memeorandum: Ryan Found Himself on the Margins as the G.O.P. Moved Right (New York Times)

7:10 AM ET, April 12, 2018

Top Items:

Trump Allies and House Republicans to Paul Ryan: Get Out Now … House Speaker Paul Ryan's retirement announcement Wednesday morning set off a round of heartburn within the White House and among its allies over the damage that may be done in what's left of his term.

Discussion: Politico, Axios, HuffPost and Washington Examiner

New York Times:

Ryan Found Himself on the Margins as the G.O.P. Moved Right — WASHINGTON — Paul D. Ryan took the helm of the House two and a half years ago, not because he wanted it, but because he was seen as the only lawmaker who could keep Republicans from devouring themselves.

Discussion: Raw Story, National Review, The Root, Rewire.News, The Week, Washington Post, Vox, The Daily Beast, Bustle, Grist, The American Conservative, The Ringer, No More Mister Nice Blog and CNN

Washington Post:

Trump chooses impulse over strategy as crises mount … In a White House known for chaos, the process of developing the U.S. response to the Syrian government's alleged latest gas attack was proceeding with uncharacteristic deliberation, including several national security briefings for President Trump.

Discussion: The Week

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

Paul Ryan implodes his party — ahead of schedule … Paul D. Ryan's face has always said more than his words. In the two years since the Republican Party takeover by Donald Trump, it has been a mask of anguish. — So it is no surprise that, come what may for House Republicans in the fall election …

Discussion: Salon and Outside the Beltway

Paul Ryan / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ‘I feel content that I have done my part; I am ready to move on’

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
House Speaker Paul Ryan was the biggest fraud in American politics

Discussion: Crooked Media, The Week and Splinter

Jamelle Bouie / Slate:
What Ryan Wrought — No one person bears singular blame …

Discussion: New Republic, CNN, Politico, The Atlantic, Vox, Hit & Run, Weekly Standard, The Nation, Daily Kos, Daily Wire, IJR and Mashable

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Fanatic, Fraud, Factotum: The Rise and Fall of Paul Ryan

Discussion: Washington Post, The Federalist and Lawyers, Guns & Money

John Podhoretz / Commentary Magazine:
The Ryan Retirement in Seven Points

Discussion: The Other McCain, Instapundit, New York Times, Townhall, Viking Pundit and ThinkProgress

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
1 in 8 House seats will have no incumbent on Election Day

Discussion: Fortune, Politico, Power Line and Daily Kos

Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
Paul Ryan Personifies the Devil's Bargain the GOP Struck With Trump

Discussion: The Hill, Hot Air, Washington Examiner, MSNBC, FiveThirtyEight, Washington Post, Hullabaloo, Politico, Mediaite, The Week, New York Magazine and Vox

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:
Paul Ryan's GOP swept away by a Trumpian revolution he could neither contain nor control

Discussion: American Greatness, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, NBC News and Balloon Juice

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

Bannon pitches White House on plan to cripple Mueller probe and protect Trump … Stephen K. Bannon, who was ousted as White House chief strategist last summer but has remained in touch with some members of President Trump's circle, is pitching a plan to West Wing aides and congressional allies …

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Mediaite, The Week, Washington Press, CNBC, emptywheel, Raw Story and Political Wire

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Justice Dept. turns over document that launched Russia probe — A day after Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, threatened the impeachment of FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Justice Department on Wednesday turned …

Discussion: The Hill, Townhall, Daily Kos and The Atlantic

New York Times:

Raid on Trump's Lawyer Sought Records on ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape — The F.B.I. agents who raided the office and hotel of President Trump's lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, were seeking details on his relationship with the Trump campaign and his efforts to suppress negative information about Mr. Trump …

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
3 things we want to know about Michael Cohen and the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, CNBC, Bustle, The Gateway Pundit and Law & Crime

CNN:
FBI sought Trump's communications with his personal lawyer regarding Access Hollywood

Discussion: Politico, National Review, Raw Story, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway and Bloomberg, more at Mediagazer »

Alan Dershowitz / Fox News:
Why the FBI raid on Trump's lawyer hurts all of us

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Associated Press:

$30,000 rumor? Tabloid paid for, spiked, salacious Trump tip — NEW YORK (AP) — Eight months before the company that owns the National Enquirer paid $150,000 to a former Playboy Playmate who claimed she'd had an affair with Donald Trump, the tabloid's parent made a $30,000 payment …

more at Mediagazer »

Ronan Farrow / New Yorker:

The National Enquirer, a Trump Rumor, and Another Secret Payment to Buy Silence — Late in 2015, a former Trump Tower doorman named Dino Sajudin met with a reporter from American Media, Inc., the publisher of the National Enquirer, at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania.

