memeorandum: Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg files papers to join Democratic race for president (Michael Scherer/Washington Post)

2:50 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, Balloon Juice, New York Times, Talking Points Memo and Politico

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Fiona Hill clashes with GOP over ‘fictional’ Ukraine claims — 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, Breitbart, New York Times, Progress Pond, ABC News, TheBlaze, New York Post, Associated Press, Axios, The Daily Beast, Contemptor and The Root

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, Raw Story, USA Today, 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, The Week and Politico

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: TheBlaze and Slate

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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 »

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Vox

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: New York Times, The Atlantic and Raw Story

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

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and The Week

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

Discussion: The Wrap

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

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

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.

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.

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted on corruption charges

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

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, GV Wire and Slate

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

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

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

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 »

Rep. Devin Nunes / The Permanent Select Committee …:

Nunes Opening Statement for Hill and Holmes Hearing on Impeachment — f t # e — Opening Statement for Hill and Holmes Hearing on Impeachment — Throughout these bizarre hearings, the Democrats have struggled to make the case that President Trump committed some impeachable offense …

Discussion: Redstate and Breitbart

Hope Yen / Associated Press:
AP FACT CHECK: Trump, GOP claims on Ukraine corruption

Discussion: Politico, KSLNewsRadio and Florida Politics

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

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.