memeorandum: CIA Intercepts Underpin Assessment Saudi Crown Prince Targeted Khashoggi (Warren P. Strobel/Wall Street Journal)

9:30 AM ET, December 1, 2018

Top Items:

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

George Bush, 41st President, Dies at 94 — George Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, who steered the nation through a tumultuous period in world affairs but was denied a second term after support for his presidency collapsed under the weight …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Power Line, Axios, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle, NBC News, Sputnik International, Contemptor, Political Wire, Outside the Beltway, CNBC, LGBTQ Nation, The Week, TalkLeft and KyivPost

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

George H.W. Bush, 41st president of the United States, dies at 94 — George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, was a steadfast force on the international stage for decades, from his stint as an envoy to Beijing to his eight years as vice president …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Political Wire, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The American Conservative, FOX6Now.com, Florida Politics and Hit & Run

Washington Post:

George H.W. Bush dies at 94. The 41st president of the United States helped guide the world out of a four-decade Cold War. — Bush was a steadfast force on the international stage for decades, from his stint as an envoy to Beijing to his eight years as vice president and his one term as commander in chief from 1989 to 1993.

Discussion: Florida Politics and twitchy.com

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:

George H.W. Bush dies at 94 — Former President George Herbert Walker Bush, who navigated the United States through the end of the Cold War and a realignment of American relations with the Middle East, died Friday. He was 94. — His death was confirmed in a statement released by his office.

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, KRON, The Gateway Pundit and HuffPost

Mary Kate Cary / USA Today:
George H.W. Bush was an ‘American great’ committed to unity, diversity and generosity

Discussion: CBS Dallas

Jeet Heer / New Republic:
George H.W. Bush, embodiment of an older Republican Party, is dead. RIP.

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState and KRON

Todd S. Purdum / The Atlantic: A Kindler, Gentler Republican President Is Dead

Eleanor Clift / The Daily Beast:
George H.W. Bush, 41st President, Dead at 94

Discussion: Inquirer Globalnation and Politico

Michael Graczyk / Associated Press:
Former President George H.W. Bush dies at age 94

Discussion: The Week, Associated Press, Politico and The Daily Beast

CNN:

Cohen believed Trump would pardon him, but then things changed — Washington (CNN)Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney for President Donald Trump who is now a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, was under the impression Trump would offer him a pardon …

Discussion: Mediaite and Media Matters for America

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Cohen claims ‘regular contact’ with Trump legal team when crafting false statement to Congress — President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen said Friday he was in “close and regular contact” with Trump's White House staff and legal team when he prepared a statement …

Discussion: Political Wire and Raw Story

Bret Stephens / New York Times:

Scent of the Russians — There's a connection between Cohen's guilty plea and Ukraine's desperate plight. — Garry Kasparov, the chess champion and chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative (with which I'm associated), has an excellent suggestion for how to respond immediately …

Discussion: Washington Press, Breitbart, Sputnik International and Mediaite

John R. Schindler / Observer:

As Trump Panic-Tweets, Putin Cracks His Whip and Shows Him Who's Boss — This was the week that the bottom fell out of Donald Trump's presidency. After almost two years of White House denials that Candidate Trump had any ties to Russia in 2016, that turns out to be just one more Trumpian lie.

Discussion: CNN, Bloomberg, Raw Story and New York Post

Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:

What long-ago ‘favor’ made Trump keep Michael Cohen around? Here are my guesses. — Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a real estate project in Moscow that the president was pursuing while he campaigned for office.

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community and The Guardian

Justin Miller / The Daily Beast:
Cohen: Trump Knew I Called Kremlin for Help With Trump Tower Moscow

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Informed Comment

David French / National Review:
NPR Takes a Big Swing at Donald Trump Jr., Misses Badly

Discussion: Conservative News Today, Washington Post, Mediaite and twitchy.com

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:
NPR Blatantly Lies About Donald Trump Jr.'s 2017 Senate Testimony

Discussion: Raw Story, Liberty Unyielding, Daily Wire, Breitbart, twitchy.com, NPR, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, Law & Crime, The Mahablog and Mediaite

Warren P. Strobel / Wall Street Journal:

CIA Intercepts Underpin Assessment Saudi Crown Prince Targeted Khashoggi — Conclusion that Mohammad ‘probably ordered’ killing relies in part on 11 messages he sent to adviser who oversaw hit squad around time it killed journalist — WASHINGTON—Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Raw Story and Al Jazeera

Kenneth P. Vogel / New York Times:

Trump Fund-Raiser Received Laundered Foreign Money, Prosecutors Say — WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors cited the involvement of a onetime top fund-raiser to President Trump on Friday in a scheme to launder millions of dollars into the country to help a flamboyant Malaysian financier end a Justice Department investigation.

