memeorandum: Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford moved 3,000 miles to reinvent her life. It wasn't far enough. (Jessica Contrera/Washington Post)

1:50 PM ET, September 22, 2018

Top Items:

Heidi Przybyla / NBC News:

Spokesman for GOP on Kavanaugh nomination resigns; has been accused of harassment in the past — An adviser for the Senate Judiciary Committee has resigned amid questions from NBC News about a previous sexual harassment complaint. — WASHINGTON — A press adviser helping lead …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Reuters, Axios, Joe.My.God., CNBC, The Guardian, The Week, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA and Mediaite

Jessica Contrera / Washington Post:

Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford moved 3,000 miles to reinvent her life. It wasn't far enough. — When Donald Trump won his upset presidential victory in 2016, Christine Blasey Ford's thoughts quickly turned to a name most Americans had never heard of but one that had unsettled her for years: Brett M. Kavanaugh.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Politico, ThinkProgress, Refinery29, LifeZette, POLITICUSUSA, CNN, Vox, BloombergQuint, Daily Kos, Daily Wire and Washingtonian

Bret Stephens / New York Times:

This I Believe About Blasey v. Kavanaugh — I believe Blasey deserves to be fairly heard, not automatically believed. — I have absolutely no idea what, if anything, happened between Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford at a party in Maryland in the early 1980s.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, HuffPost, CNBC, Townhall and CNN

Bret Stephens / New York Times:

G.O.P. Leaders Can't Even Fake Respect for Christine Blasey Ford — They are struggling to pretend they will fairly weigh her accusations against Brett Kavanaugh. — The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section.

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, IJR and The Week

Wall Street Journal:

The Presumption of Guilt — The new liberal standard turns American due process upside down. — The Editorial Board — “As Judge Kavanaugh stands to gain the lifetime privilege of serving on the country's highest court, he has the burden of persuasion. And that is only fair.”

Discussion: The Other McCain

Christina Wilkie / CNBC:

Trump HUD Secretary Ben Carson claims Kavanaugh allegations are part of a centuries old socialist plot — Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson said that a long-running plot by Socialists to take over America was fueling recent allegations of sexual assault …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, Outside the Beltway, Joe.My.God., WTOP and Bustle

Seung Min Kim / Washington Post:

Grassley adviser resigns after sexual harassment accusation — A communications adviser to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) during the Supreme Court confirmation fight has abruptly resigned after an accusation of sexual harassment — an allegation he denies.

Michael Dresser / Baltimore Sun:

Gov. Hogan rules out state police investigation of Kavanaugh allegations — Gov. Larry Hogan on Friday ruled out involving the Maryland State Police in any investigation of allegations that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl more than 30 years ago in Montgomery County.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Raw Story, The Intercept and New York Times

Harry Enten / CNN:
Brett Kavanaugh is the least popular Supreme Court nominee in 30 years

Discussion: The Guardian, The Week, FiveThirtyEight and Washington Post

John Culhane / Politico:
Ed Whelan's Troubles Might Be Just Beginning

Discussion: Raw Story

CNN:
GOP Senate nominee: Kavanaugh accusation ‘absurd’ because they were drunk and assault attempt ‘never went anywhere’

Discussion: HuffPost, Roll Call, Splinter, Raw Story, LifeZette, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Nevada Independent, AOL, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Glamour, The Daily Signal and Bustle

Gina Martinez / TIME:
Ronald Reagan's Daughter Comes Out As Sexual Assault Survivor in Op-Ed Defending Kavanaugh Accuser

Discussion: LifeZette, New York Times and HuffPost

Jamie Dupree / AJC:
At impasse over testimony by accuser, GOP sets Monday panel vote on Kavanaugh

Discussion: The New Neo, twitchy.com, France 24, Outside the Beltway, Daily Wire and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Amber Athey / The Daily Caller:
Kavanaugh Accuser's Lawyer Caught On Camera: ‘We Are Going To Resist’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Other McCain, Conservative News Today and Louder With Crowder

Eliana Johnson / Politico:
PR firm helped Whelan stoke half-baked Kavanaugh alibi

Washington Post:

