memeorandum: Trump Stopped Strike on Iran Because It Was ‘Not Proportionate’ (New York Times)

11:40 AM ET, June 21, 2019

Top Items:

Trump Approves Strikes on Iran, but Then Abruptly Pulls Back — WASHINGTON — President Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing an American surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching them on Thursday night after a day of escalating tensions.

Discussion: Reuters, Bloomberg, Shareblue Media, Politico, Washington Post, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, National Review, The American Conservative, Reason, VICE, CNBC, Hot Air, Splinter, Task & Purpose, emptywheel, The Diplomat, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze, PJ Media Home, CNN, POLITICUSUSA, Townhall, Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, The Week, C4ISRNET, NPR, ABC News, The New Civil Rights Movement, WTVR-TV, WSVN-TV, Al Jazeera, Financial Times, The Daily Beast, New York Post, Slate, GZERO, Issues & Insights, Outside the Beltway, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, Balloon Juice, The Sun, Taylor Marsh, Informed Comment, Newser, Fox News, UPI, fox5sandiego.com, Power Line, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Israellycool, Wonkette, Daily Caller News Foundation, Foreign Policy, Progress Pond, Washington Monthly and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:

Trump Stopped Strike on Iran Because It Was ‘Not Proportionate’ — President Trump said Friday morning that the United States military had been “cocked and loaded” for a strike against Iran on Thursday night, but that he called it off with 10 minutes to spare when a general told him that 150 people would likely die in the attack.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Townhall, Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, CNSNews, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart and abc7NY

Peter Baker / New York Times:

For Trump, ‘Judgment Time Is Coming’ on How to Respond to Iran — WASHINGTON — President Trump's tenure as commander in chief came to a dramatic turning point on Thursday night as he found himself torn between his own competing advisers and his own competing instincts …

Discussion: Washington Post, PJ Media Home, Politico, CNBC, Mediaite, New York Post, Axios, Financial Times and Breitbart

Newsweek:

Donald Trump Decided to Strike Iranian Missile System, Then Changed His Mind — An ordered military operation against military targets in Iran was called off in the early stages on Thursday, though the reason for holding the strike remains unclear. — As reported by the New York Times …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, New York Times, The Guardian, Defense One, Splinter, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit and VICE

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post: The commander in chief is AWOL

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
The U.S. Has Lots of Options With Iran

Discussion: CNN, The Week and The American Conservative

Washington Post:
Trump ordered attack on Iran for downing drone, then called it off, citing casualties

Discussion: Townhall, Reason, TASS, Conservative News Today and Breitbart

New York Times:
Attacking Iran Is Congress's Call

Discussion: Just Security, The Guardian, The Week, The Daily Caller, Al Jazeera and Splinter

Washington Post:
The U.S. should strive for a stable Iran. Instead, it is suffocating it.

Discussion: Fox News and The American Conservative

Fox News:
US called off retaliatory strike against Iran in last minute: source

Discussion: Associated Press, Rolling Stone and The Daily Caller

CNN:
Trump downplays Iran tensions after drone shot down

Discussion: Washington Post, American Military News, Associated Press, WORLD, TheBlaze and The Root

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Trump's Iran strikes U-turn underscores war and peace dilemma

Discussion: The Guardian, Breitbart and Shareblue Media

Associated Press:

Migrant children describe neglect at Texas border facility — EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A 2-year-old boy locked in detention wants to be held all the time. A few girls, ages 10 to 15, say they've been doing their best to feed and soothe the clingy toddler who was handed to them by a guard days ago.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Daily Kos, CNN, The Week, Human Rights Watch, Axios and KQED

Associated Press: Lawyers claim infants, children are in dangerous situation at border detention site

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times: Trump Bets We'll Stop Caring About Migrant Kids

Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:
Trump Administration to Migrant Kids: No Soap for You!

Discussion: Splinter

Nicole Goodkind / Newsweek:
Trump Administration Argues Detained Migrant Children Don't Need Toothbrushes, Soap

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Politico:

Dems see Hope Hicks testimony as huge gift in legal battle with Trump — In an exclusive interview, Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler also said Democrats would soon sue former White House Counsel Don McGahn. — House Democrats are planning to file a lawsuit within days to force former White …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Caller News Foundation, POLITICUSUSA and The Week

David Morgan / Reuters:
Hicks told House panel Trump is serious about foreign help in elections

Discussion: U.S. Representative … and Splinter

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Hope Hicks refused to answer 155 questions during House testimony

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, Newser, Axios, Vanity Fair, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Kos

Natasha Korecki / Politico:

Biden called Booker to quell tensions. Things only got worse — After Sen. Cory Booker appeared on CNN on Wednesday night sounding off on Joe Biden's recent comments surrounding segregationists, the New Jersey Democrat got a phone call — it was the former vice president.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Splinter

