memeorandum: Politics is front and center for Russiagate probe — and the farce has reached new heights (Andrew McCarthy/Fox News)

8:15 AM ET, May 11, 2019

Top Items:

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

White House Asked McGahn to Declare Trump Never Obstructed Justice — WASHINGTON — White House officials asked at least twice in the past month for the key witness against President Trump in the Mueller report, Donald F. McGahn II, to say publicly that he never believed the president obstructed justice …

Discussion: HillReporter.com, Common Dreams, Hullabaloo, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, Daily Kos and Joe.My.God.

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:

Don McGahn Rebuffed White House Request to Say Trump Didn't Obstruct Justice — After release of the Mueller report, the president sought to have the former White House counsel say that he didn't believe the president's push to dismiss the special counsel constituted a crime

Discussion: Washington Post, KTLA, Law & Crime, CNN, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller and Raw Story

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

Trump: Discussing a Biden probe with Barr would be ‘appropriate’ — President Donald Trump told POLITICO on Friday that it would be “appropriate” for him to speak to Attorney General Bill Barr about launching an investigation into his potential 2020 rival, Joe Biden, or his son, Hunter.

Discussion: Raw Story

Oliver Carroll / The Independent:

Ukraine president-elect may refuse to meet Trump's lawyer when he flies into Kiev, sources say — Rudy Giuliani's initiative has apparently gone down badly in Ukraine. — A controversial plan to leverage Ukrainian politics in the 2020 American election campaign looks to have come unstuck …

Discussion: Big League Politics, The Intercept, New York Post, The Root, Breitbart and Vanity Fair

Andrew McCarthy / Fox News:

Politics is front and center for Russiagate probe — and the farce has reached new heights — Politics is front and center for the Russiagate probe, which has reached previously unknown heights of farce - and that's saying something. — This week saw the spectacle of the House Judiciary Committee holding …

Discussion: Power Line

Kenneth P. Vogel / New York Times:
Rudy Giuliani Cancels His Trip to Ukraine, Blaming Democrats' ‘Spin’

Discussion: NBC News, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

John Bowden / The Hill:
Dem senator calls for Senate to investigate Giuliani's planned Ukraine trip

Discussion: Mediaite

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:
Giuliani Scores a New Client: an Authoritarian, Middle Eastern Regime

Discussion: Contemptor, Breitbart, Raw Story and Washington Post

Washington Post:

Trump takes over Fourth of July celebration, changing its location and inserting himself into the program — President Trump has effectively taken charge of the nation's premier Fourth of July celebration in Washington, moving the gargantuan fireworks display from its usual spot on the Mall …

Discussion: Fox News, Raw Story, CNN, New York Post and Axios

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:

House Ways and Means Chairman Subpoenas Trump Tax Returns — WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee subpoenaed the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service on Friday, disregarding the Treasury secretary's refusal this week to hand over six years …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, CNN, The New Civil Rights Movement and Mediaite

Anthony Adragna / Politico:

House panel yanks Curbelo invite amid furor from top Democrats — The Ways and Means Committee yanked an invitation for former GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo to testify at a hearing next week after other Democrats became enraged that the panel was offering a prized platform to a longtime foe.

Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Why would Trump be embarrassed by his tax returns?

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and CBS News

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:
House committee subpoenas Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig over Trump tax returns

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Townhall, Vanity Fair and Axios

Benjamin Siegel / ABC News:
House Ways and Means Committee subpoenas Trump's tax returns

Discussion: Breitbart

Aaron Lorenzo / Politico:
Democrats subpoena Trump's tax returns in escalating fight with White House

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, One America News Network and Law & Crime

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Trump's new nickname for Pete Buttigieg: ‘Alfred E. Neuman’ — President Donald Trump dismissed Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Friday in a single sentence. — “Alfred E. Neuman cannot become president of the United States,” the president told POLITICO …

Discussion: Althouse, Axios and USA Today

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Trump: Biden 2020 reminds me of Trump 2016 — President Donald Trump sees parallels between Joe Biden's early surge to the front of the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential field and his own runaway success in the 2016 Republican primaries. — In an interview with POLITICO on Friday afternoon …

Josh Lederman / NBC News: Buttigieg making inroads with West Coast donors who helped fuel Obama's rise

Associated Press:

Beto O'Rourke plans ‘reintroduction’ as 2020 buzz fizzles — NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Beto O'Rourke barreled into the 2020 presidential race with breakneck energy and a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants campaign style that saw him leap atop tables to address overflow crowds with the organic …

CNN: O'Rourke won't commit to unconditionally supporting Democrats in exchange with New Hampshire voter

Mitch Smith / New York Times:

Frustration Mounts Among Farmers as China Trade Talks Break Down — CHICAGO — The year was already shaping up to be difficult for Midwestern farmers. Incomes have slipped, farm bankruptcies have increased and widespread flooding has inundated the region, killing cattle and turning some fields into unplowable pits.

Discussion: Fox News and Daily Kos

Charles Creitz / Fox News:
Varney: China trade talks, tariffs ‘the most important financial story of the year’

Discussion: One America News Network and Politico

Avery G. Wilks / The Charlotte Observer:

GOP lawmaker shared story of her rape. Now she says she's under attack in abortion debate — A GOP state lawmaker who recently gave an impassioned speech about being raped as a 16 year old says she feels attacked after a Republican colleague passed out literature describing rape as a …

Dominique Jackson / Raw Story: Republican lawmaker ‘visibly shaken’ after pro-life conservatives troll her for being a rape victim

Julie K. Brown / Miami Herald:

Prosecutors finally want to hear from Jeffrey Epstein's victims — More than a decade after federal prosecutors gave a secret plea deal to a suspected child sex trafficker, the government finally wants to hear from his victims, indicating on Friday that prosecutors wish to interview …

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

Joe Biden once said a fence was needed to stop ‘tons’ of drugs from Mexico — Biden bolts to the top of Democratic rankings — (CNN)Joe Biden once spoke about jailing employers who hire “illegals,” said sanctuary cities shouldn't be allowed to violate federal law, and argued a fence was needed stop …

Discussion: Breitbart, Vanity Fair, Washington Free Beacon, TheBlaze, twitchy.com and Political Wire

Daily Mail:

Dorenko died after falling from his Triumph motorbike on Thursday evening shortly before 7pm — He was pronounced dead at the spot with reports in the official media rapidly stating he had suffered ‘major heart failure’ and died of ‘natural causes’ - even before any autopsy was conducted.

New York Times:

Pentagon Builds Deterrent Force Against Possible Iranian Attack — WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will deploy a Patriot antimissile battery to the Middle East to shore up defenses against Iranian threats, part of a series of carefully calibrated deployments intended to deter attacks by Iranian forces …

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Ben Shapiro Storms Out of BBC Interview: 'I'm Popular and No One's Ever Heard of You' — Facts did not care about Ben Shapiro's feelings. — Right-wing commentator and “cool kids' philosopher” Ben Shapiro stormed out of a contentious BBC interview on Thursday after accusing the conservative host …

Sasha Sutcliffe / Bold:

Lynne Patton, Trump Advisor on Urban Issues, Rejects ‘Cocaine Mitch’ Campaign by Mitch McConnell — Lynne Patton, a member of the Trump administration who has spoken openly of her battle with cocaine addiction, disagreed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on his endorsement of the “Cocaine Mitch” campaign.

Morgan Chalfant / The Hill:

Nadler says Mueller will not testify next week — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y) said Friday that special counsel Robert Mueller will not be testifying before his panel next week. — Nadler told reporters that the committee is still negotiating over his testimony …

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, Sputnik International, The Atlantic, Axios, Daily Kos and The Week

Mary Papenfuss / HuffPost:

New Complaint Hits ‘Repeat Offender’ Kellyanne Conway For Hatch Act Violations — The recidivist White House aide has ignored reprimands and is again politicking on taxpayers' dime, an ethics group says. — The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has filed …

Helene Cooper / New York Times:

Pentagon Shifts $1.5 Billion to Border Wall From Afghan War Budget and Other Military Projects — WASHINGTON — The acting defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan, notified Congress on Friday that he intended to shift $1.5 billion that had been designated for the war in Afghanistan and other projects …

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Townhall and Just Security

Laura Waxmann / The San Francisco Examiner:

San Francisco police raid home of journalist to find who leaked Adachi report — Police raided the home and office of a freelance journalist Friday morning. — Police raided the home and office of a freelance journalist Friday morning as part of an ongoing investigation …

more at Mediagazer »

Bloomberg:

Pompeo to Meet Putin as Trump Seeks Better Russia Ties Again — Short trip leaves little time for major policy breakthroughs — Trump returns to saying he sees ‘tremendous potential’ ahead — U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo leaves for Moscow on Sunday …

New York Times:

Trump Usually Keeps Loyalists Close. But There Are Some Things He Can't Forgive. — WASHINGTON — Most people accepted into President Trump's orbit usually end up encountering the same truism: Once you're in, you're in — and even when you're down, you're rarely out for good.