memeorandum: ‘Scam PACs’ rake in millions under guise of charity (Politico)

7:55 AM ET, May 4, 2018

Top Items:

Feds monitored Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's phones — CORRECTION: Earlier today, NBC News reported that there was a wiretap on the phones of Michael Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal attorney, citing two separate sources with knowledge of the legal proceedings involving Cohen.

Wall Street Journal:

The Stormy Daniels Damage — Does Trump want Americans to believe him in a genuine crisis? — Most storms pass eventually. This week Donald Trump tried to ensure that Stormy Daniels doesn't rain down permanent distraction on his Presidency, though at the cost of further damage to his credibility.

Discussion: Political Wire

Niall Stanage / The Hill:

EXCLUSIVE: Giuliani calls for Sessions to ‘step in’ on Cohen investigation — Rudy Giuliani called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions — to intervene in the Michael Cohen case and put the people behind the probe “under investigation” in a phone call with The Hill on Thursday.

Discussion: Politico, HuffPost, Washington Post, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Hot Air, IJR, Daily Wire, Washington Times, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and The Week

Washington Post:

‘I was going to get this over with’: Inside Giuliani's explosive Stormy Daniels revelation — He may have had a strategy, but Rudolph W. Giuliani hatched it almost entirely in secret. — The White House counsel had no idea. Neither did the White House chief of staff …

Discussion: Politico, New York Magazine, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, The Week, The Western Journal, twitchy.com, Washington Examiner, CNN, ABC News, Axios, Wall Street Journal, Talking Points Memo, Townhall and New Republic

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump lives out his LBJ fantasy: no chief of staff

Discussion: Politico, The Week and Breitbart

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Giuliani: I Don't Believe That Michael Cohen Was Wiretapped

Discussion: HuffPost, Mediaite, CBS News, The Western Journal, Breitbart, Washington Post, CANNONFIRE, Townhall, CNN, IJR, CNBC, Raw Story, The Week, Vox, courthousenews.com, Joe.My.God., Talking Points Memo and emptywheel

New York Times:
Giuliani May Have Exposed Trump to New Legal and Political Perils

Discussion: ABC News, Common Cause and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Analysts: Giuliani's media blitz gives investigators new leads, new evidence

Discussion: The Atlantic, New York Times, Jezebel and Hot Air

New York Times:
The Legal Issues Raised by the Stormy Daniels Payment, Explained

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and ThinkProgress

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders basically just blamed Trump for misleading her

Discussion: Politico, New Century Times, New York Times and The Week

John Santucci / ABC News:
Giuliani believes ‘50/50’ chance Mueller subpoenas President Trump

Discussion: Washington Press, Mediaite, Political Wire, Washington Post and CNN

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
Welcome To The Giuliani Phase Of The Trump Presidency

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico and Breitbart

Amber Athey / The Daily Caller: The Definitive List Of Media Screw-Ups On The Trump-Russia Story

Grant Stern / Washington Press:
Kellyanne Conway's husband just taunted Trump and Giuliani over Stormy Daniels admission in viral tweet

Discussion: National Review, USA Today and Mother Jones

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
MSNBC Issues HUGE Correction To Michael Cohen ‘Wiretap’ Story

Discussion: Axios, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, twitchy.com, The Western Journal and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:
NBC News corrects explosive story on Michael Cohen

Discussion: Shakesville

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Giuliani outs Trump: Did the president just admit to a campaign finance law violation?

Discussion: New York Times, Vox and Little Green Footballs

Peter Baker / New York Times:
New Revelations Suggest a President Losing Control of His Narrative

Discussion: CNBC, Chicago Tribune and Bloomberg

Washington Post:

Influential outsiders have played a key role in Scott Pruitt's foreign travel … Scott Pruitt's itinerary for a February trip to Israel was remarkable by any standard for an Environmental Protection Agency administrator: A stop at a controversial Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Week, Political Wire and POLITICUSUSA

Elaina Plott / The Atlantic:

A Pruitt Aide's Attack on Zinke Angers the White House — As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt faces a seemingly endless stream of scandal, his team is scrambling to divert the spotlight to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. And the White House isn't happy about it.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Press, New York Times, Vox, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Jezebel, Joe.My.God., Political Wire and The Week

CNN:

Pruitt reimbursed himself $65,000 from Oklahoma attorney general campaign — Pruitt target of at least 11 federal probes — (CNN)A CNN analysis has found that embattled Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt paid himself nearly $65,000 in reimbursements from his two campaigns …

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

Why the Justice Department Is Defiant — A House subpoena, another missed deadline. What is the department hiding? — The feud that has simmered for months between Congress and the Justice Department erupted this week into a cage match. That's because the House is homing in on the goods.

