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

6:15 PM ET, April 19, 2019

Top Items:

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, Raw Story, NBC News and Just Security

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, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Vox, New Republic and Lawfare

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 …

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

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

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 …

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 and Breitbart

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

George T. Conway III / Washington Post:

George Conway: Trump is a cancer on the presidency. Congress should remove him. — George T. Conway III is a lawyer in New York. — So it turns out that, indeed, President Trump was not exonerated at all, and certainly not “totally” or “completely,” as he claimed.

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Trump suspected that former White House counsel Don McGahn wore a wire — Late in Don McGahn's tenure as White House counsel, President Trump became so suspicious that he wondered aloud whether McGahn was wearing a wire, a source familiar with the president's private conversations told Axios.

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

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

Discussion: Raw Story

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

Discussion: Quartz

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

Discussion: Townhall, BuzzFeed News, Conservative Tribune, Raw Story, The American Conservative, wabe.org, NPR, CNN, Quartz, Mediaite, The Week, Shakesville, Washington Post and Wired, more at Mediagazer »

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

Discussion: Washington Post

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

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

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

Discussion: New York Post, TIME, USA Today, IJR, ThinkProgress, 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, What The Fuck …, The Daily Beast, Raw Story and Vanity Fair

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

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
The Mueller Report Won't End Trump's Presidency, But It Sure Makes Him Look Bad

Discussion: Vox, New York Times, CNN, Outside the Beltway, The Week, Columbia Journalism Review, Washington Post, Reason and The Intercept

Lawfare:
What Mueller Found on Russia and on Obstruction: A First Analysis

Discussion: Washington Post, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Salon, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo, Rolling Stone and Vox

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

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

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, Vox, Crooked Media, No More Mister Nice Blog, Roll Call and CNN

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

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

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

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

Discussion: FOX6Now.com, Fox News, The Crime Report and WGN-TV

Li Zhou / Vox:
Democratic presidential candidates urge Congress to keep investigating Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, GOP.com and Raw Story

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

Discussion: Media Matters for America and The Guardian

Washington Post:
Mueller report updates: Longtime Manafort associate Konstantin Kilimnik rejects his depiction in Mueller report

Discussion: Politico, NBC News, Joe.My.God., Towleroad Gay News, New York Times, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Breitbart, Axios, 1A and IndieWire

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, IJR, Raw Story, Political Wire and Joe.My.God.

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, The Guardian, Fox News and Daily Mail

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

Nicole Lafond / Talking Points Memo:
FL Man Arrested For Threatening To Murder Several Dems, Including Omar And Tlaib

Discussion: CNN, KTLA and Mediaite

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, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Shareblue Media and Mediaite

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

Discussion: IJR 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 …

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: Washington Times

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:

Joe Biden Is Running for President — Joe Biden is running. The former vice president will make his candidacy official with a video announcement next Wednesday, according to people familiar with the discussions who have been told about them by top aides. — Seriously, he's actually made a decision.

Discussion: TIME, Slate, Associated Press, Vanity Fair, Daily Wire, LifeNews.com, Trending Home, Breitbart, Splinter, Fox News, Townhall, New Republic, Politico, Washington Times, Mediaite and twitchy.com

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Biden hires over a dozen senior advisors from Obama administration for 2020 campaign: Sources

Discussion: NBC News

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

Masha Gessen / New Yorker:

The Hustlers and Swindlers of the Mueller Report — There was a lull on social media among Russia watchers after the redacted Mueller report dropped, on Thursday. “Everyone is reading,” a friend of mine wrote. “It's like a well-written detective novel.” — I disagree.