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post: Ex-Justice Dept. employee admits to helping aid lobbying effort meant to shut down Malaysian corruption probe

Mike Levine / ABC News: Feds accuse Fugees founder and former DOJ official of ties to Malaysian financial conspiracy

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

GOP seeks to limit Wisconsin early voting, strip powers from Tony Evers and Josh Kaul in lame-duck session — MADISON - Republican lawmakers are seeking to limit voter turnout and want to take away key powers from the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general before GOP Gov. Scott Walker leaves office in January.

Heather Caygle / Politico:

Pelosi creates leadership position for Barbara Lee — Rep. Barbara Lee will be joining the House Democratic leadership team, filling a key void for the caucus after its elections earlier this week left the group without a woman of color in the top ranks. — Lee is expected to fill …

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
A low-key Colorado Democrat is trying to settle the Nancy Pelosi speaker dispute

Discussion: Daily Herald

Arjun Singh / wgbh.org:
Moulton Calls Ocasio-Cortez's Tweet Defending Nancy Pelosi ‘Offensive’

Discussion: Townhall and Splinter

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:

Trump defender Alan Dershowitz is deeply involved in the sordid Jeffrey Epstein scandal — Attorney Alan Dershowitz's name appears 19 times in an investigative report on the ways billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein manipulated the legal system to torment his accusers and escape serious punishment.

Fabiola Santiago / miamiherald:
Alex Acosta, you made a mockery of Florida's sex offender laws. It's time to resign.

Discussion: Women in the World

Washington Post:

Senate Intelligence Committee has referred cases of suspected lying to Mueller — The Senate Intelligence Committee has referred cases to the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election after witnesses questioned in the panel's own Russia probe were suspected of lying, the committee chairman said Friday.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Ben Wolfgang / Washington Times: Sen. Richard Burr on Cohen plea: 'If you lie to us, we're going to go after you'

Elena Schneider / Politico:

Inside the GOP's California nightmare — The party lost big in the state's November House races, and Republicans didn't see it coming. — Rep. Steve Knight's (R-Calif.) campaign went into election night thinking another tough victory was at hand. — Knight grinded out a win in 2016 …

Discussion: Raw Story, Breitbart and San Francisco Chronicle

Chris Mills Rodrigo / The Hill:

Iowa Dem who lost state House race by 9 votes sues to have absentee ballots counted — A Democrat who lost her race for an Iowa state House seat by fewer than 10 votes filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to get 33 absentee ballots counted. — Kayla Koether filed the emergency suit …

Associated Press: Republican takes House race by 1 vote after recount

Raul M. Grijalva / Associated Press:

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke must resign. His multiple scandals show he's unfit to serve. — Ryan Zinke needs to resign immediately as Secretary of the Interior. — I take no pleasure in calling for this step, and I have resisted it even as questions have grown about Mr. Zinke's ethical and managerial failings.

Discussion: Washington Post, Shareblue Media, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Vox, RedState, IJR, CNBC, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller and Raw Story

Salvador Hernandez / BuzzFeed News:

Mike Pence Tweeted, Then Deleted, A Picture With A Florida Deputy Wearing A QAnon Conspiracy Patch — Vice President Mike Pence on Friday tweeted, and then quickly deleted, a picture of himself and a Florida sheriff's deputy wearing a QAnon conspiracy patch on his uniform.

Discussion: Gizmodo and Sputnik International

Associated Press:

The Latest: AP retracts call in North Carolina Congress race — RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on a North Carolina congressional race that remains in dispute more than three weeks after election day (all times local): — The Associated Press is retracting its call of a winner for U.S. House …

Discussion: twitchy.com, The Charlotte Observer, Washington Post, Shareblue Media and Political Wire

New York Times:

Dodging Friends, Chased by Legal Troubles, Trump Navigates G-20 — BUENOS AIRES — He didn't sit down with two of his favorite strongmen. He downgraded a meeting with one ally and postponed one with another. He exchanged icy smiles with the prime minister of Canada …