memeorandum: Trump impeachment: Undisputed evidence that he abused his power (Andrew P. Napolitano/Washington Times)

10:50 PM ET, December 18, 2019

Top Items:

John Bresnahan / Politico:

Pelosi threatens to delay Senate impeachment trial — Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to commit Wednesday to delivering articles of impeachment to the Senate, citing concerns about an unfair trial on removing President Donald Trump from office. — Senior Democratic aides said the House was …

Discussion: Townhall, Vox, NBC News, Redstate, Vanity Fair, Breitbart, The Hill, The Boston Globe, Daily Kos, Conservative Christian News, Axios, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., NPR, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway and POLITICUSUSA

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:

Pelosi says House may withhold impeachment articles, delaying Senate trial — Moments after a historic vote to impeach President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House could at least temporarily withhold the articles from the Senate — a decision, she suggested …

Discussion: HuffPost, The Hill, Politico, The Moderate Voice, Breitbart, National Review and DNyuz

Scott Bixby / The Daily Beast:

Tulsi Gabbard Votes ‘Present’ in Impeachment Against Trump — The Democrat has missed nearly 90 percent of the votes held in the House of Representatives over the past two months. On Wednesday, she dodged the biggest vote of her career. — As the House of Representatives debated …

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, Vox, New York Times, Reason and Joe.My.God.

ABC News:

Donald Trump becomes 3rd president in US history to be impeached — A full day of debate is ending with final votes in the Democrat-led House. — LIVE NOW — Donald Trump became only the third president in U.S. history to be impeached when the House on Wednesday approved an article accusing him of abuse of power.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, NBC News, The Wrap and Axios

Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:

Trump impeached by the House for abuse of power, obstruction of Congress — The votes sets the stage for a trial in the Senate, due to begin in early January. — Watch live: House votes on articles of impeachment against Trump — President Donald J. Trump was impeached on Wednesday.

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

Gabby Orr / Politico:

Impeachment day for Trump: A bruised ego, a Twitter eruption and a winding rally — His chief spokeswoman said he would be “working all day,” but President Donald Trump spent much of Wednesday tweeting and retweeting about impeachment. — He holed up in the White House residence in the morning …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Mediaite

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.

Washington Post:
Trump is impeached by the House, creating an indelible mark on his presidency

Discussion: Power Line

ABC News:
House debates historic vote on impeaching President Trump: Live updates

Discussion: Associated Press, NBC News, The Hill, One America News Network, Hullabaloo, The Daily Beast, Twitchy, Raw Story, Vox, HotAir, The New Civil Rights Movement and The Guardian

Laura Davison / Bloomberg:
Key Senate Republican Bucks McConnell to Push for Drug Pricing

Discussion: Raw Story

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

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

Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
McCarthy: Trump will still be president after impeachment

Discussion: Vox, Townhall and The Hill

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

Discussion: The Hill

Aaron Zitner / Wall Street Journal: Americans Evenly Divided on Trump Removal, WSJ/NBC News Poll Finds

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: Raw Story and The Week

Stephen Rex Brown / New York Daily News:

Surveillance footage outside of Jeffrey Epstein's cell during first suicide attempt is missing — Surveillance footage of the outside of Jeffrey Epstein's cell at the troubled Metropolitan Correctional Center during his first suicide attempt has gone missing, prosecutors revealed Wednesday.

Discussion: Axios, CNBC, DNyuz, Breitbart, Big League Politics and The Gateway Pundit

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, Raw Story, The Root and TheBlaze

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

Ian Millhiser / Vox:
The Republican judges who were widely expected to kill Obamacare got cold feet

Discussion: National Review

Axios:

Which Democrats voted against Trump's impeachment — Only two House Democrats crossed party lines to vote to oppose both articles of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday. Both of them are feeling the pressure of representing swing districts Trump won in 2016.

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight and The Philadelphia Inquirer

Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:
Tulsi Gabbard votes ‘present’ on Trump impeachment articles

Discussion: Fox News, Politico and New York Times

Lili Loofbourow / Slate:

Impeachment Is a Permanent Stain on Trump's Presidency — The inevitable acquittal in the Senate won't annul a verdict that's already been rendered. — Who's Really in Charge of the Senate Impeachment Trial? — Mitch McConnell Refuses to Call Key Witnesses

David A. Graham / The Atlantic: The Stain of Impeachment Will Last Forever

Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Trump ‘going crazy’ over impeachment legacy

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

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

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

Discussion: BizPac Review

Ryan Cooper / The Week:
Democrats are sleepwalking into a Biden disaster

Discussion: New York Post

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

Discussion: Breitbart

Lara Seligman / Foreign Policy:

Pentagon's Policy Chief Under Fire as Senior Officials Head for the Exits — Current and former officials point to John Rood as a major source of frustration in the U.S. Defense Department policy shop. — Three years into U.S. President Donald Trump's administration …

Discussion: Defense News

Ellen Mitchell / The Hill:
Fourth Pentagon official announces resignation within week

Discussion: Axios and Defense News

Christopher Miller / BuzzFeed News:

Rudy Giuliani Flew To Ukraine On A Budget Flight. But He Left On A Private Jet. — Rudy Giuliani flew to Kyiv on a budget airline when he visited earlier this month — but he left in style, on a private jet. — It was the afternoon of December 4 when Giuliani flew to the Ukrainian capital …

Michael Goodwin / New York Post:

Nancy Pelosi's stomach-turning impeachment charade damages America — It is said there are two things you should never watch being made: sausage and government budgets. — Now we can add impeachment to the list of stomach-turning sights to avoid. — The arcane rules …

Discussion: DNyuz and The Gateway Pundit

Sarah Ferris / Politico:
‘In a class by herself’: Pelosi has roared back in the Trump era

Discussion: The Hill

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

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Envoy to Ukraine Was Asked to Step Aside Ahead of Pompeo Visit — Timing counters earlier suggestions that Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor's precise departure date was predetermined — Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor was instructed by a top aide to Secretary …

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

Sarah Quinlan / Arc Digital:

The Plight of #NeverTrump Conservative Women — Not welcome in the Democratic party; don't fit in the Republican party either — “I — can no longer in good conscience endorse this person for president. It is some of the most abhorrent and offensive comments that you can possibly imagine.

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: The Independent, New York Post and The Guardian

Kamala D. Harris / New York Times:

Will McConnell Let the Senate Hold a Fair Impeachment Trial? — Every one of my colleagues has an obligation to pursue the truth, regardless of the politics. — Ms. Harris is a Democratic senator from California. — Today the House of Representatives will vote on whether to impeach President Trump.

Discussion: Axios and The Hill

George T. Conway III / The Atlantic:

Donald Trump Made His Own Impeachment Inevitable — The president's narcissism renders him unable to comply with his duties to the nation. — Lawyer practicing in New York City — As rare as impeachments may be, today's impeachment of Donald Trump, president of the United States …

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation, ABC News and THE LIBERTARIAN VINDICATOR

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

Joe Biden:

Statement from Vice President Joe Biden on the Rise of Anti-Semitism and the Battle for the Soul of This Nation — Across America, and around the globe, the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism is shredding the fabric of our communities, tearing apart the lives of innocent people and their families, and eroding the soul of our nation.

Discussion: New York Times and Breitbart