memeorandum: Democracy 2020 Digest: Buttigieg teams up with Charlamagne tha God (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

6:10 PM ET, January 23, 2020

Top Items:

From Judy Woodruff: Longtime PBS NewsHour Anchor and Co-Founder Jim Lehrer Has Passed Away — Washington, DC (January 23, 2020) — It is with great sadness that I share the news that co-founder and longtime anchor of the PBS NewsHour Jim Lehrer died today, Thursday, January 23, 2020, peacefully in his sleep at home.

Discussion: NPR, TVNewser, Political Wire, KTLA, The Wrap, The Hill, Mediaite, The Week, HuffPost and WTKR-TV

PBS NewsHour:

Remembering Jim Lehrer — PBS NewsHour co-founder Jim Lehrer, a giant in journalism known for his tenacity and dedication to simply delivering the news, died Thursday at the age of 85. — For Jim, being a journalist was never a self-centered endeavor. He always told those who worked with him: “It's not about us.”

Discussion: UPI and The New Daily, more at Mediagazer »

Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:
Jim Lehrer, Longtime PBS News Anchor, Is Dead at 85

Discussion: TVNewser

Charlie Nash / Mediaite:

Fox & Friends Airs Brutal Bloomberg Ad Highlighting Trump's ‘Erratic and Out of Control’ Attacks on the Military — Fox News' Fox & Friends, often reported to be one of President Donald Trump's favorite shows, aired an attack ad on the president from 2020 Democratic presidential candidate …

Discussion: Fox News, IJR and Contemptor

Axios:

Mike Bloomberg copies Trump to beat Trump — To beat President Trump, Mike Bloomberg wants to be candidate Trump. — The state of play: Axios visited Bloomberg's new campaign HQ in Times Square yesterday, and we were struck by how much his 1,000+-person team is learning from …

Discussion: Raw Story

Joe Garofoli / San Francisco Chronicle:

San Francisco Mayor London Breed endorses Mike Bloomberg for president — San Francisco Mayor London Breed endorsed Mike Bloomberg for the Democratic presidential nomination, boosting the billionaire's chances in a delegate-rich state where he got off to a late start but is now spending millions to try to win.

Discussion: The Week and The Hill

Washington Post: Bloomberg gets under Trump's skin as he ramps up spending on 2020 ads

Zachary Petrizzo / Mediaite:
Trump Goes Off on ‘Mini Mike Bloomberg’ After Fox & Friends Airs Attack Ad

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Hill, New York Times and Politico

Sam Meredith / CNBC:

Mnuchin says Thunberg can tell us what to do ‘after she goes and studies economics in college’ — Speaking at a press briefing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mnuchin was asked whether the world's largest economy needed to completely and immediately divest from fossil fuels.

Discussion: The Guardian, PJ Media Home, Digby's Hullabaloo, Vanity Fair, One America News Network, Common Dreams, VICE, The American Independent and The Daily Beast

CNBC:
George Soros rips Trump and Xi, says the ‘fate of the world’ is at stake in 2020

Discussion: Breitbart and The Daily Caller

Maria Cramer / New York Times:
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Takes Jab at Greta Thunberg at Davos

Discussion: CNBC, Bloomberg, Earther, Reason, One America News Network, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Axios and National Observer

Anthony Brooks / WBUR:

Sanders Widens Lead In N.H. In New WBUR Poll — With the New Hampshire presidential primary less than three weeks away, a new WBUR poll suggests Bernie Sanders might be peaking at just the right time. The survey of more than 426 likely Democratic primary voters finds Sanders in the lead …

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, CNBC, Common Dreams, The Hill, CNN, Politico, Mediaite, Washington Times, Reason, National Review, The Week, TheBlaze, Sean Hannity and FiveThirtyEight

Laura Barrón-López / Politico:

Why Biden's rivals can't break his lock on black voters — GREENVILLE, S.C. — Julius Stephens is 74, black, and calls himself a liberal. — Standing outside Big Rod's Barber Shop in North Augusta after watching Joe Biden surrogates rally on behalf of the vice president last week …

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Times

Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:

Democracy 2020 Digest: Buttigieg teams up with Charlamagne tha God — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is in South Carolina Thursday, as he hopes to court black voters in the state that holds the first southern contest in the race for the White House.

