memeorandum: Mueller's Real Target in the Roger Stone Indictment (Julian Sanchez/New York Times)

9:15 PM ET, January 26, 2019

Top Items:

Julian Sanchez / New York Times:

Mueller's Real Target in the Roger Stone Indictment — It was probably not Stone himself, but rather his electronic devices. — Mr. Sanchez is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. — For many, Friday's arrest of Roger Stone, the veteran political trickster and longtime adviser to Donald Trump …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Vox and Media Matters for America

Elie Honig / CAFE:

Flipping Roger Stone — As a federal prosecutor working organized crime cases, I routinely staked trials on testimony from some of the worst human beings on the planet. Prosecutors call them “cooperating witnesses,” defendants and defense attorneys call them “rats,” “snitches” and worse, and trials often turn on their testimony.

Discussion: New York Times, MEL Magazine, ABC News and Mediaite

Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:

Dithering GOP Stalls House's New Trump-Russia Probe — Democrats now in control of the crucial intelligence committee want to get back to their Russia probe. It can't happen until the Republicans formally join. — The new leadership on the House intelligence committee is eager to revive …

Discussion: Axios, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Associated Press:
In Trump ally Stone's case, Mueller finds crime in cover-up

Discussion: KTLA

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
‘I Will Piss on Your Grave’: Emails Reveal Roger Stone's Abuse of Frenemy Randy Credico

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and BuzzFeed News

Pelosi / Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
Pelosi Statement on Special Counsel Indictment and Arrest of Trump Campaign Advisor Roger Stone

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, The Last Refuge, The Guardian, ThinkProgress, Newsweek, Conservative News Today, Mother Jones, The New Civil Rights Movement, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze and The Stream

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
Stone Indictment Underscores That There Was No Trump-Russia Conspiracy

Discussion: Washington Post, Splinter, The New Neo, The Intercept, Politico, The Guardian and Bloomberg

Abigail Tracy / Vanity Fair:
“We Can See Collusion”: With the Stone Indictment, Mueller Begins Making His Case

Discussion: The Guardian and Mediaite

New York Times:

A Bruised Trump Faces Uncertain 2020 Prospects. His Team Fears a Primary Fight. — With his approval rating sinking, and foes within the party wooing potential Republican challengers, aides to the president are working to shore up his support. — Mr. Trump, close associates acknowledge …

Discussion: Washington Press, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Joe.My.God., Talking Points Memo, twitchy.com, Axios and AOL

New York Times: A Bruised Trump Faces Uncertain 2020 Prospects. His Team Fears a Primary Fight.

New York Times:

Trump Meets With Hard-Right Group Led by Ginni Thomas — WASHINGTON — President Trump met last week with a delegation of hard-right activists led by Ginni Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, listening quietly as members of the group denounced transgender people and women serving …

Discussion: The New Civil Rights Movement, Talking Points Memo, Washington Press, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

CNN:

Inside the White House, aides and advisers are despondent over a wasted month — Washington (CNN)As President Donald Trump announced in the Rose Garden on Friday that his quixotic bid to secure more than $5 billion for a border wall would end with no money, he was met with applause from his Cabinet secretaries and senior aides.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Deadline, Mediaite, Fox News Insider and Washington Post

New York Times:

Jared Kushner, a Confident Negotiator, Finds Immigration Deal to Be Elusive — WASHINGTON — Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, was confident in his ability as a good-faith negotiator who could find a compromise to end the government shutdown. — His pitch to Democratic lawmakers was simple …

Discussion: Politico

Alex Horton / Washington Post:
‘He lied about it’: Ann Coulter rips Trump for failing to secure border wall funding

Discussion: Slate, WTVR-TV and CNN

Washington Post:

Donald Trump's demand for a border wall shut down the government. At the same time, his company was firing undocumented workers. — OSSINING, N.Y — They had spent years on the staff of Donald Trump's golf club, winning employee-of-the-month awards and receiving glowing letters of recommendation.

