memeorandum: Mitt Romney: My Conscience Won't Allow Me to Vote for Trump or Clinton (Conor Friedersdorf/The Atlantic)

12:20 PM ET, June 30, 2016

Top Items:

Fox targeted by FEC Dems in first-ever vote to punish debate sponsorship — Finally making good on long-harbored anger at conservative media, Democrats on the Federal Election Commission voted in secret to punish Fox News' sponsorship of a Republican presidential debate …

Discussion: National Review, Hot Air and Instapundit

Fox News:

Fox News Poll, June 29, 2016 — Home - Video - Politics - U.S. - Opinion - Entertainment - Tech - Science - Health - Travel - Lifestyle - World - Sports - On Air — ©2016 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Discussion: RedState, Washington Monthly, Red Alert Politics, The American Mirror, Daily Wire, Hot Air, Politico and Business Insider

Judson Berger / Fox News:
FEC Democrats voted to punish Fox News over debate changes

Discussion: Washington Post and The Daily Caller

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Clinton up by 6 points, 89 percent say ‘hot-headed’ describes Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Times, Business Insider and Hit & Run

Howie Carr / Boston Herald:

Nothing sorry about Trump One — ABOARD TRUMP ONE — The candidate loosened his tie and offered me some advice. — “Whatever you do, don't apologize,” he said. “You never hear me apologize, do you? That's what killed Jimmy the Greek way back. Remember? He was doing okay 'til he said he was sorry.”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Verge and The Week

Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: Air Wars Favor Clinton

Discussion: Latest from Crooks and Liars, Raw Story and Politico

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic: Mitt Romney: My Conscience Won't Allow Me to Vote for Trump or Clinton

Jessica Elgot / Guardian:

Boris Johnson rules himself out of Tory leadership race — Main public face of Brexit makes shock announcement hours after his key ally Michael Gove launched his own campaign — Boris Johnson has unexpectedly ruled himself out of the Conservative leadership race, hours …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Reuters, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Outside the Beltway, Telegraph and Washington Post

New York Times:
Boris Johnson Out in Race to Succeed David Cameron in Britain

Discussion: New York Magazine, Guardian, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, Althouse, Hullabaloo, The Week and Daily Mail

BBC:
Boris Johnson rules himself out of Conservative leader race

Discussion: Towleroad, New York Magazine, Heat Street and Joe.My.God.

Laura Hughes / Telegraph: Boris Johnson rules himself out of Conservative election race

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Presidential Race Shaping Up Similarly to 2012 — PPP's newest national poll continues to find the Presidential race shaping up pretty similarly to how the 2012 contest played out, with Hillary Clinton holding a 4 point lead that matches Barack Obama's final margin of victory last time around.

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Daily Mail:
Trump on top: Republican pulls ahead of Hillary Clinton by 4 points in shock poll after trailing by 5 a week ago

Discussion: Breitbart, Weasel Zippers, Infowars, Business Insider, Washington Times, Hot Air, Algemeiner.com, Guardian and The Gateway Pundit

Eliza Newlin Carney / American Prospect:
Don't Blame the Voters — Supporters of Republican presidential …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics

Nick Gass / Politico:

Democrats groan after Bill Clinton meets Loretta Lynch — Attorney General Loretta Lynch described her Monday meeting with Bill Clinton aboard a private plane as “primarily social,” but some Democrats are struggling to stomach the optics of the attorney general's meeting with the former president …

Julian Hattem / The Hill: Email story won't end for Clinton

Carrie Johnson / NPR:
Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Bill Clinton Met Amid Email Investigation

Discussion: New York Magazine, Scared Monkeys and Washington Free Beacon

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

GOP Senator Mike Lee Goes Off On Radio Host Who Asks Why He Hasn't Endorsed Trump — Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah delivered a forceful response when asked on Wednesday why he hasn't endorsed Donald Trump. — Lee chastised Trump for parroting conspiracy theories about Ted Cruz's father …

Discussion: Breitbart, The Atlantic, Politico, Hot Air, Business Insider, AOL, Raw Story, RedState and Talking Points Memo

Aram Roston / BuzzFeed:

Sources: Donald Trump Listened In On Phone Lines At Mar-A-Lago — Several workers said Trump used the equipment to secretly listen in on phone calls in the mid-2000s. — At Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach resort he runs as a club for paying guests and celebrities, Donald Trump …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Mediaite and The Week

Gray Rohrer / Sun-Sentinel:

Lawyer seeks federal bribery charges against Bondi over Trump donation — Bondi's office always claimed there wasn't enough evidence to make a case in the Trump Unviersity fraud scheme case. But columnist Scott Maxwell wondered how hard her staff worked to actually find any. … Privacy Policy

Discussion: Raw Story

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
New York Times reports plagiarism in Trump textbooks

Discussion: RedState, Daily Kos, The Real Deal New York, alan.com, Raw Story, Mother Jones and New York Times

NBC News:

After Saying He Forgave Loans to Campaign, Trump Won't Release Proof — When Donald Trump said last Thursday he was forgiving over $45 million in personal loans he made to his campaign, the announcement drew plenty of coverage. Many even reported Trump's statement as if the deal was done.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Balloon Juice

Max J. Rosenthal / Mother Jones:

The Trump Files: When Donald Was “Principal for a Day” and Confronted by a Fifth-Grader — Until the election, we're bringing you “The Trump Files,” a daily dose of telling episodes, strange-but-true stories, or curious scenes from the life of presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

New York Daily News: TRUMP KICKS IN CHUMP CHANGE

Lisa Hagen / The Hill:

Trump: Rivals who don't back me shouldn't be allowed to run for office — on Wednesday hammered his former primary rivals for going back on a pledge to back the eventual GOP presidential nominee. — Trump said his primary opponents who now refuse to support his candidacy should not be allowed …

Discussion: RedState

Sara Jerde / Talking Points Memo: Trump Says GOP Opponents Should Support Him Or Be Banned From Office

Liz Sly / Washington Post:

Islamic State routs Pentagon-backed Syrian rebels in fresh setback for U.S. strategy — IRBIL, Iraq — The U.S. military's efforts to confront the Islamic State in Syria suffered another setback Wednesday after the militants routed the only group to have survived intact an ill-fated Pentagon program …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Obama proposes new military partnership with Russia in Syria

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and Sputnik International

Irene / Judicial Watch:

Law Enforcement Sources: Gun Used in Paris Terrorist Attacks Came from Phoenix — One of the guns used in the November 13, 2015 Paris terrorist attacks came from Phoenix, Arizona where the Obama administration allowed criminals to buy thousands of weapons illegally in a deadly and futile …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Infowars, RedState, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, BizPac Review, The Gateway Pundit and Bearing Arms

Alan I. Abramowitz / Sabato's Crystal Ball:

Donald Trump, Partisan Polarization, and the 2016 Presidential Election — Recent presidential elections in the United States have been characterized by sharp divisions between Democrats and Republicans on a wide range of issues along with high levels of party loyalty and straight-ticket voting.

Discussion: Mother Jones

Seth Abramovitch / Hollywood Reporter:

Nancy Grace to Depart HLN After 12 Years (Exclusive) — EMAIL ME — One of cable's most recognizable and controversial figures tells THR she will embark upon a new chapter involving “a very large digital component.” — Nancy Grace, who parlayed her stint as a successful prosecutor …

Discussion: CNNMoney, Politico, Full Feed and Mediaite

New York Times:

Chris Christie Becomes Powerful Figure in Donald Trump Campaign — Defeated by Donald J. Trump in the 2016 primaries and derided by fellow Republicans for his subsequent embrace of Mr. Trump, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has quietly emerged as one of the most influential advisers …

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Trump's Pennsylvania campaign is missing in action — Nearly everyone can agree that Donald Trump's path to the White House goes through Pennsylvania. — But local party leaders in some of the state's most pivotal counties say there's been almost no outreach from his campaign so far …

Discussion: Philly.com, The Week and Raw Story