memeorandum: Russian Trolls Tried to Start a Black ‘War on Christmas’ (Ben Collins/The Daily Beast)

11:20 AM ET, October 31, 2017

Top Items:

Upstairs at home, with the TV on, Trump fumes over Russia indictments — President Trump woke before dawn on Monday and burrowed in at the White House residence to wait for the Russia bombshell he knew was coming. — Separated from most of his West Wing staff — who fretted …

The Daily Beast:

Steve Bannon Tells Trump To Bring In New Lawyers as He Looks For Ways to Kneecap Mueller … Steve Bannon spoke on the phone with his old boss, Donald Trump, on Monday and offered a message: get yourself some new lawyers. — The former White House chief strategist has grown increasingly concerned …

Discussion: Raw Story

BuzzFeed:

Washington's Legions Of Lobbyists See Danger In Special Counsel's Indictment Of Manafort — Violations of the federal law that requires US citizens that represent foreign governments to register have long gone unprosecuted. Is that about to change? — Reporting From Washington, DC

Ezra Klein / Vox:

It sure looks like there was collusion between the Trump operation and Russia — Look at the whole story and tell me this isn't suspicious. — Two things are true about the indictments unsealed by special counsel Bob Mueller Monday: — They don't provide a “smoking gun” …

Discussion: The Intercept, New York Times, Weekly Standard, Hit & Run, Fast Company, Shareblue Media, ThinkProgress, CNBC, The Root, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Mashable, IJR, Media Matters for America and Washington Post

Scott Shane / New York Times:

Trump Campaign Got Early Word Russia Had Democrats' Emails — WASHINGTON — The indictment of a 30-year-old campaign aide — so green that he listed Model United Nations in his qualifications — shifted the narrative on Monday of the Trump campaign's interactions with Russia …

Discussion: Washington Post, Yahoo, The Guardian, Business Insider, Power Line, Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, Michael J. Totten's blog, emptywheel, New York Magazine, Mediaite, IJR, Weekly Standard, RedState, Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit and The Atlantic

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:

The Plot Against America — On Monday morning, after America learned that Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and Manafort's lobbying partner, Rick Gates, had been indicted and turned themselves in to federal authorities, the president tried to distance himself from the unfolding scandal.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Post, Lawfare, The Guardian, Slate, ABC News, Media Matters for America, CBS Miami, The Atlantic, 105.9 FM and AM 630, miamiherald, Business Insider, CNN, RedState, Talking Points Memo, IJR and ThinkProgress

Associated Press:

Trump fumes as Mueller probe enters new phase with charges — WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Muller's charges Monday against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and two other aides marked a new phase in his sprawling investigation into Russia and President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Vox, Hullabaloo and CNN

Bloomberg:

Mueller Raises Pressure on Trump With Papadopoulos-Russia Link — Using junior aide as cooperating witness, he's after others — Court filing suggests campaign aides aware of Russian attempts — The first charges unsealed in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of the presidential election suggest …

Discussion: Politicus USA and NBC News

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:

Special counsel's office: Papadopoulos ‘small part’ of ‘large scale investigation’ — Washington (CNN)Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos' guilty plea Monday appears to hint toward even more threads of the ongoing Russia collusion investigation than what the court revealed.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Hill, Raw Story, Just Security, Business Insider, Politico and Axios

New York Times:
Is the White House Scared Yet?

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, The Guardian, Mashable, NPR, The Week, Washington Post, Politico, Just Security, Daily Kos, Real Clear Politics, New York Magazine and Toronto Star

NBC News:
Sources: Podesta Group, Mercury Are Companies ‘A’ and ‘B’ in Indictment

Discussion: Political Wire, Scared Monkeys, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, IJR, RedState and Mediaite

Marcy Wheeler / The Intercept:
Monday's Indictment is Very, Very Bad News For Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Discussion: Daily Kos

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Both Campaigns Sought Russian Dirt. Clinton's Way Was Legal.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, PolitiFact, CNN, Booman Tribune, Lawfare, Politico and Right Wing Watch

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Bannon pushing Trump to take action on Mueller: reports

Discussion: RedState and Politico

John Cassidy / New Yorker:
Robert Mueller Is Just Beginning to Put the Pressure On

Discussion: Raw Story, Shareblue Media and New York Times

CNN:
Trump ‘seething’ as Mueller probe reaches former aides

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Republican Judiciary chairman: Trump should let Mueller do his job

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, The Week and Politicus USA

