memeorandum: Saudi Arabia says five sentenced to death in killing of Jamal Khashoggi (Washington Post)

4:45 PM ET, December 23, 2019

Top Items:

A Conversation With Rudy Giuliani Over Bloody Marys at the Mark Hotel — As the black SUV came to a stop on 33rd Street in Manhattan, its lights flashing, a pale hand stretched through the open window of the passenger door and gave a little wave. It was attached to Rudy Giuliani, who smiled from behind his tortoiseshell sunglasses.

Discussion: NBC News, Axios, Raw Story, Hullabaloo, The Hill, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Political Wire and The Week

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

House counsel suggests Trump could be impeached again — The House is open to the prospect of impeaching President Donald Trump a second time, lawyers for the Judiciary Committee said Monday. — House Counsel Douglas Letter said in a filing in federal court that a second impeachment …

Discussion: Associated Press, Axios, The Hill and The Last Refuge

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

With an odd lie about the FBI, the GOP's McCarthy stoops lower — It's been a couple of weeks since Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz issued his report on the origins of the investigation into the Russia scandal, and the IG's findings continue to haunt Republican conspiracy theorists.

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite and Law & Crime

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

Obama talks up Warren behind closed doors to wealthy donors — Sen. Elizabeth Warren has spent her presidential campaign railing against the donor class, making it known she doesn't want their help. — She has publicly bashed millionaires, has sworn off high-dollar fundraisers and has refused large checks from Democratic bundlers.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner, The Root, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Breitbart, PJ Media Home and Contemptor

Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
Biden answers Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez with Cárdenas, others

Discussion: The Hill

Richard Harris / NPR:

For Her Head Cold, Insurer Coughed Up $25,865 — Toggle more options — Alexa Kasdan had a cold and a sore throat. — The 40-year-old public policy consultant from Brooklyn, N.Y., didn't want her upcoming vacation trip ruined by strep throat. So after it had lingered for more than a week, she decided to get it checked out.

Discussion: VICE

Conrad Duncan / The Independent:

Trump launches into latest bizarre rant against windmills: ‘I never understood wind’ — President repeats exaggerated claims about wind turbines threatening bald eagles — Donald Trump renewed his long-running attack on wind power during a rambling speech to conservative students over the weekend.

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

What Trump was talking about in his baffling rant about wind energy — President Trump's political speeches are shaped by two tendencies. The first is that he pays attention to the lines that get the best response, and he'll eventually narrow his rhetoric to highlight those zingers.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Vox and VICE

Sarah Westwood / CNN:
Trump again airs dubious claims in latest attacks on windmills

Discussion: Mercury News

Associated Press:

Saudi sentences 5 to death for Jamal Khashoggi's killing — RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia sentenced five people to death on Monday for the killing of Washington Post columnist and royal family critic Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year by a team of Saudi agents.

Discussion: Press Herald, The Wrap, CNN and Axios

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: McConnell: Quit the charade, impeachment is a ‘political exercise’

Discussion: New York Times, Sun-Sentinel, Wall Street Journal, JustOneMinute and The Hill

Washington Post:
Saudi Arabia says five sentenced to death in killing of Jamal Khashoggi

Discussion: Vanity Fair, New York Times, Outside the Beltway, VICE, Slate, The Week and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

Ben Hubbard / New York Times:
Saudi Court Sentences 5 to Death in Khashoggi Murder

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Mediaite

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Impeachment live updates: McConnell, Pelosi dig in on impasse over Trump's Senate trial — Both sides dug in Monday in the impasse over a Senate trial of President Trump, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) chiding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) for the delay …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times, Detroit Free Press, The Hill, Breitbart, The Week and Progress Pond

CNN:
Schumer pushes for Ukraine documents in Senate trial

Discussion: Daily Kos

Reuters:
McConnell says Senate Republicans have not ruled out witnesses in Trump impeachment trial

Discussion: Breitbart

Reuters:

Special Report: Iran's leader ordered crackdown on unrest - ‘Do whatever it takes to end it’ — (Reuters) - After days of protests across Iran last month, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared impatient. Gathering his top security and government officials together, he issued an order: Do whatever it takes to stop them.

