memeorandum: Washington Becomes First State to Approve Publicly Funded Long-Term Care (Rachel M. Cohen/The Intercept)

10:10 AM ET, April 26, 2019

Top Items:

Joe Biden Expresses Regret to Anita Hill, but She Says 'I'm Sorry' Is Not Enough — WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. called Anita Hill earlier this month to express his regret over “what she endured” testifying against Justice Clarence Thomas at the 1991 Supreme Court hearings …

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

Why Is Joe Biden the Only Democrat Who Wants to Talk About Donald Trump? — In the week since the release of the Mueller report, President Trump has gone to war against its findings, raged against advisers who coöperated with the special counsel's investigation, lied about what the report concluded …

John Bresnahan / Politico:

Trump's Biden insults fueled by belief he can win — Hours after Joe Biden posted an online video announcing his 2020 White House bid, President Donald Trump responded on Twitter. “Welcome to the race Sleepy Joe,” Trump taunted the former vice president on Thursday.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Front Page Magazine, Fox News, Herman Cain and The Root

Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report:

Restoration Versus Revolution — A couple of weeks ago, I noted that one way to look at the 2020 Democratic primary contest was to think of it as a battle between those candidates who wanted a ‘revolution’ versus those who want to see more of a ‘restoration.’ The leaders of the ‘revolution’ wing …

Henry Olsen / Washington Post:

Trump's greatest threat has arrived — The front-runner has finally thrown his hat into the ring. Joe Biden starts the 2020 campaign not only as the favorite for the Democratic nomination but also probably as a slight favorite to win the presidency itself. — Biden's virtue in both contests is his relative moderation.

Discussion: The Week and Bloomberg

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
Joe Biden is the best candidate to beat Trump

Discussion: IJR, Mashable and The Guardian

Jordan Schachtel / Conservative Review:
Biden wanted to establish a ‘Biden-Putin commission’ to cozy up to the Kremlin

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, the way of improvement …, Townhall, Breitbart and The Resurgent

CNN:
Biden is Trump's most anticipated — and feared — rival

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and YouTube

Elise Viebeck / Washington Post:
Joe Biden was in charge of the Anita Hill hearing. Even he says it wasn't fair.

Discussion: Vanity Fair

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Joe Biden's High Crimes Against Logo Design

Discussion: Defense One, Bloomberg, CBS Philly and Liberty Unyielding

John F. Harris / Politico:
Joe Biden: Old man, still in a hurry

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post and Breitbart

Murray Waas / The New York Review of Books:

Mueller Prosecutors: Trump Did Obstruct Justice — Prosecutors working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded last year that they had sufficient evidence to seek criminal charges against President Donald Trump for obstruction of justice over the president's alleged pressuring …

Discussion: Raw Story and New York Times

Washington Post:

Rosenstein fires back at critics over Mueller report — NEW YORK — Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein hit back hard against politicians and the press Thursday night, and warned that hacking and social media manipulation are “only the tip of the iceberg” …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

U.S. Department of Justice:

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein Delivers Remarks at the Armenian Bar Association's Public Servants Dinner — “Peri yerego.” Good evening. — Rick, I am grateful for your friendship and for your 20 years of exceptional service to the Department of Justice …

Discussion: National Review, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, IJR, twitchy.com and The Daily Caller

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:

Rosenstein defends Russia investigation, takes shots at Obama administration — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Thursday teed off on the Obama administration's handling of Russian election interference and hit back at critics of the Russia probe in his first public remarks since …

Washington Post:
Stymied by aides, Trump sought out loyalist to curtail special counsel — and drew Mueller's glare

Discussion: The Week, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite and Washington Times

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“Executives Are Very Worried Fox & Friends Will Be Next”: After Taking Over Fox, Lachlan Murdoch Is in a Trump Trap — When advertisers rebelled at outrage anchors like Jeanine Pirro and Tucker Carlson, Trump called Lachlan's daddy, Rupert Murdoch, to keep them on the air.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Week and POLITICUSUSA

Matthew Chapman / Raw Story: Hannity pondering bailing on Fox News because he no longer feels the network is loyal to Trump: report

Bianca Quilantan / Politico:
Trump: Russia investigations an attempted ‘coup’

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Political Wire and Contemptor

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
How Fox News distorts the news: A Mueller case study

Discussion: Vox, Raw Story and CNBC

Fred Imbert / CNBC:

US economy grows by 3.2% in the first quarter, topping expectations — The U.S. economy grew at a faster pace than expected in the first quarter and posted its best growth to start a year in six years. — First-quarter GDP expanded by 3.2% in the first quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said.

Discussion: Breitbart, Political Wire and twitchy.com

Conrad Black / American Greatness:

Democrats Court Electoral Disaster With Trump Hearings — The Democrats should be changing the subject, and running away from President Trump's legal issues as fast as they can. — It is illustrative of how completely invested they were in the hare-brained fraud of Russian collusion …

Elizabeth Drew / New York Times: The Danger in Not Impeaching Trump

Glenn Thrush / New York Times: As Democrats Agonize, G.O.P. Is at Peace With Doing Nothing on Mueller's Findings

CNN:

Connolly threatens to jail Trump officials who won't comply with subpoenas — Washington (CNN)A Democratic lawmaker on Thursday ratcheted up warnings to the Trump administration amid a growing standoff over subpoenas and oversight requests the White House says it will resist.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Shareblue Media, Joe.My.God., Townhall, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, What The Fuck … and Shakesville

Reuters:

Trump says U.S. paid no money to North Korea over Warmbier — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said the United States did not pay any money to North Korea as it sought the release of Otto Warmbier, a day after a report said Trump had approved a $2 million bill from Pyongyang for the American student's care.

Discussion: Political Wire

Tom O'Connor / Newsweek: Donald Trump Agreed to Pay North Korea $2 Million for Otto Warmbier Hospital Bills, Report Says

Tony Romm / Washington Post:

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey called Rep. Ilhan Omar after Trump's tweet sparked a flood of death threats — Twitter did not take down the tweet, despite Omar's request, a source said. — Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey phoned Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar on Tuesday and stood by the company's decision …

Discussion: The Daily Dot, New York Post, Motherboard, Vanity Fair, The Verge, Splinter, TheBlaze, Fox News, Slate, Townhall, Mediaite, Raw Story, Contemptor and theGrio, more at Techmeme »

Baltimore Sun:

Attorney for Baltimore Mayor Pugh says she's not ‘lucid’ enough to make a decision about resigning — Mayor Catherine Pugh's lawyer Steve Silverman says that she “is not fit to make decisions today” about resigning. (Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun video) — Amid raids by the FBI and IRS …

Discussion: Fox News, Daily Caller News Foundation, CBS Baltimore, Associated Press, The Last Refuge, Jezebel, theGrio, USA Today, Big League Politics and New York Post

BuzzFeed News:

Trump Says Mar-A-Lago Can't Find US Workers To Hire. New Documents Show Dozens Applied. — Trump often says his resorts have no choice but to hire foreign guest workers — there just aren't any Americans to take the jobs. But government records show nearly 60 US residents applied for those jobs, and only one was hired.

Nancy Cook / Politico:

Trump's top aide is trying to overhaul the West Wing snake pit — It may be Washington's most coveted happy hour invitation. On the patio outside the White House chief of staff's office, cozily enclosed by greenery, West Wing aides relax with beer and wine under a white pergola …

Discussion: USA Today, The Atlantic and Washington Post

Jed Handelsman Shugerman / New York Times:

The Trump Campaign Conspired With the Russians. Mueller Proved It. — By the standards of a potential impeachment inquiry, the evidence is clear. — Mr. Shugerman is a law professor at Fordham. — In his first letter after receiving the Mueller report, Attorney General William Barr accurately quoted …

Discussion: Raw Story

Charlie Warzel / New York Times:

How Do You Stop Facebook When $5 Billion Is Chump Change? — A trivial fine would mean the government isn't just deferential to Facebook, but that it doesn't truly understand its power. — Mr. Warzel is an Opinion writer at large. — It's time for Facebook to pay up. Sort of.

Discussion: The Week, Washington Post and Slate, more at Techmeme »

Mike Allen / Axios:

Bob Woodward is considering another book on Trump — After his blockbuster “FEAR,” which comes out in paperback this fall, Bob Woodward tells me he's considering a second book on President Trump, perhaps before the election: “I'm not sure. Let's see what the story is.”

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

The Russians and the Dossier — Mueller should have investigated whether Moscow used Steele in its interference. — Politicians keep reminding us not to lose sight of special counsel Robert Mueller's broader assignment: to investigate Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

Discussion: Power Line

Rachel M. Cohen / The Intercept:

Washington Becomes First State to Approve Publicly Funded Long-Term Care — Washington state lawmakers on Tuesday passed the nation's first long-term care benefit program, which would provide residents with up to $36,500 to pay for costs like caregiving, wheelchair ramps, meal deliveries, and nursing home fees.

Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:

Here's what happened inside The Markup — The Markup was one of the most highly anticipated media startups in recent memory. Julia Angwin, a former Wall Street Journal investigative reporter, teamed up with her ProPublica writing partner, data journalist Jeff Larson, and brought in Sue Gardner …

Discussion: The Wrap and Jeff Larson, more at Mediagazer »

Fox News:

Strzok-Page texts suggested using post-election briefing to gather information on Trump team — Text messages between former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page indicate they discussed using briefings to the Trump team after the 2016 election to identify people they could …

Discussion: Sara A. Carter, twitchy.com, The Last Refuge, CNN, PJ Media Home and New York Post

Washington Post:

Will it use hacked materials again? Trump campaign will not say — President Trump's reelection campaign won't say whether it would use stolen information from hacks or other breaches, setting up a clash with Democratic rivals who have pledged to forgo such tactics and prompting some worry in Trump's own party.

Discussion: Political Wire

Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:

Did Trump's Attempts to Obstruct Actually Work? — Let's go to the report. — Depending on which competing reality you have been frequenting, two narratives have dominated discussions of President Donald Trump's attempted obstruction of justice. The first (let's call it the Barr/Fox version) …

David French / National Review:

Franklin Graham and the High Cost of the Lost Evangelical Witness — Graham's willingness to abandon Christian principles when it's politically expedient has cost the church dearly. — It's hard to think of a single prominent American Christian who better illustrates the collapsing …