memeorandum: Embattled FEMA chief Brock Long facing possible criminal investigation (Washington Post)

9:10 AM ET, September 18, 2018

Top Items:

Julia Prodis Sulek / Mercury News:

MeToo spurred Christine Blasey Ford to open up about alleged attack year before Kavanaugh nomination, friends say — 'I've been trying to forget this all my life,' she told friend, 'and now I'm supposed to remember every little detail' — PALO ALTO — The fog was just lifting at Capitola beach …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo and Popular Information

Caitlin Flanagan / The Atlantic:

I Believe Her — “Dear Caitlin,” an inscription in my 12th-grade yearbook begins. “I'm really very sorry that our friendship plummeted straight downhill after the first few months of school. Really, the blame rests totally on my shoulders. To tell you the truth, I've wanted to say this all year.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Washington Times, Indian Country Today, TIME, The Week, The American Conservative, HuffPost, Raw Story, Breitbart and Bustle

Becket Adams / Washington Examiner:

No, Brett Kavanaugh's mother didn't foreclose on his accuser's parents' house — Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman, Christine Blasey Ford, when they were both in high school in the early 1980s. Kavanaugh has now twice denied the allegations …

Discussion: New York Times, Daily Kos, Simple Justice, Snopes.com and CBS News

Lance Morrow / Wall Street Journal:

A Spectral Witness Materializes — The passage of time sometimes causes people to forget, sometimes to invent or embellish. — The Salem witch trials turned on what was called “spectral evidence.” That was testimony from witnesses—either malicious or hysterical—who claimed the accused …

Discussion: Washington Post and Raw Story

Russ Feingold / HuffPost:

We Know Brett Kavanaugh Has Lied Already — This nation is suffering a significant breakdown of civility, bipartisanship and ethical behavior. For the Trump administration and the Republican leaders who enable it, truth is no longer a cherished value. To them, lying seems to be part of the strategy …

Politico:

McConnell works feverishly behind the scenes to save Kavanaugh — The Senate leader's legacy on the judiciary is on the line. — Mitch McConnell, preeminent cut-throat political tactician, is going with a softer touch to salvage Brett Kavanaugh's suddenly endangered Supreme Court confirmation.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Washington Post, New York Times, VICE News and The Atlantic

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:

Republicans fear reversals in November due to accusation against Supreme Court nominee — Republicans are bracing for political aftershocks from the sexual assault accusation against Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh, with some expressing fear that the coming investigation will refocus …

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire, Breitbart, ABC News and Axios

Ryan Grim / The Intercept:

Attorney Sent Letter to Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein Claiming Federal Court Employees Willing to Speak About Brett Kavanaugh — The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee were both approached in July by an attorney claiming to have information relevant …

Discussion: CNBC, Hot Air, DCist, New York Times, Fox News, Outside the Beltway, Bustle, Taylor Marsh, LifeNews.com and Viking Pundit

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
With Trump muted, White House leans on Kavanaugh to defend himself

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Breitbart and Fox News

San Francisco Chronicle:
Kavanaugh accuser, a Palo Alto professor, is respected among academic colleagues

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress and CNN

Axios:
Monday's hearing of a lifetime

Discussion: Washington Post, The Guardian and New York Times

Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:
Every man should be worried. At least, I'm worried.

Discussion: The Week, New York Daily News, The Slot, The Other McCain, Politico, Bustle, ABC News and Splinter

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:
Conservatives Suddenly Realize Juvenile Offenders Deserve Leniency

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and New Republic

New York Times:
Echoes of Anita Hill, but in a Different Era for Women

Discussion: Bustle, CNBC and CNN

Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump sticks with Kavanaugh as scandal escalates

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Refinery29

Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
Orrin Hatch Defends Brett Kavanaugh: 'Somebody's Mixed Up,' I Think Christine Ford is ‘Mistaken’

Discussion: New Republic, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Splinter, Shareblue Media and The Federalist

Bloomberg:
White House Hasn't Asked FBI to Vet Kavanaugh Allegations, Sources Say

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and BloombergQuint

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Elizabeth Warren fundraises off sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh

Discussion: Breitbart

New York Times:

Trump's Growing Legal Team Has a Problem: It's Operating Partly in the Dark — WASHINGTON — Nearly a dozen lawyers now assist President Trump in contending with two federal investigations, one in Washington and one in New York, that could pose serious threats to his presidency and his businesses.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Legal team still confident that Manafort will not implicate Trump, Giuliani says

