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

1:00 AM ET, April 12, 2018

Top Items:

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, Political Wire, Washington Press, CNBC, The Week, Raw Story, emptywheel and Mediaite

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

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: Townhall, The Hill, Daily Kos and The Atlantic

CNN:
Deputy national security adviser Nadia Schadlow resigns

Discussion: Washington Press, Washington Free Beacon and Daily Kos

CNN:
Kelly cedes control to new faces amid latest Trump tumult

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite and The American Conservative

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Shakesville and New York Magazine

Associated Press: Another high-ranking official leaves NSC

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 on Monday were seeking all records related to the “Access Hollywood” tape in which Mr. Trump was heard making vulgar comments about women …

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

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway, more at Mediagazer »

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

Discussion: Bustle, Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit, Law & Crime, National Review and Raw Story

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Federal investigators sought Trump's communications with his lawyer about ‘Access Hollywood’ tape

Discussion: CNN, Law & Crime, New Yorker and Courier-Journal

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

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

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

Axios:

Paul Ryan won't run for re-election — Speaker Paul Ryan told House Republicans this morning that he will not run for re-election in November. — Why it matters: House Republicans were already in a very tough spot for the midterms, with many endangered members and the good chance that Democrats could win the majority.

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Paul Ryan implodes his party — ahead of schedule

Discussion: Balloon Juice

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

Discussion: Instapundit, New York Times and The Other McCain

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

Discussion: The Week and Splinter

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

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, Hot Air, Hullabaloo, Politico, Mediaite, The Week, Vox, twitchy.com and Splinter

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

Discussion: Washington Post and Lawyers, Guns & Money

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

Discussion: Power Line, Politico, MSNBC and FiveThirtyEight

Ben Domenech / The Federalist:
How Paul Ryan Went From Young Gun To Gone

Discussion: The American Conservative, CNN and Viking Pundit

David Wasserman / The Cook Political Report:
Ryan Retirement Puts WI-01 at Risk and Throws House GOP Into Deeper Turmoil

Discussion: Sabato's Crystal Ball and Axios

Matt Fuller / HuffPost:
Paul Ryan's Real Legacy: Donald Trump

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, Crooked Media, Roll Call, USA Today, NPR and Mediaite

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

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: New York Magazine and The Daily Caller

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, CNBC, ThinkProgress and Hot Air

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Woman testifies that Greitens groped and hit her; governor blasts ‘lies’ and ‘tabloid trash’ — Gov. Eric Greitens spoke at a news conference on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, about a report that was about to come out concerning his affair in 2015. Greitens called the investigation a “witch hunt”.

Discussion: The Week

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

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

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

Discussion: Vox and Bustle

Kansas City Star:
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says he's target of ‘political witch hunt,’ vows to fight

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

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, Washington Press, VICE News, New York Times, The American Conservative and Common Dreams

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

Discussion: Common Dreams, CNN and Axios

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

Fox News Insider:

Tucker Carlson Assad Bombing Civilians Chemical Gas Attack Response Noah Rothman — Tucker Carlson debated a magazine editor who claimed the host “willfully misled his audience and advanced Russian geopolitical narratives” by cautioning against anti-Assad actions in Syria following the chemical attack on civilians there.

Discussion: Commentary Magazine, Hot Air and Mediaite

Luis Martinez / ABC News:
US ‘still assessing the intelligence’ on alleged Syrian chemical attack, defense secretary says

Discussion: Washington Post, Brookings, New York Times, Breitbart, LewRockwell, The Cipher Brief and Townhall

The Daily Beast:
Trump Threatens Syria Before Allies Are on Board

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

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Senate panel moves to take up bill protecting Mueller — The Senate Judiciary Committee is moving forward with legislation to limit President Trump — 's ability to fire special counsel Robert Mueller — (R-Iowa) wants to add the bill to the panel's business meeting agenda scheduled for Thursday …

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

Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal: Senate Judiciary Committee to Take Up Bill Protecting Mueller

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.

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, Spectator USA, CNN, Al Jazeera English, Wall Street Journal and NPR

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.

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 …

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

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

The Trump/Rosenstein Russian Nesting Doll of Nonsense — Note that there is an emerging attack from the White House that suggests that Rod Rosenstein must recuse himself because he has a conflict of interest in overseeing the Mueller probe. The conflict is this: Mueller is investigating …

Eliana Johnson / Politico: Trump turns to Dershowitz as Mueller probe escalates

Paul Ryan / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

‘I feel content that I have done my part; I am ready to move on’ — Over the past nearly 20 years, I have had the good fortune to serve in many roles in Congress, and they have all helped me better serve you, my employers in southern Wisconsin. — Chairman of the Budget Committee …

Brett T. / twitchy.com:

Women pose for open carry pics in solidarity with college student who had gun in her graduation photo — You might remember Twitchy's post from Tuesday about University of Tennessee senior Brenna Spencer, who managed to trigger liberals with her graduation photo, which was both pro-gun and pro-Trump: