memeorandum: Puerto Rico to Vote Sunday on Statehood (Arian Campo-Flores/Wall Street Journal)

4:35 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.

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, Shakesville and Mediaite

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, The Week, Raw Story, Political Wire and New York Times

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.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, The Root, Raw Story, Vox and CNBC

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, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze and France 24

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. — Trump isn't trying to win the argument. He's trying to dominate it. — Donald Trump understands, better than any politician I've ever seen, that the question isn't whether you're winning the argument …

Discussion: Axios, Deadline, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Talking Points Memo and Mother Jones

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

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

New York Times:
‘I Was Right’: As Trump Watches Comey on TV, Anxiety Yields to Relief

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Raw Story, The Week, Washington Post, New York Magazine and Politicus USA

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

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

Discussion: Vox, RedState, Washington Post, Recode, Simple Justice, Media Matters for America, Business Insider, AOL, Mashable and Politico

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, Washington Monthly, New Statesman, 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

Charlie Cooper / Politico:
5 takeaways from the UK election

Discussion: Axios

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

Discussion: The Guardian and Balloon Juice

Reuters:
Election debacle leaves UK government in a minority on eve of Brexit talks

Discussion: Axios, Forbes, The Week and New York Times

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

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

Eric Lipton / New York Times:

White House Official Violated Law Banning Political Activity, Agency Says — WASHINGTON — Dan Scavino Jr., the White House director of social media, violated a federal law that prohibits political activity by government employees, the federal agency empowered to enforce the law has concluded …

Discussion: Fast Company, Death and Taxes and The Verge

Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Trump aide reprimanded over Hatch Act violation

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

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, IJR, CBS New York, 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

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, Informed Comment, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Above the Law, Politico, Common Dreams and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

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: 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, The Atlantic, Power Line, IJR, Spiked, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist, The Resurgent, Daily Kos and Daily Wire

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

Ben Domenech / The Federalist:

CNN's War On Trump Is Going Swimmingly — Back in February, I was riding on the New York to DC shuttle and CNN's own Jeff Zucker was seated in the row behind me with a woman I took to be a colleague or personal assistant. She was yelling loudly into her phone, loudly enough …

Discussion: Instapundit and Heat Street

BBC:

Japan passes landmark bill for Emperor Akihito to abdicate — Japan's parliament has passed a one-off bill to allow Emperor Akihito to abdicate, the first emperor to do so in 200 years. — The 83-year-old said last year that his age and health were making it hard for him to fulfil his official duties.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and IJR

Jessica Durando / USA Today:
Japan's parliament clears way for Emperor Akihito's abdication

Discussion: The Week

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

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