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1:40 PM ET, December 19, 2018

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
Trump Considering Full Withdrawal of U.S. Troops From Syria  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump is considering pulling 2,000 United States ground troops out of Syria in a move that would seek to describe the four-year American-led war against the Islamic State as largely won, officials said Wednesday.
RELATED:
Dion Nissenbaum / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Military Preparing for a Full Withdrawal of Its Forces From Northeastern Syria  —  Move throws campaign against Islamic State into question  —  WASHINGTON—In an abrupt reversal, the U.S. military is preparing to withdraw its forces from northeastern Syria, people familiar with the matter …
Missy Ryan / Washington Post:
Trump administration plans to pull U.S. troops from Syria immediately, defense official says  —  The Trump administration has decided to pull all U.S. troops out of Syria, a defense official said on Wednesday.  —  The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision …
CNN:
Trump orders rapid withdrawal from Syria in apparent reversal  —  Washington (CNN)Planning is underway for a “full” and “rapid” withdrawal of US troops from Syria, a US defense official told CNN Wednesday.  —  The decision, which would be a reversal from previously stated US policy …
Discussion: Mediaite, Jihad Watch, The Week and Reuters
Reuters:
U.S. weighs complete withdrawal of troops from Syria: U.S. officials  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is considering a total withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria as it nears the end of its campaign to retake all of the territory once held by Islamic State, U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
Discussion: Washington Post, IJR and Mediaite
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook PM: McConnell moves to sidestep shutdown
Discussion: BuzzFeed News
Nahal Toosi / Politico:
Pompeo to give Cairo address on U.S. role in Middle East
Kate Sullivan / CNN:
Trump signed letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow project despite Giuliani insisting he didn't  —  (CNN)A newly obtained document shows President Donald Trump signed a letter of intent to move forward with negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Russia, despite his attorney Rudy Giuliani claiming …
RELATED:
New York Daily News:
Rudy Giuliani admits President Trump signed ‘bulls—t’ letter of intent for Moscow tower during 2016 campaign  —  President Trump signed a “bulls—t” letter of intent to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 campaign, Rudy Giuliani conceded Tuesday - just two days after the former …
Nicole Lafond / Talking Points Memo:
Giuliani Walks It Back: Trump Signed ‘Bullsh*t’ Letter Of Intent For Moscow Tower
Discussion: Balloon Juice
Lawfare:
The Former National Security Advisor's Sentencing Hearing: Flynncompetent Judging  —  A number of years ago, a group of singing lawyers put together an excellent parody song about the egomania of federal district judges.  Set to the tune of the old Turtles song, “Happy Together,” it opens: “Imagine me as God—I do.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
The Flynn Fiasco  —  A sentencing hearing devolves into a spectacle of misinformation.  —  By The Editorial Board  —  Well, that was bizarre.  We're referring to the fiasco Tuesday of what was supposed to be the sentencing of Michael Flynn.  The sentencing was postponed until next year …
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Power Line
emptywheel:   In Defense of Emmet Sullivan: Van Grack Suggested Mueller Did Review Whether Flynn's Behavior Amounted to Treason
Chris Baynes / The Independent:   Trump critics celebrate as Flynn judge smashes right-wing conspiracy theory about Russia prosecution at hearing
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Reality deals more blows to Trump's alternative narrative
Samantha Vinograd / Politico:
Why You Shouldn't Feel Sorry for Michael Flynn
Discussion: Raw Story
Washington Post:
'I'm not hiding my disgust, my disdain': Veteran judge upends hopes of Trump allies as he spotlights Flynn's misdeeds
New York Times:
As Facebook Raised a Privacy Wall, It Carved an Opening for Tech Giants  —  Internal documents show that the social network gave Microsoft, Amazon, Spotify and others far greater access to people's data than it has disclosed.  —  For years, Facebook gave some of the world's largest technology companies …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
D.C. attorney general sues Facebook over alleged privacy violations from Cambridge Analytica scandal  —  The attorney general for the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Facebook for allowing Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy, to gain access to the names …
David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
South Carolina GOP could scrap 2020 primary to protect Trump  —  The South Carolina Republican Party could cancel its marquee presidential nominating contest in 2020 in a move to protect President Trump from any primary challengers.  —  Drew McKissick, chairman of the South Carolina GOP …
Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:
Federal judge strikes down Trump asylum rules for domestic and gang violence victims  —  In a ruling Wednesday, Judge Emmet Sullivan struck down large portions of Justice Department policies that made it harder for immigrants to claim asylum.  —  A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Justice …
RELATED:
Alan Gomez / USA Today:   Federal judge blocks another attempt by Trump to limit asylum
Griffin Connolly / Roll Call:
Rep. Adam Schiff: If Michael Cohen Goes to Jail, Why Wouldn't Trump?
Discussion: Washington Monthly
Kate Riga / Talking Points Memo:
In Party Switch, 3 Kansas Lawmakers Will Start The New Session As Democrats  —  When the Kansas state government reconvenes in January, three of its formerly Republican members will report as freshly minted Democrats.  —  The two state senators and one state representative, all women …
