memeorandum: Congress should eliminate the debt limit (Brendan Buck/CNN)

5:55 PM ET, June 19, 2019

Top Items:

'It's a farce': Dems livid as Hope Hicks dodges questions — The president's former longtime confidante met with lawmakers behind closed doors to discuss the president's alleged efforts to thwart Mueller's Russia probe. — House Democrats erupted Wednesday at what they said was the White …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Axios, New York Times, Daily Caller News Foundation, Shareblue Media, Wonkette, POLITICUSUSA, Conservative News Today, Political Wire, The Stranger, Breitbart and Washington Post

Washington Post:

Former Trump business partner Felix Sater set to testify Friday before House Intelligence Committee — Felix Sater, a Russian-born real estate developer, is set to testify Friday before the House Intelligence Committee about his experience working on a proposed Trump tower project in Moscow during …

CNN:

She stopped returning some of Trump's calls. Now Hope Hicks is testifying behind closed doors — (CNN)For Hope Hicks, President Donald Trump is “boss man” no more. — Once the President's closest West Wing confidante — the recipient of his repeated phone calls, the witness to his angriest moments …

Discussion: Washington Press, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Pelosi rules out censuring Trump

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and Talking Points Memo

Associated Press:
Hicks rebuffs questions on Trump White House in interview

Discussion: Breitbart

Kate Riga / Talking Points Memo:
Frustrated Democrats Stonewalled During Hicks Testimony By DOJ Lawyer

Discussion: Washington Post and Balloon Juice

Rachael Bade / Washington Post:
White House bars former Trump aide from answering questions about her work in administration

Discussion: Contemptor and Politico

Katie Glueck / New York Times:

Biden, Recalling Civility in Senate, Invokes Two Segregationist Senators — Joseph R. Biden Jr., defending himself on Tuesday night against suggestions that he is too “old fashioned” for today's Democratic Party, invoked two Southern segregationist senators by name as he fondly recalled the …

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Joe Biden's Segregationist Nostalgia Is Even More Ignorant Than It Sounds — One of Joe Biden's favorite campaign riffs underscores his belief in the value of civility and bipartisanship. Inevitably, Biden reminisces about his young Senatorial days when he would pal around (and occasionally cut deals) with segregationists.

Discussion: Althouse

Heather Caygle / Politico:
Black lawmakers get Biden's back amid ‘segregationist’ uproar

Discussion: Axios

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
‘We got things done’: Biden recalls ‘civility’ with segregationist senators

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Daily Caller News Foundation, ABC News, The Root, Newser, Mediaite, VICE and twitchy.com

New York Times:

Deutsche Bank Faces Criminal Investigation for Potential Money-Laundering Lapses — Federal authorities are investigating whether Deutsche Bank complied with laws meant to stop money laundering and other crimes, the latest government examination of potential misconduct at one of the world's largest …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Monmouth University Polling Institute:

Biden Tops Electability Ratings — Most Dems interested in first debates, but not excited — West Long Branch, NJ - Former Vice President Joe Biden maintains his front-runner status among Democratic voters nationwide, but Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is now virtually tied with Vermont …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Times and Political Wire

Charlie Mahtesian / Politico:
Warren emerges as potential compromise nominee

Discussion: Washington Post, VTDigger, Wonkette, Washington Free Beacon, POLITICUSUSA, PJ Media Home, Splinter and Balloon Juice

USA Today:
Poll: What do Democrats want to hear about at the debates? (Hint: It's not Trump.)

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, National Journal and Politico

Lisa Needham / Shareblue Media:

Trump had to pay up front for his Orlando rally after stiffing 10 other cities — Orlando, where Trump kicked off his 2020 election bid, made sure they were paid in advance before Trump came to town. — Trump launched his 2020 bid Tuesday night, but it cost him.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Mediaite and The Daily Beast

Christopher Mathias / HuffPost:
Trump's 2020 Campaign Kickoff Attracted Extremists To A City That Hates Trump

Discussion: Hullabaloo and The Daily Beast

New York Times:
What We Learned From Trump's Orlando Rally

Discussion: Spectator USA, Talking Points Memo, Media Matters for America, Wonkette, CNN, Althouse and Breitbart

Casey Newton / The Verge:

Facebook moderators break their NDAs to expose desperate working conditions — At Facebook's worst-performing content moderation site in North America, one contractor has died, and others say they fear for their lives — Content warning: This story contains descriptions of violent acts …

Discussion: New York Post, Breitbart, The Sun, Instapundit and Boing Boing, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

Meet the New York couple donating millions to the anti-vax movement — A wealthy Manhattan couple has emerged as significant financiers of the anti-vaccine movement, contributing more than $3 million in recent years to groups that stoke fears about immunizations online and at live events …

Discussion: Observer and No More Mister Nice Blog

Elizabeth Nolan Brown / Reason:

Josh Hawley Introduces Bill to Put Washington In Charge of Internet Speech — Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is introducing legislation to clamp down on free expression online, under the pretense of fighting tech-company “bias” against Republicans. — Hawley's solution is to amend Section 230 …

Discussion: Senator Josh Hawley, Washington Examiner, Washington Times and Breitbart

Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Josh Hawley's Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Internet Bill

Discussion: ThinkProgress

James Rogers / Fox News:
GOP Sen. Josh Hawley takes aim at Big Tech's legal protection with new bill

Discussion: The Federalist, Front Page Magazine, Louder With Crowder and Washington Free Beacon

Elizabeth Warren / New York Times:

Does anyone deserve to have a billion dollars? — THE CONTEXT — Most Democrats see economic inequality as a problem, but they don't always agree about how extreme wealth should be treated. This question sharpened that debate: candidates like Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar …

Discussion: IJR, Front Page Magazine, Splinter and Daily Caller News Foundation

New York Times:

Here's What They Said. — We tracked down the 2020 Democrats and asked them the same set of questions. Here's one: — CLOSED CAPTIONS — THE QUESTIONS — In an ideal world, would anyone own handguns? — Would your focus be improving the Affordable Care Act or replacing it with single payer?

