Top Items:

Michael Bloomberg Is Expected to File for the Alabama 2020 Presidential Primary — Mr. Bloomberg is actively preparing to enter the Democratic presidential primary and is expected to file paperwork this week designating himself as a candidate in at least one state.

Ukraine's Zelensky Bowed to Trump's Demands, Until Luck Spared Him — Aides to Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, decided that military aid and support for peace talks outweighed the risks of appearing to take sides in American politics. — KIEV, Ukraine — It was early September …
Discussion:
VICE, Hullabaloo, The Hill, Raw Story, The Week, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Contemptor and Mediaite
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Four big facts that blow up the GOP's latest defense of Trump
Discussion:
The Week, Raw Story and New York Times
Justin Wise / The Hill:
GOP senator rips into Pelosi at Trump rally: ‘It must suck to be that dumb’
GOP senator rips into Pelosi at Trump rally: ‘It must suck to be that dumb’
Discussion:
Political Wire

APNewsBreak: Steyer aide offered money for endorsements — DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A top aide to Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer in Iowa has privately offered campaign contributions to local politicians in exchange for endorsing his White House bid, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the conversations.
Discussion:
New York Times, Townhall, The Federalist, VICE, The Week, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Axios, Law & Crime, The Hill, The National Interest and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Donald Trump to pay $2 million to settle New York Attorney General civil lawsuit against Trump Foundation and his children — (CNN)A judge ordered President Donald Trump to pay $2 million to a collection of nonprofit organizations as part of a settlement with the New York state attorney general's office …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Axios, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos, Raw Story, FOX 61, Political Wire and The Week
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President Donald Trump ordered to pay $2M to collection of nonprofits as part of civil lawsuit — President Donald Trump has been ordered by a New York State judge to pay $2 million to a group of nonprofit organizations as part of a settlement in a civil lawsuit stemming from persistent violations of state charities laws.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA

Judge orders Trump to pay $2 million for misusing his foundation
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Little Green Footballs and Balloon Juice

Could Matt Bevin Steal the Kentucky Governor's Election? — Will the Kentucky Legislature assist Matt Bevin in stealing the governor's race from Democrat Andy Beshear, who appeared to have won Tuesday's election by about 5,000 votes? Ordinarily, I would consider the possibility preposterous.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Post, New York Times, The Definitive Source and Hullabaloo
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Republican lawmakers: Bevin can't turn election dispute into ‘fishing expedition’ — Republicans in Kentucky's legislature have expressed skepticism about Gov. Matt Bevin's dispute with Tuesday night's election results, saying the governor should back up his claims of “irregularities” …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball, electionlawblog.org and Common Dreams
Daniel Desrochers / Lexington Herald-Leader:
Republicans urge Bevin to provide proof of election fraud or ‘let it go’ and concede
Republicans urge Bevin to provide proof of election fraud or ‘let it go’ and concede
Discussion:
Raw Story and Outside the Beltway

‘Campaign of lies’: What George Kent told impeachment investigators — House Democrats on Thursday released another deposition transcript ahead of public hearings scheduled for next week. This time, the deposition was that of George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary at the State Department whose portfolio includes Ukraine.
Discussion:
NBC News, Contemptor, The Daily Beast and The Hill
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Bolton willing to defy White House and testify if court clears the way, according to people familiar with his views — Former national security adviser John Bolton is willing to defy the White House and testify in the House impeachment inquiry about his alarm at the Ukraine pressure campaign …
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NSC official who attended key Ukraine meetings to leave post — Earl Matthews, a senior National Security Council official who attended several of the meetings now at the center of the congressional impeachment inquiry, will depart from his job on Friday, according to two people familiar with his plans.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Andrew Duehren / Wall Street Journal:
Congressional Watchdog Reviewing Hold on Ukraine Aid
Congressional Watchdog Reviewing Hold on Ukraine Aid
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, The Hill and POLITICUSUSA

“The Booing Is F***ing Us Up”: ‘The View’ Melts Down Over Donald Trump Jr. Visit — Guests clashed with hosts and hosts clashed with audience members at the ABC show on Thursday. — “The booing is fucking us up,” The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg told the morning show's audience during a commercial break on Thursday.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Fox News, Hollywood in Toto and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
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Jordan: Republicans to subpoena whistleblower to testify in public hearing — Republicans intend to subpoena the government whistleblower to testify in the House's impeachment investigation into President Trump's dealings with Ukraine, according to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Discussion:
Redstate, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Washington Monthly and Townhall
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Senate Intel chair doesn't want whistleblower's identity disclosed
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo

Trump and ‘Apprentice’ Creator Mark Burnett Are Discussing Their Next TV Show — The president misses his reality TV days and is thinking of what show he can create once he's out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. — He's signed a massive tax cut into law, stacked the federal courts …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Occupy Democrats, Politico, Vanity Fair, Consequence of Sound, Alternet.org, POLITICUSUSA, The Week, The Wrap, Eschaton, Mediaite, Contemptor and Raw Story

