memeorandum: Trump's idea of executive power is also impeachment defense (Associated Press)

11:25 AM ET, January 25, 2020

Top Items:

Sanders Seizes Lead in Volatile Iowa Race, Times Poll Finds — With solid support from liberals, Mr. Sanders appears to be peaking just as the caucuses approach. But many Iowa voters said they could still change their mind. — Which of these Democrats would be your first choice in the Iowa caucuses?

Discussion: Breitbart, Siena College Research …, Politico and circle.tufts.edu

Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
Poll: Sanders opens up lead in Iowa

Discussion: NBC News

Bret Stephens / New York Times: Anyone but Trump? Not So Fast

Brianne Pfannenstiel / Des Moines Register: U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne endorses former Vice President Joe Biden for president

Associated Press:
Campaign crunch time forces progressives to eye private jets

Discussion: One America News Network, The Hill and NBC News

NPR:

Transcript: NPR's Full Interview With Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo — Mary Louise Kelly: Secretary of State, good to see you. — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: Good to be with you. Thanks for having me on the show. — Let's start with Iran. What is the plan?

Discussion: Mother Jones, CNN, WHYY, The Week, The Guardian, HuffPost, Mediaite, Raw Story, Fox News, emptywheel, Law & Crime and The Daily Beast

Jason Breslow / NPR:

Pompeo Won't Say Whether He Owes Yovanovitch An Apology. 'I've Done What's Right' — With the State Department facing continued questions over the treatment of Marie Yovanovitch before she was recalled as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would not say on Friday whether he owed the career diplomat an apology.

Discussion: NBC News, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Week, Axios, Mother Jones, Law & Crime and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

Deirdre Shesgreen / USA Today:

After interview, Pompeo cursed at reporter, yelled: ‘Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?’ — WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used the “F-word” and other expletives after a testy interview with a National Public Radio host on Friday, the news outlet said.

Brie Stimson / Fox News:

Schiff refers to CBS ‘head on pike’ story, infuriating GOP: ‘Every one of us knows it is not true’ — Senate Republicans — including potential swing-voters — expressed outrage Friday after lead House Impeachment Manager Adam Schiff, D-Calif., referred in his closing remarks …

Discussion: Vox, Redstate, Associated Press, NBC News, The Hill, Politico, Washington Post, Althouse and CBS News

Anita Kumar / Politico:

Forget impeachment. Republicans fear Ukraine revelations could spill into election. — Republicans are already looking past impeachment, sensing a looming Democratic plot to gradually release more Ukraine bombshells as Donald Trump fights for re-election.

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post, NBC News and New York Times

Washington Post:
The impeachment evidence will catch up to Republicans and Trump — whether they ignore it or not

Discussion: HuffPost, PBS NewsHour, Daily Kos and The Atlantic

Politico:
Trump finds nearly unwavering loyalty from Republicans after Dem case

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story, ABC News and Breitbart

Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call: Executive privilege standoff could roil Trump impeachment trial timeline

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Lindsey Graham will oppose subpoena of Hunter Biden

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, Newsweek, ABC News, Breitbart, Esquire, The Gateway Pundit and National Review

Wall Street Journal:

Prosecutors Have Evidence Bezos' Girlfriend Gave Texts to Brother Who Leaked to National Enquirer — Text messages are among materials under review in probe examining whether publisher tried to extort Amazon chief — Manhattan federal prosecutors have evidence indicating Jeff Bezos …

Discussion: The Week, FOX 61, The Hill, New York Post and The Verge

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Emotional Schiff Speech Goes Viral, Delighting the Left and Enraging the Right — But here, right is supposed to matter. It's what's made us the greatest nation on earth. No constitution can protect us if right doesn't matter any more. And you know, you can't trust this president to do what's right for this country.

Discussion: Power Line and The Moderate Voice

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: Schiff — and what's next — DRIVING THE DAY — WRAPPING UP SCHIFF: Rep. ADAM SCHIFF (D-Calif.) — who has quickly been vaulted to a position of prominence atop the Democratic Party — wrapped up his prosecution of President DONALD TRUMP last night around 9 p.m. after three days of tight and compelling testimony.

