memeorandum: DHS seeks 270 miles of border wall using counter-narcotics funds (Fox News)

8:30 PM ET, January 16, 2020

Top Items:

“THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW” SCORES HISTORIC RATING OF 4.5M TOTAL VIEWERS IN EXPLOSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LEV PARNAS — Maddow's Exclusive Interview with Giuliani Associate Lev Parnas Dominates News Cycle and Draws Largest-Ever Audience for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” Kicking Off 2020 With Huge Ratings Win

Betsy Swan / The Daily Beast:

Lev Parnas: ‘I Felt Like My Family Left Me’ — The Soviet-born businessman at the center of Rudy Giuliani's dirt-digging crusade in Ukraine tells The Daily Beast he's determined to speak out despite backlash. — In an interview with The Daily Beast, Lev Parnas—an ex-associate …

Discussion: The Hill, Breitbart, Politico, One America News Network and MSNBC

NBC News:

FBI visits Robert Hyde's home and office after he's swept into Ukraine scheme — Impeachment investigators released texts earlier this week suggesting Hyde was tracking the movements of the then-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. — The FBI paid a visit to Republican congressional candidate …

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, Washington Post, The Week, Associated Press, MSNBC and Axios

Washington Post:

‘It was like a breeding ground’: Trump hotel's mix of GOP insiders and hangers-on helped give rise to impeachment episodes — They are key locations in the drama that led to President Trump's impeachment: the steakhouse table where Trump's private lawyer set out a nameplate, “Rudolph W. Giuliani, Private Office.”

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
'He's Lying': Lev Parnas Says He'll Post a Photo With Trump Every Time President Claims Not to Know Him

Discussion: New York Times

Politico:
Here's what the Parnas revelations mean for Trump

Discussion: New York Times, CNN and National Review

Josh Kovensky / Talking Points Memo: Everything Rudy Did, He Did For Trump

New York Times:
Ukraine Investigates Trump Allies Amid Reports of Surveillance of Marie Yovanovitch

Discussion: HillReporter.com, ABC News, Mother Jones, BuzzFeed News, The Daily Caller, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, CNBC, The American Independent, VICE, The Atlantic, UPI and Daily Kos

Isabelle Khurshudyan / Washington Post:
Ukraine opens probe into possible surveillance of U.S. Ambassador Yovanovitch

Discussion: Newsweek, New York Times, Slate, Raw Story, The Hill, Mother Jones and Balloon Juice

Rebecca Klar / The Hill:
Democratic lawmaker says Nunes threatened to sue him over criticism

Discussion: Law & Crime, Washington Post and Raw Story

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Susan Collins's willful blindness already looks awful

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Editorial Board and Digby's Hullabaloo

Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:
Republicans Should Fear the Unknown on Trump Impeachment

Discussion: The Dispatch, Washington Post, New York Times, No More Mister Nice Blog and Unprecedented

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

GOP senator's vicious outburst shows the corruption of Trump's defenders — If you were a United States senator who just snapped angrily at a reporter for politely asking whether compelling new information about a matter of great import to the nation was weighing on your understanding …

Discussion: Redstate, The American Independent, Townhall, Raw Story, Spectator USA, Twitchy, The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller and The Independent

Brad Polumbo / Washington Examiner:

Martha McSally takes a cheap shot at CNN reporter — Everybody knows CNN has a liberal bias. But it's still not appropriate for a sitting Republican senator to bash one of its reporters when he asks a perfectly legitimate question. — That's what happened Thursday afternoon.

Discussion: Big League Politics, Washington Post, HuffPost, The Federalist and Mediaite

CBS News:

Trump impeachment moves to Senate ahead of historic trial — Washington — After months of hearings and votes in the House, the impeachment case against President Trump is now in the hands of the Senate, where a trial to decide on the removal of a president set to get underway for just the third time in U.S. history.

