memeorandum: Biden backed NAFTA and TPP. Sanders and Trump plan to make him pay. (Holly Otterbein/Politico)

6:40 AM ET, May 2, 2019

Top Items:

How Trump Co-opts Leaders Like Bill Barr — Accomplished people lacking inner strength can't resist the compromises necessary to survive this president. — Mr. Comey is the former F.B.I. director. — People have been asking me hard questions. What happened to the leaders in the Trump administration …

Neal K. Katyal / New York Times:

Why Barr Can't Whitewash the Mueller Report — We have a system in place for our government to uncover evidence against a sitting president. And it's working. — Mr. Katyal drafted the special counsel regulations under which Robert Mueller was appointed.

Discussion: The American Spectator and PBS NewsHour

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Moderate Democrats fret they made a ‘big mistake’ backing Barr — Three Senate Democrats voted for William Barr to be attorney general. Now at least two of them say they might have made a mistake. — After revelations that special counsel Robert Mueller took issue with Barr's presentation …

Discussion: Associated Press, ABC News, Raw Story, Splinter, Vox, Breitbart, The Week, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, FiveThirtyEight, Townhall and The Daily Beast

Wall Street Journal:

A Real Attorney General — Bill Barr gets smeared for refusing to duck and cover like Loretta Lynch. — By The Editorial Board — Washington pile-ons are never pretty, but this week's political setup of Attorney General William Barr is disreputable even by Beltway standards.

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:

Barr Released the Mueller Report. How Is That a Scandal? — The attorney general has acted properly in his oversight of the Mueller report and investigation. — It was only a month ago that many Democrats were hoping Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Editorial Board, Slate, New Republic and IJR

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

William Barr's ‘snitty’ slip-up gives away his game — Attorney General William P. Barr came in front of Congress on Wednesday having been accused of misleading about and pre-spinning the Mueller report for President Trump. He also came on the heels of a newly reported letter …

Discussion: Fox News, American Greatness, swampdrain.com, The Guardian and The Daily Signal

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:

The GOP's Just a Racket Now, and Trump Is Its Godfather, Barr Its Wartime Consigliere — We see now with a new and oddly liberating clarity that these next 18 months may well be the most consequential and frightening time in living history. — Michael Tomasky — It's May Day, and this was a Mayday all right.

Discussion: Washington Post

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:

William Barr has shamelessly corrupted the debate over the Mueller report — One of our most colorful legal concepts is the “fruit of the poisonous tree.” The phrase was introduced by Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter 80 years ago to hold that evidence obtained illegally cannot be used to convict a defendant.

Discussion: RealClearPolitics, Raw Story, The Bulwark and Townhall

David French / National Review:

Three Thoughts on Barrgate — The controversy over Robert Mueller's letter to Bill Barr strikes me as much ado about not much at all. Here are my quick thoughts: — 1. Mueller's frustration is understandable. Yes, I totally understand Mueller's argument that Barr's short memo …

Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:
We Should Not Have Been Surprised About Bill Barr

Discussion: Washington Post

Washington Post:
William Barr torched his reputation. His testimony compounded the damage.

Discussion: The Week, New York Times, Boston Globe, Axios, Florida Politics and Breitbart

Chad Day / Associated Press: Key takeaways from AG Barr's testimony, Mueller's letter

emptywheel:
William Barr Absolved Trump of Obstruction without Having the Faintest Clue What He Obstructed

Discussion: Hullabaloo, USA Today and Washington Post

Rich Lowry / National Review:
No, Bill Barr Didn't Lie or Mislead

Discussion: American Greatness, Contemptor, Washington Post and Tampa Bay Times

National Review: The Incredibly Dumb Bill Barr Scandal

Morgan Chalfant / The Hill:
Nadler threatens contempt citation against Barr

Discussion: Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit

Jerry Portwood / Rolling Stone:
Barr Didn't Even Try to Pretend He's an Honest Broker for the Justice Department

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post and NPR

MSNBC:
WATCH: Sen. Harris, showing off prosecutorial prowess, puts AG Barr on his heels

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Vox and The Root

NBC News:
Barr declines to testify before House Judiciary Committee, setting stage for subpoena battle

Discussion: CNN and Vox

Zachary Basu / Axios:
AG Bill Barr cancels appearance before House Judiciary Committee

