memeorandum: Benjamin Netanyahu to Face Trial on Charges of Bribery and Fraud (Amy Teibel/Bloomberg)

12:50 PM ET, November 21, 2019

Top Items:

Lev Parnas Helped Rep. Devin Nunes' Investigations … The indicted Giuliani associate helped arrange meetings and calls in Europe for the Republican congressman in 2018. — Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, helped arrange meetings and calls in Europe for Rep. Devin Nunes in 2018 …

Discussion: Salon, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, POLITICUSUSA, The Week, emptywheel, Balloon Juice, Politico and Talking Points Memo

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Fiona Hill criticizes Republicans for pushing ‘fictional narrative’ on Ukraine — President Donald Trump's former top Russia aide sparred with Republican lawmakers on Thursday, accusing them of emboldening Moscow by pushing a “fictional narrative” that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

Discussion: ABC News, Axios, Breitbart, New York Post, TheBlaze, Associated Press, The Daily Beast, Contemptor, The Root and NBC News

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Fiona Hill Viewed Serving Trump as Risky. Now She's an Impeachment Witness. — Ms. Hill's decision to be the president's top adviser on Russia and Europe strained friendships, made her a target of conspiracy theories — and landed her in the center of the tumult over Ukraine.

Discussion: Mother Jones

NBC News:

Fiona Hill to say partisan politics drove a ‘fictional’ narrative on Ukraine — The former White House official is expected to detail warning about the threat to U.S. democracy posed by Russia. — WASHINGTON — Former White House official Fiona Hill will tell Congress on Thursday …

Discussion: The Hill and The Editorial Board

CNN:

Former top Russia adviser sharply disputes GOP claims on Ukraine — (CNN)A former top White House official on Thursday delivered a full-throated rebuttal to the “fictional narrative” pushed by President Donald Trump and his GOP allies, while a US diplomat in the Ukrainian embassy provided …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, CANNONFIRE, FOX2now.com, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, Raw Story and WPIX 11 New York

CNN:
READ: Fiona Hill's opening remarks at impeachment hearing

Discussion: Raw Story

NBC News:
Democrats are winning impeachment inquiry on substance but can they win on politics?

Discussion: The Hill, Boston.com, New York Times and Washington Post

Greg Miller / Washington Post:
Fiona Hill tells impeachment inquiry about a ‘fictional narrative’ on Ukrainian interference

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Twitchy and Breitbart

ABC News:
Trump impeachment hearings live updates: Fiona Hill and David Holmes testify

Discussion: Mother Jones, Fox News and The Week

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Fiona Hill tells Devin Nunes to his face that his Ukraine conspiracy theory is ‘harmful’

Discussion: Associated Press, KSLNewsRadio and The Week

Axios:
Scoop: Fiona Hill to warn of “fictional narrative” on Ukraine in testimony

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Deseret News and Slate

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

Impeachment hearings putting Trump through emotional wringer — One day, he's up. One day, he's down. Other days he's just angry. — President Donald Trump has gone through a range of emotions since House Democrats started their public impeachment hearings last week about whether …

Discussion: USA Today, New York Times, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Law & Crime, FiveThirtyEight and Vanity Fair

Chris Cillizza / CNN:

The huge Gordon Sondland revelation almost everyone missed — (CNN)Gordon Sondland made a LOT of news in his opening statement to the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday. There was a quid pro quo between the Americans and the Ukrainains. Everybody in the White House knew about it.

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:
Sondland's bombshell testimony leaves Trump's Republican allies scrambling

Discussion: The American Independent, US News, The Hill, The Federalist, NBC News, New York Times, The Guardian and Foreign Policy

Rachel Siegel / Washington Post:
Trump took credit for opening a Mac factory. It's been open since 2013.

Discussion: The Verge, Joe.My.God. and The Week, more at Techmeme »

HuffPost:
Sondland's Testimony Was A Bombshell. Republicans Pretended It Was A Dud.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Vox

Washington Post:
Gordon Sondland just made this scandal a whole lot bigger

Discussion: The Wrap

New York Times:
Pompeo Emerges as a Major Trump Enabler in Ukraine Affair

Discussion: The American Independent and Common Dreams

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
Donald Trump's Gordon Problem

Discussion: Daily Kos and POLITICUSUSA

Andrew McCarthy / New York Post: Gordon Sondland's testimony frees Team Trump to adopt the best defense: the truth

Max Boot / Washington Post:
Sondland was devastating. But Republicans don't care about the facts.

Discussion: Politico, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and The Week

Netael Bandel / Haaretz:

Netanyahu Charged With Bribery, Fraud and Breach of Trust, Capping a Dramatic Political Year — Netanyahu becomes first sitting prime minister in Israel's history to be charged with bribery, in case involving quid-pro-quo with telecom tycoon — >> All of Netanyahu corruption cases, explained

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Law & Crime and Joe.My.God.

NBC News:

Benjamin Netanyahu indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust — The Israeli prime minister has denied any wrongdoing and said he is the victim of a politically orchestrated “witch hunt.” — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted on charges of bribery …

Discussion: Townhall

Amy Teibel / Bloomberg:

Benjamin Netanyahu to Face Trial on Charges of Bribery and Fraud — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will stand trial for bribery and fraud, an unprecedented development that could doom his career and shape the political crisis that's gripped Israel this past year.

Yonah Jeremy Bob / Jerusalem Post:

Netanyahu indicted: A-G to charge PM with bribery, fraud, breach of trust — Mandelblit and his team had been working on drafting the indictments to charge Netanyahu before a third election would begin. — Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit announced his final indictment on Thursday …

Discussion: National Review, POLITICUSUSA, New York Post and Sara A. Carter

David M. Halbfinger / New York Times:

Netanyahu Indicted on Corruption Charges, Throwing His Future Into Doubt — The first prosecution of a sitting Israeli premier deepens the political paralysis in a country that has had two inconclusive elections this year, and may be headed to a third vote.

Discussion: Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

NBC News:

Trump hosted Zuckerberg for undisclosed dinner at the White House in October — The meeting took place during Zuckerberg's most recent visit to Washington, where he testified before Congress about Facebook's new cryptocurrency Libra. — President Donald Trump hosted a previously undisclosed dinner …

Discussion: Vox, Politico, The Wrap, Rolling Stone, Common Dreams, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Breitbart, The Guardian, HuffPost, Bloomberg, Engadget, Mashable, Axios and New York Post, more at Techmeme »

Iowa State University:

Warren slipping as Buttigieg continues to surge — AMES, Iowa - Support for Sen. Elizabeth Warren has dropped by nearly 10% over the past month, according to the latest Iowa State University/Civiqs poll of Democratic presidential candidates. At the same time, the percentage of likely Iowa caucus-goers …

Discussion: Political Wire

Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
The Lost Debate — There are winners and losers, even when no one watches.

Discussion: National Review

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Pete Buttigieg Is in Bad Shape With Black Democrats. Here's How Bad.

Discussion: Vox, The Atlantic and GV Wire

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Top 2020 Democrats played it safe at the Atlanta debate

Discussion: The Hill and Washington Post

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
Buttigieg counterpunches as rivals take aim at his rising candidacy

Discussion: Washington Post, YouTube, The Daily Beast, The Hill, IJR, The Federalist, Bloomberg, Joe.My.God., Rolling Stone, Axios, Fox News and Breitbart

Dave Philipps / New York Times:

Trump Reverses Navy Decision to Oust Edward Gallagher From SEALs — The president said Chief Gallagher, who has been at center of a high-profile war crime case, would not lose his membership in the elite commando force. — President Trump on Thursday reversed a decision by the Navy seeking …

Discussion: National Review, Fox News, The Hill, New York Post, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

John Hendrickson / The Atlantic:

What Joe Biden Can't Bring Himself to Say — His eyes fall to the floor when I ask him to describe it. We've been tiptoeing toward it for 45 minutes, and so far, every time he seems close, he backs away, or leads us in a new direction. There are competing theories in the press, but Joe Biden has kept mum on the subject.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Kyle Kondik / Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball:

2020 House: Assessing the Open Seats So Far — Openings won't match the volume of 2018, but Democrats may once again benefit more than Republicans — Dear Readers: The Crystal Ball will be away next week. Our next issue will be released on Thursday, Dec. 5. We wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Washington Post:

Jim Jordan used to torment GOP leaders. Now he's leading them in defending Trump. — It's easy to picture Jim Jordan in a locker room, standing jacketless on a cooler or folding chair, rolling up his sleeves and rallying the troops before a crucial showdown.

Discussion: Raw Story

Berkeleyside:

UC Police report multiple arrests related to Ann Coulter appearance on campus — Update, 11:30 p.m. At a press conference after the Ann Coulter event had wound up, UC Berkeley and UCPD spokespeople said “six or seven” people were arrested and one was injured during the night on campus.

Discussion: ABC7, KTLA, Breitbart, KTVU-TV and Fox News