memeorandum: Mueller: Michael Flynn was under FBI investigation before transition calls (Byron York/Washington Examiner)

9:35 PM ET, April 19, 2019

Top Items:

Katie Galioto / Politico:

Romney says he is ‘sickened’ by Mueller report — Sen. Mitt Romney said Friday that he was “sickened” by President Donald Trump's actions described in special counsel Robert Mueller's report. — In a statement, the Utah Republican said that while it was “good news” there was not enough evidence …

Discussion: Political Wire, Axios, Breitbart, One America News Network and ABC News

Yuval Levin / National Review:

Another Warning Sign — The Mueller report is of course about Russian interference in the 2016 election and about the White House's interference in the resulting investigation. But I couldn't help also reading the report as a window into the manner of administration that characterizes the Trump era …

Discussion: Mother Jones

Bloomberg:

Trump's Post-Mueller Euphoria Gives Way to Anger and Recrimination — President, aides said to be particular angry at McGahn, Porter — On the White House's South Lawn on Thursday, a mob of reporters waited to question Donald Trump about Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report …

Discussion: Raw Story

Carlos Lozada / Washington Post:

The Mueller report isn't just a legal document. It's also the best book on the Trump White House so far. — Review of “Report on the Investigation Into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election” by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III — The Mueller report is that rare Washington tell …

Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:

The Mueller Report Could Alienate the Voters Republicans Need — Beyond all the revelations about Russian entanglements and possible obstruction of justice, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report crystallizes two cardinal rules about governance in Donald Trump's Washington.

Discussion: Raw Story

David French / TIME: Donald Trump Is Weak and Afraid. The Mueller Report Proves It

ABC News:
5 key takeaways from special counsel Robert Mueller's report

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Collins: Mueller report includes ‘an unflattering portrayal’ of Trump

Discussion: Law & Crime

Ronald A. Klain / Washington Post:
Robert Mueller failed to do his duty

Discussion: Quartz

Timothy O'Brien / Bloomberg: Does Mueller Think Trump's Guilty? Read Closely

Cheyenne Haslett / ABC News:
Sarah Sanders grilled on her contradictory statements highlighted in Mueller report

Discussion: Politico, Vox, Daily Kos, PolitiFact, USA Today, IJR, New York Post, The Guardian, Sunlight Foundation, New York Times and Breitbart

New York Times:

Mueller Hints at a National-Security Nightmare — The missing piece of the report is a counterintelligence investigation that should set off alarm bells about our democracy and security. — Mr. Geltzer is the executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CANNONFIRE, Raw Story, Just Security, NBC News and Washington Post

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Comparing Barr's Excerpts With Mueller's Report — Attorney General William P. Barr sent a letter to Congress last month citing brief fragments from the Mueller report. Now that the document is public, his selections are coming under scrutiny. — When Attorney General William P. Barr sent Congress …

Discussion: NBC News, Washington Monthly, Vox, The Intercept, Daily Kos and Washington Post

Scott Jennings / CNN:

Mueller's report looks bad for Obama — Scott Jennings, a CNN contributor, is a former special assistant to President George W. Bush and former campaign adviser to Sen. Mitch McConnell. He is a partner at RunSwitch Public Relations in Louisville, Kentucky. Follow him on Twitter @ScottJenningsKY.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, NB Blog, Conservative Tribune, USA Today, Mediaite, Daily Kos and GOP.com

Washington Post:

Congressional Democrats examine Erik's Prince statements on 2017 Seychelles meeting for possible perjury — Nine days before Donald Trump took the oath of office, Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of the private military contractor Blackwater and a Trump ally, met in the Seychelles islands …

Discussion: Task & Purpose and Vox

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
The counterintelligence investigation of the Trump team and Russia hasn't stopped

Discussion: Raw Story

Asha Rangappa / New York Times:
How Barr and Trump Use a Russian Disinformation Tactic

Discussion: Raw Story, FactCheck.org, Quartz and Vox

Julia Davis / The Daily Beast:
Russia's Mueller Report: If Putin Did It, He Did It for You

Discussion: Raw Story, Radio Free Europe/Radio … and Voice of America

Masha Gessen / New Yorker: The Hustlers and Swindlers of the Mueller Report

Tom Nichols / USA Today:
Mueller report: Donald Trump failed us as commander-in-chief

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Outside the Beltway and Lawfare

Byron York / Washington Examiner: Mueller: Michael Flynn was under FBI investigation before transition calls

Nancy Cook / Politico:

Trump campaign punishes Don McGahn's law firm — The Trump campaign has hired its own in-house attorney for its 2020 reelection bid — shifting future business away from Jones Day, the law firm, that has represented Trump since his first run for president. — Campaign officials and advisers cast …

