memeorandum: McConnell: No need to pass bills to protect Mueller (Brent D. Griffiths/Politico)

2:05 PM ET, November 4, 2017

Top Items:

Both Bush Presidents Worry Trump Is Blowing Up the G.O.P. — WASHINGTON — President Trump is not a favorite in the extended Bush household. Former President George Bush considers him a “blowhard,” only interested in feeding his own ego. Former President George W. Bush, his son …

Discussion: zerohedge.com/fullrss2 …, TheBlaze, New York Magazine, Politicus USA, Mediaite, bizpacreview.com, Raw Story, Mashable, Axios and The Week

CNN:

George H.W. Bush labels Trump a ‘blowhard’ in new book — (CNN)Former President George H.W. Bush has a blunt assessment of Donald Trump: “He's a blowhard.” And his son, former President George W. Bush, has harsh words for his Republican successor as well: “This guy doesn't know what it means to be president.”

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, RedState, Business Insider and AOL

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
George H.W. Bush on Trump: He's a ‘blowhard’

Discussion: bizpacreview.com

New York Times:

Trump Campaign Adviser Met With Russian Officials in 2016 — WASHINGTON — Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump presidential campaign, met Russian government officials during a July 2016 trip he took to Moscow, according to testimony he gave on Thursday to the House Intelligence Committee.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNN, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Business Insider and Mediaite

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Trump's year of anger, disruption and scandal — It was after midnight on Nov. 9, 2016, and Donald Trump was sitting at the kitchen table of his Trump Tower penthouse. — His win in the presidential race was so unexpected that his chief speechwriter, Stephen Miller, had only begun writing …

Washington Post:

Longtime Trump bodyguard to face questions about 2013 Moscow trip — One of President Trump's most trusted confidants, a security chief who served as his sounding board for two decades, will face questions from congressional investigators next week about Trump's 2013 trip to Moscow, according to people familiar with their plans.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Shareblue Media and Mediaite

Julia Manchester / The Hill:
House committee to question former Trump bodyguard over Russia dossier: report

Discussion: RedState and Washington Post

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Mueller braces for challenges to his authority — Robert Mueller is on an early winning streak. — Stacked with some of the country's premier prosecutors, the special counsel has beaten back a pair of preliminary attempts to block his subpoena power and limit who he can question as a potential witness.

Discussion: Axios, Politicus USA and New York Magazine

Associated Press:

Inside story: How Russians hacked the Democrats' emails — WASHINGTON (AP) — It was just before noon in Moscow on March 10, 2016, when the first volley of malicious messages hit the Hillary Clinton campaign. — The first 29 phishing emails were almost all misfires.

Discussion: Business Insider, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice, emptywheel and The Atlantic, more at Techmeme »

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:

Memo Reveals Details of Hillary Clinton-DNC Deal — WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee struck a deal with Hillary Clinton in 2015 that gave her campaign input on some party hiring and spending decisions, but required they be related only to preparations for the general election, according to a memo obtained by NBC News.

Discussion: ABC News, NBC News, Balloon Juice, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Mahablog, IJR, The Root, NPR, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, CANNONFIRE, The Daily Banter and Nick Merrill

NBC News:
Democratic Divisions Expose Old Wounds That Haven't Healed

Discussion: BuzzFeed

Adam B. Vary / BuzzFeed:

A Pattern Of Abuse: How Kevin Spacey Used The Closet To Silence His Victims — Three new accusers shed light on the Oscar winner's history of abuse. “Being closeted has ... enabled him to use this privacy claim as a shield,” one of the men told BuzzFeed News.

