memeorandum: Alexander Vindman, Who Drew Trump's Ire, Won't Face Disciplinary Action (Gordon Lubold/Wall Street Journal)

7:00 PM ET, February 14, 2020

Top Items:

Barr Installs Outside Prosecutor to Review Case Against Michael Flynn, Ex-Trump Adviser — Amid turmoil in the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, the attorney general has also sent outside prosecutors to review other politically sensitive cases. — WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr …

Washington Post:

Justice Dept. won't charge Andrew McCabe, the former FBI official who authorized the investigation of President Trump — The Justice Department will not bring charges against former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe for lying to investigators about a media disclosure, according to people familiar …

Discussion: Redstate, POLITICUSUSA, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Law & Crime, Raw Story and UPI

Adam Goldman / New York Times:

Andrew McCabe, Ex-F.B.I. Official, Will Not Be Charged in Lying Case — The decision to decline charges appears to be a move to distance the Justice Department from President Trump, who has long attacked Mr. McCabe. — WASHINGTON — Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy F.B.I. director …

Discussion: Associated Press, Fox News, Vox, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Vanity Fair, Mediaite, The Week, Raw Story, Columbia Journalism Review and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

Roger Stone asks for new trial in sealed motion, one day after Trump accused jury forewoman of bias — Defense attorneys for Roger Stone demanded a new trial Friday, one day after President Trump suggested that the forewoman in his friend's case had “significant bias.”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

The Daily Beast:

‘Disturbing’: Federal Judge Blasted DOJ for Leaving McCabe in ‘Limbo’ — “I think as a government and as a society we're going to pay a price at some point for this,” Judge Reggie Barnett Walton told DOJ attorneys. — Justice Department attorneys struggled with mounting frustration …

Discussion: Raw Story

Colin Kalmbacher / Law & Crime: Ethics Complaint Against AG Barr Filed with DOJ Inspector General

Sally Yates / Washington Post:
Trump thinks the Justice Department is his personal grudge squad

Discussion: Axios, HuffPost, The National Memo, Joe.My.God., The Hill, Reason, New York Times and Raw Story

Carol E. Lee / NBC News:
Justice Department opens inquiry into FBI interview at heart of Flynn's guilty plea

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Redstate, The National Memo, CNBC, Law & Crime and Raw Story

Associated Press:
Trump ignores AG Barr's request to stop tweeting about DOJ

Discussion: Politico

Washington Post:
Trump bucks Barr's request to stop tweeting about Justice Dept., declaring a 'legal right …

Discussion: The American Independent, The Guardian, New Republic, Fox News, The Hill, Bloomberg, Joe.My.God., The Daily Beast and The Mahablog

Lisa Monaco / Just Security: The Soul of the Justice Department: Who Must Stand Up For It Now

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
The Right's Big Lie About Roger Stone

Discussion: Spectator USA, The Bulwark, ABC News, Washington Post, VICE, NB Blog, Raw Story, Sputnik News and Slate

CNN:
Barr privately ordered re-examination of Michael Flynn's case, US officials say

Discussion: Daily Kos, New York Post, POLITICUSUSA and The Gateway Pundit

Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:
Please stop tweeting, Mr. President. It's making it much more difficult for me to do your bidding!

Discussion: Redstate, The Hill and The Erin Endeavor

NBC News: Justice Department drops leak case against former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe

Andrew C. McCarthy / The Hill:
Roger Stone's sentence: How the judge will really decide to ‘lock him up’

Discussion: Washington Post, Redstate, Big League Politics, Slate and Townhall

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Barr's ABC News interview is deeply damning. Here's what must come next.

Discussion: HuffPost, New York Times, Right Wing Watch, Daily Kos, National Review, Common Dreams, Contemptor and Raw Story

New York Times:

Bill de Blasio Endorses Bernie Sanders — The New York City mayor, who was briefly a presidential candidate himself, is scheduled to campaign with Mr. Sanders in Nevada ahead of the caucuses there next week. — Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, whose brief presidential campaign failed …

Discussion: Mediaite and Bloomberg

Sally Goldenberg / Politico:

De Blasio to endorse Bernie Sanders — NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will endorse Bernie Sanders for president — a move intended to advance his own elusive quest for national relevance while underscoring his background as a left-leaning, establishment-wary Democrat, according to people familiar with the mayor's plans.

