memeorandum: A Parable of Self-Destruction (Nicholas Kristof/New York Times)

8:05 AM ET, March 20, 2018

Top Items:

Revealed: Trump's election consultants filmed saying they use bribes and sex workers to entrap politicians — Senior executives at Cambridge Analytica - the data company that credits itself with Donald Trump's presidential victory - have been secretly filmed saying they could entrap politicians …

Todd J. Gillman / Dallas Morning News:

Ted Cruz under fire in Cambridge Analytica scandal; firm targeted voters with data from 50M Facebook users — WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz is under fire for his connections with a voter targeting firm that used data taken from 50 million Facebook users without their knowledge.

Discussion: New Republic, The Daily Beast, BuzzMachine, Politico, New York Times, TechCrunch, Fortune, Raw Story, Engadget, The Ringer, Motherboard, The Verge and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:

Tillis may have benefited from Facebook data breach — RALEIGH, N.C. — The data firm accused of stealing the private information of more than 50 million Facebook users may have used that information to help U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis win his seat in 2014. — North Carolina voters were among …

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Rebekah Mercer Standing By Cambridge Analytica After Blackmail Scandal … Billionaire heiress Rebekah Mercer is standing by embattled data firm Cambridge Analytica—at least for now. A person close to Mercer, who sits on the firm's board, told The Daily Beast she has no immediate plans …

Discussion: ABC News, Axios and The Daily Beast, more at Techmeme »

Zeynep Tufekci / New York Times:

Facebook's Surveillance Machine — In 2014, Cambridge Analytica, a voter-profiling company that would later provide services for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, reached out with a request on Amazon's “Mechanical Turk” platform, an online marketplace where people around the world contract with others to perform various tasks.

Facebook:
Pursuing Forensic Audits to Investigate Cambridge Analytica Claims

Discussion: The Guardian, Mashable, Mediaite, New York Times, Washington Post, Oxford Mail, The Verge, Vox, Engadget, Politico, Gizmodo, Axios, ThinkProgress and Reuters, more at Mediagazer »

Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:
Cambridge Analytica, Trump-Tied Political Firm, Offered to Entrap Politicians

Discussion: CNNMoney, Washington Post, Motherboard, Hit & Run, Forbes, Gizmodo, ThinkProgress, CNBC and CBS Miami

Michael Brendan Dougherty / National Review:
The Social-Media Panic

Discussion: Mashable, Forbes, Daily Wire, Big Think, Media Matters for America, Daily Kos and Hudson Institute

Julia Carrie Wong / The Guardian:
Where's Zuck? Facebook CEO silent as data harvesting scandal unfolds

Discussion: CNNMoney, Forbes, TechCrunch, The Verge, New York Times, Politicus USA, KTLA, Media Matters for America, Business Insider, CNBC and Daily Kos

Jason Howerton / IJR:
Ex-Obama Campaign Director: It's ‘Unfair’ Facebook Let Us ‘Ingest Entire Social Network of US’

Discussion: Front Page Magazine, USA Today, CNNMoney, CBS Los Angeles, The Rush Limbaugh Show, RedState, Daily Wire and Bloomberg

Joe Uchill / Axios:
Cambridge Analytica creator has State Department contract

Discussion: One America News Network, Defense One and Washington Post

Major Garrett / CBS News:
Trump campaign phased out use of Cambridge Analytica data before election

Discussion: East Bay Times, RedState, TechCrunch and New York Magazine

New York Times:

Trump Considers Reshuffling Legal Team as He Takes On Mueller More Aggressively — WASHINGTON — President Trump's legal team was poised for a shake-up on Monday, according to two people briefed on the matter, as he openly discussed firing one of his lawyers, another considered resigning and a third …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Mediaite and ThinkProgress

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:

Trump's lawyers have turned over documents to Mueller with hopes of limiting interview scope … President Trump's attorneys have provided the special counsel's office with written descriptions that chronicle key moments under investigation in hopes of curtailing the scope of a presidential interview …

