memeorandum: My client, Travis Runnels, did not deserve to die (Mark Pickett/The Outline)

6:20 PM ET, December 18, 2019

Top Items:

John Bresnahan / Politico:

Hoyer: ‘We need to talk about’ delaying Senate impeachment trial — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the second-ranking lawmaker in the House, said Wednesday that Democrats must discuss a last-ditch gambit to delay sending articles of impeachment to the Senate and prevent …

Discussion: Axios, Joe.My.God., The New Civil Rights Movement and POLITICUSUSA

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:

Some House Democrats push Pelosi to withhold impeachment articles, delay Senate trial — A group of House Democrats is pushing Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders to withhold the articles of impeachment against President Trump that are expected to emerge on Wednesday, potentially delaying a Senate trial for months.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, National Review, The Hill and Breitbart

CNN: As House votes to impeach Trump, McConnell pushes 13 judge nominations through Senate

Sarah Ferris / Politico:
Santa protests, MAGA hats and senator cameos: Scenes from impeachment

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, Axios and Associated Press

Ryan Broderick / BuzzFeed News:
Facebook Is Not Removing An Ad Falsely Claiming Mitch McConnell Endorses Impeaching Trump

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Justin McCarthy / Gallup:

Trump Approval Inches Up, While Support for Impeachment Dips — WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump's job approval rating has inched up again and is now at 45%. The president's ratings have increased six percentage points since the House of Representatives opened an impeachment inquiry against him in the fall.

Aaron Zitner / Wall Street Journal:

Americans Evenly Divided on Trump Removal, WSJ/NBC News Poll Finds — Survey shows a 48% to 48% split on whether to impeach and remove the president from office — The three-month House inquiry has failed to build majority support among Americans for or against impeaching President Trump …

John Harwood / CNBC:

Americans are split on impeaching Trump, NBC/WSJ poll says — A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, conducted as the House prepares to vote on two articles of impeachment against the president, shows a deadlock. Among American adults, 48% favor his impeachment and removal and 48% oppose it.

Mark Murray / NBC News:
NBC/WSJ poll: Public remains split on Trump's impeachment and ouster from office

Discussion: The Hill

Owen Daugherty / The Hill:
Trump approval up 6 points since launch of impeachment inquiry: Gallup

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog and Redstate

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

Trump ‘going crazy’ over impeachment legacy — Real estate mogul, billionaire, reality show host, late-night show punch line, populist rabble rouser, norm-busting leader — impeached president. — Beyond the immediate ramifications of the all-but-certain outcome of this week's vote …

Discussion: New Republic, Breitbart, Joe.My.God., Outside the Beltway, Reuters, Washington Post, Fox News and Axios

Robin Givhan / Washington Post:

Nancy Pelosi's pin at the impeachment debate was a declaration: The republic will survive this — The day was sober, no matter what side of the Trump impeachment debate one might be on. It was a sad day, on that there was bipartisan agreement. — And for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi …

Discussion: New York Times and HuffPost

NBC News:
‘We are all mad’: Trump, White House fume as House debates impeachment

Discussion: AOL.com, POLITICUSUSA and Joe.My.God.

NBC News:
Live Blog / Live updates: House votes on impeachment of President Trump

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Beast, Washington Free Beacon and Contemptor

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:
We're watching the fantasy version of the House of Representatives

Discussion: The Hill

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
A last-ditch explosion of rage and lies reminds us why Trump will be impeached

Discussion: Politico, CNN, The Guardian and Raw Story

Betsy Swan / The Daily Beast:

Trump Administration Battles New Sanctions on Russia — On Tuesday, President Trump claimed he was tougher on Russia than his predecessor. At the same time, his subordinates strongly opposed a bill imposing new sanctions on Moscow. — The Trump administration is quietly fighting …

Discussion: The Week and Raw Story

Daniel Arkin / NBC News:

Bloomberg says Democratic candidates, including Biden, don't have the right experience — “The presidency shouldn't be a training job,” Bloomberg said. “You need somebody who comes in and knows how to run an organization.” — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and The Hill

Ryan Cooper / The Week:

Democrats are sleepwalking into a Biden disaster — The Democratic primary has had much hue and cry over Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders of late. Yet the front-runner continues to be former Vice President Joe Biden, and there is little sign as yet that he is going to lose his lead, despite his fumbling campaign.

Discussion: New York Post and National Review

Associated Press: 2020 Democrats prepare to debate in shadow of impeachment

Farhad Manjoo / New York Times:
Pete Ain't It — The economic argument against Donald Trump …

Discussion: BizPac Review and Issues & Insights

Aamer Madhani / Associated Press:

As House convenes on impeachment, Trump declares disbelief — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump woke up in the White House Wednesday morning and expressed utter disbelief that he will likely become just the third U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives.