Discussion: Towleroad Gay News, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones and Mediaite

New York Times:

Iran Has Ties to Al Qaeda, Trump Officials Tell Skeptical Congress — WASHINGTON — Administration officials are briefing Congress on what they say are ties between Iran and Al Qaeda, prompting skeptical reactions and concern on Capitol Hill that the White House could invoke the war authorization passed …

Discussion: Observer, Washington Post, Daily Kos and Political Wire

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire: Spoiler Alert: They Want a War

Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:

Trump Tells His Team to Tone Down the Tough Talk on Iran — For months, the Trump administration has been talking in increasingly alarming terms about the Iranian threat. Now, the president wants his people to cool down the hot rhetoric. — President Trump has privately pushed …

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Defense One and JNS.org

The Daily Beast:
Tucker Carlson Is Privately Advising Trump on Iran

Discussion: RedState, Washington Examiner, LobeLog, Washington Post, Associated Press, Shakesville, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Victoria Guida / Politico:

Fed keeps rates steady as Powell brushes off Trump threats — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady but opened the door to a possible cut this year amid fears of a slowing economy, in a move unlikely to calm President Donald Trump days after he suggested he might try to demote Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

Discussion: Board of Governors …, Townhall and Breitbart

Alister Bull / Bloomberg:
Powell Says He'll Serve Full Fed Term Despite Trump Pressure

Discussion: Political Wire, Washington Post and NPR

Katherine Krueger / Splinter:

Meghan McCain Snaps and Calls Joy Behar a ‘Bitch’ on the Air — Things are tense on Splinter's fave gab-fest, The View. After reports of behind-the-scenes bickering, the drama played out in front of the camera on Wednesday morning, as Meghan McCain finally snapped and called Joy Behar, her frequent nemesis and co-host, a “bitch.”

Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:

Four to Face Murder Charges in Downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 — MOSCOW — International prosecutors on Wednesday said that four men, including three with close ties to the Russian military and intelligence, would face murder charges in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine five years ago, killing 298 people.

Discussion: bellingcat, Daily Caller News Foundation and Newser

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

These gruesome new Khashoggi revelations reinforce the ugly bargain Trump has struck with Saudi Arabia — The Trump administration has made a calculated decision not to retaliate very much against Saudi Arabia for the assassination of Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Post, One America News Network and KTLA

Washington Post:
U.N. investigator calls for probing Saudi officials in Khashoggi killing

Discussion: The Guardian, CNN, Politico, New York Post, UPI, Newser, Boing Boing, Al Jazeera and Slate, more at Mediagazer »

John Solomon / The Hill:

FBI, warned early and often that Manafort file might be fake, used it anyway — When the final chapter of the Russia collusion caper is written, it is likely two seminal documents the FBI used to justify investigating Donald Trump's 2016 campaign will turn out to be bunk.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Lyz Lenz / Columbia Journalism Review:

The normalization of Bryan Goldberg — Bryan Goldberg wants to save your internet. Since the creation of his Bustle Digital Group, Goldberg made a name for himself as a digital slumlord—snatching up gutted media properties, bidding low and running them on cheap labor.

more at Mediagazer »

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

Senate Confirms Judge Who Attacked Roe v. Wade, Called Being Transgender ‘A Delusion’ — Susan Collins was the only Republican who voted against making Matthew Kacsmaryk a lifetime federal judge. — WASHINGTON ― The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Matthew Kacsmaryk …

Discussion: Wonkette

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Ex-Hassan aide sentenced to 4 years for doxing senators — A former aide to Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday for hacking Senate computers and releasing personal information online about five Republican senators out of anger spurred by their roles …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Lisa Rein / Washington Post:

Trump administration threatens furloughs, layoffs if Congress doesn't let it kill personnel agency — The Trump administration is threatening to furlough — and possibly lay off — 150 employees at the federal personnel agency if Congress blocks its plan to eliminate the department.

Discussion: Axios

Matt Donnelly / Variety:

Janet Mock Signs Landmark Overall Netflix Deal (EXCLUSIVE) — Janet Mock is making history. — The “Pose” director, producer and writer has signed a sweeping deal at Netflix, making her the first out transgender woman empowered to call the creative shots at a major content company.

Discussion: IndieWire, Washington Blade, theGrio, Engadget, VICE and TechCrunch

Daniel Dale / CNN:

Fact-check: Trump's Orlando rally featured more than 15 false claims over 76 minutes — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump kicked off his formal reelection campaign Tuesday night with a rally in Orlando. His 76-minute speech featured more than 15 false statements, many of them ones that he's repeated frequently in the past.

Discussion: Daily Kos