Deutsche Welle: Merkel: Europe can no longer rely on US and Britain. “The German chancellor’s comments came after contentious meetings with US President Donald Trump at NATO and G7 summit meetings. Trump clashed with America’s allies over global warming, mutual defense and trade.”

“US President Donald Trump, who campaigned as a global-warming denier – calling it a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese – refused to go along with his six counterparts in reaffirming their support for the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit the rise in global temperatures.

“For that reason,” Merkel continued, “I can only say: We Europeans really have to take our fates in our own hands.”

Of course, that must be done in a spirit of friendship with the United States and Britain, she said, “But we have to wage our own fight for our future, as Europeans, for our fate.””

Deutsche Welle: Merkel nach G7-Gipfel: USA kein verlässlicher Partner mehr. “Der G7-Gipfel auf Sizilien hat offenbar Spuren hinterlassen: Kanzlerin Merkel zeigte sich bei einer Rede in München enttäuscht. Sie setzt auf den Zusammenhalt der Europäer und hofft dabei vor allem auf Frankreich.”

“Beim Gipfel der sieben großen Industrienationen in Italien hatten die Staats- und Regierungschef am Freitag und Samstag kaum Fortschritte erzielt. Der US-Präsident hatte die G7 mit seinem Konfrontationskurs in eine tiefe Krise gestürzt. Der Versuch, Trump ein Bekenntnis zum Pariser Klimaschutzvertrag abzuringen, war kläglich gescheitert. Eine endgültige Entscheidung dazu will er nächste Woche treffen. Kaum gesichtswahrende Formulierungen fanden die G7 in letzter Minute zum Thema Handel.”

Kommentar von Barbara Wesel: Warten auf bessere Zeiten. “Dieses G7-Treffen hätte das Ende des Bündnisses bringen können. Doch es gelang sechs Gipfelteilnehmern, den siebten zu bändigen: Donald Trump. Dennoch war die Veranstaltung äußerst peinlich, meint Barbara Wesel.”

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO): Stupid Watergate. (YouTube, 24min) In which John Oliver answers the questions “What the fuck is going on? How big a deal is this? Where do we go from here? Is this real life?”

Link via MetaFilter: It has been _0_ days since the last Trump disaster.

The Washington Post: The White House’s absolutely brutal night, in 6 headlines.

“For any president, one of these headlines would be very bad news. For President Trump, they all came in a span of 12 hours:
[…]
So here’s a quick summary of why each of these stories is significant, and what it means going forward.”

The New York Times: Comey Memo Says Trump Asked Him to End Flynn Investigation.

“The documentation of Mr. Trump’s request is the clearest evidence that the president has tried to directly influence the Justice Department and F.B.I. investigation into links between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia. Late Tuesday, Representative Jason Chaffetz, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, demanded that the F.B.I. turn over all “memoranda, notes, summaries and recordings“ of discussions between Mr. Trump and Mr. Comey.

Such documents, Mr. Chaffetz wrote, would “raise questions as to whether the president attempted to influence or impede“ the F.B.I.”

Washington Post: Notes made by former FBI director Comey say Trump pressured him to end Flynn probe.

“President Trump asked the FBI to drop its probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and urged former FBI director James B. Comey instead to pursue reporters in leak cases, according to associates of Comey who have seen private notes he wrote recounting the conversation.

According to the notes written by Comey following a February meeting with the president, Trump brought up the counterintelligence investigation into Flynn and urged Comey to drop the probe in the wake of the national security adviser’s resignation.”

Washington Post: Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador.

“President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State.
[…]
For almost anyone in government, discussing such matters with an adversary would be illegal. As president, Trump has broad authority to declassify government secrets, making it unlikely that his disclosures broke the law.
[…]
[O]fficials expressed concern about Trump’s handling of sensitive information as well as his grasp of the potential consequences. Exposure of an intelligence stream that has provided critical insight into the Islamic State, they said, could hinder the United States’ and its allies’ ability to detect future threats.”