memeorandum: 66% of Americans want John Bolton to testify (Marisa Fernandez/Axios)

6:40 PM ET, January 13, 2020

Top Items:

White House expects GOP defections on calling witnesses in Senate impeachment trial — Washington — The White House is preparing for some Republican senators to join Democrats in voting to call witnesses in President Trump's impeachment trial, which could get underway in the coming days.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NBC News, CNN, Washington Post, The Week, Daily Kos, The American Independent, Raw Story, Roll Call, Bloomberg, Townhall, Law & Crime, POLITICUSUSA, New York Times, The Hill and Axios

QU Poll:

Release Detail — January 13, 2020 - Voters Divided On Killing Of A Top Iranian General, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 66% Want To See Bolton Testify In Senate Impeachment Trial — Slightly more American voters say that the killing of a top Iranian general was the right action …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Hill and Bloomberg

Marianne LeVine / Politico:

How Schumer might get the last laugh on impeachment trial — Chuck Schumer lost the first impeachment trial battle to Mitch McConnell. But the Democratic leader and his party insist they can still win the war. — While Senate Majority Leader McConnell has locked up enough Republican votes …

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Monthly, The Hill, New York Times, One America News Network, Washington Post, Reuters, Daily Kos, KTLA and The Week

CNN:
White House wants Senate trial rules to include ability to dismiss Trump charges

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Quinta Jurecic / The Atlantic: The Senate Trial Will Be Totally Predictable—With One Potential for Surprise

Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:
Pelosi accuses Trump of a ‘cover-up’ after president lashes out over impeachment

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill and Mediaite

Marisa Fernandez / Axios: 66% of Americans want John Bolton to testify

MJ Lee / CNN:

Bernie Sanders told Elizabeth Warren in private 2018 meeting that a woman can't win, sources say — (CNN)The stakes were high when Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren met at Warren's apartment in Washington, DC, one evening in December 2018. The longtime friends knew that they could soon be running against each other for president.

Monmouth University Polling Institute:

Dem 2020 Race Continues to Shift — Support is firming up, but many still open to changing their support — West Long Branch, NJ - Former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren continue to top …

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, Bloomberg, Fox News and Denver Post

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed News:
Elizabeth Warren Said Bernie Sanders Told Her He Didn't Believe A Woman Could Win In 2020

Discussion: Fox News, Axios, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, National Review, Raw Story, ABC News, Washington Post and Mediaite

Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:
Biden on top in Iowa with 3 weeks until caucuses, latest poll shows

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, The Hill and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:
Sanders Is Said to Have Told Warren That a Woman Could Not Win the Presidency

Discussion: Townhall, Washington Post, Fox News, Breitbart and Raw Story

NBC News:

Trump authorized Soleimani's killing 7 months ago, with conditions — The timing raises new questions about the Trump administration's stated justification for taking out the top Iranian general. — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump authorized the killing of Iranian …

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

New details about Soleimani killing further undercut Trump's lies — Ever since President Trump ordered the assassination of Iran's Qasem Soleimani, one big unanswered question has been this: How did the option of killing the Quds Force commander get on Trump's menu of possibilities in the first place, and why?

Discussion: Al Jazeera, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Raw Story, IJR, New York Times and The Sun US

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:

Trump says 'it doesn't really matter' if Iranian general posed an imminent threat — President Trump added to the controversy over his administration's justification for the killing of an Iranian general, saying Monday that “it doesn't really matter” whether it was in response to an imminent threat to the United States.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Mother Jones and Talking Points Memo

Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed News:

Here Are 10 Headlines Comparing Meghan Markle To Kate Middleton That Might Show Why She And Prince Harry Are Cutting Off Royal Reporters — The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (aka Prince Harry and Meghan Markle) didn't just shockingly “step back” as senior members of the royal family this week …

Discussion: The Royal Family, NPR and Mother Jones

Max Colchester / Wall Street Journal: Prince Harry's Shift Puts Spotlight on Royal Finances

Yahoo News: Harry, William present united front ahead of royal crisis summit

Patrick Marley / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Judge finds Wisconsin elections commissioners in contempt of court, orders them to quickly remove people from the rolls … (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) — PORT WASHINGTON - An Ozaukee County judge found the state Elections Commission and three of its members in contempt …

Discussion: The Guardian, Fox News, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and The Hill

American Oversight:

Joint Status Report: American Oversight v. DOE - Perry and Brouillette's Ukraine Records and Communications — Joint Status Report filed by American Oversight and the Department of Energy in American Oversight's lawsuit seeking the release of Secretary Rick Perry's communications …

Discussion: Axios

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:

George Nader, key witness in Mueller probe, pleads guilty to child sex charges — George Nader, a key witness in the special counsel probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, admitted Monday to bringing a 14-year-old boy to the United States for sex and to possessing child pornography.

