark Hensch / The Hill:

Fox host to Trump: ‘Fake news media’ isn't the issue, it's you — Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Tuesday hit President Trump for his criticism of media outlets' coverage of his Twitter habits. — “Mr. President, it's not the fake news media that's your problem,” he said on Fox. “It's you.

Discussion: RedState

Polly Mosendz / Bloomberg:
Do Americans Have a Right to Read Trump's Tweets?

Discussion: Engadget and Wall Street Journal, more at Mediagazer »

Bill Murray / Real Clear Politics: The Media Have Been Played by Trump's Tweets

Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: Voters want Trump to get off Twitter

Discussion: Hit & Run, Axios, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Holly Figueroa O'Reilly / Washington Post:
President Trump is violating my constitutional rights by blocking me on Twitter

Discussion: New York Times and The Daily Caller

Thomas Erdbrink / New York Times:

Islamic State Claims Deadly Iran Attacks on Parliament and Khomeini Tomb — At least 12 people were killed and 39 others wounded Wednesday morning in a pair of devastating attacks on two of Iran's most potent symbols: the national Parliament and the mausoleum of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Discussion: Walid Shoebat, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, Blazing Cat Fur and Althouse

Bozorgmehr Sharafedin / Reuters:
Attackers bomb Iran parliament and mausoleum, at least 12 dead: Iranian media

Discussion: Fox News and The Week

Paul Schemm / Washington Post:
Rare double attack hits Iran's capital

Discussion: Associated Press and RedState

CNN:
Iran attacks: Twin assaults on parliament and shrine rock Tehran

Discussion: Fox News and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Karen Handel: ‘I Do Not Support A Livable Wage’ (VIDEO) — During Tuesday night's debate for an open U.S. House seat in Georgia, Republican candidate Karen Handel said that she does not support a “livable wage.” — “This is an example of the fundamental difference between a liberal and a conservative …

Discussion: Vox, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Kos

Kaili Joy Gray / Shareblue:
Watch Jon Ossoff bust Karen Handel for cutting off funding for breast cancer screenings

Discussion: IJR

Elena Schneider / Politico:
Handel, Ossoff clash in Georgia special election debate

Discussion: ABC News and Associated Press

Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:

Michael Flynn Had a Plan to Work With Russia's Military. It Wasn't Exactly Legal. … Donald Trump's first national security adviser pushed so hard for the Pentagon to cooperate with the Russian military that his initiative would likely have broken the law if it had ever been enacted.

Discussion: Raw Story

CNN:

FIRST ON CNN: US suspects Russian hackers planted fake news behind Qatar crisis — Washington (CNN)US investigators believe Russian hackers breached Qatar's state news agency and planted a fake news report that contributed to a crisis among the US' closest Gulf allies, according to US officials briefed on the investigation.

Discussion: Salon, RT, Defense One, New York Times, Just Security, The Guardian, Snopes.com, The Atlantic, IJR, Business Insider, Raw Story, Daily Mail, Mediaite, The Week, twitchy.com, Talking Points Memo, Axios and HuffPost

JGoldsmith / Lawfare:

President Trump Nominates Chris Wray for FBI Director — This morning President Trump announced that he would nominate Chris Wray as the next Director of the FBI. I worked with Wray in the Justice Department. He was the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division …

Discussion: The Atlantic

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Breitbart News seems to be cleaning house after readers and advertisers drift away — The clarion of the far right seems to be having second thoughts with how far right it wants to go. — Faced with an advertiser boycott and plummeting readership, Breitbart News has lately been trimming …

Discussion: The Week and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed:
The Pro-Trump Internet And The Alt-Right Are Turning On Breitbart

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Hill and Raw Story

Allan Woods / Toronto Star:

VIPs, big money turn out for ‘rock star’ Barack Obama's Montreal speech — Barack Obama didn't mention Donald Trump by name in his first post-presidency appearance in Canada in Montreal on Tuesday. — MONTREAL—A dim-lit hall laid out for a rock star, a red-carpet stroll for giddy VIPs …

Discussion: Deadline

John Ibbitson / Globe and Mail:
Trudeau decides it's just not worth appeasing Trump in foreign-policy shift

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Canada.ca and Raw Story

New York Times:

How Russian Propaganda Spread From a Parody Website to Fox News — Made up Russian attack on U.S. ship Invented a quote from a U.S. Air Force general Reprinted article with only hints of skepticism — Parody website Made up Russian attack on U.S. ship — Invented a quote from a U.S. Air Force

Motoko Rich / New York Times:

South Korea Suspends Deployment of U.S. Antimissile System — TOKYO — South Korea's newly elected president, Moon Jae-in, has suspended the deployment of an American missile defense system, an apparent concession to China and a significant break with the United States on policy toward North Korea.

Wichita Eagle:

Lawmakers override Brownback veto of tax increases, rolling back 2012 cuts — TOPEKA — Lawmakers rolled back Gov. Sam Brownback's signature tax policy over his objections Tuesday night, forcing into law tax increases to fix a budget shortfall and provide more money for schools.