memeorandum: Stop grading 2020 candidate recruitment, particularly this far from Election Day (Nathan L. Gonzales/Roll Call)

7:45 AM ET, May 3, 2019

Top Items:

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:

William Barr's Justice Department Just Filed the Most Nakedly Political Brief in the Agency's History — On Wednesday afternoon, after Attorney General William Barr finished his truculent and mendacious testimony before the Senate, the Department of Justice filed perhaps the most embarrassing …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Washington Post:

Trump finds in Barr the attorney general — and shield — he long sought — For a time, President Trump was reluctant to select William P. Barr as his attorney general. The veteran Justice Department official from the George H.W. Bush administration was not a longtime Trump loyalist …

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, New York Times and The National Interest

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

For Fear of William Barr — The attorney general gets attacked because his probe endangers many powerful people. — The only thing uglier than an angry Washington is a fearful Washington. And fear is what's driving this week's blitzkrieg of Attorney General William Barr.

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

Trump, Wrecker of Reputations — On Attorney General William Barr's testimony and the coming constitutional crisis. — In the first year of the Trump Presidency, White House advisers often promised reporters that this would be the week when they would unveil Trump's plans for a massive investment in American infrastructure.

Discussion: The Resurgent, NB Blog and IJR

Grant Stern / Washington Press:

A Democratic Congressman just brutally mocked the cowardice of Trump's attorney general with a hilarious stunt — A member of the House Judiciary Committee just sent #ChickenBarr trending on Twitter when Trump's Attorney General William Barr refused to appear for fear of being questioned by the panel's lawyers.

Discussion: Fortune, The Daily Caller and Variety

HuffPost:

Are House Democrats Running Out The Clock On Impeachment? — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is certainly not in a rush. — WASHINGTON ― Despite the evidence of obstruction of justice outlined in the Mueller report, House Democrats are showing very little interest …

Discussion: Lawfare and The Ringer

Quin Hillyer / Washington Examiner:
Barr's theory would create a tyrannical presidency

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox and Hullabaloo

Justin Wise / The Hill:
Biden says Barr ‘should’ resign: 'He's lost the confidence of the American people'

Discussion: Daily Wire, Washingtonian and Joe.My.God.

Benjamin Wittes / The Atlantic:
The Catastrophic Performance of Bill Barr

Discussion: The Week, Mother Jones, Outside the Beltway, Bloomberg, PJ Media Home, Slate, NBC News and New York Times

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
At least one person came out smelling like a rose

Discussion: NPR, Crooked Media, Shakesville and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Barr's no-show triggers contempt threats, Nixon comparison and more impeachment talk

Discussion: Political Wire and Wall Street Journal

The Daily Beast:

Mark Halperin Enlists Pals Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Michael Smerconish to Rehab His Career After Sexual Misconduct Scandal — The disgraced pundit has re-emerged from #MeToo hiding and has met with media friends for new punditry work—including a scrapped gig with the hosts of MSNBC's ‘Morning Joe.’

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Fox News and Mediaite

Rachel Frazin / The Hill:

California Senate passes bill that would keep Trump off 2020 ballot unless he releases tax returns — The California state Senate on Thursday approved a bill to require candidates appearing on the presidential primary ballot — including President Trump — to release five years' worth of income tax returns.

Discussion: Associated Press and Axios

Greg Farrell / Bloomberg: Someone Did Get to Look at Trump's Tax Returns: Deutsche Bankers

New York Times:

F.B.I. Sent Investigator Posing as Assistant to Meet With Trump Aide in 2016 — WASHINGTON — The conversation at a London bar in September 2016 took a strange turn when the woman sitting across from George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign adviser, asked a direct question: Was the Trump campaign working with Russia?

Daily Mail:

Grim-faced Obama with president-elect Trump as they depart of White House for the inauguration. — Obama was cordial to the president elect in their face-to-face meeting in the Oval Office, but in private Obama called Trump a conman straight out of Huckleberry Finn.

Discussion: Daily Wire and The Gateway Pundit

John Gage / Washington Examiner:
Obama saw the 2016 loss of Hillary Clinton as a ‘personal insult’

Discussion: TheBlaze

BuzzFeed News:
Joe Biden Wants To Make Donald Trump Deplorable Again

Discussion: Eschaton, Bloomberg, twitchy.com and CNN

Elizabeth Dwoskin / Washington Post:

Facebook bans far-right leaders including Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos for being “dangerous” — The bans are a sign that the social network is more aggressively enforcing its hate speech policies under pressure from civil rights groups. — Facebook said on Thursday …

Discussion: Right Wing Watch, twitchy.com, The Resurgent, Hot Air, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Instapundit, The Daily Beast, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Breitbart, Jewish Journal, Mediaite, RedState and New York Post

Casey Newton / The Verge:
Facebook bans Alex Jones and Laura Loomer for violating its policies against dangerous individuals

Discussion: Media Matters for America, The Atlantic, CNN, Vox, Mother Jones, Big League Politics, VICE News, Althouse, Gizmodo, Mashable, The Wrap, TheBlaze, The Root, Talking Points Memo, Contemptor, The Daily Dot and Joe.My.God., more at Mediagazer »

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Facebook Bans Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, Other Far-Right Figures

Discussion: NBC News, The Verge and TechCrunch, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

Bernie Sanders personally spearheaded campaign strategy to take on Joe Biden — Sanders: Dems must campaign on policy issues, not attacks — (CNN)The decision by Bernie Sanders' campaign to immediately engage with Joe Biden — in a series of public remarks, tweets and emails to supporters …

Discussion: NBC News, Splinter, Reuters and Politico

Fox News:
Trump tells Dems 'it's over,' says McGahn won't testify, hits Biden's ‘very dumb statement’ in Fox News interview

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, swampdrain.com and Breitbart

Eric Beech / Reuters:
Trump says he's not inclined to let former counsel McGahn testify to Congress

Discussion: Political Wire

John Solomon / The Hill:

Ukrainian embassy confirms DNC contractor solicited Trump dirt in 2016 — The boomerang from the Democratic Party's failed attempt to connect Donald Trump to Russia's 2016 election meddling is picking up speed, and its flight path crosses right through Moscow's pesky neighbor, Ukraine.

Discussion: Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Wire

Andy Borowitz / New Yorker:

Barr Unable to Give Honest Answer to Drive-Thru Window at Arby's — BETHESDA, Maryland (The Borowitz Report)—Attorney General William Barr on Thursday proved unable to give honest answers to a drive-thru window at a Bethesda, Maryland, Arby's restaurant. — Barr, who drove up to the window …

Mark Maremont / Wall Street Journal:

NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre Questioned on Travel Expenses — Lawyer for the gun-rights organization says vast majority of the money was spent on donor outreach, fundraising and other business

Discussion: Fox News and The Week

Philip Elliott / TIME:

Republicans Quietly Relieved After Stephen Moore Withdraws From Federal Reserve Nomination — Senate Republicans are breathing a sigh of relief after President Donald Trump's controversial pick for the Federal Reserve decided to bow out in the face of persistent controversy over his past remarks.

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Post and Bloomberg

Julia Arciga / The Daily Beast:
Stephen Moore Withdraws as Trump's Federal Reserve Board Pick After Anti-Women Remarks Unearthed

Discussion: Politico, The Week, HuffPost, Vanity Fair, Hot Air, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Contemptor, CNN and Townhall

Charles Sykes / Politico:
Stephen Moore Went Down for the Wrong Thing

Discussion: New York Times, Fortune, Contemptor and The Week

Holly Otterbein / Politico:

‘Anyone Ever Seen Cocaine?’ What We Found in the Archives of Bernie Sanders's Long-Lost TV Show. — Dozens of children scurry on the screen across Ethan Allen Park in Burlington, Vermont, bobbing for apples and running three-legged races. It is a beaming July day, and they're at a summer camp …

Discussion: Washington Post

Michelle Ye Hee Lee / Washington Post:

She's Asian and female. But she's not me. — I'm often mistaken for other Asian American journalists. Sometimes it's funny. Sometimes it's awkward. It took me years to realize that it also stings. … We're both Korean American, 5-foot-8, and our last name is Lee. That's about all we have in common.

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

The 2019 governor's race that has Trump's team sweating — White House officials are racing to save GOP Gov. Matt Bevin, a Trump loyalist in a red state who's deeply unpopular and on the ballot in November. — Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin is a presidential phone-buddy and White House regular who's become …

Rachel Frazin / The Hill:

Conservatives seize on Alabama state Dem's abortion comments — Republicans pounced Wednesday on remarks made by an Alabama state representative opposing a state bill that would criminalize abortion. — State Rep. John Rogers (D) said abortion “ought to be a woman's choice,” before adding …

Discussion: WVTM, Hot Air, RedState, twitchy.com, American Greatness, Breitbart, Patterico's Pontifications, Fox News, Mediaite, New York Post, Townhall, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, PJ Media Home and IJR

Baltimore Sun:

Baltimore Mayor Pugh resigns after month on leave amid investigation into her business deals — The lawyer for Catherine Pugh, Steve Silverman, announces her resignation as Mayor of Baltimore. (Ulysses Muñoz, Baltimore Sun video) — Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resigned Thursday …

Discussion: The Federalist, Axios and Daily Wire

Bloomberg:

Trump Hails Steel Tariffs in Defiance of GOP Request to End Them — Republican senators urged him not to impose new auto tariffs — Grassley says USMCA can't get a vote if metals tariffs remain — Republican senators said they warned President Donald Trump Thursday against imposing tariffs …

Discussion: The Last Refuge and Politico

The Appeal:

“A Sliver of Light:” Maine's Top Election Official on Voting From Prison — The Appeal: Political Report talks to Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap. — While presidential candidates and some state legislatures debate whether people should vote from prison, that is already a reality in two states.

Michael Bennet:

Rising to the Challenge — Building Opportunity in America & Restoring Integrity to Our Government — Opportunity. We are the first generation of Americans at risk of handing our children less opportunity, not more. — Today, we are reaping the whirlwind of four decades of economic immobility.