memeorandum: Russian firm indicted in special counsel probe cites Kavanaugh decision to argue that charge should be dismissed (Robert Barnes/Washington Post)

10:20 AM ET, July 20, 2018

Top Items:

Trump Is Being Manipulated by Putin. What Should We Do? — Lawmakers must keep the American people informed of the current danger, writes a Republican congressman from Texas. — Mr. Hurd, a former C.I.A. officer, is a congressman from the 23rd District of Texas.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Axios, NBC News, BloombergQuint, Roll Call, Bloomberg, The Week, Political Wire and Mediaite

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:

Are Republicans Covering for Trump, or for Themselves? — If the N.R.A. was compromised by Russia, the whole party's in trouble. — Of all the interlocking mysteries of the Trump-Russia scandal, one that I've found particularly perplexing is the utter servility of congressional Republicans …

Discussion: USA Today, CNN and Mother Jones

Adam Davidson / New Yorker:

A Theory of Trump Kompromat — Why the President is so nice to Putin, even when Putin might not want him to be. — The former C.I.A. operative Jack Devine watched Donald Trump's performance standing next to Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday, and his first thought was, “There is no way Trump is a Russian agent.”

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

“No Way to Run a Superpower”: the Trump-Putin Summit and the Death of American Foreign Policy — In the days since the Monday meeting in Helsinki, there's been an understandable frenzy over President Trump's post-summit press conference, given that he sided with the Russian President …

Discussion: Just Security, Balloon Juice and Wall Street Journal

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

White House morale tanks amid Helsinki fallout — Staffers are considering accelerating their departures in the wake of the president's equivocations on Russian meddling in the 2016 election. — President Donald Trump's disastrous performance since his news conference alongside Russian …

Discussion: Raw Story, Breitbart, Joe.My.God. and Politico

Ilya Arkhipov / Bloomberg:

Putin Tells Diplomats He Made Trump a New Offer on Ukraine at Their Summit — Russian leader suggested referendum in separatist regions — Putin said to agree to let Trump mull plan before going public — Vladimir Putin told Russian diplomats that he made a proposal to Donald Trump …

Scott Bixby / The Daily Beast:

Poll: Half of Americans Think Trump Acted ‘Treasonous’ in Helsinki … President Donald Trump has repeatedly defended his extraordinary performance at a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki, dismissing the “many haters” who wanted to see “a boxing match.”

Discussion: Media Matters for America and CNN

Daniel Lippman / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: What we've learned this week

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNN and HuffPost

Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Resign, Mike Pompeo. Resign, John Bolton.

Discussion: BloombergQuint and CNBC

Jeff Cox / CNBC:

Trump says he's ‘ready’ to put tariffs on all $505 billion of Chinese goods imported to the US — President Donald Trump has indicated he is willing to put tariffs on all $505 billion of Chinese goods the U.S. imports. — The rhetoric marks ramps up the U.S-China trade war another step …

Discussion: Axios, Political Wire, Raw Story, The Week and The Guardian

Caitlin Owens / Axios:

Trade war shakes up Senate races in Trump states — President Trump's tariffs are introducing a new, wildly unpredictable issue into the midterm elections, thanks to their heavy impact on states with critical Senate races as well as their likely role in House races across the country.

Discussion: CNBC

CNBC: Stock futures fall after Trump says he's ‘ready to go’ to $500 billion in tariffs on China

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Trump threatens tariffs on all $500 billion worth of Chinese imports

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios and CNBC

Blake Hounshell / Politico:

Why I'm No Longer a Russiagate Skeptic — Facts are piling up, and it's getting harder to deny what's staring us in the face. — When I wrote, back in February, that I was skeptical that President Donald Trump would ever be proved to have secretly colluded with Russia to sway the 2016 election in his favor, I mistyped.

