memeorandum: North Korea conducts another test at long-range rocket site (Kim Tong-hyung/Associated Press)

11:10 AM ET, December 14, 2019

Top Items:

Melania Trump's indefensible defense of her bully husband — There is a classic dodge that bullies can be relied to fall back on when they abuse someone who is smaller and weaker than they are. — He (or she) asked for it. — First lady Melania Trump, it appears, subscribes to that defense of the indefensible as well.

Discussion: The Guardian, Sputnik News, New York Times, Raw Story, Townhall, HuffPost, Watts Up With That?, The Wrap, Vanity Fair and Occupy Democrats

Bess Levin / Vanity Fair:

Melania Trump Thinks Greta Thunberg Had POTUS Attack Coming — Apparently speaking out against climate change means the 16 year-old should expect to be mocked by world leaders. — Earlier this week, Donald Trump, who is very busy and important, took some time out of his schedule to attack a 16-year-old girl.

Discussion: KTLA, Sputnik News and Associated Press

James Mills / Daily Mail:

Greta Thunberg tells cheering crowd ‘we will make sure we put world leaders against the wall’ if they do not tackle global warming as she attends climate protest in Turin — Greta Thunberg told cheering protesters today ‘we will make sure we put world leaders against the wall’ if they fail to take urgent action on climate change.

Discussion: Breitbart

Sky Palma / Raw Story: Melania justifies Trump's bullying of Greta Thunberg: She's ‘an activist who travels the globe’

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:

What the U.K. Election Does (and Doesn't) Teach Democrats — A small island nation governed by a constitutional monarchy — where voters consider the concept of government mail delivery borderline communistic, and socialized medicine common sense — held an election on Thursday.

Discussion: Washington Post, PJ Media Home, CNN and DNyuz

Harold Meyerson / American Prospect:

Et Tu, U.K.? — Labour's wipeout in yesterday's British election highlights the transnational defection of the white working class and deepens the global crisis of the social democratic left. — Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with workers during a visit to Wilton Engineering Services …

New York Times:

Labour's Crushing Loss in Britain Adds to ‘Too Far Left?’ Debate in U.S. — Centrist Democrats portrayed Boris Johnson's victory as a warning sign for the American election. Progressives said there were few similarities between the two political races. — Former Vice President Joseph …

Discussion: CNN, Politico, NBC News and Commentary

Andrew Sullivan / New York Magazine:
Boris Johnson Is Showing Western Politicians How to Win

Discussion: Washington Post, alicublog, New York Times, Mother Jones and Marginal REVOLUTION

Washington Post:

On impeachment, Democrats can put Republicans on defense. Here's how. — When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blithely suggested on Fox News that he will conduct the Senate impeachment trial in full collusion with President Trump's legal team, he handed Democrats a big opening.

Discussion: Redstate, Raw Story, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Spectator USA, Occupy Democrats and Fox News

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

McConnell, Coordinating With White House, Lays Plans for Impeachment Trial — Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, said he was taking his cues from the White House. Democrats are outraged. — WASHINGTON — With the House headed to a vote to impeach President Trump next week …

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo

Alexandra Hutzler / Newsweek:
Ethics Experts Slam Trump For Promoting Mar-A-Lago Resort As The ‘Southern White House’: 'It's An Abuse of Power'

Discussion: Hullabaloo

New York Times:

Wisconsin Judge Says State Must Purge 200,000 Voter Registrations — The decision, which was derided by Democrats, comes in a fight to win Wisconsin in the 2020 presidential election. — Three years ago, fewer than 23,000 votes handed Donald J. Trump a crucial victory in Wisconsin …

Discussion: WILL vs Wisconsin …

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Judge orders state to purge more than 200,000 Wisconsin voters from the rolls … (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) — PORT WASHINGTON - An Ozaukee County judge on Friday ordered the state to remove hundreds of thousands of people from Wisconsin's voter rolls because they may have moved.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Tallahassee Democrat and Real Clear Politics

Scott Bauer / Associated Press:
Wisconsin judge: 234K voter registrations should be tossed

Discussion: The Hill

CNN:

Former Breitbart Editor: Stephen Miller is a white supremacist. I know, I was one too. — (CNN)She was already a racist when she took a publishing job in Washington, DC. But when she became a reporter for Breitbart News, Katie McHugh says she was taken to new depths of hate with the help of Stephen Miller.

