memeorandum: Roger Ailes, architect of conservative TV juggernaut Fox News, is dead at 77 (Marc Fisher/Washington Post)

11:10 AM 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 …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, MichelleMalkin.com, Axios, The Atlantic, BillMoyers.com, The Times of Israel, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, AOL, The Week, Gizmodo and twitchy.com

New York Times:

Trump Team Knew Flynn Was Under Investigation Before He Came to White House — WASHINGTON — Michael T. Flynn told President Trump's transition team weeks before the inauguration that he was under federal investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the campaign …

Vera Bergengruen / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Flynn stopped military plan Turkey opposed - after being paid as its agent — WASHINGTON — One of the Trump administration's first decisions about the fight against the Islamic State was made by Michael Flynn weeks before he was fired - and it conformed to the wishes of Turkey …

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, Shakesville, Hot Air, Balloon Juice, IJR, Just Security, Raw Story, The Week, New York Magazine, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Axios, Mediaite and Politico

Shane Harris / Wall Street Journal:
Israeli Source Seen as Key to Countering Islamic State Threat

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Rosie Gray / The Atlantic:
The Ghost of Mike Flynn

Discussion: The Week, TheBlaze, Politicus USA, Raw Story and Axios

Wall Street Journal:

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

Discussion: Infowars and The Last Tradition

Glenn Thrush / New York Times:

How Trump Learned About the Special Counsel on Russia — The Justice Department appointed Robert S. Mueller III, a former F.B.I. director, as a special counsel to oversee its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, announced on Wednesday.

Discussion: Raw Story

Philip Shenon / Politico:

Trump's Worst Nightmare Comes True — The most daunting assignment in Robert Mueller's career in law-enforcement and public service might have arrived on Wednesday night, with his appointment as the special prosecutor in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 president campaign …

Discussion: ABC News, New York Times, Scared Monkeys, The Week, Washington Free Beacon, Axios and Outside the Beltway

Jchong / Lawfare:

Initial Reactions on the Appointment of Robert Mueller As Special Counsel — FBI Director Robert Mueller leads a briefing for President Obama on the Boston Marathon bombings, April 2013 / Official White House Photo by Pete Souza — There's a lot of reason to be cheered this evening …

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, CNN and Vox

Brandon Carter / The Hill:

Kellyanne Conway cancels Fox appearance after special prosecutor announcement — Kellyanne Conway cancelled an appearance on Fox News' “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Wednesday night after it was announced that a special prosecutor would be appointed to head up the investigation into President Trump's ties to Russia.

Discussion: RedState, TheBlaze and The Week

CNN:
Inside an embattled Trump's most consequential evening of turmoil yet

Discussion: The Hill, The Week, Balloon Juice, Above the Law, TheBlaze and Lawyers, Guns & Money

NBC News:
Flynn, Manafort Are Key Figures In Russia Probe Mueller Will Lead

Discussion: Geller Report, Bloomberg, CNBC, ABC News, NBC News, Mediaite, New York Times, The Week, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Daily Kos and Little Green Footballs

Annie Karni / Politico:
How Trump learned about the special prosecutor

Discussion: Vox, New York Magazine and USA Today

Nicole Gaudiano / USA Today:
GOP blocks House vote on independent Russia-Trump investigation

Discussion: twitchy.com and Shakesville

Washington Post:
Deputy attorney general appoints special counsel to oversee probe of Russian interference in election

Discussion: Common Dreams, Betsy's Page, The Hill, New York Magazine, The Week, Refinery29, Shareblue, Taylor Marsh, New York Times, twitchy.com, Power Line, Hot Air, Liberal Values, Daily Kos, Political Wire, KFOR-TV and TheBlaze

Rebecca R. Ruiz / New York Times:
Robert Mueller, Former F.B.I. Director, Named Special Counsel for Russia Investigation

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Politico, alicublog, The Federalist, The Week, Take Care Blog, Daily Kos, FiveThirtyEight, Washington Free Beacon, Axios, The Atlantic, Booman Tribune, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Hit & Run and Althouse

