Top Items:
Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Defenders Have No Defense — Witnesses were uneven, but even his closest allies don't try to deny he did what he's accused of doing. — Look, the case has been made. Almost everything in the impeachment hearings this week fleshed out and backed up the charge that President Trump muscled Ukraine for political gain.
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Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
The Awful Truth About Impeachment — Facts be damned is Trump's approach, and it's working. — After five days, twelve witnesses, lots of shouting, and dozens of angry tweets from the President, the House Intelligence Committee's public impeachment hearings into Donald Trump's Ukraine affair ended …
Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:
Bolton Allies Cut Out ‘Three Amigos’ for Direct Line to Kyiv — After a White House meeting that was thrown into chaos by Ambassador Gordon Sondland, senior National Security Council officials took matters into their own hands, sources say. — In the days following a July meeting at the White House …
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Keep in mind these points about a historic week
Keep in mind these points about a historic week
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Jordyn Phelps / ABC News:
Trump continues to push debunked Ukraine conspiracy theory
Trump continues to push debunked Ukraine conspiracy theory
Discussion:
Breitbart, HuffPost and The Intercept
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Republicans' nuttery exposed
Republicans' nuttery exposed
Discussion:
New Yorker, The Nation and New York Times
Peter Baker / New York Times:
The Impeachment Witnesses Not Heard
The Impeachment Witnesses Not Heard
Discussion:
Politico, The Atlantic, The Nation and HotAir
Julie Pace / Associated Press:
Analysis: Mountain of impeachment evidence is beyond dispute
Analysis: Mountain of impeachment evidence is beyond dispute
Discussion:
Vox, The American Independent, KTLA, Politico, The Daily Beast, One America News Network, Axios and Florida Politics
New York Times:
Charges of Ukrainian Meddling? A Russian Operation, U.S. Intelligence Says — Moscow has run a yearslong operation to blame Ukraine for its own 2016 election interference. Republicans have used similar talking points to defend President Trump in impeachment proceedings.
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump's GOP defenders cannot be shamed. It's time to try this instead. — If there is one widely shared conclusion about the impeachment hearings that have just concluded, it's that President Trump's GOP defenders were never “gettable.” — This idea has been repeated countless times in recent days …
Discussion:
Slate and New York Times
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Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
Trump's Crime Against America
Trump's Crime Against America
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Daily Beast, Political Wire, Raw Story and The Bulwark
David Lynch / Washington Post:
Trump says he might veto legislation that aims to protect human rights in Hong Kong because bill would impact China trade talks — The legislation easily passed Congress with a veto-proof majority — President Trump suggested on Friday that he might veto legislation designed …
Discussion:
Foreign Policy
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Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
‘A lot of things are the matter with me’: The best lines from Trump's Fox interview
‘A lot of things are the matter with me’: The best lines from Trump's Fox interview
Discussion:
One America News Network, Mediaite and Breitbart
Marina Fang / HuffPost:
Trump Pushes Debunked Ukraine Theory In Long, Rambling Call To ‘Fox & Friends’
Axios:
Trump repeats Ukraine conspiracy theory on 53-minute “Fox & Friends” call
Trump repeats Ukraine conspiracy theory on 53-minute “Fox & Friends” call
Discussion:
Joe.My.God. and Associated Press
Quint Forgey / Politico:
Trump unloads to Fox News as impeachment threat heightens
Trump unloads to Fox News as impeachment threat heightens
Discussion:
Washington Post, Fox News and Axios
Jay Nordlinger / National Review:
Moral Equivalence, Etc.
David Brennan / Newsweek:
Trump Said U.S. Is ‘Getting Raped’ by NATO, Has Pushed to Exit Alliance According to White House Insider — President Donald Trump's criticisms of NATO have been one of the most concerning elements of his presidency to date for career diplomats and Pentagon officials.
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Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump says he doesn't expect to be impeached
The Latest: Trump says he doesn't expect to be impeached
Discussion:
Breitbart, Politico, Joe.My.God. and Lowell Sun
Gabby Orr / Politico:
'He cares about his grievances and his reelection, and that's it'
'He cares about his grievances and his reelection, and that's it'
Discussion:
NPR, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Salt Lake Tribune, Vanity Fair, ABC News and Raw Story
Washington Post:
Justice Dept. watchdog is said to have found evidence an FBI employee altered document in Russia probe — The Justice Department inspector general has found evidence that an FBI employee may have altered a document connected to court-approved surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Fox News, Breitbart, The Hill, Law & Crime and The Week
RELATED:
CNN:
Exclusive: Former FBI lawyer under investigation after allegedly altering document in 2016 Russia probe
Exclusive: Former FBI lawyer under investigation after allegedly altering document in 2016 Russia probe
Discussion:
Redstate, Vox, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Politico, The Hill, Twitchy, Washington Post, IJR, Deadline, PJ Media Home, National Review, The Last Refuge, BizPac Review, New York Post, The Daily Caller, The American Spectator, Raw Story, Breitbart, Townhall, Power Line, TheBlaze and WREG-TV
Nicole Lafond / Talking Points Memo:
DOJ IG Finds FBI Lawyer May Have Altered Carter Page Surveillance Document
DOJ IG Finds FBI Lawyer May Have Altered Carter Page Surveillance Document
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, PJ Media Home and The Last Refuge
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Read This — I read through this a number of times before deciding to publish it. But I strongly, strongly recommend it to you. The author of the email is a former federal prosecutor. When I first read it I confess I found it all a bit loopy or improbable.
