memeorandum: We represent the whistleblower. Their identity is no longer relevant. (Washington Post)

2:20 PM ET, October 25, 2019

Top Items:

Trump Organization Exploring Sale of Marquee Washington Hotel — Move is motivated partly by ethical criticisms concerning profiting on the property — The Trump Organization is exploring a sale of the rights to the company's opulent Washington, D.C., hotel, a move it says is motivated partly …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, One America News Network, CNBC, The Hill, Political Wire and Raw Story

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

NSC official plans to testify in impeachment probe even if White House tries to block him — Tim Morrison, a National Security Council official who has been identified as a witness to one of the most explosive pieces of evidence unearthed by House impeachment investigators …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Raw Story and CNN

CNN:

White House official expected to back up diplomat's testimony over Trump push for Ukraine probe into Bidens — Why the ‘quid pro quo’ defense may not matter — (CNN)Tim Morrison, a top Russia and Europe adviser on President Donald Trump's National Security Council, is expected to testify …

Discussion: The Hill and Roll Call

New York Times:

Republicans Fight Trump's Impeachment by Attacking the Process — President Trump wants his party to defend him more aggressively. Senators instead are denouncing the House investigation. — WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress struggled for a second consecutive day Thursday …

Discussion: Vox, The Atlantic, CNN, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, ABC News, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Progress Pond, Associated Press, Politico, Law & Crime, Just Security, The Daily Beast, New Republic and Daily Kos

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: The West Wing's impeachment war room

Discussion: Daily Kos

CNN:
White House eyes ex-Treasury spokesman to lead impeachment messaging efforts

Discussion: VICE, Political Wire and New York Times

Nancy Cook / Politico:
White House seeks a communications guru to fight Trump impeachment

Discussion: Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA

New York Times:

Justice Dept. Is Said to Open Criminal Inquiry Into Its Own Russia Investigation — The move is likely to open the attorney general to accusations that he is trying to deliver a political victory for President Trump. — WASHINGTON — For more than two years, President Trump has repeatedly attacked …

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Giuliani probe snowballs — Rudy Giuliani's problems keep piling up. — His responsibilities are shrinking as Donald Trump's TV-friendly personal attorney. His efforts to dig up dirt on the president's political opponents have landed his highest-profile client in a congressional impeachment investigation.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair, emptywheel, Raw Story, News & Guts Media, Law & Crime and POLITICUSUSA

Dustin Volz / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Watchdog Council Says Justice Department Erred in Blocking Whistleblower Complaint — Memo saying matter wasn't urgent was wrong, Council of Inspectors General concludes — A U.S. watchdog council has faulted a Justice Department legal memo that initially blocked the Ukraine whistleblower's complaint …

CNN:

Feds blow door off safe, issue subpoenas as probe into Giuliani associates escalates — (CNN)Federal prosecutors in New York have subpoenaed the brother of one of the recently indicted associates of Rudy Giuliani, according to two people familiar with the matter, as they escalate their investigation in the campaign-finance case.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:

We represent the whistleblower. Their identity is no longer relevant. — The public now knows more about the call with Ukraine than what was in the complaint. — Our client's whistleblower complaint about President Trump's efforts to solicit interference from Ukraine in the 2020 U.S. election …

Discussion: Politico

Washington Post:
Live updates: House issues subpoenas to two OMB officials in impeachment inquiry; Trump praises Giuliani

Discussion: Political Wire, The Hill and Breitbart

Zach Montellaro / Politico:

DNC raises thresholds for December debate — The halfway mark of the Democratic debate calendar is coming up, and the sixth debate will likely feature the smallest stage yet. — New thresholds announced by the Democratic National Committee for the sixth debate — which will be hosted …

Discussion: Fox News, The Federalist, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Axios, The Week, The Daily Caller, The Wrap, Political Wire and FiveThirtyEight

Dylan Byers / NBC News:
Sixth Democratic debate to be hosted by PBS and Politico in Los Angeles

Discussion: Breitbart and The Hill

Quint Forgey / Politico:
POLITICO to partner with PBS NewsHour to host December Democratic debate

Discussion: The Hill

Pat Rynard / Iowa Starting Line:

Gabbard Skips Iowa Forum, Appears On Fox News Instead — Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard's bizarre week in American politics continued Thursday night, when she skipped an appearance at LULAC's Latino town hall in Des Moines, appearing that evening instead on Sean Hannity's Fox News show.

Discussion: CNN, The Outline, Slate, WORLD, Big League Politics and IJR

Ronn Blitzer / Fox News: Clinton ally Blumenthal sought to stop publication of Russia probe book: source

Morgan Phillips / Fox News:
Tulsi Gabbard echoes Republican frustrations with impeachment inquiry: 'I don't know what's …

Discussion: Townhall, alicublog, The Federalist and Fox Business

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: “Anonymous” to expose private Trump conversations — The anonymous “senior Trump administration official” who will release a tell-all book, “A Warning,” next month was a frequent participant in meetings with President Trump and plans to recount specific conversations, sources tell me.

Discussion: NBC News, The Daily Caller and CNN

Sen. Rand Paul / Breitbart:

Rand Paul: Is Quid Pro Quo the Status Quo? — Isn't all foreign aid supposed to be quid pro quo? — We give you this aid — on the expectation that you will not steal any of it for personal use, that you will spend it as we instruct, and on the understanding that if you don't spend the money …

Byron York / Washington Examiner: In impeachment, can Democrats focus on Trump intent and not result?

