memeorandum: David Holmes made clear how pressure was applied to Ukraine — and how that pressure continues (Philip Bump/Washington Post)

2:25 PM ET, November 21, 2019

Top Items:

Lev Parnas Helped Rep. Devin Nunes' Investigations … The indicted Giuliani associate helped arrange meetings and calls in Europe for the Republican congressman in 2018. — Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, helped arrange meetings and calls in Europe for Rep. Devin Nunes in 2018 …

Discussion: emptywheel, Salon, Byline Times, CANNONFIRE, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, The Week, POLITICUSUSA, New York Times, Balloon Juice, Talking Points Memo and Politico

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.

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Breitbart, Axios, ABC News, New York Post, Associated Press, TheBlaze, The Daily Beast, Contemptor, The Root and NBC News

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 …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, New York Times, USA Today, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Law & Crime, FiveThirtyEight and Vanity Fair

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: The Guardian

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Fiona Hill tells Devin Nunes to his face that his Ukraine conspiracy theory is ‘harmful’ — It's already been publicly embraced by Vladimir Putin. — One reason that Russia's interference effort in 2016 was successful was that it leveraged a powerful source of energy: partisanship.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Guardian, KSLNewsRadio and The Week

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

The GOP defense of Trump is in slow-motion collapse. It's about to get worse. — We know this to be true: Approximately one week passed between President Trump's decision in mid-July to freeze hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, and a phone call on July 26 …

Discussion: Slate

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: Breitbart, Axios, The Hill, The Editorial Board and Joe.My.God.

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

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

Discussion: The American Independent, New York Times, Breitbart, US News, The Hill, The Federalist, NBC News, The Guardian and Foreign Policy

CNN:
Former top Russia adviser sharply disputes GOP claims on Ukraine

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, CANNONFIRE, FOX2now.com, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, Raw Story and WPIX 11 New York

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Vox

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

Discussion: The Verge, HuffPost and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: The Hill, The American Independent and Vanity Fair

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
David Holmes made clear how pressure was applied to Ukraine — and how that pressure continues

Discussion: The Atlantic, Raw Story and CREW

Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:
No Mystery — Republicans aren't being moved by Sondland's testimony …

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post, The G-File and Slate

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

Discussion: The Wrap

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

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, Breitbart and The Week

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

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

Discussion: Raw Story, Daily Kos and POLITICUSUSA

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

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Week, Fox News and Althouse

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

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, Washington Post and Raw Story

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: Law & Crime and Joe.My.God.

David M. Halbfinger / New York Times:

Israel's Netanyahu Indicted on Charges of Fraud, Bribery and Breach of Trust — 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: Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, The Week, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted on corruption charges — This is a huge, huge deal. — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted on charges relating to corruption and bribery, per a Thursday announcement by Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.

Discussion: The Daily Beast

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

Discussion: Townhall

Amy Teibel / Bloomberg: Benjamin Netanyahu to Face Trial on Charges of Bribery and Fraud

Yonah Jeremy Bob / Jerusalem Post:
Netanyahu indicted: A-G to charge PM with bribery, fraud, breach of trust

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

Raoul Wootliff / The Times of Israel:
AG announces Netanyahu to stand trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust

Discussion: Reuters and The Gateway Pundit

John Hendrickson / The Atlantic:

What Joe Biden Can't Bring Himself to Say — 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. There are competing theories in the press, but Joe Biden has kept mum on the subject.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:

Pete Buttigieg Is in Bad Shape With Black Democrats. Here's How Bad. — No Democrat in modern times has won the party's nomination without claiming majorities of black voters, the most crucial voting bloc in South Carolina and an array of delegate-rich states.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Vox, The Atlantic and GV Wire

Iowa State University: Warren slipping as Buttigieg continues to surge

Laura Barrón-López / Politico:
Why Pete Buttigieg got a pass in the debate

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, CBS News, Washington Free Beacon, The Hill, Washington Post, New York Times, FactCheck.org, Outside the Beltway and Joe.My.God.

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
The Lost Debate — There are winners and losers, even when no one watches.

Discussion: National Review

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 American Independent, TheBlaze, The Hill, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

Ryan Browne / CNN: Trump says he won't allow Navy to punish SEAL who posed with dead body

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: Redstate, Vox, Politico, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, The Wrap, Breitbart, Lawyers, Guns & Money, HuffPost, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Mashable, Engadget, Axios and New York Post, more at Techmeme »

Nicole Perlroth / New York Times:

Americans Steal Kremlin's Playbook, for Clicks and Profit — An investigation found that a former Fox News executive hired Macedonians to write culturally and politically divisive content for his websites. — SAN FRANCISCO — At first glance, the websites Conservative Edition News …

Discussion: Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

Jim Jordan used to torment GOP leaders. Now he's leading them in defending Trump. — It's easy to picture Jim Jordan in a locker room, standing jacketless on a cooler or folding chair, rolling up his sleeves and rallying the troops before a crucial showdown.

Discussion: Raw Story

Politico:

The end of world trade as we know it — This story is part of an ongoing series on U.S.-China relations, jointly produced by the South China Morning Post and POLITICO, with reporting from Asia and the United States. — The world will not end on December 10, yet for many who have spent …

Discussion: One America News Network