memeorandum: Pentagon Says Syria Strikes Hit ‘Heart’ of Chemical Weapons Program (New York Times)

3:55 PM ET, April 14, 2018

Top Items:

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: TheBlaze, The Guardian and Splinter

New York Times:

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 …

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 …

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, The Daily Beast, The Week and Joe.My.God.

Mike Allen / Axios:

Axios AM — Subscribe — Good Saturday morning ... 1 big thing: Trump's “Mission Accomplished!” — President Trump tweeted this morning: “A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military.

Discussion: The Atlantic, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE and CNN

CNN:

Haley says US ‘locked and loaded,’ prepared to maintain pressure on Syria — New York (CNN)US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the United States was prepared to sustain its pressure on Syria after a night of military strikes meant to cripple the country's ability to use chemical weapons …

Discussion: IJR, Shareblue Media, KTLA and The Week

Henry C. Jackson / Politico:
Trump supporters rip decision to strike Syria

Discussion: Hullabaloo and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:
Pentagon Says Syria Strikes Hit ‘Heart’ of Chemical Weapons Program

Discussion: Vox, Florida Politics, Bloomberg, France 24 and Al Jazeera English

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

CNN:
As it happened: The strike and its aftermath

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

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

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

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

Discussion: Associated Press and New York Magazine

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Trump strikes Syria

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

CNN:
US, UK and France launch Syria strikes targeting Assad's chemical weapons

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart, WGNO, IJR, One America News Network, The Daily Caller and RT

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

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

U.S. Department of Defense:
Assad Chemical Weapons

Discussion: The Daily Caller

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

NBC News:
Trump announces strikes on Syria following suspected chemical weapons attack by Assad forces

Discussion: Vox, Reuters, Bipartisan Report, AOL, Informed Comment, Associated Press, The Hill and Scared Monkeys

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

Discussion: Daily Kos

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

Discussion: HuffPost, NATO, consilium.europa.eu and The Week

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 … McClatchy reported on Friday evening that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's team has evidence of a trip by President Trump's personal lawyer to Prague in the late summer of 2016.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Joe.My.God., Politico, Mediaite, Daily Kos and twitchy.com

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

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

Discussion: Law & Crime, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Washington Press, HuffPost, Mediaite, Vox, New York Times and CANNONFIRE

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

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: The Mahablog, The Atlantic and RedState

Philly.com:

Video of two black men being removed from a Philadelphia Starbucks draws outrage, investigation — A video of two African American men being removed from a Philadelphia Starbucks has drawn national outrage and an “internal investigation” by police after it was posted earlier this week.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CBS Philly, CBS New York, Raw Story, abc7ny.com, abc7.com, BlackSportsOnline and theGrio

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: The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and CNN

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, Common Dreams, MSNBC and Mashable

WDRB 41 Louisville News:

VIDEO | Gov. Bevin ‘guarantees’ children in Kentucky were ‘sexually assaulted’ as a result of Friday's school closure — FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) - Somewhere in Kentucky children were sexually assaulted, exposed to drugs or hurt because schools were closed Friday as teachers across the state rallied …

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, Lexington Herald-Leader, KTLA, Courier-Journal, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Shareblue Media, Joe.My.God. and Law & Crime

Associated Press:
Kentucky Lawmakers Override Budget Veto in Win for Teachers

Discussion: Splinter, Courier-Journal, Mediaite and New York Magazine

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.”

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

Michael Cieply / New York Times:

Milos Forman, Oscar-Winning Director of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' Dies at 86 — LOS ANGELES — Milos Forman, a filmmaker who challenged Hollywood with his subversive touch, and twice directed movies that won the Oscar for best picture, died on Friday. He was 86.

Discussion: NPR, Outside the Beltway, AOL, Deadline, Mashable, The Guardian, Breitbart and The Week

Gina Piccalo / Los Angeles Times: Miloš Forman, Oscar-winning Czech director of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' dies at 86

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 …