memeorandum: “My Only Goal Has Been to Protect Jeff and Lauren”: Michael Sanchez, Suspected Bezos Leaker … (Gabriel Sherman/Vanity Fair)

3:45 PM ET, February 14, 2019

Top Items:

Andrew G. McCabe / The Atlantic:

Every Day Is a New Low in Trump's White House — The president steps over bright ethical and moral lines wherever he encounters them. Everyone in America saw it when he fired my boss. But I saw it firsthand time and time again. … On Wednesday, May 10, 2017, my first full day on the job …

CBS News:

McCabe says he ordered the obstruction of justice probe of President Trump — The former FBI acting director tells 60 Minutes about the measures taken to ensure investigations into President Trump wouldn't “vanish.” See the full story Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CBS

New York Times:

McCabe Says Justice Officials Discussed Recruiting Cabinet Members to Push Trump Out of Office — WASHINGTON — Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy F.B.I. director, said in an interview aired on Thursday that top Justice Department officials were so alarmed by President Trump's decision …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hit & Run, Talking Points Memo, Vox, Conservative Review, RedState, Daily Wire, Politico, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, Breitbart, Chicks On The Right and Althouse

J. David Goodman / New York Times:

Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Headquarters — Amazon on Thursday canceled its plans to build an expansive corporate campus in New York City after facing an unexpectedly fierce backlash from some lawmakers and union leaders, who contended that a tech giant did not deserve nearly $3 billion in government incentives.

The Amazon Blog:

Update on plans for New York City headquarters — After much thought and deliberation, we've decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens. For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive …

Discussion: Curbed NY, Townhall, Associated Press, RedState, Bloomberg, WPIX 11 New York, Washington Post, BloombergQuint, FOX2now.com, CityLab, Motherboard, twitchy.com, Hot Air, Splinter, GeekWire, Chalkbeat, abc7ny.com, Washingtonian, DCist, The Guardian, WHYY, WGN-TV, KDFW, The Verge, FOX31 Denver, Engadget, CBS Chicago and NPR

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic:

Amazon Got Exactly What It Deserved—And So Did New York — Amazon said on Thursday that it will cancel its plans to add a second corporate headquarters in New York City. The company had pledged to build a campus in Queens' Long Island City in exchange for $3 billion in subsidies.

Discussion: CNN, WPIX 11 New York and Curbed NY

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
New York is better off without Amazon's HQ2

Discussion: Politico, Mashable and New York Times

New York Times:

Trump Puts Best Face on Border Deal, as Aides Try to Assuage an Angry Right — WASHINGTON — In pursuit of a wall, President Trump ran into one. A single-minded drive to force Congress to finance his signature campaign promise has left Mr. Trump right back where he started …

Discussion: NBC News, Raw Story, TVNewser, The Daily Beast, No More Mister Nice Blog, Media Matters for America, CNN, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Telegraph, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

Trump privately gripes that GOP was outplayed by Democrats — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump appears to be moving — unhappily — toward signing a bipartisan agreement that provides only a fraction of the money he demanded for a border wall. But in conversations with allies over the past days …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Week, New York Times, Raw Story and Political Wire

CNN:

Trump aides now fret he won't sign funding bill — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's aides now say they are less certain he will sign a bipartisan spending compromise that doesn't include the money he demanded for a border wall — a major shift from earlier this week when officials indicated privately that he would.

Daniel Horowitz / Conservative Review:
5 insane provisions in the amnesty omnibus bill

Discussion: illegal immigration …, Breitbart, Big League Politics and Laredo Morning News

Gabby Orr / Politico:
‘He was in his face’: Trump fumes over abortion, courts evangelicals

Discussion: LifeNews.com, Contemptor, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze and The Daily Caller

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“My Only Goal Has Been to Protect Jeff and Lauren”: Michael Sanchez, Suspected Bezos Leaker, Supplies His Own Theory About the Affair, the Enquirer, Some Below-the-Belt Selfies, and “a Legendary Romance” — Weeks ago, Michael Sanchez was a minor player on the fringes of Hollywood …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Showbiz411, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, Econlib, Splinter, The Federalist, The Week, Gizmodo, illegal immigration … and CNN

