memeorandum: Online ads offer legal option for U.S. election meddling (Reuters)

12:45 AM ET, July 13, 2017

Top Items:

Shane Harris / WSJ:

Russian Officials Overheard Discussing Trump Associates Before Campaign Began — U.S. intelligence starting in the spring of 2015 detected conversations in which Russian government officials discussed meetings with Trump associates — WASHINGTON—U.S. intelligence agencies starting …

Discussion: Raw Story, Daily Kos, Business Insider, CNBC, Washington Monthly, Wall Street Journal and Just Security

CBN.com:

President Trump to CBN's Pat Robertson: Putin Would Have Been Happier With Clinton — President Donald Trump sat down with CBN Founder Pat Robertson for an exclusive “700 Club” interview at the White House this morning. — It comes as the media firestorm over Russia and the election continues to dominate headlines.

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Washington Post, CNBC, Business Insider, AOL, Raw Story, TheBlaze, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Axios and The Daily Caller

Steve Holland / Reuters:

Exclusive: Trump says he was unaware of son's meeting with Russian lawyer — 2 MIN READ — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was unaware of his son Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting last year with a Russian lawyer at the heart of a White House controversy …

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Politicus USA, Raw Story, NPR, ABC News, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Politico, IJR and FiveThirtyEight

Katie Zavadski / The Daily Beast:

Was Donald Trump Jr.'s Russian Connect in U.S. Illegally? … Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met Donald Trump Jr. in New York last summer, said she was denied a U.S. visa in 2015. — She then asked federal prosecutors for permission to enter the U.S. to work on behalf of a client in a Manhattan.

Discussion: RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and TheBlaze

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:

GOP Senator: Intel Committee Knew In April That Kushner Met Russian Lawyer — Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Wednesday said the panel knew about Jared Kushner's attendance of a June 2016 meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer as early as April.

Discussion: Politico

The Hill:

Exclusive: DOJ let Russian lawyer into US before she met with Trump team — The Russian lawyer who penetrated Donald Trump — 's inner circle was initially cleared into the United States by the Justice Department under “extraordinary circumstances” before she embarked on a lobbying campaign …

Discussion: MichelleMalkin.com, Wired, Politico, The Guardian, The Atlantic, NBC News, AOL, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg and Vanity Fair

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:

Dem senator calls for Kushner to resign from White House — (D-Conn.) called Wednesday for Jared Kushner, President Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, to resign from his White House post in the wake of revelations about a campaign meeting with a Russian lawyer who promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton

Discussion: Politico

Adam Pribila / IJR:

Roger Stone Alleges That He Knows Who Is Behind the White House Leaks — Much speculation has been made regarding the role former Trump presidential campaign advisor Roger Stone played in the various hacking and leaking scandals that plagued the 2016 election.

Discussion: RedState

Ali Rogin / ABC News:
Senate Intelligence Committee list of interviewees expands amid Trump Jr. email controversy

Discussion: Politico and Associated Press

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker: Are Donald Trump, Jr.,'s E-mails About Meeting with a Russian Lawyer Evidence of a Crime?

New York Times:
With Glare on Trump Children, Political Gets Personal for President

Discussion: Washington Post and CNN

Justin Baragona / Mediaite:
Trump's First Non-Fox News Interview in Two Months Is With CBN's Pat Robertson

Discussion: Washington Post, CNBC, Politico, IJR, The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon

Sen. Rand Paul / Breitbart:

Exclusive - Sen. Rand Paul: Senate GOP Decides to Keep Obamacare — I miss the old days, when Republicans stood for repealing Obamacare. Republicans across the country and every member of my caucus campaigned on repeal - often declaring they would tear out Obamacare “root and branch!”

Discussion: New York Magazine, Vox, AOL, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Business Insider and Bloomberg

Rachana Pradhan / Politico:

Senate moderates sidelined in new Obamacare repeal bill — In a closed-door meeting of Senate Republican chairmen Wednesday, Lisa Murkowski ripped GOP leaders' attempt to scale back Medicaid spending in their Obamacare repeal bill. — The two matters were unrelated, she argued …

Erica Martinson / Alaska Dispatch News:
Murkowski remains unhappy about GOP negotiations for the Senate health bill

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Daily Kos, Axios, ABC News and The Hill

Congressman Brad Sherman:

Congressman Sherman Introduces Article of Impeachment: Obstruction of Justice — Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), joined by Congressman Al Green (D-TX), introduced an Article of Impeachment (H. Res. 438) against President Donald J. Trump for High Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Discussion: Fox News, The Atlantic, Mediaite, The Root, Associated Press, Refinery29, IJR, Raw Story, Mashable, Daily Wire, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, The Moderate Voice, Little Green Footballs and Shakesville

