memeorandum: Democrats seek Bolton, Mulvaney for impeachment trial (Associated Press)

8:40 PM ET, December 15, 2019

Top Items:

Freshman Democrats push for Amash as impeachment manager — A private campaign is underway to draft Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) as an impeachment manager in the Senate trial of President Trump, a bid to diversify House Democrats' appeal to voters with a rare conservative voice.

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, The Hill, Axios, Mediaite, Raw Story and Eschaton

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Schumer's opening pitch for the Senate impeachment trial — On Sunday night, Chuck Schumer made his opening bid to Mitch McConnell in the two leaders' negotiations over the Senate impeachment trial. — Driving the news: Schumer has sent a letter to McConnell in which he asks the Republican leader …

Discussion: CNN, DNyuz, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite

emptywheel:

Why Justin Amash Should Be an Impeachment Manager — I'm sitting about six blocks from one of Gerald Ford's childhood homes. That means I live in a city with an outsized role in America's history with impeachment. Since the time I've lived in this city, our Federal Building added a sign reading …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Senate Dems ask that Mick Mulvaney and John Bolton testify at impeachment trial — Chuck Schumer has made his opening offer to Mitch McConnell about the impending Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. And the Democratic leader is driving a hard bargain.

Discussion: Raw Story

Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Trump's Senate trial is rigged, but a Watergate hero has an idea for saving impeachment — After feeding page after page of the U.S. Constitution into a paper shredder as he denied America's first black president his right to even a hearing on his Supreme Court pick while holding …

Discussion: Vox, CBS News and NBC News

Leigh Ann Caldwell / NBC News: Schumer proposes Bolton, Mulvaney testify in Senate impeachment trial

CNN:
Schiff indicates he would like witnesses called and documents introduced in Senate impeachment trial

Discussion: Mediaite, Rolling Stone and The Daily Caller

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Don't worry, Sen. Graham. No one thought you'd be fair.

Discussion: New York Post, Raw Story and The Daily Beast

The Bulwark: How A Small Group of Senators Can Shape the Impeachment Trial and Vindicate the Constitutional Order

Allan Smith / NBC News:
Schiff: I ‘hope to hell’ I'd impeach Obama if he did the same as Trump

Discussion: The Hill

Associated Press: Democrats seek Bolton, Mulvaney for impeachment trial

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Republicans aim to avoid war with White House over impeachment strategy

Discussion: Axios and One America News Network

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Trump job approval ticks up, views on impeachment steady — Weeks of congressional hearings and debate have failed to move the electorate on impeachment, according to the latest Fox News Poll. At the same time, approval of President Trump's job performance has climbed three points.

Discussion: Redstate, POLITICUSUSA, The Hill, Slate, Talking Points Memo, DNyuz, Mother Jones, Mediaite and New York Post

William Cummings / USA Today:

Trump trails all top Democrats, half of voters favor impeachment, Fox News poll says — About half of registered voters say that President Donald Trump should be removed from office and that if he survives the impeachment effort, he'll have a tough time beating the Democratic candidate in the 2020 election …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Fox News and DNyuz

Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:

Trump goes after Pelosi's teeth as the House gears up for impeachment vote — President Trump opened a new, dental front Sunday in his periodic feuding with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, suggesting on Twitter that her teeth were falling out as she answered a reporter's question about why bribery was not made an article of impeachment.

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite and Occupy Democrats

Elizabeth Drew / New York Times:
The Impeachment Process Is Barely Functioning

Discussion: Washington Post

Benjamin Fearnow / Newsweek:
Fox News Poll: 54 Percent of Americans Say Trump Should Be Impeached

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, Mother Jones, Occupy Democrats and Raw Story

Connor Mannion / Mediaite:
Trump Goes on Wild Rant Demanding Fox News Remains ‘Pro-Trump’: 'How's Shep Doing?'

