memeorandum: Will the Nation Heed the Warning Jim Mattis Delivered Today? (David French/National Review)

12:30 AM ET, December 21, 2018

Top Items:

Helene Cooper / New York Times:

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis Resigns, Rebuking Trump's Worldview — WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, whose experience and stability were widely seen as a balance to an unpredictable president, resigned on Thursday in protest of President Trump's decision to withdraw 2,000 American troops from Syria.

Discussion: CNN, Breaking Defense, The American Conservative, FiveThirtyEight, Daily Wire, twitchy.com, Jamie Dupree - AJC, Outside the Beltway, Task & Purpose, Contemptor, Home Page Rotator, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, Axios, The Week, Mediaite and Althouse

Thomas Gibbons-Neff / New York Times:

U.S. to Withdraw About 7,000 Troops From Afghanistan, Officials Say — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is withdrawing roughly 7,000 troops from Afghanistan in the coming months, two defense officials said Thursday, around half of what the American military has there now.

Discussion: Politico and Political Wire

Washington Post:

‘A tailspin’: Under siege, Trump propels the government and markets into crisis — President Trump began Thursday under siege, listening to howls of indignation from conservatives over his border wall and thrusting the government toward a shutdown. He ended it by announcing the exit …

Discussion: Politico, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, The American Conservative, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Ann Coulter, ThinkProgress, NBC News, Contemptor, IJR and Townhall

The Daily Beast:

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' Resignation Message to Trump Is Basically ‘F*** This’ — The Pentagon chief quit after Trump announced plans to withdraw troops from Syria and just before he ordered a drawdown in Afghanistan. — By SCOTT BIXBY12.20.18 5:27 PM ET — Jim Mattis had enough.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, ABC News and Breitbart

James N. Mattis / Washington Post:

Read the Jim Mattis resignation letter — Dear Mr. President: — I have been privileged to serve as our country's 26th Secretary of Defense which has allowed me to serve alongside our men and women of the Department in defense of our citizens and our ideals.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and The Daily Signal

Wall Street Journal:

Trump Administration Is Considering Substantial Afghan Troop Drawdown — The administration is considering a substantial reduction of troops in Afghanistan and could begin a drawdown in several weeks, officials said.

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, Splinter, The New Civil Rights Movement, Defense One, USNI News, KTLA, Hit & Run, BuzzFeed News, The Guardian, Task & Purpose, Daily Wire and Mediaite

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

The Year in Trump Freakouts — Jim Mattis is out, the President is leaving Syria without consulting anyone, and that's just this week in crises of the President's own making. — President Trump is ending the year as he began it: outraging Washington with a Twitter diktat, one that was cheered in Moscow and jeered on Capitol Hill.

David French / National Review:

Will the Nation Heed the Warning Jim Mattis Delivered Today? — Defenders of Trump have long argued that his worst impulses can and will be tempered by the good men and women in his administration. And when they listed the good men and women, the first name on that list was always James Mattis.

Discussion: Vox, HuffPost, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and Mother Jones

John Podhoretz / Commentary:

What the Mattis Resignation Means — Reading James Mattis's resignation letter, one gets the sense of our secretary of defense serving as a kind of Hans Brinker these past two years—holding his finger in the dike lest the floodwaters drown the town. This week, with the abrupt revelation …

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:

Mattis' Message to the World: Trump Is Out of Control — That was more than a letter of resignation provided today by Defense Secretary James Mattis, it was a bright red line in American history. — On Thursday, President Trump suffered the most serious repudiation of his presidency to date …

Discussion: Politico

David Frum / The Atlantic: No More Excuses — For almost two full years, James Mattis …

Ali Vitali / NBC News:
‘This is scary’: Mattis' resignation triggers bipartisan chorus of concern on Capitol Hill

Discussion: CNN, Townhall and AOL

Paul Szoldra / Task & Purpose:
In 2014, Mattis Said What Would Make Him Resign In Protest. In 2018, He Actually Did It

Discussion: New York Times and Axios

Washington Post:
‘A sad day for America’: Washington fears a Trump unchecked by Mattis

Discussion: Shareblue Media

Henry Olsen / Washington Post: Trump is now forging foreign policy on his own. Where will he take us?

The Atlantic:
James Mattis's Letter of Resignation

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and The Root

Washington Post:
Mattis resigns after clash with Trump over troop withdrawal from Syria

Discussion: Politico, Shareblue Media, CNN, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Task & Purpose, Associated Press and Talking Points Memo

Wall Street Journal:
James Mattis to Depart as Defense Secretary Over Order to Pull Out of Syria

Discussion: The Atlantic, CNBC, ThinkProgress and NPR

Washington Post:

Ethics officials said Whitaker should recuse from the Mueller probe, but his advisers told him not to, officials say — A senior Justice Department ethics official concluded acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker should recuse from overseeing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's probe …

Discussion: Bloomberg, emptywheel, Raw Story, Reuters, RedState, Hullabaloo, Hot Air and Talking Points Memo

NBC News:

Mueller may submit report to attorney general as soon as mid-February, say sources — “They clearly are tying up loose ends,” said a lawyer who has been in contact with the Mueller team. — WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller is nearing the end of his historic investigation …

Discussion: Law & Crime and The Week

Laura Jarrett / CNN:
Exclusive: Whitaker told he does not need to recuse himself from overseeing Mueller investigation

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, Law & Crime, Townhall, Conservative News Today, ABC News, The Week, Joe.My.God., The Root, Axios, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and Shakesville

Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump's Attorney General Nominee Criticized Russia Investigation

Discussion: CNN, Law & Crime, The Daily Beast, Axios, Vox, Fox News and New Republic

Marty Lederman / Just Security:
A First Take on Bill Barr's Memo on Presidential Authority and the Mueller Investigation

Discussion: Lawfare and National Review

New York Times:

A Top Aide's Exit Plan Raises Eyebrows in the White House — WASHINGTON — After weeks of discussions about his future, Zachary D. Fuentes, the 36-year-old deputy White House chief of staff, had a plan. — Mr. Fuentes told colleagues that after his mentor, John F. Kelly …

Washington Post: Trump agitating for major military withdrawal from Afghanistan, advisers say

NBC News:

Founder of viral fundraiser for Trump's border wall has questionable news past — Brian Kolfage told NBC News he didn't want to mention his previous projects because he “didn't want it to be a distraction.” — An internet fundraiser for Donald Trump's border wall took in more than $7 million …

Discussion: Media Matters for America and Snopes.com

Nahal Toosi / Politico:

A ‘Never Trumper’ bets on Trump, and loses — James Jeffrey, President Donald Trump's special representative for Syria engagement, probably should have seen it coming. — In August 2016, the well-respected veteran diplomat signed an open letter denouncing then-presidential candidate Trump as a danger to America.

Discussion: Defense One, Raw Story, CNN and Washington Post

BuzzFeed News:
Mattis Isn't The Only One Worried About Allies And Rivals In Syria

Discussion: New York Times, Breitbart, Power Line, National Review, Daily Wire, ThinkProgress and Shakesville

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Trump is leaving 50,000 Syrian civilians to die

Discussion: Sulome Anderson, New York Times, Washington Press and Test Feed Using Fields

Liz Sly / Washington Post: This time, the United States is betraying more than just the Kurds, allies say

Victoria Nuland / Washington Post:
In a single tweet, Trump destroys U.S. policy in the Middle East

Discussion: The Hill, The Times of Israel, The Resurgent and Mother Jones

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

In budget brinkmanship, Republicans once again hold themselves hostage — House Republicans are ending their eight-year run in the majority exactly the way it began — grabbing a hostage and seeking ransom. — This week's standoff, like so many others this decade, pits an alienated House GOP caucus …

Discussion: Political Wire

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Trump shutdown moves leave GOP senators in disbelief

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress and Booman Tribune

Ted Barrett / CNN:
‘Are you ruining my life?’: Republican senators in disbelief over Trump shutdown threat

Discussion: Washington Post, The Mahablog, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Hullabaloo

BuzzFeed News:

Russian Agents Sought Secret US Treasury Records On Clinton Backers During 2016 Campaign — US Treasury Department officials used a Gmail back channel with the Russian government as the Kremlin sought sensitive financial information on its enemies in America and across the globe, according to documents reviewed by BuzzFeed News.

Discussion: Hill Reporter, Washington Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Law & Crime, Daily Kos, Shakesville, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and Wonkette

Thomas Franck / CNBC:

Dow falls 400 points as stocks continue to get hit after Fed rate hike, Nasdaq enters bear market — U.S. stocks swooned for a second day Thursday after the Federal Reserve raised benchmark interest rates and said that it would continue to let its massive balance sheet shrink at the current pace.

Discussion: NBC News, The New Civil Rights Movement, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, ABC News, Mediaite and CNN

Emily Cochrane / New York Times:
Conservative Revolt Endangers Deal to Avoid a Shutdown

Discussion: CNBC, Washington Post, New York Daily News, Washington Monthly, The Balance, HuffPost, KXLF-TV, Raw Story, Contemptor and Wonkette

Joe Concha / The Hill:
Trump stops following Ann Coulter on Twitter after ‘joke presidency’ comments

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, The New Civil Rights Movement, The Root, Chicks On The Right and Townhall

Alexander C. Kaufman / HuffPost:

Democrats Just Blocked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Push For A Green New Deal Committee — Instead, Democrats are sticking to their original plan, and channeled Exxon Mobil in an announcement refusing to bar members who take fossil fuel money. — Democratic leaders on Thursday tapped Rep. Kathy Castor …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

E&E News:
Democratic leaders ask Kathy Castor to chair climate panel

Discussion: HuffPost

New York Times:

Planned Parenthood Is Accused of Mistreating Pregnant Employees — Employers that champion women face accusations of discriminating against their pregnant workers, showing how widespread the problem is in American workplaces. — As a medical assistant at Planned Parenthood …

Discussion: Daily Wire, KXLF-TV, Axios, Louder With Crowder, The Daily Caller, Townhall, The DC Chronicle, LifeNews.com, Washington Free Beacon and twitchy.com

Associated Press:

Democrats to Start Presidential Primary Debates in June 2019 — (AP) — Democrats will hold at least a dozen presidential primary debates starting in June 2019 and running through April 2020, with party Chairman Tom Perez promising rules that will give everyone in a potentially large field a fair shot at voters' attention.

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and twitchy.com