USA Today:
Rosenstein impeachment articles are gross abuse meant to sabotage Mueller Russia probe

Discussion: Lawfare, Washington Post and twitchy.com

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Trump Orders Pentagon to Consider Reducing U.S. Forces in South Korea — WASHINGTON — President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare options for drawing down American troops in South Korea, just weeks before he holds a landmark meeting with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un …

Discussion: CNN, VICE News, The Hill, Reuters, New York Magazine, Bloomberg, CNBC, HuffPost, New York Post and Axios

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

House chaplain rescinds resignation after furor over his ouster by Ryan … The Rev. Patrick J. Conroy, the House chaplain who announced his resignation under pressure last month, informed Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) Thursday that he wanted to rescind his offer and remain in his position at least through the end of this year.

Discussion: HuffPost, The Hill, NBC News, Politico, Hullabaloo, New York Magazine, Washington Press, ThinkProgress, Shareblue Media, Vox, The Daily Caller, Townhall, Axios, The Week, Splinter, CNN, Joe.My.God. and NY State of Politics

New York Times:
Ryan Reinstates House Chaplain After Priest Decided to Fight Dismissal

Discussion: Splinter, TheBlaze, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times and HuffPost

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Alan Dershowitz Hired as Harvey Weinstein Consultant — The Harvard Law professor is helping the embattled movie mogul get “exclupatory” emails from The Weinstein Co. — Alan Dershowitz may not want to jump aboard Donald Trump's legal team, but apparently, he has no qualms with advising Harvey Weinstein's legal team.

Discussion: Deadline, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Raw Story, Splinter and Mediaite

Kylie Atwood / CBS News:

U.S. freezes funding for Syria's “White Helmets” — Less than two months ago the State Department hosted members of the White Helmets at Foggy Bottom. At the time, the humanitarian group was showered with praise for saving lives in Syria. — “Our meetings in March were very positive.

Ashley Feinberg / HuffPost:

Leak: The Atlantic Had A Meeting About Kevin Williamson. It Was A Liberal Self-Reckoning. — In a staff meeting, Jeffrey Goldberg and Ta-Nehisi Coates discussed the hiring and firing of a conservative writer. But it wound up being about a lot more than that.

Discussion: Mediaite and The American Conservative

Steven Perlberg / BuzzFeed:

A New Book On Hillary Clinton Has Reporters Angry At The New York Times — Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images — At a book party Tuesday evening, reporters and editors at the New York Times toasted the publication of Chasing Hillary, a rollicking new memoir by Amy Chozick …

Discussion: NewsBusters, Mediaite and twitchy.com

Tessa Stuart / Rolling Stone:
Amy Chozick on Boys' Clubs, Sexism in Politics and Media, and the ‘Real’ Hillary Clinton

Discussion: NewsBusters and The Daily Caller

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Special counsel Robert Mueller focusing sharply on links between Trump confidant Roger Stone and former campaign official Rick Gates, sources say — Special counsel Robert Mueller is focusing intensely on alleged interactions between former top Trump campaign official Rick Gates and political operative Roger Stone.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, Political Wire and Joe.My.God.

Brandi Buchman / courthousenews.com:
Mueller Seeks 70 Blank Subpoenas in Manafort Case

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

David French / National Review:

An Open Letter to Trump's Evangelical Defenders — A Christian's primary purpose is not to defend his own religious liberty. It's not even to fight abortion — as vital as that task is. His basic task on this Earth isn't protecting Christian education or preserving the freedom of Christian artists.

The Texas Tribune:

Hysteria over Jade Helm exercise in Texas was fueled by Russians, former CIA director says — Gov. Greg Abbott's decision in 2015 to ask the Texas State Guard to monitor a federal military exercise prompted significant criticism. A former CIA director said Wednesday that the move emboldened Russians to next target elections.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Balloon Juice, Snopes.com, The Guardian, ThinkProgress and Off the Kuff

New York Times:

They Voted for Obama, Then Went for Trump. Can Democrats Win Them Back? — RITTMAN, Ohio — In the daily race that is her life, Sharla Baker does not think about politics very much. — She rises early, drives to the gas station to buy coffee, feeds her baby, dresses her two other children …

The Daily Beast:

Trump and White House Counsel Don McGahn Have Been ‘Barely on Speaking Terms’ … The addition of longtime Washington, D.C., lawyer Emmet Flood to President Trump's legal team on Wednesday marks a major win for another top legal adviser to the president who has, for months, been operating in the Trumpland version of Siberia.

Discussion: Politico

Associated Press:
Trump's new lawyer is top candidate for White House counsel

Discussion: Political Wire and Politico

Justin Elliott / ProPublica:

Whoops! Jared Kushner Made Even More Mistakes in His Federal Filings — It keeps happening. Jared Kushner filed the wrong information about two of his loans in Brooklyn. He has had to update his disclosure form at least 40 times. — Jared Kushner's ethics disclosure filing misstated …

Tamar Auber / Mediaite:

Neil Cavuto Calls Out Trump on His Pattern of False Statements: 'Mr. President, That's Your Swamp' — During a monologue on his Fox News show Thursday, Neil Cavuto called out President Donald Trump for railing against “fake news” while constantly giving them ammunition with his inconsistent and often contradictory statements.