memeorandum: FBI raids home, office of lobbyist Michael Esposito (Washington Post)

11:40 PM ET, January 3, 2020

Top Items:

Trump Told Mar-a-Lago Pals to Expect ‘Big’ Iran Action ‘Soon’ — Attendees of a closed-door Senate briefing didn't get much more clarity than the club guests did. Instead, officials spun Soleimani's slaying as a way to “de-escalate” tensions. — In the five days prior to launching …

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, Raw Story, The Week, The Hill and DNyuz, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

How Trump decided to kill a top Iranian general — On Sunday, President Trump's most senior national security advisers joined him at his Mar-a- — Lago resort in Florida, where Trump was beginning the second week of his holiday vacation. The officials told reporters that U.S. F-15 Strike Eagles …

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Post, The Week, DNyuz, Outside the Beltway, his vorpal sword and Slate

Nahal Toosi / Politico:

How Trump decided to kill Iran's Soleimani — Hours before the U.S. military sent a Reaper drone to kill one of the most wanted men on the planet, President Donald Trump was relaxing at his palatial Florida properties. In the morning, he played 18 holes at Trump International, his West Palm Beach golf club.

Discussion: Associated Press, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, NBC News, Bloomberg, Breitbart, HuffPost and One America News Network

David S. Cloud / Los Angeles Times:

How Trump made the decision to kill Suleimani — When President Trump's national security team came to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday, they weren't expecting him to approve an operation to kill Gen. Qassem Suleimani. — Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo …

JONATHAN TURLEY:

Trump Orders Defense Department To Publicly Confirm Assassination Of Iranian General — In a break from long-standing intelligence practices, President Donald Trump ordered the Defense Department to confirm that the United States was behind the missile strike that killed Qassem Soleimani …

Discussion: Fox News and New York Post

Wesley Clark / Washington Post:

Killing a top Iranian military leader was a whack-for-tat move — Soleimani was no stateless outlaw like Osama bin Laden. This U.S. action sets us on a dangerous path of escalation. — Like the killing of Osama bin Laden, the strike on Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Raw Story, Esquire and The Times of Israel

John Daniszewski / Associated Press: Was the drone attack on Iranian general an assassination?

CBS News:
“There will be dead Americans” as a result of Iran general being killed, ex-CIA deputy director says

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, BizPac Review, CBS Boston and Breitbart

Sebastian Smith / Agence France-Presse: Trump's no ‘stupid’ wars doctrine faces biggest test

Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
Pelosi Statement on Airstrike in Iraq Against High-Level Iranian Military Officials

NBC News:
Planned attacks against U.S. targets in Syria, Lebanon were reason for Soleimani strike, say officials

Discussion: The Economic Collapse and Common Dreams

CNN:
Why now? Lawmakers question timing and legality of Trump's strike against Iranian commander

Discussion: KTLA, Slate, The Daily Caller and FOX2now.com

Bloomberg:
Trump's Iran Strike Planned Swiftly With Tight Circle of Aides

Discussion: Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, BBC and Vanity Fair

George Packer / The Atlantic:
Killing Soleimani Was Worse Than a Crime

Discussion: New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Associated Press

Suzanne Maloney / Washington Post: Iran knows how to bide its time. Don't expect immediate retaliation for Soleimani.

Peter Nicholas / The Atlantic:
Trump Cultivated His Own Credibility Crisis on Iran

Discussion: BBC, Raw Story, HuffPost, MarketWatch, Gizmodo, The Right Scoop, The American Mirror and Los Angeles Times

Robin Wright / New Yorker:
The Killing of Qassem Suleimani Is Tantamount to an Act of War

Discussion: The Guardian, Vanity Fair, The American Independent, Washington Post, MarketWatch, New York Times, KTLA, Associated Press, Breitbart, VICE, The Diplomat and Mother Jones

Brent Scher / Washington Free Beacon:
In 1996 Interview, Biden Called Iranian Bombing ‘Act of War,’ Called for Tough Response

Discussion: Townhall, WND and Vox

Ray Takeyh / Politico:
Why the Death of an Iranian Commander Won't Mean World War III

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New York Times, Associated Press, One America News Network, Jacobin, The Miscellanies, The Hill and Breitbart

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Thinks Attacking Iran Will Get Him Reelected. He's Wrong. — Beginning in 2011, and continuing through the next year, Donald Trump began obsessively predicting that President Obama would start a war with Iran in order to be reelected. Trump stated it publicly, on at least a half-dozen occasions …

Discussion: The Cut, Quartz, Redstate, Talking Points Memo, Louder With Crowder, The Gateway Pundit, No More Mister Nice Blog, Reason, New York Times and CANNONFIRE

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

For Trump, a Risky Gamble to Deter Iran — The goal was to prove American resolve in the face of Iranian attacks. Now, American officials have no doubt the Iranians will respond — but they don't know how quickly, or how furiously. — President Trump's decision to strike and kill …

Discussion: Reason, Associated Press, Vox, GQ, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Townhall, VICE, Quartz, DNyuz, Washington Post and Axios

United States Department of State:

Senior State Department Officials On the Situation in Iraq — WASHINGTON, D.C. — MODERATOR: So I'm going to have [Senior State Department Official One] start out and just give a very - a very - we actually mostly want to make this Q&A, so [Senior State Department Official One] is just going to have a few remarks here.

