memeorandum: How Jim Mattis Became Trump's “Last Man Standing” (New Yorker)

10:30 AM ET, April 20, 2018

Top Items:

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

Comey memos renew questions over Trump's behavior — Washington (CNN)If House Republicans thought they were helping President Donald Trump by forcing the release of James Comey's memos, they might want to think again. — The documents written by the then-FBI director …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Shareblue Media, The Right Scoop, Infowars, Daily Wire, Roll Call, Sputnik International, The Week, NBC News, Balloon Juice, Just Security, CBS Miami, Daily Kos and Joe.My.God.

Jeremy Stahl / Slate:

Why Were Republicans So Desperate To Release the Embarrassing Comey Memos? Here's One Explanation. — On Thursday, the Department of Justice handed over James Comey's contemporaneous memos of his conversations with President Donald Trump over to Congress. They were immediately revealed to the press.

Discussion: Washington Post, emptywheel, New York Magazine, Breitbart and Raw Story

Washington Post:

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.

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

6 Takeaways From the James Comey Memos — WASHINGTON — Memos written by the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, that were released on Thursday revealed several new details about his relationship with President Trump and the president's first chief of staff, Reince Priebus.

Discussion: Washington Post, New Yorker, Common Dreams, CNN, Jamie Dupree - AJC, Townhall, NBC News, Raw Story, Sputnik International and Washington Press

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 …

U.S. House of Representatives Permanent …:

Nunes, Gowdy, Goodlatte Statement on Comey Memos — f t # e — Washington, D.C. - Today House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Ca.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy …

Discussion: CNBC and Raw Story

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: Associated Press, Axios, Splinter, Mother Jones, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, RedState, ABC News and Daily Wire

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 …

Discussion: MSNBC, Pajiba and The Week

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: Talking Points Memo, RedState, The Hill, MSNBC and Washington Press

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:

Comey Memos Provide Intimate Look Into Trump Presidency — WASHINGTON — President Trump spoke in intimate and candid terms to the former F.B.I. director James Comey about some of the most sensitive matters before the agency, including the salacious dossier detailing Mr. Trump's ties to Russia …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo, CBS New York, Power Line, Althouse, HuffPost, Al Jazeera English, FOX40, Mediaite and Daily Kos

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:
Comey's Memos Indicate Dossier Briefing Of Trump Was A Setup

Discussion: Breitbart, Scared Monkeys, The Resurgent, The Week, The Daily Beast, VICE News, Jamie Dupree - AJC and TheBlaze

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Rudy Giuliani Joining Trump's Legal Team ‘For the Good of the Country’

Discussion: New York Post, ABC News, Daily Wire, The Guardian, HuffPost, Axios, Breitbart, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God., NY State of Politics and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Barbaro / New York Times: James Comey Opens Up About Ego, Distrust and More

Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Playbook: NAFTA concerns rock Capitol Hill

Discussion: Indianapolis Star

Avery Anapol / The Hill:
Comey: Trump says Putin bragged about Russia having the ‘most beautiful hookers in the world’

Discussion: Washington Post, The Root, CNN, Raw Story and twitchy.com

Steve Hilton / Fox News: Without a Comey prosecution, there's no hope for healing America

Rick Klein / ABC News:
The Note: Might things yet break Trump's direction?

Discussion: Politico

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Comey Memo: Pressure From CNN Prompted Dossier Briefing

Discussion: The Federalist, Raw Story and Mother Jones

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

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

Jonathan Greenberg / Washington Post:

Trump lied to me about his wealth to get onto the Forbes 400. Here are the tapes. — Posing as ‘John Barron,’ he claimed he owned most of his father's real estate empire. — In May 1984, an official from the Trump Organization called to tell me how rich Donald J. Trump was.

Discussion: CNN, CNBC, CBS Baltimore, Raw Story and The Week

Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:

Hillary Clinton On Election Night: ‘They Were Never Going to Let Me Be President’ … “No one in modern politics, male or female, has had to withstand more indignities, setbacks and cynicism. She developed protective armor that made the real Hillary Clinton an enigma.

