memeorandum: Judge dismisses female genital mutilation charges in historic case (Tresa Baldas/Detroit Free Press)

10:35 AM ET, November 21, 2018

Top Items:

Trump Wanted to Order Justice Dept. to Prosecute Comey and Clinton — WASHINGTON — President Trump told the White House counsel in the spring that he wanted to order the Justice Department to prosecute two of his political adversaries: his 2016 challenger, Hillary Clinton …

Washington Post:

Conservative nonprofit with obscure roots and undisclosed funders paid Matthew Whitaker $1.2 million — In the three years after he arrived in Washington in 2014, Matthew G. Whitaker received more than $1.2 million as the leader of a charity that reported having no other employees, some of the best pay of his career.

Discussion: CNBC, Washington Press, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, HuffPost and Talking Points Memo

Natasha Bertrand / The Atlantic:

Trump's Yearning to Prosecute His Political Enemies — The president of the United States reportedly tried to use the full force of the country's law-enforcement apparatus to prosecute his political enemies—and Justice Department veterans are calling it everything from “incredibly” alarming to “flat-out un-American.”

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, The Week, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

Former Bush attorney general Alberto Gonzales rebukes Trump for reportedly seeking to prosecute Clinton, Comey — Former Bush administration attorney general Alberto Gonzales on Wednesday criticized President Trump following a report that Trump sought to prosecute two of his political adversaries …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Daily Kos and CNBC

Matt Naham / Law & Crime:
Here's Why the New York Times Bombshell Report Could Be the Finishing Touch for Mueller's Obstruction Case

Discussion: Politico and Mediaite

New York Times:
Matthew Whitaker Earned $1.2 Million From Group Backed by Undisclosed Donors

Discussion: American Oversight, Law & Crime and Gizmodo

Tess Bonn / The Hill:
House GOP to hold hearing into DOJ's probe of Clinton Foundation

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

CREW: CREW Requests All Versions of Whitaker's Financial Disclosures

David Corn / Mother Jones:
Matt Whitaker Suggested Trump Administration Should Prosecute Hillary Clinton

Discussion: The Guardian and Mediaite

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Top Trump officials saved the President from himself

Discussion: KTLA

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed News:
The White House Won't Say When Trump Formally Named Matthew Whitaker As Acting Attorney General

Discussion: The Daily Signal

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Senators demand Trump say whether Saudi prince ordered Khashoggi killing — The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is demanding a definitive determination from President Donald Trump about whether Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Discussion: Vox, Axios, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, CNBC and One America News Network

Wall Street Journal:

Trump's Crude Realpolitik — His statement about the Saudis had no mention of America's values. — By The Editorial Board — President Trump did himself and the country no favor with his crude statement Tuesday on the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of Jamal Khashoggi's murder by Saudi agents.

Washington Post:

Trump calls Saudi Arabia a ‘great ally,’ discounts crown prince's responsibility for Khashoggi's death — President Trump declared his strong support for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, effectively ignoring the CIA's conclusion that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the brutal killing …

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Almost everything Trump just said about Saudi Arabia and Jamal Khashoggi is wrong or overly simplistic

Discussion: Politico, RedState, The Mahablog and Mediaite

Julian E. Barnes / New York Times:
Trump's Statement on Saudi Arabia, Explained!

Discussion: Washington Post and Althouse

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:
The DC Establishment Gets Almost Everything Wrong About Trump's Saudi Posture

Discussion: CNBC, IndieWire and The American Conservative, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
Trump Stands Up for Saudi Arabian Values

Discussion: Axios, Washington Post, The Intercept, Vox, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo

Associated Press:
“I am astounded:” Sen. Corker compares White House statement to PR for Saudi Arabia

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Post, HuffPost and Foreign Policy

Washington Post:
Trump's latest statement on Khashoggi was a betrayal of American values

Discussion: New Yorker, Washington Monthly, AOL, Just Security, Mashable, HuffPost, VICE News and The Atlantic

Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:

Ex-Facebook President Sean Parker Funded Race-Baiting Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith's Super PAC — A spokesman for the Napster founder said he denounces Cindy Hyde-Smith's comments but isn't calling for a refund of the money he's given. — As embattled incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Snopes.com, Splinter, IJR, The Week, Politico, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Political Wire

Jennifer E. Duffy / The Cook Political Report:

Mississippi Senate Special: It's All About Turnout — Lost amid recounts in Florida, uncertainty in Georgia and a handful of uncalled House races is the special election run-off in Mississippi to fill the remainder of former Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran's term.

