memeorandum: George Soros Has Enemies. He's Fine With That. (Andrew Ross Sorkin/New York Times)

1:00 PM ET, October 25, 2019

Top Items:

White House official expected to back up diplomat's testimony over Trump push for Ukraine probe into Bidens — Why the ‘quid pro quo’ defense may not matter — (CNN)Tim Morrison, a top Russia and Europe adviser on President Donald Trump's National Security Council, is expected to testify …

Discussion: UPI, The Guardian and Talking Points Memo

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

NSC official plans to testify in impeachment probe even if White House tries to block him — Tim Morrison, a National Security Council official who has been identified as a witness to one of the most explosive pieces of evidence unearthed by House impeachment investigators …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Political Wire

New York Times:

Republicans Fight Trump's Impeachment by Attacking the Process — President Trump wants his party to defend him more aggressively. Senators instead are denouncing the House investigation. — WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress struggled for a second consecutive day Thursday …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Politico, CNN, Associated Press, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Law & Crime, Just Security, New Republic, Daily Kos and The Daily Beast

CNN:
White House eyes ex-Treasury spokesman to lead impeachment messaging efforts

Discussion: VICE, Political Wire and New York Times

Nancy Cook / Politico:
White House seeks a communications guru to fight Trump impeachment

Discussion: Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA

Washington Post:
White House delayed Ukraine trade decision in August, a signal that U.S. suspension of cooperation …

Discussion: CNBC, American Oversight, Political Wire, The Week, CNN, The Atlantic, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo and The Hill

Washington Post:
Democrats say whistleblower's testimony is unnecessary as other witnesses come forward

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Roll Call, Political⚡Charge, Breitbart and The Hill

New York Times:

Justice Dept. Is Said to Open Criminal Inquiry Into Its Own Russia Investigation — The move is likely to open the attorney general to accusations that he is trying to deliver a political victory for President Trump. — WASHINGTON — For more than two years, President Trump has repeatedly attacked …

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Giuliani probe snowballs — Rudy Giuliani's problems keep piling up. — His responsibilities are shrinking as Donald Trump's TV-friendly personal attorney. His efforts to dig up dirt on the president's political opponents have landed his highest-profile client in a congressional impeachment investigation.

Discussion: Raw Story, emptywheel, News & Guts Media, Law & Crime and POLITICUSUSA

Dustin Volz / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Watchdog Council Says Justice Department Erred in Blocking Whistleblower Complaint — Memo saying matter wasn't urgent was wrong, Council of Inspectors General concludes — A U.S. watchdog council has faulted a Justice Department legal memo that initially blocked the Ukraine whistleblower's complaint …

NBC News:
Justice Department review of Russia probe turns into criminal investigation

Discussion: Law & Crime, The Federalist, One America News Network, Washington Post, Raw Story, LifeZette, Breitbart and The Week

CNN:

Feds blow door off safe, issue subpoenas as probe into Giuliani associates escalates — (CNN)Federal prosecutors in New York have subpoenaed the brother of one of the recently indicted associates of Rudy Giuliani, according to two people familiar with the matter, as they escalate their investigation in the campaign-finance case.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Craig Karmin / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Organization Exploring Sale of Marquee Washington Hotel — Move is motivated partly by ethical criticisms concerning profiting on the property — The Trump Organization is exploring a sale of the rights to the company's opulent Washington, D.C., hotel, a move it says is motivated partly …

Discussion: CNBC and Political Wire

Zach Montellaro / Politico:

DNC raises thresholds for December debate — The halfway mark of the Democratic debate calendar is coming up, and the sixth debate will likely feature the smallest stage yet. — New thresholds announced by the Democratic National Committee for the sixth debate — which will be hosted …

Discussion: CNN, Associated Press, Axios, Political Wire, The Week, The Wrap, The Daily Caller and One America News Network

Quint Forgey / Politico:
POLITICO to partner with PBS NewsHour to host December Democratic debate

Discussion: The Hill

Pat Rynard / Iowa Starting Line:

Gabbard Skips Iowa Forum, Appears On Fox News Instead — Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard's bizarre week in American politics continued Thursday night, when she skipped an appearance at LULAC's Latino town hall in Des Moines, appearing that evening instead on Sean Hannity's Fox News show.

Discussion: CNN, The Outline, Slate, WORLD, Big League Politics and IJR

Ronn Blitzer / Fox News: Clinton ally Blumenthal sought to stop publication of Russia probe book: source

Morgan Phillips / Fox News:
Tulsi Gabbard echoes Republican frustrations with impeachment inquiry: 'I don't know what's …

Discussion: Townhall, The Federalist and Fox Business

Bloomberg:

Facebook Launches News Section to Compensate Publishers — Facebook News will have articles curated by team of employees — Some publishers get paid to have articles in separate section — Facebook Inc. introduced a separate news section in its flagship app …

Facebook:
Introducing Facebook News

Discussion: NPR, Shareblue Media, UPI, The Hill, Deadline, TechCrunch and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: “Anonymous” to expose private Trump conversations — The anonymous “senior Trump administration official” who will release a tell-all book, “A Warning,” next month was a frequent participant in meetings with President Trump and plans to recount specific conversations, sources tell me.

Discussion: NBC News, The Daily Caller and CNN

Sen. Rand Paul / Breitbart:

Rand Paul: Is Quid Pro Quo the Status Quo? — Isn't all foreign aid supposed to be quid pro quo? — We give you this aid — on the expectation that you will not steal any of it for personal use, that you will spend it as we instruct, and on the understanding that if you don't spend the money …

Byron York / Washington Examiner: In impeachment, can Democrats focus on Trump intent and not result?

