memeorandum: Mike Flynn Report Expected to Shed Light on Mueller Probe (Wall Street Journal)

8:50 AM ET, December 4, 2018

Top Items:

Michael Isikoff / Yahoo News:

Mueller preparing end game for Russia investigation — WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller's prosecutors have told defense lawyers in recent weeks that they are “tying up loose ends” in their investigation, providing the clearest clues yet that the long-running probe into Russia's interference …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Taylor Marsh, KBZK, POLITICUSUSA and Axios

Wall Street Journal:

Mike Flynn Report Expected to Shed Light on Mueller Probe — Filing Tuesday could say how the former Trump aide has helped the Russia investigation — WASHINGTON—A new filing Tuesday is expected to detail how former Trump adviser Mike Flynn has been helping federal investigators since pleading guilty …

Discussion: CNBC

Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:

Mueller's office to recommend sentencing for ex-Trump aide Flynn — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office will make a sentencing recommendation for former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Tuesday, in a court filing that is expected to shed light …

Discussion: Political Wire and Raw Story

Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:

Why Michael Cohen, Trump's Fixer, Confessed to It All — Of all of President Trump's former associates who have come under scrutiny in the special counsel's Russia investigation, his former personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, has undertaken perhaps the most surprising and risky legal strategy.

USA Today:

Maybe now we know why Donald Trump won't criticize Vladimir Putin: Today's talker — President Donald Trump called for ex-lawyer Michael Cohen to receive a long prison sentence for his admitted crimes. Trump also accused special counsel Robert Mueller of seeking “lies” from witnesses.

Discussion: The Guardian, HuffPost, Raw Story and KBZK

Deanna Paul / Washington Post:

Trump's latest tweets cross clear lines, experts say: Obstruction of justice and witness tampering — President Trump took to Twitter Monday morning, haranguing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and witnesses to his ongoing Russia investigation. His tweets have become a common morning occurrence, particularly in recent weeks.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Breitbart, Law & Crime, The Week and Vox

NBC News:

Think President Trump seems rattled now? There may be more to come — Analysis: A series of court filings in the next few weeks may shed light on what Mueller has learned from people who were once in Trump's inner circle. — If President Donald Trump appears to be rattled …

Discussion: RAPPLER, Hot Air and Daily Wire

Elie Honig / CNN:

Mueller is about to have his say — in a big way — Elie Honig, a former federal and state prosecutor, is a CNN legal analyst and a Rutgers University scholar. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion articles on CNN. — (CNN)Throughout his investigation …

Adam Schiff / USA Today:

Trump is compromised. What else is he hiding and who else knows about it? — Now we know Trump, like Flynn, was compromised by the Russians. Was the Moscow deal their only financial leverage over the president, or is there more? — CONNECT — For more than a century …

Discussion: Raw Story, Salon and Law & Crime

Washington Post:
Did Trump obstruct justice in public on Monday?

Discussion: CNN, Lawfare and New York Daily News

John Ziegler / Mediaite: Here's What Trump's ‘Cult 45’ Refuses to Understand About the Michael Cohen Revelations

Allan Smith / NBC News:
Trump hailed Roger Stone for standing up to Mueller. Some legal experts said that's tampering.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Guardian and Daily Wire

Michael Caputo / gofundme.com: GUTS FUND: Roger Stone's Legal Fund

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump wants the process to be hopelessly tainted

Discussion: LifeZette, The Guardian, Mediaite and Deadline

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Republicans plan vote Tuesday on curbing powers of Gov.-elect Tony Evers, limiting early voting — MADISON - Wisconsin lawmakers are set to take up plans Tuesday to diminish the powers of the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general that brought opponents to the state Capitol this week …

Scott Bauer / Associated Press:

Wisconsin Republicans forge ahead with power-stripping bills — MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans moved quickly Monday with a rare lame-duck session that would change the 2020 presidential primary date to benefit a conservative Supreme Court justice and weaken the newly elected Democratic governor and attorney general.

Discussion: The Week, FOX6Now.com, Hullabaloo, Feeds, CBS Chicago, Political Wire, American Prospect and The Guardian

Donald P. Moynihan / Washington Post:
Wisconsin Republicans are trying to subvert the will of the voters. They're part of a larger trend.

Discussion: ABC News, The Week and AOL

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Republicans advance plan to limit Democrats' power, drop proposal to move 2020 presidential primary

Discussion: Associated Press, Common Dreams and HuffPost

New York Times:
Stung by Election Losses, Republicans in the States Seek a Way to Neutralize Democrats

Discussion: Vox, Mother Jones, Crooked Media, Media Matters for America and Raw Story

Joe Bruno / WSOC-TV:

Channel 9 uncovers similarities between absentee ballots in U.S. House District 9 race — BLADEN COUNTY, N.C. - Channel 9 was back in Bladen County, North Carolina Monday, tracking down people involved in the controversy surrounding mail-in-absentee ballots in the U.S. House District 9 election.

Discussion: Jamie Dupree - AJC, Popular Information, TheBlaze and Political Wire

Washington Post:
North Carolina election-fraud investigation centers on operative with criminal history who worked …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and WSOC-TV

The Charlotte Observer:
At center of voter fraud scandal, a convicted felon and ‘grassroots’ campaigner

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Week, Raleigh News & Observer, CNN, Breitbart, ThinkProgress and Talking Points Memo

Ruth Graham / Slate:

Don't Spend Your Emotional Energy on Sully H.W. Bush — In January 2009, a pilot named Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger steered his struggling aircraft to a safe landing in the Hudson River and became a national hero. Almost 10 years later, a dog named for the pilot has become a beloved “hero” …

Discussion: TheBlaze, The Resurgent, CBS New York, The Daily Caller, WGN-TV, France 24, Mediaite, Washington Times, Townhall, AOL, Associated Press, Washington Free Beacon, Click2Houston.com, NPR, ABC News, Mashable, CNN, Breitbart and LifeZette

New York Times:

Manafort Tried to Broker Deal With Ecuador to Hand Assange Over to U.S. — WASHINGTON — In mid-May 2017, Paul Manafort, facing intensifying pressure to settle debts and pay mounting legal bills, flew to Ecuador to offer his services to a potentially lucrative new client — the country's incoming president, Lenín Moreno.

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, CNN, RT, The Canary, Axios and CNBC

Jolyon Maugham / The Guardian:

Britain can legally cancel Brexit. That's EU advice - but will parliament agree? — A senior adviser to the EU court of justice has said the UK can revoke article 50. The path to remain is hard - but now clearer — We can cancel Brexit. That's what the advocate general to the court …

Shawn Donnan / Bloomberg:

Trump's Aides Struggle to Detail Deal He Says He Cut With Xi — President hails ‘extraordinary’ dinner with Chinese leader — Kudlow says China made ‘commitments’ to ‘presumably implement’ — President Donald Trump's advisers are scrambling to explain a trade deal he claimed …

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, Splinter, Fox News Insider, Vox, CleanTechnica, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Bloomberg:
The Trump-Xi Trade Truce Stock Rally Lasted 24 Hours. Here's Why

Discussion: CNN

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Biden says he's ‘the most qualified person in the country’ to be president — Former vice president Joe Biden said Monday that he considers himself “the most qualified person in the country” to be president and that he would make a decision about moving forward with a 2020 bid in the next two months.

Discussion: Political Wire

Arlette Saenz / CNN:
Joe Biden believes he is the “most qualified person in the country to be president”

Discussion: Axios, Outside the Beltway, Contemptor and Mediaite

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:

George H.W. Bush was the last of his kind — a Republican who didn't believe in ‘voodoo economics’ — Many have mourned former president George H.W. Bush as the last of his kind. Mostly they eulogize his decency (racist Willie Horton ad notwithstanding), his physical courage, his commitment to public service.

Discussion: The Crime Report, The Root and Power Line

Robert Merry / Test Feed Using Fields: George H. W. Bush's Outsized Legacy

Lisa Hagen / The Hill:

Majority of Americans believe House Dems should release Trump's tax returns: poll — A majority of people polled believe the incoming Democratic House majority should be allowed to obtain and release President Trump's tax returns, according to a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released exclusively to The Hill on Monday.

Discussion: Political Wire

Lisa Hagen / The Hill:
Beto O'Rourke seen as a top contender in 2020: poll

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Times, Townhall, Hot Air, Political Wire and Wall Street Journal

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Trump handles Bush's death with abnormal normality — A taboo-busting president who has often trashed the Bush clan observes traditional norms of etiquette after its patriarch's passing. — For President Donald Trump, there was once no worse insult than being “a Bushie.”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Salvador Rizzo / Washington Post:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's $21 trillion mistake — “$21 TRILLION of Pentagon financial transactions ‘could not be traced, documented, or explained.’ $21T in Pentagon accounting errors. Medicare for All costs ~$32T. That means 66% of Medicare for All could have been funded already by the Pentagon.”

Discussion: New York Times, RedState, Vox, Townhall and Hot Air

Adam Nossiter / New York Times:

France Suspends Fuel Tax Increase That Spurred Violent Protests — PARIS — In a major concession by President Emmanuel Macron, France will suspend for six months a tax increase on gasoline and diesel fuel that had been slated for January, in an attempt to quell weeks of protests and rioting by the so-called Yellow Vests movement.

Discussion: twitchy.com, The Week, Business Insider and The Daily Caller

Philly.com:

Bob Brady aide Smukler found guilty on 9 of 11 counts in campaign finance case — A federal jury Monday found U.S. Rep. Bob Brady's top political strategist, Ken Smukler, guilty of nine of 11 counts of repeatedly flouting campaign finance laws in a case that once threatened to ensnare the congressman himself.

Discussion: Politico and Political Wire

Ronald Brownstein / CNN:

Trump's alienation of younger voters is a generational gamble for GOP — (CNN)The sharp turn against the Republican Party by young people in the 2018 election may be only the overture to an even greater political risk for the GOP in 2020. — Both historical voting patterns …

Tami Abdollah / Associated Press:

Subpoenas to begin for Trump records in emoluments case — WASHINGTON (AP) — The attorneys general of the District of Columbia and Maryland say they're moving forward with subpoenas for records in their case accusing President Donald Trump of profiting off the presidency.

Discussion: Political Wire