memeorandum: Republicans warn Trump against axing Mueller (Kyle Cheney/Politico)

3:20 PM ET, April 10, 2018

Top Items:

Raid on Trump's Lawyer Sought Records of Payments to Women — WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. agents who raided the office of President Trump's personal lawyer on Monday were looking for records about payments to two women who claim they had affairs with Mr. Trump, and information related …

Discussion: RedState, Politico, CNN, Washington Post, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Vox, The Guardian, Axios, CNBC, NPR, Washington Press, ThinkProgress, IJR, Washington Times, Raw Story, Daily Kos, MSNBC, Daily Wire, Political Wire, The Week, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, Townhall and The Daily Caller

Ken White / New York Times:

Why the F.B.I. Raid Is Perilous for Michael Cohen — and Trump — After a year of almost weekly revelations about Robert Mueller's investigation of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, even indictments and guilty pleas of campaign officials have grown familiar. It's not that the special counsel …

Discussion: Above the Law

CNN:

FBI raid targeted records of payments to porn star, ex-Playmate — Washington (CNN)The FBI raid on President Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen sought information that included payments allegedly made to keep women silent about affairs with Trump more than a decade ago.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Washington Post, Political Wire, CNBC, Daily Kos, The Week, Raw Story, KTLA, Wall Street Journal and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Mueller Investigating Ukrainian's $150,000 Payment for a Trump Appearance — WASHINGTON — The special counsel is investigating a payment made to President Trump's foundation by a Ukrainian steel magnate for a talk during the campaign, according to three people briefed on the matter …

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:

US Attorney, Trump appointee, recused from Michael Cohen investigation — ABC News has learned that Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, is recused from the Michael Cohen investigation. — Two sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News Berman …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Associated Press, CNN, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, ThinkProgress, Reason, Law & Crime, Raw Story and Political Wire

Michael Rothfeld / Wall Street Journal:

Feds Seek Stormy Daniels Documents Tied to Trump Organization — Request comes in connection with FBI raids of lawyer Michael Cohen — Federal prosecutors in New York asked the Trump Organization, President Donald Trump's flagship company, for records relating to a $130,000 payment …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Mike Allen / Axios:

Inside the West Wing with Trump enraged — Sources close to the president say that a political dispute with special counsel Robert Mueller has turned visceral and personal after the feds' raid on the New York offices of Michael Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer and fixer.

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, Washington Monthly, mwe.com, Raw Story, Media Matters for America, Bustle, The Week, Splinter, The Hill, Politico, The Daily Beast, Mediaite and Fox News Insider

Jonah Goldberg / National Review:

The Cohen Raid — This is one of the rare moments in the Trump Wars where everybody is right. The raid on Michael Cohen's office is a big deal. For much — but not all — of the MAGA crowd, this is the last straw, a rogue prosecutor violating the cherished rights of a citizen, never mind the president.

Discussion: Daily Wire, Instapundit and The Gateway Pundit

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Republicans warn Trump against axing Mueller — Republicans are mounting an urgent defense of special counsel Robert Mueller in the face of President Donald Trump's latest attacks, with one key senator leading a renewed push to protect him and other GOP lawmakers arguing the special counsel's report …

Discussion: Vox

The Daily Beast:

Feds Are Treating Michael Cohen Like a Mob Lawyer, Trump Allies Say … Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are treating Michael Cohen like he's a lawyer for the mob. That's how seasoned white collar defense attorneys describe the raid on Cohen's office, home, and hotel room conducted on April.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Breitbart, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, New York Times, The Week, Daily Wire and Mediaite

Melanie Schmitz / ThinkProgress:
The other woman central to the FBI raid on Trump's lawyer

Discussion: CNBC, The Week, Washington Press, CBS News and Mediaite

John Santucci / ABC News:
President Trump ‘less inclined’ to sit down with special counsel for interview after raid on personal attorney: Sources

Discussion: Political Wire and Associated Press

Byron York / Washington Examiner: Lots of Mueller action, but what about collusion?

