memeorandum: When Southern Newspapers Justified Lynching (Brent Staples/New York Times)

11:55 AM 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: ThinkProgress, Politico, Political Wire, The Guardian, New York Magazine, Joe.My.God. 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

Erica Pandey / Axios:

Rudy's return to the television circuit — Rudy Giuliani — currently serving as President Trump's personal lawyer — was back in front of the camera this weekend after his bombshell comments about Stormy Daniels to Fox News' Sean Hannity spurred controversy last Wednesday.

Discussion: Politico, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo and ABC News

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: ABC News

Travis M. Andrews / Washington Post:
SNL brings in Ben Stiller, Scarlett Johansson, Stormy Daniels and more for star-studded cold open

Discussion: Refinery29 and Balloon Juice

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

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” …

Discussion: Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Press, CANNONFIRE, New Century Times, Hullabaloo, Joe.My.God., Balloon Juice, The American Conservative, Mediaite and Political Wire

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

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

Amos Harel / Haaretz: U.S. Exit From Nuclear Deal Would Help Iran, Former Israeli General Says

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

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.

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.

Morgan Gstalter / The Hill:

McCain says he regrets picking Palin as running mate — (R-Ariz.) said he regrets choosing former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to be his running mate during the 2008 presidential campaign. — The New York Times reported on Saturday that McCain, while still defending Palin's performance …

Discussion: Daily Wire, Joe.My.God., Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Benjamin Hart / New York Magazine:
John McCain Regrets His Palin Pick for the Wrong Reasons

Discussion: Washington Monthly

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

Discussion: Townhall, Politico, HuffPost, USA Today, Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, The Hill, Axios, Jezebel, Conservative News Today, Mediaite, RedState, CNN, The Daily Caller, AOL, Political Wire, New York Times and Raw Story

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 and Political Wire

Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
Early GOP primaries shaping up as rightward march with Trump

Discussion: RedState and Political Wire

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.

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

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.

Discussion: NBC News

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 …

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.

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 …

Discussion: IJR, Conservative News Today, The Daily Caller, Front Page Magazine and Deadline