memeorandum: Bernie Sanders leads Donald Trump in polls, even when you remind people he's a socialist (Matthew Yglesias/Vox)

11:10 AM ET, January 31, 2020

Top Items:

Alexander Statement on Impeachment Witness Vote — “I worked with other senators to make sure that we have the right to ask for more documents and witnesses, but there is no need for more evidence to prove something that has already been proven and that does not meet the United States Constitution's high bar …

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, Politico, Law & Crime, The American Independent, The Hill, IJR, Slate, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, NPR, The Week and BuzzFeed News

Senator Susan Collins:

Senator Collins' Statement on Vote on Witnesses and Documents — Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins issued the following statement on the next stage of the impeachment trial process: — “We have heard the cases argued and the questions answered.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, PJ Media Home, IJR, Axios, UPI, Redstate, HuffPost, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, FOX 61, ABC7, Daily Kos, Financial Times and Raw Story

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Three ways the end of the impeachment trial could play out — Friday will be a make-or-break moment in President Trump's impeachment trial, as Republicans try to bring the proceedings to a close. — Senators will hold a crucial vote on whether or not to call new witnesses or compel documents as part of the Senate's proceeding.

Discussion: Politico, UPI, JONATHAN TURLEY, Washington Free Beacon and New York Times

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

The Senate Can Stop Pretending Now — Lamar Alexander and the end of Donald Trump's impeachment trial. — Just like that, at precisely 11 p.m. on Thursday, minutes after the end of the ninth day of the Senate trial of Donald John Trump, Senator Lamar Alexander ended it.

Discussion: HuffPost

NBC News:

GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander, key impeachment vote, to reveal decision on witnesses tonight — Alexander is one of a handful of Republican senators who may vote to hear from witnesses during the Senate impeachment trial. — Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a key impeachment swing vote …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The American Independent and CNN

Alayna Treene / Axios:
Trump headed for fast acquittal

Discussion: Redstate, The Hill and Disrn

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Alexander narrows the path to witnesses

Discussion: Common Dreams, Daily Kos and Associated Press

Lauren McCauley / Beacon:
Dozens protest Sen. Collins' ‘lack of moral leadership’ in impeachment trial

Discussion: Common Dreams, Bangor Daily News and The Hill

Washington Post:
Sen. Alexander calls Trump's actions ‘inappropriate’ but rejects witnesses in impeachment trial

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Political Wire

Carrie Dann / NBC News:

Sanders, Biden are neck-and-neck in new NBC/WSJ national poll — The two Democratic presidential contenders are statistically tied but Sanders has an edge in loyalty of his supporters. — DES MOINES, Iowa — Just days before the first votes are counted in the Democratic primary …

Discussion: Breitbart, Financial Times, The Hill, Mediaite, CNN and Jacobin

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

Bernie Sanders leads Donald Trump in polls, even when you remind people he's a socialist — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) walks through the Capitol during the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on January 29, 2020. Zach Gibson/Getty Images — Socialism is unpopular, but America's leading socialist isn't.

Joseph Simonson / Washington Examiner:
Bernie Sanders praised George Wallace as ‘sensitive’ in 1972

Discussion: PJ Media Home, Washington Post and Balloon Juice

James Kirchick / Tablet Magazine: Weekend at Bernie's — “I am very proud to be Jewish …

Aaron Zitner / Wall Street Journal:
Sanders Gains Ground on Biden Among Democratic Voters

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Week and Common Dreams

John Delaney for President:

John Delaney Announces Decision to Withdraw From 2020 Race — DES MOINES, IA - Today, 2020 Presidential candidate John Delaney announces his decision to withdraw from the 2020 race. This decision is informed by internal analyses indicating John's support is not sufficient to meet …

Discussion: Townhall, Vox, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, CNN, HuffPost, DCist, PJ Media Home, The Daily Caller, BuzzFeed News, UPI, Outside the Beltway, Disrn, Mediaite, FOX 61, PBS NewsHour and CBS Baltimore

Amy Wang / Washington Post:
John Delaney says he's dropping out of presidential race

Discussion: Axios and The Week

Tess Bonn / The Hill:
Bloomberg surges past Warren into third place in new national poll

Discussion: NBC News, Politico, Spectator USA, The Daily Caller and Townhall

Phil Prazan / KXAN-TV:

In Austin, John Bolton voices support for officials called in impeachment hearing — AUSTIN (KXAN) — Speaking at a private event in Austin Thursday, Former National Security Advisor John Bolton defended government officials who testified in front of the U.S. House impeachment inquiry.