Curtis Houck / NB Blog:

Embarrassing: ‘NBC Nightly News’ Turns Itself into Infomercial for Iranian Regime — Listen to the Article! — Friday's NBC Nightly News capped an ugly 24 hours for the liberal media after U.S. airstrikes killed Iranian terrorist Qasem Soleimani by doubling down on its bias …

Discussion: TASS

Greenwich Time: With missile strike, Trump opts for escalation and a swing at a ‘hornets’ nest'

New York Times:
For Trump, a Risky Decision Other Presidents Had Avoided

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, The Guardian, DCReport.org, Breitbart, Q13 FOX News, WND, Alternet.org, The Daily Signal, The Daily Caller, The Week, The American Independent and DNyuz

Newsweek: Iraqi militia leader may be among six killed in another U.S. drone strike in Baghdad

Washington Post:
Trump endorses tweet comparing top Senate Democrat to Iranians

Discussion: Raw Story, Balloon Juice, IJR and Breitbart

Max Fisher / New York Times:
Is There a Risk of Wider War With Iran?

Discussion: Associated Press, americamagazine.org and Gizmodo

Washington Post:
Yes, Soleimani was an enemy. That doesn't mean Trump made the right call.

Discussion: New York Times, New York Post, The Atlantic, Mother Jones and Raw Story

Barbara Slavin / New York Times:
Qassim Suleimani's Killing Will Unleash Chaos

Discussion: The Intercept, Big League Politics, Lawyers, Guns & Money, DNyuz, Vox, Talking Points Memo and Gizmodo

Shibley Telhami / Foreign Policy: The U.S. Public Still Doesn't Want War With Iran

New York Times:

White House Withholds 20 Emails Between Two Trump Aides on Ukraine Aid — It contends the release of the documents sought by The Times, would “inhibit the frank and candid exchange of views” in government decision-making. — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration disclosed on Friday …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Raw Story, Politico, Alternet.org and Common Dreams

Susan Smith Richardson / Center for Public Integrity:
Time for the Trump administration to release blacked-out Ukraine emails

Discussion: Raw Story and CNN

Tess Bonn / The Hill:

Bloomberg rises to third place alongside Warren in national poll — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg saw a 6-point bump in the latest Hill.TV survey of the Democratic presidential primary. — The nationwide poll, which was released Friday, shows Bloomberg up from 5 percent …

Discussion: Breitbart

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
D.N.C. Tells Pollsters to Do More Polls

Discussion: Washington Post

New York Daily News:

McConnell and Pelosi dig in their heels on standoff over Trump impeachment trial — The standoff over President Trump's expected impeachment trial showed no signs of letting up Friday, as Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi accused each other of playing political football with the somber process.

Washington Post:
Escalating U.S.-Iran tensions scramble the politics of Trump's impeachment

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Lisa Friedman / New York Times:

Trump Rule Would Exclude Climate Change in Infrastructure Planning — WASHINGTON — Federal agencies would no longer have to take climate change into account when they assess the environmental impacts of highways, pipelines and other major infrastructure projects, according to a Trump administration plan …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Gizmodo and Axios

Nancy Dillon / New York Daily News:

Ex-Fox News reporter Courtney Friel claims Donald Trump invited her to Trump Tower to ‘kiss’ — Former Fox News reporter Courtney Friel says Donald Trump called her with a creepy come-on before he became president — while they were both married. — Friel, who sometimes worked as a fill …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Guardian, Alternet.org, POLITICUSUSA, The Hill, Mediaite, HuffPost and The Week

Politico:

The Hill's owner seeks potential buyers, investors — Under fire for its role in promoting alleged Ukraine conspiracy theories, the D.C.-based publication faces new questions about its future. — Jimmy Finkelstein in 2012. Jimmy Finkelstein, owner of The Hill, is shopping his publication …

more at Mediagazer »

Nick Wadhams / Bloomberg:

U.S. Official Central to Hawkish Iran Policies Departs NSC — Richard Goldberg pushed for tougher U.S. stance on Iran — John Bolton brought Goldberg to the National Security Council — Richard Goldberg, the U.S. National Security Council official who clashed with other members …

Agence France-Presse:

Trump tells evangelical voters they have God on their side — Jim Watson with Jerome Cartillier in Washington — US President Donald Trump tells evangelical voters that God is ‘on our side’ — Miami (AFP) - US President Donald Trump wooed crucial evangelical voters Friday with a speech …

Will Steakin / ABC News:
Trump to campaign for evangelical support amid escalating Iran conflict

Discussion: The Hill

Wall Street Journal:

Carlos Ghosn Sneaked Out of Japan in Box Used for Audio Gear — Two men, providing names matching those of private security contractors, flew with Ghosn to Turkey — A pair of men with names matching those of American security contractors accompanied former auto executive Carlos Ghosn …

Discussion: Law & Crime, Al Jazeera, Financial Times and Bloomberg

Mother Jones:

With a War Against Iran Brewing, Don't Listen to the Hawks Who Lied Us Into Iraq — Here we go again. — Shortly after the news broke that a US airstrike in Baghdad ordered by President Donald Trump had killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran's Quds Force …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Common Dreams and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

When will Bernie Sanders get the scrutiny that top-tier candidates deserve? — Former vice president Joe Biden claims that the nearly year-long assault on his record has been entirely unsuccessful, showing that he can take a pummeling and keep fighting. Former South Bend, Ind. …

Discussion: IJR, Washington Times and New York Times