memeorandum: Eric Trump: Dems ‘not even people’ (Mark Hensch/The Hill)

5:50 PM ET, June 7, 2017

Top Items:

Bwittes / Lawfare:

Initial Comments on James Comey's Written Testimony — James Comey's seven-page written statement, released by the Senate Intelligence Committee this afternoon in connection with Comey's impending testimony tomorrow, draws no conclusions, makes no allegations, and indeed, expresses no opinions.

Discussion: Vox, ThinkProgress, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Media Matters for America and The Week

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Can Commit All the High Crimes He Wants. Republicans Aren't Going to Impeach Him. — Since the beginning of Donald Trump's presidency, or even before, Democrats have been waiting for the moment when the Republican Party's indulgence would snap. In every incremental advance of the Russia story …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Resurgent, Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon, THE WARREN (HENRY) REPORT, East Bay Times, twitchy.com, Mediaite, The Week and National Review

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: ABC News, Politico, CNN, Axios, Business Insider, New York Magazine, Political Wire and New York Times

Yoni Appelbaum / The Atlantic:

Comey's Duty to Correct — Former FBI Director James Comey believes that when he offers Congress assurances about an ongoing investigation, and those claims cease to be true, he has a duty to correct the record. His willingness to act on that belief may well have tipped the 2016 election to Donald Trump.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

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: Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, Mediaite, CNBC, Business Insider, Washington Free Beacon, Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Vox, Raw Story, The Week, Axios, Politicus USA and The Atlantic

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, Mediaite, IJR, Common Dreams, The Week, Fox News Insider, Politico, Political Wire, Sky News and Talking Points Memo

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.

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
Intelligence officials Rogers and Coats said they won't discuss specifics of private conversations with Trump

Discussion: New York Times, Mother Jones, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Political Wire, NPR, Business Insider and CNBC

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:
Here's What James Comey Will Say About Trump's Attempt To Interfere With FBI Probe

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

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

Discussion: The Atlantic, Politico, Washington Post, Young Conservatives and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Adam Entous / Washington Post:
Top intelligence official told associates Trump asked him if he could intervene with Comey on FBI Russia probe

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

Discussion: RedState, The Week, Daily Wire and The Daily Caller

Associated Press:
The Latest: Comey: Trump called Russia investigation “cloud”

Discussion: ABC News and Axios

Jessica Taylor / NPR:
Comey: Trump Asked For ‘Loyalty,’ Wanted Him To ‘Let’ Flynn Investigation ‘Go’

Discussion: Fox News and The Gateway Pundit

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
‘I expect loyalty,’ Trump told Comey, according to written testimony

Discussion: Power Line, New York Times, Outside the Beltway and AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …

Stephen Dziedzic / ABC:
Donald Trump's alleged Russia links will dwarf Watergate scandal, says James Clapper

Discussion: The Atlantic, RedState and Gizmodo

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

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Politico and The Atlantic

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Senate trying to insert Russia sanctions into popular Iran bill

Discussion: The Daily Caller

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.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Common Dreams, Washington Post and Booman Tribune

Hunter Woodall / Kansas City Star:
Legislature overrides Brownback's veto of bill that rolls back his 2012 tax cuts

Discussion: The Atlantic and Shareblue

New York Times:

Pair of Deadly Terrorist Attacks Hits Iran — Assailants with rifles, explosives and women's disguises stunned Iran on Wednesday with audacious attacks on the Parliament building and tomb of its revolutionary founder, the worst terrorist strike to hit the Islamic republic in years.

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Trump invites Qatar's leader to White House to resolve crisis

Discussion: The Atlantic, Salon, NPR and Politico

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: CNN, Washington Post, ABC News and The Atlantic

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:
Trump to nominate Christopher Wray as next FBI director

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Daily Wire, CNBC, The Daily Caller, Gothamist, The Resurgent and Political Wire

Kara Swisher / Recode:

A top Uber executive, who obtained the medical records of a customer who was a rape victim, is fired — Sources say Eric Alexander carried around for a year confidential information about a woman who was assaulted during a ride in India in 2014. — A top Uber executive obtained medical records …

Discussion: New York Times, Engadget, Mashable, New York Magazine, Gizmodo and The Week, more at Techmeme »

Holly Figueroa O'Reilly / Washington Post:

President Trump is violating my constitutional rights by blocking me on Twitter — The president can unblock me, or see me in court. — The president of the United States, the leader of the free world, has blocked me and others who are critical of him on Twitter. — Did I make death threats against him?

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, TheBlaze, Liberal Values, Washington Free Beacon, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Jawa Report and knightcolumbia.org, more at Mediagazer »

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Fox host to Trump: ‘Fake news media’ isn't the issue, it's you

Discussion: RedState

Al Jazeera English:

Turkish parliament approves troop deployment in Qatar — Turkish parliament approves legislation allowing Turkish troops to be deployed in Qatar. — Turkey's parliament has approved a legislation allowing its troops to be deployed to a Turkish military base in Qatar.

Discussion: Reuters and The Atlantic

Tom Finn / Reuters:
Qatar in talks with Turkey and Iran to provide food, water: official

Discussion: Bloomberg, Marginal REVOLUTION and The Jawa Report

Rachael Burford / Daily Mail:

Female nursery worker is stabbed by three women in London — A nursery worker was stabbed by three women as they chanted ‘Allah will get you’. — Karrien Stevens, who runs Little Diamonds nursery in Hermon Hill, London confirmed that a member of staff, aged in her 30s …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Geller Report and Blazing Cat Fur

The Daily Beast:

White House Staff, Congress Blindsided by FBI Pick Announcement … A number of senior Trump officials learned of the president's pick to lead the FBI the same way everyone else did: on Twitter. — President Donald Trump's top communications staff, and much of his senior White House team …

Discussion: Hot Air, Vox, Axios, The Guardian, Politico, Washington Post, The Week, Balloon Juice and No More Mister Nice Blog

Mrs. S. F. Kistler / The Federalist:

I Bake New Neighbors Bread To Welcome Them, And They Never Say Hello to Me Again — Let me tell you about my Southern California neighborhood. I have lived in this one for 22 years. I don't know anyone, but it's not for lack of trying. Each time a new neighbor moves in I bake a loaf of bread and take it to them.

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 and Shakesville

Us Weekly:

How Ivanka Trump Influences Her Father Donald Trump — She got it from her mama. At just 5 years old, Arabella Kushner already has mom Ivanka Trump's defining characteristic, the former Trump Organization VP revealed in a September interview with Harper's Bazaar: “She knows exactly what to say to get what she wants.”

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Slot, Washington Post, New York Magazine and Mediaite

Dave Boyer / Washington Times:

Trump nominates new slate of federal judges — President Trump announced a new round of 11 judicial nominations Wednesday, including three nominees for high-profile federal appeals courts. — One of the nominees, Colorado Supreme Court Justice Allison H. Eid, is being tapped by the president …

Discussion: RedState, New York Times and Washington Post

Mark Hensch / The Hill:

Eric Trump: Dems ‘not even people’ — President Trump's son Eric Trump on Tuesday said Democrats are “not even people” to him after their obstruction of his father's agenda. — “I've never seen hatred like this,” he said on Fox News's “Hannity” Tuesday night. “To me, they're not even people.

Discussion: Washington Times, Vox, Mashable, The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Shakesville, Hullabaloo, The Week, Business Insider, Mediaite and The Stranger …

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Taking Stock of Trump/Russia on The Eve of Comey's Testimony — With everyone prepping for the big testimony tomorrow, I wanted to share a few miscellaneous thoughts on the testimony and the state of the Trump/Russia investigation. — 1. There were a number of news reports yesterday …