memeorandum: Hannity Denies Report He Hired Cohen To Help Combat Ad Boycotts Following O'Reilly's Firing (Justin Baragona/Mediaite)

2:30 AM ET, April 17, 2018

Top Items:

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Sean Hannity has few rules, and now Fox News has a problem — Hannity: Cohen has never represented me — Sean Hannity operates at Fox News with few rules. He seemingly says and does whatever he wants, even when it embarrasses his own colleagues. — With his high ratings come huge headaches for Fox.

Discussion: CNN and Media Matters for America, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Calderone / Politico:

Hannity's ethics under fire — Sean Hannity has wavered over the years on whether he is a journalist or conservative activist, but ethics specialists say that whichever hat the Fox News host was wearing last week when he condemned the FBI raid on attorney Michael Cohen's office, he should have disclosed that he's a client of Cohen's.

Discussion: Breitbart and Mediaite

The Daily Beast:

Judge Hands Defeat to Trump and Cohen Over FBI Raid: 'You've Miscited the Law' … President Donald Trump and his longtime attorney Michael Cohen both lost a court challenge related to the FBI's seizure of Cohen's documents they both claim are protected by attorney-client privilege.

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, Breitbart, The American Mirror, Front Page Magazine and Washington Monthly

New York Times:

Judge Says Trump and Cohen Can't Yet Review Materials Seized by F.B.I. — A federal judge on Monday held off on deciding who should get the first look at a trove of materials seized in the F.B.I. raids last week on President Trump's personal lawyer's office, home, hotel room and safe deposit box.

Discussion: abc7ny.com, Raw Story, The Hill, Snopes.com, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, Political Wire, Axios, ACS Blog and Vox

CNN:

Michael Cohen's mystery third client is Sean Hannity — New York (CNN)Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen also represents Fox News host Sean Hannity, Cohen's attorneys said Monday afternoon. — Cohen had told the court earlier he had at least 10 clients between 2017 and 2018 …

Discussion: CNNMoney, New York Post, Media Matters for America, Washington Press, Bustle, Daily Wire, TVNewser, Mediaite and PerezHilton

Media Matters for America:

Sean Hannity is Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's secret client — And Hannity reportedly hired him to go after us — The mystery client that President Donald Trump's longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, fought in court to keep secret is Fox News host Sean Hannity, Cohen's lawyer divulged on Monday.

Discussion: Latest from Crooks and Liars, Washington Post, NPR, Raw Story, New Republic, Mediaite, HuffPost, CBS New York and Washington Press, more at Mediagazer »

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen did legal work for Fox News commentator Sean Hannity … BREAKING: Trump lawyer Michael Cohen did legal work for Fox News commentator Sean Hannity. — President Trump's longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, told a federal judge Monday that he had three legal clients in the past year …

Discussion: Boing Boing, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Monthly, IJR, Mother Jones, Splinter, Slate, Mashable, Above the Law, The Atlantic, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, The Mahablog, RedState, Salon and Washington Times

New York Times:

Sean Hannity Is Named as Michael Cohen's Client — A lawyer for Michael D. Cohen said in court on Monday that one of Mr. Cohen's clients was Sean Hannity, the Fox News personality and an ardent defender of President Trump. — Lawyers for Mr. Cohen, the president's longtime personal lawyer and fixer …

Discussion: New York Daily News, The Week, TalkLeft, Washington Press, Bustle, HuffPost, Vox, Deadline, The Root and CNBC

Jeffrey Grocott / Bloomberg:

Judge Slows U.S. Review of Trump Lawyer's Records: Cohen Update — After an afternoon of pitched arguments over who should have the right to vet documents seized from President Donald Trump's personal attorney, a federal judge in New York delayed a decision on whether to appoint an impartial “special master” to conduct the review.

