memeorandum: Bannon at Moore rally: ‘Special place in hell for Republicans who should know better’ (Olivia Beavers/The Hill)

8:35 PM ET, December 12, 2017

Top Items:

Katie McDonough / Splinter:

Horse Twitter Comes for Roy Moore — Roy Moore, a bigot and alleged serial predator, rode a horse to the polls on Tuesday to cast his ballot in the Alabama Senate special election. — Soon after, Horse Twitter came for him.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Eric Bradner / CNN:
Kayla Moore: ‘One of our attorneys is a Jew’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, New York Post, Salon, Business Insider, The Week, VICE News, The Daily Caller, EconLog and twitchy.com

New York Times:
Alabama Senate Race Between Roy Moore and Doug Jones Carries National Implications

Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: Roy Moore should be kicked out of Senate if he wins

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, Outside the Beltway, The Week, Axios, TheBlaze, ABC News and Political Wire

Evan Siegel / The Daily Beast:
Who Won the Alabama Special Election? Watch the Live Results Here

Discussion: Politico, Vox, Axios, ABC News and Talking Points Memo

Hannah Keyser / Deadspin:
Roy Moore Doesn't Even Ride A Horse Well

Discussion: New York Magazine

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
McConnell still confident there will be ethics investigation into Moore if he wins

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider and Political Wire

New York Times:
Live Alabama Election Results: Roy Moore and Doug Jones Compete for Senate Seat

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Daily Kos and Political Wire

Associated Press:
The Latest: Washington Post banned from Moore gathering

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Bannon at Moore rally: ‘Special place in hell for Republicans who should know better’

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today, Media Matters for America, IJR and Politico

Ben Kamisar / The Hill: Alabama drama nears an explosive end

Ashley Killough / CNN:
Senate Republicans on what to do if Roy Moore wins: 'We'll see'

Discussion: FOX6Now.com and New Republic

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

CNN's Jim Acosta cites access threat from White House's Sarah Huckabee Sanders — President Trump's tweeting Tuesday morning set off the usual scramble among White House reporters for all manner of clarifications and amplifications. Look at the tweet, and it's not hard to understand why:

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Shareblue Media, NewsBusters, Mother Jones, JustOneMinute, CNN, Roll Call, Mediaite, Fox News Insider, Hollywood Life, theGrio, The Right Scoop and Talking Points Memo

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:

Trump attacks Gillibrand in tweet critics say is sexually suggestive and demeaning — President Trump attacked Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in a sexually suggestive tweet Tuesday morning that implied Gillibrand would do just about anything for money, prompting a swift and immediate backlash.

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
Already on the 2020 radar, Kirsten Gillibrand catapulted into the spotlight by President Trump

Discussion: IJR

Mike Allen / Axios:

Trump lawyers want second special counsel appointed now — President Trump's legal team believes Attorney General Jeff Session's Justice Department and the FBI — more than special counsel Robert Mueller himself — are to blame for what they see as a witch hunt.

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

GOP congressman to Trump: Mueller probe ‘infected with bias’ — A Florida congressman who has said that the country is at risk of a “coup d'etat” by Special Counsel Robert Mueller says he warned President Donald Trump personally last week that Mueller's Russia investigation is “infected with bias” against the president.

Discussion: Axios, The Guardian, CNBC, Political Wire, IJR and Washington Post

Chris Megerian / Los Angeles Times:
White House interviews finished in special counsel investigation, Trump lawyer says

Discussion: RedState

Washington Post:

Congress could finalize deal to reconcile House and Senate tax bills as soon as today, top Republican says — Lawmakers are on the verge of striking a tentative agreement that would reconcile tax bills passed separately by the House and Senate, and an announcement could come later Tuesday …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, Axios, Mother Jones, IJR, Shakesville, mikeallen and Daily Kos

Ramesh Ponnuru / National Review: Corporate Tax Rates at 21 Percent?

Alayna Treene / Axios:
Tax bill negotiators agree to reduce mortgage interest deduction

Discussion: Northern Star Online and Politico

Connor Sheets / al.com:

In final-hour order, court rules that Alabama can destroy digital voting records after all — Alabama is allowed to destroy digital voting records created at the polls during today's U.S. Senate election after all. — At 1:36 p.m. Monday, a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge issued …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, electionlawblog.org and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Connor Sheets / al.com:
State Supreme Court stays order directing Alabama not to destroy voting records

Discussion: Vox, Daily Kos and Gizmodo

Sam Gillette / People.com:

Donald Trump Claims He ‘Never Met’ Accusers Like PEOPLE's Natasha Stoynoff, But We Have the Photo — President Donald Trump claims he doesn't know — and has never met — the multiple women who have accused him of sexual misconduct or assault. But PEOPLE has the photo showing …

Discussion: The Hill, NBC News, AOL, Politico, Al Jazeera English, Daily Kos, Politicus USA, RedState, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, CBS Baltimore, Raw Story, IJR, Mediaite, Washington Times, Axios, Shareblue Media and Washington Free Beacon

CNN:

Exclusive: Grassley urges Trump to reconsider controversial judicial picks — Trump packing courts with conservatives — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley issued a rare rebuke Tuesday of two of President Donald Trump's …

Discussion: Townhall.com, Washington Post, Axios, Shareblue Media, ThinkProgress, Washington Blade, Business Insider and Political Wire

Yashar Ali / New York Magazine:

Donald Trump Jr. Requests Inquiry Into Intelligence Committee Leaks — Donald Trump Jr.'s attorney has sent a letter to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence requesting an inquiry into leaks he says took place during and after Trump Jr.'s interview with the committee on December 6.

