memeorandum: Mike Bloomberg wins backing in California and an event with Jerry Brown (Joe Garofoli/San Francisco Chronicle)

9:30 PM ET, December 10, 2019

Top Items:

Release Detail — December 10, 2019 - Buttigieg Slips, While Biden And Sanders Gain In Primary, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Slightly More Than Half Of Voters Say Don't Impeach Trump — In the Democratic primary race for president, former Vice President Joe Biden …

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA, HotAir, CNN, Washington Times, The Hill, Political Wire and Bloomberg

Monmouth University Polling Institute:

Washington, Obama, and Trump, Oh My! — Biden, Sanders, Warren continue to jockey for 2020 pole position — West Long Branch, NJ - Most Americans agree that George Washington was a better president than either Donald Trump or Barack Obama - but there are some interesting partisan divisions in that opinion.

Discussion: Stamford Advocate, The Hill, PJ Media Home, Breitbart, One America News Network, Redstate, Washington Post, Washington Times, Politico, IJR, Fox News and CNN

ABC News:
Andrew Yang becomes 1st candidate of color to qualify for final Democratic primary debate of 2019

Discussion: The Hill

Washington Post:
Mike Bloomberg is widely unpopular following campaign launch, poll finds

Discussion: The Hill, Breitbart and Fox News

NBC News:

Barr thinks FBI may have acted in ‘bad faith’ in probing Trump campaign's links to Russia — “I think our nation was turned on its head for 3 years based on a bogus narrative,” said the attorney general in an exclusive interview with Pete Williams. — WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr …

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post: The ‘travesty’ is William Barr

Brad Reed / Raw Story: ‘Banana Republic stuff’: Experts tear Bill Barr to pieces for calling FBI a bigger threat than Russia to elections

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
It's official: The dossier was malarkey

Discussion: Twitchy

Washington Post:
Attorney general sharpens attacks on FBI's Russia probe, dismaying some in his own department

Discussion: New York Times, American Greatness, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and NBC News

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
The FBI Inspector General's Report Has Bad News for Democrats, Too

Discussion: The Western Journal, Law & Crime, The Federalist, Washington Post, Salon, Reason, Townhall, National Review and Redstate

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
The ‘Russia Hoax’ Is a Hoax — If you are following mainstream …

Discussion: FactCheck.org, YouTube and Washington Post

Melanie Zanona / Politico:

Small group of Democrats floats censure instead of impeachment — A small group of vulnerable House Democrats is floating the longshot idea of censuring President Donald Trump instead of impeaching him, according to multiple lawmakers familiar with the conversations.

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Why Democrats sidelined Mueller in impeachment articles — On Dec. 2, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi was on a trip to a climate change conference in Spain, she held a conference call with about a dozen of the most vulnerable Democrats who delivered her the House. — Their message to Pelosi …

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, The Hill, Associated Press and Breitbart

Gabriella Muñoz / Washington Times:
Progressive groups unhappy with articles of impeachment

Discussion: ABC News, Associated Press and The Gateway Pundit

Julie Pace / Associated Press:
AP Analysis: Trump faces narrow but consequential charges

Discussion: PBS NewsHour, Deseret News and The Resurgent

Kevin Freking / Associated Press:
Trump to rally voters after impeachment articles unveiled

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico and The Hill

Sam Dorman / Fox News:
Pelosi, progressive caucus clash over drug pricing legislation

Discussion: The Hill, Politico and Congressman Mike Kelly

New York Times:

Trump to Sign Order Targeting Anti-Semitism on College Campuses — The president's action will define Judaism as a nationality, not just a religion, and empower the Education Department to withhold money from institutions that tolerate anti-Israel movements.

Discussion: National Review, The Hill, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Occupy Democrats, Jewish Journal, Vanity Fair, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Instapundit

Associated Press:
Trump to sign order targeting anti-Semitism at colleges

Discussion: One America News Network

ABC News:

Officer, 3 civilians dead after massive gun battle breaks out in New Jersey — The New Jersey police officer was shot before the suspects fled to a store. — LIVE NOW — A New Jersey police officer and three civilians have died after a gun battle was prompted by what is believed …

Discussion: NBC New York, Breaking911, Breitbart, Townhall, Raw Story and Gothamist

NBC New York:

Officer, 5 Others Dead in ‘Ambush’ NJ Active Shooter Situation — Suspects believed to have fired from inside store, law enforcement sources say; all public schools in Jersey City under lockdown into the evening — What to Know — One police officer was killed and two others …

Discussion: CBS New York, New Jersey Online, NPR, News Breaking LIVE, UPI, CBS News and Disrn

New York Times:

Jersey City Shooting Live Updates: 6 Killed, Including an Officer — Two shooters opened fire on Tuesday afternoon at a kosher market. There was “no indication of terrorism.” — RIGHT NOW The slain police officer was identified as Detective Joseph Seals, a longtime veteran and father of five.

