memeorandum: Netanyahu Indicted on Corruption Charges, Throwing His Future Into Doubt (David M. Halbfinger/New York Times)

12:35 PM ET, November 21, 2019

Top Items:

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Discussion: Salon, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, POLITICUSUSA, The Week, emptywheel, Balloon Juice, Politico and Talking Points Memo

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Fiona Hill criticizes Republicans for pushing ‘fictional narrative’ on Ukraine — President Donald Trump's former top Russia aide sparred with Republican lawmakers on Thursday, accusing them of emboldening Moscow by pushing a “fictional narrative” that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

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Daniel Lippman / Politico:

Impeachment hearings putting Trump through emotional wringer — One day, he's up. One day, he's down. Other days he's just angry. — President Donald Trump has gone through a range of emotions since House Democrats started their public impeachment hearings last week about whether …

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Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Fiona Hill Viewed Serving Trump as Risky. Now She's an Impeachment Witness. — Ms. Hill's decision to be the president's top adviser on Russia and Europe strained friendships, made her a target of conspiracy theories — and landed her in the center of the tumult over Ukraine.

Discussion: Mother Jones

NBC News:

Fiona Hill to say partisan politics drove a ‘fictional’ narrative on Ukraine — The former White House official is expected to detail warning about the threat to U.S. democracy posed by Russia. — WASHINGTON — Former White House official Fiona Hill will tell Congress on Thursday …

Discussion: The Hill, The Editorial Board and Associated Press

Chris Cillizza / CNN:

The huge Gordon Sondland revelation almost everyone missed — (CNN)Gordon Sondland made a LOT of news in his opening statement to the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday. There was a quid pro quo between the Americans and the Ukrainains. Everybody in the White House knew about it.

Discussion: Raw Story

CNN:

Former top Russia adviser sharply disputes GOP claims on Ukraine — (CNN)A former top White House official on Thursday delivered a full-throated rebuttal to the “fictional narrative” pushed by President Donald Trump and his GOP allies, while a US diplomat in the Ukrainian embassy provided …

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Washington Post:
Sondland's bombshell testimony leaves Trump's Republican allies scrambling

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Rachel Siegel / Washington Post:
Trump took credit for opening a Mac factory. It's been open since 2013.

Discussion: The Verge, Joe.My.God. and The Week, more at Techmeme »

HuffPost:
Sondland's Testimony Was A Bombshell. Republicans Pretended It Was A Dud.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Vox

New York Times:
Pompeo Emerges as a Major Trump Enabler in Ukraine Affair

Discussion: The American Independent and Common Dreams

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: ‘Buckle up’: Last day of the impeachment show ... for now

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Burgess Everett / Politico:
Trump cozies up to GOP during impeachment — including Mitt Romney and Susan Collins

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Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
Donald Trump's Gordon Problem

Discussion: Daily Kos and POLITICUSUSA

CNN:
READ: Fiona Hill's opening remarks at impeachment hearing

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NBC News:
Democrats are winning impeachment inquiry on substance but can they win on politics?

Discussion: The Hill, Boston.com, New York Times and Washington Post

ABC News:
Trump impeachment hearings live updates: Fiona Hill and David Holmes testify

Discussion: Mother Jones, Fox News and The Week

Washington Post:
Gordon Sondland just made this scandal a whole lot bigger

Discussion: The Wrap

Greg Miller / Washington Post:
Fiona Hill tells impeachment inquiry about a ‘fictional narrative’ on Ukrainian interference

Discussion: Foreign Policy

Andrew McCarthy / New York Post: Gordon Sondland's testimony frees Team Trump to adopt the best defense: the truth

Max Boot / Washington Post:
Sondland was devastating. But Republicans don't care about the facts.

Discussion: Politico, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and The Week

New York Times:
Sondland Has Implicated the President and His Top Men

Discussion: CNN, Deseret News, The Long Version, Mother Jones, Vox and FactCheck.org

Axios:
Scoop: Fiona Hill to warn of “fictional narrative” on Ukraine in testimony

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Deseret News and Slate

David M. Halbfinger / New York Times:

Netanyahu Indicted on Corruption Charges, Throwing His Future Into Doubt — The first prosecution of a sitting Israeli premier deepens the political paralysis in a country that has had two inconclusive elections this year, and may be headed to a third vote.

Discussion: Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Netael Bandel / Haaretz:

Netanyahu Charged With Bribery, Fraud and Breach of Trust, Capping a Dramatic Political Year — Netanyahu becomes first sitting prime minister in Israel's history to be charged with bribery, in case involving quid-pro-quo with telecom tycoon — >> All of Netanyahu corruption cases, explained

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Law & Crime and Joe.My.God.

Yonah Jeremy Bob / Jerusalem Post:

Netanyahu indicted: A-G to charge PM with bribery, fraud, breach of trust — Mandelblit and his team had been working on drafting the indictments to charge Netanyahu before a third election would begin. — Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit announced his final indictment on Thursday …

Discussion: National Review, New York Post, POLITICUSUSA and Sara A. Carter

Amy Teibel / Bloomberg:

Benjamin Netanyahu to Face Trial on Charges of Bribery and Fraud — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will stand trial for bribery and fraud, an unprecedented development that could doom his career and shape the political crisis that's gripped Israel this past year.

NBC News: Benjamin Netanyahu indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust

NBC News:

Trump hosted Zuckerberg for undisclosed dinner at the White House in October — The meeting took place during Zuckerberg's most recent visit to Washington, where he testified before Congress about Facebook's new cryptocurrency Libra. — President Donald Trump hosted a previously undisclosed dinner …

Discussion: Politico, The Wrap, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Breitbart, The Guardian, HuffPost, Bloomberg, Engadget, Mashable, Axios and New York Post, more at Techmeme »

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:

The Lost Debate — There are winners and losers, even when no one watches. — It'll be interesting to see the numbers on Wednesday night's debate because my sense—and maybe I'm just projecting here—is that anyone in America who follows politics closely enough to watch a two-hour debate three months …

Discussion: National Review

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Pete Buttigieg Is in Bad Shape With Black Democrats. Here's How Bad.

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Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Top 2020 Democrats played it safe at the Atlanta debate

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Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
Buttigieg counterpunches as rivals take aim at his rising candidacy

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Dave Philipps / New York Times:

Trump Reverses Navy Decision to Oust Edward Gallagher From SEALs — The president said Chief Gallagher, who has been at center of a high-profile war crime case, would not lose his membership in the elite commando force. — President Trump on Thursday reversed a decision by the Navy seeking …

Discussion: National Review, Fox News, The Hill, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

John Hendrickson / The Atlantic:

Are Joe Biden's Debate Stumbles Simply the Result of a Stutter? … His eyes fall to the floor when I ask him to describe it. We've been tiptoeing toward it for 45 minutes, and so far, every time he seems close, he backs away, or leads us in a new direction.

Kyle Kondik / Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball:

2020 House: Assessing the Open Seats So Far — Openings won't match the volume of 2018, but Democrats may once again benefit more than Republicans — Dear Readers: The Crystal Ball will be away next week. Our next issue will be released on Thursday, Dec. 5. We wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Iowa State University:

Warren slipping as Buttigieg continues to surge — AMES, Iowa - Support for Sen. Elizabeth Warren has dropped by nearly 10% over the past month, according to the latest Iowa State University/Civiqs poll of Democratic presidential candidates. At the same time, the percentage of likely Iowa caucus-goers …

Discussion: Political Wire

Berkeleyside:

UC Police report multiple arrests related to Ann Coulter appearance on campus — Update, 11:30 p.m. At a press conference after the Ann Coulter event had wound up, UC Berkeley and UCPD spokespeople said “six or seven” people were arrested and one was injured during the night on campus.

Discussion: ABC7, KTLA, Breitbart, KTVU-TV and Fox News