memeorandum: Russia says a military aircraft vanishes near Syria during Israeli, French strikes (Reuters)

11:40 PM ET, September 17, 2018

Top Items:

Julia Prodis Sulek / Mercury News:

MeToo spurred Christine Blasey Ford to open up about alleged attack year before Kavanaugh nomination, friends say — 'I've been trying to forget this all my life,' she told friend, 'and now I'm supposed to remember every little detail' — PALO ALTO — The fog was just lifting at Capitola beach …

HuffPost:

Alumnae Of Christine Blasey Ford's High School Circulate Letter Of Support — Ford's allegations against Brett Kavanaugh are “all too consistent with stories we heard and lived while attending Holton,” they wrote. — A group of women who went to Christine Blasey Ford's high school …

Ryan Grim / The Intercept:

Attorney Sent Letter to Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein Claiming Federal Court Employees Willing to Speak About Brett Kavanaugh — The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee were both approached in July by an attorney claiming to have information relevant …

Discussion: Hot Air, BuzzFeed News, New York Times, New Republic, Daily Wire, Bustle, Washington Post, NPR and The Daily Caller

Russ Feingold / HuffPost:

We Know Brett Kavanaugh Has Lied Already — This nation is suffering a significant breakdown of civility, bipartisanship and ethical behavior. For the Trump administration and the Republican leaders who enable it, truth is no longer a cherished value. To them, lying seems to be part of the strategy …

Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:

Every man should be worried. At least, I'm worried. — “If somebody can be brought down by accusations like this, then you, me, every man certainly should be worried.” — A lawyer close to the White House, speaking to Politico — Look, who among us?

Discussion: Bustle, Politico, ABC News, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Media Matters for America and ThinkProgress

Caitlin Flanagan / The Atlantic:

I Believe Her — “Dear Caitlin,” an inscription in my 12th-grade yearbook begins. “I'm really very sorry that our friendship plummeted straight downhill after the first few months of school. Really, the blame rests totally on my shoulders. To tell you the truth, I've wanted to say this all year.

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, Raw Story, LifeZette and ABC News

San Francisco Chronicle:

Kavanaugh accuser, a Palo Alto professor, is respected among academic colleagues — A Palo Alto professor who is expected to testify next week about her accusation of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is widely respected for her professional integrity and commitment to students, colleagues said Monday.

Discussion: Washington Post, Tampa Bay Times and Vox

Wall Street Journal:

The #MeToo Kavanaugh Ambush — A story this old and unprovable can't be allowed to delay a Supreme Court confirmation vote. — The Editorial Board — The woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh of a drunken assault when both were teenagers has now come forward publicly, and on Monday …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Times, CNN and The Hill

Grabien News:

'Something's Wrong with Her': Christine Ford's Students Savage Her in Reviews [STORY RETRACTED] — ‘Many dislike Professor Ford due to her dark personality’ — Editor's Note: We apologize for the error, but we've since learned there are two Christine Fords working in clinical psychology …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, RedState, Power Line, Observer, Mediaite, Raw Story, Law & Crime, Rate My Professors, The Gateway Pundit and No More Mister Nice Blog

Bloomberg:

White House Hasn't Asked FBI to Vet Kavanaugh Allegations, Sources Say — FBI needs request from White House to probe alleged assault — Kavanaugh, accuser say they're prepared to testify in Senate — The White House hasn't asked the FBI to investigate the allegation …

Discussion: Raw Story and BloombergQuint

New York Times:
Hearing Set for Monday to Hear Kavanaugh and His Accuser

Michael Judge / Washingtonian:
Kavanaugh's Character Witness Once Wrote About His Family for Washingtonian. …

Discussion: New York Times, Vox, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Observer, Hullabaloo, Louder With Crowder, No More Mister Nice Blog and Daily Kos

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post: The claim against Kavanaugh is not a suspicious 11th-hour bombshell. Because we're not in the 11th hour.

Jia Tolentino / New Yorker:
Jian Ghomeshi, John Hockenberry, and the Laws of Patriarchal Physics

Discussion: HuffPost, Raw Story and Vox

The Daily Caller:
Kavanaugh's Mother Presided Over Foreclosure Of Accuser's Family Home. But The Facts Are Complicated

Discussion: CNBC, The Slot, HuffPost, Breitbart and Washington Post

Lance Morrow / Wall Street Journal: A Spectral Witness Materializes

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary:
Grassley Statement on the Supreme Court Nomination

Discussion: The Federalist, LifeZette, twitchy.com, Daily Wire and PJ Media Home

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Brett Kavanaugh's odd response

Discussion: The Resurgent, HuffPost, New York Post and National Review

CNN:
GOP senator calls for public hearing

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, RedState, Daily Kos, The Week, Washington Post, ThinkProgress and Breitbart