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:

The Ocasio-Cortez Effect: Wave of Challenges Hits Entrenched N.Y. Democrats — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be just the beginning. — Less than eight months after Ms. Ocasio-Cortez stunned the political world by unseating a powerful Democratic congressman, her home state is emerging …

Discussion: Splinter and Washington Free Beacon

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:

'Here's the system, it sucks': Meet the Hill staffers hired by Ocasio-Cortez to upend Washington — One is the daughter of an immigrant from Nigeria who wanted to understand the causes of her mom's plight, starting a search that would lead her to Spelman, Oxford, Harvard, Georgetown …

Discussion: 71 Republic and Media Matters for America

Jedediah Britton-Purdy / New York Times:
The Green New Deal Is What Realistic Environmental Policy Looks Like

Discussion: National Review and Cafe Hayek

Jewish Insider:

Daily Kickoff: Rep. Ilhan Omar vs. Elliott Abrams | Why Howard Schultz keeps a stone from Auschwitz on his desk | Annie Leibovitz's early years — Tell your friends to sign up for the Daily Kickoff here or for early 7AM access via Debut Inbox — SCOOP: HEARD LAST NIGHT — Sen. Bernie Sanders …

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Jihad Watch

Ronald Radosh / The Daily Beast:
How Ilhan Omar's Attempt to Shame Elliott Abrams Backfired

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState and Breitbart

Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:
Bernie Sanders Called Ilhan Omar to Offer His Support Amid Anti-Semitism Controversy

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Tim Hains / RealClearPolitics:
Rep. Ilhan Omar vs. Venezuela Envoy Elliott Abrams: Was El Salvador “Massacre” A “Fabulous Achievement?”

Discussion: The Federalist, Hot Air and Althouse

Jim DeRogatis / New Yorker:

Prosecutors Are Moving to Indict R. Kelly, After the Discovery of Another Videotape — According to a senior law-enforcement official, the tape shows Kelly sexually assaulting an underage girl. — A videotape from the R. & B. superstar R. Kelly's past may soon lead to his indictment in Illinois …

Discussion: WPIX 11 New York, Law & Crime and Okayplayer

Sara Sidner / CNN:
CNN has seen tape Avenatti says shows R. Kelly having sex with underage girl

Discussion: The FADER, VICE News, The Daily Beast, The Week, TMZ.com, Consequence of Sound, The Root, WGN-TV and Perez Hilton

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Isn't Looking to Retire Yet, But Is Another Supreme Court Justice Ready to Go? — No one tells a Supreme Court Justice when to retire. But there are currently two retirement dramas under way at the Court—one semi-public and the other semi-private …

Discussion: New York Times, Hot Air, Althouse and Crooked Media

The Daily Beast:

Trump's DHS Guts Task Forces Protecting Elections From Foreign Meddling — “It's very curious why the leadership has not committed resources to prepare for the 2020 election,” one DHS official tells The Daily Beast. — Two teams of federal officials assembled to fight foreign election interference …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Politico, Hullabaloo, Just Security, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story, more at Techmeme »

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Senate confirms Trump pick William Barr as new attorney general — The Senate voted Thursday to approve William Barr as attorney general, giving the Justice Department its first confirmed chief since President Trump ousted Jeff Sessions last fall. — Senators voted 54-45 for Barr's nomination …

Discussion: Politico and Axios

Washington Post:
Senate confirms William Barr as attorney general in 54-to-45 vote

Discussion: Above the Law, Daily Wire and CNN

Moritz Rakuszitzky / bellingcat:

Third Suspect in Skripal Poisoning Identified as Denis Sergeev, High-Ranking GRU Officer — Bellingcat previously confirmed that a third GRU officer was present in the UK during the time Sergey and Yulia Skripal fell into a coma, after what the UK authorities said was a deliberate poisoning with Novichok.

