memeorandum: Kamala Harris Was Ready to Brawl From the Beginning (Matt Flegenheimer/New York Times)

5:40 PM ET, September 15, 2019

Top Items:

John McCormack / National Review:

The New York Times Anti-Kavanaugh Bombshell Is Actually a Dud — Maybe Pogrebin and Kelly's book is stronger than their essay, but I'm skeptical. — If you opened Twitter on Sunday morning, you were likely greeted with the bombshell headline of the top trending news story …

Discussion: Spectator USA, Power Line, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Patterico's Pontifications, The Hill, Law & Crime, Sara A. Carter, Vox and Viking Pundit

NBC News:

Democrats call for Kavanaugh impeachment over new sexual misconduct claims — Trump defended Kavanaugh after two New York Times reporters revealed new information on the sexual misconduct allegations facing the Supreme Court Justice. — A slew of prominent Democrats called on Congress …

Discussion: New York Times, Slate and Washington Post

Mary Papenfuss / U.S. Political News …:

2020 Candidates Call For Kavanaugh Impeachment After New Misconduct Accusation — Some Democratic presidential contenders and former U.S. attorneys have raised concerns the investigation during Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearings was incomplete.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Vox

David Cohen / Politico:

Trump stands up for Brett Kavanaugh over ‘liable’ — President Donald Trump on Sunday once again came to the defense of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. — “Brett Kavanaugh should start suing people for liable, or the Justice Department should come to his rescue,” the president wrote on Twitter, misspelling the word “libel.”

Discussion: The Federalist, Washington Post, Vox, Axios, Splinter and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Carla Herreria / U.S. Political News …:

NYT Reporters Say They Uncovered New Sexual Misconduct Claim Against Kavanaugh — Two New York Times reporters said they learned of the unreported claim while investigating Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh for an upcoming book. — Two New York Times reporters say they've uncovered …

Discussion: Washington Post, Splinter, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, BizPac Review, The Daily Caller, Hullabaloo, Raw Story, Axios, Daily Wire and Breitbart

Jackie Mogensen / Mother Jones:
Democratic Presidential Candidates Are Calling for Brett Kavanaugh's Impeachment

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, abc7NY and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Lissette Rodriguez / ABC News:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar says Kavanaugh vetting process ‘was a sham’

Discussion: Townhall, Vox, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Occupy Democrats, Slate, Mediaite, U.S. Political News …, No More Mister Nice Blog, Rolling Stone, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA and The Guardian

Tucker Higgins / CNBC:
Trump says Justice Brett Kavanaugh should ‘start suing people’ after new report of sexual misconduct

Discussion: USA Today, Latest from Crooks and Liars and Fox News

Audrey McNamara / The Daily Beast:
New Sexual Misconduct Allegation Against Brett Kavanaugh Emerges: NYT

Discussion: CNN, Breitbart, Splinter, Vanity Fair, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Beast

New York Times:

‘People Actively Hate Us’: Inside the Border Patrol's Morale Crisis — Overwhelmed by desperate migrants and criticized for mistreating the people in their care, many agents have grown defensive, insular and bitter. — One Border Patrol agent in Tucson said he had been called a “sellout” and a “kid killer.”

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Axios

Kate Sullivan / CNN:

Texas congressman pulls endorsement from Castro to support Biden — Washington (CNN)Texas Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez on Sunday flipped his support from Julián Castro to Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, saying now is the time to narrow the 2020 field and unite as Democrats.

Discussion: Axios and Breitbart

Marc Caputo / Politico:
Biden allies attack Warren's electability

Discussion: The Boston Globe

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Let's Debate: Are Democrats Doomed?

Discussion: Althouse

Matthew Choi / Politico:
Texas congressman switches endorsement from Castro to Biden

Discussion: Breitbart

Robert Reich / The Guardian:

Trump is seriously, frighteningly unstable - the world is in danger — It is almost too late for impeachment. The 25th amendment is untested. The ballot box offers our only remaining hope — In retrospect, what's most disturbing about “Sharpiegate” isn't Trump's clumsy effort to doctor …

Discussion: Althouse

Blake Schuster / Yahoo! Sports: American Pharoah manager denies horse bit Mike Pence during 2018 visit

Chris Bumbaca / USA Today:
VP Mike Pence says Triple Crown winner American Pharoah bit him during visit to Kentucky farm

Discussion: Daily Wire, Deadspin, U.S. Political News … and The Independent

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

In call with Trump, Pelosi and Schumer say any gun bill that doesn't include background checks ‘will not get the job done’ — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday urged President Trump to endorse House-passed gun measures …

Discussion: Politico

Kaitlyn Krasselt / CTInsider.com: Pelosi, in CT appearance, says she's optimistic on background checks

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

Kamala Harris Was Ready to Brawl From the Beginning — In her first race, she defied her old boss, a fund-raising pledge — and the implication that she owed her career to her ex-boyfriend. — SAN FRANCISCO — The rebuttal sounded something like a threat. That seemed to be Kamala Harris's point.

Discussion: Althouse

David Edwards / Raw Story:

Kellyanne Conway: It's unconstitutional for Democrats to ‘embarrass this president’ with impeachment — White House aide Kellyanne Conway on Sunday insisted that Democrats do not have a “constitutional basis” to embarrass President Donald Trump by conducting an impeachment inquiry.

Josh Campbell / CNN:

‘No turning back now’: The inside story of James Comey's trip to Trump Tower — (CNN)Josh Campbell is a CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI supervisory special agent. His bureau career assignments included serving as special assistant to former FBI director James Comey.

Wall Street Journal:

Iran Rejects U.S. Accusations Over Saudi Oil-Facility Attacks — Saudis race to repair the damage from the strikes, which forced the suspension of more than half of the kingdom's output — Iran denied American accusations that it was behind Saturday's debilitating strikes on Saudi oil facilities …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Spectator USA, Foreign Policy, The American Conservative, Outside the Beltway and Breitbart

Jon Gambrell / Associated Press:
Attack on Saudi oil sites raises risks amid US-Iran tension

Discussion: Progress Pond

Washington Post:
Iran denies carrying out crippling attacks on Saudi oil facilities

Discussion: The Week

Ronn Blitzer / Fox News:

McCarthy promises accountability as Barr reviews IG's FISA report: 'The closest we've ever seen to a coup' — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., promised that guilty parties will be held accountable after Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz releases his report …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Sara A. Carter

Jesse McKinley / New York Times:

New York Moves to Ban Flavored E-Cigarettes by Emergency Order — The state would become the second in the nation, behind Michigan, to outlaw sale of the fruity flavors popular with children and teenagers. — Amid a surge of vaping-related illnesses and deaths, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo …

Discussion: Axios, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The National Interest

Amir Vera / CNN:

Minnesota police charge man with arson in connection with fire that destroyed a 119-year-old synagogue — (CNN)A man was arrested Friday in connection with a fire that destroyed a 119-year-old synagogue, Minnesota authorities said. — Adas Israel Synagogue in Duluth …

Brady Slater / duluthnewstribune.com:
Suspect arrested in Duluth synagogue fire

Discussion: Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Thomas Beaumont / Associated Press:

No millennial bump for Buttigieg, but hints of broad appeal — DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Pete Buttigieg would like to turn the fight for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination into a contest about generational change. But there's one looming problem: He has yet to win over his own.