memeorandum: FBI's ‘Case Agent 1’ Stephen Somma ‘primarily responsible’ for FISA failures (Daniel Chaitin/Washington Examiner)

3:35 PM ET, February 24, 2020

Top Items:

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Mike Bloomberg prepares media onslaught against Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders — Mike Bloomberg's presidential campaign plans to unleash its cash-flush media operation against Bernie Sanders in the wake of the Vermont senator's resounding victory in the Nevada caucuses.

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, The Last Refuge, Raw Story, The Daily Spin, Political Flare and TheBlaze

Chris Cillizza / CNN:

The 1 thing that might slow down Bernie Sanders is a very, very long shot — (CNN)The 48 hours since Bernie Sanders rolled to an across-the-board victory in the Nevada caucuses have been filled with skittish Democratic establishment types coming to this realization: Not only is stopping …

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
Democrats, stop freaking out about Bernie Sanders

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Monthly and Politico

Kyle Kondik / New York Times:
Would Bernie Sanders Be a Drag on Vulnerable Democrats?

Discussion: Sabato's Crystal Ball and IJR

Tyler Olson / Fox News:
Bloomberg launches broadside against Sanders on gun control

Discussion: Breitbart

New York Times:

Harvey Weinstein Is Found Guilty on Two Counts: Live Updates — Mr. Weinstein is guilty of criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree. — RIGHT NOW Harvey Weinstein is guilty of criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree. — Here's what you need to know:

Discussion: TalkLeft, BuzzFeed News, The Daily Caller, The Week, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Variety, Rolling Stone, Althouse and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:

Harvey Weinstein found guilty in landmark #MeToo moment — NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday of rape and sexual assault against two women and could be sent to prison for decades, sealing his dizzying fall from powerful Hollywood studio boss to archvillain of the #MeToo movement.

Discussion: CBS New York, The Week, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit and Gothamist

Business Insider:
Harvey Weinstein will be in Rikers Island jail until his sentencing next month after a jury found …

Discussion: INSIDER

Wall Street Journal: Weinstein Convicted of Third-Degree Rape and First-Degree Criminal Sexual Act

Shayna Jacobs / Washington Post:
Harvey Weinstein guilty on two charges, acquitted on others in New York sexual assault case

Discussion: The Atlantic, Fox News, The Week and INSIDER

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:

Sanders Rises as Primary Voters Grow More Confident About His Chances Against Trump — 32% say Sanders is their first choice to take on Trump in November — Getty Images / Morning Consult illustration by Samantha Elbouez — Democratic primary voters increasingly believe Sanders …

Discussion: The Hill, Tangle, The Guardian, Vox, Bloomberg and FiveThirtyEight

Chris Cillizza / CNN:

Bernie Sanders' disastrous answer on ‘60 Minutes’ — (CNN)Bernie Sanders, the clear front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, was asked over the weekend how much his various plans would cost if implemented. He didn't know. … Here's the exchange between Sanders and Anderson Cooper on “60 Minutes”:

Discussion: Issues & Insights, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, TheBlaze and Florida Politics

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

Bernie Sanders Is Making a Big Mistake — It has to do with respect. — The last four presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump — are four very different politicians. But they have one crucial similarity: They all tried to appeal to voters who weren't obvious supporters.

Anderson Cooper / CBS News:
Bernie Sanders on being the Democratic frontrunner and taking on Donald Trump

Discussion: The Hill, NBC News, CNN, TheBlaze, Townhall, Louder With Crowder, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Miami Herald, PJ Media Home, Breitbart, The Week, HuffPost, Babalú Blog, IJR, The Independent, Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, The Wrap, Mediaite, Redstate, INSIDER, Twitchy and New York Post

Melissa Quinn / CBS News:
Tim Scott says Sanders is the Democrat who poses biggest threat to Trump

Discussion: IJR and TheBlaze

Ben Conarck / Miami Herald:

A Miami man who flew to China worried he might have coronavirus. He may owe thousands — After returning to Miami last month from a work trip in China, Osmel Martinez Azcue found himself in a frightening position: he was developing flu-like symptoms, just as coronavirus was ravaging the country he had visited.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, No More Mister Nice Blog and Raw Story

Jim VandeHei / Axios:

The evidence doesn't back Democrats' panic that Bernie can't win - Axios — Virtually every national and swing state poll shows Sanders tied with or beating Trump.