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
Michael Cohen Has a Big Problem

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Townhall, USA Today, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Daily Wire, MSNBC, NBC News and Bustle

Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Playbook: Top Trump economic adviser looking for the exits

Discussion: Washington Post, Law & Crime, RedState, Raw Story, Mediaite, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Political Wire and Talking Points Memo

Quint Forgey / Politico:
Grassley: ‘It would be suicide’ for Trump to talk of Mueller firing

Discussion: Washington Post, Political Wire and Breitbart

Jonathan Turley / The Hill:
Trump must beware the Cohen trap

Discussion: AOL and Fox News Insider

Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:
FBI Raid on Michael Cohen Is the Most Dangerous Day of Donald Trump's Life

Discussion: Raw Story and Daily Kos

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Trump attorney Cohen is being investigated for possible bank fraud, campaign finance violations

Fox News Insider:
Sen. Paul: FBI Raid on Trump's Attorney Was ‘Great Overstep’ by Mueller

Discussion: New York Times, Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly:
Tracking the Developing Story About the FBI's Raid of Michael Cohen's Offices (Updated)

Discussion: USA Today and Weekly Standard

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“He's Sitting There Bitching and Moaning”: Inside Trumpworld, Allies Fear the Boss Could Go Postal and Fire Mueller — Trump's friends say the president is “dry tinder” awaiting a match. Meanwhile, his latest hires are already creating new management nightmares for John Kelly.

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:
White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert resigns

Discussion: Political Wire and The Guardian

Ryan Parker / Hollywood Reporter:

T.J. Miller Arrested for Allegedly Calling in a Fake Bomb Threat — The former ‘Silicon Valley’ star was released on a $100,000 bond. — Todd Joseph “T.J.” Miller was taken into custody Monday night at LaGuardia Airport, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Bustle, Mashable and The Week

U.S. Department of Justice:
New York Man Charged with Calling in False Bomb Threat from Amtrak Train

Discussion: Deadspin and IndieWire

TMZ.com:
T.J. Miller Arrested for Giving Feds False Info About Amtrak Bomb Threat

Discussion: Raw Story

Sam Reilly / ABC News:

Tennessee college student defends her gun-toting ‘graduation’ photo — Amid a youth-driven gun control debate that has swarmed social media, a college senior in Tennessee is defending the provocative photo she posted of her packing a handgun with the caption, “I don't take normal graduation photos ...”

Discussion: RedState, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, AOL and The Daily Caller

Fox News: Tennessee college senior defends posing for graduation picture with gun in her waistband

Erin Banco / New Jersey Online:

The Trump Russia probe is expanding, as Mueller looks into new meetings in Seychelles: exclusive — Special counsel Robert Mueller's team is examining a series of previously unreported meetings that took place in 2017 in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Vox

Jon Swaine / The Guardian:

Sinclair TV chairman to Trump: ‘We are here to deliver your message’ — The rightwing broadcaster met Trump at the White House to pitch a potentially lucrative new product to officials … The chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group met Donald Trump at the White House during a visit to pitch …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Splinter, CNNMoney and ThinkProgress, more at Mediagazer »

Jason Schwartz / Politico:
Sinclair CEO says ‘extremists’ trying to bully company

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post, The Root, Deadspin, Deadline and AOL, more at Mediagazer »

Ken Sweet / Associated Press:

Under Trump, a voice for the American consumer goes silent — NEW YORK (AP) — In the 135 days since the Trump administration took control of the nation's consumer watchdog agency, it has not recorded a single enforcement action against banks, credit card companies, debt collectors or any finance companies whatsoever.

Discussion: Vox and Reuters

Courtney Kube / NBC News:

Russia has figured out how to jam U.S. drones in Syria, officials say — WASHINGTON — The Russian military has been jamming some U.S. military drones operating in the skies over Syria, seriously affecting American military operations, according to four U.S. officials.

Discussion: Axios, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, IJR, Defense One, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, The Week, Political Wire and Washington Times

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:

Republicans are worried about the quality of their Senate challengers — Republicans fear the party could blow a golden opportunity to pad its 51-49 Senate majority after watching a collection of underwhelming candidates emerge as the likely nominees in key contests.

