memeorandum: Federal Rats Are Fleeing the Sinking Collusion Ship (Victor Davis Hanson/American Greatness)

9:40 AM ET, May 23, 2019

Top Items:

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

Maria Bartiromo: ‘Is There Any Reason Why We Should Not Be Trusting President Trump?’ — Maria Bartiromo opened her titular Fox Business Network show Mornings with Maria Thursday morning with a bipartisan discussion over Wednesday's dramatic White House developments between President Donald Trump and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Katie Rogers / New York Times:

How ‘Infrastructure Week’ Became a Long-Running Joke — WASHINGTON — At this point in the Trump presidency, “Infrastructure Week” is less a date on the calendar than it is a “Groundhog Day"-style fever dream doomed to be repeated. — Roughly two years after the White House first came …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Shareblue Media, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Post and Daily Kos

Grant Stern / Washington Press:

Trump appears to have just accidentally revealed he lied to Mueller in Rose Garden rant — It would appear that President Trump admitted that he lied in written answers given to Special Counsel Robert Mueller during his appearance at the White House this morning.

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Why Pelosi is so good at infuriating Trump — Something about Nancy Pelosi just gets under Donald Trump's skin. — On Wednesday, for the third time in barely six months, a meeting between the president, the speaker and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blew up in spectacular fashion.

Discussion: ABC News, Raw Story, NBC News, Breitbart, ThinkProgress and Washington Post

Alex Shephard / New Republic:

Trump v. The “I” Word — There is a theory—one bordering, in some circles, on conventional wisdom—that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump are in complete agreement about impeachment. “It seems that Trump and Republican political strategists have reached pretty …

Discussion: Washington Post, CNBC, New York Times and Shareblue Media

NBC News:

After infrastructure blowup, Trump owns Washington gridlock — First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter. — WASHINGTON — By telling Democrats that he won't work on items like infrastructure until …

Discussion: MSNBC, Washington Times and ABC News

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Trump seems to be transparently mad

Discussion: Daily Kos, NBC News, Contemptor, RealClearPolitics and Politico

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Schumer calls Trump a ‘get-nothing-done president’ as blame game continues after aborted White House meeting

Discussion: Axios, Political Wire, Florida Politics and The Mahablog

Associated Press: Trump's campaign centered on fighting Democrats, not policy

Jonathan Easley / The Hill: Poll: 60 percent say Trump should not be reelected

Associated Press:
3 minutes: Trump meeting with Democrats goes bust in a flash

Discussion: Washington Post, Political Wire and Politico

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Dianne Feinstein's dinner with the foreign minister of Iran

Discussion: Townhall, Washington Post and Raw Story

Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Pelosi Pushes Go-Slow Strategy on Impeachment as She Goads Trump

Discussion: Baltimore Sun, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight, Shareblue Media, New Yorker, The Week and Vox

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:
A Trump Twitter-style diatribe — live from the Rose Garden

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Mediaite, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Conservative News Today, Slate, CNN, Media Matters for America, UPI, Conservative Review, IJR, Mother Jones, The Root and The Week

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Pelosi goads Trump into another temper tantrum

Discussion: Power Line, The Hill and CNBC

Washington Post:

Putin out-prepared Trump in long, freewheeling meeting, Rex Tillerson told House panel — Former secretary of state Rex Tillerson told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Russian President Vladimir Putin out-prepared President Trump during a key meeting in Germany …

Discussion: Politico, Axios, CNN, Raw Story, The Week and Mediaite

NBC News:

Wells Fargo, TD Bank have already given Trump-related financial documents to Congress — The disclosures come as a federal judge ruled Wednesday that two other banks — Deutsche Bank and Capitol One — can give financial documents to Congress. — WASHINGTON — A key congressional committee …

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, CNN and The Guardian

Trump, Inc.:

Trump and Deutsche Bank: It's Complicated — Whispers of money laundering have swirled around Donald Trump's businesses for years. One of his casinos, for example, was fined $10 million for not trying hard enough to prevent such machinations. Investors with shady financial histories sometimes popped up in his foreign ventures.

Discussion: New York Times, Mother Jones and Raw Story

CNBC:

Judge says Deutsche Bank, Capital One can give Trump financial records to House Democrats — KEY POINTS — A federal judge in New York City on Wednesday said Deutsche Bank and Capitol One can turn over financial documents related to President Donald Trump and his businesses in response to subpoenas from House Democrats.

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, Slate, VICE News and Mediaite

Brendan Pierson / HuffPost: Judge Rules Against Trump, Paves Way For Banks To Hand Over His Business Records To Congress

Dan Alexander / Forbes:

The Truth Behind Trump Tower Moscow: How Trump Risked Everything For A (Relatively) Tiny Deal — It's getting late, and Felix Sater—a onetime Trump partner, two-time convicted felon and longtime federal informant—sits in the back of a New York City restaurant, ready for a drink.

