memeorandum: How the Flynn Charges Box In Trump (Noah Feldman/Bloomberg)

8:25 PM ET, December 1, 2017

Top Items:

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:

Kushner Is Said to Have Ordered Flynn to Contact Russia — Now that the retired general has pleaded guilty, the president's son-in-law could be one of the next dominoes to fall. — Former national security adviser Michael Flynn's guilty plea Friday for lying to the FBI is alarming news for Donald Trump.

Brian Ross / ABC News:

Flynn prepared to testify that Trump directed him to contact Russians about ISIS, confidant says — Retired Lt. Gen Michael Flynn has promised “full cooperation” in the special counsel's Russia investigation and, according to a confidant, is prepared to testify that Donald Trump directed …

Nancy Cook / Politico:

Trump White House caught off guard by Flynn plea — No one in the White House was prepared. — Friday began with the now-routine flurry of tweets from President Donald Trump — two about the acquittal of an undocumented immigrant accused of a 2015 killing in San Francisco, one about his tax legislation.

Discussion: ABC News and Political Wire

SHennessey / Lawfare:

The Flynn Plea: A Quick and Dirty Analysis — The news that former national security adviser Michael Flynn has reached a cooperation and plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller could not come as less of a surprise. Reports of Flynn's bizarre behavior across a wide spectrum …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, RedState, Politico, Mother Jones, Business Insider, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard, TheStreet and Vox

New York Times:

Flynn to Plead Guilty to Lying to the F.B.I. — WASHINGTON — President Trump's former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, will plead guilty on Friday to lying to the F.B.I. about a conversation with the Russian ambassador last December. — The plea was the latest indication …

BuzzFeed:

It Was Kushner Who Told Flynn To Make Calls About Israel UN Vote, Source Says — The president's son-in-law prompted the Dec. 22 call to Russia's ambassador that is the focus of Flynn's guilty plea Friday. — Reporting From Washington, DC — WASHINGTON - Jared Kushner …

Discussion: CNBC, The Hill, New York Magazine, Washington Post and Common Dreams

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:

What the Flynn Plea Means — There's less to the news than meets the eye. — Former Trump-administration national-security adviser Michael Flynn is expected to plead guilty today to lying to the FBI regarding his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

Discussion: Vox, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Gateway Pundit, Power Line, Indianapolis Star, Washington Times, The Last Refuge, The Nation and No More Mister Nice Blog

Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo:

Former Prosecutors Break Down What Mike Flynn's Plea Deal Really Means — The explosive news that ousted national security advisor Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials was delivered in a brief, tidy package: a one-and-a-half-page document laying out the single count against him.

Discussion: Washington Post and The Guardian

Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart:

‘Over By Thanksgiving’: White House Lawyer Ty Cobb Was Disastrously Wrong — Ty Cobb, the Beltway lawyer brought to the White House to handle the Russia investigation, predicted in August that Special Counsel Robert Mueller would be done with his work by Thanksgiving: “I'd be embarrassed …

Discussion: Raw Story

Noah Feldman / Bloomberg:

How the Flynn Charges Box In Trump — Keeping the focus on advisers' Russia contacts helps Mueller keep his job. — The news that Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to Russia-related offenses is striking, for several reasons. The lies he told the FBI were about asking the Russian ambassador …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Raw Story, Mashable, BloombergQuint, Vox, ThinkProgress and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:
The Latest: WH cancels Trump media event after Flynn plea

Discussion: CNBC, Business Insider, AOL, Raw Story and Axios

Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:
Donald Trump Suspected for Weeks That Mike Flynn Would Flip

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Raw Story, ABC News and Politicus USA

CNN:
Sources: Kushner was the ‘very senior’ transition member mentioned in court filing

Discussion: ThinkProgress and emptywheel

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:
Michael Flynn charged with making false statement to the FBI

Discussion: New Republic, The Atlantic, NBC News, CNBC, The Hill, ABC News, Media Matters for America and ThinkProgress

Josh Delk / The Hill:
Flynn to testify Trump ‘directed him to make contact with the Russians’: report

Discussion: Politico, New Republic, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Business Insider and Shareblue Media

David French / National Review:
There Is No Evidence of ‘Collusion’ in Michael Flynn's Offense Statement

Discussion: New York Times, IJR, Mother Jones, The Guardian, BloombergQuint, The Atlantic and Vox

Jeff Poor / Breitbart: Limbaugh: Timing of Flynn Charges ‘May Not Be Coincidental’ — ‘Look at All the News It Has Swept Off the Front Pages’

Jeremy Herb / CNN:
Flynn charged with one count of making false statement

Discussion: The Hill, BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, IJR, The Atlantic, myfox8.com, KTLA, WTVR-TV, Common Dreams, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, ThinkProgress, New York's PIX11, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and New Republic

The Daily Beast:
‘Very Senior’ Trump Official Authorized Flynn's Russia Outreach

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, New York Times, NBC News, Business Insider, Raw Story and Roll Call

CNBC:
Stocks fall sharply on report that Michael Flynn was directed by Trump to talk to Russians

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Sarah Westwood / Washington Examiner: Trump lawyer: ‘Nothing’ in Michael Flynn's guilty plea implicates Trump or White House

Garrett M. Graff / Wired:
MICHAEL FLYNN'S GUILTY PLEA SHOWS THAT ROBERT MUELLER IS CLOSING IN

Discussion: CNBC

David French / National Review:
The Michael Flynn Charge: Monstrous Injustice or Prelude to Bigger Things?