Discussion: Roll Call, Weekly Standard, The Guardian and Reuters

James Arkin / Politico: Hyde-Smith apologizes ‘to anyone offended’ by public hanging remark

India Today:

American killed on Andaman island home to uncontacted people, body yet to be recovered — The murder took place on an island inhabited by the Sentinelese people, who are protected under Indian law — A rare photo of two members of the Sentinelese tribe, which is protected under Indian law …

Discussion: NPR and Althouse

France 24:
US tourist killed by arrow-shooting Indian tribe

Discussion: Daily Wire

Tresa Baldas / Detroit Free Press:

Judge dismisses female genital mutilation charges in historic case — In a major blow to the federal government, a judge in Detroit has declared America's female genital mutilation law unconstitutional, thereby dismissing the key charges against two Michigan doctors and six others accused …

Discussion: Detroit News, Simple Justice, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart and TheBlaze

Laura Ly / CNN:
Charges dropped in first federal genital mutilation case in US

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Judge voids U.S. female genital mutilation law

Discussion: Chicago Tribune and Daily Wire

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Behind the scenes: Trump vs. Mueller — President Trump delivered to Robert Mueller handwritten answers about pre-election dimensions of the Russia probe but did not answer questions about his behavior as president, including allegations of obstruction of justice — and will resist doing so in the future …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Political Wire, ABC News, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast and Washington Post

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Mueller got some answers, but he's not done with Trump

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and Vox

BBC:

Russia loses Interpol presidency vote — Interpol has elected South Korean Kim Jong-yang as its president, rejecting the Russian frontrunner who had been accused of abusing the international police body's arrest warrant system. — Mr Kim was chosen by Interpol's 194 member states at a meeting of its annual congress in Dubai.

Discussion: CNN, Daily Wire and The Guardian

Associated Press:
South Korean named Interpol president in blow to Russia

Discussion: Colorado Politics and TheBlaze

Max Read / New York Magazine:

The Decline and Fall of the Zuckerberg Empire — Mark Zuckerberg isn't the first person in human history to draw inspiration from Augustus Caesar, the founder of the Roman Empire, but he's one of a very few for whom the lessons of Augustus's reign have a concrete urgency.

Discussion: Gizmodo, Engadget and Investor's Business Daily, more at Techmeme »

Barbara Ortutay / Associated Press:
As Facebook faces fire, heat turns up on No. 2 Sandberg

Discussion: CNN, KTLA and Mediaite

Los Angeles Times:

Election fraud scheme on L.A.'s skid row got homeless to sign fake names for cigarettes and cash, D.A. says — A forged signature swapped for $1 — or sometimes a cigarette. — The crude exchange played out hundreds of times on L.A.'s skid row during the 2016 election cycle and again this year …

Discussion: TheBlaze, Townhall, Front Page Magazine and KTLA

Dennis Romero / NBC News: Skid Row vote fraudsters preyed on L.A. homeless, authorities charge

Brady McCombs / Associated Press:

Democrats flip Utah House seat as McAdams tops Rep. Mia Love — SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Democrat Ben McAdams has flipped a U.S. House seat in deep-red Utah, defeating incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mia Love by fewer than 700 votes in a race that took two weeks to settle.

Discussion: TheBlaze, The Week and The Hill

Lee Davidson / Salt Lake Tribune:
It's over. Democrat Ben McAdams ousts Republican Rep Mia Love by 694 votes

Discussion: RedState, CNBC, The Daily Caller and Washington Press

The Daily Beast:

Trump Helped Roger Ailes Create Fox Business Network, the Most Pro-Trump Cable Outlet — A decade ago, The Donald advised Fox News on launching its business network. Now the Fox Business Network advises President Trump. — The most pro-Trump cable-news outlet was helped in its founding by none other than Donald Trump himself.

Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter: Will Fox Business Network Take Action After Lou Dobbs Tells Judge to “Go to Hell”?

Mark Osborne / ABC News:

Comedian Michelle Wolf delivers one-liner in response to Trump attack — Michelle Wolf won't be making any jokes from the podium at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, but last year's host was ready with a one-liner after the president attacked her on Twitter.

Discussion: Townhall, Washington Post and Politico

Reuters:

Harvesting in a trade war: U.S. crops rot as storage costs soar — (Reuters) - U.S. farmers finishing their harvests are facing a big problem - where to put the mountain of grain they cannot sell to Chinese buyers. — For Louisiana farmer Richard Fontenot and his neighbors, the solution was a costly one: Let the crops rot.

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Stalemate on Trump's wall amid threat of shutdown — Congress just can't help itself: With a partial government shutdown potentially two weeks away, Democrats and Republicans are dug in, each side upping its demands and vowing not to buckle to the other. — President Donald Trump …

Discussion: SARAH PALIN

Senti Sojwal / HuffPost:

All Feminists Must Stand Up For Trans Liberation — Nov. 20 is recognized as Transgender Day of Remembrance, when we honor the lives of those we lost at the hands of anti-transgender violence. In 2017, advocates tracked at least 29 deaths of transgender people in the U.S. due to violence, the most ever recorded.