memeorandum: California's governor agrees to deploy 400 National Guard troops at Trump's request (KQCA-TV)

6:25 AM ET, April 12, 2018

Top Items:

Trump Allies and House Republicans to Paul Ryan: Get Out Now … House Speaker Paul Ryan's retirement announcement Wednesday morning set off a round of heartburn within the White House and among its allies over the damage that may be done in what's left of his term.

Discussion: Axios, Politico, HuffPost and Washington Examiner

Washington Post:

Trump chooses impulse over strategy as crises mount … In a White House known for chaos, the process of developing the U.S. response to the Syrian government's alleged latest gas attack was proceeding with uncharacteristic deliberation, including several national security briefings for President Trump.

Discussion: The Week

New York Times:

Ryan Found Himself on the Margins as the G.O.P. Moved Right — WASHINGTON — Paul D. Ryan took the helm of the House two and a half years ago, not because he wanted it, but because he was seen as the only lawmaker who could keep Republicans from devouring themselves.

Discussion: Raw Story, National Review, The Root, Rewire.News, Washington Post, The Week, Vox, The Daily Beast, Bustle, Grist, The American Conservative, The Ringer, No More Mister Nice Blog and CNN

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

Paul Ryan implodes his party — ahead of schedule … Paul D. Ryan's face has always said more than his words. In the two years since the Republican Party takeover by Donald Trump, it has been a mask of anguish. — So it is no surprise that, come what may for House Republicans in the fall election …

Discussion: Salon and Outside the Beltway

Paul Ryan / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

‘I feel content that I have done my part; I am ready to move on’ — Over the past nearly 20 years, I have had the good fortune to serve in many roles in Congress, and they have all helped me better serve you, my employers in southern Wisconsin. — Chairman of the Budget Committee …

John Podhoretz / Commentary Magazine:
The Ryan Retirement in Seven Points

Discussion: The Other McCain, Instapundit, New York Times, Townhall, Viking Pundit and ThinkProgress

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
House Speaker Paul Ryan was the biggest fraud in American politics

Discussion: Crooked Media, The Week and Splinter

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
1 in 8 House seats will have no incumbent on Election Day

Discussion: Fortune, Politico, Power Line and Daily Kos

Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
Paul Ryan Personifies the Devil's Bargain the GOP Struck With Trump

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Hot Air, MSNBC, FiveThirtyEight, Washington Post, Hullabaloo, Politico, Mediaite, The Week, New York Magazine and Vox

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Fanatic, Fraud, Factotum: The Rise and Fall of Paul Ryan

Discussion: Washington Post, The Federalist and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:
Paul Ryan's GOP swept away by a Trumpian revolution he could neither contain nor control

Discussion: American Greatness, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, NBC News and Balloon Juice

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

Bannon pitches White House on plan to cripple Mueller probe and protect Trump … Stephen K. Bannon, who was ousted as White House chief strategist last summer but has remained in touch with some members of President Trump's circle, is pitching a plan to West Wing aides and congressional allies …

Discussion: Politico, The Week, Washington Press, CNBC, emptywheel, Raw Story, CNN, Political Wire and Mediaite

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Justice Dept. turns over document that launched Russia probe — A day after Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, threatened the impeachment of FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Justice Department on Wednesday turned …

Discussion: The Hill, Townhall, Daily Kos and The Atlantic

Pierre Thomas / ABC News:
Roger Stone to Trump: Don't fire Mueller

Discussion: The Week

New York Times:

Raid on Trump's Lawyer Sought Records on ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape — The F.B.I. agents who raided the office and hotel of President Trump's lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, were seeking details on his relationship with the Trump campaign and his efforts to suppress negative information about Mr. Trump …

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
3 things we want to know about Michael Cohen and the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, CNBC, Bustle, The Gateway Pundit, Law & Crime and National Review

Alan Dershowitz / Fox News:
Why the FBI raid on Trump's lawyer hurts all of us

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Federal investigators sought Trump's communications with his lawyer about ‘Access Hollywood’ tape

Discussion: Law & Crime, CNN and New Yorker

Kansas City Star:

Woman: Sexual encounter with Greitens was not consensual. Lawmakers find her credible — When she tried to leave, sobbing after a non-consensual sexual encounter, she says the man who would be governor physically stopped her. — What happened next, she testified under oath …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, CNBC, ThinkProgress and Hot Air

Rebecca Berg / CNN:
Report: Woman says Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens coerced her into sexual encounter

Discussion: Law & Crime, The Daily Caller and CBS News

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Woman testifies that Greitens groped and hit her; governor blasts ‘lies’ and ‘tabloid trash’

Discussion: Kansas City Star, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Kansas City Star:
Missouri legislators call on Gov. Greitens to resign in wake of bombshell report

Discussion: Bustle and Vox

New York Times:

Scott Pruitt's Idea to Update an E.P.A. Keepsake: Less E.P.A., More Pruitt — When Scott Pruitt wanted to refashion the Environmental Protection Agency's “challenge coin” — a type of souvenir medallion with military origins that has become a status symbol among civilians …

Discussion: New York Magazine, CNN, Mashable, The Daily Caller, Earther, Splinter, Axios and Mediaite

Jacqueline Alemany / CBS News:

Here are some of the threats made against EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt — CBS News has obtained an August 2017 report prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency's office of inspector general that contains a list of 13 threats made against EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and his family.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and New York Magazine

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Pompeo failed to disclose Chinese business connection — WASHINGTON — CIA Director Mike Pompeo failed to disclose last year that he owned a Kansas business that imported oilfield equipment from a company owned by the Chinese government. — That omission, on the questionnaire Pompeo …

Discussion: Washington Post, AOL, The American Conservative, New York Times, Washington Press and VICE News

Ryan Grim / The Intercept:
Mike Pompeo Could Go Down If Senate Democrats Decide to Fight

Discussion: Common Dreams, CNN and Axios

Henry C. Jackson / Politico:
Pompeo to downplay hawkish rep in face-off with senators

Discussion: Axios

Associated Press:

$30,000 rumor? Tabloid paid for, spiked, salacious Trump tip — NEW YORK (AP) — Eight months before the company that owns the National Enquirer paid $150,000 to a former Playboy Playmate who claimed she'd had an affair with Donald Trump, the tabloid's parent made a $30,000 payment …

more at Mediagazer »

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.:

California Responds to Federal Request for National Guard Personnel — SACRAMENTO - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today responded to the federal government's request for additional California National Guard personnel with the following letter. The accompanying agreement …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Louder With Crowder, CNBC, Politico, Sean Hannity, Axios and ABC News

KQCA-TV:
California's governor agrees to deploy 400 National Guard troops at Trump's request

Discussion: NPR and TheBlaze

Erick Erickson / TheResurgent.com:

A Congressman's Profanity Laced Tirade in a Safeway Grocery Store — One of the President's congressional defenders has privately decided he hates Trump and wants to unload. — “If we're going to lose because of him, we might as well impeach the motherf**ker,” said the congressman …

Discussion: The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Press, Hot Air, Conservative News Today, The American Conservative, Mother Jones, American Greatness, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, Mediaite and Political Wire

Brian X. Chen / New York Times:

I Downloaded the Information That Facebook Has on Me. Yikes. — When I downloaded a copy of my Facebook data last week, I didn't expect to see much. My profile is sparse, I rarely post anything on the site, and I seldom click on ads. (I'm what some call a Facebook “lurker.")

more at Techmeme »

Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed: Facebook Crossed The Creepy Line And Can't Go Back

Cindy Adams / Page Six:

Women are lining up to date Rudy Giuliani — The about-to-be-consciously uncoupled Rudy Giuliani is coming off to Upper East Side sex kittens like catnip. They're purring at him. Sidling — if not actually front-ling — in his direction. — It seems power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Cristina Maza / Newsweek:

RUSSIA PREPARES FOR WAR WITH U.S., INSTRUCTING CITIZENS TO BUY WATER AND GAS MASKS — Claiming that some Americans are preparing for a coming war with Moscow, Russian state-owned television explained to the country's residents how to stock their bunkers with water and basic foodstuffs in case a war breaks out.

Discussion: Task & Purpose, Politico, ABC News, Spectator USA, CNN and Al Jazeera English

Tim Mak / NPR:

NRA, In New Document, Acknowledges More Than 20 Russian-Linked Contributors — The National Rifle Association has accepted contributions from about 23 Russians, or Americans living in Russia, since 2015, the gun rights group acknowledged to Congress. — The NRA said in a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, ABC News, Washington Press, twitchy.com, MSNBC, BloombergQuint, Front Page Magazine, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Political Wire

Christina Capatides / CBS News:

Single mom of five goes viral with inspiring law school graduation photo — Ieshia Champs has wanted to be a lawyer since she was 7 years old. In her teenage years, however, the odds began stacking up against her and it appeared that her dream might be permanently out of reach.

CNN:

Deputy national security adviser Nadia Schadlow resigns — Washington (CNN)Nadia Schadlow, the US deputy national security adviser for strategy, has resigned and will leave her position at the end of the month, multiple administration officials told CNN. — Schadlow is the third senior …

Discussion: Washington Press, Washington Free Beacon and Daily Kos

Bloomberg:
Trump Ordered DOJ to Hire Controversial Former Aide, Sources Say

Discussion: Shakesville, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Stephanopoulos: Comey compared Trump to a ‘mob boss’ … Ex-FBI Director James Comey — compared President Trump — to a “mob boss” in a taped interview with ABC News, according to a promotional video released Wednesday. — “How strange is it for you to sit here and compare the president …

Brett T. / twitchy.com:

Women pose for open carry pics in solidarity with college student who had gun in her graduation photo — You might remember Twitchy's post from Tuesday about University of Tennessee senior Brenna Spencer, who managed to trigger liberals with her graduation photo, which was both pro-gun and pro-Trump:

Niv Elis / The Hill:

Corker: Tax cuts could be 'one of the worst votes I've made' — (R) said his vote on the GOP tax law could be one of the worst of his career if estimates that it will add $1.9 trillion to deficits over a decade prove correct. — “If it ends up costing what has been laid out here …

Discussion: Splinter and Daily Kos

CNN:

Kelly cedes control to new faces amid latest Trump tumult — WaPo: Kelly threatens to quit in fit of anger — Washington (CNN)As Reince Priebus was approaching his final days in the West Wing, staffers had a running joke: if you got between the frenzied chief of staff and the Oval Office …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite and The American Conservative

Fox News Insider:

Tucker Carlson Assad Bombing Civilians Chemical Gas Attack Response Noah Rothman — Tucker Carlson debated a magazine editor who claimed the host “willfully misled his audience and advanced Russian geopolitical narratives” by cautioning against anti-Assad actions in Syria following the chemical attack on civilians there.