memeorandum: 1968: Power to the Imagination — Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Claus Leggewie (The New York Review of Books)

1:40 PM ET, May 6, 2018

Top Items:

Justin Fishel / ABC News:

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani won't rule out that president could take the Fifth Amendment in Russia probe — President Donald Trump's top personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said he can't rule out the possibility of the president taking the Fifth Amendment if he testifies in the Russia investigation.

Discussion: Vox, Mother Jones, Mediaite, Politico, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Hot Air, The Guardian, New York Magazine, Political Wire, The Week, Joe.My.God., Breitbart and AOL

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

The Naked Truth About Trump — WASHINGTON — Before I get to America's Mayor and America's Nightmare, I would like to say this: — Michelle Wolf was right when she turned a gimlet eye on the media. — “You guys are obsessed with Trump,” the comedian said at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Discussion: Althouse, The Daily Beast, Vanity Fair and AOL

Travis M. Andrews / Washington Post:

SNL brings in Ben Stiller, Scarlett Johansson, Stormy Daniels and more for star-studded cold open … Now, that was a cold open. — Ben Stiller, Martin Short, Jimmy Fallon, Scarlett Johansson, Alec Baldwin and Stormy Daniels herself all showed up for one of the more star-studded cold opens …

Discussion: Refinery29 and Balloon Juice

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:

Stormy Daniels attorney: Giuliani interview an ‘unmitigated disaster’ — Adult film actress Stormy Daniels' attorney said on Sunday that Rudy Giuliani's appearance on ABC minutes before him was an “absolute unmitigated disaster” for President Donald Trump's legal counsel.

Discussion: Breitbart and The Week

Victoria Guida / Politico:

Giuliani: Trump doesn't have to comply with potential Mueller subpoena — Rudy Giuliani said Sunday that President Donald Trump wouldn't have to comply with a potential subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller. — “We don't have to,” the former New York City mayor now working …

Discussion: Washington Post and ABC News

Erica Pandey / Axios:
Rudy's return to the television circuit

Discussion: Politico, The Guardian and ABC News

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 5-6-18: President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and Stormy …

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Associated Press: Trump attorney not ruling out his taking the 5th Amendment

Ross Douthat / New York Times:
How Trump Is Winning — As Donald Trump entered the second year …

Discussion: CNN

Wall Street Journal:

Mueller Probe Might Have to Go Dark for Midterm Election — Though there is no legal deadline, Justice Department guidelines say prosecutors should avoid the appearance of trying to sway elections — WASHINGTON—The clock is ticking for special counsel Robert Mueller.

Jonathan Cohn / HuffPost:

This Is The Toughest Gun Law In America — Reformers love what Massachusetts is doing. The NRA? Not so much. — NEWTON, Mass. A thirtysomething man sought to buy a rifle here last September, and if he had been living in almost any other part of the country, he could have done so easily.

Greg B. Smith / New York Daily News:

EXCLUSIVE: Former NYC media player finds himself living in homeless shelter after life took ‘unfathomable’ downward spiral — Once upon a time in New York City, Sherman Jackson lived at the glittering heights of public life in a privileged place of bold-faced names and media stars.

Garry Kasparov / New York Daily News:

Saving America from itself: Trump is a symptom, not the disease — American friends, you might not like to hear this coming from a Russian, but your Founding Fathers did not trust you at all. Don't feel bad, because that most remarkable constellation of 18th-century intellect and courage didn't trust anyone.

Eric Talmadge / Associated Press:

North Korea says US ruining mood of detente ahead of summit — PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — With just weeks to go before President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are expected to hold their first-ever summit, Pyongyang on Sunday criticized what it called “misleading” …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Chicago Tribune

Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:
Trump callously plays games with families of hostages: ‘Stay tuned!’

Discussion: NBC News and Talking Points Memo

The Guardian:

Revealed: Trump team hired spy firm for ‘dirty ops’ on Iran arms deal — Israeli agency told to find incriminating material on Obama diplomats who negotiated deal with Tehran — Aides to Donald Trump, the US president, hired an Israeli private intelligence agency to orchestrate a “dirty ops” …

Haaretz: Kerry Met With Iranian Foreign Minister in Bid to Save Nuclear Deal, Report Says

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:
Giuliani: Trump is ‘committed to’ regime change in Iran

Discussion: ABC News, The Times of IsraelEric …, Breitbart, Eclectablog, Talking Points Memo, The Week and The American Conservative

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Blankenship surging on eve of West Virginia Senate primary — There is growing concern among Republicans that Don Blankenship, a bombastic coal baron who has spent time in prison, is surging ahead of Tuesday's West Virginia Senate primary — and a last-minute campaign is underway to stop him.

Discussion: ABC News, The Root, Political Wire and Slate

Benjamin Hart / New York Magazine:

John McCain Regrets His Palin Pick for the Wrong Reasons — When historians — or, really any of us — look back at President Trump's ascent to the presidency, they will identify many moments over the years, big and small, that could be identified as warning signs of the catastrophe to come.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Hill

Morgan Gstalter / The Hill:
McCain says he regrets picking Palin as running mate

Discussion: New York Post, Breitbart, Daily Wire and Joe.My.God.

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
McCain doesn't want Trump at funeral, friends tell White House

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:

Trump's coming war on Mueller: ANALYSIS — With the shakeup of the president's legal team, he is now all-in on a new strategy to deal with special counsel Robert Mueller: fight, delay, vilify. — The legal strategy dovetails with the Trump team's political strategy: rallying the base …

Alex Swoyer / Washington Times:

Devin Nunes says he'll push to hold Jeff Sessions in contempt — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes said Sunday he will be pushing to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt this week for not complying with a subpoena. — The California Republican said his committee sent …

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:

WATCH: MSNBC segment explodes after Dershowitz calls lawyer Richard Painter ‘un-American and a liar’ — Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz was shut down on MSNBC Saturday after launching a bizarre tirade against former chief White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter.

Vianna Davila / The Seattle Times:

Fury, frustration erupt over Seattle's proposed head tax for homelessness services — A day after Amazon's surprise announcement regarding a proposed new business tax for homelessness services, flare-ups of opposition show deep frustration with Seattle's handling of the crisis.

Tara Siegel Bernard / New York Times:

Yes, It's Bad. Robocalls, and Their Scams, Are Surging. — It's not just you. — Those pesky robocalls — at best annoying disturbances and at worst costly financial scams — are getting worse. — In an age when cellphones have become extensions of our bodies, robocallers …

Anna Sanders / New York Post:

Rosie O'Donnell's campaign donations to Dems went over legal limit — Rosie O'Donnell made illegally over-sized campaign donations to at least five Democratic federal candidates, according to a Post analysis of campaign filings. — The liberal comedian has regularly broken Federal Election …