memeorandum: Trump's fixers revolt (Annie Karni/Politico)

7:40 AM ET, May 3, 2018

Top Items:

Giuliani Says Trump Repaid Cohen for Stormy Daniels Payment — The ex-New York mayor, now a member of president's legal team, says there were no ‘campaign finance violations’ in payment to former adult film star — WASHINGTON—Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said the president had repaid his longtime attorney …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, KTLA and The Week

New York Times:

Giuliani Says Trump Repaid Cohen for Stormy Daniels Hush Money — WASHINGTON — President Trump reimbursed Michael D. Cohen, his longtime personal lawyer, for a $130,000 payment that Mr. Cohen has said he made to keep a pornographic film actress from going public before the 2016 election …

Discussion: Politico, NBC News, Washington Post, The Week and Mother Jones

Washington Post:

Giuliani: Trump repaid lawyer Cohen for Stormy Daniels settlement — Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor and a recent addition to President Trump's legal team, said Wednesday night that Trump made a series of payments reimbursing his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 settlement …

Discussion: Washington Press, The Week and Breitbart

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Rudy Giuliani Says Trump Repaid Michael Cohen For The Stormy Daniels Hush Money — A month after President Donald Trump said he knew nothing about a $130,000 payment that Michael Cohen had facilitated to Stormy Daniels in 2016, Trump's new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said that Trump repaid Cohen after the election.

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Magazine, VICE News and Bloomberg

Axios:

Giuliani says Trump personally repaid Cohen $130k for Daniels' silence — Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump's latest additions to his legal team, told Fox News' Sean Hannity that Trump personally reimbursed Michael Cohen the $130,000 he paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels promising her silence.

Discussion: CNN, Joe.My.God., Politico and Breitbart

Fox News:

Giuliani calls for Comey to be prosecuted, end to Mueller probe ‘in the interest of justice’ — Attorney for President Trump, Rudy Giuliani, says on ‘Hannity’ that Mueller owes the Trump team a report saying Russian collusion means nothing. — Rudy Giuliani, a member of President Donald …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Vox, Joe.My.God., The Week, TheBlaze and Washington Times

Annie Karni / Politico:

Trump's fixers revolt — Longtime associates whose job was to clean up messes are suddenly in the spotlight making things worse for the president. — Looking the part has always mattered to President Donald Trump. — The president's preference for people who look like they came from …

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:

Giuliani: Trump fired Comey because he wouldn't tell Trump he wasn't target in Russia probe — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) said Wednesday that President Trump — because Comey wouldn't tell Trump that he wasn't a target of the FBI investigation into Russia's election interference.

Associated Press:

Giuliani comments on Stormy payment raise legal questions — WASHINGTON (AP) — Rudy Giuliani's revelation that President Donald Trump reimbursed his personal attorney for a $130,000 payment to a porn star to keep her quiet about an alleged affair is raising new legal questions …

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
“I've Been Approached by a Number of Networks”: Did Michael Avenatti Ask Phil Griffin for an MSNBC Show?

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Sophie Tatum / CNN:
Giuliani says Trump reimbursed Cohen for Stormy Daniels payment

Discussion: Axios, Mediaite, The Daily Beast and Splinter

Richard L. Hasen / Slate:
Rudy Giuliani May Have Just Implicated President Trump In Serious Campaign Finance Violations

Discussion: WINK NEWS, New York Times and Political Wire

Josh Hafner / USA Today: Trump voters think he's lying about Stormy Daniels. And no, they don't really care.

Juliet Macur / New York Times:

Redskins Cheerleaders Describe Topless Photo Shoots and an Uneasy Night Out — When the Washington Redskins took their cheerleading squad to Costa Rica in 2013 for a calendar photo shoot, the first cause for concern among the cheerleaders came when Redskins officials collected …

Discussion: Hot Air, smokeroom.com, The Guardian, ThinkProgress, twitchy.com, The Big Lead, AOL, Deadspin, The Week, ProFootballTalk, Raw Story, Mediaite, Axios and Daily Wire

Manu Raju / CNN:

Michael Caputo says 'it's clear' Mueller investigators focused on Russia collusion — (CNN)After being interviewed by special counsel investigators on Wednesday, former aide to Donald Trump's presidential campaign Michael Caputo told CNN that Robert Mueller's team is “focused on Russia collusion.”

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Power Line and IJR

Daily Mail:
TRUMP AIDE MICHAEL CAPUTO'S SHOCKING STATEMENT TO THE SENATE INTEL COMMITTEE

Discussion: Front Page Magazine and CNN

Daily Mail:
‘God damn you to hell!’: …

Discussion: The Rush Limbaugh Show

Song Jung-a / Financial Times:

North Korea set to release US prisoners at summit — North Korea has released the three Americans detained in the country's labour camps in a display of goodwill ahead of the looming summit between its Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, campaigners say.

Jeff Greenfield / Politico:
Thinking the Unthinkable: What If Trump Succeeds?

Discussion: Washington Post and One America News Network

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump's new quest: A Nobel may prove irresistible

Discussion: Associated Press and Mercury News

Tom Nichols / USA Today: Hold the irrational exuberance on North Korea. Kim is already winning.

