memeorandum: Greenville County teacher found partially undressed in SUV with student, charged with sex crimes, deputies say (Stephanie Towers/WYFF-TV)

12:15 AM ET, February 18, 2018

Top Items:

Anton Troianovski / Washington Post:

A former Russian troll speaks: 'It was like being in Orwell's world' … The indictment by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III of 13 Russians associated with a St. Petersburg online “troll factory” that allegedly interfered with the U.S. election has brought a sense of vindication to the handful …

Sophie Tatum / CNN:

McMaster: Evidence of Russian meddling is ‘now really incontrovertible’ — McMaster responds to Russian indictments — Washington (CNN)Evidence of Russian meddling in the 2016 election is “now really incontrovertible,” White House National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said Saturday.

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump's Conspicuous Silence Leaves a Struggle Against Russia Without a Leader — WASHINGTON — After more than a dozen Russians and three companies were indicted on Friday for interfering in the 2016 elections, President Trump's first reaction was to claim personal vindication …

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

Trump's National Security Chief Calls Russian Interference ‘Incontrovertible’ — MUNICH — Just hours after the Justice Department indicted 13 Russians in what it charged was a broad conspiracy to alter the 2016 election, President Trump's national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster …

Discussion: The Right Scoop, The Gateway Pundit, 89.3 KPCC, Mother Jones, NPR and Vox

Dustin Volz / Reuters:
Facebook plans to use U.S. mail to verify IDs of election ad buyers

Discussion: The Verge and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:
To Stir Discord in 2016, Russians Turned Most Often to Facebook

Discussion: Mother Jones, BuzzFeed, Gizmodo, Joe.My.God., Washington Monthly, The Atlantic and CNN, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Goodwin / New York Post:
Russian indictments prove Trump won fair and square

Discussion: Mediaite, The Last Refuge and The Daily Caller

Amy Held / NPR:
McMaster Says Evidence of Russia Interference ‘Incontrovertible’

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Politicus USA, KQED News, The Root, Fox News Insider and Washington Post

Associated Press:
The Latest: Ex-Russian diplomat calls US charges ‘fantasies’

Discussion: ThinkProgress, IJR and ABC News

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Mueller's new indictments put the pressure on Trump to act

Discussion: Breitbart

David Ferguson / Raw Story:

Trumps went straight from Parkland to Studio 54- themed ‘disco party’ at Mar-a-Lago: report — President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump didn't spend overlong pondering the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Friday night, according to Mediaite.com.

Discussion: Mediaite and Politicus USA

Paula McMahon / Sun-Sentinel:

Nikolas Cruz: 'We had this monster living under our roof and we didn't know.' — Sun Sentinel — Nikolas Cruz was immature, quirky and depressed when James and Kimberly Snead took him into their Parkland home. But he was pleasant and seemed to be growing happier, they said.

Caleb Parke / Fox News:
Florida Teacher of the Year's gun violence post goes viral after school shooting

Discussion: The Right Scoop, DEARLY and TheBlaze

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
The NRA donated $10,000 to help train the Parkland shooting suspect to use a rifle

Discussion: RedState, The Daily Caller, Task & Purpose, TheBlaze, twitchy.com, New York Daily News, Associated Press and Law & Crime

New York Times:
Florida Agency Investigated Nikolas Cruz After Violent Social Media Posts

Discussion: RedState and The Capitolist

Paula McMahon / Sun-Sentinel:
Nikolas Cruz was investigated after cutting himself on Snapchat, state report shows

Discussion: Business Insider, WPIX 11 New York and New York Times

CNN:
CNN announces town hall with students, parents affected by Florida school shooting

Discussion: twitchy.com

Mary Ellen Klas / miamiherald:
Lawmakers agree to destroy site of school carnage: ‘This building has to come down’

Discussion: Your News Wire, IJR, Florida Politics and Daily Wire

ABC News:
Florida teen who survived shooting massacre rallies passionate crowd, 'It's time for victims' to change gun laws

Discussion: twitchy.com

Dakin Andone / CNN:
These young survivors of the Parkland shooting give voice to a nation's outrage

Discussion: WTVR-TV, Shareblue Media, TMZ.com, ThinkProgress, fox13now.com and The Moderate Voice

Alexander Burns / New York Times:

Prominent Republican Donor Issues Ultimatum on Assault Weapons — A prominent Republican political donor demanded on Saturday that the party pass legislation to restrict access to guns, and vowed not to contribute to any candidates or electioneering groups that did not support a ban on the sale of military-style firearms to civilians.

Discussion: Mediaite, Washington Press, Axios, Business Insider, Politicus USA, TheBlaze, Raw Story and Political Wire

Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:

Florida GOP in crisis as major donor threatens to pull money over guns — “I will not write another check unless they all support a ban on assault weapons. Enough is enough!” — Republicans in Florida are facing a crisis after a Republican mega-donor threatened to cut off future contributions …

Bob Bauer / Just Security:

The Charging Mystery in the Russia Indictments—And Its Indication of What Comes Next in the Mueller Investigation — The special counsel's indictment of Russian individuals and organizations brought campaign finance law for the first time into formal charges in the case. But this development came with a mystery.

Discussion: emptywheel

emptywheel:
What Did Mueller Achieve with the Internet Research Agency Indictment?

Discussion: Law & Crime, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Vox, VICE News, The Verge, BuzzFeed, U.S. Department of Justice and The Daily Signal, more at Techmeme »

Robert Barnes / Law & Crime:
Does Mueller Indictment Mean Clinton Campaign Can Be Indicted for Chris Steele?

Discussion: Power Line

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

No Country for Young Men With AR-15s — Four years ago the essayist Helen Andrews wrote a critique, for the religious journal First Things, of what she described as “bloodless moralism” — meaning the decay of public moral arguments into a kind of a vulgar empiricism, a mode of debate …

Bret Stephens / New York Times: To Repeat: Repeal the Second Amendment

David Leonhardt / New York Times: Letting American Kids Die

Josh Lederman / Associated Press:

Joe Biden, in public and private, tiptoes toward a 2020 run — WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Joe Biden is tiptoeing toward a potential run in 2020, even broaching the possibility during a recent gathering of longtime foreign policy aides. — Huddled in his newly opened office steps …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Stephanie Towers / WYFF-TV:

Greenville County teacher found partially undressed in SUV with student, charged with sex crimes, deputies say — Elizabeth Heaton Taylor was Greer High track coach — GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. — A Greenville County teacher and track coach at Greer High School has been charged …

Discussion: Greenville News, New York Post and Breitbart

Remy Smidt / BuzzFeed:

The Florida School Shooting Suspect Snapped Into A Jealous Rage When Another Student Began Dating His Ex-Girlfriend — Former friends and classmates of suspected Florida high school shooter Nikolas Cruz said they received threats from him shortly after a breakup. — Reporting From Parkland, Florida

Discussion: Mediaite, RedState, thecut, IJR and Washington Post

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Facebook Still Lying About Its Role in the 2016 Election — I flagged this on Twitter before President Trump started flogging it. But I'm not at all surprised that he did. Because, somewhat to my surprise, it revealed that Facebook seems still to be committed to lying, albeit now more artfully …

Discussion: CNBC, RedState, New York Magazine and IJR

Brandon Carter / The Hill:

Kushner requests more intel info than almost all White House staff: report — 's son-in-law and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner — has reportedly requested more intelligence information than almost every other White House official. — The Washington Post reports that Kushner …