memeorandum: White House directs former counsel Don McGahn not to testify before House panel (CNN)

6:10 PM ET, May 20, 2019

Top Items:

Trump Instructs McGahn to Defy Subpoena and Skip House Testimony — Donald McGahn, the former White House counsel, risks being held in contempt of Congress. But if he defies the president, he could damage his career or put his law firm's business at risk.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Progress Pond, The Week, Daily Kos, CNBC, Raw Story, Roll Call and Mediaite

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Some Republicans unsettled by Trump's sweeping claims of immunity — Senior House Republicans are breaking with Donald Trump over the president's legal claims that Congress can't investigate whether a commander in chief violated the law. — That view, advanced by Trump's personal attorney …

Discussion: One America News Network, Splinter, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Axios

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:

Judge upholds House panel subpoena for Trump financial records — District Judge Amit Mehta on Monday ruled in favor of a subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee for President Trump's financial records from the accounting firm Mazars. — In a 41-page-long opinion, Mehta found that …

Associated Press:
Trump tells ex-counsel McGahn to defy congressional subpoena

Discussion: The Guardian

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Judge upholds Dem subpoena for Trump financial records

Discussion: Axios, Townhall, CNBC, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Week and The New Civil Rights Movement

Fox News:
White House tells McGahn to skip House hearing, as DOJ asserts ‘immunity’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
White House instructs McGahn to defy Dem subpoena to testify

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post and Common Dreams

Kia Rahnama / The Atlantic: What Congress Can Do When Trump Appointees Defy It

CNN:
White House directs former counsel Don McGahn not to testify before House panel

Discussion: The Root and Splinter

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Directs McGahn to Rebuff Congressional Subpoena

Discussion: Shareblue Media

Washington Post:
White House blocks former counsel McGahn from testifying to Congress

Discussion: The Daily Beast and National Review

Todd Spangler / Detroit Free Press:

After impeachment remarks, Rep. Justin Amash gets Republican challenger — WASHINGTON — A Republican state representative plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, after Amash said this weekend he believes President Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

How Throwing Justin Amash Out of the GOP Might Make Trump Lose 2020 — Saturday, Representative Justin Amash became the first Republican in Congress to call for impeaching President Trump on the basis of the massive misconduct detailed by the Mueller report. It was a rare act of bravery, one likely to end his career in Congress.

Discussion: The Intercept, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, The Week and Contemptor

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Why Trump should be worried about Justin Amash — When President Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified before Congress earlier this year, one member on the Republican side of the hearing stood out. While the rest of the Republicans were resolute in their efforts to attack Cohen's credibility …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Washington Post:
Justin Amash, tea party star, earns primary challenge for backing impeachment

Discussion: CNN, Spectator USA, VICE News and The Gateway Pundit

Tim Elfrink / Washington Post:

‘Mindless murdering savages’: Border agent used slurs before allegedly hitting migrant with his truck — In November 2017, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Matthew Bowen fumed about the humane treatment his agency was expected to give migrants who had illegally crossed into the country.

Discussion: Arizona Republic, The Daily Beast, ThinkProgress, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Slate and Talking Points Memo

Associated Press:

5th Migrant Child Dies After Detention by Border Patrol — HOUSTON — The U.S. government says a 16-year-old Guatemalan died Monday at a Border Patrol station in South Texas, the fifth death of a migrant child apprehended by border agents since December. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection …

Discussion: Axios, Shareblue Media and Daily Kos

Alicia A. Caldwell / Wall Street Journal: Guatemalan Boy Dies in U.S. Border Patrol Custody

Trip Gabriel / New York Times:

There's No Boom in Youngstown, but Blue-Collar Workers Are Sticking With Trump — YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — In May 2016, David Betras, a Democratic Party leader in the heart of industrial northeast Ohio, sent a memo warning Hillary Clinton's campaign that it was on the verge of losing Ohio …

Discussion: Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and NTK Network

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Trump scrambles to reverse Rust Belt slide

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Fox News, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, Raw Story, New York Post, Talking Points Memo and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Media Matters for America:

After his Fox News town hall, Fox & Friends launches a propaganda onslaught against Pete Buttigieg — South Bend, IN, Mayor Pete Buttigieg's performance at a Fox News town hall garnered rave reviews Sunday night from journalists and pundits, with some arguing that his successful turn proved …

Discussion: Raw Story, CNN, twitchy.com, Right Wing Watch, Rolling Stone and Daily Kos

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:

Here's How Much Money Fox News Hosts Have Made Off GOP Speaking Gigs — A new study reveals that many of the pro-Trump network's stars, including its ‘hard news’ anchors, have fattened their wallets by speaking at GOP events—an ethical no-no. — Boosting the Republican Party has paid off—quite literally—for many Fox News hosts.