Washington Post:

Trump's defense team to target Bidens in counterpunch to impeachment charges — White House lawyers are gearing up for a scorched-earth defense of President Trump in the impeachment trial, mounting a politically charged case aimed more at swaying American voters than GOP senators …

Discussion: UPI, The Hill, Balloon Juice and The Gateway Pundit

George Conway / Washington Post:
There's a critical witness impeachment is missing

Discussion: Law & Crime and Raw Story

Alexander Nazaryan / Yahoo News:
Fact, along with Trump, is on trial in the Senate

Discussion: The Guardian, New York Times and The B|E note

NBC News:

Who is Dmytro Firtash? The man linked to $1 million loan to Giuliani ally has a shadowy past — The billionaire oligarch is “at the dead center of the greatest corruption operation in Ukraine's history,” said a former senior U.S. diplomat. — In September, one month before Lev Parnas …

Eric Kleefeld / Media Matters for America: Smear merchant John Solomon accidentally reveals role of his lawyers diGenova and Toensing

Politico:

Meet the Cannabis Lawyer Beating Trump at His Own Game — He's defended narcos, mobsters, hit men and at least one fugitive hedge funder, squaring off against seasoned New York prosecutors for decades. He's a reptile enthusiast and schedules calls with reporters at 4:20 p.m.—a nod to his work in cannabis law.

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:
Lev Parnas Says He Has Tape of Trump Calling for Ambassador's Firing

Discussion: Letters from an American, HuffPost, The Hill, ABC News, NB Blog, NPR, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Politico and Talking Points Memo

CNN:
Trump captured on tape demanding firing of ambassador to Ukraine, attorney says

Discussion: emptywheel, The Week, The Independent, The Daily Beast, New York Times, Washington Post, Impeachment dot fyi and Raw Story

VFW:

VFW Expects Apology From POTUS — ‘TBI is a serious injury and one that cannot be taken lightly’ — KANSAS CITY, Mo. - “In light of today's announcement from the defense department that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of Iran's retaliatory strike …

Paul Szoldra / Task & Purpose:
VFW demands apology after Trump claims traumatic brain injuries are not ‘very serious’

Discussion: Slate

VICE:

Joe Rogan's Endorsement Is One of the Most Influential in America — Joe Rogan is one of the most influential people in media. That doesn't mean he's a good interviewer or a responsible communicator when speaking to a large and devoted audience, but it is a fact.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and The Hill

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
Joe Rogan's Bernie Endorsement Draws Outrage As Clip Surfaces Comparing Black Neighborhood to ‘Planet of the Apes’

Discussion: HuffPost, New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Independent, CNN, New York Post, Slate, The Daily Beast and Vox

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“He Really Thinks His Call Was Perfect. It Wasn't”: Trump at Odds With GOP, Kushner, His Campaign as Impeachment Bites — Angry at Kushner for the Time magazine cover and at GOP allies for their lukewarm impeachment defense, the president is veering off his campaign message. And advisers are worried.

Discussion: Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA and The Mahablog

New York Times:
Trump May Skip Debates, or Seek New Host, if Process Isn't ‘Fair’

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Washington Post and No More Mister Nice Blog

Jason Wilson / The Guardian:

Inside the Base: America's neo-Nazi terror network laid bare — Chats, audio and video obtained by the Guardian give a rare insight into the workings of a disturbing white supremacist group — The Base, a US-based white supremacist “social network” that has recently been targeted by the FBI …

Discussion: Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Big League Politics and VICE

Steven Nelson / New York Post:

Trump impeachment: Half-empty spectator gallery puzzles senators — The Senate spectator gallery was at least half-empty throughout the first week of President Donald Trump's impeachment trial and senators serving as the jury in the marathon sessions are taking notice …

Discussion: Breitbart

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

The Closing of the Senatorial Mind — On Day 4 of the Trump impeachment trial, it's clear the House Democrats' case against the President is not being heard. — Each day this week, when the Senate impeachment trial of Donald John Trump has convened at 1 p.m., the proceedings have opened …

Annie Correal / New York Times:

85,000 Pieces in Beloved Chinatown Museum Collection Likely Destroyed in Fire — The president of the Museum of Chinese in America said that she was “just distraught” and that the collection was one of a kind. — The 85,000 items, some dating to the 19th century, told the rich story …

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Plans to Evacuate Citizens From Epidemic-Stricken Chinese City — The U.S. government is said to be arranging a charter flight to evacuate Americans from Wuhan. — SHANGHAI—The U.S. government is arranging a charter flight Sunday to evacuate its citizens and diplomats …

Discussion: New York Post

Associated Press:

Trump's idea of executive power is also impeachment defense — WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has always been a man of absolutes. — Something is the best or the worst, a person is a winner or a total loser, an event has never happened before, even when it has.