memeorandum: Dershowitz says talks to use 25th Amendment to oust Trump could amount to ‘unconstitutional coup’ (Julia Manchester/The Hill)

7:20 PM ET, February 20, 2019

Top Items:

CNN:

Justice Department preparing for Mueller report as early as next week — Washington (CNN)Attorney General Bill Barr is preparing to announce as early as next week the completion of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, with plans for Barr to submit to Congress soon after a summary …

Washington Post:

Justice Department preparing for Mueller report in coming days — Justice Department officials are preparing for the end of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's nearly two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and believe a confidential report could be issued in coming days …

Discussion: Raw Story

emptywheel:

Questions to Ask before Reporting a BREAKING Mueller Report — Update: CNN is matching NBC's reporting on this. It also backs its report with real details from their superb stakeout. … I take from that I'm wrong about Mueller waiting for the two appeals (he knows what he'll get from them) before he delivers his verdict.

Discussion: Vox, Raw Story, RedState and Breitbart

Quin Hillyer / Washington Examiner:
McCabe's depiction of Jeff Sessions is pathetically unbelievable

Discussion: BlueDot Daily, The New Neo and CNN

Lynh Bui / Washington Post:

Self-proclaimed white nationalist planned mass terror attack, government says. ‘I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on earth.’ — A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant and self-identified white nationalist has been arrested after federal investigators uncovered a cache of weapons …

Discussion: Mediaite, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos and Political Wire

CNN:

Actor Jussie Smollett now a suspect in criminal investigation — “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has been “officially classified” as a suspect in a criminal investigation for allegedly filling a false police report, according to a tweet from Chicago police communications Officer Anthony Guglielmi.

Discussion: CBS Chicago, Townhall, The Root, Page Six, Daily Wire, WPIX 11 New York, TheBlaze, myfox8.com, The Week and KBZK

Tina Nguyen / Vanity Fair:
“Activists Masquerading as Journalists”: Why the Right-Wing Media Is So Furious About the Jussie Smollett Affair

Discussion: RedState, Coffee House, Breitbart and Spectator USA

John Kass / Chicago Tribune: Column: Politicians use Jussie Smollett, while a 1-year-old boy shot in the head is set aside

CBS Chicago:
Video Shows Brothers Linked To Jussie Smollett Attack Buying Items Allegedly Worn In Assault

Discussion: Okayplayer, The FADER, Deadline, The Gateway Pundit, The Last Refuge, CBS Los Angeles, TMZ.com and Reason

John McWhorter / The Atlantic:
What the Jussie Smollett Story Reveals

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Signal, KBZK, twitchy.com, Althouse, The Week and CBS Chicago

Associated Press:
The Latest: Police: Smollett suspected of lying about attack

Discussion: KTLA, Breitbart and WPIX 11 New York

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Dutch professor exposes Tucker Carlson's fraud — “Tucker Carlson Tonight” is a binary production. Here's how it breaks down: The host, Tucker Carlson, either welcomes a guest with whom he agrees, in which case the segment is a facile lovefest, or he welcomes a guest with whom he disagrees …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, Hill Reporter, IJR, Contemptor, The Week and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Shannon Young / Union-News:

UMass poll gives Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders edge in 2020 New Hampshire Democratic primary — Although former Vice President Joe Biden has yet to enter the 2020 White House race, he continues to lead declared Democratic candidates among expected New Hampshire voters with less than one year …

Discussion: Political Wire and twitchy.com

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
A more liberal Democratic electorate gets a more liberal primary field — to an extent

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Breitbart, The Atlantic and National Review

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:

Inside Patrick Shanahan's clash with Congress in Munich over Syria — In a private meeting in Munich with more than a dozen lawmakers, acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan got an earful about President Trump's plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria by the end of April.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Task & Purpose, Roll Call and Politico

NBC News:
Pentagon chief briefing irks lawmakers, draws expletives from Sen. Lindsey Graham

Discussion: Raw Story

Kristina Wong / Breitbart:
Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan's Rocky Meeting in Munich: 'You've Just Lost the Senate'

Discussion: Vox

Mathew Rodriguez / Out Magazine:

Trump's Plan to Decriminalize Homosexuality Is an Old Racist Tactic … The Trump administration is set to launch a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality in dozens of nations where anti-gay laws are still on the books, NBC News reported Monday. While on its surface …

Josh Lederman / NBC News:
Richard Grenell says he has support at home to decriminalize homosexuality abroad

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Right Wing Watch, The Daily Beast and PinkNews

Washington Post:

Supreme Court, in unanimous ruling, moves to limit state and local governments' power to impose fines and seize property — The court on Wednesday ruled in favor of Tyson Timbs of Marion, Ind., whose $42,000 Land Rover SUV was seized after his arrest for selling a couple hundred dollars' worth of heroin.

