memeorandum: Senate Democrats Silent When Asked If They Condemn Dick Durbin's ‘Token’ Comment Towards Sen. Tim Scott's Legislation (Henry Rodgers/The Daily Caller)

11:45 PM ET, June 17, 2020

Top Items:

The Scandal of Trump's China Policy — The president pleaded with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for domestic political help, subordinated national-security issues to his own reelection prospects and ignored Beijing's human-rights abuses — U.S. strategy toward the People's Republic of China …

Jennifer Szalai / New York Times:

John Bolton's Tone in ‘The Room Where It Happened’ Swings Between Tedious and Slightly Unhinged — Pity, for just an infinitesimal moment, John Bolton. — There he was last January, commanding an enormous share of the public's attention with news of a forthcoming book that reportedly included an …

Discussion: Washington Post, Fox News, The Hill, IJR, Patterico's Pontifications and Daily Kos

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:

Trump asked China's Xi to help him win reelection, according to Bolton book — President Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him win the 2020 U.S. election, telling Xi during a summit dinner last year that increased agricultural purchases by Beijing from American farmers would aid …

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Bolton Says Trump Impeachment Inquiry Missed Other Troubling Actions — In his new book, John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser, describes episodes where the president sought to halt criminal inquiries. He also says President Trump's loyalists mocked him behind his back.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Pajiba, Balloon Juice, Raw Story and Vanity Fair

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

John Bolton's book is full of startling revelations he should have told us sooner — “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord,” reads a famous passage from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans. John Bolton has provided a secular version of that cosmic payback in his account of Donald Trump's presidency …

Del Quentin Wilber / Los Angeles Times:

Federal prosecutors are mulling criminal charges against John Bolton — Federal prosecutors are weighing whether to criminally charge John Bolton with disclosing classified information in his upcoming White House memoir, and the Justice Department is expected in coming days to ramp …

Discussion: The Guardian, Mediaite, The Hill, Publishers Weekly, Washington Post, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, NPR, Reason, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Fox News, Axios and Vanity Fair

Michael C. Bender / Wall Street Journal:

‘He Is a Liar’: Trump Pushes Back on Bolton Book — President disputes allegations made by former national security adviser John Bolton and defends handling of foreign policy issues — WASHINGTON—President Trump broadly defended his handling of foreign policy issues that are the subject …

William Kristol / The Bulwark:

John Bolton Tells the Truth — Even if they don't like him, every Republican and conservative in Washington knows that Bolton doesn't make things up. What will they do now? — Twice over the last few years, I've met with individuals who had recently departed the Trump administration after serving at very senior levels.

Discussion: Raw Story

Business Insider:

Trump said it would be ‘cool’ to invade Venezuela because the country is ‘really part of the United States,’ according to John Bolton's new book — Foto: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images National Security Advisor John Bolton (R) listens to U.S. President Donald Trump talk to reporters during …

Washington Post:

Bolton's new book blows apart one of Trump's biggest reelection arguments — Even after impeachment, even after his disastrous mishandling of coronavirus, even after over 19,000 false and misleading claims and thousands of appalling tweets, President Trump still retains the capacity to shock us with the depth of his corruption.

Discussion: The Guardian, The Hill, The Mahablog and Raw Story

CNN:

Anti-Trump Republican group launches new ad attacking President over China policies — Bolton claims Trump asked China for re-election help — (CNN)A group formed by anti-Trump Republicans is airing a new ad attacking President Donald Trump for getting “rolled” by China and its powerful President Xi Jinping.

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast: Trump Thought Elton John Would Love His Rocket Man Gift to Kim

Axios:
John Bolton gets his revenge six months after Democrats needed him for impeachment

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Twitchy, The Hill and The Daily Caller

Wall Street Journal:
Trump Put Re-Election Prospects Ahead of National Interest, Bolton Alleges

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Beast, New York Post and Mediaite

Axios:
John Bolton: Putin thinks he can play Trump “like a fiddle”

Discussion: ABC News, New York Post and Raw Story

Conor Finnegan / ABC News:
‘I think Putin thinks he can play [Trump] like a fiddle’: Former national security adviser John Bolton …

Discussion: Political Wire

NBC News:
John Bolton says Trump asked China for re-election help in explosive new book

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Theodore J. Boutrous Jr / Washington Post:
Why Trump's lawsuit against John Bolton will fail

Discussion: New York Times and The Wrap

Morgan Phillips / Fox News:
Lighthizer denies Bolton claim that Trump asked China's Xi for 2020 help: ‘Never happened. I was there’

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Hill

Washington Post:

Impeachment casts shadow over Army officer's promotion — An Army officer's promotion is in jeopardy over what some officials fear could be White House retaliation for his role in last year's impeachment inquiry, raising the possibility that President Trump might again intervene in military affairs …

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

Does Trump Want to Fight for a Second Term? His Self-Sabotage Worries Aides — Advisers and allies say the president's repeated acts of self-destruction have significantly damaged his re-election prospects, and yet he appears mostly unable, or unwilling, to curtail them.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Patterico's Pontifications

Madeline Charbonneau / The Daily Beast:

Trump Wants to Find, Prosecute Person Who Leaked His Trip to the Bunker: NYT — LET IT GO — President Donald Trump has told advisers he wants to find and prosecute the person who leaked the fact he went to the White House bunker as protests escalated in Washington, D.C. earlier this month …

Discussion: Raw Story

CNN:

‘Wednesday night massacre’ as Trump appointee takes over at global media agency — New York (CNN Business)The heads of four organizations overseen by the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) were all dismissed Wednesday night — a move likely to heighten concerns that new Trump-appointed CEO Michael Pack means …

