memeorandum: Trump to ask for tougher penalties for opioid trafficking — but no change in death penalty (Gregory Korte/USA Today)

9:50 PM ET, March 18, 2018

Top Items:

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Newly Emboldened, Trump Says What He Really Feels — For months, President Trump's legal advisers implored him to avoid so much as mentioning the name of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, in his tweets, and to do nothing to provoke him or suggest his investigation is not proper.

Discussion: Political Wire

Peter Baker / New York Times:

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 …

Kevin McCullough / Townhall.com:

The Coming Collusion Bloodbath — The firing of Andrew McCabe, the discovery of his “private notes,” the ill-tempered response by other Obama loyalists and a yet to be disclosed Inspector General's report on an investigation that began before Donald Trump had come to office are all pieces …

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: Axios, Realtime Politics, CANNONFIRE, Breitbart, Political Wire, WPIX 11 New York, Washington Free Beacon and Politico

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: CNN, bizpacreview.com, Washington Free Beacon, Daily Wire and Mediaite

Jennifer Hansler / CNN:
Graham: Trump firing Mueller would be ‘the beginning of the end of his presidency’

Discussion: NPR, Mother Jones, Politico, The Week and ABC News

The Daily Beast:
Team Trump: Expect Trump to Attack Mueller More Directly

Discussion: Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Shareblue Media and Politico

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:
Trump said Mueller's team has ‘13 hardened Democrats.’ Here are the facts.

Discussion: Fox News, Politico, CBS New York and Talking Points Memo

Timothy Meads / Townhall.com:
Sen. Graham: It's ‘Beginning of End’ for Trump Presidency If Mueller Is Fired

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Hill, Washington Post and CNN

Eli Watkins / CNN:
Republicans warn Trump

Discussion: The Hill, NBC News, Shareblue Media, Raw Story and fox8.com

Michael Goodwin / New York Post: A second special counsel should be investigating the FBI leaks

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

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, KTLA, The Gateway Pundit, Realtime Politics, RedState, bizpacreview.com, Mother Jones, WIS-TV and Little Green Footballs

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

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

Axios:
What McCabe told Mueller

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Times, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, American Thinker, Sputnik International, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Mediaite and Power Line

Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:

Trump had senior staff sign nondisclosure agreements. They're supposed to last beyond his presidency. … Back in April 2016, when the notion of Donald Trump in the White House still seemed fanciful, The Post's Robert Costa and Bob Woodward sat down with Trump, and Costa, at one point …

Discussion: The Hill, RedState, Politicus USA, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, Raw Story and Mediaite

Financial Times:

Cambridge Analytica scrambles to halt Channel 4 exposé — Cambridge Analytica, the data firm alleged to have used the personal information of millions of Facebook users without their knowledge in its work for Donald Trump's election campaign, is trying to stop the broadcast …

Discussion: BostonGlobe.com, Raw Story and Mediaite

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: KTLA and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

Facebook may have violated FTC privacy deal, say former federal officials, triggering risk of massive fines … Two former federal officials who crafted the landmark consent decree governing how Facebook handles user privacy say the company may have violated that decree when it shared information …

Discussion: Axios and Engadget, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:
U.S. and British lawmakers demand answers from Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg

Discussion: The Guardian, Balkinization and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »

Will Bunch / Philly.com:
How your Facebook ‘likes’ helped Trump steal the 2016 election | Will Bunch

Discussion: CNNMoney, Zero Hedge, The Daily Beast, CNBC, New York Times, The Atlantic and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »

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: Washington Post, New York Magazine, RedState, Mother Jones, Outside the Beltway and Raw Story

Washington Post:

D.C. lawmaker says recent snowfall caused by ‘Rothschilds controlling the climate’ … A D.C. lawmaker responded to a brief snowfall Friday by publishing a video in which he espoused a conspiracy theory that Jewish financiers control the weather. — D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

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: Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Shareblue Media and Booman Tribune

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Gowdy to Trump's lawyer: If you have an innocent client, act like it

Discussion: RedState and The Week

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 Western Journal and Mediaite

Doree Lewak / New York Post:
Women's March members bail over ties to Farrakhan

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, IJR and Washington Free Beacon

Dan Diamond / Politico:

White House tweaks plan to seek death penalty as part of opioid response — President Donald Trump's plan to fight the opioid epidemic will call for the death penalty in some cases, White House officials said Sunday, scaling back the administration's plan to punish drug dealers.

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios and Mediaite

Gregory Korte / USA Today: Trump to ask for tougher penalties for opioid trafficking — but no change in death penalty

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

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