memeorandum: Trump, Breaking With U.S. Intelligence, Appears to Accept Saudi Explanation of Journalist's Death (New York Times)

11:55 AM ET, October 20, 2018

Top Items:

Trump, Breaking With U.S. Intelligence, Appears to Accept Saudi Explanation of Journalist's Death — WASHINGTON — President Trump broke with his own intelligence agencies on Friday, appearing to accept Saudi Arabia's explanation that the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by accident during a fistfight …

Discussion: WORLD, Joe.My.God., The Week, Daily Kos, CNN, Al Jazeera English, The Guardian, Mediaite and Associated Press

New York Times:

Uproar Over Dissident Rattles Saudi Royal Family — BEIRUT, Lebanon — As international outrage grew at Saudi Arabia over the apparent killing of the Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, an alarmed King Salman dispatched a senior royal to address the matter with Turkey's president.

Discussion: LewRockwell, Middle East Eye and Mediaite

Ben Hubbard / New York Times:

Jamal Khashoggi Is Dead, Saudi Arabia Says — BEIRUT, Lebanon — Saudi Arabia has announced that Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident Saudi journalist who disappeared in Istanbul more than two weeks ago, is dead. — Eighteen Saudis have been arrested and are being investigated in connection with the case …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, BBC, Reuters, Political Wire, Mediaite, CNN, HuffPost, Outside the Beltway, TheDrive, Patterico's Pontifications, The Guardian, Raw Story, The Week, twitchy.com, Joe.My.God., Vox, Committee to Protect … and Common Dreams

Hassan Hassan / The Atlantic:

What's Missing From the Saudis' Khashoggi Story — Seventeen days after the disappearance of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, authorities in Riyadh finally confirmed his death. According to the Saudi version of what happened, Khashoggi died after a fist fight between him and several men at the consulate in Istanbul.

Washington Post:

The Saudi explanation for Jamal Khashoggi's death is a fable. Still Trump plays along. — SAUDI ARABIA now has acknowledged that it lied to the world for 17 days about what happened to journalist Jamal Khashoggi when he entered its consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

Discussion: Political Wire and New York Times

Shane Harris / Washington Post:

Saudi claims that Khashoggi died in a ‘brawl’ draw immediate skepticism — Claims by the government of Saudi Arabia that Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi died in a physical altercation inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul drew immediate skepticism and contradicted earlier dueling accounts from Saudi and Turkish officials.

Discussion: Politico

Associated Press:

Turkish reaction: we won't allow “cover-up” in Saudi killing — ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey will “never allow a cover-up” of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, a senior official in Turkey's ruling party said Saturday after Saudi Arabia announced hours earlier …

Discussion: Splinter, Political Wire and Reuters

Kareem Fahim / Washington Post:

Circumstances of Jamal Khashoggi's death will not be ‘covered up,’ Turkish official says — ISTANBUL — A spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party vowed Saturday that Turkey would “uncover what has happened” to Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, hours after Saudi authorities …

Discussion: The Guardian

Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:

More Insulting Lies From Saudi Arabia — What we face now is a test for President Trump and America itself. — After lying for more than two weeks about the death of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi government has now announced a series of new lies about his murder in ways that insult both Jamal's memory and our intelligence.

Discussion: Raw Story

David Von Drehle / Washington Post: Mohammed bin Salman could bring his kingdom crumbling down

Washington Post:
How Turkey's president pressured the Saudis to account for Khashoggi's death

Discussion: The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress and Washingtonian

Josh Rogin / Washington Post: ‘America First’ doesn't work without American values

Washington Post:
Saudi Arabia fires 5 top officials, arrests 18 Saudis after saying Khashoggi was killed in fight at consulate

Discussion: New York Times, Al Jazeera English, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Middle East Eye, Daily Wire and Splinter

Financial Times:
Jamal Khashoggi's death confirmed by Saudi Arabia

Discussion: Raw Story, Home Page Rotator, USA Today, Washington Post, The New Arab and CNBC

Washington Post:
Saudi government acknowledges journalist Jamal Khashaoggi died while in that country's consulate in Istanbul

Discussion: Axios, Mother Jones, The Guardian, Associated Press, Common Dreams, HuffPost, CNN, Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg, Boing Boing, Middle East Eye and Political Wire

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker: “Trump Never Handles Anything Right”: The President Is Acting Like Saudi Arabia's Lawyer in the Khashoggi Affair

Yara Bayoumy / Reuters: Saudi crown prince had no knowledge of ‘specific’ Khashoggi operation: source

Christine Wang / CNBC:
Saudi Arabia claims Khashoggi was killed in a fight, contrary to other accounts

Discussion: The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, wabe.org, Washington Post, RedState and Media Matters for America, more at Mediagazer »

TMZ.com:

