memeorandum: Republicans in purple districts are leaving Congress in droves. So why does Barbara Comstock want to stay? (Jenna Portnoy/Washington Post)

7:05 AM ET, April 20, 2018

Top Items:

Giuliani says he is joining Trump's legal team to ‘negotiate an end’ to Mueller probe — Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a combative former prosecutor and longtime ally of President Trump, told The Washington Post on Thursday that he has joined the president's legal team dealing with the ongoing special counsel probe.

Bloomberg:

Rosenstein Tells Trump He's Not a Target in Mueller, Cohen Probes — Trump told associates he no longer needs to fire either man — Deputy attorney general volunteered assurance last week — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told President Donald Trump last week that he isn't a target …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Fox News, RedState, The Last Tradition, IJR, Fox News Insider, Politico, BloombergQuint, Townhall, CNBC, The Right Scoop, National Review, Raw Story, The Week, AOL, Mediaite, Daily Wire, Political Wire, Axios and CNN

Associated Press:

Comey memo: Trump complained about Flynn's ‘judgment issues’ — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump told former FBI Director James Comey that he had serious concerns about the judgment of his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, according to memos maintained by Comey and obtained by The Associated Press.

Discussion: Townhall, Splinter, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Mother Jones, Axios, ABC News and Daily Wire

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Rudy Giuliani Joining Trump's Legal Team ‘For the Good of the Country’ … Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is joining President Donald Trump's personal legal team to help with Special Counsel Bob Mueller's probe into potential Russian meddling in the 2016 election, The Washington Post reported and The Daily Beast has confirmed.

Discussion: New York Post, Breitbart, Daily Wire, Axios, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God. and NY State of Politics, more at Mediagazer »

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

Trump hires Giuliani, two other attorneys amid mounting legal turmoil over Russia — Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and two other former federal prosecutors joined President Trump's legal team Thursday following weeks of turbulence and struggles to find attorneys who would agree …

Discussion: The Hill and Washington Press

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Is Rudy About To Have His Time in The Barrel?

Discussion: Reuters and IJR

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:
Ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to Join Donald Trump's Personal Legal Team

Discussion: The Last Tradition and Mother Jones

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Giuliani to Join Trump's Legal Team

Discussion: Bloomberg

CNN:
Giuliani says he is joining Trump's legal team to help bring Mueller probe to a conclusion

Discussion: HuffPost and RedState

Washington Post:

Inspector general referred findings on McCabe to U.S. attorney for consideration of criminal charges — The Justice Department inspector general referred its finding that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe repeatedly misled investigators who were examining a media disclosure …

Washington Post:

Comey memos offer new details on his interactions with Trump as the FBI's Russia probe intensified — President Trump expressed concerns about the judgment of his national security adviser Michael Flynn weeks before forcing him to resign, according to memos kept by former FBI director James B. Comey …

Cameron Joseph / Talking Points Memo:

EXCLUSIVE: Read James Comey's Notes On His Meetings With Donald Trump — Former FBI Director James Comey took assiduous, contemporaneous notes during his private meetings with President Trump and close associates, documenting the details of what was allegedly said almost immediately after they occurred.

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Comey memos offer more details about fired FBI director's dealings with Trump

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Breitbart, Vox, Townhall, RedState, ABC News, Washington Examiner, Axios and National Review

Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal:
Justice Department to Give Congress Access to Comey Memos

Discussion: AOL

Ryan Grim / The Intercept:
James Comey Will Speak at Amazon on Monday

Discussion: Axios

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
DOJ turns over redacted Comey memos to congressional committees

Discussion: TheBlaze and Mediaite

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
DOJ watchdog sends criminal referral for McCabe to federal prosecutor

Discussion: NPR, Washington Post, The Daily Signal, Townhall, Conservative Review, Hot Air and Talking Points Memo

Peter Jamison / Washington Post:

D.C. lawmaker who said Jews control the weather visits Holocaust Museum but leaves early … The photo, taken in 1935, depicts a woman in a dark dress shuffling down a street in Norden, Germany. A large sign hangs from her neck: “I am a German girl and allowed myself to be defiled by a Jew.”

Discussion: HuffPost, twitchy.com, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, National Review, Israellycool and Mediaite

David Voreacos / Bloomberg:

Manafort Suspected of Serving as ‘Back Channel’ to Russia, DOJ Says — Prosecutors defend Mueller's actions in pursuing Manafort — Judge weighing whether Mueller exceeded his authority — Special Counsel Robert Mueller's interest in former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort stemmed …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Daily Kos, IJR, VICE News, The Atlantic and Raw Story

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Judge raises doubts about scope of Mueller's authority

Discussion: Breitbart and National Review

Erica Orden / Wall Street Journal:

Kushner Cos. Subpoenaed Over Tenant Records — Action relates to paperwork the company filed in New York about rent-regulated tenants — WASHINGTON—The real-estate company run by the family of White House adviser Jared Kushner in mid-March received a federal grand-jury subpoena …

Discussion: Washington Press

Josefin Dolsten / Jewish Telegraphic Agency:

Genesis Prize cancels ceremony after 2018 winner Natalie Portman said she won't visit Israel — This is a developing story. — (JTA) — The Genesis Prize announced it was canceling its prize ceremony in Israel in June after 2018 recipient Natalie Portman said she would not take part in light of “recent events.”

