memeorandum: Once ‘99 Percent Against Trump,’ Dean Heller Calls Him ‘Great Leader’ (Jonathan Martin/New York Times)

1:40 AM ET, September 20, 2018

Top Items:

Accuser's schoolmate says she recalls hearing of alleged Kavanaugh incident — Cristina King Miranda says she recalls it being discussed at their school, but has no first-hand knowledge of the alleged assault by Brett Kavanaugh. — WASHINGTON — A former schoolmate of Brett Kavanaugh's accuser wrote …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Washington Post, twitchy.com, Common Dreams, Daily Wire, Talking Points Memo, Pacific Pundit, The Daily Caller, Boing Boing, East Bay Times, The Guardian, VICE News and HuffPost

Emily Peck / HuffPost:

Brett Kavanaugh Liked Female Clerks Who Looked A ‘Certain Way,’ Yale Student Was Told — Yale professor and “Tiger Mom” Amy Chua, who's a Kavanaugh cheerleader, told the young woman to look “outgoing.” — A few years ago, as she was prepping to interview for a judicial clerkship …

Discussion: Raw Story and Roll Call

Washington Post:

Trump feels angry, unprotected amid mounting crises — President Trump's declaration that “I don't have an attorney general” was not merely the cry of an executive feeling betrayed by a subordinate. — It was also a raw expression of vulnerability and anger from a president who associates …

Discussion: The Hill, The Week, Mediaite, Bloomberg, Raw Story, The Diplomat, Shareblue Media, Bustle, CNBC, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, HuffPost, Boing Boing and Hit & Run

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

Republicans push to confirm Kavanaugh amid fears it will come at a political cost — President Trump and Senate Republicans on Wednesday took a hard line: full-speed ahead on Brett M. Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court despite an allegation of sexual assault decades ago.

Discussion: Fox News, The American Spectator, Politico, Townhall, TheBlaze, Raw Story, Weekly Standard, BloombergQuint, National Review, Breitbart, The Week, Political Wire, Mediaite and Axios

Sohrab Ahmari / New York Post:

The drive to sink Kavanaugh is liberal totalitarianism … If Senate Democrats and their media allies manage to destroy Brett Kavanaugh, they will bring America one step closer to a new, liberal style of totalitarianism. — I don't use the “T"-word lightly.

Discussion: The Last Tradition

Joe Heim / Washington Post:

‘These are the stories of our lives’: Prep school alumni hear echoes in assault claim — Bettina Lanyi remembers. It was 1986, and she was in eighth grade. She and a friend went to a house in Washington's Tenleytown neighborhood packed with high school kids, including a throng of boys …

Kevin Roose / New York Times:

Debunking 5 Viral Rumors About Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh's Accuser — Dr. Blasey has been the target of widespread social media disinformation since she came forward with accusations of sexual assault against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee.

Discussion: HuffPost, Bustle, VICE, The Gateway Pundit, Rewire.News, The Daily Caller and Glamour

Associated Press:

How 65 women came to Kavanaugh's defense in matter of hours — NEW YORK (AP) — It started as a series of phone calls among old high-school friends and ended up embroiling 65 women in the firestorm over a sexual assault allegation that could shape the Supreme Court.

Discussion: Law & Crime, ABC News and twitchy.com

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Once ‘99 Percent Against Trump,’ Dean Heller Calls Him ‘Great Leader’ — Senator Dean Heller on Wednesday called President Trump “a great leader” who had revived Nevada's economy, a striking departure from the arm's-length approach Mr. Heller took with Mr. Trump in the 2016 campaign and in the first months of his presidency.

Discussion: Political Wire

Julie Pace / Associated Press:

Bredesen backs Senate vote if Kavanaugh accuser won't appear — NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen said Wednesday that the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault “has a very credible story.” But he said the Judiciary Committee …

Discussion: Instapundit

Caleb Howe / Mediaite:

Napolitano: If GOP Rushes Vote, There Will Be ‘Taint’ on Kavanaugh ‘That Will Never Go Away’ — On Fox Business Network, Judge Andrew Napolitano was on with Neil Cavuto this afternoon discussing the nomination vote for Brett Kavanaugh in light of Christine Blasey Ford's accusation.