Discussion: National Review, The Hill, Instapundit and The Week

Ross Ramsey / The Texas Tribune:
Bernie Sanders leaps to first among Texas Democrats in latest UT/TT Poll

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY, The Hill, Joe.My.God. and Common Dreams

Zach Montellaro / Politico:
Dems will hold mid-March debate in Arizona

Discussion: ABC News, Associated Press and The Hill

Andrew Romano / Yahoo News:
New Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows Sanders's strength going head-to-head with rivals

Discussion: Slate, The Dispatch and Power Line

Dylan Scott / Vox:
Bernie Sanders is leading the 2 most important states on Super Tuesday

Discussion: Associated Press, The Daily Beast, Townhall, Patterico's Pontifications and The Banter

New York Times:

Border Patrol Will Deploy Elite Tactical Agents to Sanctuary Cities — Agents from a special tactical team that normally confronts smugglers on the border are being sent to sanctuary cities across the country. — The Trump administration is deploying law enforcement tactical units …

Discussion: Vox, ABC News, CNN, Associated Press, National Review, Los Angeles Times, The Independent, VICE, Axios, Raw Story, Common Dreams, The American Independent, Joe.My.God. and CBS Boston

NBC News:

Michael Avenatti guilty on all counts in Nike extortion case — Avenatti was arrested in March, about 15 minutes after tweeting that he had scheduled a press conference to “disclose a major high school/college basketball scandal perpetrated by @Nike.” — Lawyer Michael Avenatti …

Discussion: Redstate, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily Caller, Townhall and HuffPost

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti found guilty in Nike extortion trial — Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti was convicted of all three charges related to his efforts to extort up to $25 million from athletic apparel giant Nike. — The verdict in Manhattan federal court came two years …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Mediaite, UPI, Sports Illustrated, NB Blog, The Week, The Last Refuge and The Wrap

Associated Press:
Michael Avenatti convicted of trying to extort Nike

Discussion: Axios, Redstate and VICE

CNN:
Michael Avenatti has been found guilty on all counts in Nike extortion trial

Discussion: NBC New York, The Federalist, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Rolling Stone, Joe.My.God. and New York Daily News

Jacqueline Feldscher / Politico:

Army won't investigate Vindman over impeachment testimony, top leader says — The Army will not investigate Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the former National Security Council staffer who testified in the president's impeachment investigation, the service's top civilian said Friday.

Discussion: Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God. and TheBlaze

Gordon Lubold / Wall Street Journal: Alexander Vindman, Who Drew Trump's Ire, Won't Face Disciplinary Action

Washington Post:

She pushed Trump to exit the Paris climate agreement and roll back environmental rules. And she's returning to EPA as chief of staff. — One of EPA's first Trump appointees, Mandy Gunasekara has run a ‘pro-Trump nonprofit’ since leaving the agency a year ago.

Discussion: Axios and The Week

Rory Appleton / Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Sanders holds lead heading into Nevada's Democratic caucuses, poll finds — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders leads the presidential field by a solid margin among likely Democratic caucusgoers heading into Nevada's four-day early voting period, but all six of the candidates actively campaigning …

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, Washington Post, The Hill and The Nevada Independent

Washington Post:

As impeachment trial ended, federal prosecutors took new steps in probe related to Giuliani, according to people familiar with case — As the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump drew to a close in Washington earlier this month, federal prosecutors in New York contacted witnesses …

New York Times:

We Checked the Iowa Caucus Math. Here's Where It Didn't Add Up. — Caucus volunteers tally the final round votes. Then they divide the county delegates among the viable candidates based on their vote shares. — They must round down or up to the nearest whole number to award the delegates.

Ian Millhiser / Vox:

Trump just got bad news from Neil Gorsuch's mentor in a big Medicaid case — Judge David B. Sentelle testified at the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on the future of the Independent Counsel Act in 1999. Douglas Graham/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images — When you've lost David Sentelle ...

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Phil McCausland / NBC News:
Federal court strikes down Trump administration's Medicaid work requirements

Discussion: Associated Press and NPR

Vivian Ho / The Guardian:

Queer activists disrupt Pete Buttigieg event in San Francisco: ‘We deserve better’ — Fundraiser highlights division as growing number of LGBTQ+ voters say his views don't represent them — Play Video — At the center of San Francisco's National LGBTQ Center for the Arts …

Discussion: #QueersAgainstPete, The Daily Caller, Power Line, San José Spotlight and New Yorker

Megan Messerly / The Nevada Independent:

Culinary Union officials face profanity-laced attacks after scorecard says Sanders would ‘end’ their health care — Geoconda Arguello-Kline, left, secretary-treasurer for the Culinary Union announced that the culinary will not endorse a Democratic presidential candidate in the primary.

Discussion: Redstate, Raw Story and PBS NewsHour

Adam Bienkov / Business Insider:

Boris Johnson has cancelled his planned trip to the White House after Trump slammed the phone down on him in a moment of ‘apoplectic’ fury — UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has cancelled his planned trip to meet Donald Trump next month after a furious row between the two men.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Raw Story

Ruy Teixeira / Washington Post:

No, radical policies won't drive election-winning turnout — No myth is stronger in progressive circles than the magical, wonderworking powers of voter turnout. It's become a sort of pixie dust that you sprinkle over your strenuously progressive positions to ward off any suggestion that they might turn off voters.

Betsy Swan / The Daily Beast:

U.S. Readied Sanctions on Russian Oligarch's Associates—Then Mysteriously Backed Off — “Somebody overruled [Treasury], essentially,” one sanctions expert said. “That's the most likely scenario.” — Something strange happened in mid-December involving Oleg Deripaska, the Russian oligarch.

Discussion: American Oversight and Raw Story