Tulsi Gabbard / TULSI2020.com:

Mahalo, Hawaiʻi — I am so grateful. — Grateful to call Hawaiʻi home; grateful for our people and the spirit of aloha that binds us all together; and grateful for our precious 'āina, beautiful oceans, and towering mountains. — Most of all, I'm grateful to all of you …

Tim Elfrink / Washington Post:
Tulsi Gabbard won't run for reelection to Congress as she seeks Democratic presidential nomination

Discussion: ABC News and No More Mister Nice Blog

Facebook:

Introducing Facebook News — Testing a dedicated place for news in the US — Journalism plays a critical role in our democracy. When news is deeply-reported and well-sourced it gives people information they can rely on. When it's not, we lose an essential tool for making good decisions.

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Caller, Shareblue Media, NPR, UPI, The Hill, Deadline, TechCrunch and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »

Bloomberg: Facebook Launches News Section to Compensate Publishers

Elliot Spagat / Associated Press:

Trump Administration Responsible For More Than 5,400 Child Separations, ACLU Says — The figure includes more than 1,500 migrant children that were not previously disclosed by the Justice Department. — SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. immigration authorities separated more than 1,500 children …

Discussion: Axios

Maria Sacchetti / Washington Post:
ACLU says 1,500 more migrant children were taken from parents by the Trump administration

Discussion: Just Security and UPI

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Could Lindsey Graham be any more obsequious? — It was another sad milestone in the decline of John McCain's faithful sidekick into President Trump's Lickspittle Lindsey. — Not quite two weeks ago, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) vowed to be Trump's “worst nightmare” and called the Syria pullout …

Discussion: Occupy Democrats, New York Post and Vox

Rebecca Traister / New York Magazine:
Why Donald Trump — and Other Powerful Men — Love to Cast Themselves As Victims

Discussion: Mother Jones and Slate

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
Donald Trump's ‘Lynching’

Discussion: Vox

The Economist:

Elizabeth Warren wants to remake American capitalism — As it stands, the Democratic front-runner's programme has too little time for markets or business — ELIZABETH WARREN is remarkable. Born into a struggling family in Oklahoma, she worked her way up to become a star law professor at Harvard.

Washington Post:

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says U.S. will leave forces in Syria to defend oil fields from Islamic State — BRUSSELS — Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said Friday that the United States would leave forces in Syria to protect oil fields and keep them from falling into the hands of the Islamic State.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Associated Press and Defense One

David Ignatius / Washington Post: Russia has earned its success in the Middle East — partly thanks to Trump

CNN:

Maria Butina released from federal prison, expected to be deported to Russia — (CNN)Russian gun rights enthusiast Maria Butina was released from the Tallahassee Federal Correction Institution on Friday after having served more than 15 months behind bars, according to the US Federal Bureau of Prisons …

Discussion: Law & Crime, Political Wire, UPI, New York Post and Breaking News USA

Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:
Russian agent Butina freed from U.S. prison, set to be deported

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Fox News

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

Trump Cuts Out Media That Doesn't ‘Make Him Feel Beautiful’ — It's a comfort mechanism for the president that intensifies whenever he feels under siege and when scandal swirls. — For months, President Trump has refused to grace CNN or MSNBC with what he views as the gift of his presence.

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Post

Randall Roberts / Los Angeles Times:

Morrissey is anti-immigrant and backs a white nationalist political party. Why don't fans care? — For years, when professor Melissa Mora Hidalgo wasn't teaching classes at Cal State Fullerton or UC San Diego, the Los Angeles-based culture writer could often be found on stages throughout the region …

Matt Bonesteel / Washington Post:

José Andrés, a Trump critic, to throw first pitch at World Series game Trump is expected to attend — The Nationals announced Friday that D.C. restaurateur and humanitarian José Andrés will throw out the first pitch ahead of World Series Game 5 on Sunday, should the series extend that long.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, USA Today, DCist, Mediaite, Politico and One America News Network

Kansas City Star:

Mike Pompeo, either quit and run for U.S. Senate in Kansas or focus on your day job — BY THE KANSAS CITY STAR EDITORIAL BOARD — If Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas, then he should quit his rather important day job and do that.

Discussion: Wichita Eagle

Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:

George Soros Has Enemies. He's Fine With That. — In an interview, Mr. Soros explained why he thinks the tide is turning back to “globalists” like him and what might happen in the 2020 election. — George Soros is a billionaire philanthropist, a former currency trader, a liberal champion and — in certain circles — a boogeyman.

Discussion: Townhall, CNBC, Axios, Breitbart, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Wall Street Journal:

The Fall of WeWork: How a Startup Darling Came Unglued — The cliff dive has little precedent, even in the boom-and-bust world of venture capital — Just months before the spectacular fall of WeWork, one of the country's most gilded startups, chief executive Adam Neumann summoned the heads …

Discussion: Power Line, UPI and Jewish Insider

Andy Shain / Post and Courier:

Warren cutting into Biden's lead in new SC 2020 Democratic poll — Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, surging nationally in recent weeks, is cutting into former Vice President Joe Biden's lead in South Carolina's Democratic presidential primary, a new poll shows.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Hill

Moira Donegan / The Guardian:

Revenge porn is being used to smear and discredit a sitting congresswoman — Katie Hill may not be a perfect victim, but posting a naked photo of her in retaliation is a rightwing smear campaign — The conservative website Red State published revenge porn of a sitting congresswoman last week.

Discussion: Politico

Megan Messerly / The Nevada Independent:

Buttigieg: ‘Meaning’ of Medicare for all has changed; ‘good chance’ Facebook, other tech companies broken up if he becomes president — Mayor Pete Buttigieg shakes hands with supporters during a rally at East Las Vegas Community Center on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. (Jeff Scheid/Nevada Independent)

Discussion: The Hill, Political Wire and Iowa State University