memeorandum: a secret history of the war (Washington Post)

6:35 PM ET, December 9, 2019

Top Items:

The truth is finally out. The FBI fulfilled its mission. — James Comey is a former director of the FBI and a former deputy attorney general. — For two years, the president of the United States and his followers have loudly declared that the FBI acted unlawfully in conducting …

Discussion: Fox News, CNN, Politico, Axios, The Hill, Occupy Democrats, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy, Mediaite, DCReport.org and Raw Story

Julia Macfarlane / ABC News:

‘Dossier’ author Chris Steele met Ivanka Trump years before Russia scandal, source says — Steele has been at the center of the Russia investigation firestorm — Nearly a decade before the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka met a British intelligence officer who ran …

Discussion: Occupy Democrats, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Slot, Daily Kos, The American Independent, CNBC, The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, Law & Crime, Mediaite and The Guardian

U.S. Department of Justice:

Statement by Attorney General William P. Barr on the Inspector General's Report of the Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane Investigation — Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement: — “Nothing is more important …

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times, Power Line, Vox, Lawfare, The Daily Signal, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze, Common Dreams, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Raw Story and Associated Press

NBC News:

Internal Justice watchdog finds that Russia probe was justified, not biased against Trump — The long-awaited report by the Justice Department's watchdog contradicts President Trump's depiction of a politically biased plot against him. — WASHINGTON — The FBI mishandled parts of its application …

Discussion: USA Today and The Hill

Adam Edelman / NBC News:

AG Barr condemns IG report's finding that FBI probe of Trump campaign was justified — The attorney general said the investigation was launched on the “thinnest of suspicions.” — Attorney General William Barr on Monday rejected a key conclusion of an investigation conducted …

Discussion: MSNBC, Big League Politics, Patterico's Pontifications and Washington Times

Katie Benner / New York Times:

Barr Allows for Release of Additional Details About Ex-Spy Behind Steele Dossier — The British former spy was told on the eve of its release that a highly anticipated inspector general's report would contain further information about him than he had expected.

Discussion: CNN, Redstate, Law & Crime, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and Fox News

New York Times:

Inspector General Report on F.B.I. Russia Inquiry Finds Serious Errors But Debunks Anti-Trump Plot — A long-awaited report by the Justice Department's inspector general delivers a scathing critique of the F.B.I.'s handling of wiretap application but also punctures many conspiracy theories.

Discussion: Townhall, Mother Jones, Washington Free Beacon, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos and KyivPost

The Daily Beast:

DOJ Report Has Trump Fanboys Quivering With Anticipation — Right-wing media and QAnon fans have promised massive bombshells. What happens if it fizzles? — Donald Trump's staunchest allies have continuously built up expectations that the Department of Justice inspector general's report …

Discussion: Associated Press, Fox News, NBC News, The Hill, Breitbart, Axios, CANNONFIRE, Townhall, Wired, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Right Wing Watch, Disrn, One America News Network and ABC News

Alex Pappas / Fox News:

US Attorney Durham objects to IG findings on Russia probe origins in stunning statement — The U.S. attorney who is conducting a wide-ranging investigation of the origins of the Trump-Russia probe released a rare statement Monday saying he disagrees with conclusions of the so-called FISA report …

Discussion: Redstate, National Review, The Last Refuge, The Western Journal, American Greatness, The Daily Caller, Instapundit and Disrn

Washington Post:
Ivanka Trump was friends with former British spy Christopher Steele, according to person familiar with the situation

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Occupy Democrats, Vox, Mediaite and Lawyers, Guns & Money

ABC News:
FBI Director Chris Wray reacts to DOJ watchdog report on Russia investigation: Exclusive

Discussion: Mediaite

Rick Wilson / GEN:
Justice Department Watchdog Crushes Trumpworld's Deep State Dreams

Discussion: Fox News, The Daily Beast and The Gateway Pundit

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
4 takeaways from the Horowitz report on the Russia investigation

Discussion: Townhall, JustOneMinute, Fox News and The Western Journal

Federal Bureau of Investigation:
FBI Director Christopher Wray's Response to Inspector General Report

Discussion: National Review, Washington Post and HuffPost

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Inspector general's report on Russia probe: Key takeaways

Discussion: Fox News, Associated Press and Washington Post

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Watchdog report rips FBI handling of Russia probe

Discussion: Washington Post, Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit and CNN

ABC News:
DOJ watchdog finds Russia investigation not improper, despite missteps

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, National Review and Breitbart

Katie Benner / New York Times:
Barr and Durham Publicly Disagree With Horowitz Report on Russia Inquiry

Discussion: Vox, Althouse, Power Line, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Mediaite

Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:

AT WAR WITH THE TRUTH … A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.

Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:
How The Post unearthed The Afghanistan Papers

Discussion: New York Times

Washington Post:
a secret history of the war

Discussion: New York Times, Slate, Reason, National Review, Patterico's Pontifications and New York Post

Brent Lang / Variety:

Clint Eastwood's ‘Richard Jewell’: Atlanta Newspaper Demands Disclaimer on Depiction of Female Reporter — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is asking Warner Bros. and the makers of “Richard Jewell” to release a statement acknowledging it took dramatic license when it portrayed journalist Kathy Scruggs as trading sex for tips.

Discussion: Mediaite, Rolling Stone, Slate and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »

David K. Li / NBC News:

Supreme Court upholds Kentucky abortion law mandating ultrasounds — The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Kentucky law, mandating doctors perform ultrasounds and show fetal images to patients before they can perform abortions. — The high court declined, without comment …

Discussion: WLEX, Common Dreams, ACLU, Axios and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ian Millhiser / Vox: What Trump has done to the courts, explained

Alice Miranda Ollstein / Politico:
Supreme Court leaves in place Kentucky abortion restriction

Discussion: National Review and Breitbart

James Walker / Newsweek:

Donald Trump tweets 105 times in single day, attacking impeachment inquiry and top Democrats — President Donald Trump put out more than 100 tweets on Sunday, sharing attacks on the impeachment inquiry with his 67 million followers. — The commander-in-chief tweeted a total of 105 times yesterday …

Discussion: Politico, The Root, Bloomberg and Deadline

Byron York / Washington Examiner: A preemptive impeachment — Monday's House Judiciary Committee …

Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart:
Nadler Failed to Swear in Witnesses at Judiciary Impeachment Hearings

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
Live Blog / Impeachment hearing: Live updates from second day of Judiciary Committee testimony

Discussion: Axios, NPR and Daily Kos

Emily Stewart / Vox:

The dust-up over Elizabeth Warren's private legal work, explained — Elizabeth Warren at a campaign stop in Des Moines, Iowa in November 2019. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images — Elizabeth Warren being paid for her work is inexplicably controversial. — Sen. Bernie Sanders sold a lot …

Discussion: Axios, Politico, Associated Press, Sludge, The Hill, Breitbart and New York Times

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
McKinsey Gives Pete Buttigieg Permission to Disclose Clients

Discussion: NBC News, Washington Post and CNN

Foreign Policy:

Desperate to Save Diplomacy, White House Blocks U.N. Meeting on North Korean Atrocities — As tensions rise between Washington and Pyongyang, Trump tries to avert a complete breakdown in relations. — The White House has killed off plans to convene a meeting of the United Nations Security Council …

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, The National Interest, The Daily Caller, UPI, Axios and News Breaking LIVE

New York Times:

India Prepares to Block Naturalization for Muslims — A bill establishing a religious test for immigration to India is expected to pass Parliament, a major step for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist agenda. — HYDERABAD, India — India took a major step toward …

Discussion: UPI and Washington Monthly

Firehouse Strategies:

BREAKING: As Impeachment Moves Ahead Trump Surges in Battleground States — Firehouse/Optimus December Battleground State Poll: As Impeachment Moves Ahead, President Trump Well-Positioned Against Leading Democratic Contenders — This week we continued our quarterly battleground polling series in Michigan …

Discussion: Axios, Breitbart, Redstate, Washington Times, National Review, Disrn and Political Wire

Michelle Iracheta / Houston Chronicle:

Acevedo calls out Cornyn, Cruz, McConnell after Houston sergeant fatally shot by ‘domestic abuser’ — Just two days after a Houston police sergeant was fatally shot in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence call, Chief Art Acevedo is once again challenging lawmakers …

Discussion: The Guardian and Raw Story

Susan Simpson / Just Security:

Seven Outright Falsehoods in GOP Staff Report on Impeachment — On December 2, 2019, Republican staff of the three committees overseeing the impeachment inquiry published a report prepared for the GOP Chairs: Representatives Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan, and Michael McCaul.

Discussion: Raw Story, Salon, Hullabaloo and emptywheel

CNN:

Bill Hemmer to succeed Shep Smith as Fox's afternoon news anchor — New York (CNN Business)Bill Hemmer will succeed Shepard Smith as the anchor of Fox News Channel's 3 p.m. news program, the network said on Monday. — The show will be renamed “Bill Hemmer Reports” and it will debut on January 20.

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
Exclusive: Fox News to Replace Shep Smith With Veteran Anchor Bill Hemmer

Discussion: Fox News Channel Press, Axios and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Sanna Marin of Finland to Become World's Youngest Prime Minister — At 34, Ms. Marin will head a coalition made up of five parties, in a government led by women. — HELSINKI, Finland — Sanna Marin, 34, is set to become the world's youngest sitting prime minister when she is sworn in this week in Finland …

Discussion: Vox, CNN, The Guardian, Washington Post, Axios, UPI and Althouse

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:

The Trump Impeachment Hearings and Justice Antonin Scalia — The outcome of the struggle to impeach President Trump remains in doubt, but one winner in the process is already clear: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016. As a scholar and a jurist, Scalia was the chief expositor …