Discussion: CNN, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit, Redstate, HuffPost, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Week, The Hill, emptywheel, NBC News, IJR, Twitchy and Talking Points Memo

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

Spoiler Alert: There Will Be No Impartial Justice for Donald Trump — Shortly after 2 p.m. on Thursday, ninety-nine of the hundred members of the United States Senate raised their hands and swore en masse to do “impartial justice” in the impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump.

Marshall Cohen / CNN:

Fact-checking Republican Sen. Susan Collins' confusing comments about the new documents from Lev Parnas — Lev Parnas: Trump is lying. He knows me — Washington (CNN)Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a pivotal swing vote in the fight over whether to allow new witnesses during …

Discussion: Roll Call, The Root, Foreign Policy and KTLA

Ashraf Khalil / Associated Press:
Reporters getting 1st taste of impeachment restrictions

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill and Axios

Senator Susan Collins: Senator Collins' Statement on Impeachment Trial Process

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:
About that oath of ‘impartiality’ senators just took

Discussion: The Hill, Axios, Politico, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Political Wire and NBC News

Ursula Perano / Axios: Susan Collins says she would “likely” vote to call impeachment witnesses

Adam Goldman / New York Times:

Justice Dept. Investigating Years-Old Leaks and Appears Focused on Comey — An inquiry into years-old disclosures of classified information is highly unusual and leaves law enforcement officials open to accusations of politicizing their work. — WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors in Washington …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Redstate, Fox News, Townhall, National Review, The Daily Wire, The Week, The Daily Caller, Law & Crime, Twitchy, Washington Times and Raw Story

Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:
Feds Reportedly Target Comey In Previously Unreported Leak Probe

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Virginia Capital on Edge as F.B.I. Arrests Suspected Neo-Nazis Before Gun Rally — The three men had obtained guns and discussed traveling to Virginia for protests against new gun control measures, officials said. — RICHMOND, Va. — Alarming calls online for a race war. The arrest of three suspected neo-Nazis.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, ABC News, National Observer, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Right Wing Watch, American Military News, HuffPost, The Hill, Law & Crime, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Daily Beast and Media Matters for America

Washington Post: FBI arrests alleged members of white supremacist group ‘the Base’

Tess Owen / VICE:
Why This Antifa Group Is Siding With Thousands of Pro-Gun Conservatives In Virginia

Discussion: Redstate, The Daily Caller, Big League Politics, Daily Kos and Common Dreams

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
FBI Busts Members of Neo-Nazi Group ‘The Base’ Days Before Richmond Gun Rally

Discussion: UPI, NBC News, National Post, IJR and New York Times

Dwight Garner / New York Times:

A Meticulous Account of Trump's Tenure Reads Like a Comic Horror Story — The essence of irony, Henry Fowler wrote in “A Dictionary of Modern English Usage,” is that it “postulates a double audience” — one that's in on the joke, and another that isn't. The title of Philip Rucker …

Natasha Korecki / Politico:

Bernie ‘will play dirty’: Ex-Vermont governor slams Sanders — A former Vermont governor and ex-chair of the Democratic Governors Association is taking aim at Bernie Sanders and his campaign, accusing the senator of trying to “Hillarize” Elizabeth Warren. — In an interview with POLITICO …

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, FiveThirtyEight, BuzzFeed News and The Guardian

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine: Bernie Sanders's Foreign Policy Is Too Evidence-Based for the Beltway's Taste

Virginia Heffernan / Los Angeles Times:
Op-Ed: Elizabeth Warren brushed off Bernie Sanders and taught a master class in handling sexism

Discussion: Twitchy

Kevin Baron / Defense One:

Eleven US Troops Were Injured in Jan. 8 Iran Missile Strike — The troops were medevaced this week to Germany and Kuwait to be treated for traumatic brain injury after experiencing concussion symptoms. — Nearly one dozen American troops were wounded in Iran's Jan. 8 missile attack on Iraq's al-Asad air base.

Washington Post:

White House hold on Ukraine aid violated federal law, congressional watchdog says — The White House violated federal law in its hold on security aid to Ukraine last year, according to a decision by a congressional watchdog released on Thursday and reviewed by The Washington Post.

