memeorandum: Judge to Manafort: Don't Worry, the Jail You're Going to Knows How to Handle Terrorists, Traitors and Spies (Matt Naham/Law & Crime)

5:05 PM ET, July 11, 2018

Top Items:

When Trump attacked Germany in Brussels, his aides pursed their lips and glanced away — President Trump kicked off his trip to Europe with a biting critique of the United States' longtime allies, declaring at a breakfast meeting that Germany “is captive to Russia.”

Discussion: CNN, Bustle, CNBC, WGN-TV and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Trump says Germany ‘is captive to Russia’ in fiery opening salvo against NATO — BRUSSELS — President Trump unleashed a blistering attack Wednesday on Germany and other NATO allies, wasting no time to take the offensive before a week of high-stakes diplomacy on both sides of the former Cold War divide.

Bloomberg:

Trump Urges Doubling Target for Arms Budgets to 4%: NATO Update — U.S. president accuses Germany of being ‘captive of Russia’ — Back in the U.S., his comments drew criticism from lawmakers — Donald Trump is on the offensive as leaders gathered at a two-day North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, IJR, Associated Press, Common Dreams, Reuters, Task & Purpose and The Daily Caller

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

This remarkable exchange at NATO perfectly captures Trump's ugly bad faith — THE MORNING PLUM: — This morning, at the NATO summit, President Trump got into an extended dust-up with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and the exchange generating the headlines is the one in which Trump ripped …

Discussion: Anchorage Daily News, Orlando Weekly and Washington Monthly

Associated Press:

No shove, but Trump body language speaks to frosty relations — BRUSSELS (AP) — He didn't shove anyone this time, but President Donald Trump's body language during NATO events Wednesday suggested his relationships with key U.S. allies aren't exactly buddy-buddy.

Meridith McGraw / ABC News:
Trump issues blistering attacks on Germany at NATO breakfast: ‘Germany is controlled by Russia’

Discussion: Politico, IJR, twitchy.com and The Daily Caller

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump to watch military parade at Windsor Castle

Discussion: The Hill and Taylor Marsh

CNN:
Corker: Trump rhetoric ‘diminishing’ American leadership around the world

Discussion: Tennessean.com and Townhall

Calvin Woodward / Associated Press:
AP FACT CHECK: Trump keeps promoting myth about NATO debt

Discussion: Althouse

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Worried about Russia? Then Keep an Eye on Germany's Former Chancellor

Discussion: Atlantic Council, Daily Wire and Axios

Scott Horsley / NPR:
Trump Blasts Allies At NATO Summit

Discussion: TheBlaze, Politico, Washington Post, Fox News, Breitbart, Houston Public Media and Daily Wire

Katie Benner / New York Times:

Rosenstein Asks Prosecutors to Help With Kavanaugh Papers in Unusual Request — WASHINGTON — Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, has asked federal prosecutors to help review the government documents of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Common Dreams, Mashable, Media Matters for America, Weekly Standard and The Daily Caller

Washington Post:

The elite world of Brett Kavanaugh — The Chevy Chase Lounge is a neighborhood joint where bartender Tim Higgins is accustomed to bantering with long-standing patrons, including a middle-aged guy named Brett who likes to pop in for a Budweiser and a burger after coaching his daughters' basketball games.

Monica Hesse / Washington Post: What men are trying to say when they show off their Female Relationship Résumé

Axios:
Joe Manchin: Brett Kavanaugh “has all the right qualities”

Discussion: Breitbart, Power Line and Lawfare

Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:
Judge Kavanaugh's Former Clerks: Diverse, and Deployed to Vouch for Him

Discussion: Washington Post, MSNBC and Investor's Business Daily

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:
Brett Kavanaugh's Journey to Becoming a Supreme Court Nominee

Discussion: The Democrats and Daily Kos

Matt Naham / Law & Crime:

Judge to Manafort: Don't Worry, the Jail You're Going to Knows How to Handle Terrorists, Traitors and Spies — The legal saga of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort took another turn Wednesday as Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) Judge T.S. Ellis has denied his bid to stay put at the jail he is currently residing at.

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Mueller team listening to Manafort's jail phone calls — Contrary to his lawyers' court filings, the former Trump campaign chairman says he's being treated like a ‘VIP’ in prison. — Paul Manafort may not be a free man. But the former Donald Trump campaign chairman's jail conditions are hardly the stuff of Alcatraz.

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Paul Manafort to be moved from jail where prosecutors say he has ‘VIP’ treatment

Discussion: Political Wire

Colleen Long / Associated Press:

Border Protection says NYC mayor crossed border illegally — WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his security detail violated both Mexican and U.S. immigration laws by crossing the border on foot during a visit near El Paso, Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection alleges …

Discussion: Daily Wire, National Review, Washington Free Beacon, Townhall, The Daily Caller, HuffPost, Bustle, TheBlaze, Splinter and Axios

New York Times:

Battling Fake Accounts, Twitter to Slash Millions of Followers — Twitter will begin removing tens of millions of suspicious accounts from users' followers on Thursday, signaling a major new effort to restore trust on the popular but embattled platform. — The reform takes aim at a pervasive form of social media fraud.

Discussion: Washington Post, New Republic, Breitbart and The FADER, more at Techmeme »

Vijaya Gadde / Twitter:
Confidence in follower counts

Discussion: Politico, WTKR-TV, Vox, CBS Los Angeles, The Verge, RAPPLER, KTLA and Engadget

Pew Research Center:

Obama Tops Public's List of Best President in Their Lifetime, Followed by Clinton, Reagan — Reagan is top choice among Boomers, Silents — When asked which president has done the best job in their lifetimes, more Americans name Barack Obama than any other president.

