| | | | Roy Moore's appalling 'yearbook' defense | | Roy Moore faces accusations from five women that he pursued sexual relationships with them -- and in one case engaged in sexual assault -- while they were between 14 and 18 years old and he was in his mid 30s.
His latest defense against these serious charges? The inscription from Beverly Young Nelson's 1977 high school yearbook is a fake!
Moore attorney Phil Jauregui demanded that Nelson, who earlier this week alleged that Moore tried to push her head into his lap in a parked car when she was 16, release the yearbook so tests could be conducted to see if the inscription -- "To a sweeter more beautiful girl, I could not say, 'Merry Christmas'" -- is real or forged.
"We'll find out: is it genuine, or is it a fraud?" Jauregui said, noting that Moore's campaign had hired a handwriting expert to examine the inscription.
So, this is where we are. Moore, facing calls from all sides to step aside for the good of party, is pinning his defense on the idea that -- for some still unknown reason -- Nelson forged his signature on her high school yearbook.
This is, of course, a transparent attempt by Moore to both buy time and muddy the waters.
Even Sean Hannity, the staunchest of conservative talking heads, said on Tuesday night that Moore had 24 hours to produce evidence that these charges were untrue or risk being disowned.
With the walls closing in, Moore is hoping the questions over the validity of the yearbook signature might be enough of a sop to his wavering allies to stave off total collapse.
He is also hoping that by throwing things at the wall -- release the yearbook! -- he gives his supporters a life raft to cling to amid this chaos. The Moore forces are hoping this turns into a well-both-sides-are-saying-lots-of-things conversation as opposed to a why-isn't-Roy-Moore-out-of-this-race-yet discussion.
It might buy Moore a little time. But I don't think the political world is holding its breath to see how the results from Roy Moore's handwriting expert turn out.
-- Chris | | CNN's Maegan Vazquez reports:
"House Democrats introduced articles of impeachment Wednesday against President Donald Trump, though they acknowledged their efforts have no chance of success while Republicans control both houses of Congress.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, introduced five articles of impeachment that include obstruction of justice for Trump's decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey, two emoluments clause violations, undermining the independence of the federal judiciary and undermining the freedom of the press.
"The time has come to make clear to the American people and to this President that his train of injuries to our Constitution must be brought to an end through impeachment," he said.
Read more in Maegan's story here. | | Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Treasurer Jovita Carranza took a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Wednesday to see the new $1 bills with Mnuchin's signature.
The tour proved to be very photo-worthy, as Mnuchin and his wife Louise Linton posed with sheets of money (see above). We ask you, dear Point readers: Please caption this photo. Email us: saba.hamedy@cnn.com and chris.cillizza@cnn.com. | | TACKLING HARASSMENT ON THE HILL | | CNN's MJ Lee and Juana Summers write:
"A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday that aims to overhaul the way sexual harassment is treated on Capitol Hill, as fresh stories of misconduct involving sitting members of Congress rocked Washington this week.
Rep. Jackie Speier of California and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, both Democrats, unveiled companion bills in the House and Senate to reform the sexual harassment complaint process on the Hill and boost transparency around this sensitive issue. It will also require members and staff to go through mandatory sexual harassment training every year, and seek to give victims and whistleblowers more support.
Reps. Ryan Costello, a Republican from Pennsylvania, Ann McLane Kuster, a Democrat from New Hampshire, and Bruce Poliquin, a Republican from Maine, are co-sponsors of the House bill.
Read more in their full story here. Also ICYMI: MJ, Juana Sunlen Serfaty and Sara Ganim wrote a must-read story yesterday about harassment on the Hill. | | CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY/TRUMP WALL | | | Photo courtesy: Screengrab/Cards Against Humanity website | | Cards Against Humanity wants to "save" America by blocking President Trump from building his US-Mexico border wall.
The card game company said on its website that it bought land on the US-Mexico border, and that as part of a holiday promotion, customers could contribute to the wall-blocking project with $15 purchases for surprise gift packages.
"Donald Trump is a preposterous golem who is afraid of Mexicans," said Cards Against Humanity on its website. "He is so afraid that he wants to build a twenty-billion dollar wall that everyone knows will accomplish nothing. So we've purchased a plot of vacant land on the border and retained a law firm specializing in eminent domain to make it as time-consuming and expensive as possible for the wall to get built." Read more in CNN's story here. | | PAPA JOHN'S WEIGHS IN ON NFL, NEO-NAZIS | | Papa John's Pizza apologized Tuesday night on Twitter for blaming its sluggish sales on NFL player protests. In its earnings call, which was on November 1, Papa John's Chief Executive John Schnatter said NFL protests "should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago." Two days later, white supremacist website the Daily Stormer posted a picture of a pizza with a swastika made using pepperoni slices. The caption read: "Papa John: Official pizza of the alt-right?"
In a series of tweets Tuesday night, Papa John's said it believes in "the right to protest inequality and support the players' movement to create a new platform for change." The pizza chain added: "We will work with the players and league to find a positive way forward. Open to ideas from all. Except neo-Nazis." | | | Don't forget to hydrate. And remind your friends and family to subscribe. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
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