memeorandum: The GOP's massive tax overhaul is a monstrosity (David Faris/The Week)

9:25 AM ET, December 2, 2017

Top Items:

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: RedState, IJR, Raw Story and BloombergQuint

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.

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 …

CNN:

Russia investigation ‘wearing’ on White House, despite spin — Source: White House ‘totally in a bubble’ — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump, who was already incensed by the idea that his accomplishments weren't getting the credit they deserve …

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, IJR, The Atlantic, New York's PIX11, TheBlaze, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Common Dreams

New York Times:

Flynn Flipped. Who's Next? — We now have a better idea why President Trump went to such great lengths to shield Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, from the prying eyes of the F.B.I. and various congressional committees over the past year. Unfortunately for Mr. Trump, it didn't work out as he had planned.

Discussion: Democrats.com, East Bay Times, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Post

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:
ABC News corrects bombshell Flynn report

Discussion: zerohedge.com/fullrss2 …, Washington Examiner, bizpacreview.com, Politico, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, National Review, twitchy.com, The Daily Beast, TheBlaze, Mediaite, MichelleMalkin.com, RedState, The Daily Caller, Axios and IJR

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Trump keeps playing nice with Mueller, for now

Discussion: Raw Story, FiveThirtyEight and IJR

Washington Post:
Mueller's swift moves signal mounting legal peril for the White House

Discussion: New York Times, NPR, CNBC, Daily Kos, Media Matters for America, Politico, New Republic and NBC News

Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump White House caught off guard by Flynn plea

Discussion: New York Post, Towleroad, ABC News, Washington Post, The Week, Washington Free Beacon, The Hill, New Republic and The Guardian

BuzzFeed:
It Was Kushner Who Told Flynn To Make Calls About Israel UN Vote, Source Says

Discussion: Washington Post, CNBC, The Hill, New York Magazine, Common Dreams, The Guardian, Vox and Talking Points Memo

Harry Litman / New York Times:
Michael Flynn's Guilty Plea: 10 Key Takeaways

Discussion: Washington Monthly, East Bay Times, Shareblue Media, IJR, TalkLeft, Mediaite and National Review

Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart:
‘Over By Thanksgiving’: White House Lawyer Ty Cobb Was Disastrously Wrong

Discussion: Raw Story

Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo:
Former Prosecutors Break Down What Mike Flynn's Plea Deal Really Means

Discussion: The Guardian

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

Discussion: The Week and Politico

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

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
What the Flynn Plea Means

Discussion: Washington Post, Indianapolis Star, Business Insider, The Last Refuge, The Gateway Pundit, Vox, Washington Times, Politico, New York Times, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Talking Points Memo, Power Line and The Nation

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Facing mounting legal vulnerabilities, Flynn turned to a deal

Discussion: BuzzFeed

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

Discussion: KTLA, ThinkProgress, NBC News and Fox News

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

Discussion: The Daily Caller, bizpacreview.com, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, BloombergQuint, Raw Story, The Guardian, Politico, Joe.My.God., New Republic, Washingtonian and Mashable, more at Mediagazer »

Heather Long / Washington Post:

How an unequal tax cut grew more unequal — When Senate Republicans introduced their tax bill in mid-November, they faced competing interests: Some senators thought it wasn't generous enough for working-class families. Others thought it didn't deliver enough to business owners.

New York Times:

Senate Passes Sweeping Republican Tax Overhaul Bill — WASHINGTON — The Senate passed the most sweeping tax rewrite in decades early Saturday, with Republicans lining up to approve an overhaul that will touch almost every corner of the United States economy, affecting families …

Discussion: Axios, Politico, Washington Post, Joe.My.God., The Week, Vox, Axios, CNN, ACA Signups, Politico and Washington Monthly

Matthew Chapman / Shareblue Media:

GOP passes deeply unpopular tax hike on middle class, sealing their fate for 2018 — At 2 AM on Saturday morning, after an endless marathon of procedural wrangling, Senate Republicans voted to wreak havoc on the middle class. — By passing their massive scheme to raise taxes …

Discussion: The Week and Vox

Washington Post:
Senate passes Republican tax plan in major win for Trump and party leaders

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:
GOP eyes post-tax-cut changes to welfare, Medicare and Social Security

Discussion: The Week

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: ABC News, bizpacreview.com, The Nevada Independent, Politico, The Week, AOL, USA Today, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Roll Call, The Gateway Pundit, Axios, Washington Free Beacon, KTLA and Mediaite

Lee Fang / The Intercept:

GOP's List of Economists Backing Tax Cut Includes Ghosts, Office Assistants, Ex-Felons, and a Sprinkling of Real Economists — Touting support for their tax cut legislation, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, released a letter …

Lee Fang / The Intercept:
Special Giveaways in Tax Cut Bill Benefit Family Members, Colleagues of Key GOP Senators

Discussion: NBC News, Mother Jones and Joe.My.God.

David Faris / The Week:

The GOP's massive tax overhaul is a monstrosity — In a truly wild and dizzying Friday night and Saturday morning in Washington, Senate Republicans committed collective political suicide by passing a deeply detested tax bill they were still writing seemingly moments before they jammed …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Shareblue Media, The Hill, Mother Jones and New York Times

Washington Post:

Alabama race is neck and neck, with voters divided over Roy Moore allegations, poll finds — Alabama's closely watched U.S. Senate race is a neck-and-neck contest as voter concerns about personal moral conduct weigh on the candidacy of Republican Roy Moore, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll.

Discussion: Politico

Lisa Hagen / The Hill: Gay GOP group urges ‘good Christians’ to oppose Moore

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: Shareblue Media, The Hill and Business Insider

Noor Al-Sibai / Raw Story:

Steve Schmidt: If Trump pardons Flynn it will create a ‘constitutional crisis’ that will end the GOP — GOP strategist Steve Schmidt isn't optimistic about the Republican Congress' potential for impeaching President Donald Trump in the wake of former adviser Mike Flynn's guilty plea …

John Bowden / The Hill:

Clinton on Matt Lauer: ‘Every day I believe more in karma’ — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — commented Thursday night on longtime NBC host Matt Lauer's firing, remarking that she believes in the concept of karma a little more “every day,” Philly Voice reports.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, PhillyVoice, The Daily Caller and TheBlaze

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:
NBC News source says Matt Lauer will not receive a payout

Discussion: Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Emily Smith / Page Six:
The ‘Today’ show was a ‘total boys’ club' during Lauer's tenure

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, Washington Post, TVNewser, IJR, NBC News, Vox, TMZ.com and CNN

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Democrats say GOP tax perk aimed at helping one influential conservative college — At nearly 500 pages, the emerging Senate tax bill provides breaks for industries small and large, but one particular provision sparked a heated exchange Friday night, something Democrats calling it the “Hillsdale carveout”.

Discussion: RedState

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

DOJ issues arrest warrant for undocumented immigrant acquitted in Kate Steinle killing — A federal warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Mexican immigrant acquitted Thursday evening of murder charges in the 2015 killing of Kate Steinle. — Steinle's death has been taken up by opponents of so-called sanctuary cities.

Discussion: IJR and Washington Free Beacon