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, The Right Scoop, Wall Street Journal and VICE News

New York Times:
Donald Trump Jr. Demands Leak Probe of House Intelligence Committee

Discussion: Axios, The Daily Caller and Raw Story

D.C. McAllister / The Federalist:

Can We Be Honest About Women? — Here's a little secret we have to say out loud: Women love the sexual interplay they experience with men, and they relish men desiring their beauty. — David French of National Review recently wrote an article asking, “Can we be honest about men?”

New York Times:

Ken Friedman, Power Restaurateur, Is Accused of Sexual Harassment — Natalie Saibel, a longtime server at the Spotted Pig, a West Village restaurant with celebrity investors, didn't quit in 2015 after the owner, Ken Friedman, ran his hands over her buttocks and then her groin in a room crowded …

Discussion: New York Post, Washington Post, Hollywood Life, grubstreet, IJR, Eater NY, Eater SF and Eater

Karma Allen / ABC News:

Boy behind viral anti-bullying video amazed by support, celebrity responses — A young Tennessee boy whose story gained national attention after his mother posted a heart-wrenching video of him addressing his bullies said he is amazed by all the support he's received on social media this week.

Discussion: WGN-TV, Faithwire, The Root, Hollywood Life, East Bay Times, Fox News, AOL, New York Times, Fox News Insider, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, FOX6Now.com, RedState, Sputnik International and CBS Boston

CBS News:
Emotional bullying video: Mom addresses backlash over Confederate flag posts

Discussion: NewsBusters, The Root, Hollywood Life, AOL and Faithwire

Transparency International e.V. / Transparency …:

Corruption in the USA: The difference a year makes — New public opinion survey compares 2017 with 2016 — The US faces a wide range of domestic challenges related to the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, which is Transparency International's definition of corruption.

Discussion: TalkLeft and Sunlight Foundation

Josh Rogin / Washington Post: Report: Americans view Trump White House as the most corrupt government institution

Leonard Greene / New York Daily News:

Why Melania, Ivanka and Jared's mayoral election votes didn't count — Good thing last month's mayoral election wasn't close because if New Yorkers needed the Trump family to decide the outcome, they would have been out of luck. — President Trump and his family of New Yorkers …

Discussion: NBC News, Splinter and Balloon Juice

David Wasserman / FiveThirtyEight:

Alabama Senate Election: Live Coverage And Results — This Race Is Giving Me Flashbacks — I've been going back and forth on who I think will win tonight's race. For most of November, I was convinced Moore would win. After all, in 2016 we learned that the scandals most people in DC thought …

Discussion: RedState, Political Wire and CNN

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

This is the list of ‘eyewitnesses’ the White House says exonerate Trump — On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders promised that she would produce a list of eyewitnesses to exonerate President Trump from allegations of sexual harassment and assault.

Discussion: The White House, Shareblue Media, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Mediaite, Raw Story, Vox, Breitbart, TheBlaze and New York Daily News

Gregory Korte / USA Today:

Trump objects to Russia provisions as he signs $700 billion defense bill — WASHINGTON — President Trump signed a $700 billion defense policy bill Tuesday, saying the United States military “has got to be perfecto.” But less than three hours later, he pointed out the bill's imperfections in a signing statement.

Laura J. Nelson / Los Angeles Times:

Cooking fire at a homeless encampment sparked Bel-Air blaze that destroyed homes, officials say — Firefighters try to save a home from the Skirball fire on Linda Flora Drive in Bel-Air. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) — The fire that destroyed six homes and damaged a dozen others …

Fenit Nirappil / Washington Post:

After 9-point loss in Va., Gillespie says he would not encourage others to run for office because of ‘poisonous atmosphere’ — Ed Gillespie, who has been at the forefront of GOP politics for decades, said he wouldn't encourage others to run for office in his first interview since losing the heated Virginia governor's race last month.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and New York Magazine

Marist Poll:

12/12: Majority Views Tax Bill as Adding Financial Injury... POTUS Favors Wealthy, Say Americans — The tax reform bill is highly unpopular among the American people. — The tax reform bill is highly unpopular among the American people. In fact, a majority of U.S. residents (52%) …

Discussion: Business Insider and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi