memeorandum: Trump Blames U.S. for Poor Relations With Moscow (Rebecca Ballhaus/Wall Street Journal)

6:15 PM ET, July 16, 2018

Top Items:

mccain.senate.gov:

SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON TRUMP-PUTIN MEETING — Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on President Trump's meeting and press conference with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki:

Axios:

Trump's Helsinki humiliation — President Trump's press conference with Vladimir Putin was a disaster. And that was the assessment of many of his GOP allies. — Why it matters: Trump had a chance to assert himself — and stand up for his countrymen — against foreign interference in our elections.

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Washington Post, Associated Press, Splinter and Breitbart

James Fallows / The Atlantic:

This Is the Moment of Truth for Republicans — There are exactly two possible explanations for the shameful performance the world witnessed on Monday, from a serving American president. — Either Donald Trump is flat-out an agent of Russian interests—maybe witting, maybe unwitting …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE

Axios:

Trump's extraordinary press conference was not normal — President Trump today, at a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he didn't see “any reason” why Russia would interfere in the 2016 election, in response to a question on whether he believed Putin or U.S. intelligence agencies.

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, The Mahablog, Breitbart, Vox, Washington Post and Mediaite

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Trump is now repaying Putin for helping him win the presidency — THE MORNING PLUM: — The events of the past few days — culminating in President Trump's meeting today with Russian President Vladimir Putin — have rendered this interpretation inescapable: Trump is currently in the process …

Discussion: CNN, Axios, New York Times, Politico, Little Green Footballs, Associated Press, Vox, Townhall, AOL and Roll Call

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Trump and Putin vs. America — From the beginning of his administration, President Trump has responded to every new bit of evidence from the C.I.A., F.B.I. and N.S.A. that Russia intervened in our last election on his behalf by either attacking Barack Obama or the Democrats for being too lax …

Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:

If you work for Trump, quit now — Everyone who works for President Trump: Quit now. Save your souls. Save your honor, such as it is. Save your reputation, such as it remains. Russia attacked our democracy. Trump has demonstrated repeatedly, and did so again with Russian President Vladimir Putin …

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Monthly and RedState

David Morgan / CBS News:

Trump fist-bumped Turkish leader Erdogan, said he “does things the right way” — In the days before his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki Monday, President Donald Trump upset relations with America's allies during a visit to the United Kingdom and a contentious meeting with NATO leaders in Brussels.

Discussion: Vox, RedState, ABC News, Bustle, The Guardian, Washington Post, Joe.My.God., CBS Los Angeles and The Week

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

The moment called for Trump to stand up for America. He chose to bow. — When the history of Donald Trump's presidency is ultimately written, July 16, 2018, will have a special entry. On a day when the setting called for a show of strength and resolve from an American president …

Discussion: Axios and ABC News

David Frum / The Atlantic:

The Crisis Facing America — We still do not know what hold Vladimir Putin has upon President Trump, but the whole world has now witnessed the power of its grip. — Russia helped Donald Trump into the presidency, as Robert Mueller's indictment vividly details.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, MSNBC and The Daily Caller

New York Times:
Republicans Rebuke Trump for Siding With Putin as Democrats Demand Action

Discussion: National Review, CNN and Althouse

Mark Landler / New York Times: Trump Sheds All Notions of How a President Should Conduct Himself Abroad

John Ziegler / Mediaite:
About the Only Evidence Left that Trump Isn't Beholden to Putin is That It's Just Too Obvious

Discussion: CNN, CBS News and Townhall, more at Mediagazer »

Meridith McGraw / ABC News:
Trump casts doubt on US intelligence, calls Putin's meddling denial ‘strong and powerful’

Discussion: CNN, The Atlantic, NBC News, Raw Story, Shareblue Media, IJR and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Kate Riga / Talking Points Memo:
Fox News Host Calls Trump's Presser Performance ‘Disgusting,’ ‘Wrong’

Discussion: The Hill and Daily Kos

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Blames U.S. for Poor Relations With Moscow

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, New York Times, Philly.com, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Bloomberg, CNBC, The Hill, Weekly Standard, The Week, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Balloon Juice

New York Times:
Trump-Putin Summit Is Over. The Head-Scratching? Not So Much: Live Updates

Discussion: Bloomberg, National Review, Washington Post, The Hill, AOL, CNN, TIME, Washington Monthly, RedState, Refinery29, VICE News, New Republic, Bustle, Joe.My.God., Media Matters for America, Mashable and Just Security

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post: After a stunning news conference, there's a newly crucial job for the American press

Nidhi Prakash / BuzzFeed:
A Senator Said He Thinks “Something Close To” The Trump Pee Tape Exists

Discussion: Washington Post, MSNBC, Politico, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Trump and Putin: what we know is damning

Discussion: HuffPost, Wall Street Journal and NPR

Washington Post:
President Trump's news conference with Russia's Putin, annotated

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, Axios, NPR, Defense One, Breitbart, BloombergQuint, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy and Politico

Justin Wise / The Hill:
‘Fox & Friends’ host: 'I don't understand' Trump tweet blaming US for bad Russia relations

