memeorandum: Nikki Haley moves back to SC, fuels political speculation (Meg Kinnard/Associated Press)

2:15 PM ET, September 20, 2019

Top Items:

Whistleblower complaint about President Trump involves Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter — A whistleblower complaint about President Trump made by an intelligence official centers on Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter, which has set off …

Anna Nemtsova / The Daily Beast:

Ukrainian Official: Trump is Looking for Dirt ‘To Discredit Biden’ — Ukraine officials see no indication Biden or his son broke their laws. If Trump wants them investigated in Kyiv, his government will need to say why and what for. — KYIV—Ukraine is ready to investigate …

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

As whistleblower scandal deepens, Trump bets on the coverup working — President Trump and his minions went to great lengths in 2016 to coordinate with a foreign power's interference in our election on his behalf. Then Trump engaged in extensive corruption and lawlessness to try to prevent it from coming to light.

Discussion: Raw Story, Deadline, twitchy.com, New York Post and RedState

Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:

How Long Will Republicans Tolerate Trump's Lawlessness? — There's only so much Democrats can do about the president's increasingly bold misconduct. — I was going to write today about how House Democrats are handling the impeachment question. But the truth is, it's largely irrelevant.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post and The Week

New York Times:

‘Urgent Concern’ About the President — A whistle-blower's report has alarmed the intelligence agencies' watchdog. Why won't the administration share it with Congress? — The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section.

Discussion: CNN, Balloon Juice, KTLA, Hullabaloo, Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Week, Althouse, The Daily Caller and Talking Points Memo

Associated Press: Trump defends himself against whistleblower complaint

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Why Ukraine being the focus of Trump's whistleblower complaint is particularly ominous

Discussion: Alternet.org, The Week, The Daily Beast and U.S. Political News …

Katherine Faulders / ABC News:
Trump denies knowing whistleblower's identity, calls controversy ‘political hack job’

Discussion: Washington Post

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook PM: The president vs. the whistleblower

Discussion: CNN and Wall Street Journal

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Hannity: ‘I Was Happy’ That Whistleblower Complaint Is About Ukraine

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Salon, Raw Story and CNN

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
‘Of course I did’: Giuliani acknowledges asking Ukraine to investigate Biden

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, VICE, BizPac Review, Outside the Beltway and Raw Story

Politico: POLITICO Playbook: How Trump has handcuffed Washington

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Trump downplays whistleblower claims in Oval Office

Discussion: Political Wire

Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:
Giuliani admits to asking Ukraine about Joe Biden after denying it 30 seconds earlier

Discussion: Fox News, Talking Points Memo, Shareblue Media and Breitbart

Mayor Bill de Blasio / NBC News:

Why I'm ending my 2020 presidential campaign — and what I promise to do next — My presidential campaign may be over, but I am going to keep fighting for working people — and ensuring that New York City remains the vanguard of progressivism. — There is a framed picture hanging …

Discussion: New York Times, The Root, IJR, VTDigger, Axios, CNN, Sara A. Carter, Reason, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, PJ Media Home, Vox, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Talking Points Memo, Politico, VICE, Slate, Rolling Stone, Outside the Beltway, Deadline and Towleroad Gay News

Adam Edelman / NBC News:
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio drops 2020 bid

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Real Clear Politics and Politico

Zach Montellaro / Politico: DNC set to squeeze Dem debate stage again

Brooklyn Eagle: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio drops 2020 presidential bid

Becket Adams / Washington Examiner:

NYT reporters haven't kept their story straight about Brett Kavanaugh asking them to lie — Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh supposedly asked New York Times reporters to lie to their readers. At least, that is the story certain journalists have repeated, following Times reporters Robin Pogrebin …

Matthew Continetti / Washington Free Beacon:

Kavanaugh and the Crisis of Legitimacy — It is impossible to separate the latest attack on Justice Brett Kavanaugh from the political strategy of the Democratic Party. On September 16, two days after the New York Times “Sunday Review” section told of another allegation …

Discussion: The Bulwark

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
Why They'll Never Stop Targeting Kavanaugh

Discussion: twitchy.com

Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:

Young Black Voters to Their Biden-Supporting Parents: ‘Is This Your King?’ — An organic effort by black millennials and Gen Z-ers to influence older family members against Mr. Biden may be important in the Democratic primary. — HOUSTON — A groan erupted at a debate watch party …

Discussion: Slate and Washington Blade

New York Times:

Why Republicans Play Dirty — They fear that if they stick to the rules, they will lose everything. Their behavior is a threat to democratic stability. — Mr. Levitsky and Mr. Ziblatt are political scientists and the authors of “How Democracies Die.” — The greatest threat …

NBC News:

Trump admin ignored its own evidence of climate change's impact on migration from Central America — An internal report obtained by NBC News showed migration surged from those areas where climate change is hurting crops and farmers. — GUATEMALA CITY — Research compiled one year ago …

Fadel Allassan / Axios: Trump administration ignored internal report on climate change and migration

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

GOP Senate candidate Jason Lewis said Republicans have ‘dual loyalties’ to Israel, ‘Jewish lobby’ controls the party — GOP rep. defends prior comments on ‘slut’ women — (CNN)Jason Lewis, a Republican running for US Senate in Minnesota, once said Republicans had “dual loyalties” to Israel …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, National Review and Political Wire

Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:

Nikki Haley moves back to SC, fuels political speculation — COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is moving back to her native South Carolina, re-establishing a home base and also fueling speculation that a return to politics is next on her to-do list.

