memeorandum: Who pays for Trump's contempt for ethics? USA. USA. USA. (USA Today)

9:35 AM ET, November 17, 2017

Top Items:

Josh Meyer / Politico:

Papadopoulos claimed Trump phone call and larger campaign role — George Papadopoulos claimed last year that Donald Trump telephoned him to discuss his new position as a foreign policy adviser to his presidential campaign and that the two had at least one personal introductory meeting that the White House has not acknowledged.

Wall Street Journal:

Special Counsel Mueller Issued Subpoena for Russia-Related Documents From Trump Campaign Officials — Senate committee also pressures Kushner lawyer to turn over more documents — Special counsel Robert Mueller's team in mid-October issued a subpoena to President Donald Trump's campaign …

Discussion: New York Times, CNBC, WQAD-TV, NPR, Politicus USA, IJR, Shareblue Media, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

BUCKLE UP: A crazy December is ahead — WH wants 44B more in disaster aid — TRUMP on ‘Frankenstien’: ‘Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps?’ — MATT BRAVO to S-3 - B'DAY: Jarrod Agen — DRIVING THE DAY — BET YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT THIS TODAY — BULLETIN at 5:06 a.m. …

Discussion: Variety and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Papadopoulos told reporters he had larger campaign role: report

Discussion: RedState and Political Wire

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Kushner got emails about WikiLeaks, Russia in 2016, lawmakers say

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Washington Post, CNN, ABC News, IJR, Associated Press, Norton Rose Fulbright, Axios and Mother Jones

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:

Franken Should Go — Oh no, not Al Franken, too. — Before Thursday, I'd hoped Franken would run for president in 2020. A hugely gifted communicator with entertainment chops, he seemed well suited to take on Donald Trump, assuming the demagogic showman seeks re-election.

Discussion: CNN, Whatever Source Derived, Mother Jones and bizpacreview.com

Brian Maloney / Media Equalizer:
Melanie Morgan: After TV appearance, Al Franken harassed me too

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Trump, a Veteran of Sexual Harassment Accusations, Scolds Franken

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Steven Nelson / Washington Examiner:
Two prominent Minnesota Democrats call on Al Franken to resign

Discussion: Washington Post, Townhall.com, Megan Thomas, bizpacreview.com, Business Insider, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, Media Equalizer and Slate

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:

Gillibrand Says Bill Clinton Should Have Resigned Over Lewinsky Affair — WASHINGTON — Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, who holds Hillary Clinton's former seat, said on Thursday that Bill Clinton should have resigned the presidency after his inappropriate relationship with an intern came to light nearly 20 years ago.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, National Review, Business Insider, Washington Times, bizpacreview.com, Political Wire, twitchy.com, Power Line, The Daily Caller, Politico, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon and AOL

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line: It wasn't “the times” that caused feminists to give Bill Clinton a pass

David Wasserman / The Cook Political Report:

House: Ratings Changes in Seven Districts as GOP Majority in Peril — If it wasn't already clear, last Tuesday's election results confirmed a political atmosphere that would seriously endanger the House GOP's majority in 2018. In Virginia, turnout was up 20 percent over 2013 in localities won …

Discussion: New York Magazine and Weekly Standard

Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report: A Wave Is a Comin'

Christal Hayes / Yahoo:

Republican Tax Bill Gives Private Jet Owners a Tax Break — If you're one of the lucky Americans who owns a private jet, don't fret. Republicans have your back—in the form of tax breaks. — The new Senate tax bill will give those who own or lease private planes breaks on the amount …

Discussion: Washington Post and Hit & Run

New York Times:
A Tax-Cut Bill to Make Scrooge McDuck Proud

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Philly.com, Vox and Tax Foundation

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
Commentary: Senate Tax Bill Revisions Make Its Fundamental Tradeoffs …

Discussion: New York Times

New York Times:
House Passes Tax Bill, as Does Senate Panel

Discussion: New York Magazine, Hit & Run, CNBC, KFOR-TV, Washington Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NBC News, The Root, The Daily Signal, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Bangor Daily News, Towleroad, Outside the Beltway, Politico, East Bay Times, Washington Free Beacon and Mediaite

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:

Fox News Bans Kiss Frontman Gene Simmons for Life … Kiss frontman Gene Simmons—until this week, a favorite guest on Fox News and Fox Business Network programs, which couldn't get enough of his supposedly outrageous rock-star antics mixed with conservative politics—has been banned for life from the right-leaning cable channels.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Guardian, bizpacreview.com, Mediaite, Raw Story and RedState

CNN:

Homeland Security's head of community outreach once said blacks turned cities to ‘slums’ with ‘laziness, drug use and sexual promiscuity’ — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)The head of faith-based and neighborhood partnerships at the Department of Homeland Security has said in the past …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, New York Times, TheBlaze, Mediaite, Axios and Raw Story

Eli Rosenberg / Washington Post:
Republican appointee resigns from the DHS after past comments about blacks, Muslims come to light

Discussion: Politico

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN: Homeland Security's head of community outreach resigns over past controversial comments on black community, Islam

NBC News:

Does cooperating witness have info on Flynn tie to Turkey? — A gold trader who is close to Turkish President Recep Erdogan is now cooperating with federal prosecutors in a money-laundering case, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter, and legal experts say prosecutors …

Ryan Goodman / Just Security:
Turkey on Valentine's Day: Did Trump Obstruct Investigation of Flynn as a Foreign Agent?

