memeorandum: In Search for Leverage, Trump May Be Undercutting His Own Trade Deals (Ana Swanson/New York Times)

9:25 AM ET, April 15, 2019

Top Items:

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

In Attacking Ilhan Omar, Trump Revives His Familiar Refrain Against Muslims — As long as President Trump has focused on what he said was the danger lurking at the southwestern border, he has also talked about the supposed threat from one specific group already in the country: Muslims.

Tim Elfrink / Washington Post:

‘This is endangering lives. It has to stop’: Rep. Ilhan Omar says death threats spiked after Trump tweet — As President Trump has faced withering blowback over a Friday tweet that used video of the twin towers falling on 9/11 to launch a broadside against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Townhall, The Hill and PJ Media Home

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:

Demonizing Minority Women — Representative Ilhan Omar is the latest target in a trend of conservatives attacking women of color. — Last month at an event hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Representative Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat and one of the first Muslim women elected …

Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:
Power Up: Trump's attacks on Omar are a test for Democrats

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, Mediaite and Axios

Amanda Terkel / HuffPost:
Rep. Ilhan Omar Says Death Threats Have Increased Since Trump's Attack

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Daily Caller and Trending Home

Christina Goldbaum / New York Times: The New York Post Inspires Boycott With 9/11 Photo and Ilhan Omar Quote

David Frum / The Atlantic:
Democrats Are Falling Into the Ilhan Omar Trap

Discussion: The Federalist, NBC News, Daily Wire, The Week, American Greatness and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Emboldened by His Attorney General, Trump Confronts Mueller Report Head-On — WASHINGTON — The case was closed for President Trump on March 24, the day Attorney General William P. Barr delivered to Congress his four-page summary of the special counsel's 300-plus page report.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Week, Above the Law, Law & Crime and NPR

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

The Insiders' Guide To the Mueller Report — The 400-page Mueller report, expected to land this week, is the most anticipated political read since Ken Starr, Monica Lewinsky and the stained blue dress—and potentially even juicier. But how do you wring that juice out of a behemoth of a legal document …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg and Hullabaloo

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Behind the scenes: The White House prepares for Mueller week — Much of Washington has spent the weekend on pins and needles preparing for this week's release of the Mueller report. But in one particular quarter, people seem quite relaxed. — Behind the scenes: Two of the president's top advisers …

Discussion: Politico, Raw Story and Wall Street Journal

New York Times:

Trump Sees an Obstacle to Getting His Way on Immigration: His Own Officials — WASHINGTON — Stephen Miller was furious — again. — The architect of President Trump's immigration agenda, Mr. Miller was presiding last month over a meeting in the White House Situation Room when he demanded …

Discussion: Just Security, Raw Story and New York Post

Washington Post:
Democrats take aim at Miller as questions persist about ‘sanctuary city’ targeting

Discussion: The Daily Beast, American Prospect, NPR, Mercury News and Politico

Zeke Miller / Associated Press:

APNewsBreak: Trump campaign to report $30 million haul — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's re-election campaign is set to report that it raised more than $30 million in the first quarter of 2019, edging out his top two Democratic rivals combined, according to figures it provided to The Associated Press.

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Axios, Breitbart, twitchy.com, Slate, Politico, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Splinter

Monica Alba / NBC News: Trump campaign raises $30 million in first quarter

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times: Trump's 2020 Campaign Raises Over $30 Million in First Quarter

Javier E. David / Yahoo Finance:
Goldman Sachs: Trump has ‘narrow’ shot in ‘close call’ election bid

Discussion: Power Line, The Resurgent and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Face It: You (Probably) Got a Tax Cut — Studies consistently find that the 2017 law cut taxes for most Americans. Most of them don't buy it. — If you're an American taxpayer, you probably got a tax cut last year. And there's a good chance you don't believe it.

Discussion: ProfessorBainbridge.com

Ben White / Politico: On Tax Day, Trump tax cuts remain deeply unpopular

Lesley Stahl / CBS News:

Nancy Pelosi: The 2019 60 Minutes Interview — The speaker of the House tells Lesley Stahl what she thinks of the Mueller report, how she deals with President Trump and the current state of the Democratic Party — Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful woman in American political history.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, Jezebel, The Independent, Sara A. Carter, Fox News, Daily Wire, twitchy.com and Mediaite

Zack Budryk / The Hill:
Pelosi: Progressive Dem wing represented by Ocasio-Cortez is ‘like five people’

Discussion: Power Line

Nikki Schwab / New York Post:
Pelosi rips AOC, says her posse in Congress is ‘like five people’

Discussion: American Greatness

RealClearInvestigations:

GOP Fears Mueller's Collusion Bias Lives On in Final Report — Although Republicans were pleased that Special Counsel Robert Mueller said he was unable to establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, they fear his practice of distorting facts during his investigation …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Five arguments the Mueller report won't settle — Attorney General William Barr has promised to release a redacted version of the Mueller report this week. It will of course consume the political conversation for days, but even now it is clear that, as much as the report might be talked about …

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Secret tapes linger over Buttigieg's meteoric rise — Pete Buttigieg's meteoric rise as a presidential candidate is putting a spotlight on his years as mayor of South Bend, Ind., including his demotion of an African American police chief. — An Indiana judge will rule soon on whether …

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Pete Buttigieg says he can beat Donald Trump in 2020

Discussion: Politico, Fox News and New York Times

Dan Merica / CNN:
Pete Buttigieg officially announces presidential campaign

Discussion: Associated Press, Townhall, IJR, Breitbart, Balloon Juice, The Guardian and Mediaite

Michael Burke / The Hill:
Buttigieg slams Electoral College for overruling popular vote ‘twice in my lifetime’

Discussion: Splinter, twitchy.com and Joe.My.God.

Jamie Lovegrove / Post and Courier:

Ex-SC Rep. Bakari Sellers endorses Kamala Harris in 2020 Democratic presidential primary — COLUMBIA — Bakari Sellers announced Monday that he is backing U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris in the 2020 presidential race, giving the California Democrat one of the most prominent endorsements yet …

Dallas Morning News:

No more prosecuting petty crimes: Does the Dallas County DA's plan for justice reform go too far? — We'd be the first to say that the criminal justice system in this county, this state and country is in need of serious reform. Too often, people of color and poor defendants are unfairly penalized …

Alexi McCammond / Axios:

Ohio swing voters crave Obama — BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Ohio voters who have flipped between parties in past presidential elections and supported Donald Trump in 2016 now say their first choice in 2020 is ... Barack Obama. — Why it matters: Obama isn't running.

Discussion: Raw Story

CNN:

White House snubs to Congress leaves Republicans as well as Democrats aghast — (CNN)Republicans on Capitol Hill are raising alarms at the White House's resistance to congressional demands, fearing President Donald Trump is bolstering the power of his office at the expense of Congress.

Eric Levenson / CNN:

Sarah Sanders says Congress wouldn't understand Trump's taxes. But 10 members are accountants — Sanders: Congress not smart enough to review Trump's taxes — (CNN)In attacking the fight to obtain Trump's tax returns, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders argued that members of Congress …

Discussion: IJR

Christopher Ingraham / Washington Post:

Where the war on weed still rages — In some U.S. counties, more than 40 percent of all arrests are for marijuana possession — Marijuana possession led to nearly 6 percent of all arrests in the United States in 2017, FBI data shows, underscoring the level of policing dedicated …