Discussion: Political Wire

Washington Post:
Barr's refusal to testify before House panel increases likelihood of contempt citation from Congress

Discussion: The Week, Roll Call, Balloon Juice, POLITICUSUSA, Splinter, Daily Kos, Slate, Reuters, The Stranger, Vox and CNN

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed News:

A Former Alt-Right Member's Message: Get Out While You Still Can — If you remember Katie McHugh, it's probably because of the tweets. — A short selection: “British settlers built the USA. ‘Slaves’ built the country much as cows ‘built’ McDonald's. Amateur...”

more at Mediagazer »

Michael Edison Hayden / Southern Poverty Law Center: Prolific Alt-Right Propagandist's Identity Confirmed

New York Times:

Biden Faces Conflict of Interest Questions That Are Being Promoted by Trump and Allies — WASHINGTON — It was a foreign policy role Joseph R. Biden Jr. enthusiastically embraced during his vice presidency: browbeating Ukraine's notoriously corrupt government to clean up its act.

Discussion: Political Wire

Holly Otterbein / Politico:

Biden backed NAFTA and TPP. Sanders and Trump plan to make him pay. — The former VP's rivals home in on what they see as his Achilles heel. — Joe Biden's campaign kickoff was designed to showcase his blue-collar appeal: A rally at a Teamsters hall in Pittsburgh where he railed …

Discussion: Washington Post

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Biden calls for end to U.S. support for Saudi war in Yemen

Discussion: NBC News, Outside the Beltway, RealClearPolitics and The Daily Caller

Marc Caputo / Politico:
Biden goes light on policy, heavy on emotion

Discussion: Axios and The Hill

WSOC-TV:

Source: UNCC shooting victim jumped on gunman to save others — Two people were killed and four others injured after a gunman opened fire in a classroom at UNCC Tuesday — Police arrested and charged 22-year-old Trystan Terrell with 2 counts of murder and 4 counts of attempted murder

Discussion: WLOS-TV, CNN, WBTV-TV, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com, ABC11, WSB-TV, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller and myfox8.com

Bill Lambrecht / Houston Chronicle:

Rep. Joaquin Castro won't run for U.S. Senate in 2020 — WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro has decided not to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. John Cornyn, choosing instead to continue pursuing a fast-rising career in Congress focusing on security and border issues.

Discussion: Splinter, Fox News, Roll Call, Dallas Morning News and Politico

The Texas Tribune:
Joaquin Castro won't challenge John Cornyn for U.S. Senate seat

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

John Solomon / The Hill:

Nellie Ohr's ‘Hi Honey’ emails to DOJ about Russia collusion should alarm us all — First came the text messages between FBI lovebirds Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, which gave us a painful glimpse at potential political bias inside America's most famous crime-fighting bureau.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Daily Wire and twitchy.com

Associated Press:

US hopes for Venezuela change fizzle for 3rd time this year — WASHINGTON (AP) — For the third time this year, the big moment in Venezuela has turned into a bust. — Trump administration officials had expected that Wednesday might turn out to be the beginning of the end for President Nicolas Maduro …

Discussion: Politico, The American Conservative, The Atlantic and Bloomberg

Washington Post:
Venezuela's opposition put together a ‘serious plan.’ For now, it appears to have failed.

Discussion: Breitbart and New York Post

CNN:

How an anti-Semitic cartoon ended up in The New York Times — New York (CNN Business)Reporters in The New York Times (NYT) newsroom could hear the protesters outside on Monday. “Shame on you!” they shouted. Some held signs that accused the newspaper of being anti-Semitic.

Discussion: New York Times, Yahoo News, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Jewish Journal, PJ Media Home and Townhall

Washington Post:

Former CIA officer Jerry Lee admits conspiracy to spy for China — A former CIA case officer long suspected in the intelligence community of being a devastating mole for the Chinese government admitted Wednesday he conspired to commit espionage in that country.

Discussion: NPR

U.S. Department of Justice: Former CIA Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Espionage

Hamed Aleaziz / BuzzFeed News:

A 16-Year-Old Unaccompanied Immigrant Boy Has Died In US Government Custody — A 16-year-old unaccompanied immigrant boy died in US government custody in Texas on Tuesday, officials said. — The boy was handed over to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) …

Discussion: Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Splinter and Raw Story