Discussion: Raw Story and CNN

Politico:

McConnell issues Supreme Court ultimatum — The Senate GOP leader is vowing to squeeze Democrats with a vote on Brett Kavanaugh right before the midterms if they don't back down on their demand for documents. — Mitch McConnell has a warning for Democrats demanding copious documents …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, SCOTUSblog and The Week

Robert Barnes / Washington Post: Russian firm indicted in special counsel probe cites Kavanaugh decision to argue that charge should be dismissed

Scott Johnson / Power Line:

The Brennan factor revisited — Following former Obama administration CIA Director John Brennan on Twitter, we see his animus nakedly on display. He is demented by hatred. Is this really the public role a former Director of the CIA is to be playing? Below is his most recent effusion on Twitter.

Discussion: The Federalist, Front Page Magazine, Breitbart and Slate

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal: Brennan and the 2016 Spy Scandal

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
A New Talking Point From the Pro-Trump Fringe

Discussion: Washington Monthly

BuzzFeed News:

Congratulations, Mr. President: Zuckerberg Secretly Called Trump After The Election — In the days following Donald Trump's election victory over Hillary Clinton, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg placed a secret, previously unreported call to the president-elect during which, sources tell BuzzFeed News …

Discussion: BloombergQuint and Bustle, more at Techmeme »

Kevin Collier / BuzzFeed News:
The Russians Who Hacked The DNC Have Targeted At Least Three 2018 Campaigns, Microsoft Says

Discussion: Nextgov, Engadget, Gizmodo, The Verge, Cyberscoop and Talking Points Memo

Jessica Sager / Page Six:

Roseanne Barr on Valerie Jarrett tweet: ‘I thought the b—h was white’ — Roseanne Barr spoke out relatively unapologetically about the vile Valerie Jarrett tweet that got her “Roseanne” reboot canceled: “I thought the b—h was white!” — In a video posted to Barr's YouTube page …

Discussion: The Root and Althouse

New York Times:

Bill Shine, Trump's Top Communicator, Was Questioned by Federal Prosecutors — WASHINGTON — Bill Shine, a former co-president of Fox News hired this month as President Trump's communications chief, brought conservative credentials and heavy baggage with him into the White House.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNNMoney and Mediaite

NBC 6 South Florida:

Father of Parkland School Shooting Survivors Killed in North Lauderdale Armed Robbery — North Lauderdale Robbery Surveillance Video — The father of two Parkland school shooting survivors was fatally shot at his own North Lauderdale convenience store during a robbery, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.

Discussion: Townhall and TheBlaze

Jay Nordlinger / National Review:

Tiny, Faraway Countries and Us — Montenegro is in the news, much to its discomfort. President Trump cast doubt on collective security, which is the crux of NATO: “You know, Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people. . . . They are very aggressive people.

Predrag Milic / Associated Press: Montenegro more puzzled than affronted by Trump's attention

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:

Justice Department plans to alert public to foreign operations targeting U.S. democracy — The Justice Department plans to alert the public to foreign operations targeting U.S. democracy, under a new policy designed to counter hacking and disinformation campaigns such as the one Russia undertook …

Discussion: Engadget, Vox and The Week

Desmond Butler / Yahoo: Rosenstein defends charging foreign agents US can't arrest

Hollywood Reporter:

Paramount TV President Amy Powell Fired Over Inappropriate Comments — She was tapped to oversee the division in 2013 and has delivered hits including ‘13 Reasons Why’ and ‘The Alienist.’ — Five years after being tapped to lead the newly relaunched Paramount Television banner, Amy Powell is out.

Discussion: New York Times, BloombergQuint, theGrio and KTLA, more at Mediagazer »

Edward Luce / Financial Times:

Henry Kissinger: ‘We are in a very, very grave period’ — It was not hard to entice Henry Kissinger to meet for lunch. Though he is 95, and moves very slowly, the grand consigliere of American diplomacy is keen to talk. He hops on and off planes to see the likes of Russia's Vladimir Putin …

Discussion: Political Wire and Washington Post

Terry Gross / NPR:

Reporter Shows The Links Between The Men Behind Brexit And The Trump Campaign — Carole Cadwalladr's investigation into Cambridge Analytica's role in Brexit led her to Russian connections and the Trump campaign. She says British investigators are working “closely with the FBI.” — TERRY GROSS, HOST:

Wall Street Journal:

Three Top FBI Cybersecurity Officials to Retire — Three of the top cybersecurity officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation are retiring from government service—departures that come as cyberattacks are a major concern for the country's security agencies.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Axios, Engadget and Cyberscoop

Zachary / Media Matters for America:

Study: NY Times, Wash. Post quote more than twice as many Republicans as Democrats in political coverage — Throughout May and June, two of the nation's leading newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post, quoted Republicans at more than twice the rate of Democrats in their political news coverage.

