memeorandum: Merkel and Putin agree to more talk on Ukraine (Politico)

4:35 PM ET, December 1, 2018

Top Items:

‘Where Are We Going?’: George Bush's Final Days — BUENOS AIRES — George Bush had been fading in the last few days. He had not gotten out of bed, he had stopped eating and he was mostly sleeping. For a man who had defied death multiple times over the years, it seemed that the moment might finally be arriving.

Bill Clinton / Washington Post:

George H.W. Bush's Oval Office note to me revealed the heart of who he was — Bill Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States. — On Jan. 20, 1993, I entered the Oval Office for the first time as president. As is the tradition, waiting for me was a note from my predecessor, George Herbert Walker Bush.

Discussion: ABC News, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, NPR, Bloomberg, IJR, TheBlaze, Daily Wire and Mediaite

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 …

Laura McGann / Vox:

Eight women say George HW Bush groped them. Their claims deserve to be remembered as we assess his legacy. — Those we entrust with power need to use it for all of us. — George H.W. Bush died at his home in Houston on Friday night, launching a blizzard of long-held obituaries praising …

Discussion: Splinter

Michael S. Rosenwald / Washington Post:

'Wouldn't be prudent': George H.W. Bush's unlikely friendship with Dana Carvey — In early December 1992, a month after Bill Clinton had whipped him in the election, President George H.W. Bush held a holiday party for his deflated staffers. — They were in for a big surprise.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hit & Run and Florida Politics

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:

Pragmatist vs. pugilist: Bush death highlights Trump's isolation on world stage — BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The contrast couldn't be more striking. — President George H.W. Bush was a war hero, an internationalist who played a consequential role in maintaining the post-war world order.

Discussion: Sputnik International, HuffPost and Politico

Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Despite bitter family rivalry, Bush wanted Trump at his funeral

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, WTOP and HuffPost

David Greenberg / Politico:
Is History Being Too Kind to George H.W. Bush?

Discussion: Breitbart

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
George H.W. Bush, 41st president of the United States, dies at 94

Discussion: Breitbart, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, East Bay Times, The Week, JustOneMinute, IJR, Florida Politics, Politico, Los Angeles Times, FOX6Now.com, The American Conservative and Political Wire

Connor O'Brien / Politico:
Mattis, other defense leaders salute Bush 41

Discussion: One America News Network, Breitbart and Politico

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Axios, Breitbart, Vox, KTLA, The Daily Beast and ABC News

USA Today:
Former president George H.W. Bush to lie in state at U.S. Capitol

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Clinton Foundation:
Statement by President Clinton and Secretary Clinton on the Passing of President George H.W. Bush

Discussion: LifeZette, IJR, CBS New York, Breitbart, Full Feed, Axios, CBS Dallas, Associated Press and VICE News

Jon Meacham / New York Times: George H.W. Bush and the Price of Politics

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

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Trump to name Dec. 5 a national day of mourning for George H.W. Bush

Discussion: Vox, Deadline, Althouse, Washington Times, Sputnik International and Breitbart

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

Discussion: Washington Post, East Bay Times and RedState

Peter Baker / New York Times:
It's Now Donald Trump's America. But George Bush's Stamp Endures.

Discussion: NBC News, ABC News, Washington Press and Althouse

Tim Naftali / Slate:
The Overlooked President

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Breitbart

CBS News:
George H.W. Bush, 41st president, dies at 94

Discussion: Breitbart, CBS Los Angeles, CBS Denver, CBS Pittsburgh and skippy the bush kangaroo

Andrew Ferguson / Weekly Standard:
George H.W. Bush, 1924 - 2018

Discussion: Power Line

Sharon LaFraniere / New York Times:

Mueller Exposes the Culture of Lying That Surrounds Trump — WASHINGTON — When Michael D. Cohen admitted this past week to lying to Congress about a Russian business deal, he said he had testified falsely out of loyalty to President Trump. When he admitted this summer to lying …

Discussion: Raw Story

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: Splinter, Raw Story, The Week and Political Wire

David R. Lurie / Slate:

How Devin Nunes Helped Robert Mueller — Michael Cohen's guilty plea to a single felony count of lying to Senate and House committees will not appreciably add to his criminal liability. As Ken White observed, the panoply of serious felonies to which Cohen previously pleaded guilty carry …

Discussion: National Review and Washington Examiner

Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Scent of the Russians — There's a connection between Cohen's …

Discussion: Washington Press, Mediaite and Sputnik International

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post: Cohen seeks ‘time served’ prison sentence, says again his crimes were meant to protect Trump

Eric Tucker / Associated Press:
Trump aides caught in web of deception over Russia contacts

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

CNN:
Cohen believed Trump would pardon him, but then things changed

Discussion: Media Matters for America and Mediaite

Sputnik International: Kremlin: Cohen Indeed Contacted Administration, Was Invited to Economic Forum

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

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, One America News Network, Raw Story and Informed Comment

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: RedState, Bloomberg, CNN, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, Splinter, CityLab, The Guardian, Mediaite and The Week

Washington Post:

'We don't want him here': Saudi crown prince is a protected pariah at G-20 summit — BUENOS AIRES — The legions of protesters demonstrating at a leaders summit here have unfurled a sea of standard-issue signs, ranging from “No to Imperialism” to “Yankees Go Home.”

Discussion: One America News Network, Reuters and Politico

Julian Borger / The Guardian:
‘I am worried’: Macron's chat with Saudi prince captured at G20

Discussion: The Independent, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, Politico, Conservative News Today, Sputnik International and Mother Jones

Amy Gardner / Washington Post:

North Carolina elections board chairman resigns, says he doesn't want his partisan views to hurt election fraud investigation — TAR HEEL, N.C. — The Democratic chairman of the state elections board in North Carolina resigned Saturday, saying he did not want his partisan views to undermine …

Discussion: Axios, Law & Crime, twitchy.com and ABC News

Claudia Koerner / BuzzFeed News:

Fox Is Investigating Neil DeGrasse Tyson After Allegations Of Sexual Misconduct — Fox Broadcasting Company and National Geographic are investigating astrophysicist and Cosmos host Neil deGrasse Tyson after three women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct.

Discussion: No Sacred Cows and The Root, more at Mediagazer »

No Sacred Cows:
Two More Women Accuse Neil deGrasse Tyson of Sexual Misconduct

Discussion: ThinkProgress, USA Today, Vox, Variety, Mashable, Breitbart, Friendly Atheist, The Daily Caller, IndieWire, The Verge, TMZ.com, Consequence of Sound, Deadline, AOL and Mediaite

David Mack / BuzzFeed News:

She Thought She Was In Bed With Her Boyfriend, Until She Saw His Face — “I was like, 'I feel violated. This feels wrong. But I don't know if it's illegal.'” This woman's case has exposed a loophole in rape laws. — Reporting From — West Lafayette, Indiana

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.

Discussion: Washington Post and Raw Story

Elena Schneider / Politico:

Inside the GOP's California nightmare — Rep. Steve Knight's (R-Calif.) campaign went into election night thinking another tough victory was at hand. — Knight ground out a win in 2016, in a district President Donald Trump lost, despite relentless Democratic attacks linking Knight and his party's leader.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story