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, Mediaite, Roll Call, Raw Story, The Week and Mother Jones

Jonah Goldberg / The Dispatch:

Dershowitz's Dangerous Game — His defense of Trump threatens the checks and balances at the heart of Congress's impeachment power. — I will not try to convince you how to vote in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. I won't even lecture you about the need for witnesses …

Adam J. White / The Bulwark:
High Crimes and Misdirection

Discussion: HuffPost

William M. Treanor / Washington Post: Trump's attorneys have butchered a crucial Founder's take on impeachment

Nick Miroff / Washington Post:

Trump's border wall, vulnerable to flash floods, needs large storm gates left open for months — NACO, Ariz. — President Trump's border wall likely will require the installation of hundreds of storm gates to prevent flash floods from undermining or knocking it over, gates that must be left open …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Slate, The Hill and Raw Story

Dara Lind / ProPublica: “Women to One Side, Men to the Other”: How the Border Patrol's New Powers and Old Carelessness Separated a Family

George Conway / Washington Post:

Don't let the defense fool you. This impeachment is all about corruption. — George T. Conway III is a lawyer in New York and an adviser to the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump super PAC. — The president's lawyers this week floated their catch-all impeachment defense, one tailor-made for President Trump.

Discussion: Raw Story and The Week

Fareed Zakaria / Washington Post: How the story of impeachment tells the story of polarization

Jamil Smith / Rolling Stone:
The God President — Impeachment is a tool of accountability …

Discussion: Washington Post

The Daily Beast:
Dems Fed Up With GOP's Refusal to Budge on Impeachment: 'It's More Than Frustrating—It's Pathetic'

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Breitbart, Politico and Associated Press

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

The Republican Cover-up Will Backfire. The House Can Keep Investigating Trump. — Toward the end, the impeachment trial's strategic purpose narrowed into an obsessive quest to produce evidence. Democrats have defined victory not as removal, but as winning a procedural vote to allow more testimony, especially by John Bolton.

Keith Hennessey:

On the impeachment of President Donald Trump — My layman's approach to the impeachment of President Trump is somewhat simplistic. — We American citizens have the right to choose our leaders by voting in elections. Exercising that right requires that our elections be fair, especially the one for president.

Washington Post:

Senate investigators interview IRS whistleblower about alleged interference with Trump or Pence audit — Senate investigators have conducted an extensive interview of a whistleblower at the Internal Revenue Service who has alleged improper political interference in the audit of the president …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Daniel Boffey / The Guardian:

Trump will insist NHS pays more for drugs in trade deal, says ambassador — Exclusive: President will put US firms first in UK trade talks, says Kim Darroch — Donald Trump will put the interests of corporate America first and demand that the NHS pays higher prices for US drugs …

Discussion: Politico

Sam Knight / New Yorker: What Will Brexit Britain Be Like? — At 11 p.m. on Friday …

Politico:

Biden argued against witnesses in 1999 impeachment trial memo — In January 1999, then-Sen. Joe Biden argued strongly against the need to depose additional witnesses or seek new evidence in a memo sent to fellow Democrats ahead of President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial.

Discussion: NBC News, Associated Press, Breitbart, Power Line, Outside the Beltway, IJR, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Redstate, The Daily Caller, PJ Media Home and The Hill

Bryan Anderson / Sacramento Bee:

Michael Bloomberg to visit Sacramento, Fresno on Monday: ‘Our Iowa is California’ — Michael Bloomberg will visit Sacramento and Fresno during his fourth California trip since declaring his candidacy in late-November. — According to his campaign, the former New York City mayor …

CBS News:

Most feel good about the economy but not the state of the country - CBS News poll — Ahead of President Trump's State of the Union address, more Americans feel positive about the state of the economy than they do about the state of the country overall. As Mr. Trump gets record high approval ratings …

P.J. Huffstutter / Reuters:

U.S. farm bankruptcies hit an eight-year high: court data — CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. farm bankruptcy rates jumped 20% in 2019 - to an eight-year high - as financial woes in the U.S. agricultural economy continued in spite of massive federal bail-out funding, according to federal court data.

Louis Jacobson / US News:

Iowa's Unpredictable Politics Cast Their Shadow Farther Than the Caucuses — With varied economic interests and relatively balanced partisan strength, the Hawkeye State is often one of the most likely to swing in November. — Iowa's Unpredictable Politics

Steve Beynon / Stars & Stripes:

64 US troops suffered traumatic brain injuries from Iranian missile attack, as casualty total continues to balloon — WASHINGTON — The Pentagon announced Thursday that 64 American troops sustained mild traumatic brain injuries as a result of the Iranian missile strikes on two military bases in Iraq …

Discussion: VICE

CNN:

John Roberts stares down another possible legacy moment — Warren's question takes aim at Chief Justice — Washington (CNN)Over two weeks, Chief Justice John Roberts has served as a careful steward of Senate procedures and ensured that the impeachment trial did not descend into nastiness …

Discussion: Raw Story

Associated Press:

AP Exclusive: Woman who says Trump raped her seeks his DNA — NEW YORK — Lawyers for a woman who accuses President Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s are asking for a DNA sample, seeking to determine whether his genetic material is on a dress she says she wore during the encounter.

Discussion: Vox, Daily Kos, Washington Post and UPI

Politico:

Bloomberg and Biden barrel toward Super Tuesday collision — Mike Bloomberg's presidential campaign is predicated on Joe Biden's collapse. — But Biden has steadied his wobbly bid heading into the Iowa caucuses, sending the two moderates toward a likely Super Tuesday collision.