memeorandum: Trump calls for ‘comprehensive’ but ‘quick’ FBI investigation: 'We don't want to go on a witch hunt, do we?' (Kendall Karson/ABC News)

5:50 PM ET, October 1, 2018

Top Items:

White House Tells F.B.I. to Interview Anyone Necessary for Kavanaugh Inquiry — WASHINGTON — The White House has authorized the F.B.I. to expand its abbreviated investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh by interviewing anyone it deems necessary as long …

David French / National Review:

The Case Against Kavanaugh Is Collapsing — There is entirely insufficient evidence to prove even one of the terrible allegations against President Trump's Supreme Court nominee. — A very strange thing happened over the weekend: If you follow Twitter closely, you'll notice that the debate …

Discussion: NBC News, Axios, Washington Post and Townhall

New York Times:

Chad Ludington's Statement on Kavanaugh's Drinking and Senate Testimony — Chad Ludington, a Yale classmate of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh's who said he often drank with him, issued a statement on Sunday saying the Supreme Court nominee was not truthful about his drinking in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Chicks On The Right, Salon, Observer, Raw Story, New York Post, Axios, Shareblue Media, Townhall, Mediaite and The American Conservative

Pema Levy / Mother Jones:

Rachel Mitchell's Former Colleague Slams Her Kavanaugh Memo as “Absolutely Disingenuous” — The prosecutor hired by Republicans to question Brett Kavanaugh's accuser would have applied much higher standards in her own office, he says. … A former colleague of Rachel Mitchell …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:

Brett Kavanaugh's Fox News Interview Is Now Testimony Under Oath — The judge's potentially dubious claims about drinking and virginity carry penalty of perjury — Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee released transcripts of a private interview with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Discussion: HuffPost, Politico, ThinkProgress, Breitbart and Raw Story

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

McConnell: Senate will hold Kavanaugh vote ‘this week’ — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the Senate will hold a vote on Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination this week. — “The time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close. Judge Kavanaugh's nomination is out of committee.

Discussion: The Other McCain and Instapundit

New Yorker:

The Confusion Surrounding the F.B.I.'s Renewed Investigation of Brett Kavanaugh — As the F.B.I. began its investigation this weekend into allegations of sexual misconduct by Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, several people who hope to contribute information …

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The big gulf on Kavanaugh is partisan. The big change in the last month was among women.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Politico and CNN

Matthew Choi / Politico:
Flake says FBI probe can't just give senators ‘cover’ to vote for Kavanaugh

Discussion: Political Wire, ABC News, Chicks On The Right and The Federalist

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Reckless Republicans aren't giving any thought to tomorrow

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CBS News, Bloomberg, Hullabaloo and Raw Story

Kendall Karson / ABC News:
Trump calls for ‘comprehensive’ but ‘quick’ FBI investigation: 'We don't want to go on a witch hunt, do we?'

Discussion: Townhall, Washington Post, Reuters, The Gateway Pundit, The Right Scoop, The Week and Daily Kos

David Corn / Mother Jones:
Kavanaugh in 2015: A Judge Must Keep “Emotions in Check” and Not Be a “Political Partisan”

Discussion: USA Today, Weekly Standard, Outside the Beltway, The Atlantic and New York Times

Jason Lemon / Newsweek:
Kavanaugh Said He Had ‘No Connections’ to Yale. He Was, in Fact, a Legacy Student

Discussion: Right Wing Watch, ThinkProgress and The Intercept

NBC News:
Kavanaugh classmate to tell FBI of nominee's ‘violent drunken’ behavior in college

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Conservative News Today, Heavy.com, Talking Points Memo, Common Dreams and Joe.My.God.

Daily Mail:
Donald Trump Jr. on DailyMailTV: He-said she-said cases harm boys too

Discussion: HuffPost, The Week, VICE, ABC News, Chicks On The Right, Splinter, Joe.My.God., The Root, Conservative News Today, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, Mediaite and Jezebel

Kristine Marsh / NewsBusters: ABC Misleads Viewers by Not Mentioning ‘Hero’ Who Cornered Flake Is Soros-Funded Democrat Operative

Seung Min Kim / Washington Post:
In memo, outside prosecutor argues why she would not bring criminal charges against Kavanaugh

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Another Trump coverup? Former FBI agents question limits on probe of Kavanaugh.

