memeorandum: Mueller might be the one who's ‘draining the swamp’ (Washington Post)

9:10 AM ET, November 25, 2017

Top Items:

Gardiner Harris / New York Times:

Diplomats Sound the Alarm as They Are Pushed Out in Droves — WASHINGTON — Of all the State Department employees who might have been vulnerable in the staff reductions that Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson has initiated as he reshapes the department, the one person who seemed least likely …

Discussion: Axios, The Last Refuge and Raw Story

Michelle Kosinski / CNN:

Tillerson's senior team planning to skip Ivanka Trump's India trip — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — A Senior State Department official told CNN: “They (Tillerson and his staff) won't send someone senior because they don't want to bolster Ivanka” — (CNN)Days ahead of what should be a major moment …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, RedState and Raw Story

Emily Goldberg / Politico:

Time says Trump is ‘incorrect’ after president says he rejected Person of the Year overture — President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday that Time called to tell him that he was “probably” going to be named the magazine's person of the year, but that he turned the offer down, an account Time later disputed.

Discussion: Associated Press, Althouse, The Hill, twitchy.com, ABC News, RT, NBC News, fox13now.com, AOL, Business Insider, Raw Story, RedState, Snopes.com, The Gateway Pundit, Deadline, Joe.My.God., Mashable, TheBlaze, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, Japan Times, Axios, CANNONFIRE, NPR, IJR, Big League Politics, The Last Refuge and Eschaton

CNN:

Trump tweets he ‘took a pass’ at being named TIME's person of the year — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN)President Donald Trump tweeted Friday that he turned down a potential offer to be TIME Magazine's coveted “Person of the Year” after, Trump says, the magazine told him he would “probably” be given the honors.

Discussion: New York Times, The Guardian, ThinkProgress, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Mediaite and ImmigrationProf Blog

Wall Street Journal:

Mueller Probe Looks at Mike Flynn's Work on Documentary Targeting Exiled Turkish Cleric — Special counsel focuses on links to Turkey as legal team's move signals possible cooperation with investigators — WASHINGTON—Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating former White House …

Discussion: Business Insider and Raw Story

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:

Michael Flynn is the key to the Russia scandal — and he may have just flipped on Trump — Michael Flynn, who served as President Trump's national security adviser for just 24 days before being cut loose, may be the key figure to unraveling the entire Russia scandal.

Discussion: Raw Story

Barbara McQuade / The Daily Beast:
If Flynn Is Cooperating With Mueller, Then Case Against Trump Gets Much More Serious

Discussion: Politico, Townhall.com, ThinkProgress, TheBlaze, The Last Refuge, Hullabaloo, NOQ Report, Washington Post, New York Magazine, emptywheel, Splinter, Raw Story, Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, Axios and Outside the Beltway

Victoria Guida / Politico:

Trump taps Mulvaney to head CFPB, sparking confusion over agency's leadership — President Donald Trump on Friday named White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, setting up a legal clash over who is in charge of the controversial agency.

Discussion: The Intercept, Mother Jones, New York Times, The Daily Caller and Washington Monthly

Washington Post:

Mueller might be the one who's ‘draining the swamp’ — President Trump famously promised that, if elected president, he would “drain the swamp” — upending the culture in Washington that favors the well-connected. — It is special counsel Robert S. Mueller III whose work seems …

Discussion: Raw Story

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

Republicans flee from McConnell in 2018 primaries — Nobody wants to be on Team McConnell. — Heading into the 2018 elections, only one Republican Senate candidate nationwide has pledged unequivocally to back Mitch McConnell as majority leader. Most Republicans facing competitive primaries …

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:

While eyes are on Russia, Sessions dramatically reshapes the Justice Department — For more than five hours, Attorney General Jeff Sessions sat in a hearing room on Capitol Hill this month, fending off inquiries on Washington's two favorite topics: President Trump and Russia.

Discussion: Power Line

BuzzFeed:

Twitter Has Suspended Another 45 Suspected Propaganda Accounts After They Were Flagged By BuzzFeed News — The social media giant is facing serious questions over its efforts to deal with fake propaganda accounts after BuzzFeed News uncovered a network directly connected to the Russia-linked accounts Twitter submitted to Congress.

Discussion: Mirror.co.uk and Raw Story

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:

'Doug Jones's problem': African American voters not energized by Alabama's Senate race — Doug Jones makes a campaign stop in Troy, Ala., on Nov. 17. The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate believes he can win if he pieces together an unusually delicate coalition. (Aly Grice/Troy Messenger/AP)

Jacques Billeaud / Associated Press:

Sheriff Arpaio pursued case to hurt Sen. Flake, lawsuit says — PHOENIX (AP) — A federal lawsuit set to go to trial next month marks the latest legal action brought against former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio over allegations that he pursued a trumped-up criminal case to get publicity and embarrass an adversary.

Discussion: RedState, The Hill and Axios

Washington Post:

A flat-Earther's plan to launch himself in a homemade rocket just hit a speed bump — A California man who planned to launch himself 1,800 feet high Saturday in a homemade scrap-metal rocket — in an effort to prove that Earth is flat — said he is postponing the experiment …

Discussion: RT and Daily Kos

Denise Hollinshed / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

St. Louis Galleria reopened after protest and arrests on Black Friday — RICHMOND HEIGHTS • The St. Louis Galleria closed for about a half hour Friday afternoon after seven people were arrested during a Black Friday protest. — Among those arrested was state Rep. Bruce Franks Jr.

Discussion: Raw Story, RT and The Gateway Pundit

Carol Robinson / al.com:
Thanksgiving night fight shuts down Alabama's largest mall 40 minutes early

Discussion: WKRG-TV, IJR, Law & Crime, Mediaite, AOL and Splinter

Kathleen Joyce / Fox News:

Trump to call Egyptian president following mosque attack, calls for border wall and travel ban — President Trump said he planned to call Egypt's president following Friday's bombing and shooting attack in the country's volatile Sinai Peninsula, a horrific assault that claimed the lives of at least 235 people and wounded 109 others.