memeorandum: What It Really Means to Be a ‘Friend of Putin’ (Julia Ioffe/Politico)

11:00 PM ET, December 10, 2016

Top Items:

Andrea Mitchell / NBC News:

Rex Tillerson of ExxonMobil Expected to Be Named Trump's Secretary of State: Sources — NBC News: Trump chooses Secy of State 2:55 — Donald Trump is expected to nominate ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, two sources close to the transition process told NBC News on Saturday.

Julia Ioffe / Politico:

What It Really Means to Be a ‘Friend of Putin’ — In June 2008, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson attended the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Russia's answer to Davos, its way of showing itself to the world as the kind of economic powerhouse that can attract executives like Rex Tillerson to its banquets.

Rebecca Morin / Politico:

McCain: Tillerson relationship with Putin a ‘matter of concern’ — Sen. John McCain said Saturday that the relationship between Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump's leading candidate for secretary of state, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “matter of concern” to him.

Discussion: TheBlaze

Harper Neidig / The Hill:

Trump picks Exxon CEO Tillerson for secretary of State: report — has selected Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his nominee for secretary of State, NBC News reported Saturday. — Tillerson had reportedly jumped to the front of the pack of candidates in recent days, despite not being mentioned on shortlists as recently as last week.

Discussion: EgbertoWillies.com, Mediaite, ABC News, reverbpress.com, Politicus USA, Business Insider, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Talking Points Memo and Wall Street Journal

Harper Neidig / The Hill:

McCain: Tillerson ties to Putin a ‘matter of concern’ — (R-Ariz.) said Saturday he has concerns about the possibility of Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson being nominated for secretary of State, given his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. — “I don't know what Mr. Tillerson's relationship …

Discussion: alan.com and ThinkProgress

New York Times:
Rex Tillerson, Exxon Chief, Is Expected to Be Pick for Secretary of State

Discussion: The Guardian

MSNBC:
NBC News: Trump chooses Tillerson for Secy of State

Discussion: Business Insider, The Last Refuge, DeSmogBlog, Hot Air, WCMH-TV and BizPac Review

Andrea Mitchell / NBC News:
Rex Tillerson of Exxon Mobil Expected to Be Named Trump's Secretary of State: Sources

Discussion: Daily Kos, Patterico's Pontifications and Political Wire

Steve Holland / Reuters:
Trump likely to name Exxon CEO secretary of state: source

Discussion: Infowars

Steven Mufson / Washington Post:
Trump expected to pick ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state

Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story

CBS News:
Rex Tillerson is Donald Trump's leading candidate for secretary of state

Discussion: CBS New York

New York Times:
Exxon Mobil Chief Rises as Trump's Choice for Secretary of State

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Common Dreams and The Huffington Post

Lauren Duca / Teen Vogue:

Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America — In this scorched-earth op-ed, Lauren Duca takes on Trump's systematic attempts to destabilize the truth and weaken the foundation of American freedom. — The CIA officially determined that Russia intervened in our election, and President-elect Donald …

Discussion: Raw Story

The Daily Beast:

How Russian Hackers Can Blackmail Donald Trump—and the GOP — Former and current U.S. national security officials and experts say that if it is true that the Russian government possesses documents belonging to the Republican National Committee, Donald Trump's incoming administration may be the most compromised in U.S. history.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, The Daily Caller, RedState, Mediaite, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Techdirt, NBC News, The Week and The Last Refuge

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

Trump, Mocking Claim That Russia Hacked Election, at Odds with G.O.P. — WASHINGTON — An extraordinary breach has emerged between President-elect Donald J. Trump and the national security establishment, with Mr. Trump mocking American intelligence assessments that Russia interfered …

Discussion: Politicus USA

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trump, McConnell, Putin, and the Triumph of the Will to Power

Discussion: Politico, Occupy Democrats, Washington Post, reverbpress.com, Hot Air, Althouse, Independent Journal Review, Daily Kos, BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, BizPac Review, The Guardian, Taylor Marsh and The Reality-Based Community

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Intel world struggles to crack the code of an untrusting Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, alan.com, Daily Kos, Diane Ravitch's blog and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Daniel Politi / Slate:
How Mitch McConnell Prevented Stronger Action Against Russian Election Meddling

Discussion: Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Hot Air, Occupy Democrats and Lawyers, Guns & Money

William Cummings / USA Today:
Trump bashes CIA, dismisses Russian hacking report

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The CIA concluded that Russia worked to elect Trump. Republicans now face an impossible choice.

Discussion: The Intercept, Informed Comment, Liberal Values, The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Mother Jones, Power Line, Occupy Democrats, Politicus USA, Engadget and The Gateway Pundit

Richard Rainey / New Orleans Times-Picayune:

John Kennedy defeats Foster Campbell for Louisiana's open U.S. Senate seat — Donald Trump thanks supporters and rallys for John Kennedy in Baton Rouge rally — Donald Trump and US Senate candidate John Kennedy wave to supporters during a Get Out the Vote rally Friday, December 9 …

Thomas Gibbons-Neff / Washington Post:

Louisiana Republican wins final unsettled U.S. Senate race — John N. Kennedy of Louisiana has prevailed in the final U.S. Senate contest of 2016, beating out Democrat Foster Campbell for the seat being vacated by David Vitter (R). — Shortly after the polls closed, the Associated Press projected Kennedy the winner.

Discussion: The Last Refuge

Associated Press:
Louisiana Runoff to Decide Nation's Last Congressional Seats

Discussion: Politico

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

Heitkamp is Trump's top choice for Agriculture secretary: report — (D-N.D.) has emerged as President-elect Donald Trump — 's top choice for Agriculture secretary, Politico reported Saturday. — Heitkamp joining Trump's administration would require a special election to fill her Senate seat, which could flip to a Republican.

Discussion: alan.com, RedState and Politico

Jenny Hopkinson / Politico:
Heitkamp tops Trump's list for agriculture secretary

Discussion: Political Wire and The Hill

Melanie Zanona / The Hill:

Senate Dem blocks own bill over California drought language — was expecting to score one final legislative victory with a major water resources package just before the holidays. — But the California Democrat instead got what she would consider a lump of coal: a last-minute policy rider …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Los Angeles Times

Michael Kinsley / Washington Post:

Donald Trump is actually a fascist — Michael Kinsley is a columnist for Vanity Fair magazine and a contributing columnist for The Post. — Donald Trump is a fascist. — When you call somebody a fascist, you can mean any number of things. Often, it means no more than “somebody I don't like.”

Discussion: Balloon Juice