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire and Feeds

Tom McCarthy / The Guardian:

Stormy Daniels' tell-all book on Trump: salacious detail and claims of cheating — Exclusive: pornographic actor says Trump 'didn't want to be president' in her book Full Disclosure — In a tell-all memoir, the pornographic actor Stormy Daniels details salacious descriptions of her time with Donald Trump …

Discussion: CNBC, HuffPost, POLITICUSUSA, VICE News, Raw Story and Jezebel

The Daily Beast:
Trump's Penis Looks Like Toad From Mario Kart, Says Stormy Daniels

Discussion: The Guardian and Joe.My.God.

Deepti Hajela / Associated Press:

Man caught shaving on train in viral video says don't judge — NEW YORK (AP) — A man who was mocked online after he was recorded shaving at his seat on a commuter train headed out of New York City said he was just trying to clean up after days spent in a homeless shelter.

Discussion: CBS New York

Jordan Uhl / gofundme.com:
Anthony Torres Assistance Fund

Discussion: Gizmodo and WPIX 11 New York

Politico:

Trump orders declassification of surveillance application, release of Comey texts — President Donald Trump has moved to immediately declassify 20 pages of the surveillance application that authorized the FBI to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, RedState, Axios, Balloon Juice, The Week, One America News Network, ABC News and Splinter

NBC News:
In stunning move, Trump declassifies documents related to Russia probe

Discussion: Shareblue Media, POLITICUSUSA and Center for Security Policy

Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Jordan says FBI used ‘crushing power of the state’ to probe Trump campaign based on dossier

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

The White House:
Statement from the Press Secretary

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, HuffPost and Hit & Run

Michael C. Bender / Wall Street Journal:

Probe of FEMA Chief Brock Long Referred to Prosecutors — Investigators asked U.S. attorney's office to look into whether criminal statutes were violated by Long and two aides — WASHINGTON—An investigation targeting President Trump's top emergency-management official has been referred …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, The Week, Raw Story, Political Wire and Mediaite

Washington Post: Embattled FEMA chief Brock Long facing possible criminal investigation

Associated Press:

Russia blames Israel for plane shot down by Syrian missile — MOSCOW — A Russian reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by a Syrian missile over the Mediterranean Sea, killing all 15 people on board, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday. It blamed Israel for the crash …

Discussion: Just Security and Al Jazeera English

Reuters: Russia says a military aircraft vanishes near Syria during Israeli, French strikes

Associated Press: The Latest: Germany welcomes deal on Syria's Idlib

RT:
Russia detects missile launches from French frigate off Syria's coast in Mediterranean

Discussion: RedState

Joshua Green / Bloomberg:

Internal RNC Poll: Complacent Trump Voters May Cost GOP Control of Congress — A private survey shows many Republican voters “don't believe there is anything at stake” in the midterm elections. — A private survey conducted for the Republican National Committee and obtained …

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Raw Story and Political Wire

Monmouth University Polling Institute:

GOP Edge in CD39 — Kim seen as more in touch, better liked than Cisneros — West Long Branch, NJ - Republican Young Kim holds a slight edge over Democrat Gil Cisneros in the open seat contest for California's 39th Congressional District, according to the Monmouth University Poll.

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:

Ronan Farrow has the long-rumored Donald Trump tapes from The Apprentice: report — Investigative journalist Ronan Farrow reportedly has possession of Donald Trump tapes from when he started on NBC's “The Apprentice,” Page Six reported Monday. — The tapes reportedly document Trump using …

Discussion: Page Six

Ken Meyer / Mediaite:

Anderson Cooper Lights Up Don Jr. For ‘Idiotic’ Misleading Photo of CNN Host: He's ‘Tweeting Lies’ — On Monday night, Anderson Cooper ripped into Donald Trump Jr. for spreading a misleading photo of the CNN host in order to falsely claim that Cooper was trying to make a political statement against his father — President Donald Trump.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hollywood Life and Joe.My.God.

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:

Trump to Cap Refugees Allowed Into U.S. at 30,000, a Record Low — The move is the latest in a series of efforts that President Trump has made to clamp down on immigration in the United States. — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the further cuts to an already scaled-back program reflected a “daunting operational reality.”

Discussion: New Republic, Common Dreams, Vox, Bustle and Splinter