memeorandum: William Barr says lawyers must fight against ‘secularists’ assault on organized religion (Jeff Parrott South Bend/South Bend Tribune)

1:00 AM ET, October 13, 2019

Top Items:

Trump's envoy to testify that ‘no quid pro quo’ came from Trump — The U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, intends to tell Congress this week that the content of a text message he wrote denying a quid pro quo with Ukraine was relayed to him directly by President Trump in a phone call …

Discussion: Sputnik International, Mediaite, Political Wire, Raw Story and NPR

Washington Post:

How two Soviet-born emigres made it into elite Trump circles — and the center of the impeachment storm — Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-born emigre, appeared at a dark time in Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Less than a month before the election, major GOP donors had been spooked …

Discussion: Roll Call

Richard Read / Los Angeles Times:

Sondland faces local backlash denying Trump deal in Ukraine — President Trump's man in Brussels found events spinning out of control when he arrived in Washington, D.C., expecting to testify before House committees this week. — Gordon Sondland, appointed U.S. ambassador to the European Union …

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:

Gordon Sondland to Testify He Took Trump's Denial of Ukraine Quid Pro Quo at His Word — The U.S. ambassador to the EU to say he couldn't independently verify president's assertion — WASHINGTON—The U.S. ambassador to the European Union plans to tell Congress that President Trump personally assured …

Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:

U.S. forces say Turkey was deliberately ‘bracketing’ American troops with artillery fire in Syria — Turkish forces who launched multiple artillery rounds near a U.S. Special Operations outpost in northeastern Syria on Friday have known for months that Americans were there …

Discussion: UPI, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, twitchy.com and Newsweek

Associated Press:
Trump says he's an ‘island of one’ on Syria

Discussion: Breitbart

Kurdistan24:
Senior female Kurdish political leader killed in ambush in Syria

Discussion: Occupy Democrats

New York Times: Militants Backed by Turkey Kill at Least Two Prisoners in Syria

New York Times:
Trump's Abrupt Shifts in Middle East Unnerve U.S. Allies

Discussion: Foreign Policy and Raw Story

Newsweek: Exclusive: Kurdish allies learned of Trump's Syria pullout on Twitter: “We were like, ‘What is this sh*t?’”

Washington Post:
Turkey's invasion of Syria puts Islamic State fight on hold at a critical time

Discussion: Power Line

BuzzFeed News:

A Fort Worth Cop Killed A Black Woman Inside Her Home After Her Neighbor Called Police Because Her Door Was Open — A black woman was shot and killed by police inside her own home early Saturday morning in Fort Worth, Texas, after her neighbor called a non-emergency police number for a wellness check on her.

Discussion: New York Times

Jack Howland / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Woman killed in own home when Fort Worth officer shoots her, police and witness say — A white Fort Worth officer fatally shot a black woman inside her home early Saturday morning after police were called to the house to do a welfare check, according to police and the neighbor who called them.

Discussion: KTLA, WFAA-TV, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast and Occupy Democrats

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

2014 photograph shows earlier ties between Trump and indicted Giuliani associate — A photograph of President Donald Trump posing with a recently indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani was posted online in March 2014, two years prior to what had been their first known interaction.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, emptywheel, Vox, Washington Post and The New Civil Rights Movement

CNN:

Trump threatens to sue top Democrats Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi amid impeachment inquiry — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump threatened on Saturday night to sue top congressional Democrats Rep. Adam Schiff and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi amid the House impeachment inquiry into the President.

Discussion: Political Wire and POLITICUSUSA

Dan Balz / Washington Post: Impeachment has put Trump in a different place. He's showing it every day.

Associated Press:
Trump backs Giuliani, but some aides wish he would cut ties

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and emptywheel

New York Times:

In Show of Support, Trump Meets With Giuliani Over Lunch — The president's multiple shows of support for his personal lawyer on Saturday seemed meant to tamp down questions about Mr. Giuliani's standing. — WASHINGTON — President Trump had lunch on Saturday with Rudolph W. Giuliani amid revelations …

Discussion: Vox, Raw Story and Washington Times

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
‘The Beacon Has Gone Out’: What Trump and Giuliani Have Wrought

Discussion: Reuters, Fox News, CNBC, POLITICUSUSA, CANNONFIRE, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, RedState and NBC News

Batya Ungar-Sargon / The Forward:

I Was Protested At Bard College For Being A Jew — When I was asked to speak at last week's conference on racism and anti-Semitism at Bard College's Hannah Arendt Center, I think my heart actually skipped a beat. — Arendt, the German-born political philosopher who fled the Nazis in the 1930s …

Tom Nichols / USA Today:

Ex-Republican: Do we still agree on beating Trump? After your LGBTQ forum, I'm not sure. — I'm not asking you to betray your principles, but Republican culture warriors are lying in wait. Why let them divide us where we already agree? — CONNECT — Dear Democrats: — We've been together for a while now.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Los Angeles Times, The Stranger, Slate, The Guardian and Washington Free Beacon

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:

Anatomy of the phone call now imperiling Trump's presidency — WASHINGTON (AP) — There were dozens of ears listening to President Donald Trump's 30-minute phone call with the leader of Ukraine that is at the center of a House impeachment inquiry , and as many eyes that saw what he said.

Discussion: Occupy Democrats, Raw Story and Liberty Unyielding

New York Times:

Bill Gates Met With Jeffrey Epstein Many Times, Despite His Past — Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who committed suicide in prison, managed to lure an astonishing array of rich, powerful and famous men into his orbit. — There were billionaires (Leslie Wexner and Leon Black) …

Discussion: Sputnik International, The Daily Beast and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Jeff Parrott South Bend / South Bend Tribune:

William Barr says lawyers must fight against ‘secularists’ assault on organized religion … United States Attorney General William P. Barr speaks to Notre Dame Law School students and faculty on Friday inside Notre Dame's Eck Hall of Law in South Bend.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Trump Bounces Back — I wrote here and here that, although the Democrats' impeachment claims are frivolous, they have hurt President Trump in the polls. Trump's history is that he tends to rise in the polls until a negative news cycle hits-which happens often-and then he will drop back down.

Mary Kay Linge / New York Post:

Fox News pollster Braun Research misrepresented impeachment poll: analysis — The poll released last week by Fox News that claimed most Americans favor the impeachment of President Trump underrepresented Republican and independent voters, The Post has found.

Vandana Rambaran / Fox News:

Louisiana election heads to runoff with Democrat Edwards to face GOP's Rispone — Louisiana's Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, will have to face a runoff election in November as he failed to garner at least 50 percent of the votes in Saturday's election.

Discussion: Politico and The New Neo

Phil McCausland / NBC News:

Mattis warns ISIS could resurge: ‘Enemy gets the vote’ after Trump's announced troop pullout — The ‘enemy gets the vote’, we say in the military," Mattis said. “ And in this case, if we don't keep the pressure on, then ISIS will resurge. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis …

Discussion: Axios, Telegraph, CNBC and Task & Purpose