Discussion: Vox, The Daily Caller, IJR, POLITICUSUSA and Axios

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Once partners, ‘Game Change’ authors feuding over their shattered franchise — Until their split last year, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann were the golden boys of American political journalism. Their collaboration led to a best-selling book about the 2008 presidential campaign, “Game Change …

Discussion: Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

HuffPost:

Former Obama Officials Are Riding Out The Trump Years By Cashing In — The revolving door takes a spin. — The last 18 months have been difficult for former members of the Obama administration. They've been replaced by a regime, which, in the words of former Domestic Policy Council …

Discussion: Common Dreams

Los Angeles Times:

Papa John's founder reportedly used racial slur in conference call — A media agency working with Papa John's International Inc. decided to cut ties after the pizza maker's founder and chairman, John Schnatter, allegedly used a racial slur and graphic descriptions of violence against minorities …

Noah Kirsch / Forbes:
Papa John's Founder Allegedly Used N-Word On Conference Call

Discussion: CBS Boston, San Bernardino Sun, fox8.com, Mashable, ProFootballTalk, Towleroad, theGrio, WREG-TV, ThinkProgress, WIS-TV, Insider Louisville, BloombergQuint, Boing Boing and Mediaite

Carrie Johnson / NPR:

Senate Confirms New Boss For Justice Department Criminal Division — The Senate voted 51-48 on Wednesday to confirm Brian Benczkowski as an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, ending an 18-month delay in which its Criminal Division operated without a permanent leader.

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Dems rip Trump DOJ nominee who represented Russian bank

Discussion: MSNBC, Associated Press, Mother Jones and Roll Call

Daniella Greenbaum / Weekly Standard:

Here Is the Column That Business Insider Spiked — Defending an actress for being hired to do a job is apparently beyond the pale these days. … Scarlett Johansson is the latest target of the social-justice warrior mob. The actress is being chastised for, well, acting.

Discussion: Breitbart, CNNMoney and Washington Free Beacon

BuzzFeed:

The Professor At The Center Of The Trump-Russia Probe Was A No-Show In Court — At a hearing in Palermo, Italy, Joseph Mifsud was described as “a ghost.” — Reporting From Palermo, Italy — PALERMO, Italy — Joseph Mifsud, the mysterious professor at the center of the Trump-Russia probe, was due in court in Italy on Wednesday.

Alan Blinder / New York Times:

Alabama Moves to Ban Sheriffs from Pocketing Jail Food Money — Alabama's governor has cut off a gravy train for the state's sheriffs: the unspent money for prisoners' meals that the sheriffs have long been allowed to keep for themselves. — The practice, born of a bickered-over ambiguity in a state law …

Discussion: Political Wire

Sean T. Collins / The Outline:

The only good online fandom left is Dune — As corporations take control of nerd culture, science fiction's most esoteric epic remains gloriously untamed. — Escapism in the year 2018 is a strange thing. If you want to refresh a brain beshitted by weeks and months of workaday corruption and brutality …

Natasha Korecki / Politico:

Pence launches Midwest damage control mission — With anxiety rising over Trump's trade policies, the vice president is stumping for endangered incumbents and reassuring big GOP donors. — CHICAGO — Vice President Mike Pence begins a campaign swing through the Midwest on Wednesday designed …

Discussion: Washington Post, Weekly Standard, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and CNN

Washington Post:

Can a liberal agenda that sells in the Bronx win over voters in Kansas? — PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. — Brent Welder walked into his campaign office to share the good news. Ever since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset victory in a Democratic House primary in New York, he'd been deluged with calls.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Mike Snider / USA Today:

Nabbed at airport, ex-Apple engineer was fleeing with secrets to self-driving cars, FBI says — Most new cars come with a range of connected options, from Bluetooth to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Here's how to distinguish among them and how to determine what you need. Kim Komando, Special for USA TODAY

Discussion: Washington Post, Engadget and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Taylor W. Anderson / Salt Lake Tribune:

The Utah Gun Exchange is following the Parkland students around the country to combat their call for more gun laws — From Texas to New York to Utah, students continue to hold rallies and town halls calling for new gun regulations after repeated mass shootings.

Discussion: Bearing Arms and Raw Story

Jamie Tarabay / CNN:

Pompeo's North Korea meeting went ‘as badly as it could have gone’ — Kim Jong Un snubbed Mike Pompeo, source says — (CNN)It began with great expectations, an eagerly-anticipated meeting with a reclusive leader, and a gift bag that included an Elton John CD.

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Shakesville, Latest - Truthout and Mother Jones

WRTV-TV:

Renter believes he was racially profiled after being confronted at apartment pool, asked to leave — INDIANAPOLIS — A renter who says he was confronted and asked to leave the pool at the apartment complex he lives in believes he was the victim of racial profiling.

Discussion: Raw Story and The Root

Julia Manchester / The Hill:

Michael Cohen has made ‘a declaration of independence’ from President Trump, lawyer says — Michael Cohen's new attorney says his client has made a “declaration of independence” from Donald Trump — and no longer would take a bullet for the president in any investigation.

Discussion: Susan Wright on the Right, TheBlaze and Joe.My.God.

Mary Ellen Klas / miamiherald:

Rick Scott and family made $550M in one transaction. How ‘blind’ is his blind trust? — TALLAHASSEE — The reason Gov. Rick Scott's net income rose 55 percent in 2017 has to do with electric cars, China partnerships, a company turnaround, and a single transaction that resulted …

David Corn / Mother Jones:

While America Sleeps: Trump's Treachery and the Russia Scandal — With a summit ahead, Trump works with Putin to cover up Moscow's attack on the US. … Listen to David discuss the president's cover-up of the Russia scandal on the Mother Jones Podcast. — In 1938, Winston Churchill published …

Discussion: The Nation, Hullabaloo, Defense News and TheStreet