memeorandum: Republicans lose their favorite campaign message: Repealing Obamacare (Paige Winfield Cunningham/Washington Post)

1:55 PM ET, April 14, 2018

Top Items:

U.S., Britain and France Strike Syria Over Suspected Chemical Weapons Attack — WASHINGTON — The United States and European allies launched airstrikes on Friday night against Syrian research, storage and military targets as President Trump sought to punish President Bashar al-Assad …

Laila Bassam / Reuters:

Pro-Assad official says targeted bases were evacuated on Russian warning — BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian government and its allies have absorbed a U.S.-led attack on Saturday and the targeted sites were evacuated days ago thanks to a warning from Russia, a senior official in a regional alliance that backs Damascus said.

Discussion: RedState

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:

Trump supporters slam decision to launch strikes against Syria — Prominent supporters of President Trump — are expressing skepticism over his decision to launch airstrikes against Syria, slamming the move as overly aggressive and unnecessary. — Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson …

Discussion: RedState, Politico, The Daily Beast, The Week and Joe.My.God.

Washington Post:

Damascus defiant as U.S. strikes prove more limited than feared … BEIRUT — Syria, Russia and Iran shrugged off strikes on Saturday by the United States and its allies against three Syrian chemical weapons facilities, which drew angry condemnations but no indication that there would be a wider escalation.

Discussion: Politico, The Guardian, Sputnik International, Splinter and TheBlaze

Washington Post:

After Syria attack, U.S. and Russia tensions rise but fears ease of wider military confrontation … Western leaders warned Syria on Saturday that they could launch further missile strikes if chemical weapons are used again, while the pre-dawn attacks were denounced by Damascus and its backers …

Discussion: Military Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC News, New York Times, Daily Kos and The Moderate Voice

New York Times: President Trump Talked Tough. But His Strike on Syria Was Restrained.

CNN:
As it happened: The strike and its aftermath

U.S. Department of Defense:
Assad Chemical Weapons

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Ross A. Lincoln / The Wrap:
Rachel Maddow Raises ‘Wag the Dog’ Possibility as Trump Orders Syria Strikes

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, The Hill and twitchy.com

GOV.UK:
PM statement on Syria: 14 April 2018

Discussion: Elysée, NPR, ABC News, HeraldScotland, Latest from the Office …, HuffPost and Mediaite

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:
Trump: ‘Mission Accomplished’ on Syria

Discussion: Associated Press and New York Magazine

Kathryn Watson / CBS News:
Pentagon says Syria strikes “successfully hit every target” — live updates

Discussion: The Hill, Townhall, CNN, Fox News, Bustle, CBS New York, twitchy.com, ABC News and Joe.My.God.

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Trump strikes Syria

Discussion: Associated Press, CNN, One America News Network, New York Times, Breitbart, CNBC, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Week, Mother Jones and U.S. Department of Defense

Washington Post:
U.S. launches missile strikes in Syria

Discussion: New York Times, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Bleeding Heartland, Associated Press, RedState, The Week, The Hill, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon, Hit & Run, Mother Jones, his vorpal sword and Althouse

New York Times:
President Trump on Syria Strikes: Full Transcript and Video

Discussion: CNN, The Week, The Gateway Pundit, Power Line and The American Conservative

Robin Wright / New Yorker: Trump Strikes Syria Over Chemical Weapons

Kalina Oroschakoff / Politico:
Broad support from EU leaders for Syria strikes

Discussion: HuffPost, NATO, New York Times and The Week

Paul Sonne / Washington Post:
Trump's strikes on Syria risk retaliation, escalation in a war he wants to avoid

Discussion: Daily Kos

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Sources: Mueller has evidence Cohen was in Prague in 2016, confirming part of dossier — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department special counsel has evidence that Donald Trump's personal lawyer and confidant, Michael Cohen, secretly made a late-summer trip to Prague during the 2016 presidential campaign …

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Michael Cohen's visiting Prague would be a huge development in the Russia investigation

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politico, Mediaite and Daily Kos

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:

The Real Investigation — The one in the Southern District of New York, involving Michael Cohen and apparent hush-money payoffs, is a serious peril for Trump. — President Trump now has real legal peril. The potential jeopardy stems from the investigation that came to light this week …

Discussion: USA Today, Outside the Beltway, Bipartisan Report, The Week, Politico, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, The Daily Beast, twitchy.com, CNN, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

Michael Daly / The Daily Beast:

