memeorandum: Report: Trump asked for “my favorite dictator” (Dave Lawler/Axios)

9:40 PM ET, September 13, 2019

Top Items:

U.S. House of Representatives Permanent …:

Chairman Schiff Issues Subpoena for Whistleblower Complaint Being Unlawfully Withheld by Acting DNI from Intelligence Committees — f t # e — Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, issued a subpoena to the Acting Director …

Kyle Cheney / Politico: Schiff accuses top intel official of illegally withholding ‘urgent’ whistleblower complaint

Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Why Trump believes his national security advisers 'don't have to work'

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Raw Story and Washington Post

Lawfare:

On the Mystery of the McCabe Grand Jury — Did a federal grand jury refuse to hand up an indictment of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe? — No media organization has reported that this is what happened Thursday, but something clearly happened when the grand jury met …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, TheBlaze and New York Times

New York Times:

Andrew McCabe Asks Justice Dept. Whether Grand Jury Rejected Charges — WASHINGTON — Lawyers for the former F.B.I. deputy director Andrew G. McCabe, a frequent target of President Trump's, have asked federal prosecutors whether a secret grand jury refused to indict him …

Discussion: Washington Post, CANNONFIRE, The Daily Caller, Salon, Hullabaloo, Power Line and The Crime Report

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
DOJ Inspector General Has Completed FISA Abuse Probe

Discussion: Fox News and Daily Wire

Washington Post:
Andrew McCabe's legal team asks Justice Dept. if grand jury rejected charges in his case

Discussion: RedState, Fox News, BizPac Review, Raw Story, CNN and CNBC

David Shortell / CNN:
DOJ argues House lawmakers should not gain access to Mueller grand jury materials

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Wall Street Journal:

Trump, Awaiting Egyptian Counterpart at Summit, Called Out for ‘My Favorite Dictator’ — Quip drew attention to uncomfortable facet of U.S.-Egypt relationship — Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month's Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France …

Discussion: Occupy Democrats, The Independent, The Week, Mediaite and The New Civil Rights Movement

Dave Lawler / Axios:

Report: Trump asked for “my favorite dictator” — Searching a room for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at last month's G7 summit in France, the WSJ reports, President Trump called out: “Where's my favorite dictator?” — Why it matters: Sisi really is a dictator, and he really is closely allied with the Trump administration.

BostonGlobe.com:

METRO SPORTS BUSINESS OPINION RHODE ISLAND POLITICS LIFESTYLE MARIJUANA ARTS MAGAZINE CARS REAL ESTATE EVENTS — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the young liberal icon from New York, has endorsed Senator Ed Markey's reelection bid next year, as Representative Joe Kennedy III considers …

Discussion: Townhall and Political Wire

Ed Markey / YouTube:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsement

Discussion: U.S. Political News …, Washington Post and CBS Boston

Jennifer Medina / New York Times:
Elizabeth Heng Ad, Targeting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Draws a Backlash

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, OpenSecrets.org, RedState, Common Dreams and Axios

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

What If the Only Democrat Who Isn't Too Radical to Win Is Too Old? — Here is a science-fiction scenario: Imagine a strange new virus that incapacitates everybody below the age of 75. The virus wipes out the entire political leadership, except one old man, who has survived on account of his age …

Discussion: Vox and twitchy.com

Tess Bonn / The Hill:
Sanders spokeswoman: A lot of candidates will have to answer for their past

Discussion: Washington Post and Breitbart

Melanie Zanona / Politico:

Republicans clash with Trump-aligned operatives — BALTIMORE — House Republicans sparred behind closed doors with Trump-aligned political operatives at a GOP retreat over the new online fundraising platform backed by party leaders and the White House. — The fight Thursday over WinRed's data …

Nancy Cook / Politico:
Ivanka tells donors she got her moral compass from her dad

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post, Splinter, Political Flare, Mediaite, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Erik Wasson / Bloomberg:
House GOP to Run in 2020 on Reducing the Debt They Helped Grow

Discussion: The New Civil Rights Movement

globalnews.ca:

RCMP intel director charged in major case was top adviser to former force head: sources — ABOVE: A high-level official with the RCMP has been arrested and is facing several charges under both the Criminal Code and Security of Information Act, according to multiple sources. Mercedes Stephenson reports.

Discussion: Fox News

Catharine Tunney / CBC News: RCMP intelligence director accused of violating secrets act

Henry Olsen / Washington Post:

The three big winners of the Houston debate — Thursday's Democratic debate lacked the sparks and conflicts that characterized the first two outings. It nonetheless produced three clear winners: former vice president Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

Discussion: The Nation, Fox News and New Yorker

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Kamala Harris' debate performance fails to sway big money donors

Discussion: PJ Media Home, Vanity Fair and Fox News

Yaron Steinbuch / New York Post:
Joe Biden struggles to keep his teeth in his mouth during Democratic debate

Discussion: Spectator USA

Jamil Smith / Rolling Stone:

Drop Out, Joe Biden — The third debate confirmed Biden isn't up to the task — Democrats need an antiracist nominee against a racist like Donald Trump. The third debate confirmed that the former vice president isn't up to the task. — Rahm Emanuel helped Chicago police cover …

Discussion: Salon, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Think Castro was ‘mean’ to Biden? Get ready for an absolute bloodbath.