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:

Harriet Tubman $20 Bill Is Delayed Until Trump Leaves Office, Mnuchin Says — WASHINGTON — Harriet Tubman — former slave, abolitionist, “conductor” on the Underground Railroad — will not become the face of the $20 bill until after President Trump leaves office, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Week, Slate, Mother Jones and Axios

Brian Naylor / NPR: Harriet Tubman On The $20 Bill? Not During The Trump Administration

Michelle Alexander / New York Times:

My Rapist Apologized — I still needed an abortion. — My 12-year-old daughter recently asked me what I think about abortion. She walked into the kitchen, poked around the refrigerator, then spun around and blurted it out: “I can't decide what I think about abortion. I want to know what you think.”

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:

‘American Taliban’ John Walker Lindh released from prison after 17 years — John Walker Lindh, the first person to be convicted of a crime in the “War on Terror,” left prison a free man Thursday after 17 years behind bars, his lawyer confirmed. — The Northern California native …

Discussion: Fox News, The Guardian, NPR, Townhall and Daily Wire

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
In letter, ‘American Taliban’ John Walker Lindh said ISIS ‘doing a spectacular job’

Discussion: New York Post, NBC Southern California, Associated Press, UPI and The Daily Caller

Douglas Hanks / Miami Herald:

Documents detail how Jerry Falwell Jr. went into South Beach venture with ‘pool boy’ — New court documents offer a peek into how evangelist Jerry Falwell Jr. wound up in the South Beach hotel business with a former Fontainebleau Hotel pool attendant — The latest twist involves a top aide …

New York Times:

India Election Results: Gandhi Concedes as Modi Makes History — With a commanding lead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party are set to expand their majority. “India wins yet again!” he posted on Twitter. — RIGHT NOW Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Congress Party's political dynasty, acknowledges the party's loss.

Discussion: UPI and Al Jazeera

Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
In photos: Modi on track to win India's election

Discussion: Associated Press, The Week, One America News Network and Reuters

Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:

America's Cities Are Unlivable. Blame Wealthy Liberals. — The demise of a California housing measure shows how progressives abandon progressive values in their own backyards. — To live in California at this time is to experience every day the cryptic phrase that George W. Bush once used …

Discussion: Marginal REVOLUTION

Joe Tacopino / New York Post:

Man allegedly hiding drugs in butt accidentally shoots himself in testicles — A bungling felon from Washington state made a series of blunders when he shot himself in the testicles and tried to hide the weapon — all while storing drugs in his anus, a report said Thursday.

Discussion: 444

Washington Post:

While teaching, Elizabeth Warren worked on more than 50 legal matters, charging as much as $675 an hour — Sen. Elizabeth Warren worked on more than 50 legal matters during her career as a professor at Ivy League law schools, charging as much as $675 an hour to advise a variety of clients …

Discussion: Vox, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Axios

Victor Davis Hanson / American Greatness:

Federal Rats Are Fleeing the Sinking Collusion Ship — The entire Trump-Russia collusion narrative was always implausible. — One, the Washington swamp of fixers such as Paul Manafort and John and Tony Podesta was mostly bipartisan and predated Trump. — Two, the Trump administration's …

The City:

Brooklyn Community Board Roils Over $26,000 SUV Splurge — A Brooklyn community board spent $26,000 in taxpayer money on an SUV — which THE CITY found parked Wednesday night across from a home owned by the board's manager. — The discovery came as some members of Community Board 1 fumed …

Washington Post:

Faced with relentless American pressure, Iran starts to hit back — Iran has made a dramatic shift in how it confronts the United States, abandoning a policy of restraint in recent weeks for a series of offensive actions aimed at pushing the White House to rethink its efforts at isolating Tehran, say diplomats and analysts.

Daily Mail:

AOC says growing cauliflower is ‘colonial’ as she insists community gardens central to her Green New Deal should be used to grow ‘culturally significant’ plants like yucca — They also pointed out that the Yucca, the plant she said was ‘culturally significant’ would struggle to grow in New York's colder climate

ProPublica:

TurboTax Uses A “Military Discount” to Trick Troops Into Paying to File Their Taxes — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom based in New York. Sign up for ProPublica's Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published.

CNN:

Juncker lashes out at ‘stupid nationalists’ on eve of European elections — Brussels (CNN)European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has lashed out at “stupid nationalists” on the eve of European elections in which euroskeptic politicians are expected to make gains in the European Parliament.

Discussion: Politico and The Gateway Pundit

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:

Pro-Gun Parkland Teen Kyle Kashuv Apologizes for ‘Inflammatory’ Racial Comments — Kyle Kashuv, an ex-Turning Point USA star, says he's sorry for ‘idiotic comments’ he made in text messages circulating among right-wing activists and Parkland students this week.

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Canceled Fund-Raiser Prompts Question: Can a Democrat Oppose Abortion? — CHICAGO — A top Democratic official on Wednesday canceled a planned fund-raiser for an anti-abortion congressman that had prompted an outcry among progressives, raising the question of whether there is room left …

Discussion: Common Dreams, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Splinter, Axios and Associated Press

CBS News:

A 10-year-old migrant girl died last year in government care, officials acknowledge — The federal agency that oversees the care of unaccompanied migrant children acknowledged to CBS News on Wednesday that a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador died in its custody Sept. 29, 2018.