memeorandum: Trump's jaw-dropping attack on California's voting plan (CNN)

9:45 AM ET, May 12, 2020

Top Items:

Senate Republicans break with Trump over ‘Obamagate’ — President Donald Trump's aggressive campaign to encourage sweeping investigations of his predecessor Barack Obama met a unanimous response from Senate Republicans: No thanks. — Trump's Senate allies on Monday stopped short …

Discussion: Fox News, PBS NewsHour, Raw Story, Hotair, Letters from an American, American Greatness, Redstate and New York Post

Tim Miller / The Bulwark:

Taking #Obamagate Seriously — President Trump's bonkers theory, explained. — It is easy to overlook some of the everyday corruptions that President Trump has inflicted on the body politic. After all, his unique blend of logorrhea, mendacity, and clownishness creates an atmosphere …

Discussion: Vox, CNSNews, The Gateway Pundit and Vanity Fair

Martha Raddatz / ABC News:

Acting DNI seeks to declassify any Obama officials involved in Flynn ‘unmasking’: Source — Grenell visited the Justice Department last week over the matter. — Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell has sought to declassify a list of former Obama administration officials …

Kristina Wong / Breitbart:

Sally Yates Hid from Congress that Obama Told Her about Flynn-Kislyak Calls But Confirmed It to Mueller — Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates hid from Congress during a November 2017 interview that she first learned about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's calls …

Ryan Saavedra / The Daily Wire:
BREAKING: U.S. Officials Have Declassified List Of Obama Officials Who Were Involved In ‘Unmasking’ General Flynn

Discussion: Breitbart and Washington Times

New York Post:
It looks like President Obama ordered up phony RussiaGate scandal

Discussion: American Thinker

Lee Smith / Just The News:
Newly declassified evidence undercuts former DNI Clapper's testimony to Congress

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Margot Cleveland / The Federalist:
Why Did Obama Tell The FBI To Hide Its Activities From The Trump Administration?

Discussion: Washington Post, Political Flare, Mediaite, Fox News, Breitbart, Media Matters for America, Axios and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Coronavirus Live Updates: Fauci to Warn Senate of ‘Needless Suffering and Death’ — The risks of reopening the country too soon will be a focus of government hearings on Tuesday. The White House's new mask requirement won't apply to President Trump. — RIGHT NOW Dr. Anthony S. Fauci …

Discussion: VICE, Washington Times, The Hill, Daily Kos, Washington Post, New York Post, Mediaite, Mother Jones and The Week

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Fauci Plans to Use Hearing to Warn of ‘Needless Suffering and Death’ — Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, is scheduled to testify on Tuesday before the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. — WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony S. Fauci …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Deadline

CNN:

Video shows food executives removing masks ahead of Pence event — (CNN)Participants at a food supply roundtable convened by Vice President Mike Pence in Iowa on Friday removed their face masks before Pence arrived, according to video from the event posted online.

Discussion: The Guardian, Daily Kos and WHOTV

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Trump visit to Pennsylvania factory that produces PPE materials was scuttled after plant officials …

Discussion: Morning Call, The Week, Political Flare, Raw Story, The Mahablog, Balloon Juice and The Root

David Bauder / Associated Press:
Trump abruptly ends briefing after contentious exchanges

Discussion: Breitbart, One America News Network, Politico, The Hill and Fox News

Politico: Forced to govern, a fierce partisan warrior gets pragmatic

Nick Visser / HuffPost:
Fauci Reportedly To Warn Senate Of ‘Needless Suffering And Death’ If U.S. Reopens Too Soon

Discussion: New York Times, Politico and The Dispatch

NBC News:

Unreleased White House report shows coronavirus rates spiking in heartland communities — President Trump's claim that cases are falling everywhere is contradicted by his own task force's report, obtained by NBC News, showing the virus spreading far from the coasts.

Discussion: Raw Story and ABC News

CNN:

CNN Poll: Negative ratings for government handling of coronavirus persist — Three members of coronavirus task force in quarantine — (CNN)Most Americans (54%) continue to say the US government is doing a poor job preventing the spread of Covid-19, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS.

Washington Post:

Many governors win bipartisan support for handling of pandemic, but some Republicans face blowback over reopening efforts — Governors collectively have been winning widespread praise from the public for their handling of the coronavirus outbreak, often with the kind of bipartisan approval that has eluded President Trump.