Discussion: Al Jazeera

Joseph Simonson / Washington Examiner:

Elizabeth Warren held fundraisers at upscale restaurant offering $6,600-a-bottle wine — Elizabeth Warren recently made headlines jabbing 2020 Democratic rival Pete Buttigieg over his Napa Valley “wine cave” fundraiser. But the Massachusetts senator's own campaign fundraisers …

Cheyenne Haslett / ABC News:
Elizabeth Warren releases new anti-corruption campaign ad in Iowa

Discussion: Associated Press and The Hill

CNBC:

Mike Bloomberg is plowing millions of dollars into a secretive tech firm he founded months ago as he seeks the White House — A technology company called Hawkfish, with former executives from Facebook and Foursquare, is helping Bloomberg's 2020 presidential bid.

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, New York Post, The Verge and Joe.My.God., more at Techmeme »

Steve Chapman / Chicago Tribune:

Column: Trump's tax cut was a mammoth fraud — Decades from now, many Americans will have to consult history books to gain an appreciation of the lowest point of Donald Trump's presidency: his impeachment. But they will be able to feel the effects of his highest point: the 2017 tax bill, which he signed into law two years ago Sunday.

Wall Street Journal: Tax Reform Has Delivered for Workers

Tom Sykes / The Daily Beast:

Giuliani Associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman Leveraged Trump Connections in Ukraine Gas Meeting: Report — CALLING IN FAVORS — Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two associates of Rudy Giuliani who allegedly helped scour Ukraine for detrimental information on Donald Trump's domestic political opponents …

Discussion: Associated Press, Raw Story and Daily Kos

Wall Street Journal: Two Giuliani Associates Used Washington Connections to Chase Ukraine Gas Deal

Washington Post: How a Putin ally is aiding Giuliani in Ukraine

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Bannon's Work With Wanted Chinese Billionaire Began Shortly After He Left White House — Stephen K. Bannon, once President Trump's top political adviser, struck up a business relationship with a mysterious and wanted Chinese billionaire just after his White House job ended.

Jamie Micklethwaite / Dailystar.co.uk: China orders Christians to rewrite the Bible for the era of President Xi

Maggie Severns / Politico:

Trump campaign plagued by groups raising tens of millions in his name — As President Donald Trump raises money for his reelection campaign, he's competing for cash with a growing mass of pro-Trump PACs, dark money groups and off-brand Facebook advertisers neither affiliated with nor endorsed by Trump's campaign.

Discussion: Washington Post, Stop robocalls …, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, The Week and Hullabaloo

David Uberti / VICE:

How Breitbart Is Crushing Mainstream Media on Facebook — Want the best of VICE News straight to your inbox? Sign up here. — Soon after President Donald Trump was inaugurated in 2017, Breitbart appeared to be on the ropes. — BuzzFeed exposed its star writer's ties to white nationalists.

Associated Press:

Evangelical tussling over anti-Trump editorial escalates — As the political clamor caused by a top Christian magazine's call to remove President Donald Trump from office continues to reverberate, more than 100 conservative evangelicals closed ranks further around Trump on Sunday.

Daniel Victor / New York Times:

Inside Christmas Card, Girl Finds Plea From Chinese Prison Laborers — A 6-year-old found the note in London while writing Christmas cards to her classmates. “Forced to work against our will,” the message read. — A 6-year-old girl in London preparing Christmas cards for her classmates found …

Discussion: VICE, NPR, Sputnik News, The Guardian, New York Post and Meduza.io

Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:

New Emails Reveal Internal Competition Between Fox News Media Networks — “He is doing Maria Bartiromo you know — much lower ratings than us and I say this in an endearing way,” a Lou Dobbs producer told Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin's spokesperson. — Cable news booking is a competitive business …

Discussion: Raw Story and Contemptor

Gerald F. Seib / Wall Street Journal:

The Downsides of Trump's Slashing Style Are Showing — Disapproval by many Americans makes re-election trickier than it should be given the strong economy — President Trump likes to say—and his followers often echo the sentiment—that his slashing, pugilistic style is necessary for him to succeed.