memeorandum: Holiday movie preview 2017: ‘Justice League,’ ‘I, Tonya,’ ‘Mudbound’ and more (Los Angeles Times)

8:15 AM ET, November 4, 2017

Top Items:

Trump Campaign Adviser Met With Russian Officials in 2016 — WASHINGTON — Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump presidential campaign, met Russian government officials during a July 2016 trip he took to Moscow, according to testimony he gave on Thursday to the House Intelligence Committee.

Discussion: Business Insider, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Longtime Trump bodyguard to face questions about 2013 Moscow trip — One of President Trump's most trusted confidants, a security chief who served as his sounding board for two decades, will face questions from congressional investigators next week about Trump's 2013 trip to Moscow, according to people familiar with their plans.

Discussion: Politico and Shareblue Media

Associated Press:

Inside story: How Russians hacked the Democrats' emails — WASHINGTON (AP) — It was just before noon in Moscow on March 10, 2016, when the first volley of malicious messages hit the Hillary Clinton campaign. — The first 29 phishing emails were almost all misfires.

Discussion: Business Insider, Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, emptywheel, Balloon Juice, Engadget, Viking Pundit, CBS Miami, Raw Story, Shakesville and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:

Memo Reveals Details of Hillary Clinton-DNC Deal — WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee struck a deal with Hillary Clinton in 2015 that gave her campaign input on some party hiring and spending decisions, but required they be related only to preparations for the general election, according to a memo obtained by NBC News.

Discussion: The Root, Business Insider, CANNONFIRE, BuzzFeed, The Daily Banter, Nick Merrill, Esquire and Shadowproof

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Corker knocks Trump over ‘totally inappropriate’ Justice Department remarks — (R-Tenn.) is firing back at President Trump over his push for the Justice Department to investigate Democrats and Hillary Clinton — “President Trump's pressuring of the Justice Department and FBI to pursue cases …

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:
President Trump doesn't know if he'd fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Benjamin Siegel / ABC News:
Sen. Franken: Sessions either has ‘terrible memory’ or ‘is deliberately not telling me the truth’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Shareblue Media, Raw Story and Mediaite

Zeke Miller / Associated Press:
Trump pushes DOJ on Clinton, won't rule out firing Sessions

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Bush 41 and Bush 43 Worry Trump Is Blowing Up the G.O.P. — WASHINGTON — President Trump is not a favorite in the extended Bush household. Former President George Bush considers him a “blowhard,” only interested in feeding his own ego. Former President George W. Bush, his son …

Discussion: bizpacreview.com

NBC News:

Papadopoulos Repeatedly Represented Trump Campaign, Record Shows — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has downplayed the role of foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos during the 2016 presidential campaign. But the public record shows that Papadopoulos, who attempted to set …

Discussion: Politico, Foreign Policy, USA Today, RedState, Business Insider, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo and Salon

Lisa Friedman / New York Times:

U.S. Report Says Humans Cause Climate Change, Contradicting Top Trump Officials — WASHINGTON — Directly contradicting much of the Trump administration's position on climate change, 13 federal agencies unveiled an exhaustive scientific report on Friday that says humans are the dominant cause …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller, Splinter, IJR, New York Magazine, The Atlantic and The Daily Banter

Steven E. Koonin / Wall Street Journal:
A Deceptive New Report on Climate

Discussion: Hit & Run and The Daily Caller

Washington Post:
Trump administration releases report finding ‘no convincing alternative explanation’ for climate change

Discussion: New York Times and The Slot

BuzzFeed:

Netflix Is Cutting Ties With Kevin Spacey After Sexual Misconduct Allegations — The streaming service issued an ultimatum Friday night, saying it will no longer be involved with House of Cards if the series includes Spacey. — Netflix has cut ties with actor Kevin Spacey after a series of allegations of sexual misconduct.

Discussion: RedState, TheBlaze and VICE, more at Mediagazer »

Variety:
‘House of Cards’ Producers Consider Killing Off Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood (EXCLUSIVE)

Discussion: Axios, The Week, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, CBS New York, KTLA, NBC News, Mediaite and The Atlantic, more at Mediagazer »

Hazel Cills / Jezebel:

Former ‘Male Feminist’ Columnist Faces Multiple Allegations of Assault — On October 6, Helen Donahue, who previously worked as a social media editor for Vice and also wrote for the website, posted photos of bruises on her upper body, neck, and face to Twitter. “sux men in media hate women …

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

Bots stoke racial strife in Virginia governor's race — Twitter bots are swarming into the Virginia governor's race and promoting chatter about a racially charged Democratic ad days before Election Day, according to a report commissioned by allies of Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam's campaign.

Discussion: Raw Story

Dr. Harry Wilson / Roanoke College: RC Poll: Northam and Gillespie deadlocked; Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General races also tied

Hamilton Nolan / New York Times:

A Billionaire Destroyed His Newsrooms Out of Spite — Reporters, for all their flaws, tend to understand what's happening in their own newsrooms. It's their job to try to see things clearly. Often, what they see in their workplaces is low salaries, inept management and poor communication …

Discussion: NPR, AOL, The Gateway Pundit, Instapundit and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »

CBS News:

Source who is being examined by special counsel: “It's every man for himself” — Less than a week after two top former Trump campaign officials were indicted and another adviser to the campaign had already pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, the pressure on others under scrutiny appears to be growing.

Discussion: Raw Story

The Hill:

GOP predicts few defections on tax vote — A day after rolling out their tax-reform bill, House Republicans on Friday appeared bullish they would soon pass the first overhaul of the U.S. tax system in more than three decades. — “It's a layup,” Rep. Kevin Cramer

Discussion: Instapundit and Daily Kos

Erik Wasson / Bloomberg: House Tax-Cut Plan Hurtles Toward Senate Roadblock

Alexandra Glorioso / Politico:

Six women accuse Florida Senate budget chair Latvala of groping, sexual harassment — TALLAHASSEE — Six women who work in Florida's Capitol say the state Senate's powerful budget chairman, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Latvala, has inappropriately touched them without their consent …

Discussion: Political Wire, Ledger, Raw Story, Tampa Bay Times and WFLA-TV

Variety:

WME's Adam Venit on Leave Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations Involving Actor Terry Crews (EXCLUSIVE) — Adam Venit, the longtime head of WME's motion picture group, is on leave from the agency as it probes an allegation of sexual harassment involving actor Terry Crews.

Discussion: twitchy.com and The Root

Lizzie O'Leary / thecut:

The Things I Shrugged Off Then Horrify Me Now — What do you do when the big bank CEO calls your hotel room at 11 p.m.? — We were at the same resort for a conference. We were friendly but why did he need to know what I was doing at that hour? How did he even get my room number?

Julia Manchester / The Hill:

One of US soldiers killed in Niger may have been kidnapped: report — One of the four U.S. soldiers who was killed in a deadly ambush in Niger last month may have been captured by Islamist militants, Nigerian military sources tell CBS News. — Army Sgt. LaDavid Johnson's body was found …

Associated Press:

On eve of Asia trip, Trump pays visit to Pearl Harbor — President Donald Trump paid a solemn visit to the memorial at Pearl Harbor, a sacred journey for a commander-in-chief about to depart on an Asia trip that will be shadowed by fears of another international conflict.

Discussion: Washington Post and ABC News

icc-cpi.int:

Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, regarding her decision to request judicial authorisation to commence an investigation into the Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan — Audio and video — Today, the Situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has been assigned …

Discussion: New York Times, NPR, Just Security and Al Jazeera English

Los Angeles Times:

Holiday movie preview 2017: ‘Justice League,’ ‘I, Tonya,’ ‘Mudbound’ and more — From escapist franchise fare to festival darlings and awards hopefuls, the holiday season features some of Hollywood's most diverse slate of movies. One of the busiest box-office periods of the year …

Discussion: Washington Post, Jezebel, Splinter and Mother Jones, more at Mediagazer »

John Solomon / The Hill:

Trump: I'll be proven innocent if Mueller treats ‘everything fairly’ — says that he is confident he'll be proven innocent in the Russia election meddling investigation if special counsel Robert Mueller treats “everything fairly.” — “Well I hope he's treating everything fairly …

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Judge proposes setting May 7 trial date for Manafort and Gates — A federal judge on Friday proposed a May 7 trial date for President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, another former campaign aide. — U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Vox and New York Magazine