memeorandum: This contractor says he can build Trump's border wall faster and cheaper than the U.S. can (Molly Hennessy-Fiske/Los Angeles Times)

10:40 AM ET, January 15, 2020

Top Items:

Lev Parnas and Rudy Giuliani have demolished Trump's claims of innocence — New documents show why the president has been trying to hide evidence from Congress. — Americans who have been wondering why President Trump has taken the extraordinary step of trying to block every document …

Discussion: Redstate, Raw Story, Cmte Intelligence (D) … and The Week

Washington Post:

Ukraine prosecutor offered information related to Biden in exchange for ambassador's ouster, newly released materials show — New materials released by House Democrats appear to show Ukraine's top prosecutor offering an associate of President Trump's personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani …

Discussion: Bloomberg, NBC News, Slate, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, The Week and New York Times

David Corn / Mother Jones:

New Figure in Ukraine Scandal Was Taken Into Police Custody at Trump Resort Last Year — On Tuesday evening, the House Intelligence Committee released a new batch of documents relating to the Ukraine scandal, and the material introduced a new player: Robert F. Hyde, a minor Republican lobbyist …

Discussion: Raw Story

courthousenews.com:

Indicted Giuliani Ally Has Money-Tied Republicans Seeking Cover — WASHINGTON (CN) — Two weeks out from the 2016 elections, a first-time donor born in Ukraine lit up the map of the Republican Party with a $50,000 cash donation to Donald Trump's joint fundraising committee.

New York Times:

The Fog of Rudy — Did he change — or did America? — In the middle of September, shortly before the House of Representatives opened its impeachment inquiry against President Trump, I started texting with his personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, to try to arrange a time to get together.

Discussion: Vanity Fair

The Daily Beast:

Parnas Associate Tracked Ousted Ambassador's Movements in Kyiv: Docs — “They will let me know when she's on the move... They are willing to help if you/we would like a price.” — On the eve of a Senate trial to remove President Trump, House Democratic investigators have released a trove …

Discussion: NBC News, Foreign Policy, Letters from an American, Little Green Footballs and The Daily Beast

Washington Post:

Impeachment live updates: Schiff, Nadler are among the House members named as impeachment managers to prosecute the case against Trump — Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday selected seven House members to serve as impeachment managers in the upcoming Senate trial of President Trump …

Discussion: NBC News and The Daily Beast

The Daily Beast:
Meet the Trump Donor Who Allegedly Stalked America's Ambassador in Ukraine

Discussion: Hartford Courant, Mother Jones, Law & Crime and The Hill

Daniela Altimari / Hartford Courant:
Who is the Robert Hyde who surfaced in House Intelligence Committee documents?

Discussion: Raw Story, NBC News, Common Dreams and Vox

Daniela Altimari / Hartford Courant:
Republican candidate who made sexist comment about Kamala Harris owed thousands in child support …

Discussion: Fox News

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
House Dems release new impeachment evidence related to indicted Giuliani associate

Discussion: The Hill

Washington Post:

Warren ‘came to raise a concern’ with Sanders after debate, his campaign manager says — DES MOINES — Sen. Elizabeth Warren “came to raise a concern” with Sen. Bernie Sanders after Tuesday's Democratic presidential debate, according to Sanders's campaign manager, who briefly described …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Week

Chris Cillizza / CNN:

The Warren-Sanders feud just got way worse — (CNN)Someone is lying. Or, at the very least, badly misremembering. — That's the only possible takeaway from the ongoing back and forth between Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts over whether the former told …

Discussion: Mediaite, New York Times, The Guardian and Talking Points Memo

The Intercept:

At the Iowa Debate, Bernie Sanders's Most Vociferous Opponent Was CNN — Ahead of the August 2015 Fox News debate, the company's chair, Rupert Murdoch, issued a directive to debate moderator Megyn Kelly: The Donald Trump thing has gone on long enough, it's time to take him down.

Discussion: The Hill, BuzzFeed News and CNN

Iowa Starting Line: How Local Iowa Debate Watch Parties Reacted To Drake Debate

Kurt Bardella / USA Today: Who won the debate? Depends on who you think can beat Trump

New York Times:
Trump and His Aides Focused for Now on 2 Rivals (Neither Is the Front-Runner)

Discussion: Politico and Washington Post

Leah Barkoukis / Townhall:
CNN Was the Biggest Loser of Tuesday's Dem Debate

Discussion: New York Times, The Federalist and Grabien News

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
In the War for the Progressive Future, Bernie Just Crushed Elizabeth Warren

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, CNN, New York Times, The Guardian and The Daily Beast

Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Sanders camp admits anti-Warren script was deployed in multiple early states

Discussion: The Atlantic, Breitbart, The Hill, Reason, VICE, Jill Filipovic, Associated Press, Real Clear Politics, CNN, The Independent, Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, IJR, Vanity Fair, The Daily Beast, Vox, No More Mister Nice Blog and Talking Points Memo

Christopher Cadelago / Politico:
Warren appears to rebuff Sanders' handshake amid sexism feud

Discussion: JustOneMinute, No More Mister Nice Blog and Associated Press

CBS News:
Sanders-Warren tension dominates final debate before Iowa caucuses

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Federalist and CNN

Dylan Scott / Vox:
Amy Klobuchar's moderate case against Medicare-for-all

Discussion: The Atlantic, Iowa Starting Line and NBC News

Gregg Re / Fox News:
Sanders takes on Biden over Iraq war vote during Democratic debate

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Washington Post, The Daily Beast and NBC News

Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News:
Trump sides with Sanders amid dustup with Warren: 'I don't believe Bernie said that'

Discussion: Axios, Washington Post, The Hill, Breitbart and Politico

Jason McGahan / The Daily Beast:

Michael Avenatti Arrested by Feds at California State Bar Hearing — Stormy Daniels' ex-lawyer was taken into custody by federal agents during a disciplinary hearing at California's State Bar Court. — LOS ANGELES—Ex-Stormy Daniels lawyer and Trump antagonist Michael Avenatti was led …

Discussion: The Federalist, Politico, Associated Press, Above the Law, NBC News, UPI, Slate, The US Sun, The Daily Caller and CNBC

Louis Casiano / Fox News:
Avenatti arrested by IRS agents during California Bar Association hearing

Discussion: Townhall

Paul Egan / Detroit Free Press:

Michigan senator to female reporter: High school boys could ‘have a lot of fun’ with you — LANSING — A state senator is under fire Wednesday after telling a female reporter she should stick around at the Capitol because a group of high school students from an all boys school, touring the Capitol, could “have a lot of fun” with her.

Discussion: Raw Story

Allison Donahue / Michigan Advance: I tried to interview Sen. Peter Lucido. He told me a group of schoolboys ‘could have a lot of fun’ with me.

Steve Hayes / The Dispatch:

Justin Amash Has a Decision to Make — ‘Is there any better time to have a president who might be not from either party?’ — Three weeks from the first votes of the 2020 election, the presidential race seems—finally—to be taking shape. Republicans, having blocked any serious attempts …

Katherine Tully-McManus / Roll Call:

Impeachment trial security crackdown will limit Capitol press access — The Senate sergeant-at-arms and Capitol Police are launching an unprecedented crackdown on the Capitol press corps for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, following a standoff between the Capitol's chief security officials …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:
Klobuchar doubts security explanation for impeachment trial press limits

Discussion: The Hill

David Smith / The Guardian:

Trump ‘abused’ and ‘harassed’ Kirstjen Nielsen over border, new book reveals — The president browbeat the former homeland security secretary for refusing to break the law, according to A Very Stable Genius — Donald Trump “abused”, “harassed” and “pestered” his homeland security secretary …

Discussion: Political Wire

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Michael Flynn seeking to withdraw guilty plea — Lawyers for the former national security adviser contend the government undermined its own deal. — Former national security adviser Michael Flynn has a sentencing hearing scheduled for later this month. Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

Discussion: Power Line, The Crime Report, NPR and HuffPost

Adam Goldman / New York Times: Michael Flynn Moves to Withdraw Guilty Plea in About-Face After Extensive Cooperation

Andy Gregory / Yahoo News:

Trump renews attack on lightbulbs and goes after dishwashers, fridges, toilets and showers — Donald Trump has revisited his vendetta against energy-saving lightbulbs, ascribing them the blame for his orange hue while extending the focus of his ire to include showers, dishwashers and toilets in a wide-ranging rally speech in

Discussion: The Independent

Yuliya Talmazan / NBC News:

Russian government resigns as Putin seeks constitutional shakeup — The Russian leader has been in power for nearly two decades as either president or prime minister. — Russia's prime minister and its entire government resigned on Wednesday as part of sweeping constitutional changes …

Discussion: Politico, TASS and One America News Network

Douglas London / Just Security:

The President, His Relationship with Intelligence, and the Soleimani Strike — When it comes to intelligence, like with so much else, President Donald Trump likes big names. It's this focus on celebrity, headlines, and immediate gratification — versus substance, impact, and consequences — that so often motivates him.

The Boston Globe:

Why Mitch McConnell must allow Senate to call witnesses in Trump's impeachment trial — The case for calling witnesses in the Senate's impeachment trial of President Trump, and for subpoenaing documents that the White House has withheld from Congress, is now too compelling to deny.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Digby's Hullabaloo