Forward

EXEC SUMMARY: Hey there, this is Oliver Darcy, filling in for Brian Stelter. Scroll down for what Mike Bloomberg's potential run could mean for Bloomberg News, Marty Baron's response to Trump, info on Bustle's layoffs, the latest from Bob Iger on Disney+, and more. But first...

"A Warning" is here

The book isn't out until later this month, but details from "A Warning" by Anonymous have started to leak. On Thursday night, Rachel Maddow led her MSNBC program with excerpts and quotes from the book. "My impression here overall is that it's dark," Maddow told her audience, summing up the portions of the book she had read.

According to NBC News, which published a story on the excerpts Maddow obtained, the book claims Trump's behavior "can be so erratic that most top administration officials have pre-written resignation letters ready to submit." The book, according to NBC News, described a constant "five-alarm fire drill" that led staff to "throw up the Bat-Signal" and race to prevent Trump from implementing his latest "wacky or destructive idea."

"People who spend any time with Donald Trump are uncomfortable by what they witness"

Over at WaPo, Phillip Rucker obtained a copy of the book, and published a story based on it Thursday night. Some key excerpts from the book published by WaPo...

>> "It's like showing up at the nursing home at daybreak to find your elderly uncle running pantsless across the courtyard and cursing loudly about the cafeteria food, as worried attendants tried to catch him. You're stunned, amused, and embarrassed all at the same time..."

>> "I've sat and listened in uncomfortable silence as he talks about a woman's appearance or performance. He comments on makeup. He makes jokes about weight. He critiques clothing. He questions the toughness of women in and around his orbit. He uses words like 'sweetie' and 'honey' to address accomplished professionals..."

>> "I am not qualified to diagnose the president's mental acuity. All I can tell you is that normal people who spend any time with Donald Trump are uncomfortable by what they witness. He stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing information, not occasionally but with regularity. Those who would claim otherwise are lying to themselves or to the country..."

Author says he may reveal identity "in due course"

Rucker's story also contained an excerpt from the book in which the author writes about the controversial decision to stay anonymous. "I have decided to publish this anonymously because this debate is not about me," the author wrote. "It is about us. It is about how we want the presidency to reflect our country, and that is where the discussion should center."

The author added, according to WaPo, "Some will call this 'cowardice.' My feelings are not hurt by the accusation. Nor am I unprepared to attach my name to criticism of President Trump. I may do so, in due course."

>> Stephanie Grisham told WaPo: "The coward who wrote this book didn't put their name on it because it is nothing but lies..."

Pence dismisses 25th Amendment claim

Mike Pence on Thursday denied a claim made in the book that senior White House officials thought he would back an effort to remove Trump via the 25th Amendment. "When those rumors came out a few years ago, I dismissed them then. I never heard any discussion in my entire tenure as vice president about the 25th Amendment, and why would I?" Pence said.

Yashar Ali first reported in HuffPost about that particular claim made by the anonymous author. A person close to the book process later confirmed it to CNN's Jake Tapper...

IN TECH NEWS...

Google flies under radar in Big Tech's ad controversy

In recent weeks, Facebook has received a tsunami of criticism for allowing politicians to lie in ads. But what about Google? In a Thursday story, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan noted that Google "has stayed largely silent and out of the spotlight — even as it too allows politicians to run ads containing false claims."

"When President Donald Trump's reelection campaign created the ad falsely accusing former Vice President Joe Biden of corruption for his role in Ukraine policy during the Obama administration that set off the current controversy over digital ads," YouTube ran it, and "somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000" was spent on YouTube promoting the ad.

YouTube won't say how ad doesn't break rules

A YouTube spokesperson told O'Sullivan that the ad does not violate its rules. But, as O'Sullivan noted in his piece, Google's ad policies state, "We don't want users to feel misled by ads, so we strive to ensure ads are clear and honest, and provide the information that users need to make informed decisions. We don't allow ads or destinations that intend to deceive users by excluding relevant information or giving misleading information about products, services, or businesses."

O'Sullivan emails: I asked Google/YouTube multiple times over the past week to explain what sort of lies they'll allow politicians to pay to run on their platform – and how the false Trump ad about Biden didn't break their rules – I didn't get an answer. It seems to be a strategic silence from the company – and for them it does appear to be working. Google which essentially has the same policy as Facebook – letting lies run in ads – don't garner a fraction of the headlines and congressional attention that Facebook does.