Discussion: RedState, Political Wire, The Right Scoop, IJR, Splinter, twitchy.com and Althouse

Carlos Lozada / Washington Post:

Amy Chozick covered Hillary Clinton for a decade. Here's what she learned — and what she endured. — Review of ‘Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling’ by Amy Chozick … CHASING HILLARY: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

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: Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, twitchy.com, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Daily Wire, HuffPost, Israellycool, National Review, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Liberty Unyielding

Mike Elk / Payday Report:

Arizona Teachers Vote to Strike Next Thursday April 26th in First Ever Statewide Strike — Following upon the success of teachers in West Virginia and Oklahoma, teachers in Arizona have voted to strike in the first-ever statewide strike. The strike will begin on Thursday April 26th.

Richard Gonzales / NPR:
Arizona Teachers Vote To Strike, Sparking Statewide Walkout

Discussion: Splinter

Ricardo Cano / Arizona Republic:
Arizona teachers vote to walkout

Discussion: Chalkbeat

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.

Discussion: Breitbart

New Yorker:

How Jim Mattis Became Trump's “Last Man Standing” — The purge that the Defense Secretary survived—and why he might not last. — Last Tuesday, after waking up to tweet about the previous day's F.B.I. raid on his lawyer's office ("a total witch hunt!!!"), President Trump called …

Burgess Everett / Politico:

McConnell aims to reshape courts in case Senate flips — Mitch McConnell is making a last dash to stock the judiciary with conservatives this year as a hedge against the chance that Republicans lose the Senate in November. — The GOP may have only a few more months of unified control …

Discussion: Political Wire

Washington Post:
Razor-thin Senate majority, bloody primary fights hamstring GOP

Discussion: Splinter, USA Today and CNN

Ken Sweet / Associated Press:

Big banks saved $3.6B in taxes last quarter under new law — NEW YORK (AP) — An analysis by The Associated Press shows the nation's six big Wall Street banks saved at least $3.59 billion in taxes last quarter, thanks to the recently enacted Trump tax law. — Banks typically kick off …

Joe Hagan / Vanity Fair:

“Michael Cohen Is Going to Be Indicted”: Stormy Daniels's Attorney Is Now Cooperating with the Feds — Michael Avenatti previews the next chapter of the Cohen paper trail—and why he's still in the game to depose Donald Trump. — A little more than a week ago, Michael Avenatti was, indisputably, overexposed.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Week, Pajiba, Mediaite and CNBC

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:

The United States is mortgaging its future … American exceptionalism has meant many things over the years, often referring to our spirit and commitment to individual liberty. — Today it could refer to our exceptional fiscal recklessness. — In its newly released April 2018 Fiscal Monitor …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Linda / Patrick J. Buchanan:

Why the Authoritarian Right Is Rising — This post was viewed 78 times. — Votes: 5.00 Stars! — Loading... Share Pat's Columns! — A fortnight ago, Viktor Orban and his Fidesz Party won enough seats in the Hungarian parliament to rewrite his country's constitution.

WOGX-TV:

2 Florida deputies fatally shot in Gilchrist County — TRENTON, Fla. (WOGX FOX 51) - Two young deputies in Gilchrist County, Florida were murdered in broad daylight on Thursday afternoon. Investigators are calling it a senseless act of violence. — Sgt. Noel Ramirez, 29 …

Discussion: CNN and TheBlaze

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: The Resurgent, New York Times, Political Wire, RedState, Infowars and Breitbart

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: Sputnik International, The Guardian and Israellycool

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

Austin L. Miller / Ocala.com:

Student shot at Forest High School in Ocala — One student injured; shooter is in custody. Parents: Go to First Baptist Church, not Forest campus — Austin L. Miller @almillerosb — A male student was shot in the ankle Friday morning at Forest High School. The shooter is in custody.

Discussion: FOX31 Denver, Marion County Sheriff' … and Talking Points Memo

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 …

David Freedlander / Politico:

The Judge in the Michael Cohen-Stormy Daniels Case Is Perfect — The blog—now defunct—was called Underneath Their Robes, the poll was on “Superhotties of the Federal Judiciary,” and the winner in the female category was a New York judge named Kimba M. Wood. After that, things could have gone totally off the rails.

Sarah Leonard / New York Times:

Cynthia Nixon Can Save the Democrats (From Themselves) — After Hillary Clinton's loss to Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders's strong showing in the primary, many in the Democratic Party are able to read the writing on the wall: They need to move left. But who wants to step in?

Discussion: Slate