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press and HuffPost

Fox News:

Carter Page FISA warrant lacked probable cause, declassified DOJ order finds — At least two of the FBI's surveillance applications to secretly monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page lacked probable cause, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) acknowledged …

Discussion: Associated Press, NBC News and Power Line

Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal:

Justice Department Believes It Should Have Ended Surveillance Earlier of Trump Adviser Page — Government tells court it lacked probable cause in last two of four eavesdropping applications — WASHINGTON—The Justice Department now believes it should have discontinued its secret surveillance …

Discussion: PJ Media Home

Sean Davis / The Federalist:
BREAKING: Spy Court Admits FISA Warrants Against Carter Page Were ‘Not Valid’

Discussion: Twitchy and The Gateway Pundit

Emma Loop / BuzzFeed News:

A Law Required The US's Top Intelligence Official To Turn Over A Report On Jamal Khashoggi's Killing. He Blew The Deadline. — WASHINGTON — The country's top intelligence official has failed to turn over to Congress a report on the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, sources said, flouting a law passed last month.

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story and Responsible Statecraft, more at Mediagazer »

Dan Primack / Axios:
MBS' alleged Bezos phone hack touches the highest levels of American power

Discussion: Slate, Columbia Journalism Review and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Greg Sargent / Associated Press:

Schiff asked GOP senators a tough question. The answer is awful. — As Rep. Adam Schiff continued building his case against President Trump late into Wednesday evening, Trump fired off one angry Twitter missive after another, until he finally crossed the 140 mark, perhaps his most prolific day of tweeting and retweeting ever.

Discussion: Vox, New York Times, Slate, Washington Post, The Mahablog, Raw Story and Law & Crime

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist: 6 Democratic Senators To Watch In Impeachment Trial

Tresa Baldas / Detroit Free Press:

Detroit man settles race discrimination lawsuit, then bank won't cash his check — Sauntore Thomas is reeling from a one-two punch. — First, the Detroiter sued his employer alleging racial discrimination in a lawsuit that settled confidentially. Then he went to the bank this week to cash …

Discussion: VICE, New York Post, New York Times, TheBlaze and Raw Story

Zolan Kanno-Youngs / New York Times:

Trump Moves to Block Visas for Pregnant Women on ‘Birth Tourism’ — The Trump administration grants visa officers more power to block pregnant women from visiting the United States if applicants are believed to be traveling to give birth. — WASHINGTON — The State Department on Thursday moved …

Discussion: Slate

Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:
Trump administration to restrict visas for pregnant women traveling to give birth

Discussion: The Daily Beast

HuffPost:

Trump's Doral Resort Spikes Its Room Rates Ahead Of His RNC Visit — The near doubling of rates may have increased taxpayer costs for housing Secret Service and other staff who traveled there ahead of the president's trip. — DORAL, Fla. ― The president's Miami golf resort that puts money …

Discussion: Politico and Daily Kos

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Jerry Nadler ‘stunned’ Susan Collins into writing a note to John Roberts — Sen. Susan Collins was “stunned” by Rep. Jerry Nadler's late-night diatribe this week against what he deemed a “cover-up” by Senate Republicans for President Donald Trump — so much so that she wrote a note to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post and CNN

David Harsanyi / National Review:

The Media Loves — And, I Mean, Really Loves — Adam Schiff — Jonathan Adler wonders whom Adam Schiff thinks his audience is. The answer is simple: the media. — The same people who spent years passing along every falsehood and selective leak the California congressman gave them to fuel …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Redstate and PJ Media Home

Tim Hains / RealClearPolitics: Trump Campaign Trolls Adam Schiff With “Road Runner” Cartoon Showing Schiff As Wile E. Coyote

NBC News:

Trump impeachment defense lawyers Ken Starr and Alan Dershowitz share disturbing problem — While the president still stands accused of sexual misconduct by more than 20 women, two of his lawyers are embroiled in their own sexual misconduct and assault scandals.

Discussion: The Atlantic

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Impeachment proceedings have something in common with Fox News — Steve Doocy isn't famous for self-awareness. He's the blond fellow on the couch of “Fox & Friends.” It's his job to say things that ridicule Democrats and bolster Republicans. As long as that happens, illogic, self-contradiction, factless babble — it's all fine.

Andrew Napolitano / Fox News:

Judge Andrew Napolitano: Trump's Senate impeachment trial — What does it take to remove a president? — I don't blame President Trump for his angst and bitterness over his impeachment by the House of Representatives. In his mind, he has done “nothing wrong” and not acted outside …

Discussion: Raw Story and HuffPost

Justin Wise / The Hill:

Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez hit back at JPMorgan CEO over comments on socialism: 'That's funny' — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) each took shots at Jamie Dimon this week after the JPMorgan Chase CEO derided socialism as something that leads to “eroding society.”

