memeorandum: William Peter Blatty's Counter-Countercultural Parable (Kevin Mims/Quillette)

8:20 AM ET, September 14, 2019

Top Items:

U.S. House of Representatives Permanent …:

Chairman Schiff Issues Subpoena for Whistleblower Complaint Being Unlawfully Withheld by Acting DNI from Intelligence Committees — f t # e — Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, issued a subpoena to the Acting Director …

Discussion: U.S. Political News … and Mother Jones

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Schiff accuses top intel official of illegally withholding ‘urgent’ whistleblower complaint — The nation's top intelligence official is illegally withholding a whistleblower complaint, possibly to protect President Donald Trump or senior White House officials, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff alleged Friday.

Lawfare:

On the Mystery of the McCabe Grand Jury — Did a federal grand jury refuse to hand up an indictment of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe? — No media organization has reported that this is what happened Thursday, but something clearly happened when the grand jury met …

Discussion: Fox News, U.S. Political News …, POLITICUSUSA, RedState, Raw Story, Washington Post, CNN and TheBlaze

Katie Benner / New York Times:

Justice Dept. to Honor Team That Worked on Kavanaugh Confirmation Process — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department will present one of its most prestigious awards to the lawyers who worked on the highly contentious Supreme Court nomination process of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh.

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:
Andrew McCabe Asks Justice Dept. Whether Grand Jury Rejected Charges

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CANNONFIRE, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, Salon, Hullabaloo and Power Line

Wall Street Journal:

Trump, Awaiting Egyptian Counterpart at Summit, Called Out for ‘My Favorite Dictator’ — Quip drew attention to uncomfortable facet of U.S.-Egypt relationship — Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month's Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France …

Discussion: RedState, Occupy Democrats, The Week, The Independent, Mediaite and The New Civil Rights Movement

Dave Lawler / Axios:

Report: Trump asked for “my favorite dictator” — Searching a room for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at last month's G7 summit in France, the WSJ reports, President Trump called out: “Where's my favorite dictator?” — Why it matters: Sisi really is a dictator, and he really is closely allied with the Trump administration.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

What If the Only Democrat Who Isn't Too Radical to Win Is Too Old? — Here is a science-fiction scenario: Imagine a strange new virus that incapacitates everybody below the age of 75. The virus wipes out the entire political leadership, except one old man, who has survived on account of his age …

Discussion: twitchy.com and Vox

Henry Olsen / Washington Post:
The three big winners of the Houston debate

Discussion: Fox News, The Nation and The Week

Maggie Astor / New York Times:
Who Won the Debate? Experts Weigh In

Discussion: CNN, Viking Pundit, The Intercept and New Yorker

Tess Bonn / The Hill:
Sanders spokeswoman: A lot of candidates will have to answer for their past

Discussion: Washington Post and Breitbart

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Kamala Harris' debate performance fails to sway big money donors

Discussion: RedState and PJ Media Home

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:

DOJ cites Dems' mixed-up impeachment messages to undercut House probe — The Justice Department on Friday flatly rejected House Democrats' claim that they're in the midst of an “impeachment investigation” into President Donald Trump, pointing to the scattershot messaging by Democratic leaders …

Discussion: twitchy.com, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway

David Shortell / CNN: DOJ argues House lawmakers should not gain access to Mueller grand jury materials

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
DOJ Inspector General Has Completed FISA Abuse Probe

Discussion: Fox News and Daily Wire

Sam Brodey / The Daily Beast:
House Dems Leaning Against Calling Stormy Daniels as a Witness

Discussion: Fox News and Raw Story

Washington Post:
House Democrats pursue Sessions for testimony in impeachment probe of Trump

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story and Mediaite

Washington Post:

We are Trump's Republican challengers. Canceling GOP primaries is a critical mistake. — Mark Sanford was governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011. Joe Walsh represented Illinois's 8th Congressional District in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013. Bill Weld was governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997.

Discussion: CNN, U.S. Political News …, Mediaite, Fox News and Raw Story

Danny Hakim / New York Times:

New York Uncovers $1 Billion in Sackler Family Wire Transfers — In a court filing, the state attorney general's office says that it has found new account transfers by members of the family that owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of opioids. — The New York attorney general's office said on Friday …

Discussion: Associated Press, ABC News and U.S. Political News …

globalnews.ca:

RCMP intel director charged in major case was top adviser to former force head: sources — ABOVE: A high-level official with the RCMP has been arrested and is facing several charges under both the Criminal Code and Security of Information Act, according to multiple sources. Mercedes Stephenson reports.

