memeorandum: Rubio on Trump's ‘witch hunt’ tweet: 'We're a nation of laws' (Julia Manchester/The Hill)

6:35 PM ET, May 18, 2017

Top Items:

Exclusive: Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians: sources — Michael Flynn and other advisers to Donald Trump's campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race …

Michael Isikoff / Yahoo:

As investigators circled Flynn, he got a message from Trump: Stay strong — Late last month, fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn—under investigation by federal prosecutors, with his lawyer seeking immunity for him to testify to Congress-met with a small group of loyalists at a restaurant in the northern Virginia suburbs.

The Daily Beast:

Donald Trump Talked Michael Flynn Into White House Job … President Donald Trump pressured a “reluctant” Michael Flynn into accepting a job as the White House's top national security official even after Flynn warned the president that he was under investigation over undisclosed lobbying …

Maureen Groppe / USA Today:
Mike Pence insists he didn't know Flynn was under investigation for Turkey lobbying

Discussion: The Atlantic, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Axios, Washington Post, Politico and New York Times

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
BuzzFeed sues for records on Trump-Obama tapping tweets

Discussion: The Week

Wall Street Journal:

The Special Counsel Mistake — Rosenstein bends to political pressure, and here we go again.

Discussion: Infowars and The Last Tradition

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
The Special Counsel Who Just Might Save Trump's Presidency

Discussion: The American Interest, Geller Report, Power Line, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Mediaite and No More Mister Nice Blog

Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Rubio on Trump's ‘witch hunt’ tweet: 'We're a nation of laws'

Discussion: RedState and ABC News

CNN:
Trump lashes out over special counsel appointment

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Report: Kushner urged aggressive Trump response to special counsel

Discussion: RedState

New York Times:
'There's no collusion' between Trump and Russians, he says.

Michael Crowley / Politico:

Lieberman emerges as front-runner for FBI post — Joe Lieberman, the former Democratic vice-presidential nominee, is the front-runner to be named FBI director, according to several White House officials and advisers. — Senior administration officials have told others in the last 12 hours …

Discussion: ABC News, RedState, CNN, Daily Kos, IJR, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and Raw Story

Annie Karni / Politico:

Trump weighs downsizing Spicer's public role — President Donald Trump is considering scaling back White House press secretary Sean Spicer's public role, according to several officials familiar with the president's thinking, as Trump also weighs a broader shakeup of his communications shop in the wake of several scandals.

Discussion: ABC News, New York Magazine, AOL, Hot Air, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Axios, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Raw Story, White House Dossier, The Week, Washington Free Beacon and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Advisers Urge Trump to Hire an Outside Lawyer

Discussion: The Week, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Joe Lieberman might be FBI director. Really.

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, Daily Kos, Newsweek and Political Wire

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:

Senate Dems: Deputy AG knew Comey was being removed before writing memo … Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein knew FBI Director James Comey was going to be fired before he wrote a memo recommending Comey's dismissal, a pair of Democratic senators said Thursday.

Discussion: Politico and Political Wire

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Trump: Special counsel appointment ‘hurts the country’ — President Trump on Thursday slammed the appointment of a special counsel to probe his campaign's alleged ties to Russia as something that “hurts the country.” — “I believe it hurts the country terribly, because it shows we're a divided …

Discussion: Politico, RedState and Axios

Laurel Raymond / ThinkProgress:

Sen. Lindsey Graham: Congress should abandon Russia investigation, go back to Clinton's emails — “There's a new front opening here.” — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News on Thursday that now that special counsel has been appointed to investigate alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia …

Discussion: RedState and The Gateway Pundit

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Trump campaign sees fundraising surge

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Senators: Rosenstein knew Comey would be fired before writing memo

Discussion: Axios

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Rosenstein's week-long journey from Trump's man of absolute integrity to the target of rage tweets

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, Congressman Ted Lieu, Politico and New York Times

Billy House / Bloomberg:

House May Be Forced to Vote Again on GOP's Obamacare Repeal Bill — Two weeks after passage, measure still not sent to Senate — CBO report could force Ryan, other party leaders into redo — House Republicans barely managed to pass their Obamacare repeal bill earlier this month …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, Political Wire, Politicus USA, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money and ACASignups.net

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
House leaders worry more meetings secretly recorded

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Shareblue, Salon, Balloon Juice, Hullabaloo, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, Media Matters for America, AOL, Breitbart and New York Times

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Chaffetz to announce early departure from Congress — Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is expected to announce Thursday that he is resigning before the end of this congressional term, according to three sources familiar with his plans. — Chaffetz did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.