Discussion: Deadline, PinkNews, The Week, TheBlaze, Axios, Refinery29, NBC News, bizpacreview.com, CBS New York, AOL, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and The Atlantic, more at Mediagazer »

BuzzFeed:
Netflix Is Cutting Ties With Kevin Spacey After Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Discussion: New York Times, Variety and RedState, more at Mediagazer »

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:

McConnell: No need to pass bills to protect Mueller — The Senate majority leader also expressed skepticism of legislation requiring social media companies to disclose the buyers of political ads. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Saturday that special counsel Robert Mueller …

Discussion: The Week and Shareblue Media

Hazel Cills / Jezebel:

Former ‘Male Feminist’ Columnist Faces Multiple Allegations of Assault — On October 6, Helen Donahue, who previously worked as a social media editor for Vice and also wrote for the website, posted photos of bruises on her upper body, neck, and face to Twitter. “sux men in media hate women …

Gregory Wallace / CNN:

CIA memo: Oswald link ‘totally unfounded’ — Panel slams JFK assassination records dump — (CNN)The CIA concluded in the weeks after President John F. Kennedy's assassination that allegations that Lee Harvey Oswald worked for the agency were “totally unfounded.”

Anne Applebaum / Washington Post:

Totalitarian ideologies never die. Not even in America. — Nothing is ever over. No historic trauma is ever resolved. No historic villain is ever buried, and no historic lessons are permanently learned. Everything and everyone can be revived, and anything can be unlearned — even in the most settled civilizations.

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Bret Stephens / New York Times:

The Sleazy Case Against Mueller's Probe — In the matter of Robert Mueller's investigation of the Trump-Russia connection, administration apologists make three significant claims in an effort to discredit the former F.B.I. director's work. Let's have a look at them:

Merrit Kennedy / NPR:

ICC Prosecutor Calls For Afghanistan War Crimes Investigation — The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is calling for an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan. — The scope of such an investigation isn't clear, but it has the potential to involve U.S. troops.

Discussion: Military.com, Axios and The Daily Caller

icc-cpi.int:
Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, regarding her decision to request judicial authorisation …

Discussion: New York Times, Just Security and Al Jazeera English

Courtney Crowder / Des Moines Register:

Mother says justice was served in Kedarie Johnson murder trial — KEOKUK, Ia. — It took a jury just 90 minutes Friday to return a guilty verdict in the murder of Burlington High School junior Kedarie Johnson, a gender-fluid teenager whose case attracted national attention.

Discussion: The Root

NBC News:

Papadopoulos Repeatedly Represented Trump Campaign, Record Shows — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has downplayed the role of foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos during the 2016 presidential campaign. But the public record shows that Papadopoulos, who attempted to set …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, emptywheel, Politico, RedState, Foreign Policy, USA Today and Business Insider

Inga Sarda-Sorensen / ACLU:

Government Releases 10-Year-Old Rosa Maria Hernandez After ACLU Files Lawsuit — CHILD WITH CEREBRAL PALSY DETAINED BY BORDER AGENTS AFTER SURGERY REUNITED WITH FAMILY — Stephen Wilson, ACLU of Texas, 713-325-7010, media@aclutx.org — SAN ANTONIO — The federal government has released 10-year-old Rosa Maria Hernandez.

Discussion: Splinter and CBS Los Angeles

Kieren McCarthy / The Register:

Tesla share crash amid Republican bid to kill off electric car tax break — Didn't help that the automaker's financial results also sucked — Tesla's share price took a dive Thursday morning as Republicans in Congress revealed they were planning to kill off a US federal tax credit for electric vehicles.

Discussion: Watts Up With That? and The Daily Caller

myajc:

Suwanee council candidate defends tweets about Jews, Israel — ATLANTA-NEWS By Tyler Estep - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Joe Briggs says he isn't anti-Semitic — just anti-Israel. — And the Suwanee City Council candidate finds it strange that a series of controversial tweets …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Corker knocks Trump over ‘totally inappropriate’ Justice Department remarks — (R-Tenn.) is firing back at President Trump over his push for the Justice Department to investigate Democrats and Hillary Clinton — “President Trump's pressuring of the Justice Department and FBI to pursue cases …

Discussion: Blunt Force Truth, Associated Press and Talking Points Memo