Discussion: National Review, Axios and Big League Politics

Zachary Basu / Axios:

Prosecutors recommend almost 5 years in prison for former GOP Rep. Chris Collins — Federal prosecutors recommended Monday that former Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) be sentenced to up to 57 months in prison for pleading guilty to insider trading last year. — Why it matters …

Discussion: NBC News, Raw Story and The Hill

Chandelis Duster / CNN: Prosecutors say former Rep. Chris Collins should get a nearly 5-year prison sentence

Justice News:

Former Senior Fincen Employee Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Unlawfully Disclose Suspicious Activity Reports — Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards Illegally Repeatedly Transmitted SARs and Other Sensitive Government Information To A Reporter Resulting In Approximately 12 News Articles Over 1-Year Period

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Erica Orden / CNN: Treasury official pleads guilty to charge connected to leaks of Trump-related financial data

David Rohde / New Yorker:

William Barr, Trump's Sword and Shield — The Attorney General's mission to maximize executive power and protect the Presidency. — Last October, Attorney General William Barr appeared at Notre Dame Law School to make a case for ideological warfare. Before an assembly of students and faculty …

Discussion: Raw Story

Apple Podcasts:

The Ezra Klein Show — There is a moral radicalism to the way Cory Booker lives out his politics. He lived for years in a housing project. He leads hunger strikes. He challenges political machines. He's a vegan. He has a more ambitious policy vision than is often discussed.

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Cory Booker, the Rocket That Failed to Launch

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications

Katie Benner / New York Times:

Barr Asks Apple to Unlock Pensacola Killer's Phones, Setting Up Clash — We have asked Apple for their help in unlocking the shooter's phones. So far, Apple has not given any substantive assistance. This situation perfectly illustrates why it is critical that the public be able to get access …

Discussion: Townhall, The National Interest, The Verge and New York Post

Martin Crutsinger / Associated Press:

US budget deficit running 11.8% higher this year — The U.S. budget deficit through the first three months of this budget year is up 11.8% from the same period a year ago, putting the country on track to record its first $1 trillion deficit in eight years. — In its monthly budget report …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Axios

Brian Thompson / NBC New York:

Bomb in Van of NJ Shooting Attack Suspects Could've Killed People 5 Football Fields Away: Officials — David Anderson and Francine Graham were found dead inside JC Kosher Supermarket last month after a hate-driven domestic terror attack that killed four innocent people, authorities have said

Discussion: National Review, Law & Crime and New York Post

Simon Kennedy / Bloomberg:

Middle Age Misery Peaks at Age of 47.2, Economist Says — New study says ‘happiness curve’ exists around the world — Research has relevance because of focus on mental health — Middle age is miserable, according to a new economic study which pinpoints 47.2 years old as the moment of peak unhappiness in the developed world.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Slate

Kylie Atwood / CNN:

State Department security officials weren't notified of ‘imminent’ threats to US embassies — Washington (CNN)State Department officials involved in US embassy security were not made aware of imminent threats to four specific US embassies, two State Department officials tell CNN …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Week and Mediaite

Harper Neidig / The Hill:

Harvard professor sues NYT over Epstein donations story — A Harvard Law professor is suing The New York Times, accusing the paper of publishing “false and defamatory” information and employing “clickbait” in an article about him. — Lawrence Lessig, the legal scholar and political activist …

Discussion: Medium, CourtListener and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

Alex Heath / The Information:

The People With Power at Twitter — For more than four years, Jack Dorsey has held the CEO role at both Twitter and Square, splitting his time between the two companies, whose headquarters are near each other in downtown San Francisco. For Twitter, the lack of a full-time CEO has meant …

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Joe Biden's campaign chairman rallies Wall Street donors for a big fundraising push ahead of primaries — Joe Biden's campaign chairman privately met with some of Wall Street's top donors last week in an attempt to rally them around the former vice president's final push for the Democratic nomination.

Stamford Advocate: The Republican case for Biden

Ursula Perano / Axios:

Treasury Department drops China's currency manipulator designation — The Treasury Department announced Monday that China will no longer be designated as a currency manipulator, just two days before President Trump and Vice Premier Liu He are set to sign “phase one” of a long-awaited trade deal, CNBC reports.

Discussion: Politico, CNBC and One America News Network

Chris McGreal / The Guardian:

Swing voters on Trump: 'He drives me crazy but he'll get my vote' — In the latest dispatch from counties where voters swung from Obama to Trump, Chris McGreal finds residents of Howard county, Iowa, pining for calmer days but many crediting the president on the economy

Discussion: Raw Story

Dave Levinthal / Center for Public Integrity:

Prepare to be shocked! Trump's one weird trick to avoid a campaign investigation. — The president is helping sideline the FEC in 2020 — and that's good news for his re-election effort … This is a tale of how President Donald Trump is avoiding judgment by the government agency that's supposed to …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Common Dreams

Dana Goldstein / New York Times:

I Read 4,800 Pages of American History Textbooks — Here's how I did it, and what I learned about how the curriculum has changed since my own school days. — Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

Discussion: Reason