memeorandum: The ballad of Sean Spicer: He snagged the Washington dream job, but at a price. (Ben Terris/Washington Post)

6:45 PM ET, July 21, 2017

Top Items:

Glenn Thrush / New York Times:

Sean Spicer Resigns as White House Press Secretary — WASHINGTON — Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, resigned on Friday morning, telling President Trump he vehemently disagreed with the appointment of the New York financier Anthony Scaramucci as communications director.

Dana Bash / CNN:

Exclusive: Mueller asks WH staff to preserve all documents relating to June 2016 meeting — WaPo, NYT: Trump legal team trying to undercut Mueller — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller has asked the White House to preserve all documents relating to the June 2016 meeting …

Discussion: Politico, Boing Boing, Axios, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

The Daily Beast:

Anthony Scaramucci Loved Hillary, Gave to Obama, and Deleted Anti-Trump Tweets … Anthony Scaramucci deleted tweets in which he previously criticized Donald Trump hours after accepting his new job as White House communications director on Friday. — Scaramucci also previously expressed support …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Guardian, Common Dreams, IJR and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Spicer quits amid White House feud — White House press secretary Sean Spicer resigned on Friday following his disagreement with President Donald Trump's decision to appoint Anthony Scaramucci, a Wall Street financier, as the new communications director, according to multiple White House officials.

The Daily Beast:

Spicey Bails, White House Flails, As Mooch Prevails … President Donald Trump finally pushed his Press Secretary Sean Spicer to the breaking point on Friday after he chose to hire Wall Street personality Anthony Scaramucci as his next communications director.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Fusion, Politicus USA and IJR

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:

Anthony Scaramucci Is the Right Answer to the Wrong Question — Watching Anthony Scaramucci's formal introduction as White House communications director on Friday, it was clear why President Trump wanted him for the gig. — Even though he's never worked as a spokesman for anyone other than himself …

Ben Terris / Washington Post:

The ballad of Sean Spicer: He snagged the Washington dream job, but at a price. — Sean Spicer at a June 2 press briefing at the White House. In a few short months he became the most famous White House press secretary in history. Was it worth it? (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Discussion: The Week, Business Insider and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Annie Karni / Politico:
Steve Bannon's disappearing act

Discussion: ABC News, Axios, IJR, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and AOL

Mike Allen / Axios:
Inside the room at Sean Spicer's resignation announcement

Discussion: The Atlantic, New York Times, Business Insider, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times: The Sean Spicer Show, After a Colorful Run, Gets Canceled

Andrew Prokop / Vox:
Inside Steve Bannon's apocalyptic ideology: “Like [Karl] Rove on an acid trip”

Discussion: Raw Story

Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Trump's new communications chief once called him a ‘hack’

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit and IJR

Washington Post:
Scaramucci took winding path but finally landed a top job with Trump

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, Bearing Arms and The Atlantic

Reuters:

Exclusive: Moscow lawyer who met Trump Jr. had Russian spy agency as client — 5 MIN READ — MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian lawyer who met Donald Trump Jr. after his father won the Republican nomination for the 2016 U.S. presidential election counted Russia's FSB security service among …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Atlantic, Mediaite, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress and IJR

Andrew Roth / Washington Post:
Lawyer who met with Trump Jr. had Russian intelligence connections

Discussion: The Atlantic and NPR

Jake Tapper / CNNMoney:

Sean Hannity will no longer receive Buckley Award after controversy — Bernstein: ‘We are in a cold civil war’ — Fox News Channel star anchor Sean Hannity will no longer receive the conservative Media Research Center's William F. Buckley Award for Media Excellence at its September 21 gala …

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite, RedState, TheBlaze, Raw Story and Daily Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Manu Raju / CNN:

First on CNN: Rice privately meets with Senate Intel on Russia probe — (CNN)Susan Rice, who served as former President Barack Obama's national security adviser, quietly met behind closed doors Friday with Senate intelligence committee investigators probing Russian meddling in the elections …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

These Americans Hated the Health Law. Until the Idea of Repeal Sank In. — DOYLESTOWN, Pa. — Five years ago, the Affordable Care Act had yet to begin its expansion of health insurance to millions of Americans, but Jeff Brahin was already stewing about it. — “It's going to cost a fortune,” he said in an interview at the time.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Bangor Daily News, Mother Jones, Real Clear Politics and Althouse

Joe Lawlorstaff / Press Herald: Sen. Collins slams current Senate bill that would repeal and replace Affordable Care Act

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed:

