memeorandum: GOP tax plan in trouble after Republican senator says he won't back it (Damian Paletta/Washington Post)

10:30 PM ET, November 15, 2017

Top Items:

Anna Claire Vollers / al.com:

New Roy Moore accuser: 'He didn't pinch it; he grabbed it' — A Gadsden woman says Roy Moore groped her while she was in his law office on legal business with her mother in 1991. Moore was married at that time. — In the past week, Moore has been accused by five other women of a range …

Washington Post:

Two more women describe unwanted overtures by Roy Moore at Alabama mall — Kayla McLaughlin, left, and Gena Richardson worked together at Sears in the late 1970s. The pair is seen in this image from 1977. Richardson says Roy Moore, then in his 30s, visited her at Sears and that Moore later called her school to ask her out.

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

NRSC poll: Moore trails Jones by 12 — Republican Roy Moore is trailing Democrat Doug Jones by 12 points in the Alabama special Senate election, according to a poll conducted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee after five women accused Moore of pursuing them as teenagers.

Discussion: The Hill, Shareblue Media, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, Politicus USA, TheBlaze, Fox News Insider and Axios

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Bannon sticking by Moore ‘through thick and thin’ — Steve Bannon is not backing away from Roy Moore, the controversial Alabama Senate candidate facing a slew of accusations that he had inappropriate sexual contact with teenagers. — Two sources close to the former White House chief strategist …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, al.com, RedState and dailyrushbo.com

Toi Thornton / WALA-TV:

Local pastor calls GOP “sissies” for asking Moore to “step aside” — A local pastor who supports Roy Moore is lashing out at the Republican Party tonight. The pastor is upset because some of Moore's fellow Republicans are calling for him to drop out of the Senate race.

Discussion: Slate, Washington Post, Breitbart, Weekly Standard, IJR, Joe.My.God., Mediaite and New York Post

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

GOP leaders weigh drastic plan to save Alabama Senate seat — The move, one one of several long-shot options under consideration, would seek to trigger a new election. — Republican leaders are exploring a dramatic remedy to salvage the Alabama Senate seat as fresh polling shows Roy Moore's prospects fading fast.

Discussion: ABC News, ThinkProgress, electionlawblog.org and Talking Points Memo

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Moore lawyer: Canadian MSNBC host's ‘background’ could help him understand dating minors

Discussion: RedState, Shareblue Media, ThinkProgress and Joe.My.God.

Leada Gore / al.com:
Roy Moore removes all endorsements from website; pastor letter remains

Discussion: Japan Times, Daily Kos, Shareblue Media and New York Magazine

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Bannon not backing down on Moore because he believes denials

Discussion: The Hill

David Edwards / Raw Story: MSNBC segment goes off the rails when Roy Moore attorney suggests Canadian Muslim host would date 14-year-old

CNN:
Trump takes cautious approach on Roy Moore

Discussion: Raw Story

Lauren Walsh / WBMA-TV:
Former Gadsden Mall employees share stories, concerns about Roy Moore

Discussion: Steve Deace and ThinkProgress

William S. Brewbaker III / New York Times:
Roy Moore and the Sorry State of Evangelical Politics

Discussion: IJR

Douglas Schoen / The Hill:
Jeff Sessions can save Republicans from Roy Moore mess in Alabama

Discussion: IJR, CNN and The Daily Caller

Siobhan Hughes / Wall Street Journal:

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson Opposes GOP Senate Tax Package — Wisconsin Republican says plan unfairly benefits corporations over other businesses, says he finds bill's process ‘offensive’ — WASHINGTON—Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) said he opposes the Senate Republican tax package …

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo, Axios, IJR, Business Insider, AOL, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic and Politico

Damian Paletta / Washington Post:

GOP tax plan in trouble after Republican senator says he won't back it — A key Senate Republican on Wednesday said he would not support the emerging GOP tax plan and another expressed major reservations about the bill, a thunderclap of trouble for party leaders as they attempt to use …

Discussion: Daily Kos, taxpolicycenter.org and FiveThirtyEight

Jennifer Haberkorn / Politico:
How Cotton brought Obamacare repeal back from the dead

Discussion: The Henry J. Kaiser …, Politicus USA, Bloomberg and New York Times

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
The GOP tax plan will be a massive political nightmare for Republicans

Discussion: New York Magazine, Vox, HuffPost and Washington Monthly

New York Times:
Tax Bill Thrown Into Uncertainty as First G.O.P. Senator Comes Out Against It

Discussion: Washington Post, Mother Jones, Shareblue Media and Refinery29

Alice Ollstein / Talking Points Memo:
Collins Warns GOP That Mandate Repeal Will Hike Premiums, Slam Middle Class

Discussion: New York Magazine

Sarah Kliff / Vox:
The day tax reform became Obamacare repeal

Discussion: Forbes and New York Times

Julian Borger / The Guardian:

Christopher Steele believes his dossier on Trump-Russia is 70-90% accurate — The respected ex-MI6 officer told Guardian journalist and author Luke Harding that his FBI contacts greeted his intelligence report with ‘shock and horror’ … Christopher Steele, the former British intelligence officer …

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller and Politicus USA

Luke Harding / The Guardian:

How Trump walked into Putin's web — oscow, summer 1991. Mikhail Gorbachev is in power. Official relations with the west have softened, but the KGB still assumes all western embassy workers are spooks. The KGB agents assigned to them are easy to spot. They have a method.

