memeorandum: Clinton blasts Trump and Moore over sexual misconduct allegations (Cristiano Lima/Politico)

10:50 AM ET, November 18, 2017

Top Items:

Top Russian Official Tried to Broker ‘Backdoor’ Meeting Between Trump and Putin — WASHINGTON — A senior Russian official who claimed to be acting at the behest of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia tried in May 2016 to arrange a meeting between Mr. Putin and Donald J. Trump, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Axios, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

NBC News:

Kushner failed to disclose outreach from Putin ally to Trump campaign — WASHINGTON — President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, failed to disclose what lawmakers called a “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite” involving a banker who has been accused of links …

Discussion: AOL, NBC News and Raw Story

CNN:

Kushner testified he did not recall any campaign WikiLeaks contact — Washington (CNN)White House senior adviser Jared Kushner told congressional Russia investigators that he did not communicate with WikiLeaks and did not recall anyone on the Trump campaign who had, a source with knowledge of his testimony told CNN.

Discussion: KTLA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mother Jones, Washington Post, The Nation, Just Security and Foreign Policy

Jack Shafer / Politico:
Week 26: Donald Jr. and WikiLeaks Talk Dirty

Discussion: CNN, CBS News and KTLA

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:
Kushner received emails from Sergei Millian — an alleged dossier source who was in touch with George Papadopoulos

Discussion: emptywheel

Associated Press:
Moscow meeting in June 2017 under scrutiny in Trump probe

Discussion: emptywheel

Robert Windrem / NBC News:
Rob Goldstone ready to come to U.S. and talk to Mueller

Discussion: RedState and Raw Story

Jeremy Diamond / CNN:
Trump begins paying legal bills from own pocket

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg and CNBC

Peter Baker / New York Times:

In Mocking Franken Over Claims of Sexual Misconduct, Trump Joins a Debate He Started — WASHINGTON — Last fall, Donald J. Trump inadvertently touched off a national conversation about sexual harassment when a recording of him boasting about groping women was made public at the same …

Discussion: RedState, Pakistan Today, Washington Post, CNBC and Deadline

Cristiano Lima / Politico:

Clinton blasts Trump and Moore over sexual misconduct allegations — Hillary Clinton slammed President Donald Trump and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore on Friday over their alleged sexual misconduct, criticizing them for not “accepting responsibility” and “apologizing” for their reported transgressions as Sen. Al Franken did.

Discussion: Axios, YouTube, Political Wire, TheBlaze, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News, Shareblue Media and The Hill

Mike Cason / al.com:

Gov. Kay Ivey to vote for Roy Moore in U.S. Senate race — Gallery: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to vote for U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey plans to vote for Roy Moore — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said today she plans to vote for Roy Moore in the Dec. 12 election …

Discussion: New York Magazine and NPR

Annie Karni / Politico:
Aides give up on trying to control Trump's tweets

Discussion: Raw Story, Axios and ABC News

John Verhovek / ABC News:
Roy Moore's wife: President Trump ‘owes us a thank you’ for diverting attention from Russia probe

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Axios

New York Times:

Republican Governors' 2018 Dilemma: What to Do About Trump? — AUSTIN, Tex. — For nearly a decade, meetings of the Republican Governors Association were buoyant, even giddy, affairs, as the party — lifted by enormous political donations and a backlash against the Obama administration …

New York Times:

How Politics and Bad Decisions Starved New York's Subways — Disruptions and delays have roiled the system this year. But the crisis was long in the making, fueled by a litany of errors, a Times investigation shows. — After a drumbeat of transit disasters this year …

Daniel Prendergast / New York Post:
Subway rider: I asked manspreader to stop, so he punched me in the face

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and TheBlaze

Timothy Cama / The Hill:

GOP chairman breaks with Trump on elephant trophy imports — The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee slammed President Trump Friday for allowing imports of hunted elephant trophies from Zimbabwe. — Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), who has prioritized fighting wildlife crime …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:
Trump halts Interior's elephant trophy decision

Discussion: The Hill and Washington Times

Committee on Foreign Affairs:
Chairman Royce Statement on Big Game Trophy Decision

Discussion: New York Times, RedState, ABC News, Axios and RT

Julia Carrie Wong / The Guardian:

Greg Gianforte misled police after assault of Guardian journalist, report reveals … US congressman Greg Gianforte misled police after his assault of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs in May, falsely stating that Jacobs had initiated physical contact and that the “liberal media …

Discussion: Axios, The Hill and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Kimberly Kindy / Washington Post:

How a conservative group dealt with a fondling charge against a rising GOP star — On a fall evening two years ago, donors gathered during a conference at a Ritz-Carlton hotel near Washington to raise funds for a 31-year-old candidate for the Ohio legislature who was a rising star in evangelical politics.

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation, Raw Story, BuzzFeed and Joe.My.God.

The Wrap:

‘Girls’ Writer Murray Miller Accused of Raping Underage Actress Aurora Perrineau (Exclusive) — “Passengers” star says she woke up in 2012 with Murray “on top of me having sexual intercourse with me” — Actress Aurora Perrineau has gone to police to accuse “Girls” writer …

Discussion: RedState, twitchy.com, Mashable, IndieWire, The Daily Caller and The Root

Ryan Collingwood / Spokesman.com:

Navy says it will hold Whidbey Island aircrew accountable for tracing giant phallus over Okanogan County — ryanc@spokesman.com — (509) 598-0014 — Look! Up in the sky! — It's a bird. — It's a plane. — No, it's a phallic skydrawing, and a military aircraft is the culprit.

Discussion: The Root, KRQE-TV and RT

Tegna / KREM-TV:
Graphic: Navy admits to being involved in obscene skydrawings spotted in Okanogan Co.

Discussion: Duffel Blog, The Guardian, FOX59, fox8.com, bizpacreview.com, RedState, Fox News, East Bay Times, IJR, TheBlaze, Mashable, Mediaite, AOL, Washington Free Beacon, KTLA, FOX31 Denver, The Hill, CBS Pittsburgh, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine and Raw Story

Chris Johnson / Washington Blade:

Rep. Wilson's former intern caught on Grindr using racist epithets — At a time of growing concern about racism in gay social media apps, a former campaign intern for Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) was recently caught using racist epithets on Grindr while on Capitol Hill.

Discussion: Raw Story

Misty White Sidell / WWD:

Vanity Fair Fashion Staff Nonplussed by New Editor's Personal Style — Radhika Jones joins the magazine next month with extensive literary and editorial experience. — New Vanity Fair editor in chief Radhika Jones. — WELCOME TO CONDÉ NAST: Radhika Jones is learning the ways of One World Trade.

Discussion: Slate, Jezebel, Refinery29, Althouse, Longreads and Mother Jones

Anna Fifield / Washington Post:

LIFE UNDER KIM JONG UN — Recent North Korean escapees relate how the secretive country has changed under the “Great Successor.” … When Kim Jong Un became the leader of North Korea almost six years ago, many North Koreans thought that their lives were going to improve.

Shoshana Weissmann / Wall Street Journal:

Al Franken Doesn't Get the Joke — The Senate grills a judicial nominee, Don Willett, about his corny tweets. — Washington — Democratic senators didn't have many questions for Justice Don Willett about his decisions and dissents as a member of the Texas Supreme Court.

Discussion: Townhall.com