Discussion: abc7NY, VICE, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Gothamist

David Porter / Associated Press:
6 killed in New Jersey gunbattle, including police officer

Discussion: abc7NY, The Daily Beast, The Hill, TheBlaze and Mediaite

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:

Giuliani says Trump asked him to brief Justice Dept. and GOP senators on his Ukraine findings — Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer, said Tuesday that the president has asked him to brief the Justice Department and Republican senators on his findings from a recent trip …

Discussion: Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Axios, Raw Story, Mediaite and Daily Kos

Washington Post:

The case for impeachment — The House of Representatives is moving toward a momentous decision about whether to impeach a president for only the third time in U.S. history. The charges brought against President Trump by the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday are clear …

Discussion: The Slot

Simon Shuster / TIME:
Get The Brief. — Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, DemCast, TheBlaze, The Hill and KyivPost

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:

What Pete Buttigieg Says He Did at McKinsey — Last month, a source emailed a colleague of mine with a complicated theory that, the source claimed, proved Pete Buttigieg had been in the CIA. “The American people have the right to know if he was ever an agent or officer,” the person wrote …

Discussion: NBC News, Washington Post, Axios, BuzzFeed News, HuffPost, The Daily Beast, Politico and Daily Kos

New York Times:
How Pete Buttigieg Spent His McKinsey Days: Blue Cross, Best Buy, U.S. Agencies

Discussion: Mic

Elena Schneider / Politico:
Buttigieg releases names of consulting clients

Discussion: Bloomberg, ProPublica, NPR and New York Post

Nick Miroff / Washington Post:

Federal judge blocks Trump plan to spend $3.6 billion in military funds on border wall — A federal judge in El Paso on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration's plan to pay for border barrier construction with $3.6 billion in military funds, ruling that the administration does …

Priscilla Alvarez / CNN:
Federal judge blocks use of billions of dollars in Pentagon funds to build border wall

Discussion: Raw Story

Orion Rummler / Axios:
Judge blocks Trump from using billions in Pentagon funds to build border wall

Discussion: Reuters and One America News Network

CNN:

Growing divide between Trump and McConnell over impeachment trial — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are both looking ahead to the Senate impeachment trial, but there is a growing divide between the two over what that trial should look like, CNN has learned.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The National Interest, Raw Story and Mic

Megan Cassella / Politico:

‘We ate their lunch’: How Pelosi got to ‘yes’ on Trump's trade deal — Nancy Pelosi sat Mexico's top trade negotiator and foreign minister down in her office and gave the two men an ultimatum. — It was late September, and Democrats feared Mexico was not going to implement labor protections mandated …

Discussion: New York Times, ABC News and Vox

Heather Long / Washington Post: Winners and losers in the final USMCA deal

Doug Palmer / Politico: Labor unions win, drug companies lose in new trade deal

Yahoo News:

FBI warned six months ago about loophole Pensacola shooter used to obtain a gun — WASHINGTON — More than six months before the Dec. 6 shooting at a naval base in Pensacola, Fla., where a Saudi gunman used a weapon obtained using a hunting license exemption, the FBI issued a report warning about precisely this loophole.

Discussion: Breitbart, New York Times, CNN and Summit News

Gordon Ahl / Lawfare:

Former FBI Lawyer Lisa Page Sues Justice Department and FBI — On Dec. 10, Lisa Page filed a complaint against the Department of Justice and the FBI for alleged violations of the Privacy Act related to the disclosure of information about her to the media. The document is available here and below.

Discussion: Redstate, Axios, NBC News, HuffPost, CNBC, Mediaite, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, Law & Crime, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, IJR, TheBlaze, CNN, PJ Media Home, Townhall and UPI

David Fahrenthold / Washington Post:

Trump pays $2 million in damages ordered by judge over misuse of charity funds, according to NY attorney general — President Trump has paid $2 million in court-ordered damages for misusing funds in a tax-exempt charity he controlled, the New York Attorney General said Tuesday.

Discussion: NY State Attorney General, Associated Press, NBC News and The American Independent

Chris Mooney / Washington Post:

Greenland's ice losses have septupled and are now in line with its highest sea-level scenario, scientists say — That's according to 26 separate satellite measurements and 89 scientists who have produced them — The Greenland ice sheet's losses have accelerated so fast since the 1990s …

Discussion: UPI, Mic, New York Times and courthousenews.com

Mediaite:

Megan Rapinoe Calls Out Sports Illustrated's Lack of Diversity in Sportsperson of the Year Award Speech — USA Women's Soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe was named Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year on Monday, joining the likes of athletes and teams that have put on stunning displays …

Discussion: Twitchy

Joe Garofoli / San Francisco Chronicle:

Mike Bloomberg wins backing in California and an event with Jerry Brown — Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg makes his first presidential campaign trip Wednesday in California, a state where few people support his White House run, many don't know who he is, and those who do think little of him.

Discussion: The Hill

Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden's baby mama Lunden Roberts has demanded he admit that he was employed by the Burisma, how much money he was paid by the Ukrainian company and that he also received money from a Chinese person or entity — The mother of Hunter Biden's baby has demanded that he admit …

Discussion: Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart and Vanity Fair

Hamed Aleaziz / BuzzFeed News:

US Border Officials Are Issuing Fake Court Notices To Keep Out Immigrants Who Have Won Asylum — On a November day just south of the Texas border, Francisco left the temporary shelter he'd been stuck in for four months to travel to a nearby port of entry in the US.

HuffPost:

Trump May Be ‘So Much Worse’ Than Nixon But Republicans Don't Seem To Care — Nixon used his campaign money to pay for a burglary to cheat, while Trump, according to testimony, used $391 million in congressionally approved military aid. — BEDFORD, N.H. — Richard Nixon used tens of thousands …