memeorandum: Beers, nostalgia and worry in Michigan as historic GM plant closes (Seema Mehta/Los Angeles Times)

6:15 PM ET, July 28, 2019

Top Items:

Dan Coats Expected to Step Down as Intelligence Chief — WASHINGTON — Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, is expected to step down in the coming days after spending his tenure at odds with President Trump over issues including Russia and Mr. Trump's own attacks on the intelligence community …

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Trump to nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe to replace Dan Coats as DNI — President Trump announced on Twitter Sunday that he will nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) to replace Dan Coats as director of national intelligence, confirming Axios' earlier reporting that Ratcliffe was favored for the job.

Discussion: CNBC, NPR, Washington Post, Vox, KTLA, CNN, Politico, Slate, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit, Splinter, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, One America News Network and The Guardian

Daniel Chaitin / Washington Examiner:

John Ratcliffe: AG William Barr will deliver justice to any Obama officials who committed crimes — A top Republican investigator said accountability is coming for any of those individuals who may have committed crimes during the Trump-Russia investigation.

Gregg Re / Fox News:
Dan Coats to leave post as director of national intelligence as Trump selects Rep. John Ratcliffe as replacement

Discussion: RedState and The Gateway Pundit

Dan Rodricks / Baltimore Sun:

People who refuse to see or hear Trump's racism in attack on Baltimore are beyond reach, but here goes — People who support President Donald Trump, no matter what he says or does, are beyond reach with reason and facts. To continue to support this president, you have to either agree …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

‘Everything that Donald Trump says is offensive to some people,’ Mulvaney says — Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Sunday defended President Trump's attacks on the city of Baltimore and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), saying that some people will be offended by anything the president says.

Discussion: Breitbart, CNN and Slate

Justin Wise / The Hill:
Trump doubles down on attacks against Cummings and Baltimore district

Discussion: Breitbart, RedState, The Daily Beast and Axios

Kate Sullivan / CNN:
Bernie Sanders: 'It's unbelievable' Trump ‘attacks American cities’

Discussion: Breitbart, fox8.com and Front Page Magazine

Baltimore Sun:
Better to have a few rats than to be one

Dom Calicchio / Fox News:
Bernie Sanders blasted Baltimore as ‘Third World country’ and ‘disgrace’ in past comments

Discussion: Townhall, NB Blog, Washington Times, Politico, PJ Media Home, The Daily Caller and RedState

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine: Why Trump Spent His Summer Vacation Sending Racist Tweets

Adia Robinson / ABC News:
‘Important’ that Mueller investigation info get to Americans: Rep. Jerry Nadler

Discussion: Politico, Washington Press, The Week, PJ Media Home, Deadline and Slate

David Zurawik / Baltimore Sun:
Trump's Twitter attack on Cummings and Baltimore: undiluted racism and hate

Discussion: Power Line, Mediaite, The Wrap and Daily Wire

New York Times:

Federal Inquiry of Trump Friend Focused on Foreign Lobbying — WASHINGTON — As Donald J. Trump was preparing to deliver an address on energy policy in May 2016, Paul Manafort, his campaign chairman, had a question about the speech's contents for Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a top campaign fund-raiser and close friend of Mr. Trump.

Discussion: Political Wire

Kendall Karson / ABC News:

Partisan differences on impeachment remain after Mueller testimony, as nearly half of Americans show little movement: POLL — Following more than six hours of questioning of former special counsel Robert Mueller before two different congressional committees, Democrats and Republicans remain largely splintered …

Discussion: twitchy.com, Politico, Washington Times, IJR, New York Post and Political Wire

Paola Chavez / CNN:
Nadler says Trump should be impeached because 'he's violated the laws six ways from Sunday'

Discussion: Law & Crime and twitchy.com

Gabriela Resto-Montero / Vox:
New polling finds Mueller's testimony didn't change Americans' minds on impeachment

Discussion: twitchy.com, Politico and Washington Times

Zachary Basu / Axios:
Nadler: “We have impeachment resolutions before the committee”

Discussion: Politico

U.S. Congresswoman Suzan Delbene:

DelBene Supports Impeachment Inquiry — f t # e — Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA) called for an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. — “It gives me no pleasure to announce that I am calling for the House of Representatives to begin an impeachment inquiry into the President of the United States.

Discussion: Rolling Stone

Congressman Denny Heck:

STATEMENT: Rep. Denny Heck Supports an Impeachment Inquiry — Congressman Denny Heck (WA-10) released the following statement, announcing his support for a formal impeachment inquiry: — “For many months multiple committees of the House have been engaged in investigations …

Rebecca Tan / Washington Post:

Kushner owns lots of Baltimore-area apartments. Some are infested with mice. — In a now-viral tweetstorm on Saturday, President Trump characterized Rep. Elijah E. Cummings's Baltimore-based congressional district as a “rodent infested mess” where “no human” would want to live.

New York Times:

Why Democrats Are So Far From Consensus on 2020 — WAUKEE, Iowa — Bernie Sanders preaches “political revolution” to the crowds at his campaign rallies. Elizabeth Warren promises “big, systemic change” as she rolls out major policy proposals. And Pete Buttigieg warns his packed town hall audiences …

CNN: Hoping for a Warren-Sanders clash? Their campaigns say don't hold your breath

Kate Briquelet / The Daily Beast:

When Epstein Was Cosmo's Bachelor of the Month — In July 1980, the predatory financier was featured as the magazine's “Bachelor of the Month” seeking a “cute Texas girl.” — Long before Jeffrey Epstein boasted of his billionaires-only client list—and long before his arrests …

Discussion: Instapundit

Nataliya Vasilyeva / Associated Press:

Nearly 1,400 detained in Moscow protest; largest in decade — MOSCOW (AP) — Nearly 1,400 people were detained in a violent police crackdown on an opposition protest in Moscow, a Russian monitoring group said Sunday, adding that was the largest number of detentions at a rally in the Russian capital this decade.

Discussion: Splinter, New York Times, BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio … and The Week

Seema Mehta / Los Angeles Times:

Beers, nostalgia and worry in Michigan as historic GM plant closes — A GM factory in Warren, Mich., is closing as Democrats come to Detroit to debate. Some workers, in a county and a state key to the 2020 presidential race, wonder whether elected officials can or will help. — 4 AM