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Senate leadership shakeup looms for Republicans

Discussion: Political Wire

Nahal Toosi / Politico:

Pompeo asks Clinton for advice as he preps for confirmation battle — As a sharply partisan Republican member of Congress, CIA Director Mike Pompeo tormented former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over her response to the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, which Pompeo called “morally reprehensible.”

Discussion: Splinter, Talking Points Memo, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mediaite and CNN

Hannah Allam / BuzzFeed:

State And Local Republican Officials Have Been Bashing Muslims. We Counted. — A BuzzFeed News analysis found that Republican officials in 49 states have openly attacked Muslims with words and proposed legislation since 2015, and few have faced repercussions. — Talal Ansari

Harvard University:

Institute of Politics Spring 2018 Youth Poll — Spring 2018 marks the 35th National Youth Poll conducted by the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School examining the political opinions and civic engagement of young Americans ages 18 to 29. Since its conception …

Discussion: Townhall, Bloomberg, Washington Post and Political Wire

Alvin Chang / Vox:

The Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, explained with a simple diagram — A visual of how it all fits together. — There is a complicated web of relationships that explains how the Trump campaign, via the help of a political consulting firm, was able to harvest raw data …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Raw Story, CNNMoney, One America News Network, The Week and The Verge

Kevin Poulsen / The Daily Beast:

Zuckerberg Gaslights Congress Before The Hearings Even Start … Facebook was warned five years ago that the “reverse-lookup” feature in its search engine could be used to harvest names, profiles, and phone numbers for virtually all its users. But the company ignored the red flags until last week, after it happened.

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, Breitbart, One America News Network and Politico, more at Techmeme »

David Bauder / Associated Press:

Fox News giving bigger role to ex-Bush aide Perino — NEW YORK (AP) — When Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg made the media rounds in advance of Mark Zuckerberg's congressional testimony this week, it was a telling sign that Dana Perino was chosen to question her for Fox News Channel.

Judy Kurtz / The Hill:

Queen Elizabeth likens Trump to noisy helicopter — Queen Elizabeth II is comparing President Trump — to a noisy helicopter, quipping that the commander in chief goes “round and round when you want to talk.” — The British monarch made the crack while filming a documentary …

Discussion: The Independent, ITV, Bustle, IJR, Politico and The Week

Alison Flood / The Guardian:

The Fall of Gondolin, ‘new’ JRR Tolkien book, to be published in 2018 — Edited by his son Christopher, Tolkien's tale of a reluctant hero defending a city was written while the author was in hospital after the Battle of the Somme … JRR Tolkien's The Fall of Gondolin, his tale of a beautiful …

Discussion: Polygon, Bustle and Mashable

Marwa Eltagouri / Washington Post:

One of America's least-favorite candies is suddenly its most sought after. Here's why. … Word that the country's oldest continuously operating candy company might shut down has people suddenly hoarding Necco Wafers, despite the candy's unpopularity among, well, almost everyone.

Discussion: WPIX 11 New York

Borys Kit / Hollywood Reporter:

Damian Lewis to Play Controversial Ex-Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in Drama — The movie, ‘Run This Town,’ also will star Ben Platt, Nina Dobrev and Mena Massoud. — Rob Ford, the controversial former mayor of Toronto, is getting the big-screen treatment. — Damian Lewis is portraying Ford …

Discussion: Boing Boing

Angela Fritz / Washington Post:

From 75 degrees to 45 in one day, the Northeast is about to experience extreme weather whiplash … For all intents and purposes, this weekend is going to be summer. Temperatures are going to hit 80 degrees as far north as Massachusetts. If pools were open already, it might be a nice weekend …

Douglas Hanks / miamiherald:

To avoid Miami courtroom, Marlins claim citizenship in the British Virgin Islands — Root, root, root for the ... international offshore holding corporation? — The Miami Marlins are claiming corporate citizenship in the British Virgin Islands in an effort to have a federally appointed arbitrator …

Discussion: Deadspin and AOL