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

3:45 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, Talking Points Memo, CNN, Law & Crime, UPI and Raw Story

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: Vox, Fox News, Vanity Fair, Mediaite, The Week, Raw Story and Columbia Journalism Review, more at Mediagazer »

Carol E. Lee / NBC News:

Justice Department opens inquiry into FBI interview at heart of Flynn's guilty plea — AG Barr has asked a U.S. attorney to lead the inquiry. Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements during the interview, but wants to withdraw plea. — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department recently opened …

Discussion: Redstate, CNBC and Law & Crime

Andrew C. McCarthy / The Hill:

Roger Stone's sentence: How the judge will really decide to ‘lock him up’ — Attorney General Bill Barr is undoubtedly right: The president's ill-tempered tweets about pending criminal cases undermine the Justice Department's mission. The rule of law depends not only on the reality …

Discussion: Redstate, The Bulwark, Townhall and Washington Post

Sally Yates / Washington Post:

Trump thinks the Justice Department is his personal grudge squad — Sally Yates served as deputy attorney general from January 2015 to January 2017. — The imperative of Justice Department independence from political influence has deep roots. After the Watergate scandal …

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, Reason, Raw Story, New York Times, American Greatness and Talking Points Memo

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

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Mediaite and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Justice Department has directed outside prosecutors to review Michael T. Flynn's case …

Discussion: The American Independent, Fox News, The Hill, National Review, The Daily Beast, Power Line, Bloomberg, The Guardian and Joe.My.God.

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

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press and ABC News

Associated Press:
US closes case against ex-FBI boss McCabe with no charges

Discussion: IJR

Lee Moran / HuffPost:
People Aren't Buying William Barr's Rebuke Of Donald Trump

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, CNN, Fox News, NB Blog and No More Mister Nice Blog

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

Discussion: Slate, ABC News, Spectator USA, Law & Crime, Raw Story, Vox and The Hill

Franklin Foer / The Atlantic:
Now We Know What Kind of Authoritarian Trump Aspires to Be

Discussion: Raw Story

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

Discussion: Daily Kos, Common Dreams, VICE, The Atlantic, Sputnik News, BizPac Review and Raw Story

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

Discussion: New York Times and The Gateway Pundit

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

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
DOJ drops probe into former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe

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

Ross Ramsey / The Texas Tribune:

Bernie Sanders leaps to first among Texas Democrats in latest UT/TT Poll — Sanders now leads the Democratic presidential candidates among Texas voters, but Donald Trump maintains a slight lead over each of the top Democrats in the race, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

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

Andrew Romano / Yahoo News:

New Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows Sanders's strength going head-to-head with rivals — A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that Sen. Bernie Sanders would defeat each of the other Democratic presidential candidates in a one-on-one race — in many instances by double-digit margins.

Discussion: The Dispatch and Power Line

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

Discussion: Associated Press and ABC News

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

Discussion: Townhall, Associated Press and The Daily Beast

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
There is another service to the country Biden may need to perform

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Hill

Philip Bump / Washington Post: This is how narrow a Democrat's path to the nomination will be

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: CNN, NBC New York, Redstate and BizPac Review

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: Sports Illustrated, The Week, The Last Refuge, The Wrap and Mediaite

Associated Press:
Michael Avenatti convicted of trying to extort Nike

Discussion: Axios

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: National Review, Axios and Joe.My.God.

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: Raw Story

Henry Foy / Financial Times:
US cites reports Oleg Deripaska helped Vladimir Putin launder cash

Discussion: РБК

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

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

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.

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, PBS NewsHour, Vox, Washington Post and The Daily Beast

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: Joe.My.God.

Connor O'Brien / Politico:

Top Democrat blasts Trump's ‘false’ justification for Soleimani killing — The administration highlighted the 2002 authorization passed ahead of the invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime. — House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel. J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

Discussion: Raw Story, HuffPost and Breitbart

Ryan Goodman / Just Security:
White House ‘1264 Notice’ and Novel Legal Claims for Military Action Against Iran

Discussion: CNBC, New York Times and Virginia Mercury

Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:

An Unrestrained Trump May End Up Trapping Himself — The Senate pushes back on war powers and a Fed nominee, while a White House purge might undercut the president's clout. — I'm not sure what the conventional wisdom is about the current health of Donald Trump's presidency …

Discussion: Raw Story and New York Times

Associated Press:

Facebook reverses on paid political messages that aren't ads — SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook decided Friday to allow a type of paid political message that had sidestepped many of the social network's rules governing political ads, in a reversal that highlights difficulties tech companies …

Discussion: KTLA

Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:

General John Kelly, Trump Stooge, Is No Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, Patriot — Vindman saw something, and said something. Kelly saw plenty, and kept it to himself for more than two years. — BEAST INSIDE — John Kelly's half-assed, just-the-tip critique of Donald Trump …

Discussion: One America News Network and Raw Story

Jo Craven McGinty / Wall Street Journal:

How Many People Might One Person With Coronavirus Infect? — Researchers in U.K. offer clues as to how contagious Covid-19 virus could be — When an infection erupts the way coronavirus has exploded in Wuhan, China, and elsewhere in the world, public-health experts try to gauge the potential …

Discussion: Mediaite