memeorandum: Rep. Hunter pretends to cross the Mexico border and gets called out for violating ‘parole’ (Griffin Connolly/Roll Call)

7:35 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: Axios, ABC News, Political Wire, Breitbart and IJR

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

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 and Washington Times

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 …

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

ABC News:

5 key takeaways from special counsel Robert Mueller's report — The report is a trove of information about the current presidency. — While there will be no legal case brought against President Donald Trump by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, the much-anticipated redacted report …

Ronald A. Klain / Washington Post:

Robert Mueller failed to do his duty — Robert S. Mueller III is a distinguished public servant. But his much-anticipated report comes up short in many respects, and Democrats made a mistake to put so much confidence in it as the touchstone of accountability for President Trump and his campaign.

Discussion: Quartz

Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
The Mueller Report Could Alienate the Voters Republicans Need

Discussion: Raw Story

David French / National Review:
The Mueller Report Should Shock Our Conscience

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, BuzzFeed News, Conservative Tribune, Raw Story, Townhall, New Yorker, wabe.org, NPR, Mediaite, Columbia Journalism Review, The Week, Shakesville and Wired, more at Mediagazer »

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: Vox, TIME, New York Post, USA Today, IJR, New York Times, Sunlight Foundation, The Guardian and Breitbart

Renato Mariotti / Politico:
The Obstruction Case Against Trump that Barr Tried to Hide

Discussion: Washington Post, The Intercept, What The Fuck …, The Daily Beast and Raw Story

Michael R. Bloomberg / Bloomberg:
Mueller Did His Job. Now It's Our Turn

Discussion: The Hill, Vox, New York Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, BostonGlobe.com, Politico and DCReport.org

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Mueller didn't charge Trump — but his report is a brutal indictment

Discussion: Media Matters for America, The Guardian and Fox News

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: CANNONFIRE, Washington Monthly, Raw Story, NBC News, Just Security 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: Washington Monthly, Vox, Daily Kos, Washington Post, New Republic and Lawfare

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:

The counterintelligence investigation of the Trump team and Russia hasn't stopped — Officials say they're still looking into whether any Americans helped the Russians interfere in the 2016 election, or are still compromised by Russia. — WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller's …

Discussion: Raw Story

Scott Jennings / CNN:
Mueller's report looks bad for Obama

Discussion: NB Blog, USA Today, Conservative Tribune, Mediaite and GOP.com

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

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

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

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

Discussion: Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Raw Story, Voice of America and 1A

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

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

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

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

Discussion: Vox, Hmm Daily, Politico, Hullabaloo, The Federalist, Raw Story, Daily Kos and The Daily Caller

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

Discussion: BostonGlobe.com, BuzzFeed News, Vanity Fair and Slate

Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani / ThinkProgress:
Warren, Castro are the first 2020 candidates to call for Trump's impeachment

Discussion: New York Times, Mother Jones, Bloomberg and Hullabaloo

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

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

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, twitchy.com, Law & Crime and Axios

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

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

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

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway

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 — Rep. Duncan Hunter posted a video Thursday showing himself at the “grand border wall in Yuma, Arizona.” He says: “It looks pretty tough to cross. Let me see if I can do it.” — He swings his legs …

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

Simon Romero / New York Times:
Militia in New Mexico Detains Asylum Seekers at Gunpoint

Discussion: Alamogordo Daily News, BuzzFeed News, CNN, Slate, Raw Story, TheBlaze, The Stranger, Boing Boing, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Fox News, Daily Mail and The Guardian

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., Raw Story, Shareblue Media and Mediaite

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

Discussion: Washington Press, IJR and The Local

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

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, Jezebel, Daily Kos, Contemptor, Joe.My.God., Raw Story and Mediaite

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

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

New York Times:

Joe Biden Begins Taking Money for a 2020 Presidential Campaign — Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has begun accepting financial donations for a 2020 presidential campaign, an unambiguous sign that he intends to begin his challenge to President Trump within days.

Discussion: Political Wire

Dave Gershgorn / Quartz:

Microsoft staff are openly questioning the value of diversity — Some Microsoft employees are openly questioning whether diversity is important, in a lengthy discussion on an internal online messaging board meant for communicating with CEO Satya Nadella. — Two posts on the board criticizing …

Discussion: The Verge