memeorandum: The leaked Comey memos just blew up in Trump's face (Greg Sargent/Washington Post)

3:45 PM ET, April 20, 2018

Top Items:

Justice Department Watchdog Probes Comey Memos Over Classified Information — Former FBI director has said he considered the memos, which he gave to a friend to release to media, personal documents — WASHINGTON—At least two of the memos that former FBI Director James Comey gave …

Discussion: Townhall, Axios, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Sean Hannity, The Right Scoop and Political Wire

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, MSNBC, The Atlantic and Raw Story

Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly:

The Big Takeaway From the Release of the Comey Memos — The memos former FBI Director James Comey wrote about his meetings with Donald Trump have been released. As I noted yesterday, the president's enablers in Congress had threatened to hold Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in contempt …

Discussion: Associated Press, The Federalist, Raw Story, Mother Jones and Daily Wire

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

The leaked Comey memos just blew up in Trump's face … THE MORNING PLUM: — The past 12 hours brought two very big revelations involving former FBI director James B. Comey, President Trump and the Russia investigation, and they must be looked at side by side to fully grasp their collective importance.

Discussion: CNN, Splinter, HuffPost and The Mahablog

Stef W. Kight / Axios:

Andrew McCabe fights back — Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe is looking to sue for defamation, wrongful termination and other possible civil claims, his lawyer told reporters Friday. — One big thing: McCabe's lawyer, Michael Bromwich, announced the launch of the Andrew McCabe Legal Defense Fund.

Discussion: The Federalist and Daily Wire

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:

Comey's Memos Indicate Dossier Briefing Of Trump Was A Setup — Newly released memos written by former FBI director James Comey indicate that an early 2017 briefing for then-President-elect Donald Trump about the contents of an infamous dossier was held so it could be leaked to media outlets eager …

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

New revelations shed light on Comey, Trump, and that ‘loyalty’ demand — There was great indignation and much disapproval last year when it was reported that President Trump had asked then-FBI Director James Comey for “loyalty.” Such a request, it was said, was more characteristic of a mob boss …

Discussion: CNN, Axios, The Federalist, emptywheel, The Week, Breitbart, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, TheBlaze and RedState

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
6 Takeaways From the James Comey Memos

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, The Hill, NBC News, New Yorker, The Guardian, ABC News, Daily Wire, Balloon Juice, The Right Scoop, Sputnik International, Breitbart, Common Dreams, Roll Call, KTLA and Joe.My.God.

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Trump hires Giuliani, two other attorneys amid mounting legal turmoil over Russia

Discussion: Vox, New York Post, New Yorker, ABC News, The Source, Joe.My.God., The Hill, Shareblue Media, MSNBC, Outside the Beltway, IJR, Talking Points Memo, RedState and Washington Press

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
McCabe to sue Trump admin for defamation, wrongful termination

Discussion: Townhall and Sean Hannity

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Comey Memos: Clear Proof Trump Repeatedly Lied About His Trip To Moscow

Discussion: ThinkProgress, VICE News and Washington Press

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Comey Memos Provide Intimate Look Into Trump Presidency

U.S. House of Representatives Permanent …:
Nunes, Gowdy, Goodlatte Statement on Comey Memos

Discussion: Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CNBC and Raw Story

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Comey memos paint deeply unflattering view of Trump

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, IJR, The Guardian, The Week, Pajiba, HuffPost, Shareblue Media, Sean Hannity, NBC News, Townhall, Daily Wire, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and The Right Scoop

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

Discussion: Vox, HuffPost, Washington Post, The Week, VICE News, Raw Story and AOL

Washington Post:

Democratic Party files lawsuit alleging Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks conspired to disrupt the 2016 campaign — The Democratic National Committee filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit Friday against the Russian government, the Trump campaign and the WikiLeaks organization alleging …

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: National Review, Townhall, RedState, The Root, IJR, Front Page Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Sean Hannity, The Right Scoop, Daily Wire, Splinter, Publishers Lunch, Washington Free Beacon, twitchy.com, Washington Times and Political Wire

Ellie Shechet / Jezebel:

Philippe Reines Responds to Clinton Book, Tells Jezebel He Has ‘Tapes’ — New York Times reporter Amy Chozick has a new memoir out called Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling, and in it she recalls being gaslit and harassed by Clinton's male press aides, whom she refers to as “The Guys.”

Discussion: Mother Jones

Amy Chozick / New York Times:

‘They Were Never Going to Let Me Be President’ — Covering Hillary Clinton's campaign from before it started to the very last moment. — Things were already looking bad when Chelsea Clinton popped the Champagne. It was just after 9 p.m. on election night and she was having her hair …

Discussion: Mother Jones

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

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
D.N.C. Lawsuit Alleges Trump-Russia Conspiracy

Discussion: Raw Story and IJR

David Rutz / Washington Free Beacon: New York Times Reporter: ‘I Cried’ After Writing Story About How Clinton Lost the Election

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: RedState, Washington Monthly, CNN, Axios, Hullabaloo, Splinter, Booman Tribune, Talking Points Memo, MSNBC, KTLA, CNBC, Raw Story, AOL, FOX40, The Week, CBS Baltimore and Mediaite

New York Times:

Michael Cohen Has Said He Would Take a Bullet for Trump. Maybe Not Anymore. — For years, a joke among Trump Tower employees was that the boss was like Manhattan's First Avenue, where the traffic goes only one way. — That one-sidedness has always been at the heart of President Trump's relationship …

Discussion: Raw Story

Joe Hagan / Vanity Fair:
“Michael Cohen Is Going to Be Indicted”: Stormy Daniels's Attorney Is Now Cooperating with the Feds

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Hot Air and ThinkProgress

Jem Aswad / Variety:

Avicii Dead at 28 — Artist, DJ and producer Tim Bergling, a.k.a. Avicii, died this afternoon in Oman, according to a statement from his rep. He was 28. — “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii,” the statement reads.