Facebook mulls changes to how it handles political ads

Donie O'Sullivan emails: Elsewhere... Multiple outlets including CNN have been reporting that internally Facebook is considering making some changes to its political ad policy – including how ads can be targeted at specific sets of voters. While these changes might mitigate some concerns about Facebook's policies – there is no indication that they are going to change the one they have received the most criticism for: fact-checking politicans.

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- Top story on CNN.com Thursday night: "House Intelligence Committee subpoenas Mick Mulvaney for impeachment inquiry testimony..." (CNN)

-- The previous top story: "Lawyer for Ukraine whistleblower sends White House cease and desist letter to stop Trump's attacks..." (CNN)

-- Megyn Kelly teases something on Twitter: "I just joined Instagram - have a feeling you'll be interested in my first post - coming Friday morning. Pls follow me there at: @therealmegynkelly. Have some news coming your way..." (Twitter)

-- After formally announcing his Senate run, Jeff Sessions appeared on Tucker Carlson's show and said he had "strong support" for Trump's agenda... (Mediaite)

-- Alex Pareene writes, "Rude media, for lack of a better term, is dying..." (New Republic)

-- WaPo's Carlos Lozada and The New Yorker's David Remnick have joined the Pulitzer Board... (Pulitzer.org)

Fox guest names possible whistleblower on-air

On Wednesday, Stelter and I reported that Fox had issued guidance to its journalists and personalities instructing them to not name the person identified in right-wing media as the possible whistleblower. But on Thursday, a Fox guest did just that.

Appearing on "Outnumbered Overtime," conservative radio host Lars Larson named the individual. Larson, who appears to be the first person to say the name on a major news network, received no pushback from host Harris Faulkner after doing so.

The network's response

I checked with a Fox spokesperson who said, "Fox News has not confirmed or independently verified the name of the whistleblower." After his appearance, Larson told THR that Fox "didn't say a thing" to him...

SPEAKING OF FOX...

Mark Levin says "no corporation" will stop him from participating in campaign events, despite Fox's policy

"Fox News host and conservative radio pundit Mark Levin defended his decision to headline a campaign event despite the network having a policy that prevents talent from participating in such events," the Washington Examiner's Mike Brest reported Thursday. Brest noted that Fox previously said the network "does not condone any talent participating in campaign events."

But Levin said "no corporation" would stop him from supporting candidates he wants to help. In fact, Levin said, "Nobody on this planet is going to stop me." I checked in with Fox, and a spokesperson for the network declined to comment.

It's been one year since Fox has tweeted

Friday marks the one-year anniversary since Fox stopped tweeting from its flagship @FoxNews account. Last year, after Tucker Carlson faced protesters outside his home, a Fox source told Mediaite's Aidan McLaughlin that the network had made the "conscious decision" to boycott the social media company "in light of what was done to Tucker." One year later, the boycott is holding up.

It's unclear whether the network will ever tweet again. One odd thing about the whole boycott: Carlson has continued tweeting from his own personal account. Spokespeople for both Twitter and Fox did not provide comment.

>> Brian Steinberg made a good point: "There does not seem to be much economic incentive to return. The network's shows have retained their status of being the most-watched in cable news. And its digital operations have reached new highs in terms of page views and unique devices used."

CBS News reportedly fires staffer who accessed Amy Robach tape

The scoop came from Yashar Ali: CBS News fired the staffer who accessed footage of ABC's Amy Robach. "This comes after ABC informed CBS that they had determined who accessed the footage of Amy Robach expressing her frustrations about the Epstein story," Yashar reported.

That staffer previously worked at ABC, but had since jumped to CBS News. According to Page Six, ABC had previously informed CBS that the staffer was employed by the network "as a courtesy." Reached for comment, a spokesperson for CBS News declined to comment to me.

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- "A Brazilian far-right journalist tried to strike [Glenn] Greenwald after a heated argument during the live taping of a radio show in Brazil..." (BuzzFeed)

-- Mark Halperin's new book only sold 502 copies in its first week... (WaPo)

-- Judges keep ruling against InfoWars founder Alex Jones... (HuffPost)

-- Madeleine Haeringer, who recently left Vice, has returned to MSNBC and NBC News where she will run the news divisions's partnership with Quibi... (THR)

-- Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe respodned to Laura Ingraham's recent remarks about immigrants: "We don't want that racist kind of talk in our state..." (CNN Newsroom)

Bloomberg expected to file for 2020 primary

The news broke at NYT via Alex Burns: "Michael R. 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 with an early filing deadline, people briefed on Mr. Bloomberg's plans said."

A spokesman for Bloomberg confirmed to CNN that Bloomberg is preparing for a potential 2020 run. The spokesperson, however, added that despite filing paperwork in Alabama, Bloomberg has yet to make a final decision on whether he will throw his hat in the ring...