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Jones leads Moore by 8 points in Alabama Senate race — Alabama voters want a candidate who will represent their state with honor — and they think Doug Jones has strong moral character and Roy Moore doesn't. That gives the Democrat the lead in the U.S. Senate race.

Discussion: Politicus USA, Shareblue Media, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider and RedState

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Fox News poll: Obama has higher favorability in Alabama than Trump

Discussion: TheBlaze, Politicus USA and Joe.My.God.

Michael Gerson / Washington Post:

The Russia investigation's spectacular accumulation of lies — I spent part of my convalescence from a recent illness reading some of the comprehensive timelines of the Russia investigation (which indicates, I suppose, a sickness of another sort). One, compiled by Politico …

Marc Caputo / Politico:

‘A lot of boob stuff:’ Fla. Democratic Party chair apologizes after six women complain of ‘demeaning’ behavior — TALLAHASSEE — Six former Florida Democratic Party staffers and consultants say that current party chairman Stephen Bittel has created an unprofessional workplace environment …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and Florida Politics

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

At conservative conference, Neil Gorsuch cracks joke about frozen trucker nearly left to die — During Neil Gorsuch's confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court seat Senate Republicans held open for a year until Donald Trump could fill it, the judge was dogged by questions about a case …

Bloomberg:

The Questionable Math Behind Manafort's Extravagant Home Renovations — The former Trump campaign chief is accused of laundering millions of dollars in foreign payments to live it up in the Hamptons. But what about the huge gap between funds he transferred to contractors and what the jobs were supposed to cost?

Discussion: emptywheel

Brian Slodysko / Associated Press:

Indiana candidate's DC-area home complicates Senate campaign — INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A campaign stop for Rep. Luke Messer in his bid for Senate involves traveling from his family's home in suburban Washington back to Indiana, where he typically stays overnight with his mom.

The Daily Beast:

Free Press Group Ready to Cut Off WikiLeaks … In the heat of the presidential election campaign last year, Xeni Jardin, a journalist and free speech advocate, developed a sickening feeling about WikiLeaks. — Jardin had been a supporter of the radical transparency group since at least 2010 …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, emptywheel and The Atlantic, more at Mediagazer »

Tucker Higgins / CNBC:

Russian ambassador says he won't name all the Trump officials he's met with because ‘the list is so long’ — Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak said it would take him more than 20 minutes to name all of the Trump officials he's met with. — Kislyak made the remarks in a sprawling interview …

Discussion: The Hill, Axios, Mediaite and Washington Post

CNN:

Keystone Pipeline leaks 210,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota — (CNN)A total of 210,000 gallons of oil leaked Thursday from the Keystone Pipeline in Marshall County, South Dakota, the pipeline's operator, TransCanada, said. — Crews shut down the pipeline Thursday morning and officials are investigating the cause of the leak.

Discussion: KABY-TV, CleanTechnica, Daily Kos, Politicus USA, Washington Post, KTLA, BuzzFeed, IJR and New York Magazine

Knoxville News-Sentinel:

Two hurt in accidental shooting at East Tenn. church during discussion on church shootings — A man accidentally shot himself and his wife at an East Tennessee church on Thursday while he was showing off his gun during a discussion on recent church shootings, police said.

Discussion: WNCN, The Root and Raw Story

Diane Herbst / People.com:

Donald Trump's Sexual Assault Accusers Demand Justice in the #MeToo Era: ‘We Were Forgotten’ — The recent accusations of sexual misconduct against a long list of powerful men in Hollywood and other industries have been widely believed — and led to resignations, loss of careers and other fallout.

Discussion: Jezebel and Mediaite

USA Today:

Who pays for Trump's contempt for ethics? USA. USA. USA. — A USA Today report finds taxpayers are footing the legal bills for lawyers working on lawsuits related to President Trump's businesses. Nathan Rousseau Smith (@FantasticMrNate) reports. Buzz60

Discussion: Shareblue Media

Amanda Robb / Rolling Stone:

Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal — Inside the web of conspiracy theorists, Russian operatives, Trump campaigners and Twitter bots who manufactured the ‘news’ that Hillary Clinton ran a pizza-restaurant child-sex ring … The revelations overcame Edgar Maddison Welch like a hallucinatory fever.