memeorandum: FEC Democrats voted to punish Fox News over debate changes (Judson Berger/Fox News)

2:00 PM ET, June 30, 2016

Top Items:

Trump on top: Republican pulls ahead of Hillary Clinton by 4 points in shock poll after trailing by 5 a week ago — Rasmussen Reports poll of 1,000 likely voters shows Donald Trump with 43 per cent, compared with 39 per cent for Hillary Clinton — Last week the same pollsters found Clinton ahead …

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Infowars, Guardian, The Gateway Pundit, AOL, Hot Air, Washington Times and Algemeiner.com

Michael Falcone / ABC News:

The Note: Air Wars Favor Clinton — NOTABLES —ANALYSIS — ABC's RICK KLEIN: Much has already been made of the advertising jump enjoyed by Hillary Clinton, whose 12-1 ad spending edge this month means she and her allies have spent $20 million more getting their message out than has Donald Trump and his backers.

Discussion: Latest from Crooks and Liars, Raw Story, Althouse and Politico

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Presidential Race Shaping Up Similarly to 2012

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Josh Haskell / ABC News:
Obama Expected to Highlight His Relationship With Clinton on Campaign Trail Next Week

Discussion: whorunsGov

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic: Mitt Romney: My Conscience Won't Allow Me to Vote for Trump or Clinton

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Fox targeted by FEC Dems in first-ever vote to punish debate sponsorship — Finally making good on long-harbored anger at conservative media, Democrats on the Federal Election Commission voted in secret to punish Fox News' sponsorship of a Republican presidential debate …

Discussion: National Review, LawNewz, Hot Air and Instapundit

Judson Berger / Fox News:

FEC Democrats voted to punish Fox News over debate changes — Democratic members of the Federal Election Commission, in a decision to be made public on Thursday, voted last month to punish Fox News over criteria changes for the network's first Republican presidential primary debate - but were blocked by Republican commissioners.

Discussion: Washington Post, BizPac Review, Politicus USA and The Daily Caller

Fox News:
Fox News Poll, June 29, 2016

Discussion: Politico, Washington Monthly, RedState, Washington Post, The American Mirror, Red Alert Politics, Washington Times, Daily Wire, Business Insider and Hot Air

New York Times:

Chris Christie Becomes Powerful Figure in Donald Trump Campaign — Defeated by Donald J. Trump in the 2016 primaries and derided by fellow Republicans for his subsequent embrace of Mr. Trump, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has quietly emerged as one of the most influential advisers …

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Weasel Zippers, Joe.My.God., No More Mister Nice Blog and CNBC

CNN:

Chris Christie being vetted for Donald Trump VP, source says — Washington (CNN)New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — a former Donald Trump rival turned top defender — is being vetted as a possible running mate for the presumptive Republican nominee, a source confirmed to CNN on Thursday.

Discussion: Politico, RedState and Political Wire

Nick Gass / Politico:

Democrats groan after Bill Clinton meets Loretta Lynch — Attorney General Loretta Lynch described her Monday meeting with Bill Clinton aboard a private plane as “primarily social,” but some Democrats are struggling to stomach the optics of the attorney general's meeting with the former president …

Julian Hattem / The Hill: Email story won't end for Clinton

Carrie Johnson / NPR:
Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Bill Clinton Met Amid Email Investigation

Discussion: The Federalist, Hot Air, New York Magazine, Scared Monkeys and Washington Free Beacon

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

GOP Senator Mike Lee Goes Off On Radio Host Who Asks Why He Hasn't Endorsed Trump — Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah delivered a forceful response when asked on Wednesday why he hasn't endorsed Donald Trump. — Lee chastised Trump for parroting conspiracy theories about Ted Cruz's father …

Discussion: NBC News, Politico, Hot Air, The Atlantic, AOL, Raw Story, RedState, Business Insider and Talking Points Memo

Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Trump skepticism hardens in GOP

Discussion: Daily Kos

Pam Key / Breitbart:
GOP Sen Mike Lee, Newsmax's Malzberg Get Into Heated Debate Over Lack of Trump Endorsement

Discussion: CNN and fox13now.com

Aram Roston / BuzzFeed:

Sources: Donald Trump Listened In On Phone Lines At Mar-A-Lago — Several workers said Trump used the equipment to secretly listen in on phone calls in the mid-2000s. — At Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach resort he runs as a club for paying guests and celebrities, Donald Trump …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Boing Boing, Mediaite, Shakesville and The Week