Discussion: Raw Story, Law & Crime, twitchy.com and Axios

Washington Post:
Trump blames McGahn after Mueller paints damning portrait with notes from White House aides

Discussion: Raw Story, Politico, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Trump suspected that former White House counsel Don McGahn wore a wire

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Press, Law & Crime, Townhall, Mediaite and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Democratic equivocation over impeachment is a moral and political disaster — As the political world digests the shocking scale of corruption, misconduct and skirting of criminality detailed in the Mueller report, Democrats have been pushing back on the idea that it's time to initiate an inquiry into the impeachment of President Trump.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, NBC News, Crooked Media, Vox, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, Hullabaloo and Roll Call

Alex Pareene / New Republic:
Democrats Are Hoping You Don't Understand What “Impeachment” Entails

Discussion: Vox, Hmm Daily, Hullabaloo, The Federalist, Breitbart, Mediaite, Raw Story and Daily Kos

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine: If Impeaching Trump Is Pointless, Then Bipartisanship Is Worthless

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Warren calls on House to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump

Discussion: RedState, BostonGlobe.com, The Guardian, New York Times and Vanity Fair

Lisa Mascaro / Associated Press:
Democrats subpoena Mueller report amid calls for impeachment

Discussion: KTLA, FOX6Now.com, Fox News and The Crime Report

Griffin Connolly / Roll Call:

Rep. Hunter pretends to cross the Mexico border and gets called out for violating ‘parole’ — California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter and his Democratic challenger Ammar Campa-Najjar traded Twitter barbs Thursday over a video Hunter posted in which he appeared to suggest he was crossing the southern border into Mexico.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Ken Stone / Times of San Diego:
Rep. Hunter Hops Border Barrier — But Not Into Mexico as Video Suggests

Discussion: Shareblue Media, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, IJR, Splinter and Joe.My.God.

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

White House and Congress Set to Spar Over Kushner Security Clearance — The White House would like to be in the room when Congressional investigators grill Carl Kline, the official who green-lit Jared Kushner's security clearance. — Betsy Woodruff — The White House would like to be in the room …

Discussion: Raw Story

The Daily Beast:
Matt Gaetz Hires Speechwriter Fired From White House Over White Nationalist Conference

Discussion: Raw Story, Politico, CNN, Splinter, Mediaite, Shareblue Media and Axios

Michael Hirsh / Foreign Policy:

How Trump Practices ‘Escalation Dominance’ — “You have restraint on your side. He has no restraint. So you lose,” says outgoing French Ambassador Gérard Araud. — Following in the footsteps of Alexis de Tocqueville, Gérard Araud has made a study of the United States …

Discussion: Fox News, Joe.My.God., Shareblue Media, Raw Story and Mediaite

Julian Borger / The Guardian:
‘Whimsical, uninformed’: French ambassador's parting verdict on Trump

Discussion: IJR, Washington Press and The Local

Yara Bayoumy / The Atlantic: The French Ambassador Is Retiring Today. Here's What He Really Thinks About Washington.

New York Times:

Pete Buttigieg Fired South Bend's Black Police Chief. It Still Stings. — SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Pete Buttigieg had been mayor just 13 weeks when he faced a leadership crisis. — It was March 2012, and 300 residents of South Bend, Ind., solemnly marched to the Martin Luther King Center …

Discussion: The Atlantic

Caleb Ecarma / Mediaite:

Screaming Mark Levin Leaves Fox & Friends Speechless with 8 AM Mueller Rant: ‘Ed, You Have No Idea!’ — Conservative talk radio host Mark Levin stunned the hosts of Fox & Friends this morning after a particularly unhinged rant, in which Levin screamed and cursed about claims of obstruction against President Donald Trump.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Washington Times and Fox News

Jerry Iannelli / Miami New Times:

South Florida Man Arrested for Threatening to Kill Democratic Lawmakers, Including Ilhan Omar … Lately, Donald Trump fans have enjoyed attacking left-leaning Americans. Last year, for instance, Miami-area resident Cesar Sayoc sent pipe bombs to prominent liberals around the country and went to jail.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Contemptor, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Jezebel, Daily Kos and Mediaite

Eric Connor / Greenville News:

Bernie Sanders offers 3 ideas to help battle gentrification while in Greenville — The West End is Greenville's epicenter for the pressures of gentrification, and it was from that platform Friday that Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders spoke on what he considers solutions …

New York Times:

Sanders's ‘Slip of the Tongue’ Would Be a Problem in Some White Houses. Not Trump's. — PALM BEACH, Fla. — After admitting to investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, that she delivered a false statement from the White House podium, Sarah Huckabee Sanders …

Discussion: Raw Story