How will Bloomberg News cover?

It's a question that has repeatedly surfaced as Bloomberg has over the years flirted with a run. Back in 2018, Bloomberg said in an interview, "Quite honestly, I don't want all the reporters I'm paying to write a bad story about me." He added that an option would be the outlet would "not cover politics at all." Sources at the time told then-BuzzFeed reporter Steven Perlberg that they were worried about such a scenario.

I checked in with a Bloomberg News spokesperson on Thursday evening, and asked if the outlet had a coverage plan if Bloomberg were to launch a formal campaign. The spokesperson declined to comment. That said, the outlet did cover the news of him mulling an entrance into the race...

>> Related: In 2018, The Daily Beast's Maxwell Tani reached out to 60+ Bloomberg News employees and asked if they supported Bloomberg running for president. Only one person told him they did...

Top tweets

>> Maggie Haberman: "Like other NY pols, Bloomberg has long thought he understood tough media coverage because of the city's tabloids. But he is wholly unfamiliar with the national media climate that Trump has thrown accelerant on."

>> Gabriel Debenedetti: "One potential ramification here is that the two biggest donors in Democratic politics—by FAR—are/could now be running for president, spending their money on that, rather than funding the party/left's operations."

>> Dave Weigel: "When we look back at 2019, I think people will ask why the moderate rescue plan was a Bloomberg candidacy and not, like, Bloomberg giving $100 millon to a Booker super PAC."

>> Michael Grynbaum: "How many New York City political personalities can one country handle?"

"Trump will extremely not like this graphic"

CNN's MJ Lee took a photo of this screen, captioning it, "Trump will extremely not like this graphic." NYT's Maggie Haberman agreed, tweeting, "This is what will get under Trump's skin as much as anything."

"The View" panel with Don Jr. flies off the rails

It's no secret that roundtable discussions regularly get heated on "The View." But even judging by that standard, Thursday's show was extraordinary. The show welcomed Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle as its guests, and things quickly went off the rails. The hosts of the show grilled the President's eldest son on several issues, including why he named a person he believed to be the whistleblower.

Whoopi Goldberg tries to quiet audience

During a commercial break, Whoopi Goldberg tried to bring some order to the audience. According to THR's Jeremy Barr, who was in the live audience, Goldberg told attendees, "The booing is f***ing us up. It's messing with everyone's mic. You can grimace and all that. All we hear is booing."

"Does all this make you feel good?"

While Donald Trump Jr. faced an onslaught of questions, perhaps the most poignant was from Meghan McCain. McCain said, "You and your family have hurt a lot of people, and put a lot of people through a lot of pain, including the Khan family, who was a gold star family that I think should be respected for the loss of their son."

McCain then asked, "Does all this make you feel good?" Donald Trump Jr. responded, "I don't think any of that makes me feel good." But, he added, "I do think that we got into this because we wanted to do what's right for America."

Trump smears WaPo as "degenerate" and "garbage" while attacking paper's reporters

As he regularly does, Trump started his day sliming the news media. In Thursday's case, Trump attacked WaPo over the newspaper's scoop that he had asked Attorney General Bill Barr to hold a news conference stating Trump broke no laws during the July phone call with Ukraine's president.

The story was matched by CNN, NYT, and others. But Trump raged against WaPo, calling the outlet "degenerate" and a "garbage newspaper." He falsely accused it having "MADE UP" the story and wrote "pure fiction." And, later in the morning, Trump attacked the authors of the story -- Matt Zapotosky, Josh Dawsey, and Carol Leonnig -- as "lowlife reporters."

"Repugnant attempt to intimidate and harass"

In a statement, WaPo exec editor Marty Baron said, "The Post fully stands behind its story and its reporters, who are among the finest journalists anywhere. The president continues to make false accusations against news organizations and individual journalists. Despite his repugnant attempt to intimidate and harass The Post and its staff, we will continue to do the work that democracy demands of a free and independent press."

ON A SIMILAR NOTE...

I was listening to Sean Hannity's radio show and came across this quote from him describing journalists: "They are corrupt, they are compromised, they are agenda-driven, they are liars, they are propagandists, they misinform -- all they know is rage, hate, psychosis against Donald Trump and the rest of us smelly Walmart shopping Trump voters, irredeemable deplorables, and you know people that believe in God."

Obviously that sort of rhetoric is nothing new from Hannity or many of the right-wing personalities on talk radio. But I think it's often forgotten the disturbing extent to which these hosts are characterizing the press to their listeners... EVERY SINGLE DAY...