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Vox, HuffPost, CNN, BloombergQuint, RedState, The Right Scoop, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, BuzzFeed, The Week, RT, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, twitchy.com and National Review

James Fanelli / New York Daily News: Michael Cohen case is being heard by Judge Kimba Wood — aka the ‘Love Judge’

New York Post:
How Cohen's day in court turned into the Stormy Daniels show

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Jamie Dupree - AJC, Mediaite, Sean Hannity, HeraldScotland, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, The Week, Deadline, RedState and Townhall

Justin Baragona / Mediaite:
Hannity Denies Report He Hired Cohen To Help Combat Ad Boycotts Following O'Reilly's Firing

Discussion: Hot Air

NBC News:
Fox News host Sean Hannity revealed as Michael Cohen's mystery client

Discussion: Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Raw Story, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, MSNBC, NBC News, Political Wire, Fox News Insider, KTLA, The Week, Washington Press and TheBlaze

Slate:
Hannity Responds to Being Named as a Client of Michael Cohen

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Guardian, CBS San Francisco and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Hunter Walker / Yahoo:
The Michael Cohen legal sideshow: Gasps, pratfalls and paparazzi

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair and No More Mister Nice Blog

Erica Orden / Wall Street Journal:
Sean Hannity Was a Client of Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen

Discussion: Politico, Snopes.com, The Daily Beast, twitchy.com, Daily Kos, AOL, Mediaite, VICE News, ThinkProgress and Talking Points Memo

Olivia Messer / The Daily Beast:
Michael Cohen Forced to Reveal His Mystery Client Is Sean Hannity

Discussion: Mediaite, Right Wing Watch and IJR

Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: 'We just went at it like she just didn't exist.' Former Playmate reveals she had sex with Donald Trump in front of her friend during a steamy six-month affair while his then-fiancée Marla Maples was pregnant with Tiffany — Barbara Moore, 49, told DailyMail.com …

Discussion: Washington Press, RedState and PerezHilton

Emma Roller / Splinter:

Another Former Playboy Playmate Says She Had a Torrid Love Affair With Donald Trump — First came Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. Now, another former Playboy model has come forward alleging that she had an affair with President Donald Trump. — On Monday, the Daily Mail published …

Washington Post:

Trump puts the brakes on new Russian sanctions, reversing Haley's announcement — President Trump on Monday put the brakes on a preliminary plan to impose additional economic sanctions on Russia, walking back a Sunday announcement by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, CBS News, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, CNBC, Politico, Reuters, Vox, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, VICE News, The Atlantic, CNN, Sputnik International, The Week, The Guardian, Outside the Beltway, POLITICUSUSA, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Axios and Political Wire

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Scraps New Sanctions Against Russia, Overruling Advisers — WASHINGTON — President Trump rejected for now imposing a fresh round of sanctions against Russia on Monday, a course change that underscored the schism between the president and his national security team.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Jack Shafer / Politico:

James Comey Is Doing It Wrong — Having used both his book, A Higher Loyalty, and his interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos to portray himself as the defender of truth, the paragon of integrity, the embodiment of ethical values and principles and as someone guided by a steady moral compass …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Front Page Magazine, Salon, neo-neocon, VICE, American Greatness and Conservative Review

New York Times: James Comey's Attacks on Trump May Hurt a Carefully Cultivated Image

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Comey Is Trump's Ultimate Victory

Discussion: Washington Post and Hot Air

Page Six:
George Stephanopoulos is having more sex than you

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Splinter and Mediaite

John Harwood / CNBC:

GOP tax cuts have gotten less popular with voters, new NBC/WSJ poll says — The new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that the tax cuts, never broadly popular, have sagged in public esteem lately — just 27 percent of Americans call them a good idea.

New York Times: No One's Talking About the New Tax Law

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

This photojournalist won a Pulitzer for an image he made on his last day in the newsroom — Photojournalist Ryan Kelly won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography for an image he made at The (Charlottesville, Virginia) Daily Progress on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. — It was the day of a white supremacist rally.

more at Mediagazer »

Ren LaForme / Poynter: Here are the winners of the 2018 Pulitzer Prizes

Nick Statt / The Verge:

Broadband advisor picked by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai arrested on fraud charges — Elizabeth Pierce allegedly tricked investors into pouring $250 million into a fiber optic scheme by forging revenue agreements — A broadband advisor selected by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai …

Discussion: Gizmodo and Eschaton

Bill Hutchinson / ABC News:

Starbucks manager who made call resulting in black men's arrests no longer works for company — The manager who called police on two black men who had refused to leave a Philadelphia Starbucks no longer works there, a company spokeswoman confirmed to ABC News today.

