memeorandum: Hunter tries to link Democratic opponent to ‘radical Islamists’ (Jeremy B. White/Politico)

5:25 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 …

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

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, Townhall and Above the Law

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 …

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 and ThinkProgress

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, emptywheel, Raw Story, Althouse, Patterico's Pontifications, The Resurgent, Law & Crime, Splinter, NTK Network, Talking Points Memo, Betsy's Page, HuffPost, Maggie's Farm, The Week, Political Wire, Politico and Lawyers, Guns & Money

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

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

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart and Vox

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

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

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

Michael Ginsberg / The Federalist:
WHY THERE'S A GOOD CASE FOR SANCTIONING CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD'S LAWYERS

Discussion: Raw Story

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

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

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, Reuters, The Right Scoop, The Week and Daily Kos

John Wagner / Washington Post: Trump adds to confusion over scope of FBI investigation of Kavanaugh accusations

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
In Kavanaugh fight, Democrats move goalposts far, far away

Discussion: twitchy.com and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

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.

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, Hit & Run, Globe and Mail, Vox, TheBlaze, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Outside the Beltway 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

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

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: Instapundit

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

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

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

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

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.

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, The Daily Caller and Joe.My.God.

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

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.

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.

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Texas governor calls Beto O'Rourke ‘cult-like’ figure — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Monday described Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) as “cult-like” in the way that he's garnered attention in his bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). — “He's been a cult-like, very popular figure …

Discussion: RedState, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God., The Week, Mother Jones and twitchy.com

Katie Herzog / The Stranger:

A Progressive Writer Was a Bad Boyfriend. And Then He Was Fired for It. — A year after Harvey Weinstein was outed as an alleged rapist by the New York Times and the New Yorker, #MeToo is on the brink of evolving from being a movement about powerful men abusing women in the workplace to one more about men behaving badly in general.

Discussion: Spectator USA