A Far-Right Journalist Took A Swing At Glenn Greenwald On A Live Radio Show — Glenn Greenwald got into a fistfight with Augusto Nunes, a far-right Brazilian journalist, during the live taping of a radio show in Brazil. … The two journalists had a heated exchange over Nunes' previous comments …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Daily Caller and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Rep. Matt Gaetz Mocks Media as ‘Kale and Quinoa’ Eaters Who Look Down Upon ‘Fried Food’ Eating ‘Real America’ — Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) mocked the media as a group of “kale and quinoa” eaters who look down upon those that eat “fried foods” in “real America,” Sunday.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Political Wire

U.S. Envoy in Syria Says Not Enough Was Done to Avert Turkish Attack — In an internal memo, the senior American diplomat in northern Syria criticized the Trump administration for failing to try harder to deter Turkey from invading northern Syria last month.

Emails Show Government Agency Melting Down Over Trump's Hurricane Fiasco: ‘This Has Really Gotten Out of Hand’ — The president was insistent that Alabama was, in fact, endangered by Dorian. Employees at NOAA and NWS took the brunt of it. — In early September, as Hurricane Dorian battered …
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Times and Raw Story

Blue Wall Voices Project — A COLLABORATION BETWEEN KFF AND THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT … - There are many undecided voters and a few persuadable swing voters. One year out from the 2020 presidential election and without a clear frontrunner in the Democratic primaries, a large share of voters …
Discussion:
Townhall, Twitchy and Political Wire

Roger Stone's Trial Is Going Very Badly for Roger Stone — Jurors heard audio of the Trump adviser allegedly lying to Congress. — In a federal courtroom in Washington, DC, Thursday, jurors heard Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) as he questioned Roger Stone, the longtime associate of President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
Alex Jones Goes on Tirade Against Roger Stone Jurors
Alex Jones Goes on Tirade Against Roger Stone Jurors
Discussion:
Washington Post, HuffPost, Alternet.org, Law & Crime and Summit News

Trump's Top Aides Clash Over Impeachment as House Probe Expands — Chief of staff Mulvaney, White House lawyer Cipollone at odds — Animosity threatens to complicate Trump's impeachment defense — Two of Donald Trump's most senior aides, Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Raw Story and Political Wire

Republicans Railed Against Secret Impeachment Hearings, But Now Say They Won't Watch The Public Ones — WASHINGTON — Despite loudly criticizing the closed-doors secrecy of the impeachment inquiry, Senate Republicans widely say they will not watch the public hearings next week.

Vice President Pence files on behalf of President Trump for New Hampshire primary — Vice President Mike Pence is in New Hampshire Thursday morning to file the paperwork to get President Donald Trump on the first-in-the-nation primary ballot. — As Pence arrived to the New Hampshire State House …
Discussion:
Politico
RELATED:
Yashar Ali / HuffPost:
Exclusive: Book Claims Senior Officials Believed Pence Would Support Use Of 25th Amendment
Exclusive: Book Claims Senior Officials Believed Pence Would Support Use Of 25th Amendment
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, Politico, The Daily Caller, National Review, Fox News, Redstate, Townhall, The Daily Beast, Raw Story and Mediaite

The Death of the Rude Press — In April, Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm, purchased Gizmodo Media Group, the collection of websites formerly known as Gawker Media, from Univision. Great Hill's leaders also acquired The Onion, changed the parent company's name to G/O Media …
Discussion:
Eschaton and Redstate, more at Mediagazer »

Nobody is buying Mark Halperin's book. The disgraced journalist's publisher lambastes ‘cancel culture.’ — The new book by former NBC senior political analyst Mark Halperin, “How to Beat Trump,” sold just 502 copies in its first week — and his publisher is blaming “cancel culture.”

CBS News fires staffer who had access to leaked Amy Robach audio — CBS News has fired a female staffer believed to have had access to the tape of Amy Robach raging against ABC, Page Six understands. — The staffer previously worked at ABC News and had access to audio of ABC anchor Robach caught …

1 in 4 Americans uncertain about impeachment as public hearings near, poll finds — Americans are divided about the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, and as the House prepares for public hearings next week, roughly 1 in 4 remain uncertain, providing a large audience that could be especially swayed …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller

America's Original Identity Politics — Rich Lowry's Flawed Case for Nationalism — “You know what I am?” U.S. President Donald J. Trump said at a rally in October 2018. “I'm a nationalist.” Rich Lowry's The Case for Nationalism can be seen as a way of working through, and defending, what the president meant.

Emmanuel Macron warns Europe: NATO is brain-dead — America is turning its back on the European project. Time to wake up, the French president tells The Economist — EMMANUEL MACRON, the French president, has warned European countries that they can no longer rely on America to defend NATO allies.
Discussion:
CNN, Associated Press, Reuters, Breitbart, Defense One, Foreign Policy, The Guardian and Political Wire

One Big Thing the Dems Get Wrong About Warren — Washington journalists these days are having many conversations with Democratic operatives and veterans of previous administrations that go something like this: … These downbeat Democrats are talking generally about what they regard …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Vox and The Resurgent