Discussion: Vox, Common Dreams, CNN, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, The Atlantic, National Review, Essence, The Intellectualist, Daily Kos and Raw Story

Bre Payton / The Federalist:
SEX-CRIMES PROSECUTOR DETAILS 12 MASSIVE INCONSISTENCIES IN KAVANAUGH ACCUSER'S STORY

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart and LifeNews.com

Rebecca Morin / Politico:
Trump: I want FBI to do a ‘very comprehensive’ probe of Kavanaugh allegations

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, Breitbart and Hot Air

Heather Long / Washington Post:

U.S., Canada and Mexico just reached a sweeping new NAFTA deal. Here's what's in it. — Goodbye, NAFTA. Hello, ‘USMCA.’ The deal has a new name, new rules for cars and trucks, and labor and IP protections. — On Sunday night, President Trump got his wish for a significantly revised North American trade deal.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, Jared Bernstein, Globe and Mail, Hit & Run, Vox, TheBlaze, Outside the Beltway, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Reuters

David Fickling / Bloomberg:
Globalists Will Love Trump's New Nafta Deal

Discussion: Washington Post, The Atlantic, BloombergQuint, The Daily Caller and Joe.My.God.

CBS News:
Trump touts NAFTA overhaul in press conference

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, CNBC, Washington Post and Chicks On The Right

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:

The Washington Times settles lawsuit with Seth Rich's brother, issues retraction and apology for its coverage — The Washington Times on Monday issued a lengthy retraction and apology for an editorial it published in March about Aaron Rich, the brother of the slain Democratic National Committee …

Discussion: Politico, Vox and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Times:

Retraction: Aaron Rich and the murder of Seth Rich — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — The Washington Times published an op-ed column titled, “More cover-up questions: The curious murder of Seth Rich poses questions that just won't stay under the official rug,” by Adm. James Lyons (Ret.) (the “Column” …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Snopes.com and Joe.My.God.

Kyle Potter / Associated Press:

APNewsBreak: Attorney: Ellison abuse claim unsubstantiated — ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An ex-girlfriend's allegation that Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison once physically abused her could not be substantiated because she refused to provide video she said she had of the incident …

Discussion: New Republic, Axios, Political Wire, The Right Scoop, Law & Crime and The Daily Caller

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:

Fired Contributor Rips Fox News For Hypocrisy, Identifies Hosts Who Had Affairs and Hung With Strippers — Kevin Jackson was swiftly fired as a Fox News contributor last week after he unleashed a torrent of tweets that, amongst other nuttery, referred to Brett Kavanaugh's accusers as “Lying skanks.”

Discussion: Raw Story, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller and Joe.My.God.

CNN:

CNN Polls: Missouri, Nevada Senators face close races in re-election bids — WASHINGTON (CNN)The sitting Senators in two of the most closely watched re-election fights this fall are running nearly even with their challengers, according to new CNN polls conducted by SSRS.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Jeremy B. White / Politico:

Hunter tries to link Democratic opponent to ‘radical Islamists’ — OAKLAND, Calif. — Rep. Duncan Hunter's campaign insinuates in a new TV ad that his Democratic opponent is part of an attempt by Muslims to “infiltrate” the U.S. government. — The California Republican has maintained …

Salvador Rizzo / Washington Post:
Indicted congressman falsely ties opponent to terrorism

Discussion: Times of San Diego, Splinter and Breitbart

Reuters:

Saudi economist who criticized Aramco IPO charged with terrorism: activists — DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor has charged a man, identified by activists as a prominent economist who once criticized plans to float shares of Saudi Aramco, with joining a terrorist organization and meeting with foreign diplomats.

New York Times:

Biden Is Preparing for 2020. Can He Overcome the Hill-Thomas Hearings? — PROVIDENCE, R.I. — At a Democratic rally in a downtown ballroom Sunday evening, Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island spoke vividly about the Senate hearings on the sexual assault allegations against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh …

Discussion: Vox, Splinter, MySanAntonio.com, Shakesville and Talking Points Memo

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Manafort meets with Mueller prosecutors — The sit-down stems from a guilty plea that requires the former Trump campaign chairman to cooperate with the special counsel's probe. — Paul Manafort met Monday with special counsel Robert Mueller's office as part of his cooperation agreement …

Discussion: Raw Story

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:

Brett Kavanaugh's Comments In That Hearing Raise Ethics Questions That Will Likely Follow Him Whether Or Not He's Confirmed — WASHINGTON — Last week, US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh railed against Democrats in Congress, the Clinton family, and “left-wing opposition groups.”

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Comey offers to testify in public about GOP's FBI bias claims — Former FBI Director James Comey has rejected a request by House Judiciary Committee Republicans to appear at a closed hearing as part of the GOP probe into allegations of political bias at the Justice Department and FBI.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

U.S. Department of Justice:
Justice Department Files Net Neutrality Lawsuit Against the State of California

Discussion: ZDNet, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Hit & Run, New York Times, Common Dreams, ncsl.org, Los Angeles Times, Motherboard, The Verge and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Greg Bluestein / politics.myajc:

Landmark poll shows tight race for Georgia gov, a divide over Kavanaugh — New polling released Monday showed Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp in a tight contest for the state's top job, mirroring other recent surveys that showed a razor-thin race.

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

There was only one White House press briefing in the entire month of September — The disappearance of the White House briefing — President Trump is talking with the press corps all the time. But his accessibility is increasing at the same time the White House press briefings are decreasing.