memeorandum: When Hollywood Decided Mel Gibson Was Safe Again (Wall Street Journal)

12:40 PM ET, November 10, 2017

Top Items:

Ed Henry on Moore accusations: I'm not buying it — State Rep. Ed Henry lashed out at Roy Moore's accusers and Republicans who said the U.S. Senate candidate should back out of the special election in an interview Thursday evening with The Times. — Henry, R-Hartselle …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, National Review, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Emily McFarlan Miller / Religion News Service:

Conservatives defend Roy Moore — invoking Joseph, Mary and the Ten Commandments — RNS) — Conservative Christian supporters of Roy Moore are defending the U.S. Senate candidate against allegations of molesting a teenager decades ago — and one of them used the biblical story of Mary …

Nancy French / Washington Post:

What it's like to watch men like Roy Moore as a conservative and as a sex abuse survivor — I used to admire men like Roy Moore, because I loved everything about church — the off-key a cappella rendition of “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” the typos in the bulletin, the ladies who smelled …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Towleroad, The Gateway Pundit, Media Matters for America, The Daily Caller and Raw Story

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:

GOP senator asks to be taken off Moore fundraising appeals — (R-Utah) has requested to be removed from Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore's fundraising pitches after a Thursday report from the Washington Post detailed accusations of inappropriate sexual conduct between a 32-year-old Moore and a minor from decades ago.

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Axios

New York Times:
Sex Allegations Against Roy Moore Send Republicans Reeling

Philip Wegmann / Washington Examiner:
Alabama state auditor defends Roy Moore against sexual allegations, invokes Mary and Joseph

Alexi McCammond / Axios:
Mike Lee wants Roy Moore to stop using his image on fundraising ads

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications

Jonah Goldberg / National Review:
Saving Roy Moore Isn't Worth It

Discussion: CNN, New York Magazine, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, NBC News, Althouse, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, al.com, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Progressive Secular Humanist, RedState and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Brad Reed / Raw Story: Alabama GOP lawmaker: Roy Moore accusers should be prosecuted for not coming forward sooner

Kaili Joy Gray / Shareblue Media:
Breitbart editor: It's OK if Roy Moore is a pedophile because he was single at the time

Discussion: AOL, Business Insider and BuzzFeed

David French / National Review:
Conservatives, Don't Dismiss the Sexual Misconduct Claims Against Roy Moore

Discussion: RedState, KTLA, Washington Times, Business Insider, Boing Boing, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Power Line, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Mother Jones, The Atlantic and New York Times

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: As Roy Moore declines to step aside, a tale of two Republican parties emerges

Discussion: Raw Story, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, Mother Jones and Daily Kos

McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Moore allegations threaten to spark a GOP Senate crisis

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Politico, Shareblue Media, New York Times, Townhall.com, CNN and BillMoyers.com

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
This is what 44 seconds of GOP senators not responding to questions about Roy Moore sounds like

Discussion: The Guardian, Joe.My.God., www.wnyc.org, ABC News and Breitbart

Wall Street Journal:

Mueller Probes Flynn's Role in Alleged Plan to Deliver Cleric to Turkey — Under alleged plan, ex-Trump adviser and his son were to be paid millions to forcibly remove Fethullah Gulen from U.S. and deliver him to Turkish custody — WASHINGTON—Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating …

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo, New Republic, RedState, The Stranger …, Towleroad, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Axios and New York Magazine

NBC News:

Mueller Probing Possible Deal Between Turks, Flynn During Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON — Federal investigators are examining whether former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn met with senior Turkish officials just weeks before President Donald Trump's inauguration …

CNN:
Mueller interviews top White House aide

Discussion: Towleroad, Shareblue Media, Politico, RedState, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Raw Story and The Hill

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Flynn worried about son in Russia probe: CNN

Discussion: RedState, Fox News Insider, Balloon Juice, Washington Post and CNN

The Daily Beast:

Steve Bannon Advised Mark Cuban to Run in 2020 as a Democrat … As he publicly flirts with a run for the presidency in 2020, Mark Cuban has also privately been in touch with potential allies and strategists to plot out a campaign. — The Dallas Mavericks owner confirmed that he has corresponded …

Discussion: Axios, AOL, New York Magazine, Political Wire and CNBC

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Key Takeaways From Steve Bannon's Interview With The Times — Stephen K. Bannon, the executive chairman of Breitbart News and the former White House chief strategist, spoke with Jeremy W. Peters, a reporter for The New York Times, in a wide-ranging interview on Wednesday.

Jacqueline Alemany / CBS News:

Bannon compares Moore report to Trump Access Hollywood tape — MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE—At a speech in New Hampshire Thursday night, GOP strategist Steve Bannon compared the accusations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore to the release of President Trump's infamous “Access Hollywood” video during the 2016 election.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, MSNBC, The Hill, Daily Kos, Business Insider, CBS New York and Joe.My.God.

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Bannon compares Moore accusations to infamous Trump Access Hollywood tape

Discussion: New York Times

Brian Ross / ABC News:

Trump adviser claims he lied to FBI out of loyalty to Trump: Source — George Papadopoulos, the Trump foreign policy aide who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, initially misled agents out of what he claimed was loyalty to President Donald Trump, according to a person with direct knowledge of the investigation.

Discussion: Axios, Business Insider, AOL, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Ali Watkins / Politico:
Mysterious Putin ‘niece’ has a name

Discussion: Booman Tribune, CANNONFIRE, ABC News and Raw Story

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

White House bracing for another staff shakeup — Deputy chief of staff Rick Dearborn is expected to be reassigned to the Commerce Department or another federal agency. — The White House is bracing for another staff shakeup upon President Donald Trump's return from Asia …

Discussion: ABC News and Political Wire

David G. Savage / Los Angeles Times:

Trump judge nominee, 36, who has never tried a case, wins approval of Senate panel — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley discusses his panel's plans to move forward on President Trump's judicial nominees. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

Matt Zoller Seitz / Vulture:

Louis C.K. Is Done — Louis C.K. is done. — A New York Times investigation published today put names and specifics to unsourced stories that had been circulating for years, alleging that the filmmaker-performer pressured five female colleagues to watch or listen to him masturbate.

Discussion: thecut

Sandra Gonzalez / CNNMoney:
Louis CK allegations prompt action by HBO, FX

Discussion: KTLA and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

CBS News:

Aly Raisman says she was sexually abused by U.S. national team doctor — In an interview with 60 Minutes, the Olympic gold medalist says she spoke with FBI investigators after the Rio games — One of America's biggest Olympic stars has come forward to accuse the former U.S. women's gymnastics team doctor of sexual abuse.

Discussion: NPR, KTLA, NBC News, Mashable and IJR

Lindsey Adler / Deadspin:

Teen Girl Posed For 8 Years As Married Man To Write About Baseball And Harass Women — For the last eight years, baseball fan-turned-writer Becca Schultz has presented herself online as Ryan Schultz, a false identity she assumed when she was 13 years old, duping and harassing women on Twitter along the way.

Los Angeles Times:

Kevin Spacey's unprecedented fall from grace tests a stunned Hollywood — No other scandal has affected so many entertainment projects with such immediacy as the fall of Kevin Spacey (Nov. 10, 2017) — In early October, Kevin Spacey was right where he wanted to be: singing and hamming it up in front of an admiring crowd.

Discussion: Mashable and KTLA

Wall Street Journal:
When Hollywood Decided Mel Gibson Was Safe Again

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Craig Gilbert / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Rural Wisconsin voters swung for Trump and change, but found frustration — Rural counties in western Wisconsin have become difficult to predict politically. Richland County is one of 19 counties in the U.S. to vote for every winning president since 1980. Rick Wood and Craig Gilbert / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Hill:

Mounting GOP retirements threaten House majority — A retirement wave has hit House Republicans, emboldening Democrats who have become increasingly bullish about their prospects of winning back a majority in 2018. — House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte

CNN: There is a wave of Republicans leaving Congress