New York Times:

Trump to Add Clinton Impeachment Lawyer Emmet Flood to Replace Ty Cobb — WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to hire Emmet T. Flood, the veteran Washington lawyer who represented Bill Clinton during his impeachment, to replace Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer who has taken the lead in dealing …

Allie Malloy / CNN: Teacher of the Year hands Trump letters from her refugee students

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Trump's New Lawyer Likely to Cut Him Off From Mueller Interview: Source

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Wire, NBC News, Mediaite, ABC News, New York Times and The Western Journal

New York Times:

Trump Assails Justice Dept., Siding With House Conservatives in Dispute — WASHINGTON — President Trump plunged on Wednesday into the simmering dispute between conservative House Republicans and the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, siding with the lawmakers and attacking his own Justice Department.

Discussion: CNN, Vox, Washington Press, Politico, National Review, Washington Post, The Mahablog, IJR, USA Today, The Atlantic, Shakesville and Booman Tribune

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:
Reminder: GOP Target Rod Rosenstein Is A Lifelong Republican Trump Appointed

Discussion: Mediaite, The Week and American Prospect

Erica Pandey / Axios:
Trump threatens to use presidential powers on DOJ

Discussion: ABC News, NPR, Shareblue Media and Politico

Wall Street Journal:

Cambridge Analytica Closing Operations Following Facebook Data Controversy — Company had lost multiple clients in recent months — Cambridge Analytica , a data firm that worked for President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, is shutting down following the disclosure of its misuse of Facebook data.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, BuzzFeed, Vox, CNBC, IJR, The Week, Axios, The Verge, AOL, New York Magazine and Engadget, more at Mediagazer »

The Guardian:
Cambridge Analytica closing after Facebook data harvesting scandal

Discussion: ThinkProgress

CA Commercial:
Cambridge Analytica and Scl Elections Commence Insolvency Proceedings and Release Results …

Niraj Chokshi / New York Times:

Summer Zervos, Trump Accuser, Subpoenas ‘The Apprentice’ Recordings — Summer Zervos, a former contestant on “The Apprentice” who accused President Trump of sexual assault, is seeking records to prove that he defamed her by calling her a liar. — A lawyer for Ms. Zervos …

Discussion: VICE News, Washington Press, The Week, Raw Story, CNN, Mediaite and Political Wire

Washington Post:

Charlie Rose's misconduct was widespread at CBS and three managers were warned, investigation finds … Incidents of sexual misconduct by Charlie Rose were far more numerous than previously known, according to a new investigation by The Washington Post, which also found three occasions …

New York Times:

Army Green Berets Secretly Help Saudis Combat Threat From Yemen Rebels — WASHINGTON — For years, the American military has sought to distance itself from a brutal civil war in Yemen, where Saudi-led forces are battling rebels who pose no direct threat to the United States.

New York Times:

Kelly Finds Himself in a Familiar Place in the Trump White House: Eyeing the Exits — WASHINGTON — When President Trump learned this week that his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, reportedly called him “an idiot” on several occasions, he expressed little in the way of frustration or anger …

Discussion: Axios, Deadspin, Shareblue Media and Roll Call

Leo Vidal / POLITICUSUSA:

New NBC Poll: 61% of Americans Think Trump Is Dishonest — FacebookTwitterSubscribeGooglePinterest PrintMailFlipboard — In the age of Trump shocking news no longer shocks people. And today's NBC News/Survey Monkey poll is a case in point. — We should all be shocked by this poll …

Discussion: NBC News, NewsBusters and Washington Post

Emily Smith / Page Six:

Eric Bolling returning to media with CRTV show — Former Fox News anchor Eric Bolling is returning to media after signing a deal with CRTV to host his own show titled “America.” — Bolling became a leader in the opioid crisis after his son Eric, 19, died of an accidental overdose last year …

Clint Smith / New Republic:

Wake Up, Mr. West! — This week, in an interview with TMZ, Kanye West claimed that slavery was a choice. “When you hear about slavery for 400 years ... 400 years? That sounds like a choice,” he said. — Much has already been written about West's recent exploits on and off Twitter.

Discussion: Vox, The Root and Slate

Washington Post:

America is more diverse than ever — but still segregated — The United States is on track to be a majority-minority nation by 2044. But census data show most of our neighbors are the same race. — Black — White — Hispanic — Asian/Pacific Islander — Native American Multi-race and other

Jon Ward / Yahoo:

West Virginia Senate candidate distorts reality in campaign ad — WASHINGTON — A Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in West Virginia is running an ad showing his primary opponent shaking hands with Hillary Clinton — something that never happened. The ad uses a manipulated version …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, Joe.My.God. and Political Wire

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Republican lawmakers must decide: Can Trump snub a subpoena? … For months now, Republican lawmakers have been asked what happens if President Trump fires special counsel Robert S. Mueller III or Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, and whether they will support legislation to protect either or both.

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

HHS official who shared conspiracy theories and said ‘forefathers would have hung’ Obama is back at work — (CNN)A political appointee at the Department of Health and Human Services has apologized and is now back at work at the department after it came to light that she spread conspiracy theories …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Media Matters for America and Mediaite

Alex Burness / Daily Camera:

Boulder City Council calls for ‘full editorial independence’ at Daily Camera — Late Tuesday night, the Boulder City Council unanimously approved a declaration in “support of the journalistic and editorial independence of our local newspaper,” the Daily Camera.