Senator Mitch McConnell Confronted at Restaurant by Angry Customers — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was confronted Friday night by some angry diners who loudly berated him for his politics. — The Kentucky Senator was eating dinner with his wife at Havana Rumba in Louisville, when 4 men confronted Mitch.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

HuffPost:

Rep. Steve King Goes Full White Nationalist In Interview With Austrian Site — A shocking interview with a far-right propaganda site offers the clearest look yet at the congressman's racist ideology. — Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) visited Austria in August and gave an extensive interview …

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

For President Trump, it's 2016 all over again — If you haven't looked up recently, President Trump is everywhere. He is campaigning across the country at a frenetic pace. His White House has clamped down on press briefings, but he is giving interviews by the bushelful.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

John Bowden / The Hill:
GOP women's group backs Dem candidates in Michigan

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon and OpenSecrets.org

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
What Donald Trump did Thursday night in Montana is really dangerous

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Caller News Foundation, Spokesman.com and The Daily Caller

Bre Payton / The Federalist:

Arizona Democrat Kyrsten Sinema Attacked ‘Bullshit’ Stay-At-Home Moms For ‘Leeching Off Their Husbands’ — 'These women who act like staying at home, leeching off their husbands or boyfriends, and just cashing the checks is some sort of feminism because they're choosing to live that life.'

Discussion: twitchy.com, Althouse, Washington Free Beacon, Townhall, MAGAVoter, Arizona Republic and Daily Wire

Washington Post:
'This country doesn't want them': Trump rails against migrants trying to enter the U.S.

Discussion: Political Wire, ABC News, Politico and The Week

Politico:
‘A great first step’: Trump praises Saudi statement on Khashoggi's death

Discussion: The Hill, twitchy.com and Breitbart

Anchorage Daily News:

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker ends campaign for re-election, endorses Mark Begich — Alaska Gov. Bill Walker announced Friday he is dropping his bid for re-election, and threw support to Democrat Mark Begich over Republican Mike Dunleavy. — Walker, elected as an independent …

Discussion: Vox and Joe.My.God.

Daniel Strauss / Politico:
Alaska governor Walker suspends campaign, endorses Democrat Begich

Discussion: TheBlaze and The Daily Caller

Politico:

Air wars: Hawley flies on lobbyist's plane after blasting McCaskill — Missouri's Senate candidates duke it out over whose flights are more unsavory. — Josh Hawley has criticized Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill repeatedly for using a private plane to travel around Missouri.

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

What if the Republicans Win Everything Again? — Total victory for the G.O.P. would mean Trump unleashed. — The end of Robert Mueller's investigation. The loss of health insurance for several million people. New laws that make it harder to vote. More tax cuts for the rich.

Discussion: Washington Post

Ariana Eunjung Cha / Washington Post:

As U.S. fertility rates collapse, finger-pointing and blame follow — New data confirms historic declines across all races, in both urban and rural areas. — As 2017 drew to a close, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) urged Americans to have more children. To keep the country great, he said, we're “going to need more people.”

Donald J. Mihalek / The Hill:

Attacks on public figures are growing — Recently, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner boarded a flight from D.C. to New York. This type of flight is termed a shuttle flight due to its quick and direct link between D.C. and New York. Business people, power brokers and decision makers who need …

Adam Satariano / New York Times:

Facebook Ads From Unknown Backer Take Aim at Brexit Plan — LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May has struggled to build support for her plan for Britain's exit from the European Union. Now, it turns out, some of the opposition has come from an unknown organization posting ads to millions of people on Facebook.

Allison Kite / Kansas City Star:

Missouri GOP sent 10,000 voters false absentee voting information — The Missouri Republican Party sent mailers to 10,000 voters across the state with false information about when their absentee ballots are due, the party's executive director acknowledged Friday.

Wesley Morgan / Politico:

Newest security worry: Trump without Mattis — National security leaders fear that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is on his way out — and that Donald Trump's next Pentagon chief will be far more subservient to the president's unilateral and bombastic whims. — Mattis was instrumental …

Discussion: Raw Story

Andrew Higgins / New York Times:

Three Internet Trolls Convicted of Systematic Defamation Against Journalist in Finland — MOSCOW — For more than three years, a Finnish journalist who investigated Russia's army of vicious internet trolls faced a barrage of false accusations online that she was an American intelligence operative …

Zameena Mejia / CNBC:

Winning the $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot won't make you happier, but it will do this, according to science — Time is running out to buy your ticket for today's Mega Millions lottery. The jackpot has topped $1 billion, officially making it the second highest jackpot ever and the highest ever Mega Millions jackpot.

Discussion: WPIX 11 New York, WTVR-TV, CBS Denver, KTLA and FOX31 Denver

Jared Gilmour / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Texas family paints a huge BETO sign on the front lawn, sparking a feud with the HOA — Yard signs are nothing compared with the political statement on this Texas family's lawn. — “BETO” is painted in gargantuan white letters directly on the grass in front of the family's stately brick home in Katy, Texas, photos show.