Discussion: Political Wire

Washington Post:

Kushner to attend Saudi economic conference hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — Jared Kushner is expected to visit Saudi Arabia next month for an economic conference, one year after a slew of businesses and political figures boycotted the event following the grisly killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Discussion: One America News Network and Political Wire

Kareem Fahim / Washington Post:
Twitter suspends account of former top Saudi aide implicated in Khashoggi killing

Discussion: Twitter, CNN and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »

Christina Zhao / Newsweek:

GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw Tries to Hide in Elevator While Confronted by Combat Veterans Over His Support for Trump: ‘Do Your Duty’ — Republican congressman Dan Crenshaw unsuccessfully tried to lose two combat veterans by ducking into a private elevator as they confronted him about his support …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Splinter, twitchy.com and Raw Story

Des Moines Register:

New Iowa Poll to be released Saturday, will show how presidential candidates are faring in first-in-the-nation caucus state — Results of a new Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll on Democratic presidential candidates will be released online at 7 p.m. CST Saturday.

Discussion: Political Wire

Hannah Natanson / Washington Post:

Frederick Douglass photos smashed stereotypes. Could Elizabeth Warren selfies do the same? — They look nothing alike. — Frederick Douglass — a black man campaigning for the abolition of slavery in the 1840s — appears alone in almost every photograph, staring down the camera in isolated, thoughtful splendor.

Discussion: Althouse

Colleen Long / Associated Press:

APNewsBreak: US, El Salvador to sign asylum deal — NEW YORK (AP) — The United States planned to sign an agreement on Friday to help make one of Central America's most violent countries, El Salvador, a haven for migrants seeking asylum, according to a senior Trump administration official.

Discussion: Washington Post

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

How Trump's Florida ‘field general’ got kneecapped — In the homestretch of the 2018 campaign for Florida governor, Donald Trump walked into the hold room before a big rally, looked GOP nominee Ron DeSantis in the eye and pointed to a nearby political operative.

Discussion: BizPac Review and Raw Story

Coral Davenport / New York Times:

California Sues the Trump Administration in Its Escalating War Over Auto Emissions — WASHINGTON — California and 23 other states on Friday filed suit against the Trump administration's unprecedented legal reversal of the state's authority to set its own rules on climate-warming tailpipe emissions.

Discussion: California Attorney …, U.S. Political News …, Vox and Financial Times

Emily Stewart / Vox:

Elizabeth Warren has just one plan — Elizabeth Warren's quiet ruthlessness could reshape the Democratic Party from the inside out. Drew Angerer/Getty Images — A detailed look at Warren's successes and failures at the start of the CFPB — and what they tell us about how she might govern.

Alexi McCammond / Axios:

Democrats target over 26,000 local races to unseat Republicans — Contest Every Race, a new coalition of Democratic groups, is launching a seven-figure campaign to challenge Republican incumbents in 26,849 down-ballot local races, Axios has learned. — Why it matters: 2020 is more than just the presidential election.

Irin Carmon / The Cut:

Charlie Rose Faces New Harassment Allegations From Makeup Artist — A longtime makeup artist for Charlie Rose, who worked with the talk-show host for 22 years on his eponymous PBS show, is suing him and Bloomberg LP, describing “a toxic work environment suffused with sexual harassment and gender-based abuse”.

Kathy Gilsinan / The Atlantic:

DHS Is Finally Going After White Supremacists. It's Not Going to Be Simple. — Kevin McAleenan took the El Paso shooting personally. The acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security had visited the city more than a dozen times. He recalled in an interview yesterday that among …

Discussion: Raw Story

John Harwood / CNBC:

Economic divide in the US is becoming as stark as its politics — KEY POINTS — Republicans and Democrats have long since separated themselves by ideology, leaving each more uniformly conservative or liberal than ever. — And now a new data analysis by the Brookings Institution documents …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Wall Street Journal

Philip Rotner / The Bulwark:

Everything You Need to Know About the DNI, the IG, and the Whistleblower Report — The Trump administration is assaulting the rule of law. Again. And don't count on any of the three branches of our government to repel it. — This time, the Trump administration's Director of National Intelligence …

Discussion: Progress Pond, Washington Post and RedState