What are Trump and Burnett brainstorming?

Brian Lowry writes: Thursday's Daily Beast piece by Asawin Suebsaeng and Lachlan Cartwright that suggests Trump is still in contact with Mark Burnett — and somewhat wistful about their days together on "The Apprentice" — reminded me of this Deadline piece from earlier this year, about Burnett's history of ties to, yes, Russia and Vladimir Putin, which dates back to his desire to create a reality TV show around the Mir space station.

As for Trump and Burnett, the Beast says, citing "three people with knowledge of the situation and another source close to Trump," that the two men have "sporadically kept in touch, mostly over the phone, since Trump won the election. The pair remain friends, these sources say, and have discussed reviving their creative partnership, pitching each other details on potential TV projects to be filmed after the Trump presidency..."

Haley's book tour begins

Norah O'Donnell sat down with Nikki Haley on Thursday for an interview set to air Sunday on "CBS This Morning." According to CBS, the two discussed the July phone call Trump had with the Ukrainian president, as well as the impeachment probe writ large. Haley's book "With All Due Respect" comes out on Tuesday, so this interview is the start of the book tour...

In a clip of the interview teased on Thursday's "CBS Evening News," O'Donnell asked Haley whether invoking the 25th Amendment against Trump ever came up during during any discussion while she was UN ambassador. Of course, the anonymous senior official who has written a book has claimed it was discussed among senior officials. But Haley said, "The 25th Amendment never came up in any discussion I had."

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- Tulsi Gabbard appeared on Breitbart's Sirius XM radio show on Thursday...

-- Yahoo News has published an augmented reality feature about last year's deadly Camp Fire which aims to put the user "in the middle of the story..." (Variety)

-- CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, who joined the network in 2011, has been promoted to International Security Editor...

-- CBS News senior foreign correspondent Elizabeth Palmer was awarded the Excellence in International Reporting Award at the International Center for Journalists' 35th anniversary dinner on Thursday night...

Zakaria had been set to interview Ukrainian president prior to scandal

CNN's Fareed Zakaria said on Thursday that he had been slated to interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zakaria explained, "We had been negotiating with President Zelensky and his office for a while, for months, to try to get an interview with him anyway, ever since he was elected President." But, when the whistleblower complaint came to light, he said, "It became clear to us that the interview was off."

TheBlaze to shut down its conventional TV channel

Upon departing Fox, Glenn Beck had hoped he would create the next big conservative cable news network. Now it appears Beck is giving up on that dream. The company will shut down its traditional cable TV channel at the end of the year, THR's Paul Bond reported.

Blaze Media CEO Tyler Cardon confirmed the news to THR, telling the outlet, "Yes, we've sent notices of non-renewal to our cable partners, whose support we've appreciated over the years. Given our record growth this year on our direct-to-consumer SVOD business, podcasts, various web properties and other digital distribution channels, it has become a conflict to continue programming a traditional, legacy cable channel."

>> Full disclosure: I previously worked at TheBlaze...

Owner of Bustle, Mic and Gawker lays off more employees

Kerry Flynn emails: Bryan Goldberg's media empire faced another setback with layoffs at its flagship site today. Covering this news, I received one of the most cringeworthy PR statements of my career. While my Twitter timeline was full of writers praising the eight staffers and other freelancers who had been laid off from Bustle, a spokesperson had this to say:

"BDG has recently hired dozens of writers and editors across our many properties -- especially Nylon, Mic, Inverse, and Input. Bustle's new editorial leadership will soon be announcing several marquee hires as we prepare for a major site relaunch in early 2020." In other words: No acknowledgment of the laid-off staffers until I pressed to confirm the scale of the cuts. Outrageous. More in my story about the messiness of BDG here...

Substack announces first class of writers, new fellowship

Kerry Flynn emails: Substack, the newsletter platform, announced a new fellowship along with its first class of 5 writers: Emily Atkin, Saeed Jones, Lindsay Gibbs, Sarah Bessey and Amee Vanderpool. They'll receive a $3K stipend and coaching. Delia Cai has more info in her Substack newsletter...

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

-- The Global Editors Network is shutting down "due to lack of sustainable finances." GEN formed in 2011 "to help news media navigate the disruption brought on by technology..." (GEN)

-- Joshua Benton experimented with the text-generation algorithm that "is supposedly so good it's frightening," letting you be the judge... (NiemanLab)

-- From The Verge's Julia Alexander: "YouTube's homepage redesign means people will see bigger thumbnails and fewer videos." The updates began to roll out Thursday on desktops and tablets... (The Verge)

Disney+ will be available on Amazon's Fire TV

Frank Pallotta emails: Just because the streaming wars are heating up doesn't mean that two competitors can't work together. Disney and Amazon reached a deal on Thursday that will bring the Disney+ streaming service to Amazon's Fire TV devices. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced the distribution deal on CNBC following a strong fourth quarter earnings report. Iger said the company also has distribution deals with Apple, Samsung, LG, Google and Microsoft.