Discussion: PJ Media Home, The Mahablog, Washington Monthly, Paste, The Federalist, Vox, Outside the Beltway, Twitchy, TheBlaze, VICE and Patterico's Pontifications

Politico:
White House violated the law by freezing Ukraine aid, GAO says

Discussion: Fox News, Vanity Fair, The Hill, The American Independent, Associated Press, JONATHAN TURLEY, The Smoke Eater, Townhall, National Review, Mother Jones, The Gateway Pundit, Common Dreams, emptywheel, American Military News, The American Spectator, The Week and Balloon Juice

Brian Bennett / TIME:

Inside Jared Kushner's Unusual White House Role — Jared Kushner's White House office is a shrine to his own influence. Gold-framed accolades from his father-in-law hang on the walls, written in thick black Sharpie in President Donald Trump's spiky hand. To Jared, Great job on Mexico.

Discussion: Mediaite and The Hill

Jessica Moulite / The Root:

Exclusive: Rep. Ayanna Pressley Reveals Beautiful Bald Head and Discusses Alopecia for the First Time — We'd like to have A Word with you. In The Root's op-ed video series, thought leaders across various disciplines give their perspectives on the important issues you should know about.

Discussion: NBC News, ABC News, The Hill, CNN, New York Times, Boston Magazine, New York Post, The Guardian, The Independent, CBS Boston and Mediaite

Andrew Cohen / Slate:

This Trump Supreme Court Short-Lister Says God Can Instruct Juries on Guilt and Innocence — Judge William Pryor of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a jurist from Alabama with a long record in law enforcement, has twice now been high on President Donald Trump's short list of potential Supreme Court nominees.

Discussion: Raw Story

Associated Press:

The Latest: Pelosi says Trump has options for State of Union — The Latest on President Donald Trump's impeachment (all times local): — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump can keep his Feb. 4 appointment with Congress to deliver his State of the Union address or he can ask …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Breitbart, Associated Press and KTLA

Shamira Ibrahim / New York Times:

‘The View’ Has a Meghan McCain Problem — The daytime co-hosts' heated bipartisan debates are played down as disagreement among friends. But the strain for “civility” is tiring. — Ms. Ibrahim is a culture writer and reporter. — During an episode of “The View” earlier this month …

Discussion: The Federalist, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Twitchy, NB Blog and The Hill

Kevin Stone / KTAR.com:

Mark Kelly heads into election year with big cash lead over Sen. McSally — PHOENIX - In what's shaping up to be one of the most expensive U.S. Senate campaigns of 2020, and the costliest in Arizona history, Democrat Mark Kelly continues to dominate incumbent Sen. Martha McSally on the fundraising front.

CBS News:

D.C. Fire Department recruits might be making “white power” hand gesture in photo — Washington — A photo of fire department recruits possibly using a racist hand gesture is being investigated by District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services. CBS Washington, D.C. affiliate WUSA-TV reports …

Discussion: Townhall, Washington Examiner, The Root and Twitchy

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

“It's Quite an Upheaval”: In an Ongoing Makeover of the Times Opinion Babel, the Old Editorial Voice of God Is Being Rationed — Even as controversies (Bret Stephens) explode like bombs, Opinion chief James Bennet, the second-most powerful journalist at the Times, pursues his cacophonous plans.

Fox News:

DHS seeks 270 miles of border wall using counter-narcotics funds — The Department of Homeland Security has requested assistance from the Pentagon to build 270 miles of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to combat drug smuggling, senior U.S. defense officials said.

Discussion: NBC News, Associated Press and One America News Network

Jake Offenhartz / Gothamist:

Bloomberg Campaign To El Bloombito Parody Account: Make Me Look Cool...Por Favor — There are very few things on this planet that Michael Bloomberg cannot buy. Private jets, knighthood, Republican Congressional victories—their costs are droplets in a $59 billion sea of wealth.

Discussion: CNN and Mediaite