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12:00 PM ET, February 27, 2019

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
Cohen Plans to Call Trump a ‘Con Man’ and a ‘Cheat’ in Congressional Testimony  —  WASHINGTON — Michael D. Cohen plans to tell Congress on Wednesday that President Trump is a “con man” and a “cheat” who knew a longtime adviser was communicating with WikiLeaks — and who implicitly instructed …
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Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Cohen testimony on Trump: ‘He is a racist.  He is a conman.  He is a cheat.’  —  Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer, will provide documents to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday that he says prove Trump committed “illicit” acts, according to prepared congressional testimony obtained by POLITICO.
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Michael Cohen's explosive opening statement about Trump, annotated  —  Michael Cohen is set to deliver a stemwinder of an opening statement Wednesday morning to the House Oversight Committee in his debut public testimony.  Cohen will say his former boss President Trump is “racist” and a “conman.”
Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Television networks planning special reports for Michael Cohen's testimony  —  New York (CNN Business)A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter.  You can sign up for free right here.  —  A pivotal moment for the Trump presidency  —  Michael Cohen will be everywhere on Wednesday.
Axios:
Scoop: Check signed by Trump to be displayed at Cohen hearing  —  A $35,000 check signed by Donald Trump on Aug. 1, 2017 (after he became president) will be displayed during Michael Cohen's testimony to the House Oversight Committee today, a source close to Cohen tells Axios.
Washington Post:
Michael Cohen to testify that Trump knew of WikiLeaks plot.  He will also call him ‘a racist’ and ‘a cheat.’  —  Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer, will tell Congress on Wednesday that Trump knew his longtime adviser Roger Stone was communicating with WikiLeaks about publishing stolen emails …
Washington Post:
As Trump meets Kim in Vietnam, he's undermined and distracted by Michael Cohen  —  HANOI — On President Trump's first full day here Wednesday, he sought to project American power.  He announced billions of dollars in Vietnamese aircraft purchases, basked in the crowds lining the highways …
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump believes the investigations against him weaken his standing with foreign leaders
Sam Stein / The Daily Beast:
Trump Ally Rep. Matt Gaetz Insists He's Not Threatening Michael Cohen, Just ‘Witness Testing’
CNN:
Pakistan shot down two Indian jets inside its airspace, government claims, as border crisis escalates  —  New Delhi, India (CNN)India has disputed Pakistan's claims that its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets inside Pakistani airspace on Wednesday amid a potentially dangerous border crisis between the two nuclear-armed powers.
Discussion: BBC, Washington Post and NPR
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Maria Abi-Habib / New York Times:
Pakistani Military Says It Downed Two Indian Warplanes, Capturing Pilot  —  NEW DELHI — Pakistan said Wednesday that it downed two Indian fighter jets and captured a pilot, escalating hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistani territory for the first time in five decades.
Washington Post:
White House bans four journalists from covering Trump-Kim dinner because of shouted questions  —  HANOI — The White House abruptly banned four U.S. journalists from covering President Trump's dinner here Wednesday with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un after some of them shouted questions at the leaders during their earlier meetings.
RELATED:
Andrew Bast / CBS News:
North Korea finding new ways to evade sanctions, secret U.N. report reveals
Discussion: CNBC and Axios
Susan E. Rice / New York Times:   Can Trump Avoid Caving to Kim in Vietnam?
Gregg Re / Fox News:
9th Circuit gets another Trump-picked judge, after White House bypasses consultation with Dems  —  Senate confirms President Trump's nominee to be a judge on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals 53-46 in a party-line vote  —  The Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Trump's nominee to be a judge …
Discussion: Townhall
RELATED:
McClatchy Washington Bureau:
White House sours on Kris Kobach for Senate, Cabinet
Discussion: Raw Story
CNBC:   Gary Cohn is writing a memoir of his career, including his tenure in the Trump White House
Ellen Page / Hollywood Reporter:
Ellen Page on Jussie Smollett Fallout: Hate Violence Is Not a Hoax (Guest Column)  —  While the media debates the ‘Empire’ star's case, it's critical that we not losesight of the real threats underrepresented communities face every day, writes the actress and activist.
Discussion: Breitbart, twitchy.com and Daily Wire
RELATED:
Donald Trump Jr / American Greatness:   Media Prove They Don't Care About Violence Against Trump Supporters
Samantha Harris / New York Daily News:
Harvard attacks a defense attorney for doing his job: Ronald Sullivan could be penalized for daring to represent Harvey Weinstein  —  Harvard Law Prof. Ronald Sullivan, the university's first African-American faculty dean, is a criminal defense attorney who has devoted his life to the pursuit of justice …
