memeorandum: Donald Trump Selects Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General (New York Times)

1:25 PM ET, November 18, 2016

Top Items:

Donald Trump Selects Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General — WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump has selected Senator Jeff Sessions, a conservative from Alabama who became a close adviser after endorsing him early in his campaign, to be the attorney general of the United States …

New York Times:

Michael Flynn, Anti-Islamist Ex-General, Offered Security Post, Trump Aide Says — WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump has offered the post of national security adviser to Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, potentially putting a retired intelligence officer who believes Islamist militancy poses …

Bloomberg:

Jeff Sessions Said to Be Trump's Pick for Attorney General — Alabama lawmaker was an early and ardent Trump supporter — Sessions was also under consideration for Defense secretary — President-elect Donald Trump has settled on Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Monthly, Politico, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Geller Report, The Week, Political Wire and Instapundit

Elise Viebeck / Washington Post:

Trump chooses Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general, Rep. Mike Pompeo for CIA director — President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that he plans to nominate Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) as CIA director, the first selections to his Cabinet …

Discussion: Power Line, ABC News, Gothamist, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, New York Magazine and Washington Free Beacon

James Hohmann / Washington Post:

The Daily 202: Trump poised to learn the Pottery Barn rule of governing — THE BIG IDEA: — A more apt reference, especially after Trump's inauguration, might be the Pottery Barn Rule. Colin Powell popularized this doctrine in the foreign policy context.

Michael Isikoff / Yahoo:

Michael Flynn, Trump's reported pick for national security adviser, sat in on intel briefings — while advising foreign clients — Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who has reportedly been offered the role of national security adviser in Donald Trump's White House, began receiving classified …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Politico, The Intercept, Business Insider, Washington Free Beacon, Daily Kos, The Last Refuge and The Daily Caller

Steve Holland / Reuters:
Trump picks conservative loyalists for attorney general, CIA

Discussion: Hot Air and Talking Points Memo

New York Times:
Mike Pompeo Is Trump's Choice as C.I.A. Director

Discussion: The Nation, Common Dreams and Hit & Run

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Trump National Security Adviser Pick Michael Flynn Has Medals — and Baggage

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CNBC, RT, Washington Post, Right Wing Watch, Daily Kos, Media Matters for America, The Week and NBC News

McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo, an Army veteran, will become Trump's CIA director

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Week, RT, Guardian and Towleroad

CNN:
Sessions dogged by old allegations of racism

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, The Week, Joe.My.God. and New York Times

CNN:
Michael Flynn's son and chief of staff pushed conspiracy theories, obscene memes online

Discussion: Jezebel

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:
Trump Team Dodges On Anti-Muslim, Racist Comments From Flynn, Sessions

Discussion: The Week and Right Wing Watch

Ryan J. Reilly / The Huffington Post:
Jeff Sessions Was Deemed Too Racist To Be A Federal Judge. He Might Become Trump's Attorney General.

Discussion: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, Common Dreams, Above the Law, CNN, ImmigrationProf Blog, The New Civil Rights Movement, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Independent Journal Review

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Trump taps Sessions for attorney general, Pompeo for CIA

Discussion: NBC News, Just Security, ABC News and twitchy.com

Caleb Howe / RedState:
BREAKING: Trump Makes His Attorney General Pick!

Discussion: ABC News, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and TheBlaze

Kenneth Lovett / New York Daily News:

President-elect Donald Trump nearing settlement in Trump University fraud case — ALBANY — In a complete turnaround from his previous position, President-elect Donald Trump is nearing a settlement of the fraud cases brought in New York and California involving his now defunct for-profit Trump University, the Daily News has learned.

Discussion: ABC News, Mother Jones, RedState, CNBC, Jezebel, The New Civil Rights Movement, TheBlaze, Law News and Raw Story

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
Source: Trump nearing settlement in Trump University fraud cases

Discussion: Politico

Jim Tankersley / Washington Post:

Trump just took credit for stopping Ford from moving a plant to Mexico. But it wasn't planning to. — President-elect Donald Trump claimed credit on Thursday for keeping a Ford plant in Kentucky from moving to Mexico. But the company never planned to move the entire plant, only one of its production lines.

Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:
Donald Trump Takes Credit for Helping to Save a Ford Plant That Wasn't Closing

Discussion: Washington Post, Reuters, Courier-Journal, CNBC, Gothamist, Associated Press, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, The New Civil Rights Movement, NPR, Boing Boing, Daily Wire, alan.com and Politicus USA

David Shepardson / Reuters:
Ford tells Trump no Lincoln SUV production going to Mexico

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Vox, Politico, Politicus USA, AOL and Hot Air

The Independent:

Chaos, projectile shoes at Kanye show as he give pro-Trump speech — Kanye West has always been something of a provocateur and a nihilist, and is staunchly anti-political correctness. Last night he stirred a maybe unprecedented level of controversy, however, declaring at a Saint Pablo Tour show …

Discussion: Daily Wire, mrctv.org/videos and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

CNN:
Kanye West: I didn't vote but if I did, ‘I would have voted for Trump’

Mark Lilla / New York Times:

The End of Identity Liberalism — It is a truism that America has become a more diverse country. It is also a beautiful thing to watch. Visitors from other countries, particularly those having trouble incorporating different ethnic groups and faiths, are amazed that we manage to pull it off.

David Remnick / New Yorker:

Obama's Days of Reckoning … The morning after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, Barack Obama summoned staff members to the Oval Office. Some were fairly junior and had never been in the room before. They were sombre, hollowed out, some fighting tears …

Discussion: RedState, Business Insider, New Century Times, BizPac Review, AOL, New York Magazine, Jezebel, TheBlaze, Mediaite and The Verge

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Ivanka Trump, Expected To Run Father's Business, Also Met With Japanese Prime Minister — A CNN reporter deleted a tweet on Thursday evening that included a picture of President-elect Donald Trump's meeting with Japan's prime minister — but not before several people noticed that it showed that Trump's daughter Ivanka was in the room.

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:
Japan's Abe on US mission to ‘build trust’ with Donald Trump

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, War in Context, USNI News and Reuters

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

The Democrats' Real Turnout Problem — Barack Obama's two victories created the impression of a strong wind at the back of the Democratic Party. Its constituencies — the young, the nonwhite, the college educated — were not only growing but were also voting in increasing numbers.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Burgess Everett / Politico:

GOP could nuke filibuster for Supreme Court nominees — Top Senate Republicans are drawing a hard line on the Supreme Court, guaranteeing that no matter what tactics Democrats deploy, they will be forced to swallow Donald Trump's imminent nominee to the high court.

Discussion: The Progressive Pulse, The Week and Political Wire

Reid Wilson / The Hill:

Dems hit new low in state legislatures — The Democratic Party will hit a new nadir in state legislative seats after suffering more losses in November's elections, highlighting the devastation up and down the party across the nation. — Republicans will control 4,170 state legislative seats …

Michael Gerstein / Detroit News:

Michigan electors cite threats over Trump vote — Michael Banerian wants to show that young adults still have faith in the political system, but he said his selection as one of Michigan's 16 Electoral College voters has prompted emails urging him to vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton and even threatening death.