memeorandum: As Trump Leaves Press Behind for Steak Dinner, Incoming Admin Already Showing Lack of Transparency (NBC News)

11:40 AM ET, November 16, 2016

Top Items:

Donald Trump's Transition Team, Or Lack Thereof, Is Causing Real Panic — The self-proclaimed government outsider is having trouble finding people to run the government. — Senior Justice Reporter, The Huffington Post — WASHINGTON Donald Trump's transition team is nearing a state of stasis …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider, Real Clear Politics, CBS New York, Joe.My.God., Hullabaloo, RedState, New Century Times, Balloon Juice, Mediaite, Common Dreams, New York Magazine and Vox

Wall Street Journal:

Donald Trump's Transition Team Reshaped — Vice President-elect Mike Pence drops lobbyists; former Intelligence panel head Mike Rogers ousted — WASHINGTON—Another round of staff changes buffeted President-elect Donald Trump's transition team Tuesday amid resistance from within …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, RedState, Politico, New York Magazine, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, The American Conservative, Media Matters for America, The Daily Caller, The Resurgent, Hullabaloo, FiveThirtyEight, Joe.My.God., The Week, War in Context, Business Insider, Liberal Values and Cafe Hayek

Eliot A. Cohen / Washington Post:

I told conservatives to work for Trump. One talk with his team changed my mind. — Eliot A. Cohen is the author of the forthcoming “The Big Stick: The Limits of Soft Power and the Necessity of Military Force.” He served as counselor of the State Department from 2007 to 2009.

Discussion: Politico, Balkinization, The Atlantic and Mother Jones

Mark Abadi / Business Insider:

All lobbyists have been cut from Trump's transition team — Vice President-elect Mike Pence reportedly ordered the removal of all lobbyists from president-elect Donald Trump's transition team, The Wall Street Journal wrote on Tuesday night. — The decision was one of Pence's first since formally taking over the team's lead role.

Discussion: CNN, USA Today, KTLA, Vox Popoli, The New Civil Rights Movement, CBS Baltimore, AOL, The Times of Israel, New York Magazine, Washington Times, The Week, Mediaite and Guardian

Michael Falcone / ABC News:

The Note: Transition Turmoil — NOTABLES —LOW-LEVEL STAFFER REQUESTED SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR TRUMP'S KIDS: The Trump transition team is saying that a low-level staffer requested security clearances for three of Donald Trump's children, according to a top aide.

Discussion: Politico, CNNMoney, Washington Post and New York Magazine

Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo:

Trump Says Transition Is ‘Organized,’ Despite Reports Of Firings, Infighting — President-elect Donald Trump's transition process has been stalled by abrupt firings and infighting on the team tasked with selecting nominees for his administration posts, according to a Wednesday New York Times report.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Bloomberg, CNBC, Politico, Scared Monkeys and twitchy.com

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Here's How Bad It Is — Here are two paragraphs from a piece just out from The Washington Post you really need to read right now. … Here's the rest of the article. — Let's review. Michael Flynn was fired by the Obama administration. He cowrote a book with Michael Ledeen.

Discussion: Washington Post, The New Civil Rights Movement, Mother Jones, War in Context and The Talking Dog

Fox News:
Pence removing lobbyists from Trump transition team

Discussion: Townhall.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Resurgent and Wall Street Journal

Lisa Rein / Washington Post:
Trump gets to decide if his transition team will have a code of ethics

Discussion: Instapundit

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Key figures purged from Trump transition team

Discussion: Power Line and The Daily Caller

NBC News:
Donald Trump Requests Security Clearance for Son-in-Law Jared Kushner

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Week, Jezebel, Political Wire, The Hill and NBC News

ABC News:
Low-Level Staffer Requested Security Clearances for Trump's Kids: Sources

Discussion: Hot Air and RedState

New York Times:
Trump's Wild Ride With the Press as Transition Turmoil Continues

Discussion: WBAY-TV, Fox News Insider, The Huffington Post, CNNMoney, Guardian, LGBTQ Nation, Politicus USA, Associated Press, Mediaite, Patterico's Pontifications, Politico and Cleveland Weather, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:
Kushner at the center of Trump transition ‘infighting,’ sources say

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Electoral-vote.com, Mediaite and New Century Times

Jessica Guynn / USA Today:

Twitter suspends alt-right accounts — Twitter released a new set of tools on Tuesday that could finally stop the unregulated craziness that happens on Twitter. The ‘Mute Words’ feature gives the user the ability to mute certain words, phrases, hashtags, emojis, or usernames.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Mediaite, Gizmodo, Complex, The Week, New York Magazine and War in Context, more at Mediagazer »

Jonah Bennett / The Daily Caller:
Twitter Initiates Mass Purge Of Prominent Alt-Right Accounts Following Trump Victory

Discussion: Guardian, Politico, USA Today, Infowars, The Verge and Mashable

Brian Dowling / Boston Herald:

Weld calling ‘spoiler’ vote storyline bogus — Claims media to blame — Former Bay State Gov. William F. Weld disputed claims his Libertarian Party ticket stole Democratic votes handing the White House to Donald Trump, calling the “spoiler” narrative a “canard put out there by the mainstream media.”

Madeline Conway / Politico:
Bill Weld says he wasn't a spoiler

Discussion: RedState

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Obama: Trump and I ‘could not be more different’

Discussion: TheBlaze and The Week

Reuters:

Immigration hardliner says Trump team preparing plans for wall, mulling Muslim registry — An architect of anti-immigration efforts who says he is advising President-elect Donald Trump said the new administration could push ahead rapidly on construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall without seeking immediate congressional approval.

Discussion: alan.com, Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, CNBC, New York Magazine, The Week, New Century Times, The Daily Beast, Scripting News and Politico

Esther Yu Hsi Lee / ThinkProgress:

Trump policy adviser recommends national registry targeting Muslim immigrants — Allegations of racial and ethnic profiling helped to end the program in 2011. — Muslim immigrants coming into the United States from “terror-prone” countries may soon have to register and check in regularly …

Discussion: War in Context

NBC News:

As Trump Leaves Press Behind for Steak Dinner, Incoming Admin Already Showing Lack of Transparency — Donald Trump Ditches Press, Steps Out for Dinner 0:47 — In a highly unusual move, President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday night left his Manhattan residence without notifying …

Discussion: mrctv.org/videos, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, The Resurgent, Gothamist, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Infowars, The Gateway Pundit, Political Insider blog, New York Magazine, The Week, twitchy.com, ABC News and Heat Street

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Trump ditches press pool to go out to dinner

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, Politico, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, BizPac Review, Don Surber and RedState

Scott Clement / Washington Post:

Poll finds tempered optimism after Trump victory, but doubts about mandate … Americans emerged from President-elect Donald Trump's surprise victory in last week's election with passionate and polarized reactions, overall expressing tempered optimism about his presidency but unconvinced …

Discussion: The Week and Politico

Jamelle Bouie / Slate:

There's No Such Thing as a Good Trump Voter — People voted for a racist who promised racist outcomes. They don't deserve your empathy. — Donald Trump ran a campaign of racist demagoguery against Muslim Americans, Hispanic immigrants, and black protesters.

Discussion: Salon, Breitbart, FOX News Radio, The Resurgent, The American Conservative, Human Rights Campaign, The Federalist, The Geller Report, TheBlaze, Above the Law, Shakesville, Mediaite and FOX6Now.com

Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:

Ted Cruz Considered by Trump for Attorney General — Texas Senator ran unsuccessfully against Trump in primary — Trump gave Cruz the name ‘Lyin Ted’ during Republican contest — President-elect Donald Trump is considering nominating Texas Senator Ted Cruz to serve as U.S. attorney general …

Discussion: RedState, Dallas Morning News, Political Insider blog, Independent Journal Review, Daily Wire, The New Civil Rights Movement, The Geller Report, TheBlaze, The Week, McClatchy Washington Bureau and New York Magazine

Mark Hensch / The Hill:

Ivanka Trump's company apologizes for hawking interview jewelry — A business owned by Ivanka Trump apologized Tuesday for using a major interview to promote a bracelet that costs thousands of dollars. — After President-elect Donald Trump — and his family were interviewed on …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, alan.com, East Bay Times and AOL

Elizabeth Leonard / People.com:

Carrie Fisher Reveals She Had an Affair With Harrison Ford on Star Wars: ‘It Was So Intense’ — Carrie Fisher is finally going public with a secret she has guarded closely for 40 years: When she was 19, she and Harrison Ford, then a 33-year-old married father of two, had a whirlwind three-month affair …

Discussion: AOL, CBS New York, Mashable, Fox News Insider and Independent Journal Review

Bruce Blair / Politico:

Trump Could Face a Nuclear Decision Soon — I was the former nuclear missile launch officer who in October appeared in a TV advertisement for Hillary Clinton, saying: “The thought of Donald Trump with nuclear weapons scares me to death. It should scare everyone.”

Erin Kelly / USA Today:

Senate Democrats elect Chuck Schumer of New York as new minority leader — WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats voted Wednesday to elect gregarious, hard-charging New York Sen. Chuck Schumer as minority leader for the new Congress. — Schumer, who turns 66 next week, will replace 77-year-old Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada.

Discussion: Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Jim Mertens / WQAD-TV:

Davenport man loses bet, gets Donald Trump tattoo on lower back — DAVENPORT, Iowa - Zach Cobert supports Bernie Sanders but it's Donald Trump whose leaving the biggest imprint on his life. — “Oh my God, what am I doing here?” — Zach is settling a bet with a buddy.