Discussion: Israellycool

GQ:

21 Books You Don't Have to Read — And 21 you should read instead (technically 20 books—Adventures of Huckleberry Finn did not fare well). — We've been told all our lives that we can only call ourselves well-read once we've read the Great Books. We tried.

Naomi Lim / Washington Examiner:

Roger Stone steps up attacks on Barbara Bush: ‘She is descending into hell right now’ — Trump ally Roger Stone has doubled down on his criticism of Barbara Bush after calling the former first lady “a nasty drunk” following news she had died Tuesday at the age of 92. — “She is descending into hell right now.

Discussion: New York Times, RedState, Infowars, Breitbart, The Wrap, Washington Press and Washington Monthly

Washington Post:

Razor-thin Senate majority, bloody primary fights hamstring GOP … Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is scrambling to reassert control over a Republican Party hamstrung by a razor-thin governing majority and riven by increasingly bloody primary fights.

Ed Kilgore / New York Magazine:

White Working-Class Voters May Not Care About Trump Scandals — It's been obvious from the very beginning of the Trump era of American politics that a lot of things about the man who became the 45th president that worry upscale Republicans (and their elite #NeverTrump representatives) …

USA Today:

Exclusive: Wells Fargo loses teachers union AFT over ties to NRA, guns — Wells Fargo's financial relationship with gunmakers and the National Rifle Association has cost the bank its mortgage business with a major U.S. union. — The American Federation of Teachers notified …

Discussion: NPR, ThinkProgress and Daily Kos

New York Times:
Wells Fargo Said to Be Target of $1 Billion U.S. Fine

Discussion: WPMT FOX43

CNN:

Bolton, Kudlow on the rise, but risks abound — West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN)President Donald Trump has seen a parade of favored aides come and go his first year in office, some more quickly than others. But rarely have two advisers been as publicly praised or as internally aggrandized …

Discussion: Raw Story

Morgan Chalfant / The Hill: Staff changes upend White House cyber team

New York Times:

Seeking Foreign Money, G.O.P. Donor Pushed for Trump to Golf With Malaysian Premier — White House aides were worried enough about a visit last year by Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia, under investigation by American prosecutors who say he embezzled $3.5 billion from a state investment fund …

VICE News:

Sen. Chuck Schumer to introduce bill to “decriminalize” marijuana — The Minority Leader of the Senate is making it official the day before 4/20: He's down with legal weed. — In an exclusive interview with VICE News, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confirmed he is putting his name on legislation …

Discussion: The Atlantic, ThinkProgress, NORML, FOX2now.com and Slate

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:

Exclusive: Chat is Google's next big fix for Android's messaging mess — How the successor to SMS will take on iMessage — Illustrations by William Joel & Garret Beard — A top-tier Android phone can cost upwards of a thousand dollars, and for that money, you'll get some amazing features.

Discussion: BGR, Mashable, Gizmodo, Engadget and RAPPLER, more at Techmeme »

Idrees Ali / Reuters:

Man linked to 9/11 attacks on U.S. captured in Syria: Pentagon — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A man linked to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, who was said to have praised “violent jihad,” was captured in Syria by U.S.-backed forces more than a month ago, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Discussion: The Week

Will Carless / Reveal:

They spewed hate. Then they punctuated it with the president's name — Editor's note: To provide a full picture of what hate speech victims experienced, we have not edited out offensive language. — It was the day after the 2016 presidential election. Melissa Johnson was walking …

Jeff Mason / Reuters:

Exclusive: EPA chief's aides, security agents made $45,000 trip to Australia — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, under fire from lawmakers for travel and security expenses, spent about $45,000 in government money to fly five people to Australia …

Discussion: Political Wire

New York Times:

Cuomo Team Pressed Officials to Skip Protest of His Pressure Tactics — Nice rally you have there. It'd be a shame if anything happened to it. — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's aides and campaign staff made a round of phone calls to elected officials, asking them to not attend a rally on Thursday …

Discussion: NY State of Politics and Splinter

ABC:

Australian warships challenged by Chinese military in South China Sea — Three Australian warships were challenged by the Chinese military as they travelled through the disputed South China Sea earlier this month, the ABC can reveal. — The confrontations with the People's Liberation Army …

Discussion: Bloomberg

Jonathan Blitzer / New Yorker:

In Rural Tennessee, a Big ICE Raid Makes Some Conservative Voters Rethink Trump's Immigration Agenda — April 5th began in the usual way at the Southeastern Provision meat-processing plant, in Bean Station, Tennessee—some workers were breaking down carcasses on the production line …

Patrick Wilson / Richmond Times-Dispatch:

GOP's Nick Freitas says at Liberty University debate that Corey Stewart's camp attacked his ethnicity — LYNCHBURG — GOP U.S. Senate candidate Nick Freitas in a debate on Thursday called out rival Corey Stewart's campaign for making ethnic jokes about his name.

House Judiciary Committee:

House Judiciary Committee to Hold Hearing Examining Social Media Filtering Practices and their Effect on Free Speech — Washington, D.C. - On Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to examine social media filtering and policing practices.

Jenna Portnoy / Washington Post:

Republicans in purple districts are leaving Congress in droves. So why does Barbara Comstock want to stay? … All around Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), her GOP colleagues are retiring in record numbers in anticipation of what they think will be a blue wave. Even her friend Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) is on his way out.