John F. Harris / Politico:
Grampa Simpson runs for president

Discussion: Shakesville, Washington Post, RedState and Washington Monthly

Washington Post:
Tensions ripple through Biden campaign as his past working relationship with a segregationist …

Discussion: Progress Pond, Political Wire, New York Post, The Atlantic, Breitbart and The Daily Caller

Daniel Chaitin / Washington Examiner:

NYT reporter flagged Jared Kushner meetings with Russians to FBI — A New York Times reporter fed information about Jared Kushner meeting with Russians to the FBI, newly released emails show. — Journalist Michael Schmidt sent an email on March 24, 2017, to FBI Assistant Director …

Discussion: Washington Post, Power Line, Daily Kos and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Elizabeth Warren / Medium:

Ending Private Prisons and Exploitation for Profit — Last month Caliburn International — a for-profit company whose subsidiary operates Homestead, the largest detention center for unaccompanied migrant children — hired John Kelly, Trump's former chief of staff.

Discussion: Mother Jones, CNN, Fox News, Axios, Observer, UPI and Washington Free Beacon

Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:
Elizabeth Warren Wants to Ban Private Prisons: They Have ‘No Place in America’

Discussion: Politico

Wall Street Journal:

Prosecutors Intensify Scrutiny of Trump Fundraiser Elliott Broidy — Federal probe examines foreigners who attended inauguration at invitation of top Trump fundraiser — Federal prosecutors have stepped up a criminal investigation into possible efforts by longtime Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Maxwell Strachan / HuffPost:

Some White House Reporters Are Throwing Sarah Huckabee Sanders A Goodbye Party — White House correspondents and some Trump staffers plan to send Sanders off with “farewell drinks” next week. — Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the reporters who cover the White House haven't always had the smoothest relationship.

Discussion: Politico, Conservative News Today, Washington Post, Splinter, Daily Kos, checkyourfact.com, TheBlaze and Mediaite

Kate Riga / Talking Points Memo:
After Crying ‘Fake News’ For Years, Sanders Is Getting A Party — Thrown By Reporters

Discussion: Splinter

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Laura Ingraham Dismisses Reparations: 'No Do-Overs...We Won, You Lost, That's That' — “As Trump always says, 'you don't get do-overs,' she declared. ” No do-overs, that's it. Fox News star Laura Ingraham waded into the ongoing debate over reparations for descendants of slaves during …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The New Civil Rights Movement and Contemptor

Donald Trump / TIME:

Donald Trump's Interview With TIME on 2020: Read the Transcript — President Donald Trump sat down for an interview with TIME in the Oval Office on June 17 for a story on his re-election campaign. — During the 57-minute conversation, he discussed his Democratic rivals …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, CNN, Contemptor, Shareblue Media, Mediaite, Splinter, The Week, Hullabaloo and Politico

Olivia Gazis / CBS News:

Justice Dept review of intel in Russia probe fuels fears of politicization — A mix of concern, confusion and defiance has spread through elements of the intelligence community as a murky picture emerges of Attorney General William Barr's review of its investigative and analytical work …

Nicholas Ballasy / The Intercept:

Ocasio-Cortez Not Apologizing to Kevin McCarthy: “He Should Apologize to the Children That Have Been Separated From Their Parents” — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., fired back on Thursday at House Republican Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who had demanded that she apologize …

Discussion: Crooked Media, The Atlantic and Washington Press

Allegra Kirkland / Talking Points Memo:
Fighting About Calling Them ‘Concentration Camps’ Is Besides The Point

Discussion: Bloomberg, Townhall and Algemeiner.com

Emily Flitter / New York Times:

Being Transgender at Goldman Sachs — How Maeve DuVally, an employee in the bank's buttoned-up communications department, became herself at work. — Goldman Sachs's trading floors are vast rooms crammed with rows of tightly packed workstations, four monitors for every trader.

Ali Vitali / NBC News:

Clyburn explains why Harris and Booker haven't caught on in S. Carolina — The third-ranking House Democrat talked to NBC News ahead of his famous ‘Fish Fry’ gathering Friday night, featuring more than 20 presidential contenders. — COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn expressed …

Discussion: Political Wire

Patrick Marley / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

On 4-3 vote, Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds state's lame-duck laws limiting power of Democratic governor — MADISON - The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld lame-duck laws Friday that limit the power of the state's new Democratic governor, handing Republicans a victory in one of several legal fights over the laws.

Discussion: Political Wire

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:

Jim Acosta Describes Why He Battles Trump — It has become commonplace for President Trump and his allies to label journalists as members of the opposition, or even to call them “enemies of the people.” In response, reporters have adopted a range of strategies, from trying to appear nonpartisan …

Tyler Bridges / www.theadvocate.com:

Support for Trump in Louisiana plunges, poll says; here's how this could help Gov. John Bel Edwards — A clear majority of Louisiana voters don't want Donald Trump to win a second term as president, an independent poll shows. — The survey by pollster Verne Kennedy also shows …

Discussion: Political Wire