Discussion: One America News Network, CNBC, Bloomberg and Twitchy

Tobias Hoonhout / National Review:

Stacey Abrams Urges Fellow Dems to ‘Stop Re-Litigating Past Elections’ — Stacey Abrams said it was time “to stop re-litigating past elections” during a speech at the University of New England in Portland, Maine on Wednesday, despite failing to officially concede her 2018 loss to Georgia governor Brian Kemp.

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Free Beacon and Associated Press

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed News:

Top Cory Booker Supporters Are Accusing Pete Buttigieg Of “Chasing Ambulances” — Iowa officials expect a personal touch and a “grieving period.” Buttigieg's quick calls struck some as “a gut punch.” — Reporting From — DES MOINES — The phone calls to Amy Nielsen came around two hours apart.

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

In marathon impeachment trial, senators walk to stay focused or pass the time with a fidget spinner — By 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, Sens. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) appeared to stand guard over the Senate. — On either side of the chamber, Toomey and Booker stood at their desks …

Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:

Trumpworld has converted the nation's regional talk radio hosts into a loyal army — RICHMOND — With breakfast from McDonald's in his left hand and his softsided briefcase rolling behind him, John Fredericks strolled into his radio studio, housed in a small, isolated building on the south side of this city.

ABC News:

Trump impeachment trial live updates: Democrats make ‘abuse of power’ case —President Trump's constitutional lawyer Alan Dershowitz argues a president cannot be impeached for ‘abuse of power’ —Schumer says a Trump acquittal will have ‘zero value’ if no witnesses -Graham compliments Schiff …

Discussion: CBS News, Breitbart, The Week, The Gateway Pundit, Balloon Juice, National Review, Redstate, IJR, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Joe Heim / Washington Post:

National Archives replaces altered Women's March photo with original version — Four days after apologizing for altering a photo of the 2017 Women's March, the National Archives replaced it with an unaltered copy of the original, according to an announcement on the agency's website Wednesday.

Adam Edelman / NBC News:

Schiff argues Rudy was always under Trump's direction: ‘Not some Svengali’ — Schiff, the first manager to speak after the first break of the day ended, is now making the point that while Giuliani was busy maneuvering in Ukraine last year — a key picture painted by managers yesterday — he wasn't doing so out of his own motives.

Discussion: Breitbart, The Hill and Washington Post

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Mick Mulvaney becomes top Democratic impeachment target — Democrats are zeroing in on Mick Mulvaney as their top demand for witness testimony during President Donald Trump's impeachment trial. — That doesn't mean the party doesn't also want to hear from former national security adviser John Bolton …

Discussion: NBC News and Raw Story

George Packer / The Atlantic:

The Enemies of Writing — Editor's Note: The Hitchens Prize is awarded annually by the Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation to an author or a journalist whose work, in the spirit of the late Christopher Hitchens, “reflects a commitment to free expression and inquiry, a range and depth of intellect …

Cameron Knight / Cincinnati.com:

Hamilton County Judge Robert Ruehlman: ‘I call ICE’ — An arrest inside a Cincinnati courthouse last week prompted a political fight over whether federal immigration police should be allowed to arrest undocumented immigrants who show up for court appearances.

Scott Bixby / The Daily Beast:

Bernie Sanders Once Compared Vermont Workers to Black ‘Slaves’ — As the leading member of a self-described “radical political party” in the 1970s, Bernie Sanders repeatedly compared Vermont workers to enslaved black people. — In recent weeks, Sen. Bernie Sanders has criticized his rivals …

Discussion: HuffPost, The Root, TheBlaze and Sara A. Carter

Harriet Sherwood / The Guardian:

Sex is for married heterosexual couples only, says Church of England — Pastoral guidance also calls for Christians in gay or straight civil unions to be abstinent — The Church of England has stated that sex belongs only within heterosexual marriage, and that Christians in gay …

Discussion: PinkNews

Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:

US general says troop surge in Middle East may not end soon — ABOARD THE USS BATAAN (AP) — Over the past eight months, the United States has poured more than 20,000 additional troops into the Middle East to counter the escalating threat from Iran that peaked with the recent missile attack on American forces in Iraq.

Peter Nicholas / The Atlantic:

Donald Trump Has One Problem — Donald Trump faces the diciest moment of his presidency, a Senate impeachment trial, with a pair of distinct handicaps: shattered credibility and a West Wing that is broken into fiefdoms and often clueless about his intentions. Both were years in the making; neither seems easily fixed.