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8:45 AM ET, December 20, 2018

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Anton Troianovski / Washington Post:
Putin backs Trump's move to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, says Islamic State dealt ‘serious blows’  —  MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin praised President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, describing the American presence there as illegitimate and the Islamic State as largely defeated on the ground.
RELATED:
Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria startles aides and allies  —  In April, President Trump repeated his campaign promise to end U.S. military involvement in Syria.  “I want to get out,” he said.  “I want to bring our troops back home.”  —  In September, senior administration aides …
Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:
Vladimir Putin Welcomes U.S. Withdrawal From Syria  —  MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Thursday welcomed President Trump's announcement of a withdrawal of American troops from Syria, calling it “the right decision.”  —  Mr. Trump said on Wednesday that he was ordering …
Washington Post:
Mattis, once one of ‘my generals,’ loses his influence with Trump  —  President Trump's decision to abruptly withdraw troops from Syria is a clear rebuke to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, the last remaining member of a retinue of military men Trump once fondly called “my generals.”
Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
With 2020 Democrats waiting in the wings, Trump's latest moves go beyond his base
Discussion: MSNBC, Mediaite and twitchy.com
Washington Post:
Trump snubs Corker, as critics and allies alike lambaste Syria decision
Discussion: NPR, Breitbart and POLITICUSUSA
Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Attorney General Pick Criticized an Aspect of Mueller Probe in Memo to Justice Department  —  William Barr said obstruction of justice inquiry by special counsel is ‘fatally misconceived’  —  WASHINGTON—William Barr, President Trump's choice for attorney general …
New York Times:
Secret Experiment in Alabama Senate Race Imitated Russian Tactics  —  As Russia's online election machinations came to light last year, a group of Democratic tech experts decided to try out similarly deceptive tactics in the fiercely contested Alabama Senate race, according to people familiar with the effort and a report on its results.
Kim Tong-Hyung / Associated Press:
N. Korea says it won't denuclearize unless US removes threat  —  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday it will never unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons unless the United States removes its nuclear threat first, a statement that raises further doubts on whether leader Kim Jong Un …
Discussion: The Week
Michele Anderson:
Der Spiegel journalist messed with the wrong small town  —  In February 2017, my husband and I attended a concert at our local theater, and were sipping some wine in the lobby before the show started.  Several people came up to us at separate times excitedly, and asked, “did you meet the German guy yet?!”
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Kate Connolly / The Guardian:
Der Spiegel says top journalist faked stories for years
Discussion: NPR and Samizdata
Nancy Cook / Politico:
Mick Mulvaney as chief of staff: Let Trump be Trump  —  Outgoing White House chief of staff John Kelly tried and failed to bring a military discipline to the West Wing.  Mick Mulvaney doesn't plan to try.  —  Mulvaney will approach the job far differently than Kelly, according to six sources close …
Discussion: ABC News
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Carrie Levine / Center for Public Integrity:
Wilbur Ross said he divested a stock holding — but he didn't  —  Failure to dump BankUnited shares is the latest inaccurate statement by Trump's Commerce secretary.  —  U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross twice submitted sworn statements to ethics officials saying he had divested stock …
Discussion: The Week and Splinter
RELATED:
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: 1 step closer, with 2 days to go
Salt Lake Tribune:
Tribune editorial: Chaffetz has made his choice  —  By The Salt Lake Tribune  —  Jason Chaffetz has made his choice.  —  The former Utah congressman has not just taken a break from a career as a media-savvy and slightly wonkish politician, someone who might reasonably have aspired …
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
BREAKING: John McCain Associate Gave Dossier To BuzzFeed  —  A longtime associate of late Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain provided a copy of the infamous Steele dossier to BuzzFeed News, according to an explosive court filing released Wednesday.  —  David Kramer, a former State Department official …
RELATED:
Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:
BuzzFeed News Has Won A Lawsuit Over Its Decision To Publish The Trump Dossier
Discussion: Townhall
Anna Massoglia / OpenSecrets.org:
Trump 2020 campaign used a shell company to pay ad buyers at the center of alleged illegal coordination scheme with NRA  —  The Trump campaign funneled money to ad buyers alleged to have facilitated illegal coordination between the campaign and the NRA by routing funds through a secretive LLC …
Michael Ledeen / Wall Street Journal:
The Real Story of the Flynn Hearing  —  'I've never presided over a treasonous offense and couldn't tell you what the elements are anyway.'  —  The dramatic Tuesday hearing for former national security adviser Mike Flynn didn't produce a sentence.  Instead, Judge Emmet Sullivan gave Mr. Flynn a delay to reconsider his options.
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Wall Street Journal:
Trump Testimony From Decades Ago Indicates Knowledge of Campaign-Finance Laws  —  Legal experts say that could be critical if investigators pursue a case over hush-money payments to women in the 2016 campaign  —  Sworn statements by President Trump dating back several decades indicate …
Discussion: Law & Crime and Mediaite
Washington Post:
Mueller seeks Roger Stone's testimony to House intelligence panel, suggesting special counsel is near end of probe of Trump adviser  —  Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III asked the House Intelligence Committee on Friday for an official transcript of Trump adviser Roger Stone's testimony …
Washington Post:
Trump administration aims to toughen work requirements for food stamp recipients  —  The Trump administration unveiled a plan Thursday to force hundreds of thousands more Americans to hold jobs if they want to keep receiving food stamps, pursuing through executive powers what it could not achieve in Congress.