Former top White House official revises statement to special counsel about Flynn's calls with Russian ambassador — A former top White House official has revised her statement to investigators about a key event in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election, after her initial claim …

Discussion: Mediaite

Alexandra Hutzler / Newsweek:

Former Trump Aide Jason Miller Accused of Secretly Administering Abortion Pill — Former Donald Trump aide Jason Miller has been accused of secretly administering an “abortion pill” to a woman he got pregnant during an affair, new court documents show. — The court filing …

Katherine Krueger / Splinter:
Court Docs Allege Ex-Trump Staffer Drugged Woman He Got Pregnant With ‘Abortion Pill’ [UPDATED]

Discussion: Raw Story, Bustle and Joe.My.God.

Ben Brody / BloombergQuint:

White House Drafts Order to Look Into Google, Facebook — (Bloomberg) — The White House has drafted an executive order for President Donald Trump's signature that would instruct federal antitrust and law enforcement agencies to open probes into the practices of Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Facebook Inc., and other social media companies.

Discussion: LifeZette

Jim Edwards / Business Insider:

The White House is considering an antitrust investigation into ‘online platform bias’ at Google and Facebook — read the leaked document here — Business Insider has obtained a copy of a proposed executive order for President Trump that would ask federal law enforcement to …

Discussion: Gizmodo, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit and AOL

CNN:

Smears of Robert Mueller are baseless — Dershowitz and Toobin discuss Mueller investigation — Norman Eisen is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and was President Barack Obama's “ethics czar” from 2009 to 2011. He is the author of “The Last Palace.”

Discussion: NPR, Washington Monthly and Axios

Emily Stewart / Vox:
Hannity's surprising advice to Trump on Rosenstein: “Under zero circumstances should the president fire anybody”

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Fox News and Breitbart

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:
At Missouri Rally, Trump Vows to Eliminate ‘Lingering Stench’ at the Justice Department

Discussion: abc13.com, Outside the Beltway, CNN, HuffPost and emptywheel

The Daily Beast:
Trump Is Ready for Justice Department ‘Jihad’ After Rod Rosenstein Report

Discussion: Raw Story, Florida Politics, Breitbart, Mediaite, Common Dreams, The Week and twitchy.com

NBC News:
Rosenstein joked about secretly recording Trump, Justice Department officials say

Discussion: Vox, Conservative News Today, Your News Wire, Joe.My.God., WRAL-TV, Mediaite, France 24, Daily Kos, HuffPost, The Last Refuge and Towleroad Gay News

Eli Rosenberg / Washington Post:

These six — yes, six — siblings of a Republican congressman just endorsed his opponent — Families are complicated, their private tensions and political disagreements often kept under wraps. — That's not the case with Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), whose opponent in the midterm election just got a boost from Gosar's siblings.

Discussion: RedState, Joe.My.God., Talking Points Memo and Mashable

YouTube:
Paul Gosar Is Not Working For You Long

Discussion: AOL, twitchy.com and Phoenix New Times

Danielle Paquette / Washington Post:

China cancels trade talks with U.S. as new Trump tariffs loom — China has scrapped trade talks with the United States days before President Trump is set to escalate the commercial battle with a new round of tariffs, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

Lingling Wei / Wall Street Journal:
China Cancels Trade Talks With U.S. Amid Escalation in Tariff Threats

Discussion: Bloomberg, BloombergQuint, CNBC and The Week

Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:
Tariffs to Raise Cost of Rebuilding After Hurricane Florence

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Julia Manchester / The Hill:

Clinton would beat Trump in landslide in 2016 re-run, says Hill.TV poll — would lose the popular vote again if the 2016 presidential election were held again today, according to a new Hill.TV poll. — The survey conducted by Hill.TV and the HarrisX polling company found that 36 percent …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and The Daily Caller

The Texas Tribune:

Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke clash over immigration, Trump, guns during intense debate — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke held a feisty debate Friday evening at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. … DALLAS — U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso …

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Conservative News Today, Off the Kuff and Hot Air

Lukas Mikelionis / Fox News:

Keith Ellison says his accuser fabricated domestic violence abuse story, can't be sure others won't ‘cook up’ allegations — U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison pushed back Friday against allegations of domestic abuse, saying his accuser fabricated the story about him.