Discussion: Raw Story, Media Matters for America and Shareblue Media

David Montanaro / Fox News:
Joe Scarborough: 'I've seen the future of the Democratic Party and it's Mayor Pete'

Discussion: Politico, Conservative News Today, Vanity Fair and No More Mister Nice Blog

Washington Post:

Cohen told lawmakers Trump attorney Jay Sekulow instructed him to falsely claim Moscow project ended in January 2016 — Michael Cohen, President Trump's former longtime personal attorney, told a House panel during closed-door hearings earlier this year that he had been instructed …

Discussion: Political Wire and Mediaite

Kara Scannell / CNN:

Prosecutors examining tens of thousands of Trump inauguration documents — WH downplaying Trump inaugural committee subpoena — (CNN)Federal prosecutors in New York are scrutinizing tens of thousands of documents relating to Donald Trump's inauguration in a sign that the investigation into the committee's finances is advancing.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and The New Civil Rights Movement

Peter Baker / New York Times:

The Profanity President: Trump's Four-Letter Vocabulary — WASHINGTON — In modern times, presidents have rarely been church mice afraid of a little salty language. But President Trump has grown increasingly willing in recent months to say in public what most of his predecessors tried to keep behind closed doors.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Splinter

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Let Businesses Donate to Candidates — The U.S. Supreme Court declined an opportunity to give businesses broader rights to contribute money to political candidates and causes. — The justices, without comment Monday, refused to question a Massachusetts law …

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg: U.S. Supreme Court Again Defers Action on Abortion Cases

Pat Rynard / Iowa Starting Line:

Starting Line/Change Research Poll: Biden, Sanders Locked In Iowa Tie — Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are locked in a tie in Iowa atop the large field of Democrats running for the presidential nomination. An Iowa Starting Line/Change Research Poll of 615 likely Democratic caucus-goers …

Discussion: Fox News, NPR, Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and NTK Network

Washington Post:
The narrator in chief: Trump opines on the 2020 Democrats — and so much more

Discussion: NBC News, RedState, Washington Press and Breitbart

Wall Street Journal:

‘Playing Catch-Up in the Game of Life.’ Millennials Approach Middle Age in Crisis — New data show they're in worse financial shape than every preceding living generation and may never recover — American millennials are approaching middle age in worse financial shape than every living generation ahead …

Popular Information:

These six corporations are financing the war on women in six states — In 2019, state legislatures across the country are enacting radical new restrictions on abortion. Alabama banned virtually all abortions. Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Ohio banned all abortions after six weeks …

Discussion: Common Dreams

Domenico Montanaro / NPR:

Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Native American Rights In Wyoming Hunting Case — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Native American rights in a 5-4 decision in a case out of Wyoming. Justice Neil Gorsuch, the only Westerner on the court, provided the decisive vote in this case …

Discussion: RedState

Ronn Blitzer / Fox News:
Gorsuch breaks with conservative justices, delivering win to Native American hunter

Discussion: Townhall

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez / Arizona Republic:

How extremists are reasserting themselves in mainstream GOP politics in Arizona — Kelli Ward, Russell Pearce and Andy Biggs (Photo: David Wallace/The Republic; Michael Schennum/The Republic; David Wallace/The Republic) — Russell Pearce stepped up to a podium in Gilbert, one of the more affluent and educated communities in Arizona.

Sarah Owermohle / Politico:

McConnell and Kaine unveil bill to raise tobacco age to 21 — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Monday introduced legislation to raise the age for buying tobacco to 21 — now a bipartisan effort that addresses some of the criticism public health groups had of an earlier proposal they saw as too industry-friendly.

Discussion: Axios

Lesley Clark / Lexington Herald-Leader:
McConnell legislation to raise tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21 includes military

Discussion: Task & Purpose

Associated Press:

Packing his bags: Trump plans jet-setting summer of travel — WASHINGTON (AP) — Four days in Tokyo. Then it's off to see Queen Elizabeth before a jaunt to Normandy, France, and perhaps time in Ireland. — A return trip to Japan? Why not. And throw in Seoul.

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:

Trump: E-Verify Would Make It Too Hard to Hire Undocumented Workers — Since taking office, Donald Trump has revoked the legal status of roughly 1 million longtime U.S. residents, used the mass psychological torture of children as a means of deterring asylum seekers, overseen the deportation …

Discussion: Vox, Washington Monthly and Washington Post