Tulsi Gabbard / TULSI2020.com:

Mahalo, Hawaiʻi — I am so grateful. — Grateful to call Hawaiʻi home; grateful for our people and the spirit of aloha that binds us all together; and grateful for our precious 'āina, beautiful oceans, and towering mountains. — Most of all, I'm grateful to all of you …

Tim Elfrink / Washington Post:
Tulsi Gabbard won't run for reelection to Congress as she seeks Democratic presidential nomination

Discussion: ABC News and No More Mister Nice Blog

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Could Lindsey Graham be any more obsequious? — It was another sad milestone in the decline of John McCain's faithful sidekick into President Trump's Lickspittle Lindsey. — Not quite two weeks ago, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) vowed to be Trump's “worst nightmare” and called the Syria pullout …

Discussion: Occupy Democrats, New York Post, Vox and NBC News

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
Donald Trump's ‘Lynching’

Discussion: Vox

Rebecca Traister / New York Magazine:
Why Donald Trump — and Other Powerful Men — Love to Cast Themselves As Victims

Discussion: Mother Jones and Slate

Washington Post:

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says U.S. will leave forces in Syria to defend oil fields from Islamic State — BRUSSELS — Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said Friday that the United States would leave forces in Syria to protect oil fields and keep them from falling into the hands of the Islamic State.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and Defense One

David Ignatius / Washington Post: Russia has earned its success in the Middle East — partly thanks to Trump

The Economist:

Elizabeth Warren wants to remake American capitalism — As it stands, the Democratic front-runner's programme has too little time for markets or business — ELIZABETH WARREN is remarkable. Born into a struggling family in Oklahoma, she worked her way up to become a star law professor at Harvard.

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

Trump Cuts Out Media That Doesn't ‘Make Him Feel Beautiful’ — It's a comfort mechanism for the president that intensifies whenever he feels under siege and when scandal swirls. — For months, President Trump has refused to grace CNN or MSNBC with what he views as the gift of his presence.

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Post

Elliot Spagat / Associated Press:

Trump Administration Responsible For More Than 5,400 Child Separations, ACLU Says — The figure includes more than 1,500 migrant children that were not previously disclosed by the Justice Department. — SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. immigration authorities separated more than 1,500 children …

Discussion: Axios

Maria Sacchetti / Washington Post:
ACLU says 1,500 more migrant children were taken from parents by the Trump administration

Discussion: Just Security and UPI

Randall Roberts / Los Angeles Times:

Morrissey is anti-immigrant and backs a white nationalist political party. Why don't fans care? — For years, when professor Melissa Mora Hidalgo wasn't teaching classes at Cal State Fullerton or UC San Diego, the Los Angeles-based culture writer could often be found on stages throughout the region …

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: The West Wing's impeachment war room — Top Trump officials have quietly created a de facto impeachment war room, with a chief goal of policing and solidifying Republican Senate support for acquittal. — What's happening: Most senior officials in the White House recognized quickly …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:

George Soros Has Enemies. He's Fine With That. — In an interview, Mr. Soros explained why he thinks the tide is turning back to “globalists” like him and what might happen in the 2020 election. — George Soros is a billionaire philanthropist, a former currency trader, a liberal champion and — in certain circles — a boogeyman.

Discussion: Townhall, CNBC, Axios, Breitbart and Political Wire

Matt Bonesteel / Washington Post:

José Andrés, a Trump critic, to throw first pitch at World Series game Trump is expected to attend — The Nationals announced Friday that D.C. restaurateur and humanitarian José Andrés will throw out the first pitch ahead of World Series Game 5 on Sunday, should the series extend that long.

Discussion: DCist, USA Today, Mediaite, Politico and One America News Network

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

On “Human Scum” and Trump in the Danger Zone — After Ambassador William Taylor's testimony, the President is freaking out about impeachment. — At 1:48 p.m. on October 23rd, Donald Trump posted a tweet that, in any other political moment, would be a strong contender for the worst public statement ever …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Moira Donegan / The Guardian:

Revenge porn is being used to smear and discredit a sitting congresswoman — Katie Hill may not be a perfect victim, but posting a naked photo of her in retaliation is a rightwing smear campaign — The conservative website Red State published revenge porn of a sitting congresswoman last week.

Discussion: Politico

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:

The Daily 202: Republicans are increasingly flailing while defending Trump from impeachment inquiry — THE BIG IDEA: — Republicans are flailing to defend President Trump from the impeachment inquiry, right as some key members of the Senate shift from implicitly defending Trump …

Michael Stratford / Politico:
DeVos held in contempt for violating judge's order on student loans

Discussion: New York Times, US News and The Daily Caller

New York Times:

Vulnerable Senate Republicans Shrink From Defending Trump — Senate Republicans up for re-election in 2020, fearful of straying too far from Mr. Trump yet at pains to defend him, have adopted a strategy of saying as little as possible. — WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans facing steep re …

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Week, Raw Story and Honest Graft

Wall Street Journal:

The Fall of WeWork: How a Startup Darling Came Unglued — The cliff dive has little precedent, even in the boom-and-bust world of venture capital — Just months before the spectacular fall of WeWork, one of the country's most gilded startups, chief executive Adam Neumann summoned the heads …

Discussion: Power Line, UPI and Jewish Insider

Bobby Gehlen / ABC News:

Congressman Elijah Cummings' funeral to feature Obama, Clintons, Pelosi and family — Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings will be laid to rest in his hometown of Baltimore Friday morning. — Cummings' family and political dignitaries are scheduled to speak at his funeral, which is being held at the New Psalmist Baptist Church at 10 a.m.