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Supreme Court limits power of states and localities to impose fines, seize property

Discussion: New York Times, Above the Law, Vox, Mother Jones, Boing Boing, ABC News and Axios

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Justice Clarence Thomas Calls for Reconsideration of Landmark Libel Ruling

Discussion: Shareblue Media, SCOTUSblog, Outside the Beltway, Bloomberg, The Week, CNN, ThinkProgress, Balloon Juice, NPR and Splinter, more at Mediagazer »

Natasha Korecki / Politico:

‘Sustained and ongoing’ disinformation assault targets Dem presidential candidates — A wide-ranging disinformation campaign aimed at Democratic 2020 candidates is already underway on social media, with signs that foreign state actors are driving at least some of the activity.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Times, Booman Tribune, VICE News, Hill Reporter, The Week, Daily Kos and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:
Ethically challenged: Three scandals rock Trump administration in one day

Discussion: Daily Wire, Hullabaloo, CBS Sacramento and The Week

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:

The Classicist Who Sees Donald Trump as a Tragic Hero — Many of the books written in support of Donald Trump's Presidency have been authored by Trump family hangers-on or charlatans looking to make a buck. (Examples include “Trump's Enemies: How the Deep State Is Undermining the Presidency …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Dan Cancian / Newsweek:
Barack Obama: 'If You're Confident About Your Sexuality, You Don't Need Eight Women Around You Twerking'

Discussion: Breitbart

Brett Murphy / USA Today:

Blackface, KKK hoods and mock lynchings: Review of 900 yearbooks finds blatant racism — In one of the most extensive searches of college yearbooks ever, we found blackface and Ku Klux Klan photos like Ralph Northam's far beyond Virginia. — The old yearbook photos capture the lighthearted moments …

Discussion: Raw Story

Luke Thompson:

The Congresswoman Loves the Swamp — Her Wealthy Chief of Staff used a PAC to Pay Her Boyfriend — Luke ThompsonBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing — Last Friday, my mentions died for your sins. I posted a screen grab of Riley Roberts's House Microsoft Outlook card, including his official house …

Discussion: RedState, TheBlaze, IJR, twitchy.com, Patterico's Pontifications, Instapundit and checkyourfact.com

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:

A Former Trump Staffer Filed A Class Action To Invalidate All Of The Campaign's Nondisclosure Agreements — WASHINGTON — A former Trump campaign staffer filed a class action Wednesday seeking to invalidate all of the nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements that the Trump campaign required all staffers to sign.

Discussion: Axios, Splinter and VICE News

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

CNN's hiring of a GOP operative as political editor is even worse than it looks — A few months before the 2016 presidential election, Sarah Isgur tweeted some advice to Donald Trump: “The only 3 words that should be coming out of Donald Trump's mouth this week are: ‘Clinton’ ‘foundation’ ‘emails’”

Discussion: Vox, The Daily Beast, The Intercept, CNN, ThinkProgress, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Caller, Boing Boing, Townhall, The Week and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

White House readies panel to assess if climate change poses a national security threat — The White House is working to assemble a panel to assess whether climate change poses a national security threat, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post, a conclusion that federal intelligence agencies …

Discussion: New York Times, Mother Jones, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Daily Caller, CNN, IJR, Axios, Daily Kos, Task & Purpose, The Guardian, Shareblue Media, The Democrats and The Week

Aaron Rupar / Vox:
Trump's pick to chair new climate panel once said CO2 has been maligned like “Jews under Hitler”

Discussion: Nature and Raw Story

Sean Hannity:

MANUFACTURED CRISIS? Border Agents Seize $13 MILLION of Meth Hidden in Frozen Strawberries — Border and Customs agents in south Texas seized $13 million worth of methamphetamines concealed in a frozen strawberry delivery truck over the weekend; discovering the illicit drugs …

Discussion: CNN

Rebecca Morin / Politico:

Trump says he directed Pompeo not to let ISIS bride back in U.S. — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he had directed the State Department not to allow the return of an Alabama woman who in 2014 joined the Islamic State terrorist group, days after the woman made public pleas to be let back into the U.S.

Discussion: RedState, Washington Post and One America News Network

Rukmini Callimachi / New York Times:
Alabama Woman Who Joined ISIS Can't Return Home, Pompeo Says

Discussion: Breitbart

Leila Fadel / NPR:

U.S. Hate Groups Rose 30 Percent In Recent Years, Watchdog Group Reports — Updated at 2 p.m. ET — For the fourth year in a row, the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization that tracks hate groups, reports that hate and domestic extremism are rising in an unabated trend.

Discussion: Southern Poverty Law Center, Daily Breeze, NB Blog and The New Civil Rights Movement

Chris Woodyard / USA Today: Hate group count hits 20-year high amid rise in white supremacy, report finds

Evan Halper / Los Angeles Times:

Your phone and TV are tracking you, and political campaigns are listening in … It was a crowded primary field and Tony Evers, running for governor, was eager to win the support of officials gathered at a Wisconsin state Democratic party meeting, so the candidate did all the usual things: he read the room, he shook hands, he networked.

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

CBS Mulls Changes to ‘CBS Evening News,’ Eyes Norah O'Donnell for Anchor Slot (EXCLUSIVE) — CBS News is considering making significant changes to its flagship “CBS Evening News,” according to four people with knowledge of the talks, part of a top-down look at the news division by incoming president Susan Zirinsky.

Discussion: NB Blog, Page Six, TVNewser and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »