memeorandum: CNN Drops Reza Aslan Following Anti-Trump Tweets (Brian Steinberg/Variety)

5:00 PM 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.

CNN:

Trump: I'm willing to testify under oath about Comey claims — Washington (CNN)A defiant President Donald Trump said Friday he was willing to testify under oath about his conversations with James Comey, further fueling the swirling controversy ignited by the fired FBI director's bombshell testimony before the Senate on Thursday.

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

Ryan denies GOP would try to impeach Dem accused of same actions as Trump — (R-Wis.) insisted on Thursday that Republicans wouldn't be calling for the impeachment of a Democratic president accused of the same actions as President Trump. — As fired FBI Director James Comey was before a Senate committee …

Discussion: Politico, The Moderate Voice, Bleeding Heartland, The National Interest, Raw Story, The Week, Political Wire and New York Times

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

There's no indication Comey violated the law. Trump may be about to. — President Trump's declaration that the Thursday testimony of former FBI director James B. Comey was a “total and complete vindication” despite “so many false statements and lies” was the sort of brashly triumphant …

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story, Media Matters for America, Shakesville and Mediaite

The Hill:

Trump refuses to say whether White House tapes exist — President Trump on Friday refused to say whether tapes exist of his conversations with fired FBI Director James Comey. — “I'll tell you about that maybe sometime in the near future,” he told reporters during a White House news conference.

Discussion: ABC News and Politico

Bre Payton / The Federalist:

Did James Comey's Document Leaks Violate The FBI Employment Agreement? — During his testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, former FBI director James Comey revealed that he was the source of leaked memos about his conversations with Donald Trump surrounding the Russia investigation.

Discussion: ABC News and TheBlaze

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Donald Trump's secret isn't that he lies. It's that he crowds out the truth.

Discussion: Axios, RedState, Refinery29, Boing Boing and Mother Jones

Andrew Prokop / Vox:
Did Trump just say he'd testify under oath about Comey?

Discussion: ABC News and YouTube

Washington Times: Mr. Comey's not very good day

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

CNN Drops Reza Aslan Following Anti-Trump Tweets — CNN no longer believes in “Believer,” the non-fiction series it launched earlier this year with Reza Aslan, the Iranian-American author and religious scholar. — “CNN has decided to not move forward with production on the acquired series 'Believer …

Discussion: Breitbart, Geller Report, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, RedState and newsbusters.org/feed/all

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

CNN cancels Reza Aslan's show “Believer” after profane anti-Trump tweets — CNN has parted ways with Reza Aslan, the host of a documentary series on the network, whose profane anti-Trump tweets were widely criticized earlier this week. — The network said Friday that it has …

Discussion: Friendly Atheist

The Guardian:

DUP leader Arlene Foster vows to bring stability to UK with Conservatives — Arlene Foster confirms she will be having talks with Theresa May about details of arrangement with Northern Ireland party — The Democratic Unionist leader and most recent first minister of Northern Ireland …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New Statesman, Washington Monthly, Telegraph, Globe and Mail, Metro.co.uk, Bloomberg, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Common Dreams, Booman Tribune, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The FADER and Shakesville

Andrew Sullivan / New York Magazine: The Fall of Theresa May — and Donald Trump?

BBC:
Live Reporting — Initial discussions with DUP underway - Grayling

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Axios, Jacobin Magazine, France 24, Fast Company, The Daily Caller, Lawfare, RedState, Press Association and Telegraph

Atrios / Eschaton:
The Kids Are Alright — No actual figures, but presumably …

Discussion: The Guardian and Balloon Juice

Charlie Cooper / Politico:
5 takeaways from the UK election

Discussion: Axios

Sean Illing / Vox:

Trump's lawyer: Comey violated executive privilege. 10 legal experts: No, he didn't. — After the public testimony of former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, released a statement. In addition to being riddled with typos, it contained a curious legal argument.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Slate, Politico, Just Security, Lawyers, Guns & Money, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, CNN, The Daily Caller, Hit & Run, TheBlaze and France 24

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: Raw Story, THE WARREN (HENRY) REPORT, Washington Monthly, BillMoyers.com, Daily Kos, Informed Comment, Mediaite, Above the Law and Politico

Steve Vladeck / Washington Post:
Trump's lawyer says Comey violated executive privilege. He's wrong.

