memeorandum: Melania Trump Can Watch Whatever She Wants on TV, the East Wing Says (Katie Rogers/New York Times)

3:10 PM ET, July 25, 2018

Top Items:

No, the White House didn't intentionally edit a question to Putin out of a video — MSNBC's Rachel Maddow led her show Tuesday night with an explosive allegation: The administration of President Trump had intentionally buried a question asked of Russian President Vladimir Putin during last week's news conference in Helsinki.

Discussion: HuffPost, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, AOL, Law & Crime, Salon, Washington Free Beacon, Hullabaloo, Instapundit, twitchy.com, Mediaite, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Mashable and The Daily Caller

Vernon Silver / Bloomberg:

Putin's Soccer Ball for Trump Had Transmitter Chip, Logo Indicates — World Cup feature opens fan experience, isn't a spy device — Russian President Vladimir Putin's gift of a soccer ball to U.S. President Donald Trump last week set off a chorus of warnings — some of them only half in jest …

Discussion: The Hill, The Rush Limbaugh Show and Chicks On The Right

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:

The Art of Failing Upward — On Tuesday evening, denizens of Donald Trump's Washington, D.C., gathered at a tavern on the capital's southwest waterfront to toast one of the most widely ridiculed White House press secretaries in history. — The official occasion for the night's festivities …

Discussion: Washington Post, YouTube and Roll Call

Louis Nelson / Politico: White House says Trump won't meet Putin until next year

Rachel Maddow / MSNBC:
Trump White House cuts Putin support for Trump out of transcript

Discussion: Daily Kos

CNN:

Exclusive: CNN obtains secret Trump-Cohen tape — (CNN)Presidential candidate Donald Trump is heard on tape discussing with his attorney Michael Cohen how they would buy the rights to a Playboy model's story about an alleged affair Trump had with her years earlier, according to the audio recording …

Wall Street Journal:

National Enquirer's Years-Long Dealings With Trump Lawyer Fall Under Federal Scrutiny — Michael Cohen and tabloid publisher traded favors over many years; the Omarosa mediation — Michael Cohen and the publisher of the National Enquirer forged an alliance over the years, looking out for the interests of Donald Trump and each other.

Discussion: CNBC, The Week and Talking Points Memo

Wall Street Journal:

Trump's Former Lawyer Michael Cohen Formed Delaware Company to Purchase Former Playboy Model's Story — Attorney created shell firm in September 2016 to buy rights to Karen McDougal's story of having affair with Trump; rights weren't ultimately purchased — President Donald Trump's former …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and CNBC

Mike Allen / Axios:

Exclusive: Lanny Davis says “there's more to come” on Trump-Cohen tape — Lanny Davis — a lawyer for Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer and fixer — tells me that, following last night's release of a secret Trump-Cohen recording, we'll soon learn more “about what Michael Cohen saw and heard.”

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Washington Times, Washington Post, AOL, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, New Republic, Daily Wire, Politico, Chicks On The Right, The Daily Caller, Political Wire and The Guardian

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The Trump-Michael Cohen tape transcript, annotated

Eli Watkins / CNN:
Trump blasts Cohen over tape disclosure

Discussion: The Federalist, Fox News Insider, The Gateway Pundit, NPR, Breitbart, The Root and alicublog

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Michael Cohen's secret tape raises five crucial questions

Discussion: New York Times and Vox

Nicole Lafond / Talking Points Memo: WSJ: Investigators In Cohen Probe Looking At Omarosa Dispute With AMI

Kate Bennett / CNN:

Melania Trump will watch ‘any channel she wants,’ spokeswoman says — (CNN)First lady Melania Trump will watch “any channel she wants,” according to her spokeswoman in an apparent rebuke to the report President Donald Trump was upset to find her Air Force One television tuned into CNN.

Discussion: HuffPost, abc7news.com, Bustle, Daily Wire, AOL, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Mediaite

New York Times:

Spotting CNN on a TV Aboard Air Force One, Trump Rages Against Reality — WASHINGTON — On the first couple's recent trip overseas, Melania Trump's television aboard Air Force One was tuned to CNN. President Trump was not pleased. — He raged at his staff for violating a rule …

Discussion: CNN, Vox, AOL, Washington Post, Chicks On The Right, The Daily Caller, Politico, Bustle, MSNBC, Raw Story, Splinter, Shareblue Media, Morning Consult, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, The Week, Mediaite, FOX59, Joe.My.God., Breitbart, HuffPost and Washington Times

Katie Rogers / New York Times:
Melania Trump Can Watch Whatever She Wants on TV, the East Wing Says

Discussion: LifeZette and Mediaite

Damian Paletta / Washington Post:

Trump pushes 25 percent auto tariff as top advisers scramble to stop him — Several of President Trump's senior economic advisers believe he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on close to $200 billion in foreign-made automobiles later this year, three people briefed on discussions said.

Tara Palmeri / ABC News:
Europeans offer Trump 2 options to diffuse trade war

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Bloomberg and One America News Network

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

BREAKING: Ga. lawmaker who used racial slurs in TV show resigns — The Georgia lawmaker who exposed himself and yelled racial slurs during an episode of Sacha Baron Cohen's Showtime series is resigning his seat in the state Legislature, according to House Speaker David Ralston's office.

Discussion: HuffPost, Washington Post, NPR and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Karma Allen / ABC News:
Georgia lawmaker to resign after using racial slurs on new Sacha Baron Cohen show

Discussion: Vox, NBC News and Splinter

Cameron Easley / Morning Consult:

America's Most and Least Popular Governors — Gov. Phil Scott's (R-Vermont) approval falls far amid re-election run — The popularity of Republican governors in solidly blue Northeastern states has been a thematic mainstay of Morning Consult's quarterly Governor Approval Rankings since their launch in 2016.

Discussion: InsideSources and Capitol Fax.com

Cameron Easley / Morning Consult: America's Most and Least Popular Senators

Lissandra Villa / BuzzFeed News:

A Top Democrat Says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Would Need To Wait Her Turn For Leadership — South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn sent a warning shot on Wednesday toward a likely incoming freshman who beat one of Clyburn's fellow members of House leadership in a primary, suggesting she may have a long wait …

Discussion: Daily Wire and Washington Free Beacon

Walter Shapiro / Roll Call:
No, Dems Aren't Disarrayed, Riven, Imploding, Eating Their Young or Battling for the Soul of the Party

Discussion: Monmouth University …, Shadowproof and POLITICUSUSA

Emily Stewart / Vox:
Maxine Waters corrects the record: she doesn't want to abolish ICE

Discussion: The White House and The Daily Caller

Washington Post:

Federal judge allows emoluments case against Trump to proceed — A federal judge on Wednesday rejected President Trump's latest effort to stop a lawsuit that alleges Trump is violating the Constitution by continuing to do business with foreign governments. — The ruling, from U.S. District …

Discussion: Axios, Politico, MSNBC, One America News Network and The Week

VICE News:

Twitter is “shadow banning” prominent Republicans like the RNC chair and Trump Jr.'s spokesman — Twitter is limiting the visibility of prominent Republicans in search results — a technique known as “shadow banning” — in what it says is a side effect of its attempts to improve the quality of discourse on the platform.

NBC Southern California:

Pickax-Wielding Vandal Smashes President Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star to Pieces — Witnesses say a man pulled a pickax from a guitar case and destroyed the star near tourist hot-spot Hollywood and Highland — President Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame …

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, IJR, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon and Vox

Vera Bergengruen / BuzzFeed News:

These Emails Show What Happens When The White House Keeps The Pentagon Out Of The Loop — “The Pentagon was caught off guard” stories have become a staple of news coverage of the Trump administration. — It's no secret that time and time again, officials in the Defense Department …

Discussion: Task & Purpose, Raw Story, NPR and Defense One

Max Boot / Washington Post:

Without the Russians, Trump wouldn't have won — President Trump is willing, under duress, to briefly and begrudgingly admit that Russian “meddling” took place in 2016 before reverting to calling it a “big hoax.” But he always maintains that the plot against America had no impact …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, POLITICUSUSA and NPR

Taffy Brodesser-Akner / New York Times:

The Big Business of Being Gwyneth Paltrow — Inside the growth of Goop — the most controversial brand in the wellness industry. — On a Monday morning in November, students at Harvard Business School convened in their classroom to find Gwyneth Paltrow. She was sitting at one of their desks …

Discussion: Althouse

Lukas Mikelionis / Fox News:

Seattle's $52M streetcar fiasco the latest setback for city's anti-Trump mayor — Seattle's anti-Trump mayor, Jenny Durkan, may be on track for a political backlash: Her city's $52 million money splash on public transit appears doomed because new taxpayer-funded streetcars apparently won't fit the existing tracks.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Q13 FOX News

Tal Kopan / CNN:
Trump admin was warned a policy change could strengthen MS-13. They did it anyway.

Discussion: Splinter

Chris D'Angelo / HuffPost:

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's Spokeswoman Once Argued Muslims Can't Be President — Faith Vander Voort published the Islamophobic post while working as an intern for GOP Rep. Steve King, who has a long history of pushing white supremacist views. — A top spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke …

Casey Newton / The Verge:

YouTube issues a new strike against Alex Jones' channel over hate speech and child endangerment — The video site removed four of Jones' videos on Tuesday — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' YouTube channel received a strike on Tuesday for violating the site's community guidelines, The Verge has learned.

Discussion: Joe.My.God., more at Mediagazer »

David Crouch / The Guardian:

Swedish student's plane protest stops man's deportation ‘to hell’ — Elin Ersson refused to sit down on Gothenburg flight until man being sent to Afghanistan was removed — Play Video — A lone student activist on board a plane at Gothenburg airport has prevented the deportation …

Discussion: The Intercept, The Local, Joe.My.God., Common Dreams, Al Jazeera English, DW.COM, DW Stories and Crooked Timber

Washington Post:

Trump to hold National Security Council meeting on election security Friday — President Trump will convene a meeting Friday of the National Security Council on election security, a session that could include a discussion of possible Russian interference in November's midterm elections, according to a White House official.

Martha Bebinger / WBUR:

Chakrabarti And Folkenflik Will Be New ‘On Point’ Hosts — On Point, WBUR's syndicated weekday talk show, will hit the reset button with two new hosts. — Meghna Chakrabarti will be the voice and face of the national two-hour morning program Monday through Thursday. David Folkenflik will host on Fridays.

Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:

Meet the Eastern European Mystery Donors Behind the Trump-Allied Super PAC … A mysterious company that made a huge contribution to a pro-Trump political group this year is run by two Soviet-born businessmen, one of whom was feted at a donor retreat at Mar-a-Lago in March.

Mahita Gajanan / TIME:

'What You're Seeing... Is Not What's Happening.' People Are Comparing This Trump Quote to George Orwell — President Trump drew comparisons to George Orwell's 1984 in an attack on the media during a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention Tuesday.

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, HuffPost, The Daily Beast, The Week and ThinkProgress

Haley Byrd / Weekly Standard:

This Former British Spy Exposed the Russian Hackers — The Justice Department has charged 12 Russian officials with hacking the DNC. Matt Tait helped shine a light on their meddling in 2016. — On Friday, July 13, the Justice Department charged 12 Russian military intelligence officials …

Washington Post:

Before her arrest as an alleged Russian agent, Maria Butina's proud defense of her homeland drew notice at American University — On a campus full of ambitious students aiming to land influential U.S. government and policy jobs, Maria Butina cut an unusual profile.

Discussion: ABC News and Politico