memeorandum: Could California be seeing the onset of a recession? (Dan Walters/Mercury News)

9:25 AM ET, December 4, 2017

Top Items:

Yes, Donald Trump, You Said That — The president is currently engaging in some revisionist history. — December 3, 2017 — OPINION — Soil Power! The Dirty Way to a Green Planet — Regenerative agriculture can help mitigate climate change. — December 2, 2017 — OPINION

Mike Allen / Axios:

Exclusive: Trump lawyer claims the “President cannot obstruct justice” — John Dowd, President Trump's outside lawyer, outlined to me a new and highly controversial defense/theory in the Russia probe: A president cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice. — The “President cannot obstruct justice …

Discussion: ABC News, CNBC, Politicus USA, Mediaite, Raw Story, Political Wire and The Week

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

White House paranoid: 'Everyone thinks they're being recorded' — Paranoia is enveloping the White House and President Donald Trump's network of former aides and associates as Robert Mueller's Russia probe heats up. — Former national security adviser Michael Flynn agreed to cooperate …

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:

Trump lawyer says president knew Flynn had given FBI the same account he gave to vice president … President Trump's personal lawyer said on Sunday that the president knew in late January that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn had probably given FBI agents the same inaccurate account …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Just Security, The Moderate Voice, Politico and bizpacreview.com

CNN:
Trump's lawyer says he was behind President's tweet about firing Flynn

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Trump's uncontrollable tweeting triggers deeper anxiety among advisers

Discussion: ABC News, The Week, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Beast

Roberta Rampton / Reuters:
Trump tweets about Russia probe spark warnings from lawmakers

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Talk of a Peace Plan That Snubs Palestinians Roils Middle East — BEIRUT, Lebanon — In a mysterious trip last month, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, traveled to Saudi Arabia's capital for consultations with the hard-charging crown prince about President Trump's plans for Middle East peace.

Discussion: israpundit.org

Jake Sherman / Politico:

The POLITICO PLAYBOOK POWER LIST: 18 to watch in 18 — BIG WEEK: Gov't funding runs out Friday, House-Senate tax negotiations to begin — BILLY BUSH on Trump — ANNIE KARNI on Jared — TRUMP works to block ROMNEY — DRIVING THE DAY — Good Monday morning. JUST POSTED — THE POLITICO PLAYBOOK POWER LIST: 18 TO WATCH IN 18.

Axios:
What to make of Kushner's remarks on Middle East peace

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:

Alabama's Disdain for Democrats Looms Over Its Senate Race — TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Anne Stickney does not have many good things to say about Roy S. Moore. She saw as mere “posturing” his name-making crusade over the display of the Ten Commandments in various Alabama courthouses.

Rick Klein / ABC News:
The Note: Reality check? Trump's contradictions on full display

Discussion: Politico, Joe.My.God. and The Daily Beast

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Lots Of Alabama Voters Care About Roy Moore's Scandals

Discussion: National Review, Politicus USA and Washington Monthly

Steven Shepard / Politico:
Is Roy Moore winning? Don't ask the pollsters

Discussion: ABC News, The Week, The Daily Beast and New York Magazine

CBS News:
CBS News poll: Alabama Republicans call allegations against Roy Moore false

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump moves to block Romney from the Senate — Donald Trump is going all out to persuade seven-term Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch to seek reelection — a push aimed in no small part at keeping the president's longtime nemesis, Mitt Romney, out of the Senate. — Romney has been preparing to run …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Splinter, The Week and Axios

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Protesters spell out ‘Go Home Trump’ on Utah Capitol lawn ahead of Trump visit

Discussion: Salt Lake Tribune, Common Dreams and Raw Story

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
Steve Bannon mulls Orrin Hatch endorsement to block Mitt Romney

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine and The Gateway Pundit

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Grassley: Ending estate tax ‘recognizes people that are investing,’ not ‘spending every darn penny’ — (R-Iowa) said he favors repealing the estate tax, which the Senate tax reform bill does not do, saying it “recognizes the people that are investing,” The Des Moines Register reported Saturday.

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Prynard / Iowa Starting Line:
Grassley Implies Working Class Spends Tax Cuts On “Booze Or Women Or Movies”

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Tommy Christopher / Shareblue Media: GOP senator: No tax cuts for working people because they blow them on “booze or women”

Jason Noble / Des Moines Register:
Despite lawmakers' warnings, few Iowa farmers face estate tax

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Politico, Daily Kos, NPR, The Week, Mediaite and Politicus USA

Corey Lewandowski / Politico:

'I've Got a Crook Running My Campaign' — The following is an excerpt from Let Trump Be Trump by Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, to be published on December 3. — We were somewhere over New Jersey, on our way to an event in Delaware, on the Trump helicopter when all hell broke loose.

Discussion: Washington Times and Raw Story

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Trump rips FBI over treatment of Flynn, Clinton … President Trump on Monday defended former national security adviser Michael Flynn, saying it's “very unfair” he was charged with a crime and Hillary Clinton was not. — “Well, I feel badly for Gen. Flynn,” Trump told reporters. “I feel very badly.

Discussion: ABC News, Political Wire and Joe.My.God.

Dan Walters / Mercury News:

Could California be seeing the onset of a recession? — Twice each year, once in January and again in May, Gov. Jerry Brown warns Californians that the economic prosperity their state has enjoyed in recent years won't last forever. — Brown attaches his admonishments to the budgets …

Discussion: Instapundit

New York Times:

Why the Trump Team Should Fear the Logan Act — President Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, acknowledged in court last week that he lied to F.B.I. investigators about his communications with the Russian ambassador to the United States in the run-up to Mr. Trump's inauguration.

Laura Jarrett / CNN:

Justice Dept. offers up key witness in Russia probe as House Intel Chair threatens contempt — Washington (CNN)The Justice Department has agreed to allow congressional investigators to interview a key FBI employee believed to have served as the main contact, or “handler” of …

Discussion: Washington Times, The Hill and The Gateway Pundit

Billy House / Bloomberg:
House Republicans Prepare Contempt Action Against FBI, DOJ

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

George Papadopoulos' late night with the FBI — When former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos stepped off a flight from Germany at Dulles Airport outside Washington last July, he had no inkling of the unwelcome surprise in store for him: FBI agents waiting to place him under arrest.

Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:

'I don't think it's going to help': In a pro-Trump area, many voters are skeptical of GOP tax plan — STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — On a busy weeknight at the 5 Star Lanes bowling alley in this Detroit suburb that voted heavily for President Trump, there was little excitement about the Republican plan to cut taxes.

Discussion: Raw Story

Brooke Sopelsa / NBC News:

MSNBC's Joy Reid apologizes for ‘insensitive’ LGBT blog posts — MSNBC host Joy Reid issued an apology on Sunday for a series of blog posts nearly a decade ago, mostly critical of former Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, that have been criticized as homophobic and “anti-gay.”

Discussion: Mediaite, The Root, Joy Reid and bizpacreview.com