memeorandum: GOP Sen. Collins of Maine launches reelection bid (David Sharp/Associated Press)

12:00 PM ET, December 18, 2019

Top Items:

Donald J. Trump / The White House:

Letter from President Donald J. Trump to the Speaker of the House of Representatives — Speaker of the House of Representatives — Dear Madam Speaker: — I write to express my strongest and most powerful protest against the partisan impeachment crusade being pursued by the Democrats in the House of Representatives.

Discussion: Sara A. Carter, Reason, THE LIBERTARIAN VINDICATOR, No More Mister Nice Blog, PolitiFact, Deadline and BizPac Review

Natasha Bertrand / Politico:

Trump presents his own impeachment defense — On the eve of his likely impeachment, President Donald Trump has opted to act as his own defense lawyer. — In a six-page, stream-of-consciousness diatribe sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and released by the White House on Tuesday afternoon …

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Breitbart, Florida Politics, The Week, Raw Story, NBC News, Axios, The Hill, One America News Network and New York Times

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

It is hard to capture how bizarre and frightening Trump's letter to Pelosi is — On the eve of his impeachment, a stain that obviously torments him more than his enablers have let on, President Trump issued a rambling, unhinged and lie-filled letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Discussion: USA Today, New York Magazine, Althouse, HuffPost and Raw Story

Matthew Choi / Politico:

Trump impeachment: What time is the vote? — Wednesday will be a historic day. — The House will vote to impeach a president of the United States for only the third time in history. It's been a tumultuous journey to get to this point and is sure to lead to blockbuster moments.

Discussion: Townhall, NBC News, Joe.My.God. and Breitbart

Houston Chronicle:

Americans are counting on Senate for full and fair trial of Donald Trump [Editorial] — The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Wednesday, for only the third time in our nation's history, to approve articles of impeachment accusing a president of “high crimes and misdemeanors” that could warrant his removal from office.

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Trump on the brink of impeachment

Discussion: ABC News, New York Times, NBC News and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:
Read Trump's Letter to Pelosi Protesting Impeachment

Discussion: Press Watch, The Bulwark, Washington Post, The Resurgent, Bad News, Raw Story, HuffPost and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:
Trump Wanted to Get Something Off His Chest, and in His Letter to Pelosi He Did

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Washington Post, The Hill and Raw Story

Quint Forgey / Politico:
‘Say a PRAYER’: Trump pleads innocence hours before impeachment

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post and NBC News

CNN:
Fact check: Trump's wild letter to Pelosi is filled with false and misleading claims

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and John Solomon Reports

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:
Trump appears resilient as he faces the ‘very ugly word’ of impeachment

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Associated Press and Hullabaloo

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

Judge dismisses New York state criminal charges against ex-Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort on double jeopardy grounds — A judge on Wednesday dismissed New York state criminal charges filed against Paul Manafort, the fallen Republican lobbyist who had served as President Donald Trump's campaign chief in 2016.

Discussion: Axios, Joe.My.God. and Contemptor

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:

Judge while sentencing Trump campaign aide: 'If people don't have the facts, democracy doesn't work' — Washington (CNN)Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson took several minutes during her sentencing of top Mueller cooperator Rick Gates on Tuesday to comment on the Russia investigation …

Discussion: emptywheel and Patterico's Pontifications

Jan Ransom / New York Times:

State Charges Against Manafort Dismissed by Judge in New York — A judge threw out state charges against Paul J. Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairman, on Wednesday, dealing a setback to efforts by the Manhattan district attorney to ensure Mr. Manafort will still face prison …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Raw Story and ABC News

Associated Press:

Judge tosses Paul Manafort's fraud case in New York — A judge has thrown out Paul Manafort's New York mortgage fraud case on double jeopardy grounds — NEW YORK — A judge on Wednesday threw out Paul Manafort's New York mortgage fraud case on double jeopardy grounds.

Discussion: NBC News and The Hill

Louise Boyle / Daily Mail:

BREAKING NEWS: Paul Manafort has New York state fraud prosecution DISMISSED because of ‘double jeopardy’ - opening way for Donald Trump to set him free with a pardon — Manhattan judge rules that state attorney general Letitia James' attempt to prosecute disgraced Trump campaign chairman is invalid

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Politico, Fox News and The Daily Caller

Justin McCarthy / Gallup:

Trump Approval Inches Up, While Support for Impeachment Dips — WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump's job approval rating has inched up again and is now at 45%. The president's ratings have increased six percentage points since the House of Representatives opened an impeachment inquiry against him in the fall.

Discussion: The Hill, Redstate, The Federalist, CNN, Breitbart, Joe.My.God. and Washington Times

Maggie Severns / Politico:

Buttigieg omitted high-powered bundlers from disclosure — Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign omitted more than 20 high-level fundraisers from a list of top bundlers it disclosed last week. — The public list of bundlers, featuring more than 100 people who have raised at least $25,000 for Buttigieg …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, The Hill, New York Times and Fox News

Michael Kruse / Politico: How Harvard Made Pete Buttigieg the Moderate That Progressives Love to Hate

Anna Palmer / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Impeachment Day. Here's how it will go down.