Discussion: Mother Jones, RedState, TheStreet, Hullabaloo, Lawfare, The Guardian, BuzzFeed, ThinkProgress, ABC News, Shakesville, Naked Politics, Washington Free Beacon, Just Security, The Week and New York Times

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 Congressional District.

Discussion: Shareblue, CNN, Feeds, TheBlaze, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Politicus USA, Mother Jones, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, Rewire, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Political Insider, Washington Times, IJR, The Week, The Resurgent and WSB-TV

Julia Manchester / The Hill:

Trump aide reprimanded over Hatch Act violation — The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has issued a warning to White House social media director Dan Scavino for using Twitter to interfere with an election. — The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) …

Discussion: Vox, ABC News, The Atlantic, RedState, Talking Points Memo, FOX News Radio and Politicus USA

Eric Lipton / New York Times:
White House Official Violated Law Banning Political Activity, Agency Says

Discussion: IJR, Fast Company, Death and Taxes and The Verge

Matea Gold / Washington Post:
White House social-media director Dan Scavino violated Hatch Act with tweet targeting GOP congressman

Discussion: Axios, Politico, Political Wire and Mashable

Julia Manchester / The Hill:

Gillibrand rips Trump: ‘Has he kept his promises? No. F— no’ — (D-N.Y.) slammed President Trump with colorful language Friday, saying he has not kept his promises. — “Has he kept his promises? No. F— no,” she said while addressing the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City.

Discussion: Breitbart, Daily Wire, The Rush Limbaugh Show, CBS New York, IJR, AOL, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com, Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon

Maggie Serota / Death and Taxes:
Senator Gillibrand on Democrats: 'If we're not helping people, we should go the f**k home'

Discussion: The Week and The Daily Caller

New York Times:

Trump Assails Qatar, Despite Tillerson's Call for ‘Calm’ in Standoff — WASHINGTON — Reversing himself again, President Trump on Friday delivered a stinging rebuke to Qatar, accusing the Persian Gulf nation of being a “funder of terror at a very high level” and demanding that it cut off …

Discussion: The Atlantic, ThinkProgress, Washington Examiner, The Week, Raw Story and France 24

Ellen Mitchell / The Hill:
Qatar's leader won't accept Trump's White House invitation: report

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, Axios, CNBC, Reuters, Just Security and New York Magazine

Dan Alexander / Forbes:

New York Attorney General Looking Into Eric Trump Foundation — The New York attorney general, which has been investigating the Donald J. Trump Foundation for months, is now looking into the Eric Trump Foundation, after a report in Forbes exposed practices that seem to violate state laws.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, ABC News, CNN and Raw Story

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: Washington Post, Vox, miamiherald, Power Line, The Atlantic, IJR, Spiked, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist, The Resurgent, Daily Kos and Daily Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Arian Campo-Flores / Wall Street Journal:

Puerto Rico to Vote Sunday on Statehood — Voters in Puerto Rico head to the polls Sunday to decide whether to back a bid to make the U.S. territory the 51st state, at a time when the island is gripped by an economic crisis.

Discussion: Axios and CNBC

New York Post:
Puerto Rican day parade loses half its floats over honoree controversy

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Curbed NY - All

Reuters:

Exclusive: Trump targets illegal immigrants who were given reprieves from deportation by Obama — In September 2014, Gilberto Velasquez, a 38-year-old house painter from El Salvador, received life-changing news: The U.S. government had decided to shelve its deportation action against him.

Discussion: Daily Kos and IJR

Business Insider:

JIM ROGERS: The worst crash in our lifetime is coming — Legendary investor Jim Rogers s — at down with Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget on this week's episode of “The Bottom Line.” Rogers predicts a market crash in the next few years, one that he says will rival anything he has seen in his lifetime.

Discussion: IJR

Stephen Miller / Heat Street:

My Adventures at the Segregated ‘Wonder Woman’ Screening — I didn't know what to expect showing up to an advertised all women's screening of Wonder Woman where radical outrage mongers on Twitter were offering bounties to either mace me in the face or dump soda on my head.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Guardian