memeorandum: End of voter fraud commission is a win for the left, but a loss for America (Michael Thielen/The Hill)

4:15 PM ET, January 5, 2018

Top Items:

Republican Senators Recommend Charges Against Author of Trump Dossier — WASHINGTON — More than a year after Republican leaders promised to investigate Russian interference in the presidential election, two influential Republicans on Friday made the first known congressional criminal referral …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist, New York Post, Breitbart, Washington Press, CNBC, Politicus USA, IJR, Daily Kos and Raw Story

Washington Post:

The FBI is investigating the Clinton Foundation … The FBI has been quietly investigating the Clinton Foundation for months, reviving a probe that was dialed back during the 2016 election amid tensions between Justice Department prosecutors and FBI agents about the politically charged case, according to people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Mediaite, TheBlaze, Political Wire and Townhall.com

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

Obstruction Inquiry Shows Trump's Struggle to Keep Grip on Russia Investigation — WASHINGTON — President Trump gave firm instructions in March to the White House's top lawyer: stop the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, from recusing himself in the Justice Department's investigation into whether …

Washington Post:

Senior Republican refers Trump-Russia dossier author for possible charges … The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended Friday that the Justice Department investigate for possible criminal charges the author of the now-famous “dossier” alleging the Trump campaign coordinated …

Discussion: Vox, Politico, Political Wire and The Gateway Pundit

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Why Trump and Sessions are now in a heap of legal trouble — Michael S. Schmidt's report in the New York Times contains so many blockbusters that it's hard to know where to begin. Here are the most critical claims: — Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has evidence …

Discussion: New Yorker, New York Times, Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo, Washington Examiner, Washington Press, Raw Story, Media Matters for America and Daily Kos

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Schiff: The case that Trump obstructed justice just got stronger — THE MORNING PLUM: — The New York Times's blockbuster new report last night adds extensive new detail to our understanding of just how far President Trump and the White House went to try to derail the probe into Russian sabotage …

Discussion: The Hill, The Guardian and Politico

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:

Senate Judiciary Republicans refer dossier author Chris Steele to DOJ for criminal investigation — Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham sent a criminal referral about “dossier” author Christopher Steele to the DOJ on Friday. — The letter, which was sent along …

Discussion: RedState and The Week

CNN:
Feds actively investigating Clinton Foundation

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, bizpacreview.com, Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite

John Solomon / The Hill:
FBI launches new Clinton Foundation investigation

Jgoldsmith / Lawfare:
Why Hasn't Rod Rosenstein Recused Himself from the Mueller Investigation?

Discussion: Politico, Just Security, ACS Blog and Washington Post

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
EPA chief Pruitt is said to be eyeing attorney general job

Discussion: Political Wire and RedState

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
GOP senators request criminal investigation of Trump dossier author

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
GOP lawmaker: Sessions ‘betrayed’ Trump

Discussion: ABC News, RedState and Raw Story

Sara Carter / Sara A. Carter:
Mueller's “Pit Bull” Andrew Weissmann under scrutiny as Rosenstein agrees to turn over documents to Nunes

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Front Page Magazine

CNN:
Ryan backed Nunes in spat with Justice Dept. over Russia documents, sources say

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Times, Daily Kos, Salon, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and The Week

Josh Delk / The Hill:
Pruitt wants to be Trump's attorney general: report

Discussion: RedState and Washington Press

James Bovard / USA Today: Cliven Bundy-FBI debacle: Another example of why the feds need to be leashed

New York Times:
Amid Calls from Trump, F.B.I. Renews Questions Over Clinton Foundation

Discussion: Mother Jones and Los Angeles Times

Mike Allen / Axios:

The Wolff lines on Trump that ring unambiguously true — There are definitely parts of Michael Wolff's “Fire and Fury” that are wrong, sloppy, or betray off-the-record confidence. But there are two things he gets absolutely right, even in the eyes of White House officials …

Discussion: Hit & Run, New York Magazine, Shareblue Media, Washington Press, Mediaite, New York Times, RedState, Hullabaloo, Politicus USA, Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Kimberly Leonard / Washington Examiner:
Michael Wolff: Trump had little interest in repealing Obamacare, floated ‘Medicare for All’

Discussion: The Week and Common Dreams

Kieran Corcoran / Business Insider:
The author of the explosive new Trump book says he can't be sure if parts of it are true

Discussion: New Republic, RedState, Bloomberg, CBS News, Daily Wire, CNNMoney, New York Times, AOL, IJR and Right Wing Watch, more at Mediagazer »

Peter Baker / New York Times: For Trump, Book Raises Familiar Questions of Loyalty and Candor

Eun Kyung Kim / TODAY.com:
Michael Wolff says he ‘absolutely’ spoke to President Trump for his tell-all book