Discussion: ABC News, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, IJR, The Week, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, Fox News, Washington Free Beacon and The Resurgent

Jason Chaffetz / Chaffetz:

Chaffetz Letter to Utah's 3rd Congressional District — f t # e — Dear 3rd District Constituents: — Serving you in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly nine years has been a rare honor and privilege. When I first ran for Congress in 2008 I promised I would get in, serve, and get out.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Shareblue, NPR, The Daily Caller, Vox, Washington Post, twitchy.com and TheBlaze

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Gowdy poised to replace Chaffetz as Oversight chief — Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) is expected to become the next chairman of the House Oversight Committee, replacing Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) in the high-profile post when he leaves Congress late next month, according to multiple senior House Republicans.

Discussion: Axios, DCist and IJR

Erin McClam / CNNMoney:

Roger Ailes, who built Fox News into a powerhouse, dies at 77 — Roger Ailes dead at 77 — Roger Ailes, who transformed cable news and then American politics by building Fox News into a ratings powerhouse, died Thursday. He was 77. — The death was announced by his family and reported on Fox News Channel.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, CNBC, Common Dreams, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, The Root and WPRI-TV, more at Mediagazer »

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite: Twitter Mocks Sean Hannity's Call For Decency Amid Seth Rich Controversy

Joan Walsh / The Nation:
My Only Meeting With Roger Ailes

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Mediaite, IJR, The Week and Mashable

Jack Moore / Newsweek:

TRUMP CANCELS VISIT TO ANCIENT MASADA SITE AFTER ISRAEL REFUSES HELICOPTER LANDING — WORLD ISRAEL TRUMP — President Donald Trump has canceled a planned visit and speech at the ancient mountain fortress of Masada in Israel after authorities told him that he could not land his helicopter on top of the UNESCO-listed site.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Axios, Mashable, Mother Jones, Common Dreams, The Week and Ynetnews

CBS News:

U.S. aircraft conduct strike on Syrian army convoy — BEIRUT — The U.S. sent aircraft to strike Syrian regime vehicles on Thursday that violated a deconfliction zone set up around al-Tanf, an army base where special forces are training Syrian militias, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

Discussion: Reuters, RedState, The Atlantic, Congressman Ted Lieu, CBS New York and Common Dreams

Morgan Chalfant / The Hill:

Russia tried to take over Pentagon Twitter accounts: report — Russia tried to gain access to the Twitter accounts of Defense Department officials using messages carrying malware, according to Time magazine. — Russia is said to have sent messages to over 10,000 Pentagon Twitter users …

Discussion: TIME.com, Axios, Mediaite, Engadget, RedState and The Week

Noam N. Levey / Los Angeles Times:

Health insurers and state officials say Trump is undermining Obamacare, pushing up rates — President Trump meets in February with the heads of major health insurers. Many industry officials and state regulators now believe they cannot rely on Trump to effectively manage the country's insurance markets.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Reuters:

Car slams into Times Square pedestrians, killing one, injuring others — A speeding car plowed into pedestrians on a sidewalk in New York City's busy Times Square on Thursday, killing one person and injuring a dozen, according to witnesses, and police said the incident did not appear to be an act of terrorism.

Discussion: New York Times, France 24, NPR and Washington Post

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:

Comey prepared extensively for his conversations with Trump — FBI Director James B. Comey prepared extensively for his discussions with President Trump, out of concern that the president was unlikely to respect the legal and ethical boundaries governing their respective roles, according to associates of the now-fired FBI chief.

Discussion: Political Wire

Daniel Cox / FiveThirtyEight:

Way More Americans May Be Atheists Than We Thought — After signing an executive order earlier this month that seeks to relax restrictions on the political activities of tax-exempt churches, President Trump said the order was an important affirmation of the American identity. “We're a nation of believers,” he said.

Discussion: Telegraph

Ben Protess / New York Times:

In Tumult of Trump, Jon Corzine Seeks a Wall Street Comeback — Jon S. Corzine is a 6-foot-2 bear of a man who has spent decades roaming expansive halls of power. He held the top job at the old Goldman Sachs office tower, a concrete pinnacle of American capitalism.