memeorandum: Uprising: 90% of Virginia counties become gun ‘sanctuaries,’ expanding movement to nine states (Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner)

11:55 PM ET, December 18, 2019

Top Items:

John Bresnahan / Politico:

Pelosi threatens to delay Senate impeachment trial — Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to commit Wednesday to delivering articles of impeachment to the Senate, citing concerns about an unfair trial on removing President Donald Trump from office. — Senior Democratic aides said the House was …

Discussion: ABC News, Townhall, Vox, Raw Story, Breitbart, NBC News, Vanity Fair, The Hill, Redstate, The Boston Globe, Daily Kos, Conservative Christian News, Axios, Joe.My.God., NPR and POLITICUSUSA

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:

Pelosi says House may withhold impeachment articles, delaying Senate trial — Moments after a historic vote to impeach President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House could at least temporarily withhold the articles from the Senate — a decision, she suggested …

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, The Moderate Voice, Breitbart, National Review and DNyuz

Gabby Orr / Politico:
Impeachment day for Trump: A bruised ego, a Twitter eruption and a winding rally

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

Dareh Gregorian / NBC News: Trump impeached by the House for abuse of power, obstruction of Congress

Robin Givhan / Washington Post:
Nancy Pelosi's pin at the impeachment debate was a declaration: The republic will survive this

Discussion: New York Times and HuffPost

Kamala D. Harris / New York Times:
Will McConnell Let the Senate Hold a Fair Impeachment Trial?

Discussion: Axios and The Hill

ABC News:
Donald Trump becomes 3rd president in US history to be impeached

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Breitbart, NBC News and The Wrap

Washington Post:
Trump is impeached by the House, creating an indelible mark on his presidency

Discussion: Power Line

Justin McCarthy / Gallup:
Trump Approval Inches Up, While Support for Impeachment Dips

ABC News:
House debates historic vote on impeaching President Trump: Live updates

Discussion: Associated Press, HuffPost, The Hill, NBC News, DNyuz, One America News Network, The Daily Beast, Hullabaloo, Vox, HotAir, Twitchy, Reuters, Raw Story, The New Civil Rights Movement and The Guardian

Laura Davison / Bloomberg:
Key Senate Republican Bucks McConnell to Push for Drug Pricing

Discussion: Raw Story

NBC News:
‘We are all mad’: Trump, White House fume as House debates impeachment

Discussion: Vox, AOL.com, POLITICUSUSA, CNN and Joe.My.God.

Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
McCarthy: Trump will still be president after impeachment

Discussion: Vox, Townhall and The Hill

Mark Murray / NBC News:
NBC/WSJ poll: Public remains split on Trump's impeachment and ouster from office

Discussion: The Hill

NBC News:
Live Blog / Live updates: House votes on impeachment of President Trump

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, The Hill, One America News Network, Associated Press, Washington Free Beacon and Contemptor

Aaron Zitner / Wall Street Journal:
Americans Evenly Divided on Trump Removal, WSJ/NBC News Poll Finds

Discussion: DNyuz and Politico

Axios:

Which Democrats voted against Trump's impeachment — Only two House Democrats crossed party lines to vote to oppose both articles of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday. Both of them are feeling the pressure of representing swing districts Trump won in 2016.

Discussion: NBC News and The Philadelphia Inquirer

Scott Bixby / The Daily Beast:

Tulsi Gabbard Votes ‘Present’ in Impeachment Against Trump — The Democrat has missed nearly 90 percent of the votes held in the House of Representatives over the past two months. On Wednesday, she dodged the biggest vote of her career. — As the House of Representatives debated …

Discussion: Reason, BuzzFeed News, Vox, New York Times and Joe.My.God.

Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:
Tulsi Gabbard votes ‘present’ on Trump impeachment articles

Discussion: Fox News, Politico and New York Times

Stephen Rex Brown / New York Daily News:

Surveillance footage outside of Jeffrey Epstein's cell during first suicide attempt is missing — Surveillance footage of the outside of Jeffrey Epstein's cell at the troubled Metropolitan Correctional Center during his first suicide attempt has gone missing, prosecutors revealed Wednesday.

Discussion: DNyuz, Axios, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit and Big League Politics

Betsy Swan / The Daily Beast:

Trump Administration Battles New Sanctions on Russia — On Tuesday, President Trump claimed he was tougher on Russia than his predecessor. At the same time, his subordinates strongly opposed a bill imposing new sanctions on Moscow. — The Trump administration is quietly fighting …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Week

Paul Demko / Politico:

Court voids Obamacare mandate — but not the whole law — Lower court must now reconsider fate of the full statute — A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down Obamacare's individual mandate in a decision that immediately thrusts the health care law to the forefront of the 2020 elections.

Discussion: Raw Story, NBC News, The Root and TheBlaze

Ian Millhiser / Vox:

The Republican judges who were widely expected to kill Obamacare got cold feet — Sometimes, people who stare into the abyss blink. — When Texas v. United States, a lawsuit over Obamacare, was argued last summer, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit appeared determined to repeal the entire law root and branch.

Discussion: National Review

Amy Goldstein / Washington Post: Appeals court rules ACA's individual mandate unconstitutional; lower court to decide whether rest …

Lara Seligman / Foreign Policy:

Pentagon's Policy Chief Under Fire as Senior Officials Head for the Exits — Current and former officials point to John Rood as a major source of frustration in the U.S. Defense Department policy shop. — Three years into U.S. President Donald Trump's administration …

Discussion: Defense News

Ellen Mitchell / The Hill:
Fourth Pentagon official announces resignation within week

Discussion: Axios and Defense News

George T. Conway III / The Atlantic:

Donald Trump Made His Own Impeachment Inevitable — The president's narcissism renders him unable to comply with his duties to the nation. — Lawyer practicing in New York City — As rare as impeachments may be, today's impeachment of Donald Trump, president of the United States …

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation, ABC News and THE LIBERTARIAN VINDICATOR

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Trump is impeached and joins the ‘losers’ of presidential history

Discussion: Raw Story and Vox

Daniel Arkin / NBC News:

Bloomberg says Democratic candidates, including Biden, don't have the right experience — “The presidency shouldn't be a training job,” Bloomberg said. “You need somebody who comes in and knows how to run an organization.” — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and The Hill

Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
Pete Ain't It — The economic argument against Donald Trump …

Discussion: BizPac Review

Associated Press:
2020 Democrats prepare to debate in shadow of impeachment

Discussion: Breitbart

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Envoy to Ukraine Was Asked to Step Aside Ahead of Pompeo Visit — Timing counters earlier suggestions that Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor's precise departure date was predetermined — Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor was instructed by a top aide to Secretary …

Christopher Miller / BuzzFeed News:

Rudy Giuliani Flew To Ukraine On A Budget Flight. But He Left On A Private Jet. — Rudy Giuliani flew to Kyiv on a budget airline when he visited earlier this month — but he left in style, on a private jet. — It was the afternoon of December 4 when Giuliani flew to the Ukrainian capital …

Andrew P. Napolitano / Washington Times:

Trump impeachment: Undisputed evidence that he abused his power — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — The rule of law is a cornerstone of American democracy and is integral to the U.S. Constitution. It stands for the principles that no person is beneath the laws' protections. No person is above the laws' requirements.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill, Raw Story, Hullabaloo and Mediaite

Sarah Quinlan / Arc Digital:

The Plight of #NeverTrump Conservative Women — Not welcome in the Democratic party; don't fit in the Republican party either — “I — can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. It is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine.

Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:

Trump makes 'hell'-acious crack about deceased Rep. John Dingell, wife responds — The president spoke about the former lawmaker at a campaign rally in his home state of Michigan. — President Donald Trump made a macabre quip about late Democratic Rep. John Dingell at his rally in Michigan …

Discussion: Detroit News, Associated Press, Vox, Politico and Bloomberg

CREW:

Trump Hotel Room Prices Spiked 13x Last Weekend. We Finally Know Why. — In November, we noticed a mysterious spike in the price of available rooms at Trump's DC hotel for a Saturday night in December. The minimum cost was 13 times the average, but we couldn't identify a reason for the spike …

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

Michael Goodwin / New York Post:

Nancy Pelosi's stomach-turning impeachment charade damages America — It is said there are two things you should never watch being made: sausage and government budgets. — Now we can add impeachment to the list of stomach-turning sights to avoid. — The arcane rules …

Discussion: DNyuz and The Gateway Pundit

Joe Biden:

Statement from Vice President Joe Biden on the Rise of Anti-Semitism and the Battle for the Soul of This Nation — Across America, and around the globe, the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism is shredding the fabric of our communities, tearing apart the lives of innocent people and their families, and eroding the soul of our nation.

Discussion: New York Times and Breitbart

Noah Berlatsky / NBC News:
Is Bernie Sanders anti-Semitic? Why new right-wing smears are the real anti-Semitism

Discussion: The Guardian, alicublog, The French Press, The Forward and Mondoweiss

Phil McCausland / NBC News:

USDA tariff tracker removes Wakanda, fictional home of Black Panther, as free trade partner — There were hundreds of U.S. Department of Agriculture data inputs for Wakanda, a nation that first appeared in the July 1966 Marvel comic Fantastic Four #52. — Wakanda's free trade agreement with the United States wasn't forever.

Discussion: The Independent, UPI, New York Post and The Guardian

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Uprising: 90% of Virginia counties become gun ‘sanctuaries,’ expanding movement to nine states — Stirred awake by Democratic proposals to take, register, and possibly seize their legally obtained weapons, Virginia gun owners in just 43 days have pushed 90% of the state's counties to become gun …

Discussion: Power Line and Breitbart

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:

The Stain of Impeachment Will Last Forever — Later today, Donald Trump will become just the third president in American history to be impeached. — Because this outcome has been inevitable since at least late October, and because there is no practical prospect of the Senate voting …