Discussion: Pajiba, Mashable and Joe.My.God.

Kevin D. Williamson / Wall Street Journal:

When the Twitter Mob Came for Me — Recently hired by the Atlantic and then promptly fired, the conservative writer Kevin D. Williamson discusses the social-media outrage that made the celebrated magazine retreat — In early March, I met up with Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of the Atlantic …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

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 …

Discussion: Common Dreams, Media Matters for America, MSNBC, Shareblue Media, Splinter and twitchy.com

Cristiano Lima / Politico:

Trump won't attend Barbara Bush funeral ‘out of respect’ for family — President Donald Trump will not join first lady Melania Trump in attending the funeral services for former first lady Barbara Bush, the White House said in a statement, citing a desire to “avoid disruptions” …

Discussion: Associated Press and The Root

Alex Leary / Tampa Bay Times:
Roger Stone calls Barbara Bush a ‘nasty drunk’ and whips up controversy in Northwest Florida

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

Democratic Party files suit alleging Russia, the Trump campaign, and WikiLeaks conspired to disrupt the 2016 election — The Democratic National Committee sued the Trump campaign, the Russian government, Wikileaks on Friday, accusing them of conspiring to disrupt the 2016 presidential election.

Discussion: Sean Hannity, The American Mirror and The Last Tradition

The Democrats:
We're suing the Trump campaign and Russia.

Discussion: Engadget

CNN:

Student wounded in shooting at Florida high school, authorities say — (CNN)A student was wounded after a shooting Friday morning at a high school in Ocala, Florida, the Marion County Sheriff's Office said, shortly before students were to walk out as part of a national protest against gun violence.

Discussion: WESH-TV, Washington Press, Talking Points Memo, Refinery29, FOX6Now.com, KTLA, FOX40, CBS San Francisco and WPMT FOX43

WOGX-TV:
2 Florida deputies fatally shot in Gilchrist County

Discussion: CNN and TheBlaze

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.

David Wasserman / The Cook Political Report:

Risk Factors for 2018 GOP House Incumbents — Multiple indicators, including generic ballot polls, President Trump's approval ratings and recent special election results, point to midterm danger for Republicans. But without robust race-by-race polling, it's trickier to predict individual races six months out.

Anna Merlan / Splinter:

The CIA Says Mike Pompeo Didn't Fight in the Gulf War — In the frenzied game of musical chairs that is the Trump administration, CIA Director Mike Pompeo is set to become the next Secretary of State. It's an ideal time, then, to clarify details of his biography, including a rather major one …

Discussion: The Week

The Genesis Prize:

Natalie Portman Cancels Visit to Jerusalem to Receive the “Jewish Nobel” — Natalie Portman will not travel to Israel in June to receive the Genesis Prize, dubbed by Time Magazine as “The Jewish Nobel.” The Genesis Prize Foundation (GPF) was notified by a representative of Ms. Portman that …

Discussion: The Guardian, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, Breitbart and Mediaite

Peter Kornbluh / Politico:

‘My Dearest Fidel’: An ABC Journalist's Secret Liaison With Fidel Castro — Lisa Howard had been waiting for more than two hours in a suite of the Hotel Riviera, enough time to bathe, dress and apply makeup, then take it all off to get ready for bed when she thought he wasn't coming.

Discussion: Front Page Magazine, One America News Network, The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon

Jesse Paul / Denver Post:

Democrats have a candidate on the ballot in every single 2018 Colorado congressional, statehouse and major statewide race — The Colorado Republican Party said it doesn't have candidates in all of those races — Democrats have secured a candidate on the ballot in every 2018 Colorado congressional …

Celeste Katz / Town & Country:

Karen Pence Is Playing the Mother of All Long Games — We don't hear much about the Second Lady, and that's on purpose. But that doesn't mean that Karen Pence has nothing to say. — Before running for Congress 18 years ago, Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, sat their kids down to talk about it.

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation

Fenit Nirappil / Washington Post:

D.C. lawmaker accused of anti-Semitism donated to event where Farrakhan denounced Jews … D.C. campaign finance officials have asked council member Trayon White Sr. for more information about a $500 donation he made to a Nation of Islam event in Chicago where leader Louis Farrakhan declared “powerful Jews are my enemy.”

Discussion: Townhall, PoPville, TheBlaze and HuffPost

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 …

Discussion: Raw Story

Wall Street Journal:

McKayla Maroney's Dark Journey: Olympic Champion, Abused Gymnast — A cherished American athlete suffered a heavy toll from years of sexual abuse by U.S. team doctor Larry Nassar; powerful institutions failed to protect her — Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber were in their bedroom …