On the topic of earnings....

Disney had solid earnings

Pallotta adds: Disney shares were up 5% in after-hours trading after the company reported that revenue in Q4 beat expectations at $19.1 billion, a 34% increase compared to a year earlier. The company had a strong showing across the board with its film studio leading the way. Revenue for the film unit was up 52% from the year prior thanks to "Toy Story 4," "Aladdin" and "The Lion King." All billion-dollar films.

Here comes Disney+

Pallotta adds: Disney's big moment is almost here. "It's ready to go," Iger said of Disney+ on CNBC. "I think people will be extremely pleased." Disney+ is scheduled to launch on Tuesday in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands. It will be available in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain on March 31, the company announced Thursday.

>> Related: Bloomberg had a big piece Thursday on Iger as Disney prepares to launch its streaming service...

Graydon Carter wants identify verification on the internet

Brian Stelter emails: Graydon Carter was interviewed by Standard Industries Co-CEO David Winter for the Standard Speaker Series on Thursday night... And these comments stood out... Carter promoted the need for verified identity on the internet in an awfully blunt way:

"You cannot have a voice on the internet unless you know it's you. You have drivers licenses, you've got marriage licenses, you should have to have an internet license where you go in and you prove that this is your identity and if you want to say something, that's your face and your name on it. You can't do it under a fake name or anything like that."

FOR THE RECORD, PART FIVE

-- An impressive project about the "Hollywood primary" by Christie D'Zurilla, Maloy Moore, Andrea Roberson and Kyle Kim: These are "the presidential candidates celebrities are supporting," based on a data analysis of more than 15,000 entertainment industry contributions... (LA Times)

-- Great piece by Joe Flint and Tripp Mickle who wrote that Apple TV+'s "Morning Show" ends up doubling "as an extended commercial for the gadgets that drive Apple's business" given how many iPhones, iPads, and iMacs are featured in the series... (WSJ)

What Gwyneth Paltrow thinks about Harvey Weinstein now

Brian Stelter emails: She was a crucial source when Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey investigated Harvey Weinstein two years ago. She encouraged other actresses to come forward, and she eventually decided to go on the record with her own allegation of harassment against Weinstein, the man who helped catapult her to stardom and stands accused of abuse by more than 80 women. Now, as Weinstein maintains his innocence and awaits trial for rape, Paltrow says she's "not sure" how she feels about him. Andrew Ross Sorkin asked about Weinstein at Wednesday's Dealbook conference...

And I wrote it up because I was struck by Paltrow's answers... Particularly when Sorkin read from the recent Wesley Morris column that said this: "I've spent two years wondering whether Paltrow's taste for acting had diminished because of that man, whether having his company seem synonymous with some of her strongest, most popular work compelled her to start a company of her own, one where the work concerned not acting but being, being whole, being better, being ridiculously better."

Paltrow said "I think he's right." And later, when Sorkin asked if abusive men like Weinstein can repent, here's what she said: There's a spectrum... but it does seem to me, for the more egregious offenders, that really loss of power is what keeps them from further offending. So if they don't have the power, then they lose that dynamic and then the game's over."

Lowry reviews "Doctor Sleep"

Brian Lowry emails: Stephen King has never been shy about saying that he wasn't a fan of "The Shining," the Stanley Kubrick horror movie based on his book, but which took considerable liberties with it. Yet writer-director Mike Flanagan tries to thread the needle with a sequel to that project, "Stephen King's Doctor Sleep," and winds up in a sort-of no-man's-land between the 2013 book and what amounts to an extended homage to the earlier movie.

FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX

By Lisa Respers France:

-- Christian comedian John Crist has apologized and canceled his tour after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced Wednesday. His Netflix special scheduled to air later this month has been put on hold, CNN has learned...

-- Chris Evans and others are sounding off against CGI casting of James Dean in a forthcoming Vietnam war era film...

-- Joe Pesci isn't just returning to the silver screen. "The Irishman" actor also has a new album coming out - his first in 21 years...

-- Helen Mirren was flattered you thought she was dating Keanu Reeves...

Thanks for reading! Send me your feedback via email and/or connect with me on Twitter. I'll be back in the chair again for Brian tomorrow. See you then!