Discussion: Fox News

Catharine Tunney / CBC News:
RCMP intelligence director accused of violating secrets act

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Daniel Dale / CNN:

Fact check: Trump makes six false claims in tweets on why he shouldn't be impeached — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump made a three-tweet argument Friday morning about why he should not be impeached, touting what he said were his accomplishments. Over the course of 139 words …

BostonGlobe.com:

METRO SPORTS BUSINESS OPINION RHODE ISLAND POLITICS LIFESTYLE MARIJUANA ARTS MAGAZINE CARS REAL ESTATE EVENTS — The MIT Media Lab's schedule was cleared on a Saturday afternoon in October 2015. There was a special guest and potential donor visiting then-director Joi Ito's office.

Edward Ongweso Jr / VICE:
Famed Computer Scientist Richard Stallman Described Epstein Victims As ‘Entirely Willing’

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Daily Dot and New York Post

BostonGlobe.com:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorses Markey for reelection — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the young liberal icon from New York, has endorsed Senator Ed Markey's reelection bid next year, as Representative Joe Kennedy III considers challenging Markey for what promises to be the nation's most competitive congressional primary.

Discussion: Townhall and Political Wire

Ed Markey / YouTube:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsement

Discussion: U.S. Political News …, Washington Post and CBS Boston

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

General Flynn Goes On Offense Against the Deep State — Several months ago, General Michael Flynn replaced his original defense team with Sidney Powell, a Texas lawyer who is a veteran of the Department of Justice and author of Licensed To Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice.

Jake Tapper / CNN:

Homeland Security investigating who drew a swastika inside one of its buildings — (CNN)A hand-drawn swastika was found on the third floor of a Department of Homeland Security building on Friday in Washington, a government official told CNN. — Some staffers in the building …

Discussion: Raw Story, U.S. Political News … and NBC4 Washington

Kylie Atwood / CNN:

Otto Warmbier's parents will have dinner at the White House — (CNN)The parents of Otto Warmbier, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, will have dinner at the White House on Saturday night with President Donald Trump and Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, according to two administration sources.

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

McCarthy doubles down on denouncing Democrats and bets the House on Trump — BALTIMORE — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has set a goal no party has done in 65 years, winning back the majority just two years after losing it. — But the California Republican knows better than to over promise and under deliver.

Olivia Messer / The Daily Beast:

Felicity Huffman Gets Prison Time in College Admissions Scandal — The most famous person stung by ‘Operation Varsity Blues’ paid $15,000 to inflate her daughter's SAT score. Now she says she's sorry. — BOSTON—When Felicity Huffman finally received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012 …

Discussion: NBC News, Associated Press, Law & Crime, Axios and Patterico's Pontifications

Melanie Zanona / Politico:

Republicans clash with Trump-aligned operatives — BALTIMORE — House Republicans sparred behind closed doors with Trump-aligned political operatives at a GOP retreat over the new online fundraising platform backed by party leaders and the White House. — The fight Thursday over WinRed's data …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

PBS NewsHour:

Appeals court rules parents of slain DNC staffer can sue Fox News — NEW YORK — A lawsuit alleging Fox News exploited the killing of a Democratic National Committee employee was revived by an appeals court Friday after a lower court tossed it out. — The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals …

Justin Rohrlich / Quartz:

A Border Patrol gala retirement party will be held at a Trump golf resort — US Border Patrol deputy chief Scott Luck will be celebrating his retirement later this month with a private party at president Donald Trump's lavish golf resort in Virginia, according to a flyer for the event obtained by Quartz.

Discussion: Raw Story

Hansi Lo Wang / NPR:

Latinx Advocacy Groups Sue To Block Citizenship Data Release By Trump Officials — Latinx community groups based in Texas and Arizona are suing to block the Trump administration from collecting government records for the production of data concerning the U.S. citizenship status of every person living in the country.

Washington Post:

White House prepares gun proposals, but where Trump stands is unclear — The White House is preparing to roll out its plan to reduce gun violence next week, even as President Trump remains conflicted behind the scenes on what provisions he will ultimately support and Senate Republicans continue …