memeorandum: Trump learns to love acting officials (Brett Samuels/The Hill)

11:35 AM ET, April 14, 2019

Top Items:

Wonder Boy Pete Buttigieg is a gay Harvard alum, fluent in Gramsci, Joyce, and Norwegian. And he's the Democrats' folksiest heartland hope. Really! — By the time Pete Buttigieg arrived at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire, on the night of April 5 …

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire and CNN

Alexander Burns / New York Times:

Pete Buttigieg's Focus: Storytelling First. Policy Details Later. — The question was simple enough, but Senator John Edwards squirmed painfully. For 49 long seconds, the North Carolina Democrat, a masterful courtroom orator, sputtered before a crowd at Harvard, unable to settle on a favorite movie.

Discussion: USA Today

Chelsea Janes / Washington Post:

Sen. Kamala D. Harris releases tax returns showing nearly $1.9 million in household income in 2018 — Sen. Kamala D. Harris released 15 years of her tax returns Sunday, showing that she and her husband earned almost $1.9 million in 2018. — Most of the adjusted gross income of $1,884,319 …

Discussion: Axios and Joe.My.God.

Christopher Cadelago / Politico:

Kamala Harris releases 15 years of tax returns — Sen. Kamala Harris and her husband reported a total income of about $2 million in their 2018 federal tax return, according to a large release of filings on Sunday by the California Democrat that her presidential campaign is billing as the “most transparent” of the sprawling 2020 field.

Kyung Lah / CNN:
Kamala Harris releases 15 years of her tax returns

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and New York Post

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:

President Trump ‘calling out’ Rep. Ilhan Omar for comments a ‘good thing’: Sarah Sanders — Sanders said President Trump wasn't wishing “ill will” on the congresswoman. — White House press secretary Sarah Sanders defended President Donald Trump's criticism of a Rep. Ilhan Omar Sunday …

Discussion: One America News Network, Washington Free Beacon, Joe.My.God., HuffPost and Mediaite

CBS News:

Presidential candidate Cory Booker calls Trump's 9/11 tweet “vicious, crass, disgusting” — Democratic presidential candidate Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) accused President Trump of “moral vandalism” for his verbal attacks on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and told CBS News that she …

Discussion: Front Page Magazine

Rowaida Abdelaziz / HuffPost:
Latest Attacks On Ilhan Omar Show That Anti-Muslim Hate Isn't A Partisan Issue

Discussion: Washington Post, Slate, Breitbart, Raw Story, Joe.My.God. and Washington Free Beacon

Lois Beckett / The Guardian:
Yemeni bodegas boycott New York Post over attacks on Ilhan Omar

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Mother Jones, Geller Report, Raw Story, Washington Post and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »

Aruna Viswanatha / Wall Street Journal:

Washington Waits in Suspense for Mueller Report — Officials were hashing out logistics for the delivery of the 400-page document, expected this week — WASHINGTON—When is the Mueller report coming? — Thousands of Congressional staffers, reporters, White House officials …

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post: Barr's spy talk emboldens Trump's allies ahead of Mueller report's release

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Trump White House braces for full Mueller report

Discussion: Political Wire and Raw Story

Associated Press:

Biden to campaign as extension of Obama's political movement — BLUFFTON, S.C. (AP) — Joe Biden is finalizing the framework for a White House campaign that would cast him as an extension of Barack Obama's presidency and political movement. He's betting that the majority of Democratic voters …

New York Times:

Bernie Sanders Accuses Liberal Think Tank of Smearing Progressive Candidates — WASHINGTON — Senator Bernie Sanders, in a rare and forceful rebuke by a presidential candidate of an influential party ally, has accused a liberal think tank of undermining Democrats' chances of taking …

Discussion: Burlington Free Press, IJR, The Daily Beast and Sara A. Carter

Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:

Everyone's Income Taxes Should Be Public — Disclosure of tax payments would make it easier to hold politicians accountable. It also would help to reduce fraud and economic inequality. — Mr. Appelbaum is a member of the editorial board. — In October 1924, the federal government threw open …

Discussion: Althouse

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Trump learns to love acting officials — President Trump is increasingly relying on officials in high-level government positions to serve in an acting capacity, a strategy he appears comfortable taking as he escalates plans to implement his immigration policies and broader agenda.

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

The mob-boss presidency — A normal president confronted with a news story suggesting he ordered underlings to illegally transport asylum seekers to so-called sanctuary cities in order to retaliate against political enemies would deny knowledge of such a heinous plot.

Discussion: Politico and USA Today

Perry Stein / Washington Post:

They believe more students should attend neighborhood schools. But what happens when it's their child? — Joe Weedon plans to prolong the decision as long as he can. He wants to attend just one more school open house. Talk to just a few more parents and teachers.

Alex Horton / Washington Post:

Reading ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’ in Baghdad: What Vonnegut taught me about what comes after war — A group of kids sat on the schoolhouse wall and watched Stryker 2-1 approach, and they had a way of knowing that children often do. Some of them plugged their ears. — It was March 14, 2007, in Iraq, which is on Earth.

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:

Why Isn't Assange Charged with ‘Collusion with Russia’? — The government would have a chance to prove in court that Russia was WikiLeaks' source. — Prior to the publication of the stolen Democratic-party emails and internal documents, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks exhorted Russian government hackers to send them “new material.”

Discussion: emptywheel

Gabe Rottman / The Reporters Committee …:
Reporters Committee analysis of U.S. government indictment of Julian Assange

Discussion: Hullabaloo

David Bauder / Associated Press:

Study: Fox News is obsessed with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — NEW YORK (AP) — Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's name is on the lips of nearly everyone at Fox News. — A study found that the New York City Democrat was mentioned 3,181 times on Fox News Channel and its sister Fox …

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Axios

The Babylon Bee:

‘I Disagree With Your Ideas,’ Man Says In Hateful Call To Violence — NEWARK, NJ—Everyone thought local man Peter O'Brien was a civil, friendly, and tolerant guy. He seemed normal. He seemed agreeable. He never disagreed with anybody or contradicted their ideas.

Washington Post:

Trump peace package for Middle East likely to stop short of Palestinian statehood — President Trump's proposal for a “deal of the century” to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict promises practical improvements in the lives of Palestinians but is likely to stop short of ensuring a separate …