memeorandum: U.S. Drone Killed Afghan Civilians, Officials Say (New York Times)

6:45 PM ET, December 1, 2019

Top Items:

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Chuck Todd to GOP Senator: You're Selling the Same Argument as Putin! — Chuck Todd was left gobsmacked by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) when the GOP lawmaker said the ex-Ukrainian president “actively worked” for Hillary Clinton. — A week after claiming that he didn't know whether Russia …

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story and Hullabaloo

Ursula Perano / Axios:

Sen. John Kennedy doubles down on claims of Ukrainian interference — Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) argued in a testy exchange on NBC's “Meet the Press” that he believes “both Russia and Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election,” claiming without evidence that former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko “actively worked” for Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Daily Kos, HuffPost, Slate and Political Wire

Washington Post: The damage done to Ukraine

David Morgan / Reuters:

Trump faces two deadlines as U.S. Congress ramps up impeachment focus — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump faced two deadlines in Congress this week as Democrats prepared to shift the focus of their impeachment inquiry from fact-finding to the consideration of possible charges …

Discussion: Raw Story

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:

Klobuchar says impeachment probe has uncovered a ‘global Watergate’ — The Democratic presidential candidate told NBC's “Meet the Press” that Congress has an obligation to move forward with impeachment. — WASHINGTON — Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said Sunday that Congress has an obligation …

Adia Robinson / ABC News:

President, lawyers should participate in impeachment hearing: Demings, McClintock — Reps. Val Demings, D-Fla., and Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said on ABC's “This Week” that they think having President Donald Trump or his lawyers participate in Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing …

Discussion: Townhall, POLITICUSUSA, HuffPost, The Hill and Contemptor

Jacob Knutson / Axios:

Top Judiciary Republican demands Schiff testify in impeachment hearing — Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday” that the first witness Republicans will attempt to call in the upcoming impeachment hearing is House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

Discussion: ABC News

Washington Post:

Republicans to mount aggressive campaign against impeachment as spotlight turns to Judiciary panel — As the impeachment inquiry into President Trump moves to the House Judiciary Committee, Republicans signaled Sunday that they will mount an aggressive campaign to delegitimize the process …

Discussion: Political Wire

Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart:
Adam Schiff Gives Democrats Only 24 Hours to Sign Impeachment Report

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Long Before Trump, Impeachment Loomed Over Multiple Presidents

Discussion: Politico

Heather Caygle / Politico:
Intelligence Committee to begin circulating draft Ukraine report Monday

Discussion: Axios, HotAir, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, UPI, Breitbart, CNN, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Washington Post

New York Times:

With Brutal Crackdown, Iran Convulsed by Worst Unrest in 40 Years — What started as a protest over a surprise increase in gasoline prices turned into widespread demonstrations met with a systematic repression that left at least 180 people dead. — Iran is experiencing …

Discussion: Political Wire

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Justice's election-year conundrum: How to probe team Trump — The Justice Department is in another election-season jam — faced with politically loaded decisions over how aggressively to investigate President Donald Trump and his allies in the heat of the 2020 campaign.

Discussion: Raw Story and Law & Crime

Tom McCarthy / The Guardian:
Legal storm clouds gather over Rudy Giuliani, America's tarnished mayor

Discussion: DemCast and Contemptor

Steve Contorno / Tampa Bay Times:

Ron DeSantis isn't on Donald Trump's TV anymore. That's on purpose. — Once the president's top defender on Fox News, Florida's governor has disappeared from Trump's favorite network. — There was a time when President Donald Trump could turn on Fox News at any given hour …

Tim Stickings / Daily Mail:

Revealed: Six of London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan's fellow Stock Exhange bomb plotters have also been freed from prison since 2012 — Six of the eight terrorist plotters who were jailed along with London Bridge attacker Usman Khan in 2012 have also been freed from prison, it has emerged.

Discussion: Power Line and The Sun

Reuters: UK Labour's Corbyn: Convicted terrorists should ‘not necessarily’ serve full sentences

Ursula Perano / Axios:

Democrat Joe Sestak drops out of 2020 presidential race — Admiral Joe Sestak announced Sunday evening that he is dropping out of the 2020 presidential race, leaving the total number of Democrats left in the field at 17. — The big picture: Sestak was one of the last Democrats to join the race …

Discussion: Political Wire and The Hill

Mike Allen / Axios:

Why the Democratic nominee might ultimately be chosen at the July convention — Democrats say a very realistic scenario now calls for Pete Buttigieg to win Iowa, Elizabeth Warren to win New Hampshire, Joe Biden to win South Carolina and Bernie Sanders to win Nevada.

Discussion: ABC News, NBC News, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, Fox News and Washington Post

New York Times:

U.S. Drone Killed Afghan Civilians, Officials Say — The strike on a car killed all five onboard, including a woman who had given birth hours before, relatives and officials said. — KHOST, Afghanistan — An American drone strike on a car carrying a woman who had just given birth …

Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

In America, the law is the law* (*if you're poor, undocumented or nonwhite) — You raise your child to grow up to be a man like Delmer Joel Ramirez Palma. The Honduran native — married, raising a 10-year-old son in New Orleans — supported his family by working construction.

Discussion: Washington Post and UPI

Raphael Minder / New York Times:

Assange to Testify on Being Recorded in Embassy in London — Recordings have emerged of private conversations that Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, had while living in the Ecuadorean Embassy. He and a Spanish prosecutor blame the United States. — MADRID — This much has become clear …

Zach Montellaro / Politico:

Andrew Yang raises $750,000 in 24 hours — The haul reflects the campaign's ability to attract funds via grassroots appeals. — Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang. Andrew Yang raised $750,000 on Nov. 30, his single best fundraising day to date of his campaign.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Hill

New York Times:

How a Divided Left Is Losing the Battle on Abortion — Miscalculations, and an unexpected victory by President Trump, have put abortion access at its most vulnerable point in decades, and the left on the defensive. Now it is trying to recover. — ATLANTA — The pin was small, and rusted on the back.

New York Times:

‘Sent Candy’: Cockpit Tapes Show Russian Pilots Bombing Syrian Civilians — A Times investigation used cockpit recordings to show for the first time how Russian pilots attacked civilians in Syria this summer, killing dozens. — PLAYLISTUp Next in VISUAL INVESTIGATIONS — Visual Investigations 8:32