memeorandum: Nothing could be more conclusive proof of Trump's guilt (Jennifer Rubin/Washington Post)

12:50 PM ET, December 12, 2019

Top Items:

William Barr is unfit to be attorney general — Eric H. Holder Jr., a Democrat, was U.S. attorney general from 2009 to 2015. — As a former U.S. attorney general, I am reluctant to publicly criticize my successors. I respect the office and understand just how tough the job can be.

Discussion: National Review, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, CNN, IJR, Axios, NBC News, The Hill, Fox News, HuffPost, Law & Crime, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Washington Monthly and The Editorial Board

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Of course the FBI spied on the Trump campaign — The great debate about whether the FBI spied on the Trump campaign continues. The question is why there is still any argument. The newly-released report from Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz shows that by any definition the FBI did indeed spy.

CNN:
FBI agents warn of ‘chilling effect’ from Trump and Barr attacks

Discussion: Redstate

CNN:

2 GOP senators say McConnell will move to acquit Trump, not merely dismiss charges — (CNN)Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to hold a final vote to acquit President Donald Trump should he be impeached, when a majority of senators believe his trial has run its course instead …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Daily Kos and Vanity Fair

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Nothing could be more conclusive proof of Trump's guilt — When you say someone has “no case,” it is usually meant figuratively, as in “they have a weak legal or factual position.” In the case of President Trump, Senate Republicans are making it clear that he literally has no case, no defense.

Discussion: Bloomberg

The Economist: A plurality of Americans—but not of states—want Donald Trump impeached

Jake Sherman / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Do Democrats have a Plan B?

more at Mediagazer »

Burgess Everett / Politico: Trump tightens grips on judges as McConnell wins 50th Circuit pick

Washington Post:
Senate Republicans look to hold short impeachment trial despite Trump's desire for an aggressive defense

Discussion: NBC News, Associated Press, Politico, The Hill, CNN, Axios, The Root, CNBC, One America News Network, The American Independent, Bangor Daily News and Raw Story

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Report: Trump's Ukraine Extortion Scheme Was Financed by Russia — President Trump is facing impeachment primarily for abusing his power for political gain, extorting a foreign country to discredit his political rivals. The secondary aspect of the plot is that the target of his extortion is hardly random.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and New York Times

Wall Street Journal:

Giuliani's Partnership With Fraud Guarantee Revealed in Letter — A 2018 investor letter offers new clues about the work Rudy Giuliani was hired to do for Fraud Guarantee, a company founded by his now-indicted associates Lev Parnas and David Correia. The letter has been handed over to the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan.

Christian Berthelsen / Bloomberg:
Giuliani Ally Parnas Got $1 Million From Russia, U.S. Says

Discussion: Letters from an American, Contemptor, New York Times, Fox News, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite and Daily Kos

David Smith / The Guardian:

Fox host lambasts Trump over ‘most sustained assault on press freedom in US history’ — Chris Wallace, admired for breaking ranks with some in the conservative network, drew applause with most stinging critique yet — A leading host on Fox News, a conservative network notorious for its loyalty …

Discussion: Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and Deadline

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:

Fox's Chris Wallace: Trump is ‘Engaged in the Most Direct, Sustained Assault on Freedom of the Press in Our History’ — Fox News anchor Chris Wallace called out President Donald Trump's attacks on the press in a speech at the Newseum in Washington D.C. Friday night.

Alexander Mallin / ABC News:

DOJ charges 10 former NFL players in alleged health care fraud scheme — The scheme involved over $3.9 million in false health care claims. — The Department of Justice announced charges Thursday against 10 former NFL players over an alleged scheme to defraud millions of dollars from the league's health care benefits program.

Discussion: Associated Press and One America News Network

U.S. Department of Justice:
Ten Former NFL Players Charged in Alleged Nationwide Fraud on Health Care Benefit Program for Retired NFL Players

Discussion: Sports Illustrated and The Daily Beast

ABC News:

President Trump considering adding controversial lawyer Alan Dershowitz to impeachment legal team: Sources — Donald Trump is gearing up for his impeachment defense in the Senate. — Gearing up for an impeachment trial in the Senate, President Donald Trump and his top advisers …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Slot, The Hill, Mediaite and Raw Story

Courier-Journal:

Bevin pardons include convicted killer whose brother hosted campaign fundraiser for him — The family of a man pardoned by Gov. Matt Bevin for a homicide and other crimes in a fatal 2014 Knox County home invasion raised $21,500 at a political fundraiser last year to retire debt from Bevin's 2015 gubernatorial campaign.

Discussion: The American Independent, Raw Story and The Hill

Rebecca Traister / The Cut:

Can You Spot the Fake? Hint: Look at the pundits. — The week before the last Democratic primary debate of 2019, a panel of pundits on MSNBC's Morning Joe gathered to make an explicit critique of one of the candidates. Citing a “whiff of fraudulence,” political writer John Heilemann talked …

Discussion: Washington Post

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Why Is Everyone Sleeping on Joe Biden?

