memeorandum: Bill Barr's Low Moment (Benjamin Wittes/Lawfare)

11:00 AM ET, April 11, 2019

Top Items:

WikiLeaks Founder Charged in Computer Hacking Conspiracy — ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Julian P. Assange, 47, the founder of WikiLeaks, was arrested today in the United Kingdom pursuant to the U.S./UK Extradition Treaty, in connection with a federal charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion …

New York Times:

Julian Assange Charged by U.S. With Conspiracy to Hack a Government Computer — WASHINGTON — The United States has charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with one count of conspiracy to hack a computer related to his role in the 2010 release of reams of secret American documents …

Discussion: RedState, Financial Times, Vox, Townhall, Rolling Stone, NBC News, Politico, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Lid, The Wrap, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Al Jazeera, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com, Mediaite and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Washington Post:

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested by British police after being evicted from Ecuador's embassy in London — PARIS — Ecuador handed Julian Assange over to British authorities Thursday, ending a standoff that left the controversial WikiLeaks founder holed up in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London for nearly seven years.

Discussion: IJR, Shakesville, Balloon Juice, Political Wire and POLITICUSUSA

Mynewsdesk:

Arrest of Julian Assange — UPDATE: Julian Assange arrest. — Julian Assange, 47, (03.07.71) has today, Thursday 11 April, been further arrested on behalf of the United States authorities, at 10:53hrs after his arrival at a central London police station. This is an extradition warrant under Section 73 of the Extradition Act.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, BuzzFeed, Mother Jones, Breitbart, TheBlaze, Common Dreams, ABC News, NPR, TechCrunch, KTLA and The Week

BBC:

Julian Assange: Wikileaks co-founder arrested in London — Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. — Mr Assange took refuge in the embassy seven years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden over a sexual assault case that has since been dropped.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Patterico's Pontifications, The Wrap, UNILAD, Law & Crime, Big League Politics, The American Conservative, Mashable, Boing Boing and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Kate Lyons / The Guardian:

Julian Assange arrested at Ecuadorian embassy in London — WikiLeaks founder arrested for alleged breach of bail at London embassy where he took refuge for seven years — Play Video — Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, after the South American country withdrew asylum from the WikiLeaks founder.

Discussion: Mynewsdesk, Quartz, The Week and Towleroad Gay News, more at Mediagazer »

Home Office in the media:
Julian Assange statement and extradition factsheet

Discussion: Vox

CNN: Julian Assange indicted on conspiracy to commit computer intrusion in 2010

Kevin Poulsen / The Daily Beast:
Why Ecuador Finally Got Sick of Julian Assange and Ended His Refuge at the Embassy in London

Discussion: Vox, twitchy.com, Just Security and Mediaite

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Assange arrested in London as Mueller report looms

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press and POLITICUSUSA

Danica Kirka / Associated Press: UK arrests WikiLeaks' Assange at Ecuador embassy in London

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Adam Schiff just issued a stark warning about William Barr — As you've heard, on Wednesday morning, Attorney General William P. Barr made the remarkable claim that the Trump campaign might have been the target of “spying” by law enforcement during the 2016 campaign.

Benjamin Wittes / Lawfare:

Bill Barr's Low Moment — Attorney General Bill Barr's statements today on supposed “spying” by the FBI on the Trump campaign before the Senate Appropriations Committee were indefensible. They at once indecipherable and contentless, on the one hand, and incendiary, on the other hand.

Discussion: The Week, Test Feed Using Fields, Vanity Fair, Washington Press and Rolling Stone

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Barr is right, spying on Trump campaign did occur

Discussion: Fox News, Slate and Vox

Barbara McQuade / The Daily Beast:
Barr Sounds More and More Like Trump's Roy Cohn

Discussion: Raw Story and Daily Wire

Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:
Seven Reasons Not to Trust William Barr

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Week and Washington Post

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
CNN's Jeffrey Toobin: Attorney General Bill Barr ‘Talks Like Sean Hannity’

Discussion: NBC News, Mediaite, TheBlaze, Breitbart and Contemptor

Caroline Kelly / CNN:
Ex-DNI: ‘Stunning and scary’ that Barr would raise spying allegation

Discussion: The Hill, RedState, The Daily Caller, Media Matters for America, PJ Media Home, Raw Story and Washington Press

New York Times:
Barr Asserts Intelligence Agencies Spied on the Trump Campaign

Discussion: Power Line, Liberty Unyielding, RedState, Washington Post and The Hill

Andrew McCarthy / Fox News:
Barr is right to review why Trump-Russia investigation began

Discussion: Conservative News Today

New York Times:

Retiring as a Judge, Trump's Sister Ends Court Inquiry Into Her Role in Tax Dodges — President Trump's older sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, has retired as a federal appellate judge, ending an investigation into whether she violated judicial conduct rules by participating in fraudulent tax schemes with her siblings.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Splinter, The Week, CNN, CANNONFIRE, Bipartisan Report, Patterico's Pontifications and Axios

Matthew Chapman / Raw Story: Trump's sister retires from the federal judiciary to avoid ethics investigation into her taxes

