memeorandum: ‘Four embassies’: The anatomy of Trump's unfounded claim about Iran (Washington Post)

8:40 AM ET, January 14, 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: CNN, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Fox News, POLITICUSUSA, No More Mister Nice Blog, Digby's Hullabaloo, NBC News, Daily Kos, The American Independent, Law & Crime, The Mahablog, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Roll Call, Raw Story, Mediaite and Townhall

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

GOP leadership: There aren't 51 votes to dismiss Trump articles of impeachment — Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) told reporters on Monday that there are not the votes within the Senate Republican caucus to dismiss the articles of impeachment against President Trump—who endorsed an “outright dismissal” over the weekend.

Discussion: Townhall, Redstate, Politico, CNN, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, One America News Network, Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Washington Post:

Top Senate Republicans reject Trump's renewed call for immediate dismissal of impeachment charges — Top Senate Republicans on Monday rejected President Trump's call for outright dismissal of the impeachment charges against him, but continued to grapple with the shape of the Senate trial that could begin as soon as this week.

Discussion: The Hill

Associated Press:

GOP senators reject plans to dismiss Trump impeachment — WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans signaled Monday they would reject the idea of simply voting to dismiss the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump as the House prepares to send the charges to the chamber for the historic trial.

Discussion: National Review and Contemptor

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Nancy Pelosi may yet have the last laugh — Some voices in the punditocracy have insisted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) “lost” in finally agreeing to send the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate. Pelosi has responded that the delay resulted in a bunch …

Discussion: MSNBC, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Up to 10 GOP senators consider bucking Trump on war powers — As many as 10 Republican senators are considering bucking President Trump on a resolution that would limit his ability to take military action against Iran. — The increasing number is the latest sign of growing GOP frustration …

Discussion: Washington Post

John Bresnahan / Politico:
Republicans face reckoning on impeachment witnesses

Discussion: Raw Story, The Hill, The Week, Redstate and Breitbart

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Republicans Rule Out Outright Dismissal of Impeachment Charges

Discussion: NBC News, ABC News and Washington Post

Marianne LeVine / Politico:
Senate vote to limit Trump's military actions against Iran in limbo

Discussion: Breitbart

Anne Flaherty / ABC News:
Trump's impeachment trial: How we got there, what happens next and what to watch

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:

Russians Hacked Ukrainian Gas Company at Center of Impeachment — With President Trump facing an impeachment trial over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden, Russian military hackers have been boring …

BBC: Burisma: US firm says Russia hacked company at heart of Trump impeachment

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
Russian spies hacked Ukrainian gas company at heart of Trump impeachment trial

Discussion: Foreign Policy

Michael McFaul / Washington Post:
Be prepared to fight a dangerous new wave of disinformation during the Senate trial

Discussion: Raw Story

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.

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: CNN, Raw Story, Axios, The Hill and Bloomberg

Anjeanette Damon / Reno Gazette-Journal: RGJ Poll: Biden remains Democrats' favorite in Nevada, but Sanders gaining

CNN:
9 things to watch in Tuesday night's Democratic debate

Discussion: Politico and Wall Street Journal

Washington Post:
Sanders-Warren feud takes a turn onto the dangerous turf of gender

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, ABC News, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and BuzzFeed News

Monmouth University Polling Institute:
Dem 2020 Race Continues to Shift

Discussion: The Federalist, CNN, New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, Fox News, Morning Consult, NPR, Redstate, NJ Spotlight, The Hill, Politico, Denver Post, Bloomberg and Vanity Fair

The Daily Beast:

Jitters at MSNBC as Brass Eyes Moving Chuck Todd and Talks to Shep Smith — Chuck Todd's daily show could move to mornings, causing angst among the show's staff. Other potential changes could alter weekends and, eventually, the network's primetime roster.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Trump retweeted Pelosi in Muslim garb. The White House made it worse. — After President Trump retweeted a doctored image of Democratic leaders dressed in Islamic garb, the White House offered a curious justification: Trump retweeted that image to send the message that Democrats are on the side of terrorists.

Discussion: Informed Comment, HillReporter.com, Digby's Hullabaloo, The American Independent and IJR

Brandi Buchman / courthousenews.com:

Trump Campaign Adviser Pleads Guilty to Child Porn, Sex Trafficking — ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) - An informal adviser to Donald Trump's 2016 campaign who testified in the Mueller probe pleaded guilty Monday to charges of child sex trafficking and possessing child pornography.

Discussion: Raw Story and CNN

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
George Nader, key witness in Mueller probe, pleads guilty to child sex charges

Discussion: The Week, UPI, Law & Crime, Fox News, Big League Politics, Axios and National Review

Nick Miroff / Washington Post:

Trump planning to divert additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funds for border wall — President Trump is preparing to divert an additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funding for border wall construction this year, five times what Congress authorized him to spend on the project in the 2020 budget …

Discussion: HuffPost, Axios, New York Times, Breitbart and The Hill

Washington Post:

‘Four embassies’: The anatomy of Trump's unfounded claim about Iran — The theory was born last Thursday in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, where President Trump stood before men in hard hats and orange construction vests for an environmental announcement and offered a fresh rationale …

Discussion: Mediaite, Deadline and The Daily Caller

Jamie Ross / The Daily Beast: U.S. Embassies Were Never Told of Supposed Soleimani Threat Because It Didn't Exist: Officials

Steven Erlanger / New York Times:

France, Germany and U.K. Serve Notice on Iran Under Nuclear Deal — The European nations triggered a dispute mechanism in the 2015 pact, a first step toward reimposing United Nations sanctions. — BRUSSELS — Britain, France and Germany triggered the dispute resolution mechanism …

Danielle Wallace / Fox News:
UK's Boris Johnson welcomes replacing Obama-era Iran nuclear agreement with ‘Trump deal’

Discussion: Politico and One America News Network

Declan Walsh / New York Times:

American Held in Egypt Prison Dies After a Hunger Strike — Moustafa Kassem, detained in Cairo in 2013 and suffering from serious medical problems, had protested his innocence. — CAIRO — An American imprisoned in Egypt for six years on what he insisted were false charges …

Discussion: HuffPost, Fox News, UPI and NPR

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Fox News Host Melissa Francis Offers Theory for Booker's Exit: I Heard 'He's Lazy' — For the claim, Francis cited Booker's unnamed Democratic colleagues who've appeared on her TV show. — Fox News host Melissa Francis on Monday reacted to the news that Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) …

Discussion: Raw Story and Contemptor

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Cory Booker was a candidate of grace in an ugly political climate

Discussion: Gothamist

The Daily Beast:

Trump Admin Walks Back Anti-MEK Memo — The State Department ordered employees days ago not to meet with an Iranian dissident outfit close to Rudy Giuliani and other Trumpworld figures. Now, the memo is being overridden. — At whiplash speed, the State Department is walking …

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Daily News:

Off-duty Secret Service agent shoots and kills dog on a leash in Brooklyn — An off-duty Secret Service agent fatally shot a dog being walked on a leash through a Brooklyn neighborhood Monday night, police sources and witnesses said. — The agent, whose name has not been released …

Ian Sample / The Guardian:

Scientists use stem cells from frogs to build first living robots — Researchers foresee myriad benefits for humanity, but also acknowledge ethical issues — Play Video — Be warned. If the rise of the robots comes to pass, the apocalypse may be a more squelchy affair than science fiction writers have prepared us for.

Discussion: ScienceAlert

Lachlan Cartwright / The Daily Beast:

James Murdoch Slams Fox News and News Corp Over Climate-Change Denial — Rupert Murdoch's younger son and his wife issued a rare public rebuke of the family's media empire and its promotion of climate-change skeptics during Australia's bushfire crisis. — In a long-simmering rift between factions …

Discussion: Raw Story and VICE

Guillaume Decamme / Yahoo News:

Fed up Venezuelans find solace on the beach — People enjoy Bahia de los Ninos beach in La Guaira, Vargas state, Venezuela — La Guaira (Venezuela) (AFP) - When Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido called for street protests at the weekend in a bid to rekindle popular outrage …

Sébastien DUVAL / Agence France-Presse:

US speakeasies back in vogue — in echo of Prohibition era — The new speakeasies tend to lure in revelers seeking fancy cocktails with an illicit 1920s vibe — like The Mirror in Washington — Washington (AFP) - A century after the United States clamped down on alcohol and ushered in the Prohibition era …

Adam White / The Independent:

Vince Vaughn faces backlash after shaking Trump's hand at football game — Wedding Crashers actor previously described himself as politically libertarian — Vince Vaughn is facing a backlash after being filmed shaking hands with Donald Trump at a football game.

John DiStaso / WMUR:

Former NHGOP executive director, US State Department official Matt Mowers running for Congress — Slamming Democratic incumbent Pappas, Bedford resident declares bid for 1st District US House seat in interview — MANCHESTER, N.H. — Freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas has his first high-profile Republican challenger.

Discussion: Politico