Discussion: National Review and Bern Notice

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Who would win a Trump-Sanders election? — Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) victory in the Nevada caucuses Saturday will move him into the lead in the Democratic Party's presidential nominating contest. Polling from the large states that vote on Super Tuesday suggests that Sanders may soon solidify …

Discussion: CNN and Florida Politics

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
If Democrats Aren't Terrified of Bernie, They're Not Paying Attention

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Dave Jamieson / HuffPost:

The Young Turks' Progressive Founder Urged His Staff Not To Unionize — In a tense meeting with employees, Cenk Uygur argued that a union doesn't belong at a small news network struggling to make profits. — Top leadership at the progressive news network The Young Turks held an all-staff meeting …

Discussion: National Review and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Eli Clifton / Responsible Statecraft:

Trump's new acting Director of National Intelligence conducted undisclosed work for Hungary's far-right government — An investigation by Responsible Statecraft has found that President Trump's newly installed acting Director of National Intelligence, Richard Grenell, knowingly provided …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Gabriel Debenedetti / New York Magazine:

No You Drop Out: Why Bernie's Rivals Are All Stubbornly Staying in the Race — The chatter started up again, stronger than ever, before caucus sites even opened across Nevada on Saturday. First it was in the form of whispers among campaign strategists and donors, and as the week wore …

Discussion: The Federalist, VodkaPundit, LA Progressive, HuffPost, New York Times, Reason, Outside the Beltway, The Week and The Hill

Josh Lederman / NBC News:
Vandalism hits Bloomberg campaign offices across the U.S.

Discussion: The Hill and The Daily Caller

Fred Hiatt / Washington Post: How Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders both reject the reality of climate change

Margalit Fox / New York Times:

Katherine Johnson Dies at 101; Mathematician Broke Barriers at NASA — She was one of a group of black women mathematicians at NASA and its predecessor who were celebrated in the 2016 movie “Hidden Figures.” — They asked Katherine Johnson for the moon, and she gave it to them.

Discussion: IJR, Observer, Rolling Stone and The Week

Nihar Kabinittal / Associated Press:

Thomas criticizes a previous high court opinion - his own — Justice Clarence Thomas has made no secret of his dislike of past Supreme Court decisions written by other justices, including seminal opinions about abortion rights, press freedoms and a defendant's right to a lawyer

Tyler Olson / Fox News:
In Supreme Court dissent, Thomas cites Thomas in arguing to overturn decision authored by Thomas

Discussion: Associated Press

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Let's get to the memos. — 1. The Jessie Liu memo: Shortly before withdrawing the nomination of the former D.C. U.S. attorney for a top Treasury role, the president reviewed a memo on Liu's alleged misdeeds, according to a source with direct knowledge.

Discussion: Vox, The Independent, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, IJR, The American Independent, The Root, Daily Kos, The Week, The Daily Caller, INSIDER, Political Flare, The Hill, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Occupy Democrats

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Awful new details about Trump's purge should alarm us all

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and New York Times

CNBC:

DOW PLUNGES 1,000 POINTS — Matrix's Katz: You want to buy into the dips and the coronavirus uncertainty — Stocks fell sharply on Monday, with Dow Jones Industrial Average losses reaching 1,000 points at midday. The number of coronavirus cases outside China surged …

Discussion: Politico, Vox, National Review, The Week and JustOneMinute

Daniel Chaitin / Washington Examiner:

FBI's ‘Case Agent 1’ Stephen Somma ‘primarily responsible’ for FISA failures — The Justice Department Inspector watchdog referred FBI agent Stephen Somma for disciplinary review after an investigation into alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
FBI Agent Faulted In FISA Report For ‘Significant’ Errors Has Finally Been Identified

Discussion: Redstate and New York Times

Chris Sommerfeldt / New York Daily News:

In 2019 speech, Bloomberg mocked Brooklyn father and son who died from heroin as ‘not a good family’ — Mike Bloomberg poked fun last year at a father and son who died from heroin overdoses at the same Brooklyn party, calling them “not a good family” to laughs from a crowd of business executives, the Daily News has learned.

Discussion: The Hill

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:

HR McMaster to publish book that may pose headaches for Trump — Donald Trump is trying to stop the publication of a book by his third national security adviser, John Bolton, but he will soon have to contend with a volume published by his second. — Lt Gen HR McMaster will publish Battlegrounds …

Jonathan Cohn / HuffPost:

Bernie Sanders Rolls Out $1.5 Trillion Plan For Free, Universal Child Care — It's the latest early childhood plan from a 2020 Democratic candidate — and it could be the biggest. — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday rolled out a plan under which the federal government would make child care …

Discussion: Politico, VICE and People's Policy Project

BBC:

Taj Mahal: US President Donald Trump visits the ‘monument of love’ in Agra — US President Donald Trump is visiting the historic Taj Mahal in the northern Indian city of Agra. — This is the second stop in Mr Trump's 36-hour long trip, which is his first official visit to India.

Discussion: Occupy Democrats, Political Flare and Raw Story