memeorandum: Navy defies Trump's clemency of SEAL Edward Gallagher to save its institutional integrity (Sébastien Roblin/NBC News)

9:25 PM ET, November 22, 2019

Top Items:

Russia Inquiry Review Is Said to Criticize F.B.I. but Rebuff Claims of Biased Acts — A watchdog report will portray the pursuit of a wiretap of an ex-Trump adviser as sloppy, but it also debunks some accusations by Trump allies of F.B.I. wrongdoing. — WASHINGTON — A highly anticipated report …

Washington Post:

Justice Dept. watchdog finds political bias did not taint top officials running the FBI's Russia probe but documents other errors — The Justice Department's internal watchdog is expected to find in a forthcoming report that political bias did not taint top officials running the FBI investigation …

Discussion: Law & Crime and Raw Story

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.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Intercept, FactCheck.org, Washington Times, The Week, Mother Jones, Rolling Stone, Raw Story, Axios, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Outside the Beltway

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 …

Discussion: Washington Post, RealClearPolitics and The Nation

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.

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Steve Scherer / Reuters:

Exclusive: U.S. Navy secretary backs SEAL's expulsion review, despite Trump objection — HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (Reuters) - U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said on Friday a Navy SEAL convicted of battlefield misconduct should face a board of peers weighing whether to oust him from the elite force …

Discussion: Navy Times and The Gateway Pundit

Sébastien Roblin / NBC News:

Navy defies Trump's clemency of SEAL Edward Gallagher to save its institutional integrity — The Pentagon's effort to discipline a rogue SEAL despite presidential intervention shows the military understands it needs to get elite units in order. — The Navy announced it was considering …

Doyle Hodges / Washington Post:
Trump said the Navy can't take away Eddie Gallagher's SEAL qualification. That could be a problem.

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Redstate

Vicky Ward / CNN:

Giuliani associate willing to tell Congress Nunes met with ex-Ukrainian official to get dirt on Biden — (CNN)A lawyer for an indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani tells CNN that his client is willing to tell Congress about meetings the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Harry Siegel / New York Daily News: ‘1984’ arrives 35 years late: Republicans like Devin Nunes are intent on making 2 plus 2 equal whatever …

Grant Stern / Occupy Democrats:
House Dem points out that Devin Nunes could be an impeachment inquiry witness

Discussion: Daily Kos and Hullabaloo

Eric Bradner / CNN:

Biden: Lindsey Graham will ‘regret his whole life’ doing Trump's bidding on Ukraine — Watch “CNN Tonight” at 10 p.m. ET to see Don Lemon's full interview with former Vice President Joe Biden. — Abbeville, South Carolina (CNN)Joe Biden said he is “embarrassed” for South Carolina …

Discussion: Washington Post, HuffPost, Reuters, Vanity Fair and TheBlaze

John Solomon Reports:
Responding to Lt. Col. Vindman about my Ukraine columns ... with the facts

Discussion: BizPac Review, Twitchy and Breitbart

Marc Caputo / Politico:
Biden camp: Graham ‘forfeited his conscience’ over Ukraine

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze and Axios

Washington Post:

Trump opens up Camp David as an ‘adult playground’ to woo GOP lawmakers during impeachment — President Trump, partial to gold and marble elegance, never took a shine to rustic Camp David. So acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney pitched him on an unusual idea at the start of the House impeachment inquiry …

Discussion: The Hill

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:

‘A lot of things are the matter with me’: The best lines from Trump's Fox interview — President Donald Trump called in to “Fox & Friends” on Friday for a nearly hour-long interview that he agreed after was a form of “stress relief.” — As House Democrats close in on an impeachment vote …

Discussion: One America News Network, Breitbart and Mediaite

Toluse Olorunnipa / Washington Post: In rollicking 53-minute conversation, Trump embraces conspiracies, spreads falsehoods and insults opponents

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook PM: Trump riffs for an hour, Bloomberg's big buy

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post and New York Times

David Lynch / Washington Post:
Trump says he might veto legislation that aims to protect human rights in Hong Kong because bill …

Discussion: Reason and Foreign Policy

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: CNN, The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Balloon Juice, New York Times and Washington Post

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, The Atlantic and New York Times

Geoff Bennett / NBC News:

Yovanovitch's lawyers rate Trump's embassy portrait claim Pinocchio worthy — Lawyers for former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch say President Donald Trump's claim that she refused to hang his picture in the U.S. embassy in Ukraine is false. — “The Embassy in Kyiv hung …

Discussion: CBS News, Occupy Democrats and Talking Points Memo

CNN:
Trump makes at least 18 false claims in ranting Fox & Friends interview

Discussion: New York Times, Joe.My.God. and Daily Kos

Michael Calderone / Politico: Jake Tapper: Trump is trying to ‘gaslight the country’

