memeorandum: Our Rendezvous With Authoritarianism Has Arrived (Brian Beutler/New Republic)

12:10 PM ET, May 11, 2017

Top Items:

How Trump's anger and impatience prompted him to fire the FBI director — Every time FBI Director James B. Comey appeared in public, an ever-watchful President Trump grew increasingly agitated that the topic was the one that he was most desperate to avoid: Russia.

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:

Experts on authoritarianism are absolutely terrified by the Comey firing — “Trump has talked like a would-be authoritarian since day one. ... This is the first clear warning sign that he's attempting to [act like one].” — Those are the words not of a Democratic political operative …

Discussion: Shareblue, CNN and CNBC

Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:

Trump Considering Ex-Congressman Mike Rogers for FBI Director, Official Says — President Donald Trump is considering Mike Rogers, a former congressman and FBI agent from Michigan, to replace James Comey as FBI director, a White House official said. — Rogers, 53, a former chairman …

Discussion: Political Wire

Wall Street Journal:

As the FBI Reels, Candidates Emerge to Run Agency — The Justice Department moved on Wednesday to find a temporary successor for fired FBI Director James Comey, as Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his top deputy interviewed five candidates amid continuing fallout over the controversial dismissal.

Discussion: Raw Story and The Week

New York Times:

An Open Letter to the Deputy Attorney General — Dear Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein: — It's rare that any single person has to bear as much responsibility for safeguarding American democracy as you find yourself carrying now. Even before President Trump's shocking decision …

Discussion: RedState, Raw Story, Conservative News Today, Politicaldog101.Com, Mediaite and Media Matters for America

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Sources: Comey sought to expand Trump-Russia probe of former campaign officials — WASHINGTON — The FBI-led probe into whether Russian influence operations helped put Donald Trump in the White House is on a knife's edge and could easily veer into either of two distinct directions.

Discussion: Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, The Week and Lawfare

Mike Allen / Axios:

Trump puts agenda, presidency at risk — The answers to why Trump canned Comey are becoming clear: The president was filled with grievance about the FBI probe and acted on impulse without clearly thinking through the fallout, numerous sources tell me. — The consequences are also becoming clear …

Discussion: Politico, Raw Story, CNN, The American Conservative and Politicus USA

Brian Beutler / New Republic:

Our Rendezvous With Authoritarianism Has Arrived — Comey's firing should be a frightful awakening from complacency. If Trump gets away with it, he will read it as permission to run amok. — The firing of James Comey has restarted a conversation about the vulnerability of public institutions …

Discussion: The Week, FiveThirtyEight, Hit & Run and Washington Post

New York Times:

‘Enough Was Enough’: How Festering Anger at Comey Ended in His Firing — WASHINGTON — The countdown to President Trump's dismissal of James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, began last weekend, which the president spent stewing over Mr. Comey's testimony to Congress last week in which he provided …

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Sen. Mike Lee tweets Trump: Nominate Merrick Garland to replace Comey — Utah Sen. Mike Lee encouraged President Donald Trump on Thursday to resist Democrats' calls for a special prosecutor to lead an investigation into potential collusion between Trump associates and Russian officials.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

For Trump Supporters, the Real Outrage Is the Left's Uproar Over Comey — WASHINGTON — The script should be familiar by now. President Trump takes action that stuns the country, eliciting indignation and disbelief from Democrats and leading them to conclude that the vitality of American democracy is under assault.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and The Daily Caller

Ali Watkins / Politico:

Rosenstein seeks meeting with Senate Intelligence leaders — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has requested to meet with the Senate Intelligence Committee, including committee chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and vice-chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.), sources told POLITICO.

