memeorandum: Comey was Before Congress to Indict Trump. Instead, He Might Have Indicted Himself. (Robert Barnes/LawNewz)

10:30 AM ET, June 9, 2017

Top Items:

CNN:

Trump's lawyer to file complaint against Comey over memos — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's outside attorney plans to file a complaint against former FBI Director James Comey with the Justice Department Inspector General and the Senate judiciary committee, two sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN.

Discussion: Political Wire, The Daily Caller, IJR and Refinery29

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:

The Incompetence Defense — During former FBI Director James Comey's dramatic testimony before the Senate on Thursday, Republican senators settled on a pair of strange arguments for why President Trump hadn't obstructed justice: He didn't try very hard, or he was really bad at it.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, Daily Kos, Above the Law, Common Dreams, Vox and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

Comey told senators Sessions may have met Russia's ambassador a third time — Comey: AG may have met ambassador a third time — But the sources said it is possible the Russian ambassador exaggerated the extent of the encounter — Washington (CNN)Former FBI Director James Comey told senators …

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Magazine, Lawfare, Daily Kos, The Week, The Washington Journal, IJR, Political Wire and Axios

Wall Street Journal: James Comey's Passion Play

Alan Dershowitz / Washington Examiner:
History, precedent and James Comey's opening statement show that Trump did not obstruct justice

Discussion: Washington Post, TheBlaze, New York Times, Shot in the Dark and Mediaite

JONATHAN TURLEY:
Did Comey Violate Laws In Leaking The Trump Memo?

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Examiner, Daily Wire, Washington Post, Scared Monkeys, CANNONFIRE, Media Matters for America, Newsweek, The Daily Caller, Above the Law, Townhall.com, USA Today, Axios, Mediaite and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »

Susan Crabtree / Washington Free Beacon:
Former Official: Obama Admin ‘Systematically Disbanded’ Units Investigating Iran's Terrorism Financing Networks

Discussion: Daily Wire

Fox News:
Dershowitz: Comey confirms that I'm right - and all the Democratic commentators are wrong

Discussion: Daily Wire, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, American Greatness, Vox and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Matthew Balan / Mediaite:
Judge Napolitano: ‘Credible and Compelling’ Case That Donald Trump Has Not Been Honest

Discussion: The Washington Journal, The Week, Raw Story and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Robert Barnes / LawNewz:

Comey was Before Congress to Indict Trump. Instead, He Might Have Indicted Himself. — The key interlude occurred with the ubiquitous Kamala Harris, the same Senator Harris who failed the bar the first time she took the bar exam. Only a Kamala-Comey marriage could birth this debacle:

Discussion: Daily Kos, Daily Wire, IJR, The Daily Caller and The Resurgent

Peter Baker / New York Times:

For Trump, the ‘Cloud’ Just Grew That Much Darker — WASHINGTON — Upset about the investigation into Russian interference in last year's election, President Trump sought relief from James B. Comey, then the F.B.I. director. By Mr. Comey's account, Mr. Trump asked him to help “lift the cloud.”

U.S. Department of Justice:

Department of Justice Issues Statement on Testimony of Former FBI Director James Comey — In response to testimony given today by former FBI Director James Comey, Department of Justice Spokesman Ian Prior issued the following statement: — Shortly after being sworn in …

Discussion: Lawfare, his vorpal sword, IJR and The Week

Politico:
Full text: James Comey testimony transcript on Trump and Russia

Discussion: New York Times, Hit & Run, The Resurgent, Althouse, The Daily Caller, emptywheel, AOL, CNNMoney, Media Matters for America, Vox, Townhall.com, The Week, Power Line, Sunlight Foundation, Washington Post, The Slot, Axios, NPR and ABC News

Bloomberg:
Comey Leaves Trump Under a Crippling ‘Cloud’ of Investigations

Discussion: Axios and The Atlantic

Eddie Scarry / Washington Examiner:
Chris Matthews: Trump-Russia collusion theory ‘came apart’ with Comey testimony

Discussion: Fox News, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit and RedState

Peter W. Stevenson / Washington Post:
Sen. John McCain's bizarre questioning of Comey

Discussion: Dame Magazine, CBS New York, mccain.senate.gov, LewRockwell, The Daily Caller, New York Times, The Last Tradition, Bearing Drift, Mediaite, Fast Company, TheBlaze and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Todd S. Purdum / Politico:
Comey's devastating indictment of President Donald Trump

Discussion: ABC News, The Week, New Yorker, Take Care Blog, Hullabaloo, Washington Post, New York Times, Lawfare, Vox, Axios and Wall Street Journal

Richard Wolffe / The Guardian: Comey's testimony shows: the impeachment machine is warming up

The Guardian:

May reaches deal with DUP to form government after shock election result — May expected to visit Queen to seek permission to form government after agreeing terms with Northern Ireland party — Theresa May has struck a deal with the Democratic Unionists that will allow her to form a government, sources have confirmed.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Common Dreams, The FADER and Shakesville

BBC:

UK election 2017: UK set for hung parliament — The Conservatives have failed to win an overall majority, and the UK is now set for a hung parliament, says the latest BBC forecast. — It shows gains for the Labour Party after Thursday's general election.

