memeorandum: American Paul Whelan charged with espionage in Russia, news agency reports (Amie Ferris-Rotman/Washington Post)

12:40 PM ET, January 3, 2019

Top Items:

Jennifer Haberkorn / Los Angeles Times:

California's Rep. Brad Sherman to introduce impeachment measure … Rep. Brad Sherman plans to introduce articles of impeachment against President Trump on Thursday, the first day of Democratic control of the House. — Sherman (D-Northridge) is reintroducing a measure that he first rolled out in 2017.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Booman Tribune, Law & Crime, Roll Call, Hill Reporter, Washington Free Beacon, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, NTK Network and twitchy.com

Michael Burke / The Hill:

Graham: Trump giving up on border wall fight would be the ‘end of his presidency’ — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday cautioned President Trump against giving in on his demand for funding for his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall, claiming that doing so would likely be “the end of his presidency.”

Discussion: Axios, RedState and Breitbart

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:

Even the Trump-hostile GOP establishment questions Romney's presidential tongue-lashing — A Republican establishment impatient with President Trump but uninterested in fomenting an intraparty crackup ahead of 2020 is questioning Mitt Romney's motivation for issuing a scathing takedown of the president.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hit & Run, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Politico and IJR

Rachael Bade / Politico:

The survivor: Nancy Pelosi makes history — again — The past seven speakers of the House have lost their majority, been forced out by their own colleagues, or stepped down amid personal scandal. One of them — Nancy Pelosi — now has a second chance to rewrite her legacy.

Discussion: ABC News, Associated Press, New York Times, Daily Kos, Breitbart and Washington Post

Eun Kyung Kim / TODAY.com:

Nancy Pelosi says she won't rule out indictment, impeachment for Trump — As she prepares to resume her role as House speaker, Nancy Pelosi told TODAY she isn't ruling out the idea that Trump could be indicted or impeached while in office. — Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Daily Beast

Daniel W. Drezner / Washington Post:

The very odd game theory of the 2020 GOP presidential primary — Mitt Romney is not running for president. But he's also not not running for president. — In case you haven't noticed, some Republicans are acting very peculiarly about the 2020 presidential race.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and The American Spectator

Mike Allen / Axios:
Pelosi breaks with Justice: Trump can be indicted

Discussion: Politico and Taylor Marsh

David Weigel / Washington Post:
House Democrats plan to hold hearings on Medicare for All

Discussion: Mother Jones

USA Today:
Exclusive: Nancy Pelosi vows ‘different world’ for Trump with new Congress, no more ‘rubber stamp’

Discussion: Hollywood Life, NBC News and FOX40

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Unprecedented: Shutdown bleeds into new Congress

Discussion: Axios and RedState

Rick Klein / ABC News:
The Note: Democrats take power as Trump's hand grows weaker

Discussion: IJR

Henry Olsen / Washington Post:
Mitt Romney's op-ed crystallizes all the reasons the old GOP establishment has been pushed aside

Discussion: Breitbart, IJR, Coffee House, The American Spectator, Power Line, Front Page Magazine, American Greatness, CNN and fox13now.com

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Pelosi returns

Discussion: LifeNews.com, Washington Free Beacon and IJR

Michael Warren / Politico:
How to Talk So Trump Will Listen: A GOP Guide for Pelosi

Discussion: Raw Story and The Daily Caller

Sophie Brickman / ELLE: Red Max Mara Coat

Allan Smith / NBC News:
Nancy Pelosi doesn't rule out impeaching Trump

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Post, ABC News, Law & Crime, TheBlaze, CNN and Wall Street Journal

Martin O'Malley / Des Moines Register:

Here's who I'd like to see run for president. (Hint: It's not me) — Voters want Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders to run in the 2020 Presidential election, a new poll suggests. Veuer's Sam Berman has the full story. — Former Democratic candidate makes his pick for 2020

Discussion: Politico, National Review, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, IJR, The Daily Caller, CBS Baltimore and Washington Free Beacon

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Dianne Feinstein's 2020 pick: Joe Biden — Dianne Feinstein's California colleague Kamala Harris may run for president. But Feinstein already has her preferred candidate in mind: Joe Biden. — The Democratic senator, fresh off reelection to a fifth term, told a pair of reporters …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:

Russia has formally charged Paul Whelan, an American citizen, with espionage, Interfax news agency reports — Russian investigative agencies on Thursday indicted Whelan, a 48-year-old former U.S. Marine, on charges of spying, Interfax cited an informed source as saying.

Discussion: Task & Purpose

Neil MacFarquhar / New York Times:

Paul Whelan, American Accused of Spying, Is Said to Be Charged in Russia — MOSCOW — The Russian authorities have brought espionage charges against an American citizen, Paul N. Whelan, who faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the news agency Interfax reported on Thursday.