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
House Democrat files article of impeachment against Trump

Discussion: RedState, Politicus USA, The Root and The Gateway Pundit

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Trump lawyers want wall between Kushner, president — President Trump's outside legal team wants to wall off Jared Kushner from discussing the Russia investigation with his father-in-law, according to sources with direct knowledge of the discussions.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Post, New York Magazine, IJR, Politicus USA, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, Above the Law, Vox, National Review, The Root, Shakesville and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Trump-Russia investigators probe Jared Kushner-run digital operation

Discussion: The Guardian, The Atlantic, Business Insider, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, New York Magazine, Washington Monthly, Shakesville, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, AOL, NBC News, New York Times and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Zack Whittaker / ZDNet:

Millions of Verizon customer records exposed in security lapse — Customer records for at least 14 million subscribers, including phone numbers and account PINs, were exposed. — An Israeli technology company has exposed millions of Verizon customer records, ZDNet has learned.

Discussion: RT, Engadget, BuzzFeed, The Verge, Gothamist and ThinkProgress, more at Techmeme »

Selena Larson / CNNMoney:
Verizon data of 6 million users leaked online

Discussion: Refinery29

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:

Watchdog Group Sues Trump Campaign, Roger Stone Over Wikileaks Email Dump — United to Protect Democracy, a nonprofit watchdog group, on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's campaign and longtime Trump ally Roger Stone in connection with Wikileaks' publication …

Discussion: United to Protect Democracy and CANNONFIRE

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The investigation goes digital: Did someone point Russia to specific online targets?

Discussion: The Atlantic and Slate

Charlie Savage / New York Times: Democrats Sue Trump Campaign Over Leaked Emails Tied to Russia

Wall Street Journal:

Mark Zuckerberg Hits the Road to Meet Regular Folks—With a Few Conditions — As he tours America, Facebook CEO appears at homes and businesses with little notice, asks not to be quoted; not always recognized — Mark Zuckerberg is trying to understand America, so he's embarked on a journey …

Discussion: Mashable and Gizmodo

Billy House / Bloomberg:

Democrats Ask DOJ About Settlement Involving Trump-Linked Lawyer — Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. connected to case — Justice, Cyprus-based company settled in money-laundering suit — Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee asked the Justice Department to explain …

Discussion: Political Wire

Committee on the Judiciary:
JUDICIARY DEMS DEMAND ANSWERS ON DOJ SETTLEMENT OF FRAUD CASE HANDLED BY RUSSIAN LAWYER WHO MET WITH TRUMP JR.

Discussion: Washington Post, Philly.com, New York Times, Mother Jones, Media Matters for America, The Daily Caller, Mashable, News, Indy Week, American Prospect and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:

Exclusive: Video shows Trump with associates tied to email controversy — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Video obtained exclusively by CNN offers a new look inside the web of relationships now at the center of allegations of collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia.

Discussion: Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite and Political Wire

New York Times:

Campus Rape Policies Get a New Look as the Accused Get DeVos's Ear — WASHINGTON — The letters have come in to her office by the hundreds, heartfelt missives from college students, mostly men, who had been accused of rape or sexual assault. Some had lost scholarships. Some had been expelled.

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller and AOL

Nahal Toosi / Politico:

Trump intervenes to grant rejected Afghan girls entry to U.S. for robotics contest — At the urging of President Donald Trump, U.S. officials have reversed course and decided to allow into the United States a group of Afghan girls hoping to participate in an international robotics competition next week …

Discussion: AOL, Raw Story, Mashable and Daily Wire

Maria Sacchetti / Washington Post:

DHS's Kelly tells Hispanic caucus DACA might not survive court challenge — Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in a closed-door meeting Wednesday that an initiative that grants work permits to more than 800,000 undocumented immigrants may not survive a looming legal challenge.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ted Hesson / Politico: Kelly won't commit to defending DACA in court

Reuters:

Online ads offer legal option for U.S. election meddling — SAN FRANCISCO The laws that prohibit foreign nationals from spending money to influence U.S. elections do not prevent them from lawfully buying some kinds of political ads on Facebook and other online networks, campaign finance lawyers said.

New York Times:

An Iceberg the Size of Delaware Just Broke Away From Antarctica — A chunk of floating ice that weighs more than a trillion metric tons broke away from the Antarctic Peninsula, producing one of the largest icebergs ever recorded and providing a glimpse of how the Antarctic ice sheet might ultimately start to fall apart.