memeorandum: Exclusive: Pentagon preparing options to build border wall as Trump weighs emergency declaration (Tom Vanden Brook/USA Today)

2:25 PM ET, January 10, 2019

Top Items:

CNN:

Exclusive: Robert Mueller met with Trump's pollster — Washington (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller sought information directly last year from one of Donald Trump's campaign pollsters who is also a former business associate of Paul Manafort's. — Mueller's team met with pollster Tony Fabrizio …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, Opinion Today and Observer

Paul Seamus Ryan / Just Security:

Trump Campaign in Legal Jeopardy Over Manafort's Sharing Data with Russian Agent — According to a court filing earlier this week, former 2016 Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort shared presidential campaign polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian citizen with ties to Russian intelligence.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNBC and Breitbart

Christal Hayes / USA Today:
Trump's team had over 100 contacts with Russian-linked operatives, report shows

Discussion: Shakesville, KTLA and Washington Post

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump says he knew nothing about Manafort sharing polling data with Russian associate

Discussion: Politico

NBC News:

Test of steel prototype for border wall showed it could be sawed through — NBC News obtained a photo showing results of a test on a steel wall prototype. — President Donald Trump has repeatedly advocated for a steel slat design for his border wall, which he described as …

Kathryn Watson / CBS News:

Trump will “probably” declare national emergency absent a deal in Congress — President Trump indicated Thursday he will likely declare a national emergency if Congress doesn't reach an agreement to fund his border wall — a move that is sure to set off challenges in the courts if he goes ahead with it.

Discussion: twitchy.com, TheBlaze and CNN

Bloomberg:

For Trump, Storming Out of a Meeting Is a Signature Ploy — He has long used dramatic exits as a negotiating tactic — Trump once walked out on a judge during a divorce proceeding — President Donald Trump's decision to abruptly storm out of a meeting with congressional leaders on Wednesday shocked some on Capitol Hill.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, BloombergQuint and Raw Story

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:

Trump says he ‘never meant Mexico would write a check’ for the wall — President Donald Trump says Mexico will pay for his proposed border wall through the revenue bump Trump hopes will come from a new trade deal pending in Congress. — “During the campaign, I said Mexico would pay for it …

Discussion: Roll Call, Sputnik International, Washington Post and The Daily Caller

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Trump's one way out

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Washington Press and Political Wire

Sam Mintz / Politico:
Air traffic controllers, working without pay, ramp up shutdown pressure

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Rebecca Morin / Politico:
Lawmakers scramble to break impasse as Trump threatens national emergency

Discussion: Breitbart

Shannon Vavra / Axios:
Trump calls China “far more honorable” than Pelosi, Schumer

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo and Townhall

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Raging, weakened Trump is running out of options

Discussion: Vox, Washington Examiner, Joe.My.God., Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump's Emergency Powers Threat Could End Shutdown Crisis, but at What Cost?

Discussion: The Week, Joe.My.God., Common Dreams, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Post

Trip Gabriel / New York Times:

Before Trump, Steve King Set the Agenda for the Wall and Anti-Immigrant Politics — Years before President Trump forced a government shutdown over a border wall, triggering a momentous test of wills in Washington, Representative Steve King of Iowa took to the House floor to show off a model of a 12-foot border wall he had designed.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Des Moines Register, National Review, Washington Monthly, Vox, Hit & Run, RedState, Breitbart, Raw Story, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, twitchy.com, Daily Kos, Law & Crime, The Daily Caller, The Week and Boing Boing

Christopher Mathias / HuffPost:
White Supremacist Rep. Steve King Gets A Primary Challenger

Discussion: Splinter

Justin Wise / The Hill:
Steve King asks how terms ‘white nationalist’ and ‘white supremacist’ became offensive

Discussion: twitchy.com, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Dave Price / WHOTV:
Governor Reynolds Won't Back Congressman Steve King in 2020 Primary Fight

Discussion: Roll Call

Doug Sovern / KCBS 740AM:

Kamala Harris Ready To Enter Race For President, Sources Say — She's Finalizing Plans For Bay Area Rally To Announce Candidacy — Sen. Kamala Harris has decided to run for president in 2020 and will announce her candidacy on or around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, probably at a campaign rally in Oakland …

Discussion: Raw Story, Shakesville, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, The Week and CNN

CBS News:
Kamala Harris set to toss hat into presidential ring: Sources

Discussion: Roll Call, twitchy.com and Mediaite

C.J. Ciaramella / Hit & Run: Kamala Harris' New Book Tries to Massage Her Record as a Prosecutor, But the Facts Aren't Pretty

TMZ.com:

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos Did NOT Have a Prenup so $137 Billion on the Line in Divorce — Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos did NOT have a prenuptial agreement so, by all rights, they will split their incredible fortune right down the middle ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ,.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Page Six, TheStreet, The Daily Beast, CNBC, The Daily Caller, BloombergQuint and New York Times, more at Techmeme »

National Enquirer:
Married Amazon Boss Jeff Bezos Getting Divorce Over Fling With Movie Mogul's Wife

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Guardian and Daily Mail

Cristiano Lima / Politico:
Trump on Jeff Bezos' divorce: 'It's going to be a beauty'