Discussion: The Hill and Columbia Journalism Review, more at Mediagazer »

Brian Schwartz / CNBC: Federal media chief Michael Pack installs Trump loyalists to leadership posts, memo says

Doha Madani / NBC News:

Uncle Ben's rice to change brand as part of parent company's stance against racism — The parent company of Uncle Ben's rice said Wednesday that “now was the right time to evolve” the brand, including visually, but did not release details of what exactly would change or when.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller and NPR

Ben Kesslen / NBC News:
Aunt Jemima brand to change name, remove image that Quaker says is ‘based on a racial stereotype’

Discussion: New York Times, Forbes, Breitbart, Rolling Stone, Outside the Beltway, The Western Journal, Mediaite, The Stranger, Townhall, TheGrio, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CNN, The Guardian, Redstate, The Daily Caller, WRIC-TV and Twitchy

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Corporate Pandering Means Invisibility

Discussion: Louder With Crowder

Politico:

House Republican leaders condemn GOP candidate who made racist videos — The House's highest-ranking Republicans are racing to distance themselves from a leading GOP congressional candidate in Georgia after POLITICO uncovered hours of Facebook videos in which she expresses racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic views.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times, Facebook, Axios, Raw Story, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Right Wing Watch

Washington Post:

Blackface incident at Post cartoonist's 2018 Halloween party resurfaces amid protests — Every year, Tom Toles's Halloween party draws an eclectic mix — journalists and political types from Washington's power elite, but also artists and musicians, everyone from retirees to college kids …

Discussion: Newsbusters

Jon Jankowski / WKMG:

260 workers test positive for COVID-19 at Orlando International Airport — 2,993 people have died from COVID-19 in the state — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Ron DeSantis said 260 workers at the Orlando International Airport have tested positive for the coronavirus after nearly 500 employees were tested.

Discussion: New Republic, TheGrio, Florida Politics, TheBlaze, Twitchy, The Guardian, Raw Story and ABC News

CBS News:

Oklahoma officials worry about Trump's rally as Tulsa County COVID infections rise to record levels — Days before President Trump's first rally in over three months, on June 20 in Tulsa, city officials and politicians are worried, as the number of COVID-19 cases in Tulsa County rise to record levels.

Discussion: Mother Jones and Breitbart

Marisa Schultz / Fox News:
Oklahoma GOP Sen. Lankford urges elderly to avoid Tulsa Trump rally

Discussion: The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller, Vanity Fair and Breitbart

Chris Kahn / Reuters:

Biden opens 13-point advantage as Trump popularity drops to seven-month low: Reuters/Ipsos poll — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has opened up a 13-point lead over President Donald Trump - the widest margin this year - according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll …

Discussion: Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA, Breitbart, The Hill and Political Wire

Malachi Barrett / MLive.com:
Michigan pollster: Trump's Bible photo op caused immediate drop in support

Discussion: Daily Kos

Arizona Republic:

Pinal County sheriff says he tested positive for COVID-19 before planned Trump meeting — Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb announced on Wednesday afternoon that he tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. — Lamb posted on the Pinal County Sheriff Office's Facebook page …

Ryan Parker / Hollywood Reporter:

'That ‘70s Show’ Star Danny Masterson Charged With Raping Three Women — The alleged separate incidents occurred between 2001 and 2003, according to authorities. — Daniel Masterson was charged on Wednesday by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office with raping three women.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Anti-intellectualism at Cornell Law School: Student groups organize boycott of my course — “we further urge the administration to critically examine the views of the individuals they intend to employ” — I have been chronicling the saga of efforts to get me fired and denounced …

Discussion: Althouse

Wall Street Journal:

NBC Tries to Cancel a Conservative Website — The network colluded with a foreign advocacy group that wanted Google to demonetize the Federalist. — NBC News attempted this week to use the power of Google to cancel our publication, the Federalist. The effort failed, but it should serve …

Discussion: The Daily Signal and Fox News

Henry Rodgers / The Daily Caller:

Senate Democrats Silent When Asked If They Condemn Dick Durbin's ‘Token’ Comment Towards Sen. Tim Scott's Legislation — Every Democrat in the Senate has refused to acknowledge Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin's comments calling Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott's police reform legislation “a token.”

Discussion: NPR, Washington Free Beacon and New York Times

Jared Holt / Right Wing Watch:

Cassandra Fairbanks Claims Antifa Attacked Her. Police Reports and Neighbors Say Otherwise — Cassandra Fairbanks and her right-wing media colleagues solicited nearly $25,000 in a fundraiser benefiting Fairbanks after she claimed she was targeted …

CNN:

US stockpile stuck with 63 million doses of hydroxychloroquine — (CNN)The federal government is stuck with 63 million doses of hydroxychloroquine now that the US Food and Drug Administration has revoked permission for the drug to be distributed to treat coronavirus patients.

Discussion: New York Times

Matthew Boyle / Breitbart:

Financial Problems Plagued Rick Wilson as He Became Never Trump Leader — Never Trump leader Rick Wilson's hypocrisy is not limited to now attacking those who support the Confederate flag after previously supporting it himself. — As Wilson's personal financial situation turned dire …

jsonline:

Wisconsin Elections Commission approves sending 2.7 million absentee ballot request forms to voters — MADISON - State election officials signed off Wednesday on a plan to send absentee ballot request forms to most registered voters despite a last-minute push by a Republican lawmaker to halt the effort.

Brentin Mock / Pittsburgh City Paper:

This is what happens when you're threatened by diversity — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staff photographer Michael Santiago poses for a portrait in front of a Black Lives Matter mural with George Floyd painted behind him in Downtown Pittsburgh, along the Allegheny River, on Mon., June 15, 2020.