Discussion: NBC News, Mediaite and The Week

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“Trump's Feeling Is, ‘Why Are We Losing Everywhere?’”: With Advisers Feuding and Numbers Plummeting, Trump Eyes Campaign Shake-up — Brad Parscale (and his Ferrari) is in the hot seat. Kushner is pushing for Nick Ayers, and against a Corey Lewandowski return. But whose fault are the disastrous swing state numbers?

Discussion: Political Flare

Michael Gerson / Washington Post:

Trump's tweets are a strategy of distraction to obscure a policy of abdication — In the fourth month of the greatest crisis of his presidency, Donald Trump issued 126 tweets or retweets during a single Sunday. — Other than claiming “great marks” for handling the pandemic …

Discussion: The Guardian, Chicago Tribune, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Vox

Washington Post:
This is Trump's greatest failure of the pandemic

Discussion: Daily Kos, New York Times and Vox

Mark Sherman / Associated Press:

Supreme Court to hear clash over Trump tax, bank records — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is taking up President Donald Trump's bid to keep his tax, bank and financial records private, a major clash over presidential accountability that could affect the 2020 presidential campaign.

Discussion: Politico

John Kruzel / The Hill:
Supreme Court to hear blockbuster case on Trump financial records

Discussion: New York Times and NBC News

CNN:

Trump's jaw-dropping attack on California's voting plan — Trump and Democrats fight over mail-in voting — Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM radio's daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show” and a columnist for The Daily Beast. Follow him @DeanObeidallah.

Discussion: The Guardian, Raw Story and NBC News

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

McConnell: Obama ‘should have kept his mouth shut’ on Trump's coronavirus response — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Monday that former President Obama should have held back from criticizing President Trump's handling of the coronavirus, calling the decision “a little bit classless.”

Discussion: Politico, The Guardian and Axios

Lisa Mascaro / Associated Press:
Pelosi urges Congress to ‘go big’ on next virus aid package

Discussion: ABC News, The Hill and Breitbart

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
Republicans have already decided Trump is going to lose

Discussion: Politico, Slate, Raw Story and Daily Kos

David Siders / Politico:

Trump is getting trounced among a crucial constituency: The haters — In 2016, Donald Trump cleaned up among voters who disliked him and Hillary Clinton. This year, Biden is winning big among the comparable group. — President Donald Trump's weakness with the electorate's malcontents is a worrisome sign for Republicans.

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:
Democrats move to allow remote voting or a virtual summer convention

Discussion: The Week, The Hill and Vanity Fair

Eric Felten / RealClearInvestigations:

FBI's Man in Europe Undercut Ohr's Claim of Limited Russiagate Role — Above right, FBI agent Michael Gaeta at a 2016 seminar in Rome. — An FBI agent's newly released testimony undercuts top Justice Department official Bruce Ohr's denial of a conflict of interest between his Trump-Russia efforts …

Alison Borden / Colorado Public Radio:

Governor Suspends Castle Rock Restaurant's License After Mother's Day Opening Goes Viral — Gov. Jared Polis, calling the restaurant an “immediate health hazard,” has suspended the restaurant license of C&C Breakfast & Korean Kitchen in Castle Rock, a day after a video showing a packed dining room in defiance of public health rules.

Discussion: The Colorado Sun, Associated Press, TheDenverChannel.com, Colorado Community Media and Talking Points Memo

Shelly Bradbury / Denver Post:
Colorado suspends license of Castle Rock restaurant that defied coronavirus public health order

Discussion: Fox News, Daily Kos, The Hill and FOX31 Denver

Washington Post:

The Flynn case isn't over until the judge says it's over — John Gleeson served as a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of New York and chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's Office in that district. David O'Neil served as the acting assistant attorney general …

Discussion: The Atlantic and Slate

Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:

Mitch McConnell Moves to Expand Bill Barr's Surveillance Powers — Welcome to the Trump-era Patriot Act: a law that protects politicians while giving the government greater knowledge of the websites you searched for and visited. — Days after the Justice Department controversially dropped charges …

Discussion: The Digital Void, The American Independent, New York Times, The Intercept, Washington Post and Law & Crime

Kanishka Singh / Reuters:

Watchdog Reports Record Number of Anti-Semitic Incidents in U.S. Last Year — (Reuters) - Jews in the United States suffered the largest number of anti-Semitic incidents last year since the Anti-Defamation League began collecting records 40 years ago, the racism watchdog said on Tuesday.

Christina Capatides / CBS News:

Doctors Without Borders dispatches team to the Navajo Nation — Doctors Without Borders is best known for sending medical professionals into international conflict zones in the midst of medical crises. The organization has teams in Afghanistan, Iran, Sierra Leone, Venezuela and 66 other countries.

Discussion: Raw Story and The Week