memeorandum: OPINION | How Democrats stole the nation's lower federal courts (Steven G. Calabresi/The Hill)

3:15 PM ET, July 22, 2017

Top Items:

Mike Allen / Axios:

Trump is building a Cabinet ready for political, legal war — When President Trump makes more changes in his West Wing (insiders suspect August or September, but who knows?), any new faces are likely to be in the mold of Anthony Scaramucci, age 53, the pugilistic Wall Streeter known as …

Discussion: Politico, Joe.My.God., Hullabaloo, Raw Story and AOL

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scaramucci goes full Breitbart — Anthony Scaramucci gave his first interview as White House communications director to Breitbart's Matt Boyle. The two sounded like old friends, with Scaramucci kicking off the Saturday morning Breitbart radio interview by jokingly asking Boyle …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and neo-neocon

Michael C. Bender / Wall Street Journal:
Sean Spicer Faced Myriad Obstacles During Dramatic White House Rise and Fall

Discussion: Business Insider, AOL, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Gothamist, Mediaite, Mashable and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Charlie Spiering / Breitbart:
EXCLUSIVE - Anthony Scaramucci: Breitbart ‘Captured the Spirit’ of America

Discussion: The Last Refuge

New York Times:
Sean Spicer, We'll Always Have ‘Facts’

Discussion: Mediaite, NBC News, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Dawsey / Politico:
Inside the 24 hours that broke Sean Spicer

The Daily Beast:
Anthony Scaramucci Loved Hillary, Gave to Obama, and Deleted Anti-Trump Tweets

Discussion: New York Times, Common Dreams, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Guardian, Business Insider, Mother Jones, IJR, Washington Post, Politicus USA, Bearing Arms and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:
At the White House, an abrupt chain reaction: Spicer out; Scaramucci and Sanders in

Discussion: New York Times, The Guardian and IJR

Washington Post:

Sessions discussed Trump campaign-related matters with Russian ambassador, U.S. intelligence intercepts show … Russia's ambassador to Washington told his superiors in Moscow that he discussed campaign-related matters, including policy issues important to Moscow, with Jeff Sessions during …

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Says He Has ‘Complete Power’ to Pardon — WASHINGTON — President Trump on Saturday asserted the “complete power to pardon” relatives, aides and possibly even himself in response to investigations into Russia's meddling in last year's election even as he came to the defense …

Fox News:

ISIS broken, but leader slipped away due to leak, says key general — ASPEN, Colo. - ISIS in Iraq and Syria has been “dismantled,” with tens of thousands of its jihadist fighters dead, but a promising lead on its leader “went dead” after a media leak, according to a key U.S. military official.

Discussion: The Hill, IJR, New York Times, Geller Report, No More Mister Nice Blog, neo-neocon and The Last Refuge

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Can the President Be Indicted? A Long-Hidden Legal Memo Says Yes — WASHINGTON — A newfound memo from Kenneth W. Starr's independent counsel investigation into President Bill Clinton sheds fresh light on a constitutional puzzle that is taking on mounting significance amid the Trump-Russia inquiry …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Political Wire and Raw Story

Dave Quinn / People.com:

Home Alone and Sopranos Star John Heard Has Died — John Heard — the actor known for his role in several iconic '80s and '90s movies including Big, Beaches, and Home Alone — died Friday in Palo Alto, California, the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office confirms to PEOPLE. He was 71.

Discussion: The Week

TMZ.com:

John Heard Dead at 71 — John Heard, the beloved star of several huge 80s and 90s movies, died Friday in Palo Alto, CA ... TMZ has learned. — Heard was found dead in a hotel by the maid service ... according to family sources. Police were called to the hotel for a report of a medical emergency …

Discussion: East Bay Times, IndieWire, The Guardian, SFist, Washington Post, Mashable, AOL and Jezebel

Reuters:

U.S. investigators seek to turn Manafort in Russia probe: sources — 3 MIN READ — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. investigators examining money laundering accusations against President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort hope to push him to cooperate with their probe …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Noor Sabai / Raw Story:

'This is the last call we'll have': Trump's new lawyer sends cryptic message to Rachel Maddow — The White House is breaking the glass and sounding the alarm over the Russia investigation, according to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. — Maddow began her segment with a bombshell observation …

Annie Karni / Politico:

The untouchable Hope Hicks — Hope Hicks was celebrating a family wedding at a Bermuda golf club the weekend after Donald Trump was elected president when she overheard members of another party expressing dismay about his victory. — The young press secretary was off duty …

Discussion: ABC News, IJR and The Hill

CBS News:

Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau resigns in wake of Justine Damond shooting — Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau resigned Friday amid criticism of her response to a string of high-profile police shootings. — Harteau's resignation came at the request of Mayor Betsy Hodges …

Discussion: theGrio, The Root, fox13now.com and Mediaite

Star Tribune:
Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau resigns; protesters shout down mayor at City Hall

Discussion: Power Line, The Daily Caller, Conservative News Today, WCCO | CBS Minnesota and Joe.My.God.

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:

House to vote on Russia sanctions deal next week — The House is slated to vote Tuesday on bipartisan legislation to limit the Trump administration's ability to lift sanctions on Russia. — The White House had urged lawmakers to water down the provisions limiting its ability to lift sanctions.

Discussion: ABC News

NBC News:
Russia's Lavrov Says Trump May Have Met Putin More Times

Discussion: New York Times, CNN and Associated Press

New York Times:

Ivanka Trump Received at Least $12.6 Million Since 2016, Disclosure Shows — Ivanka Trump or her trust received at least $12.6 million since early 2016 from her various business ventures and has an arrangement to guarantee her at least $1.5 million a year even as she serves in a top White House position …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Talking Points Memo

Wall Street Journal:
Jared Kushner Discloses Dozens More Assets in Revised Financial Filing

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Washington Post, The Hill, RedState and Raw Story

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

McConnell's last-ditch Obamacare strategy — Talking is no longer working. It's time to vote. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is taking the rare step of forcing his members to take a tough vote on an Obamacare repeal bill, H.R. 1628 (115), that is on track to fail, making them own their votes.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo and The Hill

Laurence H. Tribe / Washington Post:

No, Trump can't pardon himself. The Constitution tells us so. — Laurence H. Tribe is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor and Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School. Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, was chief White House ethics lawyer …

Discussion: Raw Story, Constitution Daily and Mashable

Steven G. Calabresi / The Hill:

OPINION | How Democrats stole the nation's lower federal courts — in particular, have engaged in an outrageous set of practices from 1993 to 2017 that have allowed them to steal huge majorities on all the federal circuit courts of appeals. This story needs telling because Senate Republicans …