memeorandum: Gordon Sondland Stepped In ‘and Things Went Really Off the Rails’ (Erin Banco/The Daily Beast)

4:40 AM ET, November 18, 2019

Top Items:

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Republicans Shift Defense of Trump, While He Attacks Another Witness — With Gordon Sondland prepared to testify this week, Republicans backed away from complaints about secondhand information and instead offered a blunter defense: The president did nothing wrong.

Discussion: CNBC, NBC News, Talking Points Memo and POLITICUSUSA

Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:

Gordon Sondland Stepped In ‘and Things Went Really Off the Rails’ — “Erratic,” “very emotional,” and “lots of yelling.” Those are some of the words used to describe Sondland's performance in a White House meeting with top Ukrainian officials. — Ukrainian officials arrived at the White House …

Devan Cole / CNN:

Republican congressman calls new details about Trump revealed in impeachment testimony ‘alarming’ — Tapper to GOP lawmaker: How is this not witness intimidation? — Washington (CNN)A Republican member of one of the House committees involved in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump …

Discussion: PEN, Raw Story and WTVR-TV

Rishika Dugyala / Politico:

Trump labels top Pence aide a ‘Never Trumper’ — President Donald Trump on Sunday labeled one of his vice president's top national security aides a “Never Trumper,” a day after it was disclosed that she had said the president's July call with Ukraine was “unusual and inappropriate” in a deposition to Congress.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Slate, Axios, Mother Jones, The Hill and Raw Story

Jill Colvin / Associated Press: Pelosi vows to protect whistleblower in impeachment inquiry

Allan Smith / NBC News:
GOP senator says whistleblower's sources 'exposed things that didn't need to be exposed'

Discussion: Washington Post, The Week, The Hill and The Daily Caller

Heather Caygle / Politico:
Pelosi has ‘no idea’ if impeachment inquiry will wrap by year's end

Discussion: The Hill and Axios

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:

Conservative Group Fires Michelle Malkin Over Support for Holocaust Denier — Malkin's firing from Young America's Foundation marks the latest battle between supporters of Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and more establishment conservative figures. — A conservative group cut ties …

New York Times:

President Trump Bet Big This Election Year. Here's Why He Lost. — In Louisiana and Kentucky, Mr. Trump's political pleas appeared to energize Democrats and political moderates as much as his own base, sending turnout in cities and suburbs soaring. — WASHINGTON — When President Trump showed …

Rod Dreher / The American Conservative:
Trump Loses Louisiana

Discussion: The Advocate, PJ Media Home, Axios and Breitbart

David Nakamura / Washington Post:
Back-to-back losses in key governors' races send additional warning to Trump and GOP ahead of 2020

Discussion: Raw Story and Outside the Beltway

Washington Post:

Trump pulls back from flavored vaping ban — Everything seemed ready to go: President Trump's ban on most flavored e-cigarettes had been cleared by federal regulators. Officials were poised to announce they would order candy, fruit and mint flavors off the market within 30 days …

Discussion: Axios

New York Times:

Trump Retreats From Flavor Ban for E-Cigarettes — Advisers say the president pulled back from proposed restrictions intended to curb teenage vaping after he was warned of the political fallout among voters. — WASHINGTON — It was a swift and bold reaction to a growing public health crisis affecting teenagers.

Discussion: The Week

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

We need a second opinion on the president's health — The only thing of which we can be fairly certain about President Trump's mysterious Saturday-afternoon trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is this: The White House is not telling the truth when it claims the president was there …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Trump's visit to Walter Reed ‘not protocol’ for routine visit, source says

Discussion: NBC News, Raw Story, The Week, POLITICUSUSA, Slate and HuffPost

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:
Press secretary says it is ‘dangerous for the country’ to question whether she is putting out honest info

Discussion: Washington Post, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite and PEN

New York Times:

The Iran Cables: Secret Documents Show How Tehran Wields Power in Iraq — Hundreds of leaked intelligence reports shed light on a shadow war for regional influence — and the battles within the Islamic Republic's own spy divisions — In mid-October, with unrest swirling in Baghdad …

The Intercept: Leaked Iranian Intelligence Reports Expose Tehran's Vast Web of Influence in Iraq

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Chris Wallace Accuses Top Republican of ‘Very Badly’ Mischaracterizing Impeachment Testimony — “No, sir, they are career foreign service officers and these are people who worked in the Trump administration,” Wallace snapped back at Scalise. — Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace repeatedly …

Discussion: Occupy Democrats and Contemptor

Margaret Talev / Axios:

White House plans counterprogramming to distract from impeachment hearings — President Trump's public schedule next week is designed to keep him distracted from the televised hearings — and to counterprogram Week 2 of those hearings. — The big picture: Trump's schedule for the coming week shows …

Discussion: Breitbart and Raw Story

Alayna Treene / Axios: Inside Democrats' Week 2 impeachment strategy

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:

Michael Bloomberg Pushed ‘Stop-and-Frisk’ Policing. Now He's Apologizing. — Ahead of a possible Democratic run for president, the former mayor of New York City reversed himself before an important party constituency: black voters. — Ahead of a potential Democratic presidential run …

Discussion: Mike Bloomberg, Politico, BuzzFeed News, PJ Media Home, Washington Free Beacon, Law & Crime, HuffPost, Mother Jones, The Hill, Washington Post, Mediaite, Slate, Axios and The Week

Mara Gay / New York Times:
Bloomberg Apologizes for Stop and Frisk at Just the Right Time

Discussion: New York Daily News and Vanity Fair

Clare Duffy / CNN:

Conservative radio host says his show was pulled because he criticized Trump. The station says that's untrue — New York (CNN Business)Conservative radio host Craig Silverman says that for three hours every Saturday, he wanted to talk about the facts of the Trump impeachment case.

Discussion: HuffPost, Deadline and Contemptor, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:
A radio host who has been critical of Trump says he was fired mid-show

Discussion: Denver Post, Rolling Stone, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, IJR, FOX31 Denver and Fox News

Eli Artman / Must Read:

Kosher Food Drive Violates “Will of the Membership,” Student Union Suggests — University of Toronto's University College Building (The Varsity) — B'nai Brith Canada — TORONTO - A Toronto student union has refused to support a drive to make kosher food accessible on campus because its backers are “pro-Israel.”

CBS News:

Transcript: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on “Face the Nation,” November 17, 2019 — The following is a transcript of an interview with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that aired Sunday, November 17, 2019, on “Face the Nation.” — MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning and welcome to Face the Nation.

Discussion: Mother Jones, POLITICUSUSA, NPR, Redstate and New York Post

Jason Easley / POLITICUSUSA:

Joe Biden Leads By 8 In Georgia As Trump's Red State Collapse Grows — A new poll of Georgia shows former vice president Joe Biden leading 51%-43% over Donald Trump. — According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, “In head-to-head matchups, former Vice President Joe Biden ran strongest …

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Democrats don't want public to know origins of Ukraine probe like they didn't want public to know origins of Russia probe — Why are House Democrats stonewalling questions about the identity of the Trump-Ukraine whistleblower? — Start by taking them at their word.

Max Boot / Washington Post:

William Barr's chilling defense of virtually unlimited presidential power — President Trump is convinced he has the “absolute right” to do anything from asking other countries to investigate his political opponents to pardoning himself. But he couldn't possibly tell you why …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Law & Crime

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Trump forces offer president clashing advice on Roger Stone pardon — A big question swirling through Trumpworld: Will President Trump pardon his old friend Roger Stone? Some of Trump's closest advisers told me the president would be making a huge political mistake if he does.