NBC News:

After Saying He Forgave Loans to Campaign, Trump Won't Release Proof — When Donald Trump said last Thursday he was forgiving over $45 million in personal loans he made to his campaign, the announcement drew plenty of coverage. Many even reported Trump's statement as if the deal was done.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Daily Kos, LawNewz and Balloon Juice

Howie Carr / Boston Herald:

Nothing sorry about Trump One — ABOARD TRUMP ONE — The candidate loosened his tie and offered me some advice. — “Whatever you do, don't apologize,” he said. “You never hear me apologize, do you? That's what killed Jimmy the Greek way back. Remember? He was doing okay 'til he said he was sorry.”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Verge, The Week and Althouse

Jessica Elgot / Guardian:

Boris Johnson rules himself out of Tory leadership race — Main public face of Brexit makes shock announcement hours after his key ally Michael Gove launched his own campaign — Boris Johnson has unexpectedly ruled himself out of the Conservative leadership race, hours …

Discussion: Reuters, Mother Jones, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Telegraph, Washington Post and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:
Boris Johnson Won't Seek to Lead Britain, but Michael Gove Will

Discussion: Guardian, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, Althouse, Hullabaloo, The Week and Daily Mail

Emily Smith / Page Six:

Mika's hush-hush divorce fuels Joe romance chatter — MORE FROM: — “Morning Joe” hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough could soon go public as a couple. Page Six has exclusively learned that Brzezinski and her husband of 23 years have quietly divorced.

Discussion: Daily Wire, Jezebel, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Gray Rohrer / Sun-Sentinel:

Lawyer seeks federal bribery charges against Bondi over Trump donation — Bondi's office always claimed there wasn't enough evidence to make a case in the Trump Unviersity fraud scheme case. But columnist Scott Maxwell wondered how hard her staff worked to actually find any. … Privacy Policy

Discussion: Raw Story

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
New York Times reports plagiarism in Trump textbooks

Discussion: Daily Kos, RedState, The Real Deal New York, alan.com, Raw Story, Mother Jones and New York Times

Max J. Rosenthal / Mother Jones:

The Trump Files: When Donald Was “Principal for a Day” and Confronted by a Fifth-Grader — Until the election, we're bringing you “The Trump Files,” a daily dose of telling episodes, strange-but-true stories, or curious scenes from the life of presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

New York Daily News: TRUMP KICKS IN CHUMP CHANGE

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:

Obama proposes new military partnership with Russia in Syria — The Obama administration has proposed a new agreement on Syria to the Russian government that would deepen military cooperation between the two countries against some terrorists in exchange for Russia getting the Assad regime to stop bombing U.S.-supported rebels.

Discussion: Moon of Alabama, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon and Sputnik International

Liz Sly / Washington Post:
Islamic State routs Pentagon-backed Syrian rebels in fresh setback for U.S. strategy

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Lance Anderson / The Mike Gallagher Show:

Republican Presidential nominee . @RealDonaldTrump is on today's Mike Gallagher Show — The post Republican Presidential nominee . @RealDonaldTrump is on today's Mike Gallagher Show appeared first on The Mike Gallagher Show.

Discussion: Politico and Raw Story

Jay Reeves / Associated Press:

At 150, KKK sees opportunities in US political trends — BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Born in the ashes of the smoldering South after the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan died and was reborn before losing the fight against civil rights in the 1960s. Membership dwindled, a unified group fractured …

Discussion: Politicus USA

Lisa Hagen / The Hill:

Trump: Rivals who don't back me shouldn't be allowed to run for office — on Wednesday hammered his former primary rivals for going back on a pledge to back the eventual GOP presidential nominee. — Trump said his primary opponents who now refuse to support his candidacy should not be allowed …

Discussion: RedState

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Trump's Pennsylvania campaign is missing in action — Nearly everyone can agree that Donald Trump's path to the White House goes through Pennsylvania. — But local party leaders in some of the state's most pivotal counties say there's been almost no outreach from his campaign so far …

Discussion: Washington Post, Philly.com, Raw Story and The Week

CNN:

Navy report: Failure at every level for US ships captured by Iran — Iran video appears to show U.S. sailor in tears — Washington (CNN)A devastating new report by military investigators released Thursday found that the 10 sailors captured by Iranians in January suffered from “failed leadership” …

Discussion: USA Today, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and The Week