memeorandum: Russia election: Vladimir Putin wins by big margin (BBC)

5:15 PM ET, March 18, 2018

Top Items:

Trump Assails Mueller, Drawing Rebukes From Republicans — WASHINGTON — President Trump appeared on Sunday to abandon a strategy of deferring to the special counsel examining Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, lashing out at what he characterized as a partisan investigation …

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Gowdy to Trump: ‘When you are innocent ... act like it’ — Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) urged President Donald Trump and his lawyer on Sunday to stop flailing at special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and to let the probe continue unimpeded. — “When you are innocent ... act like it …

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, Mother Jones, Realtime Politics, WPIX 11 New York, Political Wire, Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon, The Week and Politico

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

Trump said Mueller's team has ‘13 hardened Democrats.’ Here are the facts. … President Trump on Sunday renewed his attacks on the political affiliations of the members of the special counsel team investigating his 2016 campaign for possibly coordinating with Russia, alleging that the group has …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Talking Points Memo, CBS New York and Al Jazeera English

David Frum / The Atlantic:

Firing McCabe Is Just the Start — President Trump raged at his TV on Sunday morning. And yet on balance, he had a pretty good weekend. He got a measure of revenge upon the hated FBI, firing former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe two days before his pension vested.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, bizpacreview.com, WIS-TV, Washington Free Beacon, Power Line and CBS Los Angeles

Axios:

What McCabe told Mueller — Andrew McCabe says President Trump asked him: “What was it like when your wife lost? ... So tell me, what was it like to lose?” McCabe — the former FBI deputy director who was fired Friday night, 26 hours short of being eligible for a full pension …

Discussion: Breitbart, Politico, American Thinker, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Sputnik International, Power Line and bizpacreview.com

Emily Stewart / Vox:
Jeff Sessions may have violated his recusal pledge when he fired Andrew McCabe

Discussion: Forbes, Politico, Outside the Beltway, The Mahablog, Breitbart, bizpacreview.com and Realtime Politics

Kevin McCullough / Townhall.com: The Coming Collusion Bloodbath

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Trump rails against Mueller investigation, dismisses McCabe's notes as ‘Fake Memos’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, Axios, KTLA, Breitbart, Washington Times, Oxford Mail, Politico, Shareblue Media, The Gateway Pundit, NPR, Mother Jones, RedState, CNBC and Raw Story

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
James Comey's book is already a best seller, with Trump's help

Discussion: Breitbart, Raw Story, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Realtime Politics, bizpacreview.com, Mediaite and IJR

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Fact-checking Trump's error-filled tweetstorm about the Mueller probe

Discussion: Realtime Politics, Little Green Footballs, bizpacreview.com, The Gateway Pundit and RedState

Joseph Weber / Fox News:
Fired McCabe kept notes on Trump, as Comey did, and gave them to Special Counsel Mueller

Discussion: CNN, National Review, Mashable, bizpacreview.com, Fox News Insider, Hullabaloo, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, The Week and Breitbart

Bernard Condon / Associated Press:

AP Exclusive: Kushner Cos. filed false documents with NYC — NEW YORK (AP) — When the Kushner Cos. bought three apartment buildings in a gentrifying neighborhood of Queens in 2015, most of the tenants were protected by special rules that prevent developers from pushing them out, raising rents and turning a tidy profit.

Discussion: Mother Jones, RedState, Raw Story and Outside the Beltway

Reuters:

Exclusive: Sources contradict Sessions' testimony he opposed Russia outreach — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' testimony that he opposed a proposal for President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign team to meet with Russians has been contradicted by three people …

Discussion: New York Magazine, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Shareblue Media and Booman Tribune

Associated Press:

The Latest: Russian liberal candidate comes distant fourth — MOSCOW (AP) — The Latest on Russia's presidential election (all times local): — Ksenia Sobchak, a liberal challenger in Russia's presidential election who is a distant fourth in the early vote count, says she's satisfied with her campaign.

Discussion: Axios and Political Wire

BBC:
Russia election: Vladimir Putin wins by big margin

Discussion: ThinkProgress and RedState

Anton Troianovski / Washington Post:
Putin claims victory in Russia's presidential election

Discussion: The Root

Bloomberg: Putin Sweeps to New Term in Russia as Tensions Spiral With West

Reuters:
Putin wins Russia's presidential election: exit poll

Discussion: Politico

CNN: Vladimir Putin retains grip on Russia, exit polls show

Washington Post:

U.S. and British lawmakers demand answers from Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg … Lawmakers in the United States and Britain are calling on Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to explain how the names, preferences and other information from tens of millions of users ended …

more at Mediagazer »

Donie O'Sullivan / CNNMoney:

Facebook investigating employee's links to Cambridge Analytica — Social media giants grilled on ‘fake news’ — Facebook told CNN it is looking into ties between one of its current employees and Cambridge Analytica, the controversial data firm that worked for Donald Trump's presidential campaign …

Discussion: CNN

The Guardian:
Pressure mounts on Cambridge Analytica and Facebook over data scandal

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, New York Times, ThinkProgress, Recode, Spectator USA, Althouse, Refinery29, The Verge and The Week, more at Techmeme »

Mark Murray / NBC News:

Democrats hold double-digit lead for 2018 midterm elections — A new NBC News/WSJ poll also shows President Trump's approval ratings edging up — WASHINGTON — Democrats enjoy a 10-point advantage over Republicans in congressional preference for the 2018 midterm elections …

Discussion: CNBC, Outside the Beltway, Politicus USA, Vox, Political Wire and Axios

Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Regain Double-Digit Advantage Over GOP in Voter Sentiment Poll

Discussion: Politico

Ronald Radosh / The Daily Beast:
The Democrats' Only Hope: Give Up Leftism for Lambism

Discussion: Althouse and The Guardian

Terry Moran / ABC News:

Russian ex-spy's poisoning in UK believed from nerve agent in car vents; at least 38 others sickened: Sources — The Russian ex-spy who along with his daughter was poisoned by a nerve agent in the U.K. may have been exposed to the neurotoxin through his car's ventilation system, sources told ABC News.

Rory Smith / New York Times:
Memo to Theresa May: In Premier League, Russian Roots Run Deep

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Ellen Barry / New York Times:
Britain Says It Has Proof Russia Stockpiled Lethal Nerve Agent

Discussion: NPR, CANNONFIRE, Politico and Sputnik International

Anne Applebaum / Washington Post:
Why does Putin treat Britain with disdain? He thinks he's bought it.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and NPR

Rep. Keith Ellison:

I Have Fought Against Hate My Entire Career — Standing together when those who have never been on our side seek to divide us

Discussion: Front Page Magazine, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Doree Lewak / New York Post:

Women's March members bail over ties to Farrakhan — The Women's March — a civil-rights group at the center of protests against the Trump presidency — is losing top staffers and supporters over its leadership's refusal to denounce a racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic rant by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Washington Free Beacon and IJR

Larry Getlen / New York Post:

How McConnell and Chao used political power to make their family rich — Peter Schweizer, who delved into the Clinton Foundation's dealings in 2016's “Clinton Cash,” has turned his sights to the money-making machinations of DC's political elite. — His new book, “Secret Empires …

Discussion: Breitbart