memeorandum: Don't Delete Kanye — “Dude, are you watching Kanye right now?” (Liel Leibovitz/New York Times)

7:25 PM ET, April 27, 2018

Top Items:

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

‘Mass firing’ at conservative site RedState — Salem Media, owner of the influential conservative outlet RedState, froze the site on Friday and dismissed many of its writers. — Bloggers were locked out of their accounts — some just temporarily, while the cuts were made, and others permanently.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Vox, Balloon Juice, Outside the Beltway, Contemptor, Mediaite and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Erick Erickson / The Resurgent:

RedState Is No More — RedState's owners have engaged in a mass purge of talent. … The site name will linger, but RedState is all but dead now. I have invited the fired writers here. — When RedState started in 2004, it was about collaborating between all sides of the GOP and, after I took over, had a real grassroots focus.

Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:
Conservative Site RedState ‘Purges’ Anti-Trump Voices, Fired Writers Say

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Joe Concha / The Hill:
Trump critics fired at conservative site RedState

Discussion: alicublog and Patterico's Pontifications

Rosie Gray / The Atlantic: RedState and the Dwindling Space for Anti-Trump Conservatives

New York Times:

Lawyer Who Was Said to Have Dirt on Clinton Had Closer Ties to Kremlin Than She Let On — MOSCOW — The Russian lawyer who met with Trump campaign officials in Trump Tower in June 2016 on the premise that she would deliver damaging information about Hillary Clinton has long insisted …

Washington Post:

The new House GOP report on Russia is revealing. But not in a good way for Trump. … Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee today released a report on Russia's involvement in the 2016 election. Although it's meant to exonerate President Trump and everyone around him …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo and The Week

Sara Murray / CNN:

Exclusive: NRA gathers documents amid scrutiny over ties to Kremlin-linked banker — Washington (CNN)The National Rifle Association is setting aside years of documents related to its interactions with a Kremlin-linked banker, as the gun-rights group appears to be bracing for a possible investigation …

Discussion: Raw Story

The Daily Beast: Michael Flynn and Son Met With Russia Ambassador Before RT Gala

Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
Manafort's Lawsuit Taking Aim at Mueller Is Tossed Out of Court

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Politico and Mother Jones

New York Times:
Republicans on House Intelligence Panel Absolve Trump Campaign in Russian Meddling

Discussion: The CT Mirror, ThinkProgress, Hit & Run, Washington Post, CBS Los Angeles, VICE News, Fox News, Political Wire and Althouse

Jeremy Herb / CNN:
House Republicans release redacted Russia report

Discussion: Raw Story and Power Line

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“They're Looking for a Place for Kelly to Land That Won't Be Embarrassing for Him”: Will Trump Move His Chief of Staff to Veterans Affairs? — The president has talked about pushing Kelly out for months—and Ronny Jackson's crash-and-burn creates a logical opening.

Discussion: CNN, TheBlaze and The Nevada Independent

Associated Press:

White House: Records dispute allegations against Jackson — WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Friday that internal records raise doubt about some of the most serious allegations leveled against White House doctor Ronny Jackson in his failed bid to become the next secretary of Veterans Affairs.

CNN:

Several White House medical unit staffers describe pressure to hand out meds — Washington (CNN)The White House medical unit frequently functioned as a “grab and go” clinic where mid-level staffers to the most senior officials could obtain prescription drugs without being examined by a doctor …

Discussion: Washington Post, twitchy.com, TheBlaze, CNBC, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, National Review and USA Today

Washington Post: Investigation found no evidence that former VA nominee Ronny L. Jackson ‘wrecked’ car after party, White House says

Shannon Vavra / Axios:
Photos: Angela Merkel's visit to the White House

Discussion: ABC News and One America News Network

Congressman Patrick Meehan:

Congressman Meehan Announces Resignation — Representative Patrick Meehan (R-PA) today transmitted a letter of resignation to Governor Tom Wolf and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan effective Friday, April 27, 2018. Representative Meehan had previously announced he would not seek re-election …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, The Hill, The Guardian, HuffPost, Roll Call, MSNBC, Raw Story, TheBlaze, IJR, The Daily Beast, Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and Joe.My.God.

Jonathan Tamari / Philly.com:
Rep. Pat Meehan resigns; will pay back $39,000 used for harassment settlement

Discussion: Politico, Axios and Mediaite

Choe Sang-Hun / New York Times:

North and South Korea Set Bold Goals: A Final Peace and No Nuclear Arms — SEOUL, South Korea — The leaders of North and South Korea agreed on Friday to work to remove all nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula and, within the year, pursue talks with the United States to declare …

Alexander Mallin / ABC News:
President Trump won't say if he's talked with Kim Jong Un

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, Breitbart and Associated Press

Jon Swaine / The Guardian:

Sean Hannity: 400% rise in eviction orders since host bought Georgia apartment complex — Records show 61 different residents have received notice to vacate their homes in Perry complex since Hannity took over in 2014 — The number of eviction orders obtained against tenants …

Discussion: Raw Story

Los Angeles Times: In Georgia, Sean Hannity is just another landlord hiking the rent

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Court grants 90-day delay in Stormy Daniels' suit against Trump — A lawsuit filed by an adult-film actress over an alleged “hush money” deal with President Donald Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen will be put on hold for three months because of a criminal investigation Cohen is facing, a federal judge ruled on Friday.

Discussion: Associated Press, Political Wire, Axios and Law & Crime

Jim Dwyer / New York Times:

Scenes Unseen: The Summer of '78 — Six months ago, a parks official cleaning out an office came across two cardboard boxes that had been sitting around for decades. — Inside were 2,924 color slides, pictures made in parks across New York City's five boroughs late in the summer of 1978.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Marisa Guthrie / Hollywood Reporter:

Tom Brokaw Rips “Sensational” Accuser Claims: I Was “Ambushed and Then Perp Walked” — The revered NBC News anchor accused of unwanted advances pens a strenuous denial and defense of his legacy. — Tom Brokaw, the NBC News anchor who has served as a distinguished anchor emeritus since stepping …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, HuffPost, Hot Air, Law & Crime, TheBlaze, Talking Points Memo, Media Matters for America, Splinter, twitchy.com, CBS San Francisco, Front Page Magazine, KTLA, Jezebel and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

Yiannopoulos' business implodes after death of crypto-billionaire — Running out of money and down on his luck, right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos laid off the small staff of Milo Entertainment Inc. earlier this month, according to three people familiar with the situation.

Discussion: Washington Press, AOL, Joe.My.God., Contemptor, The Daily Caller, The Mahablog and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Sean Davis / The Federalist:

Declassified Congressional Report: James Clapper Lied About Dossier Leaks To CNN — Buried within a newly declassified congressional report on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections is a shocking revelation: former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper not only leaked information …

Discussion: Sara A. Carter, Power Line, Townhall, Conservative Review, Sean Hannity and Daily Wire

John Sexton / Hot Air:
Clapper Leaked The Dossier To CNN After Ordering Comey To Brief Trump (Update: Clapper Hired By CNN)

Discussion: Power Line and The Daily Caller

Los Angeles Times:

ICE held an American man in custody for 1,273 days. He's not the only one who had to prove his citizenship — Immigration officers in the United States operate under a cardinal rule: Keep your hands off Americans. — But Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents repeatedly target U.S. citizens …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Monthly and Splinter

CREW:

FOIA Request - Federal Bureau of Investigation - Giulliani Leak — CREW requests copies of all records pertaining to the FBI's investigation of the source of the leak of information to Rudolph Giuliani in October 2016 that then-FBI Director James B. Comey was going to reopen the investigation …

Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed:

Real People Are Turning Their Accounts Into Bots On Instagram — And Cashing In — In late February, an Instagram account called Viral Hippo posted a photo of a black square. There was nothing special about the photo, or the square, and certainly not the account that posted it.

Nicole Bitette / New York Daily News:

Rob Schneider thinks ‘Saturday Night Live’ is ruining the joke — “Saturday Night Live,” you can do it — better. — Comedian Rob Schneider burst out on the scene on “Saturday Night Live” in the 1990s, but nearly three decades later, he thinks the hit NBC comedy series is bursting …

Discussion: TheBlaze, Raw Story, IJR, Breitbart, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, IndieWire, Louder With Crowder and Althouse

Jeffrey Adam Sachs / Niskanen Center:

There Is No Campus Free Speech Crisis: A Close Look at the Evidence — The campus free speech debate is heating up. Last month I made the case (first in a Twitter thread and then again at the Washington Post's The Monkey Cage) that there is no campus free speech crisis.

Discussion: The Daily Signal

Bloomberg:

Will Cohen Flip? Tenuous Finances May Provide Crucial Clues — Taxes, loans, and collapsing medallion values take their toll — Does he have compromising information on Trump he can trade? — In the two weeks since federal agents seized the files of Michael Cohen …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Jacqulyn Powell / KXAN-TV:

After using rare ‘gay panic’ legal defense, Austin man avoids prison time — AUSTIN (KXAN) - James Miller will serve 10 years probation after being sentenced for criminally negligent homicide for killing his neighbor in east Austin in 2015. — The jury recommended Miller serve 10 years probation …

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation and thenewcivilrightsmovement.com

Gray Rohrer / Orlando Sentinel:

‘Opportunity zones’ aim to give neighborhoods an economic boost — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio helped push for the program designed to help impoverished areas. (Stephen M. Dowell / Orlando Sentinel) — Privacy Policy — TALLAHASSEE — Ten years after the Great Recession …

Robin Hanson / Overcoming Bias:

Two Types of Envy — I've long puzzled over the fact that most of the concern I hear expressed on inequality is about the smallest of (at least) seven kinds: income inequality between the families of a nation at a time (IIBFNAT). Expressed concern has greatly increased over the last half decade.

Bryan Curtis / The Ringer:

The Loneliest Beat in the NBA — As a playoff series with the Warriors nears, the small, cash-strapped, occasionally part-time Pelicans press corps is ready for its close-up — One morning this week, when I call the Pelicans beat writer for Louisiana's largest newspaper, he asks if he can call me back.

The Daily Beast:

Mick Mulvaney Met With Lobbyist Donors While at Trump White House … Mick Mulvaney, Donald Trump's top budget and financial consumer watchdog, had a hierarchy of access in his former congressional office: first were constituents, then lobbyists who'd donated to his campaign, and then, at the bottom, lobbyists who hadn't.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, NPR, Common Dreams, Center for Public Integrity and New York Times

Liel Leibovitz / New York Times:

Don't Delete Kanye — “Dude, are you watching Kanye right now?” — I was trying to get some work done and so had logged off of Twitter, that black hole of permanent distraction. But I couldn't escape the nonstop emails and texts from my friends suggesting that I drop everything and watch the rapper's feed.