Sam Thielman / Talking Points Memo: First Charges In Mueller's Russia Probe Stem From Trump Admin's Earliest Days

J.J. Gallagher / ABC News:
Trump ex-adviser ‘probably’ discussed Russia with staffer charged in Mueller probe

Discussion: Daily Kos and Associated Press

James S. Robbins / USA Today:
If you care about foreign election interference, Manafort indictments miss real threat

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Weekly Standard, The Hill, National Review and Breitbart

Harry Litman / New York Times:
Why George Papadopoulos Is More Dangerous Than Paul Manafort

Discussion: Business Insider, Althouse, ThinkProgress, The Mahablog, Political Wire and New York Magazine

Wall Street Journal: The Manafort Indictment — Mueller's charges relate …

Hot Air:
Did George Papadopoulos Wear A Wire For Mueller?

Discussion: Power Line, National Review, bizpacreview.com, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Mother Jones and Balloon Juice

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
The Manafort Indictment: Not Much There, and a Boon for Trump

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, The Federalist, bizpacreview.com, Fox News, Popehat, RedState, New York Times, Lawfare, ThinkProgress, Power Line, Althouse, JustOneMinute and Washington Post

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Inside the White House as the first Russia indictments came out

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, ABC News and Business Insider

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

Ta-Nehisi Coates Schools John Kelly On History Of Civil War And ‘Compromise’ — After White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Monday night said that the Civil War was the result of “the lack of an ability to compromise” and called Confederal Gen. Robert E. Lee an “honorable man,” author Ta-Nehisi Coates tore into Kelly on Twitter.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Splinter, The Root, Raw Story and Mashable

Dave Lawler / Axios:

Kelly wants investigation into allegations surrounding Clinton — In a Fox News interview, John Kelly said he thought an investigation was needed into funding from Hillary Clinton's campaign and the DNC for the research behind the Trump/Russia dossier, and Clinton's involvement in the Uranium One deal.

Discussion: Vanity Fair and ABC News

Maggie Astor / New York Times:
John Kelly Pins Civil War on ‘Lack of Ability to Compromise’

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Splinter

Sophie Tatum / CNN:
Kelly: ‘Lack of an ability to compromise’ led to Civil War

Discussion: Raw Story, Daily Kos, Reuters, Media Matters for America and Business Insider

Washington Post:
John Kelly calls Robert E. Lee an ‘honorable man’ and says ‘lack of compromise’ caused the Civil War

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Kelly defends Confederate statues: 'History's history'

Discussion: Politico

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

Preet Bharara Reads Bob Mueller's Tea Leaves — Subscribe to Off Message on Apple Podcasts here. Subscribe via Stitcher here. — NEW YORK—Preet Bharara won't say whether he was investigating President Donald Trump when he was fired in March or whether he's seen anything that's informed …

Discussion: The Week

Alice Paul Tapper / New York Times:

I'm 10. And I Want Girls to Raise Their Hands. — Last year on a fourth-grade field trip, I noticed that all the boys stood in the front and raised their hands while most of the girls politely stayed in the back and were quiet. It made me upset. — On the car ride home I told my mom about what happened.

Nancy Scola / Politico:

Google, Facebook will testify to lawmakers they've splashed with cash — When Google and Facebook testify before Congress on Russian election interference this week, they'll face committees filled with lawmakers who have collectively received hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations from the companies.

Discussion: Axios, more at Mediagazer »

Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:
Facebook estimates 126 million people were served content from Russia-linked pages

Discussion: Politico, CNN, CBS Miami, Washington Post, The Week, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Judy Kurtz / The Hill:

White House releases Trump, Pence official portraits — President Trump is seen smiling broadly in his official portrait that will hang in federal buildings across the country. — The White House released the official photographs of Trump and Vice President Pence on Tuesday.

Discussion: IJR and The Week

Public Policy Polling:

Support For Impeachment At Record High — PPP's newest national poll finds a record level of support for impeaching Donald Trump. 49% of voters support impeaching him, to 41% who are opposed to doing so. This marks the 6th month in a row we've found a plurality of voters in favor of impeaching Trump …

Discussion: Political Wire

Ben Collins / The Daily Beast:

Russian Trolls Tried to Start a Black ‘War on Christmas’ … A website hosted by Russia's “troll farm” in St. Petersburg attempted to push an African-American boycott of Christmas with articles and a line of typo-ridden merchandise last year. — BlackMattersUS, which independent Russian …

Discussion: Raw Story