Kevin Liptak / CNN:

The FBI did investigate Anita Hill's accusation, and it took 3 days — Watch how senators grilled Anita Hill in 1991 — (CNN)As Christine Blasey Ford's lawyers insist the FBI investigate her allegation of sexual and physical assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Washington Post

Carol Kuruvilla / HuffPost:
Preacher Franklin Graham Claims Brett Kavanaugh Abuse Allegation Is Irrelevant

Discussion: Political Wire, The Gateway Pundit and Friendly Atheist

Bryan Lowry / Kansas City Star: McCaskill plans to vote against embattled Kavanaugh for Supreme Court seat

Greg Miller / Washington Post:
‘The Apprentice’ book excerpt: At CIA's ‘Russia House,’ growing alarm about 2016 election interference

Discussion: New Republic, Joe.My.God., Talking Points Memo, The Week, Washington Monthly and Raw Story

Washington Post: Trump's declassification order is an obvious abuse of presidential power

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner: Media, ABC, PBS use Facebook to beg other Kavanaugh accusers to talk, ‘Truth will emerge’

Maria Caspani / Reuters:
Opposition to Kavanaugh grows, support at historic low: Reuters/Ipsos poll

Discussion: Hot Air, HuffPost, USA Today, Shareblue Media, ThinkProgress, RedState, VICE, New York Times, The Week, Bustle, Daily Kos, Political Wire and Axios

Francis Wilkinson / Bloomberg: Brett Kavanaugh's Ruined Reputation

Kathleen Parker / Washington Post:
Is there a Kavanaugh doppelganger?

Discussion: Power Line, National Review, HuffPost, The Nation, Politico and Bustle

Riley Snyder / The Nevada Independent:
Heller predicts Kavanaugh confirmation to Supreme Court despite ‘hiccup’

Discussion: Informed Comment, Mashable, HuffPost and USA Today

CNN:
Grassley sets Friday deadline to hear back from Kavanaugh accuser

Discussion: Power Line, Sara A. Carter, Reuters, Shareblue Media, Sean Hannity, Bustle, Washington Free Beacon, The Atlantic and KTLA

Will Schmitt / Springfield News-Leader: Claire McCaskill says she's voting ‘no’ on Brett Kavanaugh

NAACP LDF:
John Legend Issues a Call to Action in Ad Launched by 14 Leading Social Justice Organizations …

Discussion: YouTube, Breitbart, IJR, The Daily Caller and Axios

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Republicans have no good options on Brett Kavanaugh

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Bustle, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Signal, Hot Air, HuffPost, No More Mister Nice Blog and Breitbart

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
‘I told her that I believed her’: Calif. lawmaker describes meeting with Kavanaugh accuser

Discussion: HuffPost, Politico, Bustle, Louder With Crowder, Vox, The Atlantic, Washington Free Beacon, New York Times and The Daily Beast

Justin Wise / The Hill:
Poll: Opposition to Kavanaugh rises

Discussion: Shareblue Media, IJR and ABC News

Lydia O'Connor / HuffPost:
Kavanaugh Accuser's Lawyer Says Rush To Hearing Is ‘Not A Fair Or Good Faith Investigation’

Discussion: Daily Wire, Talking Points Memo and RedState

Geoff Edgers / Washington Post:

THE 74-YEAR-OLD COMEDY STAR IS SOBER AND READY TO WORK. THE PROBLEM IS NOBODY WANTS TO WORK WITH HIM. — Chevy Chase is sitting on the porch, outside his home in wooded Westchester County. He takes a drag off a Marlboro and casually mentions that he ran into Donald Glover backstage at “Saturday Night Live.”