Discussion: Meduza.io, Law & Crime, The Daily Caller, Vox and RedState

Amie Ferris-Rotman / Washington Post:

American Paul Whelan charged with espionage in Russia, news agency reports — MOSCOW — An American arrested in Russia has been formally charged with espionage, a Russian news agency reported Thursday, moving the case into Russia's justice system and possibly deepening the diplomatic tensions with the United States.

Kristen Jordan Shamus / USA Today:
Mysterious tale of Paul Whelan, American man accused of spying in Russia, steeped in contradictions

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Guardian, People.com and Breitbart

Josh Magness / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

New Muslim congresswoman to be sworn in with Thomas Jefferson's centuries-old Quran — When incoming U.S. congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is sworn into office Thursday, she will use Thomas Jefferson's centuries-old Quran. — Some might be shocked that Jefferson owned an English-translated Quran that dates back to 1734.

Discussion: CNN, FOX 61 and Washington Post

CNN:
Welcome to the new Congress. We've never seen anything like it

Discussion: Vox

Tom Elliott / Grabien News:
The ‘Green New Deal’: A Radical Mandate for Government Control of American Society

Discussion: twitchy.com

Jill Colvin / Associated Press:

Trump reclaims spotlight with long, rambling Cabinet meeting — Home alone no more, President Donald Trump had a lot to share when he convened a rambling Cabinet meeting on Day 12 of the government shutdown. — The president, eager for company after a lonely stretch in a near-empty White House …

Discussion: Bangor Daily News

Saagar Enjeti / The Daily Caller:
Official: Dems ‘Refused’ To Even Listen To Border Security Briefing At White House

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post, Mediaite, TheBlaze and The Gateway Pundit

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:
A defensive Trump calls a Cabinet meeting and uses it to boast, deflect and distract

Discussion: Defense One, Just Security, The Hill and Politico

Terry McAuliffe / Washington Post:

To beat Trump, Democrats must counter his lies with realistic solutions — Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, is former governor of Virginia. — As I traveled around the country campaigning for Democrats this past year, one of my takeaways was that there is an overwhelming desire among voters for a return to reality.

Discussion: The Week, Washington Free Beacon and Splinter

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Defends Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan for Some Reason — In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded neighboring Afghanistan. The American interpretation of this invasion, shared by both parties, is that the Soviets were propping up a faltering communist client state, following the …

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today, Task & Purpose, Raw Story, The Week and Mediaite

David Frum / The Atlantic:
Why Is Trump Spouting Russian Propaganda?

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post and Outside the Beltway

Miriam Jordan / New York Times:

Undocumented Worker Says Trump Resort Shielded Her From Secret Service — A former employee of the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey said that her name was removed from a list of workers to be vetted by the Secret Service after she reminded management that she was unlawfully in the United States …

Steve Peoples / Associated Press:

Sanders allies contrite, defiant amid harassment allegations — NEW YORK (AP) — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his chief lieutenants are offering contrition and defiance as they face allegations of sexual harassment that plagued his last presidential campaign and now threaten to derail a second White House bid before it begins.

Discussion: National Review, Vox and RedState

Christina Wilkie / CNBC:
Former Bernie Sanders aide who allegedly made light of sexual harassment complaint will be chief …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Splinter, New York Times, USA Today, Front Page Magazine and CNN

Claudia Lauer / Associated Press:

AP Exclusive: A reckoning is underway in US Catholic Church — PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Over the past four months, Roman Catholic dioceses across the U.S. have released the names of more than 1,000 priests and others accused of sexually abusing children in an unprecedented public reckoning spurred …

New York Times:

‘New Chapter’ in Space Exploration as China Reaches Far Side of the Moon — BEIJING — China reached a milestone in space exploration on Thursday, landing a vehicle on the far side of the moon for the first time in history, the country's space agency announced.

Discussion: Raw Story

Andrew Prokop / Vox:

The 10 new Democratic House committee chairs who are about to make Trump's life hell — 2019 will be a year of investigations. — The Trump administration's free ride from Congress is over. — New Democratic House committee chairs are set to launch subpoena-powered investigations …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and Politico

Bob Bauer / Just Security:

Coming to Terms with the Impeachment Process: The Case for Starting a Formal Inquiry — The day after Donald Trump's inauguration, Peter Wehner wrote with some restraint that the new president “is unlikely to be contained by norms”— that is, by those practices or customs that politicians …

Hiroko Tabuchi / New York Times:

A Trump County Confronts the Administration Amid a Rash of Child Cancers — JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. — The children fell ill, one by one, with cancers that few families in this suburban community had ever heard of. An avid swimmer struck down by glioblastoma, which grew a tumor in her brain.

Discussion: Raw Story

Gothamist:

Cuomo Will Make Surprise Announcement As Rumors Swirl About L Train Shutdown — At 12:45 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, Governor Andrew Cuomo is holding a press conference at his Midtown office. The press conference comes two weeks after the governor ventured down into the Canarsie tunnel …