The Latest on Trump and Russia and the Relentless Catastrophe That Is the Current State of the American Experiment

So this happened. Then @nytimes and @washingtonpost each dropped bombshells moments after Air Force One was wheels up. pic.twitter.com/U20atZeIdw

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 19, 2017

If you can't view the image embedded in the tweet, it's a screencap of the New York Times tweeting "#FF @washingtonpost," and the Washington Post responding with a photo of Mulder and Scully clinking beer bottles in a toast.

The bombshells:

Matt Apuzzo, Maggie Haberman, Matthew Rosenberg at the New York Times: Trump Told Russians That Firing 'Nut Job' Comey Eased Pressure from Investigation.

Trump told Russian officials in the Oval Office this month that firing the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, had relieved "great pressure" on him, according to a document summarizing the meeting.

"I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job," Mr. Trump said, according to the document, which was read to The New York Times by an American official. "I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off."

Mr. Trump added, "I'm not under investigation."

...The White House document that contained Mr. Trump's comments was based on notes taken from inside the Oval Office and has been circulated as the official account of the meeting. One official read quotations to The Times, and a second official confirmed the broad outlines of the discussion.

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, did not dispute the account.

...A third government official briefed on the meeting defended the president, saying Mr. Trump was using a negotiating tactic when he told Mr. Lavrov about the "pressure" he was under. The idea, the official suggested, was to create a sense of obligation with Russian officials and to coax concessions out of Mr. Lavrov — on Syria, Ukraine and other issues — by saying that Russian meddling in last year's election had created enormous political problems for Mr. Trump.

What an amazing negotiating tactic from an amazing negotiator. Holy fucking shit.

Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky at the Washington Post: Russia Probe Reaches Current White House Official, People Familiar with the Case Say.

The law enforcement investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign has identified a current White House official as a significant person of interest, showing that the probe is reaching into the highest levels of government, according to people familiar with the matter.

The senior White House adviser under scrutiny by investigators is someone close to the president, according to these people, who would not further identify the official.

...While there has been a loud public debate in recent days over the question of whether the president might have attempted to obstruct justice in his private dealings with FBI Director James Comey, who Trump fired last week, people familiar with the matter said investigators on the case are more focused on Russian influence operations and possible financial crimes.

My best guess is that the White House official in question is Jared Kushner, given the detail about investigators' focus on financial crimes.

In sum, things continue to move. And they do so in a way that won't end well for any of us.