memeorandum: Giuliani's Work for Trump Is Slowing, so He's Courting Business Abroad (Kenneth P. Vogel/New York Times)

1:55 PM ET, December 12, 2018

Top Items:

Michael Cohen sentenced to 3 years in prison — President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen has been sentenced to 3 years in prison on Wednesday on charges involving campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and lying to Congress in a New York federal court.

Discussion: Politico and SARAH PALIN

Justice News:

Michael Cohen Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison — U.S. Attorney's Office Also Announces Non-Prosecution Agreement with American Media, Inc., Related to Its Payment of $150,000 to a Woman to Influence 2016 Presidential Election — Robert Khuzami, Attorney for the United States, Acting Under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C.

Reuters:

Exclusive: Trump says he is not concerned about being impeached, defends payments to women — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was not concerned that he would get impeached and that payments made ahead of the 2016 election by his former personal attorney Michael Cohen …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Fox News Insider, The Daily Caller and Conservative News Today

Washington Post:

Michael Cohen sentenced to three years in prison for crimes committed while working for Trump — [Breaking: Michael Cohen sentenced to 3 years in prison, tells judge he's lived in ‘personal and mental incarceration’ since working for Trump] — NEW YORK — A federal judge on Wednesday …

Discussion: RedState, NPR, Breitbart, Political Wire, Media Matters for America, The Crime Report, Sputnik International, Lawfare and Washington Press

New York Times:

Michael Cohen Sentenced to 3 Years After Implicating Trump in Hush-Money Scandal — Michael D. Cohen, the former lawyer for President Trump, was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday morning for his role in a hush-money scandal that could threaten Mr. Trump's presidency by implicating …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Gothamist, Raw Story, The Daily Beast and Liberty Unyielding

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:
Trump: People will ‘revolt’ if he's impeached

Discussion: The Root and Scripting News

Wall Street Journal:
Michael Cohen, Trump's Former Lawyer, Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

Discussion: Feeds

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

Playing by His Own Rules, Trump Flips the Shutdown Script — WASHINGTON — The trick in Washington has always been to make sure a government shutdown is pinned on the other guy. President Trump is the first to ever pin one on himself. — In a new twist on the old game of shutdown politics dating …

Discussion: Althouse

Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:

Everybody's Wrong: Donald Trump Won the Chuck-n-Nancy Meeting, and Here's Why — All that in-front-of-the-cameras civility is fake anyway. Trump dispensed with it. It was refreshing, and his people will love it, shutdown or no shutdown. — Matt Lewis

Discussion: Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, National Review, Mediaite, The Rush Limbaugh Show and Breitbart

Ella Nilsen / Vox:
How Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer got Trump to own a government shutdown

Discussion: Breitbart

Allan Smith / NBC News:

Incoming New York attorney general plans wide-ranging investigations of Trump and family — Just-elected Letitia James, who takes office next month, tells NBC she will probe real estate deals, Trump Tower meeting, emoluments, Trump Foundation and more. — New York Attorney Gen.-elect Letitia James …

Discussion: Townhall, Breitbart, Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God., POLITICUSUSA and twitchy.com

Kenneth P. Vogel / New York Times:

Giuliani's Work for Trump Is Slowing, so He's Courting Business Abroad — WASHINGTON — The special counsel's investigation was grinding relentlessly onward, with President Trump's former national security adviser pleading for leniency in his case and his former fixer about to be sentenced for his crimes.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and bna.bh

Reuters:

Exclusive: Trump says standing by Saudi crown prince despite pleas from Senate — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he stood by Saudi Arabia's crown prince despite a CIA assessment that he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and pleas …

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast and Mediaite

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:
Pompeo challenges accuracy of reports that CIA is confident of Saudi prince's involvement in Khashoggi death

Discussion: Politico, Conservative News Today and The Daily Beast

Reuters:

Exclusive: Trump says he is looking at 10 or 12 candidates for chief of staff job — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he has 10 to 12 candidates he is considering for the post of new White House chief of staff and although he could move quickly to fill the job, he was in no particular rush.

Gabby Orr / Politico:
What does it take to become Trump's chief of staff? Jared and Ivanka's approval

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Fox News

Joe Bruno / WSOC-TV:

Photo shows Mark Harris and man at center of election fraud investigation together — CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A new photo obtained by Channel 9 is adding to the complex and ever-evolving story of the 9th Congressional District election fraud investigation. — The State Board of Elections …

Discussion: Vox and The Guardian

NBC News:
In N.C. election fraud case, witness says operative held onto 800 absentee ballots

Discussion: National Review, CNN, New York Times, HuffPost and Raleigh News & Observer

Paul J. Weber / Associated Press:

APNewsBreak: Julian Castro moves toward 2020 White House run — SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Former Obama housing chief Julian Castro says he's taking a step toward a possible White House campaign in 2020 by forming a presidential exploratory committee. The Texas Democrat tells The Associated Press that he will announce a decision Jan. 12.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Political Wire and The Daily Beast

Julián Castro / YouTube:
I Know the Promise of America

Discussion: Axios, Washington Post, Bloomberg, KXLF-TV, CNN, Joe.My.God., Talking Points Memo and twitchy.com

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Memo: FBI recommended Michael Flynn not have lawyer present during interview, did not warn of false statement consequences — Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who arranged the bureau's interview with then-national security adviser Michael Flynn at the White House on Jan. 24, 2017 …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, Lawfare, The Gateway Pundit, CANNONFIRE, twitchy.com, Dan Bongino, Power Line and Liberty Unyielding

Natalie Allison / The Tennessean:

Tennessee U.S. Rep.-elect Mark Green, a doctor, falsely claims vaccines cause autism, denies CDC evidence — A soon-to-be congressman from Tennessee told constituents Tuesday he believed vaccines may be causing autism, denying data from the Centers for Disease Control and other institutions disproving such a theory.

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

It's ridiculous that it's unconstitutional for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president — Immigrants, young people, and everyone else should be allowed to run. — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the biggest star in the Democratic Party, and she has been ever since she unseated …

Discussion: Instapundit and twitchy.com

Jay Senter / Shawnee Mission Post:

Sen. Barbara Bollier Changes Party Affiliation To Democrat, Says Republican Party ‘morally Not Going Where My Compass Resides’ — Mission Hills Sen. Barbara Bollier This Morning Officially Changed Her Party Affiliation From Republican To Democrat. — Citing “Frustrations That Have Been Ongoing …

Discussion: Political Wire and Raw Story

Vanessa Romo / NPR:

Customs And Border Protection Paid A Firm $13.6 Million To Hire Recruits. It Hired 2 — A scathing report by the Office of the Inspector General revealed that a consulting company hired by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to fill thousands of new jobs to satisfy President Trump's mandate …

Discussion: Shakesville

Ola Salem / Foreign Policy:

Saudi Arabia Declares War on America's Muslim Congresswomen — Gulf Arab monarchies are using racism, bigotry, and fake news to denounce Washington's newest history-making politicians. — Ever since the midterm election, conservative media in the United States have targeted with special zeal Ilhan Omar …

Danielle Paquette / Washington Post:

Workers are ghosting their employers like bad dates — Silent exits are on the rise. — Economists report that workers are starting to act like millennials on Tinder: They're ditching jobs with nary a text. — “A number of contacts said that they had been 'ghosted …

David Wasserman / The Cook Political Report:

Introducing The Cook Political Report's 2020 House Ratings — The 116th Congress hasn't even been sworn in yet, and there's still no resolution in sight to one North Carolina race tainted by election fraud. But already, the 2020 battle for the House is shaping up to be highly competitive.

Washington Post:

Conservative Party calls for vote of no confidence to oust Prime Minister Theresa May — LONDON — Lawmakers in Britain's Conservative Party on Wednesday triggered a “no confidence” vote against Prime Minister Theresa May, threatening her leadership as she struggles to secure a deal for Britain to leave the European Union.

Jonathan Freedland / The Guardian:
This is a national crisis - not the time for a pointless Tory feud

Discussion: ThinkProgress, NBC News, The Independent and Common Dreams

Andrew Roth / The Guardian:

‘Hi-tech robot’ at Russia forum turns out to be man in suit — State television praised the ‘modern’ tech despite photos revealing actor in costume — Play Video — A “hi-tech robot” shown on Russian state television has turned out to be a man in a suit.

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed News:

Tom Steyer Is Posting Job Listings On LinkedIn For A Potential 2020 Campaign — Tom Steyer posted a job listing on LinkedIn last week for several high-ranking positions on his potential 2020 presidential campaign, a spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.

Jenée Desmond-Harris / Nieman Lab:

It finally sinks in that some people aren't white … Is it really true that evangelical voters, or women voters, or rural voters or southern voters have a certain outlook? Or would it be more accurate to say that the trends we're reporting in a political piece are true for white members of these groups?

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

For Trump, it's all downhill from here — The latest CNN poll underscores a grim political reality for the Republican Party, which has removed any separation between itself and President Trump. He is unpopular and on the Russia investigation not credible:

Discussion: Raw Story and CNN

Erin Nyren / Variety:

Christian Bale Recalls Meeting Donald Trump: ‘He Thought I Was Bruce Wayne’ — With Christian Bale's latest film, “Vice,” a political dramedy, it's inevitable ties will be drawn between the film and the current political administration and its chief, President Donald Trump.

Discussion: Observer, Mashable, IJR and Mediaite

Tyler Cowen / Bloomberg:

Macron Just Doesn't Get It — He and others on the left are being swept along by world-historical forces they do not fully understand. — The sorry truth is that both progressives and neoliberals still don't get it, and that seems true in France most of all.

Discussion: Power Line, Financial Times and NBC News

Mia Love / Washington Post:

Republicans have failed to bring our message to minorities. It's hurting the nation. — Mia Love, a Republican, represents Utah's 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. — For too long, conservatives in my party have focused on administering purity tests instead of expanding our audience.

Rebecca Rainey / Politico:

Trump owns shutdown — With help from Ted Hesson, Ian Kullgren and Timothy Noah — Editor's Note: This edition of Morning Shift is published weekdays at 10 a.m. POLITICO Pro Employment & Immigration subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 6 a.m. To learn …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

New York Times:

France Declares Strasbourg Shooting to Be an Act of Terrorism — STRASBOURG, France — The shooting at a crowded street market in Strasbourg, France, was an act of terrorism, officials said Wednesday, as the police continued an intensive search for the gunman who killed at least two people and wounded 12 others.

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, Washington Free Beacon, Jihad Watch, Patterico's Pontifications and NPR

Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal:

Defeated Republican Rep. Rohrabacher Considers Starting Consulting Firm — Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is weighing the creation of a consulting firm when he leaves government after being ousted by California voters in last month's midterm elections.