Cecilia Vega / ABC News:
Trump reaction to special counsel measured, says White House

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, The Hill and Axios

Matea Gold / Washington Post:
New special counsel Robert Mueller has history of standing up to the White House

Discussion: Lawfare and AOL

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, Common Dreams, Washington Free Beacon, The Root, New York Magazine, WPRI-TV and Outside the Beltway

Katie Little / CNBC:

Fox News' ex-CEO Roger Ailes dead — Media titan Roger Ailes, who resigned from his positions as chairman and CEO of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network amid sexual harassment allegations last year, has died at age 77. — Ailes resigned from Fox in summer 2016 in the wake …

Discussion: myfox8.com, Forbes, TVNewser, The Times of Israel, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, RT, Mashable, Infowars, New York's PIX11, The Week and Deadline

Fox News:
Roger Ailes, founder of Fox News, dead at 77

Discussion: Daily Mail, WKBN-TV, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, White House Dossier, TMZ.com and TheBlaze

Marc Fisher / Washington Post:
Roger Ailes, architect of conservative TV juggernaut Fox News, is dead at 77

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Althouse

Washington Post:
Roger Ailes, Fox News founder and former chairman, dies at 77, family says

Discussion: Gothamist, more at Mediagazer »

Adam Entous / Washington Post:

House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump — KIEV, Ukraine — A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation …

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: Mediaite, The Week and ABC News, more at Mediagazer »

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:
Trump ‘furious’ at Guilfoyle's bid for Spicer's job, 'She's using us'

Discussion: Mercury News, Mediaite, White House Dossier and Media Matters for America

Bill Allison / Bloomberg:
Pence Takes Steps to Build War Chest as White House Stumbles

Discussion: The Last Tradition

Vaughn Hillyard / NBC News:

Pence Creates PAC ahead of 2018, 2020 Elections — Vice President Mike Pence is launching his own PAC — the “Great America Committee” — to aid his own future political interests, including helping Republican candidates ahead of the 2018 midterms. — The group, which filed paperwork …

Discussion: TheStreet and Raw Story

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
Neil Gorsuch will be the enduring symbol of a disastrous presidency.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Salon, Infowars, The Daily Caller, CNN, Newsmax and Politico

Theodoric Meyer / Politico:
Conservatives begin to whisper: President Pence

Discussion: Infowars, Breitbart, The Resurgent, The Last Tradition, The Daily Caller, Bloomberg, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit and Business Insider

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Trump isn't a toddler — he's a product of America's culture of impunity for the rich — “When you're a star, they let you do it.” — Ross Douthat's column arguing for the superiority of “25th Amendment remedies” to impeachment for Donald Trump's various misdeeds is impressive in its ability …

Rick Wilson / Washington Post:

If you work for Trump, it's time to quit — After the Comey firing and the Russia intel leak, the I'm-taking-one-for-the-team ship has sailed. — I've been a Republican political consultant for almost 30 years, and I've dispensed a lot of private advice.

Discussion: Politicus USA

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:
The worst job in Washington right now: Working for Trump

Discussion: Mediaite, CNN, Politico, The Week, Take Care Blog, New York Times, BuzzFeed, TheStreet, Sunlight Foundation, The Atlantic, CNBC, Talking Points Memo and Mashable

Pamela Brown / CNN:

Comey prepped responses ahead of Trump discussions — (CNN)Ahead of discussions with President Donald Trump, Former FBI Director James Comey prepped with his team on ways to respond to anticipated questions so that he would not come across as confrontational during the ongoing Russia probe, according to an official close to Comey.

Discussion: Althouse

About / GotNews:
BREAKING: FBI Director James Comey Testified Under Oath May 3rd That The Trump Administration …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and RedState

Alex Pfeiffer / The Daily Caller:

Pat Buchanan: It Isn't Watergate Yet, But How Long Can This Sustain? — Pat Buchanan says the nonstop uproar following Trump's firing of former FBI director James Comey is not comparable to Watergate, but he does wonder if the Trump presidency can function with this level of drama.

Discussion: Vox Popoli