Discussion: Inquirer.com, The Week, Reason, No More Mister Nice Blog, PJ Media Home, Patterico's Pontifications and The Nation

Danny Hakim / New York Times:

New York Uncovers $1 Billion in Sackler Family Wire Transfers — In a court filing, the state attorney general's office says that it has found new account transfers by members of the family that owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of opioids. — The New York attorney general's office said on Friday …

Discussion: Associated Press, U.S. Political News …, FRONTLINE, Deseret News and VICE

Washington Post:

We are Trump's Republican challengers. Canceling GOP primaries is a critical mistake. — Mark Sanford was governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011. Joe Walsh represented Illinois's 8th Congressional District in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013. Bill Weld was governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997.

Discussion: Political Wire and Mediaite

Courtney Kube / NBC News:

Trump's plan to pay for border wall with Air Force funds risks national security, report says — The report, compiled by the U.S. Air Force and obtained by NBC News, details the importance of each of the 51 military projects chosen by the Trump administration to lose their funding.

Discussion: Raw Story, Shareblue Media, Task & Purpose, Axios, Politico, Daily Kos and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Boris Kachka / New York Magazine:

Among the Moderate Chic at Bari Weiss's Book Party The embattled Establishment assembles to celebrate the Times Op-Ed columnist's book on antisemitism. — Bari Weiss — editor, Times columnist, Twitter piñata, extrovert, and now author — began the launch party for her first book …

Discussion: Splinter and Eschaton

Maggie Astor / New York Times:

The Times and CNN Will Host the Next Democratic Debate in Ohio — The Democratic National Committee has announced that the next debate will be held on Oct. 15, with a possible second night on Oct. 16. — The New York Times and CNN will co-host the next Democratic debate near Columbus …

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, Axios and Variety

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

General Flynn Goes On Offense Against the Deep State — Several months ago, General Michael Flynn replaced his original defense team with Sidney Powell, a Texas lawyer who is a veteran of the Department of Justice and author of Licensed To Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice.

Discussion: The Federalist

Olivia Messer / The Daily Beast:

Felicity Huffman Gets Prison Time in College Admissions Scandal — The most famous person stung by ‘Operation Varsity Blues’ paid $15,000 to inflate her daughter's SAT score. Now she says she's sorry. — BOSTON—When Felicity Huffman finally received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012 …

Discussion: NBC News, Associated Press, Law & Crime, Axios and Patterico's Pontifications

Jake Tapper / CNN:

Homeland Security investigating who drew a swastika inside one of its buildings — (CNN)A hand-drawn swastika was found on the third floor of a Department of Homeland Security building on Friday in Washington, a government official told CNN. — Some staffers in the building …

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:

House Democrats pursue Sessions for testimony in impeachment probe of Trump — Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are negotiating for Jeff Sessions's testimony in their impeachment investigation of President Trump, an appearance they hope could bolster their inquiry given …

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story and Mediaite

Sam Brodey / The Daily Beast:
House Dems Leaning Against Calling Stormy Daniels as a Witness

Discussion: Raw Story

Daniel Dale / CNN:

Fact check: Trump makes six false claims in tweets on why he shouldn't be impeached — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump made a three-tweet argument Friday morning about why he should not be impeached, touting what he said were his accomplishments. Over the course of 139 words …

Brian Stelter / CNN:

ABC's ratings show that interest in the Democratic primaries is still high — New York (CNN Business)If you're wondering whether interest in the Democratic primary process has cooled off, check the Nielsen ratings and stop wondering. — Thursday night's debate featuring ten presidential candidates brought a big audience to ABC.

Discussion: Deadline, FiveThirtyEight, Axios and Shareblue Media

Dan Desai Martin / Shareblue Media:

Collins cast deciding vote to let Trump take money from military families for his wall — Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) claims she is opposed to Trump stealing money from the military to build a wall, but she doesn't vote that way. — At Senate Appropriations Committee meeting Thursday …

Discussion: U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy … and Bangor Daily News

Edward Ongweso Jr / VICE:

Famed Computer Scientist Richard Stallman Described Epstein Victims As ‘Entirely Willing’ — Stallman, a pioneer of the free software movement, argued about the definition of “sexual assault” on an MIT email listserv about the university's connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

Discussion: New York Post, The Daily Dot and Financial Times

Andrew Sullivan / New York Magazine:

The New York Times Has Abandoned Liberalism for Activism — “Our democracy's ideals were false when they were written.” — I've been struggling with that sentence — the opening statement of the introductory essay to the New York Times Magazine's 1619 Project on the legacy of slavery in America — for a few weeks now.

Discussion: The American Conservative and IJR

New York Times:

Mystery Solved: Private-Equity-Backed Firms Are Behind Ad Blitz on ‘Surprise Billing’ — Two doctor-staffing companies are pushing back against legislation that could hit their bottom lines. — Early this summer, Congress appeared on its way to eradicating the large medical bills that have shocked many patients after emergency care.

Discussion: OpenSecrets.org

Samantha Lock / The Sun:

MAKE TATTOOS GREAT AGAIN Donald Trump superfans show off their tattoos of president in eye-popping gallery — DONALD Trump certainly isn't short of adoring patriotic superfans who have pledged themselves with the president in a bid to ‘make America great again’.