Discussion: HuffPost, The American Independent and KTLA

Axios:
“AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA”: Trump fires off dozens of tweets on impeachment day

Discussion: Politico, The Independent and Talking Points Memo

Madeline Holcombe / CNN:
Pro-impeachment protests span the country ahead of historic vote

Discussion: al.com, Snopes.com, The Root, Joe.My.God. and Mercury News

NBC News:
Van Drew and Peterson lone Democrats voting with Republicans

Discussion: The Hill

Paul Demko / Politico:

Court voids Obamacare mandate — but not the whole law — Lower court must now reconsider fate of the full statute — A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down Obamacare's individual mandate in a decision that immediately thrusts the health care law to the forefront of the 2020 elections.

Discussion: NBC News and Raw Story

Amy Goldstein / Washington Post: Appeals court rules ACA's individual mandate unconstitutional; lower court to decide whether rest …

CREW:

Trump Hotel Room Prices Spiked 13x Last Weekend. We Finally Know Why. — In November, we noticed a mysterious spike in the price of available rooms at Trump's DC hotel for a Saturday night in December. The minimum cost was 13 times the average, but we couldn't identify a reason for the spike …

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

Phil McCausland / NBC News:

USDA tariff tracker removes Wakanda, fictional home of Black Panther, as free trade partner — There were hundreds of U.S. Department of Agriculture data inputs for Wakanda, a nation that first appeared in the July 1966 Marvel comic Fantastic Four #52. — Wakanda's free trade agreement with the United States wasn't forever.

Discussion: New York Post

Andrew P. Napolitano / Washington Times:

Trump impeachment: Undisputed evidence that he abused his power — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — The rule of law is a cornerstone of American democracy and is integral to the U.S. Constitution. It stands for the principles that no person is beneath the laws' protections. No person is above the laws' requirements.

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press, Hullabaloo, Raw Story and Mediaite

Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:

Justice Dept. plans crackdown on violent crime in 7 cities — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department announced a crackdown Wednesday aimed at driving down violent crime in seven of the nation's most violent cities. — Attorney General William Barr is announcing the initiative known …

Discussion: The Hill

Ellen Mitchell / The Hill:

Fourth Pentagon official announces resignation within week — A top Pentagon intelligence official will soon leave the building, the fourth key defense official to announce their resignation within a week. — Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Kari Bingen submitted …

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

The GOP's closing impeachment argument: Denying basic facts — It's often been said that the two sides in the current impeachment debate can't even agree on basic facts. But increasingly for the GOP, that's also true of well-established and indisputable facts.

Discussion: Raw Story

U.S. Department of Justice:

Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security to Publish Joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Restrict Certain Criminal Aliens' Eligibility for Asylum — The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (collectively, “the Departments") today issued a notice …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and NBC News

New York Times:

Joe Biden Is Sounding Like a Pundit, and He's Bullish on a Certain Former V.P. — As he campaigns, Mr. Biden offers free-flowing analysis about the race he's running in. Among his takes: He should be described as the front-runner, and he's best positioned to beat President Trump.

Meg Cunningham / ABC News:

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy restores voting rights for 80,000 on probation or parole — NJ Gov. Murphy signed two bills on Wednesday morning to create a “clean slate.” — New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill Wednesday morning to restore voting rights to more than 80,000 residents who are on probation or parole.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump's Attack on Amazon May Be His Most Egregious Abuse of Power Yet — That President Trump's Ukraine policy led to articles of impeachment against him was largely a matter of chance. A CIA official decided to collect evidence that the administration's foreign policy was being used as a domestic oppo-research shakedown.

David Harsanyi / National Review:

Impeach Him If You Like, but for the Love of God, Stop Pretending You Care about the Constitution — Perhaps Donald Trump deserves to be impeached for his Ukrainian adventure. Heck, maybe he deserves to be impeached for sending that insanely entertaining letter yesterday.

Sarah Ferris / Politico:

‘In a class by herself’: Pelosi has roared back in the Trump era — Speaker Nancy Pelosi stood in front of her members on Tuesday morning and gestured to a bright red poppy pinned to her coat. — Pelosi received the memorial pin while attending the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium over the weekend.

Discussion: The Hill

Mainer:

UMaine College Republicans Caught in MAGA Civil War — Student group sides with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, loses key advisor — The chair of the University of Maine's political science department resigned her position as faculty advisor to the UMaine College Republicans in protest …

Sam Levine / HuffPost:

Every Person In America Should Know Crystal Mason's Name — Mason faces a five-year prison sentence for trying to vote while ineligible. HuffPost Reports documents the days leading up to her appeal. — Maybe you've heard of Crystal Mason. Last year, a Texas judge sentenced her to five years …

John F. Harris / Politico:

Impeachment and the Crack Up of the Conservative Mind — On this day of righteous fury — the nation's second presidential impeachment in 21 years — I have a special request. — I want to hear from someone, anyone, who meets two standards. One, this person is a supporter of Donald Trump …

Discussion: DNyuz

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Thoughts on the Impeachment of Donald J. Trump — With the day now upon us, I wanted to lay out some points on impeachment which seem to me essential and definitional. — The signature reality of the Trump Era is confusion. False stories crowd out real ones - false stories driven less by ignorance than as a mode of attack.

Discussion: Hullabaloo