Discussion: Vox and Mediaite

Steve Benen / MSNBC:
In disastrous press conference, Trump defended Putin, blasted Americans

Discussion: Bloomberg, Vox and New York Magazine

Politico: POLITICO Playbook Power Briefing: Everything you need to know about Trump and Putin's joint appearance

Bloomberg:
Republicans Call Trump Summit Remarks ‘Shameful’ and ‘Bizarre’

Discussion: ABC News, Vox and Washington Post

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Trump attacks Mueller at joint news conference with Putin, advances conspiracy theories

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, CNN, IJR, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller and MSNBC

Washington Post:
Ahead of Putin summit, Trump faults U.S. ‘stupidity’ for poor relations with Russia

U.S. Department of Justice:

Russian National Charged in Conspiracy to Act as an Agent of the Russian Federation Within the United States — A criminal complaint was unsealed today in the District of Columbia charging a Russian national with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation within …

Discussion: Vox, National Review, Washington Monthly, CNN, RT, The Week, NPR, emptywheel, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit, Balloon Juice, Sputnik International and WGN-TV

New York Times:

Mariia Butina, Who Sought ‘Back Channel’ Meeting for Trump and Putin, Is Charged as Russian Agent — WASHINGTON — A Russian woman who tried to broker a pair of secret meetings between candidate Donald J. Trump and the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, during the 2016 presidential campaign …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo and BloombergQuint

Washington Post:

Maria Butina, Russian gun rights advocate, charged in U.S. with acting as Russian Federation agent — A Russian national with alleged ties to a top Russian official was charged in federal court in Washington Monday with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation, and was ordered held without bond.

Discussion: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, New Republic, TheBlaze, KTLA and Lawyers, Guns & Money

The Guardian:
Russian woman charged with spying for Moscow by ‘infiltrating’ NRA

Discussion: RedState, Bustle, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Law & Crime and twitchy.com

CBS News:

Trump: “I don't know if I agree” with DNI Coats' warning about Russian cyberattacks — President Trump says he doesn't know if he agrees with a warning from Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats about the “critical” threat of potentially devastating cyberattacks targeting U.S. systems.

Discussion: Politico, NPR, Weekly Standard, CBS Denver and CBS New York

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
Mueller's Politicized Indictment of Twelve Russian Intelligence Officers

Discussion: Washington Post, Lawfare, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Federalist, BloombergQuint and Daily Kos

Garrett M. Graff / Wired:
What Robert Mueller Knows—and 9 Areas He'll Pursue Next

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY

Brian Beutler / Crooked Media:
Trump and Putin Colluded In Public

Discussion: Contemptor, Politico and MSNBC

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:

Ground Zero in the War on Voting Rights — New Hampshire Republicans passed a bill to suppress the student vote. Democrats have one last chance to defeat it. — On Friday, New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu transformed his state into ground zero in the assault on voting rights.

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:
Yes, Normal Republican Elites Are a Threat to Democracy

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

MySanAntonio.com:

Plutonium went missing in San Antonio, but the government says nothing — Losses of civilian nuclear material are usually disclosed but when the government loses nuclear bomb ingredients it stays mum — Two security experts from the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory drove to San Antonio …

Discussion: ABC News, Gizmodo, Motherboard, Daily Wire, Balloon Juice and Raw Story

Emily Crane / Daily Mail:

Bombshell Bourdain interview is published one month after his suicide: Celebrity chef unloads on 'rapey, gropey and disgusting Bill Clinton and hopes Weinstein is ‘beaten to death in jail’ — Anthony Bourdain gave a lengthy, wide ranging interview to journalist Maria Bustillos for her recently launched magazine Popula

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Maria Bustillos / Popula:
Bourdain Confidential — Anthony Bourdain had started smoking again …

Discussion: IJR, Breitbart, IndieWire, Conservative News Today, Daily Wire, Deadline, AOL, Washington Free Beacon, TheBlaze, LifeZette, Althouse and Observer

Philip Weiss / Mondoweiss:

Ocasio-Cortez hedges criticisms of Israel- ‘I may not use the right words’ —     — Rising Democratic star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the congressperson-to-be for a district in the Bronx and Queens, famously tweeted “This is a massacre,” …

Discussion: Washington Post, Jacobin, Daily Wire, National Review and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Ryan Grim / The Intercept:
Ocasio-Cortez Floats a “Sub-Caucus” of Progressives Willing to Vote Together as a Bloc

Discussion: Washington Post, The Outline, The Daily Caller, New Republic and twitchy.com

Erin Banco / New Jersey Online:

Seychelles meetings probed by Mueller included several Russians: exclusive — Several Russians, some linked to the Kremlin, participated in meetings in the Seychelles in January 2017 and are subjects of an ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election …

Michelle Martin / Reuters:

Germany: We can no longer fully rely on U.S. White House — BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister said on Monday Europe could not rely on Donald Trump and needed to close ranks after the U.S. president called the European Union a “foe” with regard to trade.

Discussion: The Week, Talking Points Memo and Politico