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

The three 2020 Democrats Trump's campaign is watching most closely — Donald Trump's political advisers are homing in on three declared Democratic candidates who they believe are the most viable at this early stage of the campaign. — The reelection campaign has begun compiling opposition research …

Discussion: Washington Post, Hullabaloo, The Week and Talking Points Memo

Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:

Anti-Vaccine Facebook Ads Target Women in Measles-Stricken States — Nearly 150 spots are targeting women over the age of 25—the group most likely to include mothers of children who might need to be vaccinated. — BEAST INSIDE … Facebook's advertising platform is being used …

Peter Baker / New York Times:

McConnell Says Trump Plans to Declare National Emergency to Build Border Wall — WASHINGTON — Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, announced on Thursday that President Trump planned to declare a national emergency so he can bypass Congress and build his long-promised wall along the southwestern border.

Ivan Dikov / European Views:

Belgian Counterintelligence Chief Suspected of Spying for Russia — Belgium's intelligence service ADIV has been plagued by a long-standing conflict between its intelligence and counter-intelligence departments. — Clement Vandenborre, counterintelligence head in Belgium's intelligence service …

Andrea Drusch / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Worried Texas Republicans call for more national help in 2020 — Texas Republicans have long coasted to re-election while ignoring their Democratic opponents. Not anymore. — For 2020, GOP incumbents in what has historically been one of the most solidly red states in the union …

Discussion: Off the Kuff, Politico and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Sam Biddle / The Intercept:

Amazon's Home Surveillance Chief Declared War on “Dirtbag Criminals” as Company Got Closer to Police — On March 17, 2016, Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff emailed out a company-wide declaration of war. The message, under the subject line “Going to war,” made two things clear to the home surveillance …

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Paul Manafort Keeps Lying About Russia Collusion. Is It to Protect Donald Trump? — Last night, a federal judge ruled that Paul Manafort violated his plea agreement by lying repeatedly to federal prosecutors about the Russia investigation. Some of Manafort's lies go …

Daily Mail:

Timeline of the London girls' journey into ISIS' heart of terror - but now one wants to come home — December - Counter terrorism police question Shamima Begum, Kadiz Sultana and Amira Abase after their friend Sharmeema Begum goes to Syria. — Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-olds Shamima Begum …

Discussion: Jihad Watch

Jacob Bogage / Washington Post:

He stopped selling Nike products because of Colin Kaepernick. Now his store is closing. — Stephen Martin heard all the arguments defending NFL players who protested against social injustice and police brutality. He even understood them, to an extent — “There is social injustice in the criminal justice system,” Martin said.

Discussion: IJR, CNN and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:

Trump Is Making ‘Socialism’ Sound Pretty Good — And in any case, Democrats are not planning to seize the means of production anytime soon. — Only a handful of Democrats in Congress (and just one Democrat-adjacent presidential contender) identify as “socialist,” but they appear …

Discussion: Observer and American Thinker

Laura Strickler / NBC News:

‘Whistleblower’ seeks protection after sounding alarm over White House security clearances — Tricia Newbold says her supervisor “repeatedly mishandled security files and has approved unwarranted security clearances.” — Specialist in White House security clearance office suspended without pay

Discussion: CNN and Raw Story

The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh:

Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh eyewitness accounts of the incident involving Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Publisher John Robinson Block — After much careful consideration, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh has decided to release some of the eyewitness accounts of the incident involving Pittsburgh …

Discussion: CNN, The Big Lead, The Incline, Boing Boing and Splinter, more at Mediagazer »

miamiherald:

A remembrance of the victims from the Parkland shooting — as told by their classmates — BY STUDENTS OF MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD — Twelve months ago, 14 students and three adults were murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland. On Valentine's Day.

Discussion: New York Times, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Boing Boing, The Trace and Mashable

Mark Di Stefano / BuzzFeed:

Journalists Have Been Banned From A Powerful Database That Lets You Search People's Phone Numbers And Addresses — Until now, Trace IQ let journalists search names, phone numbers and addresses in one database - now they've been banned, but other groups, such as debt collectors, haven't.

more at Mediagazer »