Sydney Morning Herald:

Defecting Chinese spy offers information trove to Australian government — A Chinese spy has risked his life to defect to Australia and is now offering a trove of unprecedented inside intelligence on how China conducts its interference operations abroad. — Wang “William” Liqiang …

Discussion: PoliticalShort, New York Times and TechCrunch

Katie Benner / New York Times:

Barr's Legal Views Come Under Fire From Conservative-Leaning Lawyers — A speech by Mr. Barr last week, in which he argued that Mr. Trump had never overstepped his authority, so alarmed a group of lawyers that they felt compelled to push back publicly. — WASHINGTON — A group …

Simon Shuster / TIME:

Exclusive: CEO of Ukraine State Gas Firm Preparing to Testify in Giuliani Probe — The CEO of Ukraine's state gas company, Naftogaz, is ready to give evidence in a U.S. federal investigation that is reportedly probing the business dealings of Rudy Giuliani, the CEO said in an exclusive interview on Friday.

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Free Beacon:

Warren Confronted by School Choice Activist Over Sending Son to Private School — The Democratic presidential candidate elided the inconvenient fact that her son attended a tony private school — Confronted by a school-choice activist Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

South Bend black leader endorses Biden, rebukes Buttigieg — The longest-serving African American man on the South Bend, Ind., Common Council is endorsing Joe Biden for president, a rejection of Pete Buttigieg that highlights the South Bend mayor's struggles with black voters.

Discussion: Townhall, Associated Press, Fox News, CNN, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Hill, Axios, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, CBS News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mother Jones and Roll Call

Sky Palma / Raw Story:

‘Delete your account traitor’: GOPer Marsha Blackburn slammed for ugly smear of Lt. Col. Vindman — In a tweet fired off today, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) took a jab at one of the witnesses who testified at this week's hearings in the House impeachment inquiry, and she immediately …

Sacha Baron Cohen / The Guardian:

Read Sacha Baron Cohen's scathing attack on Facebook in full: ‘greatest propaganda machine in history’ — In a speech, the actor argued that Facebook would have run ads by Hitler. Here are his remarks in full … Thank you, ADL, for this recognition and your work in fighting racism, hate and bigotry.

Discussion: Reason, Algemeiner.com and Mashable

YouTube:
ADL International Leadership Award Presented to Sacha Baron Cohen at Never Is Now 2019

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and TechCrunch

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Bolton Teases a City Eager to Hear His Story — John R. Bolton, President Trump's former national security adviser, said he was breaking his silence — on Twitter. But what he meant was that he was taking back control of his Twitter account. He kept quiet on Ukraine and impeachment.

Discussion: Big League Politics, New York Post, ABC News, IJR, Mediaite and Raw Story

Jennifer Haberkorn / Los Angeles Times:

Schiff isn't ruling out more impeachment hearings — The House Intelligence Committee has begun work on its report in the impeachment inquiry against President Trump, Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) said in an interview Friday. — The committee, which on Thursday wrapped up public testimony …

Discussion: ABC News

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
In Trump impeachment trial, Senate Republicans could turn tables on Dems

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Signal and Politico

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.

Associated Press:
Health groups urge Trump to move ahead with e-cig flavor ban

Discussion: NBC News and The Hill

Alex Kotch / Sludge:

Nation's Biggest Charity Is Funding Influential White Nationalist Group — A charitable nonprofit linked to Fidelity Investments has donated at least $100,000 to the New Century Foundation, the organization behind white nationalist publication American Renaissance, since mid-2015. — EDITED BY

Discussion: HuffPost

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 …

Seth Cousins / Washington Post:

I was a juror in Roger Stone's trial. I am proud of how we came to our decision. — Seth Cousins was juror Number 3 in the Roger Stone trial. — During the first half of November, I traveled a brief journey with 14 fellow Americans, all of them strangers to me.

Jack Holmes / Esquire:

President Fox News Grandpa Had Himself a Morning on Fox & Friends — If you are in any way tethered to observable reality, you will have noticed that this was not a good week for Donald Trump, American president. — A parade of witnesses testified under oath

Discussion: New York Times, Vox and POLITICUSUSA

Andrew Feinberg / The Independent:

After a damaging week and a bizarre Fox rant, psychiatrists and GOP strategists are worried for Trump — 'He has terrible judgment, and if he had real lawyers they would've hit him with a cattle-prod before they let him do that interview' — For a man who craves the spotlight …

Darwin BondGraham / The Appeal:

In a Private Facebook Group, California Police Brag About Breaking State Law to Help ICE — Some officers have recently boasted about breaking state law and collaborating with ICE, according to messages posted in a private Facebook group and obtained by The Appeal.