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Hill and Slate

David Edwards / Raw Story: Support for impeachment climbs to 54 percent in Fox News poll after Trump pitches fit over previous poll

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Biden still leads Democratic race as Warren drops

Discussion: CNN

Rebecca Rosenberg / Page Six:

Harvey Weinstein: I deserve pat on back when it comes to women — More than 80 women have accused him of sex assault or harassment — but for Harvey Weinstein, it's still all about himself. — The alleged serial sex predator and disgraced Hollywood producer whined to The Post …

Discussion: Deadline, TMZ.com, Variety, Law & Crime, The Wrap and IndieWire, more at Mediagazer »

Stephanie Farr / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

West Point investigating hand symbol with possible links to white power used by cadets during Army-Navy game — West Point is investigating a hand gesture made by several cadets and midshipmen during an ESPN pre-game broadcast at the Army-Navy game Saturday after clips of the signals went viral …

Discussion: New York Times, Twitchy, Redstate, Breitbart, Big League Politics, Occupy Democrats and DNyuz

Dennis Romero / NBC News:
Military investigates possible white power signs flashed by students during Army-Navy telecast

Discussion: Redstate, NB Blog, The Daily Caller, Slate, Occupy Democrats, Raw Story, BizPac Review, Althouse, USA Today and Wall Street Journal

Sarah Ferris / Politico:

Staff exodus in Van Drew office after party switch — Five senior aides to Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey resigned on Sunday as the lawmaker formally prepared to switch parties, stating they were “deeply saddened and disappointed by his decision.” — The aides in Van Drew's Washington office wrote …

Discussion: Redstate, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, PJ Media Home and Breitbart

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:

GOP's Toomey says USMCA agreement diminishes free trade — The Republican calls deal with Congressional Democrats a “complete capitulation.” — WASHINGTON — Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., warned his fellow Republicans Sunday that the bipartisan replacement to the North American Free Trade Agreement represents …

Discussion: DNyuz, One America News Network and Politico

Emma Newburger / CNBC: US trade representative says phase-one trade deal is ‘totally done’ and will double exports to China in two years

Benjamin Fearnow / Newsweek:

Lindsey Graham's Democratic Challenger Nearly Tied in Heavily-Republican South Carolina, Poll Shows — Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is statistically tied with Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, with the staunch pro-Trump incumbent seeing his favorability ratings plummet among independent voters.

Discussion: DNyuz

New York Times:

U.S. Secretly Expelled Chinese Officials Suspected of Spying After Breach of Military Base — Chinese Embassy officials trespassed onto a Virginia base that is home to Special Operations forces. Their expulsions added to tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Discussion: The Independent, Mother Jones, DNyuz, WTKR-TV and Reuters

ABC News:

Bloomberg's sexist remarks fostered company culture that degraded women, lawsuits allege — Bloomberg allegedly told employee who had just announced pregnancy to “kill it.” — Mike Bloomberg has on repeated occasions faced and fought allegations that he directed crude and sexist comments …

Elaina Plott / The Atlantic:

What Does Tucker Carlson Believe? — Tucker Carlson does not think he is an “especially” good person. He knows he can “get mad” and “make a mistake,” that he can “overstate” things as a result of getting “caught up” in his own rhetoric. He also knows he can sometimes get “self-righteous …

Discussion: Big League Politics and Mediaite

Wall Street Journal:

Boeing Weighs Cutting or Halting 737 MAX Production — Management of aerospace giant sees an output pause as most viable option, as fleet grounding stretches into 2020 — Boeing Co. BA -1.33% is considering either halting or further cutting production of the 737 MAX amid growing uncertainty …

Discussion: Bloomberg

Valerie Richardson / Washington Times:

Rand Paul fears impeachment will ‘dumb down and destroy the country’ — Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, said Sunday he worried that the Democratic effort to impeach President Trump would “dumb down and destroy the country.” — He characterized the push to remove Mr. Trump from office as a …

Discussion: The Hill