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Our Country Is Insane — I am by nature an optimist, but it is hard to maintain a positive attitude in the face of the rampant insanity that has seized control over our national life. When I get time, I am going to write about the ritual defenestration of Papa John's pizza company …

Discussion: Front Page Magazine and The American Conservative

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:

Young voters make up significant portion of new registrations in key states since Parkland shooting — Young voters are flocking to register to vote in key battleground states in the wake of the February school shooting at a Parkland, Fla. high school, according to a new analysis from Democratic data firm TargetSmart.

Discussion: TargetSmart, Mother Jones and Florida Politics

New York Daily News:

City releases first of thousands of files linked to the Central Park Five case — One of New York's deepest wounds was reopened Thursday night when a trove of documents detailing the infamous Central Park Five case was released, renewing the debate over how far the city should have gone …

Discussion: The Root

Daniel Chaitin / Washington Examiner:

Robert Mueller offers Tony Podesta immunity to testify against Paul Manafort: Report — Tony Podesta, founder of the now-shuttered Podesta Group and brother to former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, has been offered immunity by special counsel Robert Mueller to testify …

Discussion: RedState, The Federalist, Fox News, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit and Front Page Magazine

Associated Press:

US, allies set to evacuate Syrian aid workers from southwest — WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say the United States is finalizing plans to evacuate several hundred Syrian civil defense workers and their families from southwest Syria as Russian-backed government forces close in on the area.

Emily Cochrane / New York Times:

Who Heard What Trump Said to Putin? Only One Other American — WASHINGTON — Marina Gross, the only other American in the room during President Trump's meeting on Monday with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, was the interpreter for Laura Bush at the Russian resort of Sochi in 2008 …

Discussion: RedState, TheBlaze, HuffPost and Washington Free Beacon

Gabriel Debenedetti / New York Magazine:

The Progressive Hawaii Senator Reshaping the 2020 Race, Without Even Running — As young, Twitter-friendly Democrats in the Senate go, Brian Schatz is slightly unusual: He really, seriously, definitely has no interest in running for president in 2020. But, slowly and beneath the radar …

Mara Siegler / Page Six:

Whoopi Goldberg and Jeanine Pirro get into explosive argument backstage at ‘The View’ — Whoopi Goldberg and Jeanine Pirro got into an explosive argument backstage at “The View” on Thursday — after an intense on-the-air exchange got even more heated behind-the-scenes, sources exclusively tell Page Six.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit, AOL, fox8.com, Contemptor, Splinter, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Breitbart

Megan Specia / New York Times:

Inside That Black Sarcophagus in Egypt? 3 Mummies (and No Curses) — When a black granite sarcophagus was found at the bottom of a pit in Alexandria, Egypt, last week, the discovery immediately prompted questions and theories ranging from the sensible to the supernatural.

Discussion: news.avclub.com

Kansas City Star:

Eight confirmed dead after duck boat capsized on Table Rock Lake, sheriff says — At least eight people were killed and many are missing after a strong wind burst capsized and sank a pleasure boat Thursday night on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo. — Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader …

Discussion: New York Post, Boing Boing and FOX2now.com

Todd S. Purdum / The Atlantic:

Trump's Troubling Helsinki Remarks: Bizarre—and Historic? — Whether Donald Trump is president for four years or eight, whatever history's ultimate judgment of him, and however he tries to explain it away, his remarks in Helsinki absolving Vladimir Putin of interference in the 2016 election …

Discussion: Vox