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, Washington Press, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Splinter, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

New York Times:

Trump and His Associates Had More Than 100 Contacts With Russians Before the Inauguration — Among these contacts are more than 100 in-person meetings, phone calls, text messages, emails and private messages on Twitter. Mr. Trump and his campaign repeatedly denied having such contacts with Russians during the 2016 election.

Discussion: The Week, The Root, Talking Points Memo, POLITICUSUSA and Joe.My.God.

Willie Brown / San Francisco Chronicle:

Sure, I dated Kamala Harris. So what? — I've been peppered with calls from the national media about my “relationship” with Kamala Harris, particularly since it became obvious that she was going to run for president. Most of them, I have not returned. — Yes, we dated. It was more than 20 years ago.

New York Times:

U.S. and Taliban Edge Toward Deal to End America's Longest War — KABUL, Afghanistan — The United States and the Taliban are closing in on a deal to end America's longest war after six days of some of the most serious Afghan peace negotiations to date wrapped up on Saturday.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Task & Purpose

Ayaz Gul / Voice of America: U.S.-Taliban Agree on Troop Withdrawal Plan, Sources Tell VOA

Reuters: Foreign troops to quit Afghanistan in 18 months under draft deal: Taliban sources

Pamela Constable / Washington Post: U.S.-Taliban talks appear closer to pact after marathon talks in Qatar

Greenville, NC:

FIRST ON WITN: Congressman Walter Jones in hospice — FARMVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Congressman Walter Jones is in hospice, his wife Joe Anne Jones confirmed Saturday at their home in Farmville. — The family declined to give any other details about his condition.

Discussion: illegal immigration …

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez / Arizona Republic:

Conservative Kelli Ward to lead Arizona Republican Party after upset — Kelli Ward, the bomb-throwing conservative former state senator and loyalist to President Donald Trump, upended the race to lead the Arizona Republican Party by beating the establishment favorite and incumbent GOP chairman, Jonathan Lines.

Discussion: Political Wire

CNN:

5 dead after shooting spree in Louisiana — (CNN)A manhunt is underway in Louisiana following a string of shootings that left the suspect's parents and 3 others dead, law enforcement officials said. — Authorities are looking for 21-year Dakota Theriot after two Saturday morning shootings …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Associated Press: Search on for Louisiana man suspected in 5 deaths

Telegraph:

Melania Trump - An Apology — Following last Saturday's (Jan 19) Telegraph magazine cover story “The mystery of Melania”, we have been asked to make clear that the article contained a number of false statements which we accept should not have been published.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, RedState, Townhall, Daily Wire, Conservative News Today, TheBlaze, IJR, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, illegal immigration …, The Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, twitchy.com and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Kelly Gilblom / Bloomberg: Telegraph to Pay Melania Trump ‘Substantial’ Damages for Article

Kate Bennett / CNN: Melania Trump gets ‘substantial damages’ and an apology for story in British magazine

New York Times:

On Venezuela, Rubio Assumes U.S. Role of Ouster in Chief — WASHINGTON — His hand chopping in the air, his voice stern and stalwart, he declared that it was time for the regional despot to go and warned of the consequences if he did not. With a commander in chief's resolve …

Discussion: The American Conservative

Michael R. Pompeo / US Department of State:
U.S. Department of State

Discussion: IJR

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

The Loneliness of the Moderate Democrat — ‘It takes a lot of spine to be a centrist in America today.’ — PROVIDENCE, R.I. — I did it. I found a significantly accomplished, defensibly qualified Democratic officeholder who isn't flirting with — and hasn't fantasized about — a presidential run in 2020.

Washington Post:

‘I hope we get some common sense’: Republicans reeling from political damage caused by shutdown — President Trump and the GOP's confrontation over a border wall not only provoked the longest government shutdown in history but inflicted serious political damage and deepening rifts …

Discussion: Raw Story

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:

Ex-Starbucks CEO Could Get Trump Re-elected — Before there was Jill Stein, there was Ralph Nader. Before there was Nader, there was Ross Perot. — None won. All argued that the Republican Party and the Democratic Party were basically the same, and the only way to make real change was to ditch them both.

Discussion: CNBC, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, CBS News, Talking Points Memo and IJR