Discussion: Raw Story, Politicus USA, Shareblue Media, New York Magazine, East Bay Times, CNN, Splinter, Washington Times, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Political Wire

CNN:

Mueller team gives Trump lawyers more details of what they want to talk to President about — WaPo: Trump lawyers try to limit interview — (CNN)As President Donald Trump's reaction to special counsel Robert Mueller grows more irate by the day, attorneys on both sides sat down last week …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, Salon, Talking Points Memo and New Republic

CNBC:

The Stormy Daniels saga could turn into a big deal for Mueller's Trump probe, experts say — Porn star Stormy Daniels is suing President Trump to void a non-disclosure agreement barring her from discussing an alleged affair with Trump. — Asked whether he has been contacted …

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:
Trump shakes up team of lawyers as legal threats mount

Discussion: Raw Story, Associated Press and Media Matters for America

New York Times:
Trump to Hire Lawyer Who Has Pushed Theory That Justice Dept. Framed the President

CNN:
Republicans say Congress doesn't need to pass law protecting Mueller

Discussion: The Week, The Daily Beast, Sara A. Carter, Townhall.com, Politicus USA, Shareblue Media, Washington Post, Vox, CBS News, Arizona Republic, Talking Points Memo, KTLA, Hit & Run, Hullabaloo, Politico, Mediaite, Breitbart, IJR, RedState and New Republic

Ted Barrett / CNN:
Why McConnell hasn't said anything on Trump's Mueller attacks

Discussion: CBS Miami

New York Times:

Facebook Security Chief Said to Leave After Clashes Over Disinformation — Facebook's chief information security officer, Alex Stamos, will leave the company after internal disagreements over how the social network should deal with its role in spreading disinformation, according to current and former employees briefed on the matter.

Discussion: Axios, CNBC, New York Magazine, Gizmodo, The Week, Mashable, Motherboard, The Verge, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Engadget and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Page Six:

Donald Trump Jr. romanced Aubrey O'Day during marriage to Vanessa — Years before Vanessa Trump filed for divorce from Donald Trump Jr., their marriage was rocked when Don Jr. fell in love with a contestant on NBC's “The Celebrity Apprentice.” — Page Six has exclusively learned that Don Jr. …

Discussion: East Bay Times and TMZ.com

Sarah Hearon / Us Weekly:
Donald Trump Jr. Had an Affair With ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ Contestant Aubrey O'Day During Marriage to Vanessa

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and The Root

Andrew Exum / The Atlantic:

One Morning in Baghdad — One morning in October 2003, I was shaken out of bed by an explosion. I was in Baghdad, leading a platoon of Army Rangers as part of a special operations task force that was hunting down the famous “deck of cards”—the last of the Ba'ath Regime loyalists, and Saddam himself.

Sinan Antoon / New York Times: Fifteen Years Ago, America Destroyed My Country

Jeff Daniels / CNBC:

Californians fed up with housing costs and taxes are fleeing state in big numbers — More Californians are moving from the Golden State, particularly lower-income residents, although even middle-class residents are saying goodbye. — Census Bureau data show California lost …

Washington Post:

Package believed to be bound for Austin explodes at Texas FedEx facility, police say … A package believed to be bound for Austin exploded at a Texas FedEx facility early Tuesday, law enforcement officials said, opening another potential front in investigations into of a series of blasts …

Discussion: The Texas Tribune, Politico, Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, Axios and ABC News

Paul Dorian / Vencore Weather:

2:10 PM | *****Mixed precipitation on Tuesday to be followed by a major snowstorm for the I-95 corridor***** — 12Z NAM (12-km) loop of surface forecast maps from hour 21 (5AM Tuesday) to hour 66 (2AM Thursday) in 1-hour increments until hour 24 and then 3-hour increments thereafter.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