Discussion: Daily Wire, Hollywood Life, news.avclub.com, The Daily Caller, Consequence of Sound and Mediaite

Geoff Edgers / San Francisco Chronicle: Chevy Chase can't change

Elizabeth Bruenig / Washington Post:

What do we owe her now? — About that night — Aug. 11, 2006, was a sweltering Friday night in the midst of a long, fatally hot summer. A 16-year-old girl reported that she was raped that night, in a storage shed off a dirt road in my hometown of Arlington, Tex. Nobody was ever prosecuted for it …

Discussion: The American Conservative

The Hill:

READ: President Trump's exclusive interview with Hill.TV — covered a range of topics in an extensive Oval Office interview on Tuesday with Hill.TV's John Solomon and Buck Sexton. — Here is the extended conversation, which took place late Tuesday afternoon following the president's press conference …

Discussion: Breitbart, New York Times, Bustle, The Last Refuge, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Business Insider and Media Matters for America

Media Matters for America:
After demanding release of DOJ documents, Trump admits he's just doing what his sycophants tell him to do

Discussion: Wired, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, AOL, Hullabaloo and HuffPost

The Sun:

SANDS CRAZY Donald Trump suggested building a wall across the SAHARA to solve Europe's migrant crisis, Spanish minster claims — Respected Foreign minister Josep Borrell claims the US President suggested building an insanely immense barrier across North Africa to curb the numbers of African migrants surging into Europe

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Sam Jones / The Guardian:
Donald Trump urged Spain to ‘build the wall’ - across the Sahara

Discussion: Washington Post, Bustle, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Daily Kos and The Week

Cara Buckley / New York Times:

New York Review of Books Editor Is Out Amid Uproar Over #MeToo Essay — Ian Buruma, the editor of The New York Review of Books, left his position on Wednesday amid an uproar over the magazine's publication of an essay by a disgraced Canadian radio broadcaster who had been accused of sexually assaulting and battering women.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Deadline, New Republic, The Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Observer, Gothamist, Power Line, Vox, Jezebel and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

The Hill:

Trump slams Bush for ‘worst single mistake’ in U.S. history — took a little time during a policy-rich interview in the Oval Office to give his take on the biggest mistake in American history. — Was it the Civil War? Nah. The failure to stop Sept. 11? Nope. How about Pearl Harbor?

Discussion: Mediaite

Jillian D'Onfro / CNBC:

Alibaba's Jack Ma backs down from promise to Trump to bring 1 million jobs to the US — Jack Ma, founder of Chinese retail giant Alibaba, has recanted his promise to Donald Trump to create 1 million U.S. jobs. — Experts have said that Ma's vow to create 1 million jobs linked …

Discussion: The Verge, The Week, Axios and Sean Hannity, more at Techmeme »

Aaron Bracamontes / KTSM-TV:

Child pornography reason behind Sunspot Observatory closure, according to court documents — A federal search warrant reveals that Sunspot Solar Observatory was shut down as FBI agents conducted computer forensic searches for child pornography. — The source of child pornography was traced …

Frances Stead Sellers / Washington Post:

FEMA chief considered quitting as feud with Homeland Security secretary boiled over — MORRISVILLE, N.C. — With his home state flooded and the death toll rising, FEMA Administrator William “Brock” Long was on the verge of quitting this week. — On Sunday, his bitter feud …

Cristina Johnson / FOX News Radio:

Co-Founder Of March For Our Lives Cameron Kasky Explains The Mistakes He's Made & Why He Left March For Our Lives — Co-Founder of March For Our Lives Cameron Kasky joined Fox News Radio's Guy Benson and Marie Harf to talk about his decision to step away from March For Our Lives.

Discussion: Daily Wire

New York Post:

De Blasio has secret meeting with Red Sox management … Red Alert! — Mayor Bill de Blasio met secretly with Red Sox brass for a 90-minute lunch on Wednesday at the downtown offices of Goldman Sachs, The Post has learned. — Hizzoner, a lifelong Red Sox fan, met with the team's GM Dave Dombrowski …

Ross Barkan / Gothamist:

I Ran For State Senate In Brooklyn And Lost. Here's What I Learned — They don't prepare you to give a concession speech. Outside of politics, what is the equivalent? You can't find it in writing, journalism, or teaching—the fields I worked in before embarking on the wonderful …