Washington Post:

Gregory Craig, ex-Obama White House counsel, expects to be charged in relation to Ukrainian work with Manafort, his lawyers say — The expected indictment — which his attorneys called “a misguided abuse of prosecutorial discretion” — stems from work Craig did with GOP lobbyist Paul Manafort …

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Times

Wall Street Journal:
Former Obama White House Counsel Expects to Be Indicted

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, VICE News, CNN, Conservative News Today, TheBlaze, Political Wire, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Wire

Kenneth P. Vogel / New York Times:
Ex-Obama Counsel Expects to Be Charged Soon in Mueller-Related Case

Discussion: RedState, Geller Report, Politico, Splinter, Slate and The Daily Caller

Elizabeth Warren / Team Warren:

I'm proposing a big new idea: the Real Corporate Profits Tax — It's almost Tax Day, and chances are you'll be paying federal taxes this year. Maybe it's a lot, maybe it's a little. But you'll be kicking in something for our military, for medical research, for highways and bridges …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Vox and Associated Press

Benjy Sarlin / NBC News:
Warren targets big business with $1 trillion ‘profits’ tax

Discussion: Center for Public Integrity

Bloomberg: Warren Pushes New Corporate Tax on Profits Above $100 Million

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:

‘He knows better’: Pete Buttigieg has made Mike Pence his target, and the vice president isn't pleased — The mayor said the governor struck him as “affable, even gentle.” — The governor called the mayor “energetic, innovative, forward-looking, creative.”

Discussion: Raw Story

Tucker Higgins / CNBC:
Mike Pence, facing criticism from 2020 Democratic hopeful Pete Buttigieg over his record …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Raw Story, IJR, CNN, Faithwire and Axios

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Pete Buttigieg, Gay and Christian, Challenges Religious Right on Their Own Turf

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, New Republic, the way of improvement …, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic and The Federalist

CNN:

Sources: Suspect taken into custody in connection with fires at three black churches in Louisiana — (CNN)A suspect has been taken into custody in connection with fires at three historically black Louisiana churches in 10 days, a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, KTLA, New York Post, Splinter and Fox News

New York Times:

The U.S. Immigration System May Have Reached a Breaking Point — For years, there have been warnings that America's immigration system was going to fail. That time may be now. … SAN YSIDRO, Calif. — It was never like this before. — The migrants come now in the middle of the night or in the bright light of day.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Washington Post, Front Page Magazine and Breitbart

Washington Post: Neither Trump nor Democrats have advanced a solution for the border. Here's one.

Robert Satloff / Foreign Policy:

Trump Must Not Let Jared Kushner's Peace Plan See the Light of Day — Releasing a U.S. proposal that is bound to fail would legitimize Israeli annexation, give Saudi Arabia leverage, and strengthen Iran and its allies. — The final absentee ballots have not yet been counted in Israel's election …

Washington Post: Congress cannot afford to ignore Netanyahu's embrace of the far right

Michael Finnegan / Los Angeles Times:

Avenatti indicted on 36 counts of tax dodging, perjury, theft from clients and other crimes — In a sweeping expansion of the criminal charges against Michael Avenatti, a federal grand jury has indicted the Los Angeles lawyer on 36 counts of fraud, perjury, failure to pay taxes, embezzlement and other financial crimes.

Discussion: Law & Crime

Fox News: Feds seize $4.5 million Avenatti plane amid tax scandal

Bloomberg:

Amazon Workers Are Listening to What You Tell Alexa — Tens of millions of people use smart speakers and their voice software to play games, find music or trawl for trivia. Millions more are reluctant to invite the devices and their powerful microphones into their homes out of concern that someone might be listening.

Discussion: CNBC, RedState, Fortune, The Guardian, KRON, Engadget, New York Post, Gizmodo, New York Times, Fox News, The Sun, The Verge and fox8.com, more at Techmeme »

New York Post:

Ilhan Omar's outrageous writeoff of 9/11's horrors — How pathetic: A member of Congress can't acknowledge what happened on one of the most horrific days in US history. — In a March 23 speech, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) complained of “the discomfort of being a second-class citizen” …

Discussion: Townhall, The Wrap and Daily Wire

Jim Riches / New York Post:
My FDNY son's death on 9/11 was more than just ‘something’

Discussion: Daily Wire

Washington Post:

National Enquirer expected to be sold imminently as parent company faces pressure — American Media Inc. is actively seeking to sell off the National Enquirer, according to three people familiar with the process who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Washington Post:

Far-left policies will drive a 2020 defeat, centrist Democrats fear. So they're floating alternatives. — After ceding the policy debate to the left for months, Democratic centrists have begun to fight back with new proposals and a stark warning: The latest wave of far-left ideas …

Discussion: Politico and Breitbart

Mark Penn / The Hill: Obama had it right — a circular firing squad is on the way

Kyle Kondik / Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball:

The Democratic Nomination: It Doesn't Have to be a Long Slog — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — The size of the Democratic field, combined with the party's proportional allocation of delegates and other factors, raises the possibility of a very long nomination process that may not be decided until the convention.