The Weinstein Co. Declares Bankruptcy — The Weinstein Co. announced Monday that it had filed for bankruptcy, finding itself unable to survive the allegations of sexual abuse leveled against co-founder Harvey Weinstein last fall. — The company may yet be able to reorganize and continue …

Discussion: IndieWire, thecut and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Stuart Rothenberg / Roll Call:

Insiders See Democratic House Gains of 30-45 seats — Polling, election results, fundraising tend to point in one direction — Pennsylvania 18: A Red Flag for the GOP Analysis: Why the Gun Issue Has Shifted (It's Not What You Think) Analysis: Will the Suburbs Flip the House? Watch These Seats

Danielle Paquette / Washington Post:

Lawsuit accuses celebrity chef Mike Isabella of ‘extraordinary’ sexual harassment … Celebrity chef Mike Isabella, the head of a $30 million culinary empire based in the nation's capital, was sued Monday by a former top manager who claims that Isabella and his partners repeatedly sexually harassed her in the workplace.

Discussion: Eater, grubstreet and The Atlantic

Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:

A Parable of Self-Destruction — EASTER ISLAND — This remote speck in the South Pacific is famous for its colossal stone statues, nearly 1,000 of them towering over the landscape like guardians. — Who built them? How did they get there? And who fitted some of them with giant red stone hats weighing up to 12 tons each?

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Althouse, Watts Up With That?, Instapundit and twitchy.com

The Daily Beast:

Kamala Harris Has Been Shopping a Book and Fueling 2020 Talk … Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), a rising star in the Democratic ranks often spoken about as a potential presidential challenger in 2020, shopped a book to a number of New York publishers as recently as a month ago, The Daily Beast has learned.

Discussion: Political Wire

The Intercept:

Before He Was FBI Director, Chris Wray Supervised an Investigation That Found Erik Prince Likely Broke U.S. Law — Photo illustration: Elise Swain for The Intercept/Getty Images — As a private attorney in 2016, FBI director Chris Wray supervised a team of lawyers that informed …

Daisuke Wakabayashi / New York Times:

Self-Driving Uber Car Kills Arizona Pedestrian — The Bits newsletter will keep you updated on the latest from Silicon Valley and the technology industry. — You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. — SEE SAMPLE - MANAGE EMAIL PREFERENCES - NOT YOU?

Discussion: The Atlantic, Bloomberg, NPR, CNBC, Outside the Beltway, The Verge, Above the Law, Gizmodo, Grist, Motherboard, KNXV, Joe.My.God., New York Magazine, The Week, Mediaite and KTLA, more at Techmeme »

Bloomberg:

Claire's Becomes Latest Retailer to Go Bankrupt — Ear piercing couldn't immunize it against falling mall traffic — Group led by Elliott to help fund restructuring plan — Claire's Stores Inc., known for tween jewelry and ear piercing, has become the latest victim of the retail apocalypse.

Discussion: The Week

Emily Jane Fox / Vanity Fair:

“I Have Never Threatened Her in Any Way”: Michael Cohen Offers His Side of the Stormy Daniels Saga — A week before Stephanie Clifford's widely anticipated interview with Anderson Cooper, Trump's longtime personal lawyer proclaims his innocence—and his unbreakable bond with his old boss.

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, CNN, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Reason, The Federalist and The Week

Michael S. Rosenwald / Washington Post:

The Rothschilds, a pamphlet by ‘Satan’ and conspiracy theories tied to a battle 200 years ago … In early 2011, a branch of the very rich Rothschild family bought a controlling stake in Weather Central, a provider of weather forecasts to hundreds of broadcasters.

Discussion: New York Post, Vox, Breitbart, Hit & Run, Tablet Magazine and Splinter

John Verhovek / ABC News:

5 things to watch for in the Illinois primary — In one of ABC News' “18 for '18” races, the fight for the identity of the Democratic Party between its progressive and establishment wings has spilled into Illinois 3rd Congressional District where Blue Dog Democrat Dan Lipinski is facing …