memeorandum: Is Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange A Foreign Spy Or A News Publisher? (David Harsanyi/The Federalist)

1:15 PM 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 …

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: National Review, Vanity Fair, POLITICUSUSA, Politico, Balloon Juice, IJR, Shakesville and Political Wire

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 …

Kevin Poulsen / The Daily Beast:

Why Ecuador Finally Got Sick of Julian Assange and Ended His Refuge at the Embassy in London — The Justice Department is set to announce charges against the Wikileaks founder after he was dragged from Ecuador's embassy in London. — Six years, nine months and 24 days after walking …

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, Associated Press, Axios, Vox, Political Wire, Gizmodo, Just Security and Mediaite

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: BuzzFeed, CNN, Washington Post, The Intercept, ACLU, TheBlaze, Breitbart, Common Dreams, TechCrunch, WPIX 11 New York, Mother Jones 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, Breitbart, Conservative News Today, The Daily Caller, Patterico's Pontifications, The Wrap, Law & Crime, UNILAD, Big League Politics, Mashable, The American Conservative and Boing Boing

Jim Geraghty / National Review:

Julian Assange's Asylum Stint Comes to an End — Making the click-through worthwhile: The face of WikiLeaks — now oddly resembling Randy Quaid — is taken into police custody in London; the reign of a notorious dictator appears to be coming to an end; television viewers may already be tuning out the lesser-known Democratic candidates.

Discussion: CNN, KTLA and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

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 »

David Harsanyi / The Federalist:
Is Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange A Foreign Spy Or A News Publisher?

Discussion: ThinkProgress and NPR

Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly:
Assange Indictment is Good News for Both Trump and Press Freedom

Discussion: Mother Jones, Summit News and Mediaite

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

Discussion: Vox

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: National Review, RedState, CNBC, Fox News, ABC News, Splinter, Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit, Herman Cain, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Free Beacon, Big League Politics, New York Times and Law & Crime

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

Avenatti Allegedly Scammed Paraplegic Client Out Of $4 Million Settlement — Michael Avenatti was indicted Thursday on 36 charges of tax fraud, bribery and embezzlement, including in a case in which the embattled celebrity lawyer allegedly hid $4 million of settlement money from a mentally ill, paraplegic client.

U.S. Department of Justice:

Attorney Michael Avenatti Named in Federal Grand Jury Indictment that Accuses Him of Stealing Millions of Dollars from Clients — 36-Count Indictment also Alleges Tax Fraud, Bank Fraud and Bankruptcy Fraud — LOS ANGELES - A federal grand jury indictment filed late Wednesday charges high …

Discussion: Politico

Brian Melley / Associated Press:

Avenatti charged with embezzlement, fraud, cheating on taxes — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Attorney Michael Avenatti has been charged in a 36-count federal indictment alleging he stole millions of dollars from clients, did not pay his taxes, committed bank fraud and lied in bankruptcy proceedings.

Discussion: Conservative News Today and Political Wire

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: New York Times, The Week, Test Feed Using Fields, Media Matters for America and Washington Press

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.

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

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Monthly and Slate

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
Focus on the Leaking, Not Just the Spying

Discussion: The Hill, Geller Report and RedState

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

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

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

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Week

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

Discussion: NBC News, Mediaite, Breitbart and TheBlaze

New York Times:

Ron Burkle, Billionaire Investor, Is Said to Be in Talks to Buy National Enquirer — The owners of The National Enquirer are in talks to sell the tabloid to the California billionaire Ronald W. Burkle, according to two people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

Discussion: The Wrap and CBS Pittsburgh, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:
National Enquirer expected to be sold imminently as parent company faces pressure

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, The Daily Beast, Poynter, Gizmodo, FiveThirtyEight, New York Times, CNN, The Moderate Voice, PR Newswire, The Week, The Wrap, Splinter, Press Herald and KTLA, more at Mediagazer »

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:

Bret Easton Ellis Thinks You're Overreacting to Donald Trump — “When did people start identifying so relentlessly with victims, and when did the victim's world view become the lens through which we began to look at everything?” So begins Bret Easton Ellis's take on, of all things …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

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, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Trending Home, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Splinter, CANNONFIRE, The Week, CNN, Bipartisan Report, Patterico's Pontifications, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Axios

Washington Post:

Former White House official accused in security clearance dispute to face House committee — A former White House official accused of overturning denials of security clearance during the Trump administration will appear before the House Oversight Committee on April 23, his lawyer told the panel …

Washington Post:
Gregory Craig, ex-Obama White House counsel, expects to be charged in relation to Ukrainian work …

Discussion: Slate, Washington Times and Raw Story

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

Discussion: New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Politico, VICE News, POLITICUSUSA, Conservative News Today, CNN, Geller Report, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze, The Daily Beast and Splinter

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, Center for Public Integrity, Axios, Vox, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, Associated Press and Observer

Kathryn Kranhold / NBC News:
Twice as many companies paying zero taxes under Trump tax plan

Discussion: ITEP, Common Dreams and The Intercept

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

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: Washington Post, New York Post, The Week, Talking Points Memo, KTLA, Fox News and Splinter

Orion Rummler / Axios:

Trump tweets incorrect approval rating from Fox Business segment — President Trump tweeted a screenshot of his approval rating Thursday morning from a segment on Fox Business' “Lou Dobbs Tonight” that incorrectly presented polling numbers from Georgetown's Institute of Politics & Public Service, New York Magazine reports.

Discussion: Vox, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, IJR and POLITICUSUSA

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump shares an inaccurate graphic on Twitter that overstates his job approval by 12 points

Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story, Mediaite and Shareblue Media

Katie Galioto / Politico:

Pence knocks Buttigieg for criticizing him: ‘He knows better’ — Days after South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg directly attacked Mike Pence for his stance on LGBT issues, the Republican vice president denounced the comments, saying the 2020 hopeful “knows better.”

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
‘He knows better’: Pete Buttigieg has made Mike Pence his target, and the vice president isn't pleased

Discussion: Shareblue Media, CNBC and The Daily Beast

Washington Post:

Ex-Pope Benedict contradicts Pope Francis in unusual intervention on sexual abuse — ROME — Breaking years of silence on major church affairs, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has written a lengthy letter devoted to clerical sex abuse in which he attributes the crisis to a breakdown of church …

Discussion: New York Times, Press Herald, National Review and Raw Story

Kansas City Star:

Herman Cain, Trump's prospective Fed nominee, calls Senate critics ‘a bunch of yahoos’ — Herman Cain, whose prospects for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors have grown shaky before President Donald Trump even nominates him, likely gave his detractors in the U.S. Senate more reason …

Sarah Ferris / Politico:
Pelosi: Trump's Fed picks are ‘really dangerous’

Discussion: One America News Network

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.

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

‘Some people did something’: Rep. Omar's remarks in context — “CAIR was founded after 9/11, because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.” — Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), in remarks to a Council …