CNN:
Brett Kavanaugh is willing to answer questions on allegations, has hired an attorney

NBC News:
Trump says there's no rush on Kavanaugh vote: 'If it takes a little delay, it'll take a little delay'

Discussion: Roll Call, TheBlaze, Bustle, Daily Kos and Vox

Rebecca Traister / The Cut:
And You Thought Trump Voters Were Mad American women are furious — and our politics and culture will never be the same.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

With Trump muted, White House leans on Kavanaugh to defend himself — President Trump's routine reaction to allegations of sexual assault is to deny, retaliate and repeat. He has dismissed accusations against himself as “phony” and “false,” and when presented with claims against other men …

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire, Breitbart, Hot Air, CNN and Shareblue Media

Politico:
McConnell works feverishly behind the scenes to save Kavanaugh

Discussion: Axios, New York Times and Breitbart

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:
Republicans fear reversals in November due to accusation against Supreme Court nominee

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire, One America News Network, ABC News and Breitbart

Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
Orrin Hatch Defends Brett Kavanaugh: 'Somebody's Mixed Up,' I Think Christine Ford is ‘Mistaken’

Discussion: Splinter, Shareblue Media, Lawyers, Guns & Money and New Republic

Amber Athey / The Daily Caller:
Kavanaugh Accuser's Lawyer: It's Not Her Job To Corroborate Her Story

Discussion: Louder With Crowder, twitchy.com, Instapundit and Viking Pundit

Michael C. Bender / Wall Street Journal:

Probe of FEMA Chief Brock Long Referred to Prosecutors — Investigators asked U.S. attorney's office to look into whether criminal statutes were violated by Long and two aides — WASHINGTON—An investigation targeting President Trump's top emergency-management official has been referred …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Political Wire and Mediaite

Deepti Hajela / Associated Press:

Man caught shaving on train in viral video says don't judge — NEW YORK (AP) — A man who was mocked online after he was recorded shaving at his seat on a commuter train headed out of New York City said he was just trying to clean up after days spent in a homeless shelter.

Discussion: CBS New York

Politico:

Trump orders declassification of surveillance application, release of Comey texts — President Donald Trump has moved to immediately declassify 20 pages of the surveillance application that authorized the FBI to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Discussion: RedState, Balloon Juice, Axios, Splinter and ABC News

The White House:
Statement from the Press Secretary

Discussion: HuffPost, Hit & Run and Raw Story

Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Jordan says FBI used ‘crushing power of the state’ to probe Trump campaign based on dossier

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Reuters:

Russia says a military aircraft vanishes near Syria during Israeli, French strikes — MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia's defense ministry said on Tuesday that one if its military aircraft with 14 people on board disappeared from radar screens over Syria at the same time that Israeli …

RT:
Russia detects missile launches from French frigate off Syria's coast in Mediterranean

Discussion: RedState

Jonathan Tilove / mystatesman:

Searching for new wedge issue, Cruz says O'Rourke will ban barbecue — Highlights — Speaking at a campaign event in South Texas, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said his Democratic rival would ban barbecue. — Cruz has sought to portray U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, as out of touch with Texas values.

Discussion: Political Wire

CNN:

CNN Polls: Democrats hold the upper hand in Arizona, Tennessee Senate races — WASHINGTON (CNN)Democrats hold an advantage in two states that are critical to the party's chances of taking control of the US Senate, according to new CNN polls conducted by SSRS.

Discussion: Axios, The Week, Hot Air, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite, Daily Kos and Political Wire

Michael R. Pompeo / US Department of State:

U.S. Department of State — Search Input — Remarks to the Media — Remarks — Secretary of State — Treaty Room — Washington, DC — SECRETARY POMPEO: Good afternoon, everyone. The United States anticipates processing up to 310,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Fiscal Year 2019.

Robbie Gramer / Foreign Policy:
White and Male: Trump's Ambassadors Don't Look Like the Rest of America

Discussion: Diplopundit and Politico

Nahal Toosi / Politico:
Trump administration to slash refugee cap

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Vox, ABC News, Associated Press and Refugee Resettlement Watch

Trevor Timm / Freedom of the Press Foundation:

Revealed: The Justice Dept's secret rules for targeting journalists with FISA court orders — Today, we are revealing—for the first time—the Justice Department's rules for targeting journalists with secret FISA court orders. The documents were obtained as part of a Freedom …

Cora Currier / The Intercept:
Government Can Spy on Journalists in the U.S. Using Invasive Foreign Intelligence Process

Discussion: Common Dreams

Roque Planas / HuffPost:

Bombshell Washington Post Story On Trump Passport Crackdown Withheld, Distorted Key Facts — State Department data shows passport denials in suspect midwife cases have dropped under Donald Trump. You wouldn't know from reading the Post. — AUSTIN, Texas On Aug. 29 …

Discussion: Daily Wire and RedState