memeorandum: Avenatti accused of embezzling nearly $2 million that NBA player paid ex-girlfriend (Michael Finnegan/Los Angeles Times)

4:40 PM ET, April 21, 2019

Top Items:

Laurence Tribe / USA Today:

I've warned that impeachment talk is dangerous, but the time has come — The consequential decision to impeach should not be made lightly. But Mueller's damning report is an invitation that Congress shouldn't refuse. — CONNECT — Despite Attorney General William Barr's assurances …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Hullabaloo, Axios, Raw Story, CANNONFIRE, ABC News, Rolling Stone, Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon and Lawfare

ABC News:

Congressional Dems may ‘take up impeachment’ in wake of Mueller report: Adam Schiff — Rep. Adam Schiff addressed the issue of impeachment on “This Week.” — Rep. Adam Schiff said Sunday congressional Democrats may take up impeachment in the wake of the special counsel report …

Discussion: Washington Post, Joe.My.God., Axios, New York Post and Breitbart

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:

Kellyanne Conway says ‘president is not going to jail,’ predicts another Trump term — She said the investigation found “no crime” committed by the president. — Just days after the release of the highly anticipated Mueller report, one of President Donald Trump's top advisers, Kellyanne Conway …

Discussion: Vox, Slate, Talking Points Memo, IJR, The Week, Mediaite, Breitbart, Hullabaloo, New York Post and Raw Story

New York Times:
How 2020 Democrats Are Gaming Out Trump Impeachment Quandary

Discussion: ABC News, Portland Mercury and The Guardian

Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
Trump approval drops to 2019 low after Mueller report's release: poll

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Politico

David Cohen / Politico:
Schiff: ‘Ample evidence of collusion in plain sight’

Discussion: Breitbart

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:
House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler won't rule out impeachment for Trump

Discussion: Hullabaloo, CNN, Joe.My.God., New York Post and The Daily Beast

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:
Armed with Mueller report, Democrats confront challenge of Trump's messaging machine

Discussion: Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, The Hill, NPR, Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God. and Mediaite

Quint Forgey / Politico:
Trump lashes out at Romney

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, New York Times and Breitbart

New York Times:

Blasts at Churches and Hotels in Sri Lanka Said to Kill Almost 200 — COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A series of coordinated bombings ripped across Sri Lanka on Sunday morning, striking hotels and churches, killing almost 200 people and shattering the relative calm that the war-torn nation had enjoyed in recent years.

Associated Press:

The Latest: Death toll in Sri Lanka blasts rises to 207 — COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Latest on explosions in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday (all times local): — Sri Lankan police say 207 people were killed and 450 wounded in a series of blasts in and around the country's capital.

Discussion: US Department of State, BBC, The Gateway Pundit, Outside the Beltway, Geller Report and Liberty Unyielding

Kevin Freking / ABC News:

President attends Easter service following slew of tweets — President Donald Trump is using Easter morning to offer condolences to the people of Sri Lanka, continue his attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and attend service at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea near his Florida estate

Discussion: One America News Network

CNN:
Sri Lanka blasts: At least 140 dead and more than 560 injured in multiple church and hotel explosions

Discussion: RedState, ABC News, Reuters, The Guardian, Telegraph, NPR, Townhall, The Week and Mother Jones

Washington Post:
Sri Lanka explosions: At least 207 dead in Easter Sunday attack

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Bloomberg, Slate and Althouse

Al Jazeera: Sri Lanka Easter bombings: Mass casualties in churches and hotels

Michael Finnegan / Los Angeles Times:

Avenatti accused of embezzling nearly $2 million that NBA player paid ex-girlfriend — When Hassan Whiteside of the Miami Heat wired $2.75 million to Michael Avenatti in January 2017, the pro basketball player intended most of the money to go to his former girlfriend, Alexis Gardner.

Discussion: Slate and New York Post

Associated Press:

As Russia probe began, Trump called on spy chiefs for help — WASHINGTON (AP) — Two months before special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed in the spring of 2017, President Donald Trump picked up the phone and called the head of the largest U.S. intelligence agency.

Zachary Basu / Axios:

Giuliani: “There's nothing wrong with taking information from Russians” — President Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani said on CNN's “State of the Union” that “any candidate in the whole world” would accept negative information on their campaign opponent, and that there's “nothing wrong with taking information from Russians.”

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast and Breitbart

Justin Wise / The Hill:
Trump continues attacks on Mueller report days after declaring victory

Discussion: Financial Times, Deadline, IJR, New York Post and Breitbart

Andrew Hay / Reuters:

FBI arrests leader of armed group stopping migrants in New Mexico — TAOS, N.M. (Reuters) - The FBI on Saturday said it had arrested Larry Hopkins, the leader of an armed group that is stopping undocumented migrants after they cross the U.S.-Mexico border into New Mexico.

Discussion: Vox, ThinkProgress, Daily Wire, Joe.My.God. and The Gateway Pundit

Simon Romero / New York Times:
F.B.I. Arrests Leader of Right-Wing Militia That Detained Migrants in New Mexico

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, ABC News, The Guardian, Splinter, Slate, The Daily Beast and The Verge

CNN:
A member of an armed group detaining migrants at the border has been arrested by the FBI

Discussion: ImmigrationProf Blog

New York Times:

How Michael Cohen Turned Against President Trump — The president's longtime fixer had, for months, sought “a little loving and respect.” Confidential emails and texts chronicle their momentous falling out. — Michael D. Cohen was at a breaking point. He told friends he was suicidal.

Discussion: Raw Story

Harry Siegel / New York Daily News:

What the bombshell report reveals: The ugly truth about our chief executive — The truth finally came out, heavily redacted, about our conman-in-chief. He's hoping it proves too little, too late as he looks ahead to the 2020 prize. — After firing his investigator …

Marty Lederman / Just Security:

A Brief Aside on the Inexplicable May 2017 Rosenstein Memo About Comey — This is hardly the most important thing about the Mueller Report, but I thought it might be worthy of a short note, if only to fill out the historical record. — Back on May 9, 2017, when President Trump removed FBI …

BBC:

Ukraine election: Comedian Zelensky ‘wins presidency’ — Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has won a run-off election to become the country's next president by a landslide, exit polls suggest. — The polls give him more than 70% support. He dominated the first round of voting three weeks ago …

Discussion: New York Times and Joe.My.God.

Kelly Weill / The Daily Beast:

Broke Roger Stone Is Speaking for Money at a Strip Club — Trump's pal is destitute paying to defend against Mueller's charges he lied about WikiLeaks. Now he's being hounded by antifa that doesn't want him and the Proud Boys in town. — Roger Stone has two very important speaking gigs in his future …

Discussion: Raw Story