memeorandum: Dana Boente, former top Justice Department official now at FBI, has been interviewed by Mueller and turned over notes (Matt Zapotosky/Washington Post)

8:50 AM ET, April 11, 2018

Top Items:

Trump Sought to Fire Mueller in December — In early December, President Trump, furious over news reports about a new round of subpoenas from the office of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, told advisers in no uncertain terms that Mr. Mueller's investigation had to be shut down.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, MSNBC, Raw Story, CNN, 444, CNBC, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The Week, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and HuffPost

CNN:

Trump considering firing Rosenstein to check Mueller — (CNN)President Donald Trump is considering firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, multiple people familiar with the discussions tell CNN, a move that has gained urgency following the raid of the office of the President's personal lawyer.

New York Times:

At the White House, Trump Takes Selfies and Seethes Over Mueller — WASHINGTON — Outside the White House, President Trump grinned for selfies with Alabama's Crimson Tide, telling the college football champions that they had beaten their rivals so brutally, “you flat-out made them quit” …

Discussion: CNN, Vanity Fair, Mediaite, ABC News, USA Today, Political Wire, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller and IJR

Isaac Chotiner / Slate:

“The ACLU Would Be Up in Arms” — On Tuesday night, with reports circulating that he was furious about both the raid on the offices of his lawyer, Michael Cohen, and the gathering force of the Mueller investigation, President Trump dined with famed law professor and pundit Alan Dershowitz.

Discussion: The Atlantic and Lawyers, Guns & Money

New York Times:

The Law Is Coming, Mr. Trump — Why don't we take a step back and contemplate what Americans, and the world, are witnessing? — Early Monday morning, F.B.I. agents raided the New York office, home and hotel room of the personal lawyer for the president of the United States.

Discussion: Bustle, National Law Journal, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, American Thinker, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, HuffPost, Philly.com, Daily Kos, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, American Greatness, CNN, Washington Press, Washington Times, IJR, Daily Wire and CNBC

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

Dana Boente, former top Justice Department official now at FBI, has been interviewed by Mueller and turned over notes … Dana Boente, the former acting attorney general who now serves as general counsel at the FBI, has been interviewed by the special counsel's office and turned over handwritten notes …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Press, MSNBC, Raw Story and Mediaite

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

With Scant Precedent, White House Insists Trump Could Fire Mueller Himself — WASHINGTON — As President Trump continued to fume on Tuesday about the Justice Department's raids on the office and hotel room of his longtime personal lawyer, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders …

Discussion: The Week

Benjamin Wittes / Lawfare:

How the Cohen Raids and Trump's Reactions Edge Us Toward Confrontation — The country is entering a dangerous moment—the moment of actual confrontation between the president of the United States and those who would investigate him. — This moment has been deferred for months through a combination of strategies.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Raw Story, Washington Press, NPR, Law & Crime and VICE News

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“He's Sitting There Bitching and Moaning”: Inside Trumpworld, Allies Fear the Boss Could Go Postal and Fire Mueller — Trump's friends say the president is “dry tinder” awaiting a match. Meanwhile, his latest hires are already creating new management nightmares for John Kelly.

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Press, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog and Mediaite

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
President Trump has never been in more trouble than right now

Discussion: The Hill, Hot Air, National Review, Bustle, CNN, Washington Press, CNBC, Law & Crime, ThinkProgress, Raw Story, Axios, Politico, IJR, The Mahablog, RedState and Townhall

Ben Mathis-Lilley / Slate:
Are Reporters Goading Trump Into Firing Mueller When They Scream at Him Constantly About Firing Mueller?

Discussion: CNN, Washington Press, Washington Post, Common Dreams, Law & Crime, Raw Story, Townhall, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Vox

New York Times:
Raid on Trump's Lawyer Sought Records of Payments to Women

Associated Press: Trump axes trip amid discussions over Syria, raid on lawyer

Wall Street Journal: White House Says Trump Has Power to Fire Mueller

The White House:
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders

Discussion: Just Security

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Trump: ‘Many people have said’ I should fire Mueller

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News and New York Magazine

Don Lemon / CNN:

Michael Cohen to CNN: FBI was ‘professional, courteous, respectful’ in raids, counter to Trump's depiction — New York (CNN)In his first comments since the FBI raid on his home and office, Michael Cohen said the FBI agents “were extremely professional, courteous and respectful.”

Discussion: HuffPost, Daily Wire, Raw Story, KTLA, Hot Air, AOL, The Week, CNBC, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze, Axios, Shareblue Media and The Daily Caller

Dahlia Nehme / Reuters:

Russian envoy to Lebanon: Any U.S. missiles fired at Syria will be shot down — BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia's ambassador to Lebanon said any U.S. missiles fired at Syria would be shot down and the launch sites targeted, a step that could trigger a major escalation in the Syrian war.

Discussion: National Review, Mother Jones, Axios, Politico, RedState, CNBC, VICE News, Raw Story, Common Dreams, CBS New York, NBC News and Splinter

Bloomberg:
Trump Tells Russia to ‘Get Ready’ With Missiles Coming at Syria

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Talking Points Memo, NPR, Roll Call, CNN, CNBC, The Guardian, New York Times, The Lid, fox5sandiego.com, KTLA, Sputnik International and Raw Story

Lawfare:
The Downsides of Bombing Syria

Discussion: Reuters, The American Conservative and Breitbart

BBC:
Syria war: WHO demands access to ‘chemical attack site’

Discussion: CNN, Forbes, Breitbart, The Week and The American Conservative

New York Times:
Trump Weighs More Robust Military Strike Against Syria

Discussion: ABC, Just Security, AOL, CNN, Sputnik International, The Guardian and Outside the Beltway

Associated Press:
The Latest: John Bolton urged Trump to cancel trip abroad

Discussion: Axios, One America News Network and Politico

Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
Trump's Military Strike on Syria Will Be Illegal

Discussion: The Federalist, One America News Network, The American Conservative, New York Times and The White House

Avi Selk / Washington Post:

Facebook told two women their pro-Trump videos were ‘unsafe’ … Two sisters famous for praising President Trump say Facebook has deemed their videos dangerous. — Lynette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson are better known as “Diamond and Silk” to their hundreds of thousands of fans — one of whom is Trump.

Discussion: TIME, Washington Free Beacon, Talking Points Memo, American Greatness and American Thinker, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Weinberger / Business Insider:
Mark Zuckerberg just renounced a core piece of Silicon Valley wisdom — and it could come back to bite Facebook

Discussion: AOL

New York Times:
Facebook Data Collected by Quiz App Included Private Messages

Discussion: WhoWhatWhy, Vox and The Atlantic, more at Techmeme »

Bre Payton / The Federalist:
Watch Ted Cruz Savage Mark Zuckerberg Over Facebook's Liberal Bias

Discussion: Althouse

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:

Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp: Trump ‘asked me to switch parties’ … Donald Trump was still weeks away from being sworn in as president when, according to one Democratic senator, he was already trying to get her to defect to the Republicans. — “When I visited with him in Trump Tower …

Discussion: New York Magazine and The Week

New York Times:

Facebook Fallout Deals Blow to Mercers' Political Clout — Last month, a friend of the wealthy conservative donor Rebekah Mercer arrived at Facebook's Silicon Valley headquarters. His task: Find out what — if anything — could repair relations between Facebook, the world's biggest social media company …

Thomas Frank / BuzzFeed:
A Conservative Party Donor And Brexit Supporter Resigns From Cambridge Analytica Parent

Discussion: 9to5Mac

Joseph Bernstein / BuzzFeed: Rebekah Mercer Asked Facebook For An Independent Investigation Into Cambridge Analytica

Axios:

Paul Ryan confidants say he's not running for reelection — House Speaker Paul Ryan has told confidants that he will announce soon that he won't run for reelection in November, according to sources with knowledge of the conversations. — Why it matters: House Republicans were already …

Discussion: Mediaite

John Bresnahan / Politico: Trump to host GOP leaders for dinner after Mueller attacks

Christopher Williams / Telegraph:

European Commission raids Murdoch's Fox offices in London — The British offices of the Murdoch entertainment empire 21st Century Fox have been raided by investigators from the European Commission, The Daily Telegraph can reveal. — It is understood that competition watchdogs gained access …

Discussion: CNBC, Washington Press, Raw Story, Breitbart, Politico and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Axios:

ABC: Comey compares Trump to mob boss — A source present at the taping says James Comey's interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, airing Sunday at 10 p.m. as a “20/20” special, is “going to shock the president and his team.” — Keep reading — 121 WORDS

Discussion: Political Wire, Raw Story and Mediaite

Acreage Holdings:

Former Speaker of the House John Boehner and Former Governor of Massachusetts Bill Weld Join Leading Cannabis Company — Appointments Add Unmatched Experience to Acreage Holdings' Board of Advisors — Acreage Holdings ("Acreage") (www.acreageholdings.com), one of the nation's largest …

Discussion: Washington Post and Detroit News

Daily Mail:

Justice Department violated Michael Cohen's constitutional rights just by seizing his records, Alan Dershowitz tells DailyMail.com - hours before Harvard law professor has dinner with Trump — Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz will have dinner Tuesday at the White House with President Donald Trump

Discussion: Breitbart

Alan M. Dershowitz / The Hill:
Targeting Trump's lawyer should worry us all

Discussion: Mediaite

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:

The First Couple of Trump's America — Clarence Thomas is moving closer to the right-wing fringe. His wife Ginni is already there. — Clarence Thomas is a Supreme Court justice whose former clerks form the intellectual backbone of the Trump administration.