THE BIG STORY

Here are the latest secret memos from Mueller’s report

BuzzFeed News sued the US government for the right to see all the work that former special counsel Robert Mueller’s team kept secret. Yesterday, we published the second installment of the FBI’s summaries of interviews with key witnesses.

Some takeaways from the newly-released documents:

👉 Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, said Trump family lawyers kept him from telling the truth.

👉In February 2017, Trump wanted former FBI director James Comey to know, “I really like him.” Comey was fired three months later.

👉Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie laughed when Trump said “the Russia thing is over” after Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn left office.

👉 Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks told investigators Trump was “angry, surprised, and frustrated” when Mueller was appointed.

Here’s the fun part: We want your help! We want you to look close at the memos, and if you see something, email reporter Jason Leopold at [email protected] or reach us securely at tips.buzzfeed.com.

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

How Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could save Bernie Sanders’ campaign

Democrats in Congress are rushing to impeach President Donald Trump by Christmas. If this comes to pass, it sets up a Senate trial that could bleed into 2020’s first presidential contests.

If Trump is impeached in the House and the Senate proceeds with a trial, some of the top Democratic presidential candidates will be stuck in DC for as many as six days a week, serving as jurors.

The trial could last several weeks. In that time period, Senators will have to rely on surrogates to get their message out. But none of them have what Sen. Bernie Sanders has: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Sanders, and she could prove to be a powerful force on the campaign trail.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

IMPEACHMENT TODAY: The winter of our impeachment content. Today on our daily impeachment podcast: all eyes now turn to Jerry Nadler, the chair of the Judiciary Committee in the House — it’s his committee’s role to decide what they’re going to do with all the evidence collected in the public impeachment hearings. Listen and subscribe.

SNAPSHOTS

Trump is giving in to the vaping industry on a flavor ban, lawmakers say. A bipartisan letter to the White House is slamming President Trump for backing off a proposed ban on flavored e-cigarettes thought to be driving the teen vaping epidemic.

California Rep. Duncan Hunter will plead guilty to a federal crime after all. The Republican was accused of spending more than $250,000 in campaign funds on vacations, theater tickets, and affairs with lobbyists. Hunter announced he will change his plea to guilty, saying he's prepared to serve time behind bars.

Actor Shelley Morrison, best known for playing Rosario on Will & Grace, has died at 83. Though Morrison’s acting career spanned more than 60 years, it was her role as the no-nonsense maid Rosario — played opposite Megan Mullally’s sometimes out-of-touch Karen Walker — that turned her into a star. Morrison’s publicist confirmed she died of heart failure.

Lil Bub, one of the internet’s favorite cats, has died. The goofy-faced kitty became one of the decade's most famous cats, partly due to her unique appearance — with her bulging eyes, tiny arms and legs, and a tongue forever sticking out. Lil Bub was 8. Here are all the tributes.

MISMATCHED

Tinder lets known sex offenders use its app. It’s not the only one.

Match Group’s flagship website, Match, has a policy of screening customers who sign up against government sex offender registries. But as Match Group has grown, and acquired competitors, it has not expanded that policy to its other brands.

That includes brands like Plenty of Fish and OKCupid, which are among 45 online dating brands now owned by Match Group, the Dallas-based corporation that dominates the industry in the US. Its top dating app, Tinder, has 5.2 million subscribers, surpassing such popular rivals as Bumble.

The lack of a uniform policy allows convicted and accused perpetrators to access Match Group apps and leaves users vulnerable to sexual assault, a 16-month investigation by Columbia Journalism Investigations found.

CJI analyzed more than 150 incidents of sexual assault involving dating apps. Most incidents occurred in the past five years and during the app users’ first in-person meeting. Most victims, almost all women, met their male attackers through Tinder, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, or Match. Match Group owns them all.

BOOKS TO END THE YEAR WITH

15 queer books you might have missed this year

From poetry to memoir to fiction, it’s been an excellent year in queer books. Sarah Neilson put together a guide through the ones you might have missed, and why they’re worth revisiting.

I hope you find the time for stillness and clarity this morning,

Elamin