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, East Bay Times, Vox, Shareblue Media, Washington Monthly, Patterico's Pontifications and Mashable

Matt Egan / CNNMoney:
Wall Street rocked by Michael Flynn, tax debate

Discussion: CNN, The Atlantic and myfox8.com

Reuters: Exclusive: Mideast nuclear plan backers bragged of support of top Trump aide Flynn

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Lawmaker behind secret $84K sexual harassment settlement unmasked — Rep. Blake Farenthold used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim brought by his former spokesman — the only known sitting member of Congress to have used a little-known congressional account to pay an accuser …

BuzzFeed:

She Says She Quit Her Campaign Job After He Harassed Her. Now He's In Congress. — Last year, a 25-year-old woman left her job on Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen's campaign because of what she says were repeated unwanted propositions for dates and sex. Responding to these allegations …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, The Nevada Independent, USA Today, Axios, New York Magazine, Roll Call, The Gateway Pundit, KTLA, Daily Kos, Washington Free Beacon and Mediaite

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:

GOP eyes post-tax-cut changes to welfare, Medicare and Social Security — High-ranking Republicans are hinting that, after their tax overhaul, the party intends to look at cutting spending on welfare, entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, and other parts of the social safety net.

Discussion: Politico

Washington Post:
McConnell says Senate has the votes to pass GOP tax bill

Discussion: Power Line, New York Times, Senator Susan Collins, Common Dreams, Washington Monthly, emptywheel and Shareblue Media

Jordain Carney / The Hill: Corker to vote no on GOP tax bill

Alice Ollstein / Talking Points Memo:
GOP Leaders Claim They've Sewn Up 50 Votes For Tax Bill

Discussion: Bloomberg, Slate, ThinkProgress and Axios

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Top GOP senators say they have the votes to pass tax bill

Discussion: Axios, The Daily Caller and National Review

Bloomberg:

Kushner Is Leaving Tillerson in the Dark on Middle East Talks, Sources Say — Tillerson worries secret plan could plunge region into chaos — White House rejects accusation State Department isn't informed — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is increasingly alarmed by what he sees …

Discussion: Raw Story and IJR

Dexter Filkins / New Yorker:
How Rex Tillerson Wrecked the State Department

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Elise Viebeck / Washington Post:

Gowdy, Benghazi panel settled wrongful firing suit with $150,000 in public funds — Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C. (Alex Brandon/AP) — As chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) used $150,000 in taxpayer dollars to settle with a former aide who alleged …

Discussion: The Hill and Shareblue Media

Sarah Rumpf / RedState:

Have We Been Lied to About the Kate Steinle Case? — The illegal immigrant who killed Kate Steinle in 2015 was found not guilty of her murder by a San Francisco jury today. Outrageous, right? — Before the killing, Garcia Zarate had been released from a San Francisco jail despite a standing federal deportation order.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Mercury News, Washington Post, CNN, bizpacreview.com, New York Times, National Review, Damian J. Penny and New Republic

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
DOJ issues arrest warrant for undocumented immigrant acquitted in Kate Steinle killing

Discussion: CBS San Francisco, IJR and Washington Free Beacon

Elizabeth Zwirz / Fox News:
DOJ files arrest warrant for illegal immigrant acquitted in Kate Steinle case

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Hill, CBS New York, Fox News Insider, The Gateway Pundit, bizpacreview.com, Washington Times, TheBlaze, ABC News and NBC News

Emily Smith / Page Six:

The ‘Today’ show was a ‘total boys’ club' during Lauer's tenure — Top NBC News execs received complaints about Matt Lauer's alleged sexual misconduct long before he was fired for harassment — but chose to protect him, current and former staffers told The Post on Thursday.

Discussion: Vox, CNN, Decider, IJR, NBC News, bizpacreview.com, Washington Post and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

John Bowden / The Hill:
Clinton on Matt Lauer: ‘Every day I believe more in karma’

Discussion: PhillyVoice, TheBlaze and Washington Free Beacon

Brian Calle / LA Weekly:

And the New Owners Are ... There is a lot of talk about who owns L.A. Weekly. We've seen all the speculation. Is it a Russian oligarch? Is it some Trumpista? Is it Lord Voldemort? — Rumors are rampant and the assumption is that someone bought the Weekly for some nefarious reason.

Discussion: KTLA, more at Mediagazer »

David Pierson / Los Angeles Times: LA Weekly reveals at least some of its secret owners: mostly men with Orange County ties

New York Times:

Former N.S.A. Employee Pleads Guilty to Taking Classified Information — BALTIMORE — A former National Security Agency employee admitted on Friday that he had illegally taken from the agency classified documents believed to have subsequently been stolen from his home computer by hackers working for Russian intelligence.

Discussion: Reuters, Business Insider and KTLA