Discussion: USA Today, CNNMoney, Philly.com, PhillyVoice, 6abc.com, twitchy.com, NBC News, Associated Press, Instapundit, ABC, The Daily Beast, Snopes.com, VICE News and The Root

USA Today:
Starbucks vows ‘unconscious bias’ training after having 2 black men arrested

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Right Wing Watch and grubstreet

Ronald.Hansen / Arizona Republic:

Sen. John McCain undergoes surgery at Mayo Clinic; condition called stable — Sen. John McCain has been hospitalized since Sunday dealing with diverticulitis, an intestinal issue. Republic reporter Craig Harris reports from Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix. Michael Chow/azcentral.com — CONNECT

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, The Daily Caller and CBS New York

Connor O'Brien / Politico:
McCain remains hospitalized after surgery to treat infection

Discussion: Axios

WSPA-TV:

‘Night Court’ actor Harry Anderson dies in Asheville — ASHEVILLE, NC (WSPA) - Police officials confirmed that actor Harry Anderson died at a home in Asheville, N.C. Monday morning. He was 65. — Anderson was a three-time Emmy nominee for his role as Judge Harry T. Stone in ‘Night Court.’

Discussion: WPIX 11 New York, FOX 61 and TMZ.com

Elliot Spagat / Associated Press:

APNewsBreak: California rejects border duties for troops — SAN DIEGO (AP) — California has rejected terms of the federal government's initial plans for sending National Guard troops to the border because the work is considered too closely tied to immigration, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

Discussion: Military.com, Latino Rebels, The Daily Signal, Sean Hannity, Washington Press, Daily Wire, Raw Story and The Daily Caller

Rowan Scarborough / Washington Times:

Mueller's warning: ‘Many’ news stories on Trump-Russia probe are wrong — Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office is warning that “many” news articles on the Trump-Russia probe have been wrong. — The statement from a spokesperson did not single out particular stories.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, RT and Daily Wire

Department of Commerce:

Secretary Ross Announces Activation of ZTE Denial Order in Response to Repeated False Statements to the U.S. Government — Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. today announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has imposed a denial of export privileges …

Discussion: BloombergQuint, The Daily Caller, Mashable, Engadget, The Verge and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Lisa Hagen / The Hill:

Arizona special election in dead heat: poll — The special election for an Arizona House seat is in a statistical dead heat in the final week of the race, according to a poll released on Monday. — A poll from Emerson College found physician Hiral Tipirneni (D) narrowly leading with 46 percent …

Discussion: New York Magazine, HuffPost, Vox, Daily Kos and Political Wire

Michael R. Gordon / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Seeks Arab Force and Funding for Syria — Under plan, troops would replace American military contingent after ISIS defeat and help secure country's north; proposal faces challenges — WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is seeking to assemble an Arab force to replace …

Discussion: The American Conservative and Daily Wire

VICE:

Here Are the Far-Right Conspiracists the Quebec City Mosque Shooter Followed — Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing for the man who killed six Muslim men in a mass shooting at a Quebec City mosque last year shows that he was obsessively reading news about Donald Trump and opinions …

Discussion: Montreal Gazette and Raw Story

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Cohen crisis shows short-handed Trump legal team's scramble — When President Donald Trump's newest lawyer appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Friday, she had an apologetic message for the judge: I'm new around here. — “Now, I should say my firm was engaged Wednesday evening …

Discussion: CNN, Shareblue Media, Washington Post and The Hill

CNN:

Bolton era begins with exits and anxiety at National Security Council — Source: John Bolton pushed out Tom Bossert — Washington (CNN)By the start of John Bolton's second week as national security adviser, five top officials at the National Security Council had already resigned under pressure, been fired or decided to leave.

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:

Judge rules to unseal 11 cases related to Starr's Clinton investigation, following CNN request — (CNN)Eleven court cases associated with independent counsel Ken Starr's investigation into President Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky will largely be made public …

US-CERT:

Alert (TA18-106A) — Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Actors Targeting Network Infrastructure Devices — Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) Enabled Devices — Cisco Smart Install (SMI) Enabled Devices — Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Enabled Network Devices