Discussion: Axios and The Week
RELATED:
Stephanie Ebbs / ABC News:
Trump directs USDA to expand work requirements on food stamps
Discussion: Politico
Page Six:
Rudy Giuliani spotted chuckling about Mueller investigation  —  Turns out Rudy Giuliani isn't any more discreet about his biggest client's case at his local cigar club than he is on cable news.  —  Giuliani — who, for an active attorney, is surprisingly open about the Mueller investigation on TV …
Discussion: Raw Story
Poolreports / Public Pool:
by a Senior Administration Official on Syria  —  SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Hi, everybody.  This is a spokesperson for the NSC.  Just real quickly, I just want to reinforce this is on background for a “senior administration official.”  And as the moderator indicated, it's embargoed until just after the call ends.
HuffPost:
And What Can You Say About Paul Ryan?  —  How much time do you have?  —  WASHINGTON Paul Ryan was furious.  —  He'd been caught in a trap lured into an auditorium by the promise of a speech about fiscal responsibility.  Instead, President Barack Obama was lecturing the crowd …
Discussion: Bloomberg
Jim Siegel / The Columbus Dispatch:
Citing ‘rotten, stinking politics,’ Kasich vetoes gun bill  —  Jim Siegel The Columbus Dispatch @phrontpageRandy Ludlow The Columbus Dispatch @RandyLudlow  —  Saying that signing a gun rights measure “would be detrimental to the safety of all of our citizens,” Gov. John Kasich vetoed …
Discussion: Townhall
Charles M. Blow / New York Times:
It Is So Much Worse Than I Thought  —  How can a family that can't run a charity run a country?  —  I will be going on book leave soon — today is my last column for a while because of the holiday schedule — to write what I believe to be the most important thing that I've ever written.
RELATED:
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
New secret filing in case of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen placed in NY federal court vault
Discussion: Raw Story and The Root
Timothy Cama / The Hill:
House climate change panel unlikely to have subpoena power  —  The climate change committee that House Democrats are planning to establish in the next Congress is unlikely to have the subpoena power afforded to most other congressional panels.  —  Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the incoming majority leader …
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Albert Burneko / The Concourse:
Visionary Brain Genius Elon Musk Has Invented The World's Worst And Most Expensive Subway  —  If you are anything like me, many times you have been riding the subway and have had the thought, “What is wrong with this dang subway is that it is not exponentially more expensive and slower than this.”
Helena Andrews-Dyer / Washington Post:
Barack Obama dons a Santa hat and hands out gifts in surprise visit to D.C. children's hospital  —  Watch out, Santa: Former president Barack Obama is coming for your sleigh.  —  With a fluffy red cap and a bulging bag slung over his shoulder, Obama delivered presents (and more than a few gasps) …
Paul Sonne / Washington Post:
They tested positive for HIV.  Then the military kicked them out.  —  Testing positive for HIV was difficult enough.  Getting forced out of the military by the Air Force because of the diagnosis proved even harder.  —  So say two U.S. airmen who filed suit on Wednesday …
Reuters:
Exclusive: Big Pharma returning to U.S. price hikes in January after pause  —  NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Novartis AG (NOVN.S) and Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) are among nearly 30 drugmakers that have taken steps to raise the U.S. prices of their medicines in January, ending a self-declared halt …
Discussion: Washington Post, Axios and STAT
Ben Schreckinger / Politico:
‘Oh, no’: The day Trump learned to tweet  —  The content of the tweet @RealDonaldTrump posted on the night of Feb. 5, 2013, was bland: a simple thank you to the actress Sherri Shepherd for flattering comments she'd made about Trump on television.  —  But its implications were historic.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Chase Purdy / Quartz:
Saturn is losing its iconic planetary rings
Ian Geoghegan / Politico:
No-deal Brexit could mean ‘minimalist’ withdrawal deal, says UK minister
Hayley C. Cuccinello / Forbes:
The World's Highest-Paid Comedians Of 2018
Discussion: Daily Wire and The Daily Caller
Avery Miller / ABC News:
Sen. Jeff Merkley: Family on board for a 2020 presidential run and he won't defer to Sen. Bernie Sanders
Los Angeles Times:
Democrats' House takeover could mean big changes for California water policy
Laura Miller / Slate:
Why Alice Walker Got All That Space in the Times to Tout the Anti-Semitic Lizard People Guy
 Earlier Items: 
New York Times:
Illinois Attorney General Says Catholic Church Withheld Names of at Least 500 Accused Priests
Discussion: The Week
Zach Baron / GQ:
The Fresno Bee and the War on Local News
Adolfo Flores / BuzzFeed News:
A 5-Month-Old Girl Has Been Hospitalized With Pneumonia After Being Detained By Border Patrol
Discussion: Splinter
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Why not indict the Trump Organization?