Discussion: Washington Post

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine: Hunter Biden Is the New Hillary Clinton Email Server

NBC News:

Pentagon watchdog plans to review award of $400M border wall contract to firm touted by Trump — Fisher Sand & Gravel has been publicly and privately endorsed to build the wall by members of the Trump administration, including the president himself. — WASHINGTON — The Defense Department's …

Discussion: Associated Press and ABC News

Elizabeth Findell / Wall Street Journal: Construction of Texas Border Wall Stalls Over Fights With Landowners

Allan Smith / NBC News:

Trump mocks Greta Thunberg after she wins Time Person of the Year — “So ridiculous,” Trump tweeted. “Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!” — Trump mocks Time's Person of the Year on Twitter

Discussion: Associated Press, CNN and Talking Points Memo

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump mocks 16-year-old Greta Thunberg a day after she is named Time's Person of the Year

Discussion: The Bulwark, New York Times, Vox and Common Dreams

New York Times:

Democrats Will Debate Four More Times in January and February — The Democratic National Committee announced the next set of primary debates. One will be held in each of the early-voting states. — Democratic presidential candidates will debate four times in January and February …

Adam Edelman / NBC News:
NBC News, MSNBC to host February Democratic debate in Las Vegas

Discussion: Axios, Gizmodo, The Hill and MSNBC, more at Mediagazer »

Melanie Zanona / Politico:

Republican lawmaker asks Lindsey Graham to ‘rethink’ Senate's impeachment strategy — “It is urgent we fight fire with fire,” said Rep. Jim Banks. — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham. J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo — Rep. Jim Banks is calling on fellow Republican …

Discussion: Instapundit

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Pence rejects calls to declassify new impeachment testimony

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and NBC News

New York Times:

An Inside Look at the Impeachment Case's Most Intriguing Moments — Members of the House granted The New York Times rare access to photograph their impeachment preparations. — Some of the most intriguing moments in the impeachment fight on Capitol Hill take place in private …

Washington Post:
House Democrats brace for some defections among moderates on impeachment of Trump

Discussion: New York Times, The Independent, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Politico, Althouse, Denver Post, ABC News, POLITICUSUSA, CNN, Redstate and The Hill

Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:

Elizabeth Warren Draws Sharp Contrasts With Rivals in New Hampshire Speech — Ms. Warren, who has ramped up her criticism of her presidential opponents after months of avoiding conflict, issued another rebuke Thursday in a speech about the economy and corruption.

Discussion: The Hill and Contemptor

Katherine Clarke / Wall Street Journal:

Lachlan Murdoch Sets L.A. Record by Paying $150 Million for a Château-Style Mansion — Once listed for $350 million, the Bel-Air estate of late media tycoon A. Jerrold Perenchio is the second priciest home ever to have traded in the U.S. — Lachlan Murdoch, media executive and son …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight and Mediaite

Tim Miller / The Bulwark:

If Trump Is a Unique Danger Why Aren't Democrats Acting Like It? — Crisis. An existential threat to our democracy. A mortal danger. A White Supremacist. Emergency — This is what President Trump's opponents on the left say they believe about the current administration.

Discussion: National Review and Raw Story

Wall Street Journal:

GOP Poll: Kobach Would Win Kansas Senate Primary, Unless Pompeo Jumps In — Internal Republican polling shows Kris Kobach trouncing the current GOP primary field for an open U.S. Senate seat Kansas, but losing by double digits to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, should he jump into the race.

Discussion: Bloomberg, FiveThirtyEight and The Hill

Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:

The False Romance of Russia — Sherwood Eddy was a prominent American missionary as well as that now rare thing, a Christian socialist. In the 1920s and '30s, he made more than a dozen trips to the Soviet Union. He was not blind to the problems of the U.S.S.R., but he also found much to like.

Discussion: Raw Story

Nikki Haley / Washington Post:

My position on the Confederate flag has been constant. Our country's culture has changed. — Nikki Haley, a Republican, was governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 through 2018. — Four years ago, the removal …

Discussion: Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos and The Hill

Michael Wines / New York Times:

In a Turnabout, Kentucky to Give Voting Rights to 100,000 Former Felons — The state's new Democratic governor has said he will restore rights to many former felons, easing one of the nation's strictest policies. Iowa would be alone in barring voting by all felons.

John F. Harris / Politico:

What if Trump Weren't Nuts? — A moment when the president of the United States is on the verge of being impeached and also enacting a major bipartisan trade agreement is a good time to ponder the question: What if Donald Trump were not, um, you know ... what is the phrase we are groping for?