Discussion: The Daily Beast and HuffPost

Julian Sanchez / New York Times:

The Chilling Reality of Bias at the F.B.I. — Americans deserve a stronger assurance than “hope” that their Fourth Amendment rights are being respected. — Mr. Sanchez is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. — The F.B.I.'s investigation of the former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page …

Debra Heine / American Greatness:
Nunes Calls for the FISA Court to be Shut Down: It's ‘Culpable in this Madness’

Discussion: Fox News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and TheBlaze

Pete Williams / NBC News:
Secret FISA Court issues highly unusual public rebuke of FBI for mistakes

Discussion: The Root, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit and Associated Press

David Sharp / Associated Press:

GOP Sen. Collins of Maine launches reelection bid — FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2019, file photo, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is surrounded by reporters as she heads to vote at the Capitol in Washington. U.S. Sen. Collins officially launched her bid for a reelection Wednesday, Dec. 18 …

Discussion: Politico, HuffPost, The Hill, Joe.My.God., Axios and The Week

James Arkin / Politico:
Susan Collins will run for reelection in Maine

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Chantal Da Silva / Newsweek:

Trump Urged To Resign Before Impeachment Vote: ‘It Would Be The Most Shared Tweet Of All Time’ — As President Donald Trump faces impeachment in a historic vote likely to take place on Wednesday, Democrats are reminding the U.S. leader that there is still another way forward: resigning.

CNN:

Hundreds of Obama alumni endorse Elizabeth Warren — (CNN)Hundreds of veterans of Barack Obama's campaigns and administration have signed on to endorse Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president, as multiple Democratic presidential candidates compete to claim the popular former president's political coalition and legacy.

Discussion: Axios

Justin Wise / The Hill:

Trump intervened to cut Puerto Rico's Medicaid funding in spending bill: report — President Trump reportedly intervened to slash billions of dollars worth of Medicaid funding the federal government was preparing to allocate to Puerto Rico as part of a new $1.4 trillion spending package.

Discussion: Politico

Rachana Pradhan / Politico:
Trump slashed Puerto Rico's Medicaid money as part of budget deal

Discussion: The American Independent, Daily Kos and Axios

Peter Beinart / The Forward:

Of Course They're Accusing Bernie Sanders Of Anti-Semitism - Because He Supports Palestinians — Given Bernie Sanders' endurance as a top-tier presidential contender, and his support for Palestinian rights, it was almost inevitable that conservatives would start labelling his campaign anti-Semitic.

Discussion: National Review, Mondoweiss and Coffee House

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:

Democrats block GOP motion to adjourn — Minutes after the House floor opened Wednesday, Republicans called for a motion to adjourn the House for the day, and they called for a roll call vote. — Democrats blocked the motion in a 226-188 vote. — Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz. …

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller and MSNBC

Wil S. Hylton / The Atlantic:

History's Largest Mining Operation Is About to Begin — Unless you are given to chronic anxiety or suffer from nihilistic despair, you probably haven't spent much time contemplating the bottom of the ocean. Many people imagine the seabed to be a vast expanse of sand, but it's a jagged …

Danny Hakim / New York Times:

Inside Wayne LaPierre's Battle for the N.R.A. — How an internal power struggle, a New York State investigation and accusations of fraud and betrayal on all sides have left the longtime leader of the gun-rights organization reeling. — Wayne LaPierre was sitting in a chair with his hands over his ears, looking straight down.

Discussion: The Crime Report

FiveThirtyEight:

Most Americans Think There's Enough Evidence To Impeach Trump — The House of Representatives is on the brink of making President Trump the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. It will likely be a deeply divided vote, too, as no Republicans voted in favor of either of the two articles …

Discussion: The American Independent

Mark Sherman / Associated Press:

Justices could limit job bias lawsuits against churches — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will consider expanding protections for churches against job-discrimination claims. — The justices agreed to review two cases in which a federal appeals court allowed discrimination lawsuits …

Discussion: NBC News

The Daily Beast:

Rudy Giuliani—and Russia—Pay Close Attention to This Ukrainian Conspiracy-Peddler — Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach's wild theories are easily disproved—but that hasn't stopped them from gaining traction with the top tiers of U.S. government and Trump's lawyer.

Discussion: Democrats, Raw Story, USA Today and ABC News

Lili Bayer / Politico:

European Parliament requests rule-of-law talks with Malta — MEPs cite risk that investigations into murder of journalist will be compromised if Joseph Muscat stays in office. — The European Parliament called on the EU to open a formal rule-of-law dialogue with Malta …

Discussion: European Parliament and One America News Network

New York Times:

A Surveillance Net Blankets China's Cities, Giving Police Vast Powers — The authorities can scan your phones, track your face and find out when you leave your home. One of the world's biggest spying networks is aimed at regular people, and nobody can stop it.

more at Techmeme »

Washington Post:

Georgia purged 309,000 voters from its rolls. It's the second state to make cuts in less than a week. — Overnight, the number of registered voters in Georgia shrank by more than 300,000 in a contested but court-sanctioned action that could redefine the 2020 election, critics warned.

Discussion: Law & Crime, Slate, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Mother Jones

Sean Collins / Vox:

Most Democratic voters still haven't settled on a candidate — According to three new 2020 polls, the majority of Democratic voters think they might vote for someone other than their current favorite. — With roughly a month and a half to go until the 2020 Iowa caucuses …

Discussion: Townhall, The Hill and Washington Post

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:

Judge grants government proceeds from Edward Snowden's book — The government is entitled to any money former National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden makes from his memoir and paid speeches because he disclosed classified information without approval, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Discussion: Townhall, National Review, Bloomberg and Slate, more at Mediagazer »