memeorandum: Mueller's done, and Dems should be too — because Trump is no Nixon (Mark Penn/The Hill)

3:50 AM ET, April 20, 2019

Top Items:

Chris Kahn / Reuters:

Trump approval drops 3 points to 2019 low after release of Mueller report: Reuters/Ipsos poll — NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of Americans who approve of President Donald Trump dropped by 3 percentage points to the lowest level of the year following the release of a special counsel report …

Discussion: Mediaite

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: ABC News, What The Fuck …, One America News Network, Fox News, No More Mister Nice Blog and Axios

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

David French / TIME:

Donald Trump Is Weak and Afraid. The Mueller Report Proves It — French is a TIME columnist. A lawyer and senior fellow at the National Review Institute, he is a best-selling author whose next book will be The Great American Divorce. — We now know for sure what kind of man Donald Trump is.

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

Allan Smith / NBC News:

GOP Sen. Richard Burr apparently briefed White House on FBI's Russia probe, Mueller report says — Burr's spokesperson told NBC News that his “stewardship over the Committee's bipartisan and fact-based investigation over the last two years speaks for itself.”

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 …

more at Mediagazer »

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

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Collins: Mueller report includes ‘an unflattering portrayal’ of Trump — Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Friday that special counsel Robert Mueller's report gives an “unflattering portrayal” of President Trump, including an effort to oust the former FBI director from his special counsel role.

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Law & Crime

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

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

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

Discussion: Quartz

Mark Penn / The Hill: Mueller's done, and Dems should be too — because Trump is no Nixon

New York Times:

Mueller Report Likely to Renew Scrutiny of Steele Dossier — WASHINGTON — The 35-page dossier, spiced up with tales of prostitutes and spies, sketched out a hair-raising story more than two years ago. Russian intelligence had used bribery and blackmail to try to turn Donald J. Trump …

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

Discussion: Raw Story, FactCheck.org and Quartz

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

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Monthly and New York Times

Sohrab Ahmari / New York Post:
Top 10 things the media got wrong about ‘collusion’ and ‘obstruction’

Discussion: The Federalist, Washington Post and McClatchy Washington Bureau

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

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 … and Raw Story

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, Axios, Law & Crime and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

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

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway

Michael Daly / The Daily Beast:
Robert Mueller Made One Mistake: He Trusted Bill Barr

Discussion: Media Matters for America

Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:

Elizabeth Warren Calls for Impeachment Process Against Trump — Senator Elizabeth Warren on Friday called for the Democratic-led House of Representatives to begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump, making her the most prominent Democrat to move toward ousting the president …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mother Jones and The Daily Caller

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Democratic equivocation over impeachment is a moral and political disaster

Discussion: NBC News, Vox, Rolling Stone, Hullabaloo, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Wire, Crooked Media and The Guardian

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

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

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

Discussion: Slate, BostonGlobe.com, WPIX 11 New York, The Guardian and Vanity Fair

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

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Raw Story, Joe.My.God. and Hullabaloo

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

Bonchie / RedState:
CNN's April Ryan Says Sarah Sanders' Head Should Be “Lopped Off”

Discussion: Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Contemptor, Mediaite, TheBlaze, TIME, IJR, NB Blog and The Hill

Mark Hemingway / New York Post:

New York Times hits new low with mortifying Notre Dame correction — Just in time for Easter, The New York Times has been forced to run yet another correction that speaks to the paper's profound ignorance regarding the basic beliefs of Christianity. — In a Thursday report on the fire at Notre Dame …

Discussion: GetReligion, Daily Wire, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Conservative Tribune and Washington Free Beacon

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: Mercury News, Vox and Task & Purpose

PDF Association:

A Technical and Cultural Assessment of the Mueller Report PDF — What can we learn about the Mueller Report from the PDF file released by the Department of Justice on April 18, 2019? — This article offers two things: — a brief, high-level technical assessment of the document, and

Adi Robertson / The Verge: The PDF Association thinks the Mueller report sucks

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, Splinter, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

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

Eli Rosenberg / Washington Post:
Man arrested after allegedly making racist death threats against Omar, Tlaib and Booker

Discussion: The Root

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

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 …

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