Michael Cohen May Learn the Hard Way That There's No Such Thing As Consigliere-Client Privilege … Before he became President Trump's self-styled consigliere, Michael Cohen made a fortune in the taxi business. — So, he certainly had the means and the ability to have hopped a cab …

CNN:

Exclusive: FBI seized recordings between Trump's lawyer and Stormy Daniels' former lawyer — (CNN)The FBI seized recordings President Donald Trump's attorney made of his conversations with a lawyer representing two women who had alleged affairs with Trump, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Press, New York Times, HuffPost, Vox, Mediaite and CANNONFIRE

Washington Post:
Criminal investigation into Trump lawyer's business dealings began months ago

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, TalkLeft and The Atlantic

DOJ Alumni Statement:

DOJ Alumni Statement Regarding Rod Rosenstein, Robert Mueller, and the Rule of Law — We, the undersigned, are proud alumni of the United States Department of Justice. We served this institution out of a commitment to the founding American principles that our democratic republic depends upon …

Discussion: Above the Law, MSNBC, Mashable, Balloon Juice, Washington Press and The Week

Marcy Wheeler / New York Times:

Trump Pardoned Libby to Protect Himself From Mueller — “There is a cloud over the White House as to what happened. Don't you think the F.B.I., the grand jury, the American people are entitled to a straight answer?” — With those words, uttered over a decade ago, Patrick Fitzgerald …

Discussion: USA Today, CNN, Splinter, Washington Press, Breitbart, emptywheel, Mediaite and The White House

The Daily Beast: Prosecutors Probing Michael Cohen Have Nailed Financial Frauds, Corrupt Pols, and Organized Crooks

Fox News Insider:
‘A Scapegoat’ for the Iraq War: Judith Miller Says Pardon of Scooter Libby ‘Long Overdue’

Discussion: The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Right Scoop

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump Pardons Scooter Libby in a Case That Mirrors His Own

Discussion: Law & Crime, NewsBusters, Power Line, Washington Press, IJR, New Republic, Shareblue Media, Weekly Standard and Washington Post

Liam Daniel Pierce / VICE Sports:

Mexican Boxer Destroys American Fighter Wearing Trump Wall Shorts — American super-featherweight Rod Salka came in rocking a wall-themed set of trunks with “America 1st” written on them. He left with the same shorts and a big old L, by way of Mexico's Francisco Vargas.

Discussion: Washington Press

Tom Ley / Deadspin:
Boxer Wears Anti-Immigrant Trunks, Gets Soundly Beaten By Mexican Opponent

Discussion: Washington Post, ImmigrationProf Blog, Bloody Elbow, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

Paige Winfield Cunningham / Washington Post:

Republicans lose their favorite campaign message: Repealing Obamacare — Michigan GOP Rep. Mike Bishop's campaign website doesn't mention Obamacare, even though Web archives show it once prominently featured promises to vigorously fight the 2010 health-care law.

Discussion: Axios

Avi Selk / Washington Post:

Kakistocracy, a 374-year-old word that means ‘government by the worst,’ just broke the dictionary … Today was a productive vocabulary day in the United States of America. — The learning began in the morning, when former CIA director John O. Brennan tweeted at President Trump …

Discussion: CNN, Bipartisan Report, Mashable, Washington Press and twitchy.com

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Risks loom for Comey's book blitz — James Comey's new memoir is already a pre-publication media hit, but the former FBI director's tell-all assault on President Donald Trump also poses major risks—not only for Comey's personal reputation but for the wider Russia investigation he helped launch.

Ronald A. Klain / Washington Post:

The anti-anti-Trump cohort has a fatal flaw in its thinking — President Trump — shedding staff, shredding norms — remains defiant, with little evidence that his critics are persuading supporters to abandon him. For some Trump opponents, this has led to new introspection about the effectiveness of “the resistance.”

Joe Scarborough / Washington Post:

Trump's miserable crew has never been so desperate — These are desperate times for the quislings of Trump. The cost of collaborating with President Trump in the continued debasement of American democracy is becoming far too high. Fifteen months into his presidency …

Discussion: Raw Story and CNN

Ben Shapiro / Daily Wire:

‘New Yorker’ Columnist: Chick-Fil-A Is Evil And Must Be Banned From Our Holy City — On Friday, The New Yorker honed in on a serious threat to the lives of all New Yorkers: the arrival of Chick-Fil-A in their homey little corner of the universe. In a 1400-word diatribe titled …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, twitchy.com and New Yorker