Discussion: Raw Story

CNN:
Fusion GPS co-founder: Steele didn't pay sources for dossier on Trump

Discussion: Raw Story

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider: ‘Dossier’ author Christopher Steele: Trump's hotel and land deals with Russians need to be examined

Peter Baker / New York Times:

‘What About Bill?’ Sexual Misconduct Debate Revives Questions About Clinton — WASHINGTON — Another woman went on national television this week to press her case of sexual assault by a powerful figure. But the accused was not Roy S. Moore or Harvey Weinstein or Donald J. Trump. It was Bill Clinton.

Discussion: Fox News Insider, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, Townhall.com, Business Insider and Fox News

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Bill Clinton should have resigned

Discussion: Business Insider, alicublog, Althouse, Politico, RedState, Washington Free Beacon and THE WARREN (HENRY) REPORT

Hot Air: Please, Democrats, No More Op-Eds About How Terribly Bill Clinton Behaved 20 Years After It Mattered

Catherine Lucey / Associated Press:

Ivanka Trump says child tax credit ‘not a pet project’ — BAYVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Yes, it turns out, there is something that chafes at the unflappable Ivanka Trump. — The presidential daughter and adviser, in a “full-blown sprint” as she sells the Republican tax overhaul plan and juggles …

Discussion: CNBC, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, AOL, The Daily Caller and Joe.My.God.

Betsy Klein / CNN:
Ivanka Trump slams Roy Moore: 'There's a special place in hell for people who prey on children'

Discussion: Raw Story

Josh Delk / The Hill:
Graham wants names of lawmakers accused of harassment

Discussion: Instapundit, IJR, Axios and Joe.My.God.

Chris Cillizza / CNN:

What Donald Trump's UCLA tweet reveals about him — Washington (CNN)Think about this: You've just spent nearly two weeks halfway around the world. You've spent most of the last 24 hours on a plane. Your body clock is somewhere between 12-14 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. You are 71 years old.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, ESPN, Fox News, Vox, Washington Post, New York Magazine, NewsBusters, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Bill Chappell / NPR:

Death Toll In California Shooting Rises To 6 After Police Find Body Of Gunman's Wife — Authorities in Northern California say a fifth person was killed by a man who went on a shooting rampage Tuesday. Police have discovered the dead body of the gunman's wife hidden beneath the floor at their rural home 120 miles north of Sacramento.

Discussion: Washington Post, KQED News, Sacramento Bee and IJR

Paige St. John / Los Angeles Times:
Rancho Tehama gunman killed his wife and hid her body under their home, authorities say

Discussion: KTLA, Washington Post, Mercury News, AOL, The Root and Business Insider

CNN:
Gunman in Northern California killed wife before going on rampage

Discussion: CBS San Francisco, Associated Press, The Atlantic, IJR, ABC News, ThinkProgress, RT, TheBlaze, KTLA, Bearing Arms and Axios

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

Inside the Breitbart Embassy, Where Steve Bannon Entertains Elites and Plots His Populist Takeover — When Steve Bannon was the chief strategist and senior counselor to President Donald Trump, he spent his days and often long into his nights in an office on the first floor of the West Wing …

Discussion: CNNMoney, Washington Post, Business Insider, Mediaite and Balloon Juice

Fred Barbash / Washington Post:

Fox News's Shepard Smith debunks his network's favorite Hillary Clinton ‘scandal,’ infuriates viewers — Fox News anchor Shepard Smith debunked what his own network has called the Hillary Clinton uranium “scandal,” infuriating Fox viewers, some of whom suggested that he ought to work for CNN or MSNBC.

Discussion: The Guardian, National Review, Associated Press, Mediaite, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Daily Kos, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, Shareblue Media, bizpacreview.com, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Ari Berman / Mother Jones:
Hillary Clinton on Trump's Special Counsel Threat: “This Is Such an Abuse of Power”

Discussion: Axios, Vox, Washington Post, Media Matters for America and The Atlantic

Brandy Zadrozny / The Daily Beast:

‘Unsafe and Just Plain Dirty’: Women Accuse Vice of ‘Toxic’ Sexual-Harassment Culture … In the summer of 2015, Phoebe Barghouty was 23 years old and had a new master's degree in journalism from Stanford—but little other experience—when she landed what most of her peers would consider a dream job …

Discussion: Deadline, The Daily Caller, Axios and Page Six, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Koch Brothers Said to Back Time Inc. Deal Talks With Meredith — Time Inc. is said to be in talks to sell itself to the Meredith Corporation, in a deal backed by Charles G. and David H. Koch, the billionaire brothers known for supporting conservative causes.

Robert Mackey / The Intercept:

We Knew Julian Assange Hated Clinton. We Didn't Know He Was Secretly Advising Trump. — The revelation that WikiLeaks secretly offered help to Donald Trump's campaign, in a series of private Twitter messages sent to the candidate's son Donald Trump Jr., gave ammunition to the group's …

Discussion: Raw Story, BillMoyers.com, VICE News and Indianapolis Star