Tim Craig / Washington Post:

Democrats plan ‘unprecedented’ effort to flip state legislative chambers in 2020 state races — National Democratic leaders, backed by activist groups formed in response to President Trump's election, are planning an unprecedented push to flip legislative chambers in at least seven states next year …

Discussion: Axios and The Hill

New York Times:

A Great Big Gift Not on Trump's Disclosure Form: Giuliani's Legal Advice — For the past 20 months, President Trump has received free personal legal services from one of America's highest-paid lawyers, who has traveled around the country and across the ocean to defend him in the special counsel's inquiry …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

The Breach Widens as Congress Nears a Partisan Impeachment — Fleeting efforts at persuasion by members of the Judiciary Committee gave way to disputes over basic facts during a marathon debate over articles of impeachment. — WASHINGTON — It was the rarest of moments in the nation's capital …

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post: Fact-based impeachment can't penetrate the pro-Trump Web

Hayley Richardson / Daily Mail:

What is the secret of Hillary Clinton's strangely plumped-up-cheeks? Fillers could be behind more youthful look — Hillary Clinton looked wonderfully youthful at an event on Broadway in New York last night - and aesthetic experts suggest it could be down to regular ‘tweakments’ and cosmetic procedures.

Discussion: PJ Media Home, The Gateway Pundit, Althouse and Instapundit

Pete Williams / NBC News:

Supreme Court agrees to consider whether Trump's tax records should be released — By granting review of these cases now, the justices made it possible for them to be heard during the current court term. — WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear President Donald Trump's appeal …

Discussion: Redstate, Politico, his vorpal sword, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, DNyuz, Slate and Disrn

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Supreme Court to Rule on Release of Trump's Financial Records

Discussion: Washington Post, HotAir, Bloomberg, Axios and Lawyers, Guns & Money

William Saletan / Slate:

Barr Is Trying to Erase the Truth — In December 2018, President Donald Trump nominated William Barr to be his attorney general. Trump wanted Barr to bury the Russia investigation, and in April, Barr did just that. Brushing aside the evidence compiled by special counsel Robert Mueller …

Kim Tong-hyung / Associated Press:

North Korea conducts another test at long-range rocket site — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Saturday that it successfully performed another “crucial test” at its long-range rocket launch site that will further strengthen its nuclear deterrent.

Discussion: Politico

Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:

Dear Mitch, here is how the president's impeachment trial should go — Thank you so much for being so extremely willing to coordinate with us here at the President's Team! Whatever it is that has made you entirely alter your position about how much power the Senate has to check the president since, uh, 2016, we appreciate you!

New York Times:

‘Mayors for Mike’: How Bloomberg's Money Built a 2020 Political Network — Michael Bloomberg is relying on powerful city leaders as allies in his presidential campaign. Several have received grants, training and support packages totaling millions from his foundation.

Associated Press:

AP Exclusive: China tightens up on info after Xinjiang leaks — The Xinjiang regional government in China's far west is deleting data, destroying documents, tightening controls on information and has held high-level meetings in response to leaks of classified papers on its mass detention camps …

Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:

How Biden Kept Screwing Up Iraq—Over and Over and Over Again — BLOOD AND MALARKEY — Biden didn't just vote to authorize the Iraq war for “peace and security.” He got it wrong at every stage, from invasion to occupation to a withdrawal that led to ISIS' rise.

Kate Irby / Fresno Bee:

How is Devin Nunes paying for his many lawsuits? — Rep. Devin Nunes' critics have obsessed over how he is paying for the six lawsuits he filed this year, but there are no public records showing how he has paid his Virginia lawyer. — That means Nunes is either paying for the lawsuits …

Discussion: Raw Story

Dave Goldiner / New York Daily News:

Staten Island Rep. Max Rose backs impeachment of Trump — Rep. Max Rose (D-Staten Island) announced Friday he will vote to impeach President Trump. — The moderate first-term Democrat, who had resisted backing the impeachment investigation, said he has seen enough evidence to support impeaching Trump.

Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:
One House Democrat goes on record opposing Trump impeachment

Discussion: U.S. Congressman Max Rose, Breitbart and MSNBC

Luke Rosiak / The Daily Caller:

DOJ Refuses To Release Records On Imran Awan, Citing ‘Technical Difficulties’ And A Secret Case, Court Docs Show — Judicial Watch sued the Department of Justice for records about former Democratic cybersecurity aide Imran Awan in order to square evidence of wrongdoing with prosecutors' decision …

Discussion: Redstate

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

High court fallout — It wasn't always so easy for county governments to make electoral changes that reduced voting access. — In 2013, the Supreme Court split 5-4 along ideological lines, ruling that Georgia and eight other states with a history of discrimination no longer …

Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:

Fox News Host Jesse Watters Called Out by Women's Groups Over ‘Richard Jewell’ Remarks — On ‘The Five,’ the host claimed that female journalists sleep with their sources to get stories “all the time.” — As co-host of the sometimes-rowdy daily talk show The Five on Fox News …

Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:

Icy silence, frayed connections: Impeachment takes a toll — WASHINGTON (AP) — The most raucous committee in Congress sat stone-faced, barely speaking. — One by one, the members around the Judiciary Committee dais voted on the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.

Discussion: The Hill

Barbara Rodriguez / Des Moines Register:

DOJ investigating allegations of ‘sexual arousal studies’ at Iowa facility for people with disabilities — The federal government is investigating allegations of “sexual arousal studies” and other human subject experiments being conducted at a state institution where people …

Discussion: New York Times and The Hill