Kansas City Star:

Woman: Sexual encounter with Greitens was not consensual. Lawmakers find her credible — When she tried to leave, sobbing after a non-consensual sexual encounter, she says the man who would be governor physically stopped her. — What happened next, she testified under oath …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, RRH Elections, CNBC, ThinkProgress and Hot Air

Rebecca Berg / CNN:
Report: Woman says Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens coerced her into sexual encounter

Discussion: Law & Crime, The Daily Caller and CBS News

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Woman testifies that Greitens groped and hit her; governor blasts ‘lies’ and ‘tabloid trash’

Discussion: Kansas City Star, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Kansas City Star:
Missouri legislators call on Gov. Greitens to resign in wake of bombshell report

Discussion: Bustle and Vox

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Pompeo failed to disclose Chinese business connection — WASHINGTON — CIA Director Mike Pompeo failed to disclose last year that he owned a Kansas business that imported oilfield equipment from a company owned by the Chinese government. — That omission, on the questionnaire Pompeo …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Week, AOL, The American Conservative, New York Times, Washington Press and VICE News

Ryan Grim / The Intercept:
Mike Pompeo Could Go Down If Senate Democrats Decide to Fight

Discussion: Common Dreams, CNN and Axios

Henry C. Jackson / Politico:
Pompeo to downplay hawkish rep in face-off with senators

Discussion: Axios

New York Times:

Scott Pruitt's Idea to Update an E.P.A. Keepsake: Less E.P.A., More Pruitt — When Scott Pruitt wanted to refashion the Environmental Protection Agency's “challenge coin” — a type of souvenir medallion with military origins that has become a status symbol among civilians …

Discussion: New York Magazine, CNN, Mashable, The Daily Caller, Earther, Splinter, Axios and Mediaite

Jacqueline Alemany / CBS News:

Here are some of the threats made against EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt — CBS News has obtained an August 2017 report prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency's office of inspector general that contains a list of 13 threats made against EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and his family.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and New York Magazine

CNN:

Firing Rosenstein would cross a red line for the rule of law — Source: Trump considering firing Rosenstein — Fred Wertheimer is the founder and president of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to promote government accountability and integrity.

Discussion: Bloomberg, CBS Los Angeles, KTLA, Fox News Insider, Common Dreams, Washington Post and The Atlantic

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Senate panel moves to take up bill protecting Mueller

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Washington Monthly and Political Wire

Pierre Thomas / ABC News:
Roger Stone to Trump: Don't fire Mueller

Discussion: The Week

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.:

California Responds to Federal Request for National Guard Personnel — SACRAMENTO - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today responded to the federal government's request for additional California National Guard personnel with the following letter. The accompanying agreement …

Discussion: Conservative News Today, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Louder With Crowder, CNBC, Politico, Sean Hannity, Axios and ABC News

KQCA-TV:
California's governor agrees to deploy 400 National Guard troops at Trump's request

Discussion: NPR and TheBlaze

Cindy Adams / Page Six:

Women are lining up to date Rudy Giuliani — The about-to-be-consciously uncoupled Rudy Giuliani is coming off to Upper East Side sex kittens like catnip. They're purring at him. Sidling — if not actually front-ling — in his direction. — It seems power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Brian X. Chen / New York Times:

I Downloaded the Information That Facebook Has on Me. Yikes. — When I downloaded a copy of my Facebook data last week, I didn't expect to see much. My profile is sparse, I rarely post anything on the site, and I seldom click on ads. (I'm what some call a Facebook “lurker.")

more at Techmeme »

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed: Facebook Crossed The Creepy Line And Can't Go Back

Erick Erickson / TheResurgent.com:

A Congressman's Profanity Laced Tirade in a Safeway Grocery Store — One of the President's congressional defenders has privately decided he hates Trump and wants to unload. — “If we're going to lose because of him, we might as well impeach the motherf**ker,” said the congressman …

Discussion: The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Press, Hot Air, Conservative News Today, The American Conservative, Mother Jones, American Greatness, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, Mediaite and Political Wire

Christina Capatides / CBS News:

Single mom of five goes viral with inspiring law school graduation photo — Ieshia Champs has wanted to be a lawyer since she was 7 years old. In her teenage years, however, the odds began stacking up against her and it appeared that her dream might be permanently out of reach.

Tim Mak / NPR:

NRA, In New Document, Acknowledges More Than 20 Russian-Linked Contributors — The National Rifle Association has accepted contributions from about 23 Russians, or Americans living in Russia, since 2015, the gun rights group acknowledged to Congress. — The NRA said in a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, ABC News, Washington Press, twitchy.com, MSNBC, BloombergQuint, Front Page Magazine, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Political Wire

CNN:

Deputy national security adviser Nadia Schadlow resigns — Washington (CNN)Nadia Schadlow, the US deputy national security adviser for strategy, has resigned and will leave her position at the end of the month, multiple administration officials told CNN. — Schadlow is the third senior …

Discussion: Washington Press, Washington Free Beacon and Daily Kos

Bloomberg:
Trump Ordered DOJ to Hire Controversial Former Aide, Sources Say

Discussion: Shakesville, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo

Cristina Maza / Newsweek:

RUSSIA PREPARES FOR WAR WITH U.S., INSTRUCTING CITIZENS TO BUY WATER AND GAS MASKS — Claiming that some Americans are preparing for a coming war with Moscow, Russian state-owned television explained to the country's residents how to stock their bunkers with water and basic foodstuffs in case a war breaks out.

Discussion: Task & Purpose, RT, Politico, ABC News, Spectator USA and CNN

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Stephanopoulos: Comey compared Trump to a ‘mob boss’ … Ex-FBI Director James Comey — compared President Trump — to a “mob boss” in a taped interview with ABC News, according to a promotional video released Wednesday. — “How strange is it for you to sit here and compare the president …

Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:

Zuckerberg Gets More Questions About Diamond & Silk Than Facebook's Role in Myanmar Genocide … When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Capitol Hill this week, he was bound to face a variety of difficult questions ranging from his company's handling of user information to the proliferation of fake news over its pages.