Discussion: One America News Network

Nomaan Merchant / Associated Press:

Texas landowners prepare wall fight; Trump to visit border — HIDALGO, Texas (AP) — As President Donald Trump travels to the border in Texas to make the case for his $5.7 billion wall, landowner Eloisa Cavazos says she knows firsthand how the project will play out if the White House gets its way.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air and Boing Boing

Matthew Lee / Associated Press:

Pompeo repudiates Obama Mideast policy, takes aim at Iran — CAIRO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration's Mideast policies on Thursday as he denounced the former president for “misguided” and “wishful” thinking that diminished America's role …

Discussion: Axios and Conservative News Today

Borzou Daragahi / The Independent: Mike Pompeo lays out Trump's vision for Middle East, blaming Iran and Obama for region's ills

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
‘American shame is over’: Pompeo vows to quell Obama's Mideast ‘mistakes’

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:

Trump: I never said Mexico would ‘write out a check’ for border wall — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he never promised Mexico would literally write a check to pay for a border wall — even though his 2016 presidential campaign said it had a plan to make Mexico fork over the cash.

Discussion: Breitbart and Hullabaloo

Betsy Klein / CNN:
Trump claims ‘obviously’ Mexico isn't going to write a check for a border wall

Discussion: Politico, The Root and NTK Network

Gabby Orr / Politico:

Trump White House urging allies to prepare for possible RBG departure — The White House is reaching out to political allies and conservative activist groups to prepare for an ailing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's possible death or departure from the Supreme Court — an event that would trigger …

Discussion: CNN and Law & Crime

Owen Daugherty / The Hill:

Texas county GOP set to vote this week to remove leader because he is Muslim — The Tarrant County Republicans in Texas will vote this week to remove their vice chairman because he is Muslim. — Republican Dorrie O'Brien is leading a group of colleagues in an attempt to unseat Shahid Shafi …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Dallas Morning News, The Texas Tribune, The Daily Caller and Raw Story

Zusha Elinson / Wall Street Journal:

Police Issue Warrant for Soccer Superstar Ronaldo's DNA in Rape Case — After discovering DNA on dress of alleged victim, Las Vegas police want to know if it matches Ronaldo's — Authorities in Las Vegas have issued a warrant to obtain the DNA of soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo …

Justin Wise / The Hill:

O'Rourke talks border during Instagram video at dentist — Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) recorded his trip to the dentist on Thursday to showcase his hygienist's experiences growing up near the southern border. — “So I'm here at the dentist and we're going to continue our series …

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire and Althouse

Tom Vanden Brook / USA Today:

Exclusive: Pentagon preparing options to build border wall as Trump weighs emergency declaration — WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is preparing options to build barriers on the southern border in the event that President Donald Trump declares a national emergency there, the latest indication …

Discussion: Politico and Political Wire

Cameron Joseph / Talking Points Memo:

Polls: Voters Oppose Trump On Shutdown By Wide Margins In Key 2020 Senate States — Voters disagree with President Trump's demand for border wall funding by double-digit margins in seven key Senate swing states, according to new polling conducted for a coalition of liberal groups.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Political Wire, Raw Story and Politico

Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:

The ‘doomsday’ scenario: Here's what happens if the shutdown drags on — Economists warn that a catastrophe is in the making if the partial government closure continues for weeks or months. — The country would face an economic hellscape if the government shutdown lasts “months or even years …

Tarini Parti / BuzzFeed News:

Here's Trump Allies' Plan To Meddle In The 2020 Democratic Primary — The pair of outside groups tied closely to President Donald Trump has retained the top Republican opposition group in an effort to smother Democrats seeking to challenge him — and perhaps even help pick his 2020 challenger.

Discussion: Raw Story

Kurt Repanshek / National Parks Traveler:

Joshua Tree National Park To Close For Cleanup, Repairs To Vandalism, Illegal Roads — Illegal roads, cut down Joshua trees, and damaged federal property, along with the need to clean up garbage, prompted Joshua Tree National Park Superintendent David Smith to announce Tuesday that the park …

Discussion: Axios

Jon Levine / The Wrap:

Financial Times' Agenda Pulls Quotes From ‘Les Moonves’ Interview He Denied Ever Happened — “In light of the statement from Mr. Moonves, we have removed the quotes from the article,” says Agenda in their third editor's note on the subject — The Financial Times' corporate news service Agenda …

Todd Herman / MyNorthwest.com:

Was video of President Trump's Tuesday address doctored? — A listener to my program sent me a video that appears to show a deceptively edited video of President Trump's speech from the Oval Office. We performed a side-by-side comparison of the video from our listener …

Discussion: Power Line, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Wire

Matt Dixon / Politico:

Rick Scott blindsides DeSantis on his way out — Scores of 11th-hour appointments by outgoing Gov. Rick Scott. Roadblocks for the new transition team. A rival inaugural ball. — The contentious handoff of the Florida governor's office from Scott to fellow Republican Ron DeSantis …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Kendra Pierre-Louis / New York Times:

Ocean Warming Is Accelerating Faster Than Thought, New Research Finds — Scientists say the warming of the world's oceans is accelerating more quickly than previously thought, a finding with dire implications for climate change given that the vast majority of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases ends up stored there.