Discussion:
Mother Jones and Balloon Juice
Grant Stern / Occupy Democrats:
House Dem points out that Devin Nunes could be an impeachment inquiry witness — A House Democrat just pointed out the surprising fact that the House Intelligence Committee's ranking Republican member might have to appear as a fact witness in the panel's impeachment inquiry.
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Hullabaloo
RELATED:
Betsy Swan / The Daily Beast:
Parnas Attended Giuliani's Madrid Meeting With Zelensky Aide
Parnas Attended Giuliani's Madrid Meeting With Zelensky Aide
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Salon, Hullabaloo, The Hill and Raw Story
Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:
AG Barr: Epstein's death was a ‘perfect storm of screw-ups’ — 1 of 6 — ABOARD A US GOVERNMENT AIRCRAFT (AP) — Attorney General William Barr says Jeffrey Epstein's death was the result of a “perfect storm of screw-ups.” — Barr's comments in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press come days …
Discussion:
The Independent, New York Times, emptywheel, HuffPost, National Review, Joe.My.God., IJR, The Hill, Raw Story, Axios and Political Wire
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Bloomberg makes ‘massive’ ad buy — In the latest sign Michael Bloomberg is prepared to spend freely on a prospective presidential bid, the billionaire has begun booking a huge quantity of TV ad time in media markets across the country — including the one that's home to President Donald Trump's winter White House, Mar-a-Lago.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Biden camp: Graham ‘forfeited his conscience’ over Ukraine — Joe Biden's presidential campaign accused Sen. Lindsey Graham of having “forfeited his conscience” for requesting State Department records concerning the former vice president's efforts to oust a corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor in 2016.
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Michael Calderone / Politico:
Jake Tapper: Trump is trying to ‘gaslight the country’ — CNN's Jake Tapper thinks fact-checking Donald Trump is no longer enough — and he's created an hourlong special exploring the effects on foreign policy, business and the national culture of the president's compulsive lying.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Ellen Barry / New York Times:
The Jungle Prince of Delhi — For 40 years, journalists chronicled the eccentric royal family of Oudh, deposed aristocrats who lived in a ruined palace in the Indian capital. It was a tragic, astonishing story. But was it true? — NEW DELHI — On a spring afternoon in 2016 …
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Impeachment is about to get a Robert Mueller reprise — Right now, impeachment is all about Ukraine. But after Thanksgiving, prepare for a Robert Mueller reprise. — Now that House Democrats have wrapped up public hearings on President Donald Trump's pressure campaign to get Ukraine …
Brent Larkin / Plain Dealer:
Jim Jordan was imposed on us for egregiously partisan reasons. Now he's afflicting the nation. — CLEVELAND — Of all the regions in all the states in all the country, Jim Jordan got dragged into ours. There was no good reason to punish Greater Cleveland by making the person who's …
Discussion:
Fox News, Raw Story and Washington Post
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Shepard Smith Uses a Post-Fox Spotlight to Defend Freedom of the Press — The former anchor made his first public appearance since his abrupt departure from Fox News, where he faced taunts from colleagues and President Trump. — In his first public remarks since abruptly resigning …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, IJR, Committee to Protect …, The Wrap, BizPac Review and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Trump and His Corrupt Old Party — For Republicans, there is no bottom. — Formally, the House of Representatives is holding an inquiry into the question of whether Donald J. Trump should be impeached. In reality, we've known the answer to that question for a long time.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo and Washington Post
BuzzFeed News:
Tony Robbins Has Been Accused Of Sexually Assaulting A High Schooler At A Summer Camp — The self-help megastar arrived at the summer camp as a star guest. He left with one accuser, two eyewitnesses, and dozens of others who would remember the day's dark turn for decades.
Discussion:
New York Post
Wes Siler / Outside Online:
I Got a Vasectomy Because of Climate Change … I've always struggled to combine the idea of personal responsibility with the overwhelming need for human society to address the threat posed by climate change. Since at least the 1970s, the massive energy corporations responsible for the vast majority …
Discussion:
Redstate, Louder With Crowder and NB Blog