memeorandum: ‘How do you fall for the Bernie Sanders scam?’ Martin O'Malley on the Democrats and Iowa (Martin Pengelly/The Guardian)

12:20 PM ET, February 2, 2020

Top Items:

Des Moines Register, partners cancel release of Iowa Poll over respondent concerns — The Des Moines Register, CNN and Selzer & Co. have made the decision to not release the final installment of the CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll as planned this evening.

Discussion: HuffPost, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, Politico, FiveThirtyEight, Twitchy, American Greatness, Breitbart, Raw Story, ABC News, Mediaite, Axios, Althouse, Fox News, The Hill, New York Post and WHOTV

Adam Wren / Politico:

Being Gay on the Campaign Trail With Pete Buttigieg — November 8—Eighty-eight days before the Iowa caucuses. A bitterly cold day was languishing its way toward sunset in New Hampshire. It was so cold that the Pete Buttigieg campaign passed out hand warmers at a barn party in Stratham that afternoon.

New York Times:

Des Moines Register Poll of Iowa Caucusgoers Abruptly Shelved — The release of the highly anticipated survey was canceled after complaints from Pete Buttigieg's campaign that he was not included in at least one phone call. — DES MOINES — A highly anticipated poll of Iowa Democrats …

Discussion: Slate, The Independent, Politico, Associated Press and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:
Pete Buttigieg: Americans ‘are the jury’ in Trump's impeachment trial now

Discussion: The Hill

Ben Terris / Washington Post: How does Pete Buttigieg feel?

ABC News:
Pete Buttigieg makes final pitch to voters in Iowa

Discussion: The Hill and Politico

Lisa Lerer / New York Times: Live Coverage of the Final Weekend Before the 2020 Iowa Caucuses

Andy Shain / Post and Courier:

Sanders and Steyer closing gap on Biden as SC 2020 presidential primary nears — COLUMBIA — Joe Biden's hold atop South Carolina Democratic presidential primary polls has never wavered over nearly a year. — But the former vice president's lead continues to slide with the South's first primary just under a month away.

Discussion: Reuters, Breitbart and The Hill

CBS News:

CBS News Battleground Tracker: What could happen in Iowa on Monday? — Our final CBS News Iowa Battleground Tracker offers a statistical simulation of the caucuses and some scenarios that might unfold on Monday. It looks like a close contest heading in, and the top candidates are all poised to win national delegates.

Discussion: The Week and The Hill

Natasha Korecki / Politico:

Rivals warn Sanders campaign plans to game Iowa results — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Rival campaigns are sounding the alarm that Bernie Sanders could be planning to claim victory on Monday night — before the caucuses are concluded. — It's a move, they say, that could have a significant effect on the outcome.

Discussion: NBC News

Alexandra Jaffe / Associated Press:
‘Zombie’ campaigns could pick up support in Iowa caucuses

Discussion: NBC News, Politico and Fox News

The Daily Beast:

Trump's Ugly Media Obsessions: ‘Fat’ Meghan McCain, ‘Bitch’ Katy Tur & More — EXCERPT — In this selection from their new book, “Sinking in the Swamp,” Daily Beast reporters Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng lay bare Trump's petty, relentless rants about the media.

Discussion: Raw Story

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:

‘How do you fall for the Bernie Sanders scam?’ Martin O'Malley on the Democrats and Iowa — In 2016, the Maryland governor ran for president. Now he's taking the battle to Trump - and hoping his party won't veer too far left — Four years ago, in Iowa, Martin O'Malley withdrew …

Mark Murray / NBC News:

NBC/WSJ poll: Country remains divided over Trump's impeachment trial — Majorities of Americans believe the president abused his power and obstructed Congress but split over whether it was enough to remove him. — WASHINGTON — Majorities of American voters believe that President Donald Trump abused …

Discussion: The Hill and Axios

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

‘A massive historical story’: Trump's impending acquittal could have profound ramifications for future presidents — The evidence of President Trump's actions to pressure Ukraine was never in serious dispute. After a systematic presentation of the facts of the case, even some Senate Republicans concluded that what he did was wrong.

Washington Post:
Inside the Senate trial: McConnell stops rebel push in GOP for witnesses

Discussion: The Hill

Paul Kane / Washington Post: Senate to emerge from impeachment trial guilty of extreme partisanship

Holly Michels / Billings Gazette:

Billings legislator insists Constitution says it's OK to shoot socialists — HELENA — A Billings Republican legislator said Saturday he believes the U.S. Constitution calls for the shooting or jailing of those who identify as socialists. — State Rep. Rodney Garcia …

Discussion: Raw Story

Kimberly Dozier / TIME:

A U.S. Plane Crashed in Afghanistan. Why So Many Believed a CIA Chief Was On It. — The wreckage of a U.S. military plane that crashed and burned in a snowy mountainous region in Afghanistan on Monday was still fresh when Iranian state TV ran a story claiming a top CIA officer was among the dead.

Rebecca Falconer / Axios:

NOAA emails reveal internal alarm over Trump's claims about Hurricane Dorian — Senior National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials privately slammed an unsigned NOAA statement contradicting forecasters and backing President Trump's claims that Hurricane Dorian was threatening Alabama …

Discussion: New York Post, Talking Points Memo and Bloomberg

New York Times:
NOAA Leaders Privately Disowned Agency's Rebuke of Scientists Who Contradicted Trump

Discussion: CNN and Washington Post

Axios:

Ernst says Trump's focus on Bidens in Ukraine could influence Iowa caucuses — Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said on CNN's “State of the Union” Sunday that President Trump's Senate impeachment trial has helped bring to light information about Joe and Hunter Biden's activities in Ukraine …

Discussion: Breitbart and The Hill

Summer Concepcion / Talking Points Memo:

Alexander: Even If It Weren't An Election Year, I'd ‘Probably’ Still Vote Against Witnesses — Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) insists that even if the Senate impeachment trial wasn't happening during an election year, he would still vote against additional witnesses or document subpoenas.

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:
Lamar Alexander says Senate should not ‘substitute its judgment’ for that of the voters

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, Contemptor, CNN, Talking Points Memo and Breitbart

New York Times:

As New Coronavirus Spread, China's Old Habits Delayed Fight — At critical turning points, Chinese authorities put secrecy and order ahead of openly confronting the growing crisis and risking public alarm or political embarrassment. — WUHAN, China — A mysterious illness had stricken seven patients …

Discussion: Politico and Slate

Washington Post: Early missteps and state secrecy in China probably allowed the coronavirus to spread farther and faster

Quartz:

Raytheon engineer arrested for taking US missile defense secrets to China — Because China — Even small changes in China have global effects. — When Wei Sun, a 48-year-old engineer at Raytheon Missile Systems, left for an overseas trip last year, he told the company he planned to bring …