Discussion: Townhall.com, USA Today, Washington Examiner, IJR, Roll Call, Washington Press, TheBlaze, Washington Post, Business Insider, Al Jazeera English, Fox News Insider and Axios

Adam Edelman / NBC News:
‘Fire and Fury’ author Wolff calls Trump least credible person who has ever walked on earth

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, Roll Call, ABC News, Breitbart, Boing Boing, The Big Lead, The Federalist, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, TODAY.com, BBC, The Guardian, Vox, France 24, CNBC and NBC News, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Steve Bannon was warned — Friends and allies of Steve Bannon had been warning him for weeks to lay off Jared Kushner — telling him that President Trump would turn against him if he kept publicly attacking the son-in-law. — What we're hearing: Tommy Hicks, a Trump campaign fundraiser …

Discussion: RedState, The Hill, Politico, Breitbart and ABC News

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Steve Bannon's strange “obsession” with Andrew Weissmann

Discussion: Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:
Bannon Banished for Telling Truths About Trump as MAGA Monsters Turn on Each Other

Discussion: The Daily Caller, NPR, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Press, Daily Kos, TMZ.com and The Atlantic, more at Mediagazer »

Scott Wartman / Cincinnati.com:

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel drops out of U.S. Senate race — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel quit the race Friday, citing his wife's health. — He hoping to unseat U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat. The Enquirer will update this story.

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
Top GOP candidate drops out of Ohio Senate race

Discussion: Politico

Matthew Gertz / Politico:

I've Studied the Trump-Fox Feedback Loop for Months. It's Crazier Than You Think. — On Tuesday night, I, along with many Americans, was shocked when President Donald Trump tweeted that his “Nuclear Button” is “much bigger & more powerful” than North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Media Matters for America and Raw Story

ESPN:

For Kraft, Brady and Belichick, is this the beginning of the end? — THE PROBLEM WITH living your life under the spotlight is that the camera captures only the public eruption, not the months of silent anger. On Dec. 3, when the New England Patriots played the Buffalo Bills …

Discussion: Awful Announcing, AOL, Associated Press, The Daily Caller and The Week

Liz Moyer / CNBC:

Black unemployment rate falls to record low — The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 6.8 percent unemployment rate for black workers in December, the lowest in the 45 years the data has been tracked. — Unemployment among black workers is at its lowest since at least the early 1970s, when the government began tracking the data.

Discussion: theGrio, The Daily Caller, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Washington Post, Breitbart and Daily Wire

Natalie Kitroeff / New York Times:
U.S. Added 148,000 Jobs in December; Unemployment at 4.1%

Discussion: The White House, Politico, New Republic, Washington Press, The Stream, Outside the Beltway and Althouse

CNN:

Exclusive: Top Pence aides quietly depart in new year — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)Vice President Mike Pence's chief lawyer and domestic policy director are leaving his office at the beginning of the New Year, according to four sources familiar with the staff turnover.

Discussion: Political Wire

Ciro Scotti / The Daily Beast:

The Trouble With Kirsten Gillibrand … Back when she had an A rating from the NRA, Kirsten Gillibrand used to brag that she and her family shot their own turkeys for Thanksgiving. — But in her relentless positioning for a possible presidential run in 2020, was she too quick on the trigger …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Balloon Juice

Wall Street Journal:

Trump Nominee to Lead Indian Health Services Faces Claims of Misrepresentation — Former workers at a Missouri hospital question leadership roles claimed by Robert Weaver, a 39-year-old member of Quapaw tribe, who says he is qualified to lead agency — President Donald Trump's nominee …

Discussion: CNBC and The Week

Kira Lerner / ThinkProgress:

Kobach is prosecuting this confused senior with four counts of felony voter fraud — For the past few years, Que J. Fullmer has split his time between Kansas and Colorado. He owns a cattle company and roughly 1,000 acres in Syracuse, Kansas, and his wife lives in Brighton, Colorado, where the couple owns a home and 300 acres.

Eliza Barclay / Vox:

The psychiatrist who briefed Congress on Trump's mental state: this is “an emergency” — The case for evaluating the president's mental capacity — by force if necessary. — The longer Donald Trump is in office, the more he shocks and alarms us with his strange and extremely unpresidential behavior.

Discussion: MSNBC, Raw Story, Fox News Insider, The Stream, Washington Times, Washington Monthly and The Daily Caller

Amanda Terkel / HuffPost:

Wisconsin Is Quietly Becoming The Top Senate Race Of 2018 — Sen. Tammy Baldwin is battling more outside spending by conservative groups than all of her Democratic colleagues. Combined. — Ask a Democrat what Senate races worries them this year, and Missouri, Indiana, West Virginia and North Dakota will likely be near the top.

Discussion: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Axios, madison.com and Washington Free Beacon