Discussion: Shawnee Mission Post
RELATED:
Jonathan Shorman / Wichita Eagle:
More Kansas lawmakers switch parties: Sykes, Clayton leave GOP, become Democrats  —  Two more Kansas lawmakers are leaving the Republican Party to become Democrats, shrinking the ranks of GOP moderates after the Legislature grew more conservative in the November election.
Discussion: Axios and Shareblue Media
John Bresnahan / Politico:
Cummings puts Trump on notice for wave of investigations  —  Democrats still have two weeks until they take control of the House, but a top Democratic investigator is already putting President Donald Trump on notice.  —  Incoming House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings …
RELATED:
John Wagner / Washington Post:   Cummings seeks wide array of documents as Democrats prepare to step up oversight of Trump administration
Washington Post:
Senate to pass bill that would keep government open, deny Trump wall funding  —  The Senate prepared Wednesday to pass a short-term spending bill that would keep the government open through the New Year but deny President Trump the money he wanted for his border wall — a stark retreat …
RELATED:
Sarah Ferris / Politico:
McConnell moves to avert shutdown disaster
New York Times:
Hacked European Cables Reveal a World of Anxiety About Trump, Russia and Iran  —  WASHINGTON — Hackers infiltrated the European Union's diplomatic communications network for years, downloading thousands of cables that reveal concerns about an unpredictable Trump administration and struggles …
Jason Schwartz / Politico:
Ousted NPR news chief, ex-Fox News execs team up on new site  —  One was ousted from NPR amid allegations of sexual harassment.  The other left Fox News shortly after writing a column widely panned as racist and anti-gay.  Now they've been recruited to help launch a digital news startup …
Andrew Kerr / The Daily Caller:
Revealed: Antifa Leader Relied On Anonymity To Push Radical, Violent Communist Agenda  —  Editor's note: The subject of this story is being identified because he's pushed radical rhetoric and has advocated for politically-motivated violence from behind a mask.
Discussion: Instapundit
Center for Public Integrity:
Why did Donald Trump's national security adviser want to meet with a Ukrainian billionaire?  —  An aide to National Security Adviser John Bolton sought to schedule a meeting for him with a Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk during Bolton's official trip to Ukraine last August …
careers.ap.org:
Temporary Newsperson, Politics … The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats.  Founded in 1846, AP today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information.
Domenico Montanaro / NPR:
Warning To Democrats: Most Americans Against U.S. Getting More Politically Correct  —  Heading into the 2020 Democratic primaries, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll has a warning for Democrats: Americans are largely against the country becoming more politically correct.
NBC News:
United States added to list of most dangerous countries for journalists for first time  —  At least 63 professional journalists were killed doing their jobs in 2018, a 15 percent increase over last year, Reporters Without Borders said.  —  PARIS — The murder of the Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi …
Discussion: The Daily Caller
Roula Khalaf / Financial Times:
FT Person of the Year: George Soros  —  For a man facing daily attacks for his activism and liberal vision of the world, George Soros was in a curiously buoyant mood on a sunswept afternoon in Marrakesh.  He had just visited South Africa, home to his first philanthropic foray in the late 1970s …
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Trump's Tweets Force CNN, MSNBC To Finally Discuss Flaws In The Steele Dossier  — CNN and MSNBC interviewed veteran reporter Michael Isikoff on Tuesday about his recent comments undercutting the infamous Steele dossier.  — Isikoff's appearances on the networks appears to have been spurred …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Michael R. Strain / National Review:
Is the Working Class in Crisis?
Discussion: Mother Jones and Bloomberg
US Census / News Releases, Press Releases …:
Nevada and Idaho Are the Nation's Fastest-Growing States
Discussion: Bloomberg and Capitol Fax.com
Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:
N.J. Governor's Inner Circle Knew of Sexual Assault Complaint Against Aide
Michael W. Chapman / CNSNews:
Gallup: Americans Say No. 1 Problem is ‘Government,’ No. 2 is ‘Immigration’
Jeff Clabaugh / WTOP:
DC-area federal government workforce continues to shrink
Jonathan Oosting / Detroit News:
GOP bid to strip power from Democratic secretary of state likely dead
Discussion: ThinkProgress
 Earlier Items: 
Geoff Brumfiel / NPR:
Open Scientific Collaboration May Be Helping North Korea Cheat Nuclear Sanctions
Discussion: Associated Press
Alan Fram / Associated Press:
In farewell, Ryan sees solutions if ‘politics will allow it’
Elisabeth Malkin / New York Times:
In Home Village of Girl Who Died in U.S. Custody, Poverty Drives Migration
Discussion: NPR
Ben White / Politico:
Trump can't have his tariffs and the stock market too
Discussion: Raw Story
openDemocracy:
Revealed: Arron Banks Brexit campaign's ‘secret’ meetings with Cambridge Analytica
Roger Kimball / Wall Street Journal:
The National Gallery of Identity Politics
Discussion: Instapundit
 

 
From Techmeme:

Decrypt:
Eighteen GOP state AGs sue the SEC and its commissioners, including Gary Gensler, alleging crypto regulatory overreach without Congressional authorization

Michael Kan / PCMag:
OpenAI makes the ChatGPT desktop app for Windows available to all users, following an October release limited to paying ChatGPT subscribers

Lulu Yilun Chen / Bloomberg:
Ant Group's profit grew ~193% YoY in the June quarter to $1.05B, reversing a year-long decline as it regains its footing from the Chinese government crackdown
 
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