Brett T. / twitchy.com:
WaPo story on Trump and Comey cites more than 30 officials but can't beat this one editor's note

Discussion: Hot Air and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Shane Savitsky / Axios:
Acting FBI Director faces Senate questions on Comey

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, ThinkProgress and Political Wire

Uri Friedman / The Atlantic:
America Isn't Having a Constitutional Crisis

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, CNN, New York Times and AOL

Lucian K. Truscott IV / Salon: Americans are witnessing a slow-motion coup

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Dem reps: Trump is ‘moving’ toward impeachment

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Trump angry Comey would not back wiretap claims about Obama: report

Discussion: RedState and Politico

Doyle McManus / Los Angeles Times:
Column Hillary Clinton has a right to be a major voice in American politics — but maybe it's time she moved on

Discussion: Politicaldog101.Com

National Review:
The Comey Ouster — A combination photo of James Comey …

Discussion: Fox News, The Atlantic, Mediaite and Business Insider

The Daily Beast:
New FBI Boss Could Be More Controversial Than Comey

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post and Breitbart

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
US ambassador to Qatar appears to criticize Trump in tweet

Discussion: RedState, MichelleMalkin.com, twitchy.com, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story

David Choi / Business Insider:
Trump's deputy attorney general reportedly threatened to resign after being painted as the …

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, CNN, Betsy's Page, Just Security and Axios

United States House Committee on Oversight …:
Chaffetz Statement on Comey Firing

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Washington Free Beacon and Washington Post

Jake Tapper / CNN:
Source close to Comey says there were 2 reasons the FBI director was fired

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
DOJ official who recommended Comey's firing threatened to resign: report

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, Lawfare, Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, The Week and Mediaite

Bret Stephens / New York Times:
The Easy Tells of Comey's Canning

Discussion: USA Today and The Atlantic

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:
Deputy AG Rosenstein was on the verge of resigning, upset over WH pinning Comey firing on him

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Shareblue, Mediaite, The Week and IJR

Morgan Winsor / Yahoo:
Deputy AG Rosenstein developed case to fire Comey ‘on his own,’ White House says

Discussion: ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press and Fox News Insider

Joshua Keating / Slate: If It Happened There: Political Chaos as Regime Purges Powerful Security Chief

Bianca Padró Ocasio / Politico:
Chaffetz requests DOJ IG expands probe to include Comey firing

Discussion: RedState, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine and Axios

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
The Associated Press Goes Around the Bend on Comey

Discussion: LifeZette and The Daily Caller

Hadas Gold / Politico:
Trump holds auditions while Spicer's away

Discussion: The Week, Political Wire, Raw Story, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Economist:

What is Trumponomics and how does it differ from standard Republican economics? — Well it's an interesting question. I don't think it's ever been asked quite that way. But it really has to do with self-respect as a nation. It has to do with trade deals that have to be fair, and somewhat reciprocal, if not fully reciprocal.

TIME.com:

From where the 45th President works, eats and sleeps, everything is going just great. Now if only everyone else would see it that way. A TIME exclusive — PHOTOGRAPHS BY BENJAMIN RASMUSSEN FOR TIME — In a few minutes, President Donald Trump will release a new set of tweets …

Discussion: Washington Post, Gizmodo, Eater, Politicus USA, The Verge, Mediaite, AOL, The Week and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Katherine Faulders / ABC News:

President Trump expected to launch commission on ‘election integrity’ — President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order today establishing a commission to review alleged voter fraud and voter suppression in the American election system, multiple senior administration officials tell ABC News.

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Common Dreams, TheBlaze, Take Care Blog, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, electionlawblog.org, The Week and Political Wire

Roxana Hegeman / Associated Press: Kansas' Kobach Told to Disclose Voting Plan He Took to Trump

Elizabeth Landers / CNN:
Trump finally to launch voter fraud panel

Discussion: CNBC, Media Matters for America and Joe.My.God.

Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:

Republicans Don't Feel Your Pain — Well before the House voted last week to replace Obamacare with President Trump's American Health Care Act, Senator Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat from West Virginia who is up for re-election in 2018, met with the president. By his own account, Manchin told Trump:

Discussion: Philly.com

ABC News: Constituent loses his temper at Rep. Tom MacArthur over health care

David Weigel / Washington Post:
'I didn't come here to defend the president tonight' — Republican who rescued health-care bill faces voters

Discussion: Vox, Los Angeles Times and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Carol Morello / Washington Post:

Presence of Russian photographer in Oval Office raises alarms — A photographer for a Russian state-owned news agency was allowed into the Oval Office on Wednesday during President Trump's meeting with Russian diplomats, a level of access that was criticized by former U.S. intelligence officials as a potential security breach.

Discussion: Conservative News Today, Daily Kos, Gizmodo, New York Times, New York Magazine and The Week