Discussion: Instapundit
RELATED:
Heidi Przybyla / NBC News:
House poised to pass first major gun bill in a generation  —  Legislation to strengthen background checks is expected to face stiff opposition in the Senate.  —  WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, for the first time in a generation, the U.S. House is poised to pass new gun control legislation.
RELATED:
Elizabeth Landers / CNN:
House to vote on guns background check bill with bipartisan support
Discussion: The Federalist
Alex Shephard / New Republic:
The Overdue Death of Democratic “Pragmatism”  —  It's an unwritten rule in political journalism today that Amy Klobuchar, the Minnesota senator and Democratic candidate for president, must be described as “pragmatic.”  —  There isn't much mystery as to what the press means by this.
Discussion: Althouse
Bill Ruthhart / Chicago Tribune:
Chicago poised to elect first African-American female mayor after Lori Lightfoot, Toni Preckwinkle advance  —  The field of Chicago's mayoral candidates narrows from 14 to two as Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle head to a runoff.  —  Privacy Policy  —  Chicago will elect …
Discussion: theGrio, NPR and CBS Chicago
RELATED:
Fran Spielman / Chicago Sun-Times:   Is Chicago ready for reform? Lightfoot, Preckwinkle poised for mayoral runoff
Greg P. / twitchy.com:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is furious at these photos of her and a staffer eating a hamburger and killing the planet  —  Apparently, when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says that Americans will have to eat fewer hamburgers to save the planet from global warming, she meant Americans who don't work for her.
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Alana Goodman / Washington Examiner:
AOC ‘living wage’ rules allow her staff to dodge financial disclosure laws
Discussion: IJR and National Legal & …
Jeffery C. Mays / New York Times:
Public Advocate: Jumaane Williams Wins Special Election in New York City  —  [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]  —  Jumaane D. Williams, a Democratic councilman from Brooklyn, was elected as New York City public advocate Tuesday night …
RELATED:
New York Daily News:
Jumaane Williams wins special election for NYC public advocate
Discussion: Joe.My.God.
Emma Green / The Atlantic:
Conservative Christians Just Retook the United Methodist Church  —  The United Methodist Church has fractured over the role of LGBTQ people in the denomination.  At a special conference in St. Louis this week, convened specifically to address divisions over LGBTQ issues …
Courtenay Brown / Axios:
“Spend less or raise more revenue”: Jerome Powell tells Congress that the national debt matters  —  No one could have predicted that it would take two hours for a member of the Senate to prod Fed Chair Jerome Powell about the Fed's political independence — or that the U.S. deficit would be such a central point of yesterday's hearing.
Dustin Volz / Wall Street Journal:
Whitaker Agrees to Request to Return to House to Clarify Testimony  —  Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has agreed to meet a second time with House lawmakers to clarify public testimony he gave earlier this month, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Rolling Stone:
Nancy Pelosi: The Rolling Stone Interview
James Pindell / BostonGlobe.com:
More than half of Mass. delegation holds off on backing Warren's White House bid
McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Josh Hawley used a state-owned car for campaign travel while attorney general
The Daily Beast:
Paul Manafort Gave Konstantin Kilimnik 75 Pages of Polling Data, Docs Suggest
Discussion: FiveThirtyEight and emptywheel
Judith Mischke / Politico:
EU27 citizens see no big Brexit hit for them, but think Brits will be ‘worse off’: poll
Jeff Stein / Washington Post:
More than 100 House Democrats to unveil ‘battle-ready’ Medicare-for-all plan as 2020 election looms
Alexandra DeSanctis / National Review:
Why Did Senate Democrats Refuse to Protect Infants?
 Earlier Items: 
Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Biden's Family Is Urging Him to Run in 2020
Wall Street Journal:
Wynn Resorts to Pay $20 Million Fine Related to Sexual Misconduct Investigation
Discussion: CNBC
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
The Humiliation of the Freedom Caucus
Discussion: Politico
Washington Post:
Sanders parts ways with top strategists
Discussion: Breitbart
Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:
US general says no military threat on southern border
 

 
From Techmeme:

Emma Roth / The Verge:
Mark Zuckerberg says Threads is testing custom feeds for certain profiles or topics; the Threads' version seems easier to use than Bluesky's custom feeds

Shirin Ghaffary / Bloomberg:
One year after Sam Altman was dramatically ousted and reinstated, OpenAI remains dominant as it continues to push ahead on impressive new products

Financial Times:
Sources: xAI raised $5B at a $45B valuation, almost double its valuation a few months ago; SpaceX prepares a tender offer that would value the company at $250B+
 
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