Discussion: The Sun, Politico, FiveThirtyEight, NPR, Boing Boing, The Moderate Voice and WIRED UK

Charlie Cooper / Politico:

5 takeaways from the UK election — An extraordinary night for British politics has ended in a hung parliament. — LONDON — It was an astonishing election by any estimation. A prime minister humiliated, a Labour leader dismissed as a no-hoper massively outperforming expectations …

Daily Mail:

General Election exit polls see Tories lose majority — 12.30pm: Theresa has gone to see the Queen to seek permission to form a government. — The monarch might have asked some pointed questions - but will agree. Despite losing their overall majority in the election, the Tories are still the largest party.

Discussion: Telegraph, Vox Popoli and Blazing Cat Fur

Press Association:
Shock result as UK election returns hung parliament - as it happened

Discussion: The Guardian, New York Magazine, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post, Lawfare, Telegraph, The FADER, Business Insider, Mother Jones and Balloon Juice

New York Times:
Theresa May Loses Overall Majority in U.K. Parliament

Discussion: Forbes, CBS Philly and Crooked Timber

The Guardian:
May confirms intention to form government with help of Democratic Unionist party

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community and The Daily Caller

Greg Bluestein / Political Insider blog:

AJC poll: Ossoff opens lead over Handel in Georgia's 6th — An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released Friday shows Democrat Jon Ossoff has a 7-point edge over Republican Karen Handel in the nationally-watched race to represent Georgia's 6th District. — The poll of likely voters …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Times, The Week, Political Wire, The Resurgent and Political Insider

Richard Elliot / WSB-TV:

NEW POLL: Ossoff support increases after debate with Handel — ATLANTA - The latest exclusive WSB, Landmark Communications Poll shows Democrat Jon Ossoff got a slight bump over Republican Karen Handel after his debate performance Tuesday night on Channel 2.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Politicus USA

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:

Republicans' emerging Trump defense: A naif in the Oval Office — As former FBI director James B. Comey held the political world in thrall Thursday from inside a packed Senate hearing room, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan walked into an unusually empty press briefing across the Capitol.

Discussion: Simple Justice and Politico

Jamelle Bouie / Slate: In denying President Trump's abuse of power, Republicans have chosen party over country.

Nicole Serratore / New York Times:
James Comey and the Predator in Chief

Discussion: Washington Post, Recode, Media Matters for America, Business Insider, AOL and Mashable

Brian Beutler / New Republic:
Comey's Trump Testimony Will Haunt Republicans

New York Times:
Mr. Comey and All the President's Lies

Discussion: USA Today, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Vox, The Week, Washington Monthly, Axios and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:

‘I Was Right’: As Trump Watches Comey on TV, Anxiety Yields to Relief — WASHINGTON — President Trump dipped in and out of the small dining room off the Oval Office on Thursday to monitor a television as James B. Comey, the ousted F.B.I. director, told a tortured tale — and to insist to his huddled legal team, “I was right.”

Discussion: Raw Story

Kate Maltby / The Guardian:

Theresa May rejected the Tory detoxification project. That's what's behind this mess — Once she talked of modernisation. Then she allowed the flat-earthers of that toxicity, Lynton Crosby chief among them, to flourish at the top of the party … ost people have heard of the term …

Discussion: Refinery29

Juliegrace Brufke / The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: White House Orders House Members To Defend Trump On Cable News Following Comey Hearing — The White House is demanding Republican House members appear on cable news networks to defend President Donald Trump following former FBI Director James Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligent Committee Thursday.

Discussion: Vox, Los Angeles Times and Just Security

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Behind Trump's temporary silence: Why the counterpuncher let others do the punching

Discussion: Politico, New York Magazine, Reuters, Kennebec Journal & …, NPR, Axios, Politicus USA, IJR, Raw Story, CBS New York and DCist

Abha Bhattarai / Washington Post:

Breitbart lost 90 percent of its advertisers in two months: Who's still there? — The number of advertisers on the alt-right site Breitbart.com has dropped 90 percent in recent months, from 242 in March to 26 in May, according to data from MediaRadar, a New York firm that tracks online advertising.