memeorandum: The Stormy Daniels saga could turn into a big deal for Mueller's Trump probe, experts say (CNBC)

3:10 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: Forbes, TechCrunch, New York Times, Raw Story, Motherboard, The Ringer, The Verge, East Bay Times, Media Matters for America, New York Magazine and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Facebook:

Pursuing Forensic Audits to Investigate Cambridge Analytica Claims — We have hired a digital forensics firm, Stroz Friedberg, to conduct a comprehensive audit of Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica has agreed to comply and afford the firm complete access to their servers and systems.

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

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.

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: The Daily Beast and Axios, 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 …

Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:

Cambridge Analytica, Trump-Tied Political Firm, Offered to Entrap Politicians — WASHINGTON — Sitting in a hotel bar, Alexander Nix, who runs the political data firm Cambridge Analytica, had a few ideas for a prospective client looking for help in a foreign election.

Discussion: CNNMoney, Washington Post, Motherboard, CNBC, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, CBS Miami, Gizmodo, Meduza.io and Washington Monthly

Donie O'Sullivan / CNNMoney:
Exclusive: Scientist at center of Facebook-Cambridge Analytica controversy speaks

Discussion: Engadget, WPIX 11 New York, Gizmodo, Mashable and National Review

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

Discussion: CNNMoney, The Verge, TechCrunch, Politicus USA, Mashable, KTLA and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

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

Discussion: CNNMoney, USA Today and CBS Los Angeles

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

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

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

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

Jason Howerton / IJR:
Ex-Obama Campaign Director Drops Bombshell Claim on Facebook: ‘They Were on Our Side’

Discussion: Forbes, Breitbart, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Daily Caller, RedState and Daily Wire

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

New York Times:

Trump to Hire Lawyer Who Has Pushed Theory That Justice Dept. Framed the President — MANCHESTER, N.H. — President Trump has decided to hire the longtime Washington lawyer Joseph E. diGenova, who has pushed the theory on television that Mr. Trump was framed by F.B.I. and Justice Department officials …

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, New Republic and Realtime Politics

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

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

Discussion: Sara A. Carter, CBS News, Townhall.com, Washington Post, Shareblue Media, Vox, CBS Miami, Arizona Republic, Talking Points Memo, KTLA, Hit & Run, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, RedState and IJR

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

Discussion: Raw Story, Politicus USA, Media Matters for America, Wall Street Journal, American Prospect and Shareblue Media

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
GOP leaders give Trump a pass on Mueller attacks

Discussion: Breitbart, Outside the Beltway, emptywheel and Raw Story

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: Mashable, Gizmodo, The Week, The Verge, Motherboard, 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

Page Six:
Vanessa is divorcing Donald Trump Jr. because he's cheap

Discussion: thecut, The Root and Raw Story

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: Gizmodo, KNXV, The Verge, Above the Law, Grist, Motherboard, Joe.My.God., New York Magazine, The Week, Mediaite and KTLA, more at Techmeme »

Bloomberg:
Uber Halts Autonomous-Car Testing After Fatal Arizona Crash

Discussion: CNBC, Ars Technica, Hit & Run, Oxford Mail, Engadget, NBC News, The Verge, Breitbart, CBS Los Angeles, Axios, WPIX 11 New York, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, NPR, RedState, Mashable, NTK Network and FOX31 Denver

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Supreme Court refuses to stop new congressional maps in Pennsylvania — The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a request from Pennsylvania Republican legislative leaders to block the implementation of a redrawn congressional map that creates more parity between the political parties in the state.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Joe.My.God., ABC News, ThinkProgress, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politico and Political Wire

Philly.com:
Supreme Court upholds new Pa. congressional district map, rejecting Republican challenge

Discussion: Eschaton and The Atlantic

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 …

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: grubstreet and The Atlantic

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 …

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: The Week, more at Mediagazer »

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.

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: Vox, Breitbart, Splinter, New York Magazine, National Review and 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: CNN, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Reason, Mediaite, The Federalist and The Week

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, Watts Up With That?, Instapundit and twitchy.com

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Border wall Dreamers deal implodes — The White House and congressional Democrats traded immigration offers futilely over the weekend, according to three sources familiar with the talks, leaving little chance of an immediate deal to protect Dreamers. — The White House on Sunday …

Discussion: The Hill, Axios, Breitbart and Daily Kos

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

Maria LaMagna / MarketWatch:

The rise of ‘fake news’ is producing a record number of journalism majors — Zoe Ginsberg, an 18-year-old freshman journalism major at USC's Annenberg School, said she and her classmates have many discussions about the way media is perceived by both the public and politicians in recent years.

Discussion: Splinter, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Sons of Rich Black Families Fare No Better Than Sons of Working-Class Whites — Black boys raised in America, even in the wealthiest families and living in some of the most well-to-do neighborhoods, still earn less in adulthood than white boys with similar backgrounds, according to a sweeping …