Trump's New Lead Lawyer Denies The Legal Team Is Looking Into Pardons — John Dowd, the lawyer now leading President Trump's personal legal team, denied on Friday that the outside legal team has been looking into the president's pardon power. — In a phone interview with BuzzFeed News on Friday …

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, Lawfare, IJR, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Vox, Washington Post, The Hill, Infowars and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:
Trump's lawyers seek to undercut Mueller's Russia investigation

CBS News:
Marc Kasowitz and Mark Corallo depart Trump's legal team

Discussion: New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, The Mahablog, Vox, IJR and TheBlaze

Brian Beutler / New Republic:
We're on the Brink of an Authoritarian Crisis

Discussion: Shareblue, Raw Story, Washington Post, Politico, Power Line, Washington Times, Boing Boing, STAT, Vox, The Atlantic, Business Insider, Media Matters for America, New York Times, IJR, The Daily Caller, Lawfare, Mediaite, Common Dreams and RedState

NBC News:

Russia's Lavrov Says Trump May Have Met Putin More Times — MOSCOW — President Donald Trump may have held more meetings with Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit earlier this month, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday — but he shrugged off the importance of the encounters.

Discussion: Shareblue, CNN, Shakesville, RT, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Associated Press

Jennifer Levitz / Wall Street Journal:

Joseph Rago, Wall Street Journal Editorial Writer, Dies at 34 — Pulitzer Prize winner was known for his well-reported pieces and policy influence — Joseph Rago, a Pulitzer Prize winning editorial writer at The Wall Street Journal who was known for his richly reported pieces and influence …

Discussion: National Review, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

White House taps new acting ethics chief, elevating general counsel over chief of staff … The White House has tapped David J. Apol, general counsel of the Office of Government Ethics, to serve as the agency's acting director and temporarily succeed Walter M. Shaub Jr. …

David Remnick / New Yorker:

A Conversation with Maggie Haberman, Trump's Favorite Foe — One of the saving graces of the Trump era is the journalism it has inspired. Maggie Haberman is a tireless, keen-eyed example. As part of the New York Times' White House team, she has repeatedly added to the sum total …

Discussion: Political Wire

Florida Today:

Teens filmed, mocked drowning man, Cocoa police say — COCOA - Police and prosecutors say little can be done legally after the revelation that a group of teens filmed the dying moments of a 32-year-old disabled man last week, with the teens mocking, cursing and laughing while the man drowned in a fenced-off pond.

Discussion: New York Times, TheBlaze, Raw Story, CNN, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Conservative News Today, New York Post, The Resurgent and The Root

Thomas Frank / The Guardian:

The media's war on Trump is destined to fail. Why can't it see that? — hese are the worst of times for the American news media, but they are also the best. The newspaper industry as a whole has been dying slowly for years, as the pathetic tale of the once-mighty Chicago Tribune reminds us.

Discussion: Above the Law

Peter Sullivan / The Hill:

Senate heads to new healthcare vote with no clear plan — Senators are hurtling toward an ObamaCare repeal vote early next week, even though they currently lack the votes for either option on the table. — Senators are unclear what they will be voting on next week, with just days …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico and Wall Street Journal

Former CBO Directors:

Letter from Former CBO Directors on the Importance of CBO's Role in the Legislative Process — Dear Mr. Speaker, Madam Leader, Mr. Majority Leader, and Mr. Minority Leader: — The undersigned represent every former Director of the Congressional Budget Office .

Discussion: The Hill, Vox, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Business Insider, Politico and Axios

Shaun Walker / The Guardian:

Vladimir Putin: ‘I may not leave Russian presidency’ — A question-and-answer session at a Sochi school was designed to make Putin seem youth-friendly after recent youth demonstrations … Asked what he plans to do when he leaves the presidency, Vladimir Putin paused and smiled.

Discussion: Political Wire

Fox News:

Stuart Varney: Trump has already made America $4 trillion richer (with just six months in office) — Programming note: Watch “Varney & Co.” weekdays on the Fox Business Channel from 9 - 12pm ET. — It's Thursday, July 20th. As of today, Donald Trump has been president for 6 months.

Discussion: Media Matters for America and IJR

New York Times:

Breaking From Campaign Rhetoric, Trump Brings Terrorism Suspect to U.S. for Trial — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has brought an Al Qaeda suspect to the United States to face trial in federal court, backing off its hard-line position that terrorist suspects should be sent …

Discussion: Political Wire

Caitlin Owens / Axios:

Some parts of GOP health bill violate Senate rules — The Senate parliamentarian ruled Friday that some parts of the Senate health care bill do not comply with budget rules, meaning that if they're included in the bill, they'll need 60 votes to pass. (They won't get 60 votes.)