Top Items:
Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Electors demand intelligence briefing before Electoral College vote — Ten members of the Electoral College, including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi's daughter Christine and a former member of Congress, are demanding a briefing from U.S. intelligence officials on any ongoing investigations into Donald Trump's ties to Russia.
Discussion:
The Hill and ballot-access.org
RELATED:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Tainted Election — The C.I.A., according to The Washington Post, has now determined that hackers working for the Russian government worked to tilt the 2016 election to Donald Trump. This has actually been obvious for months, but the agency was reluctant to state that conclusion …
Michael Edison Hayden / ABC News:
Donald Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway Says President-Elect 'Doesn't Want Interference in Our Politics' — Adviser Kellyanne Conway today sought to clarify Donald Trump's rejection of claims that Russia had sought to tip the balance in the U.S. presidential election by saying that …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Politico, TIME and The Daily Caller
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
McConnell rejects special panel for Russian election interference allegations — (R-Ky.) on Monday said recent findings by the CIA that the Russian government tied to influence the U.S. presidential election should be investigated by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Discussion:
ABC News, RedState, Daily Kos, twitchy.com and Politico
RELATED:
New York Times:
McCain Calls Russian Hacking a ‘Form of Warfare’ — John McCain says there is no doubt about Russian hacking, which he called “warfare.” — President-elect Donald J. Trump formally names John F. Kelly, a retired Marine general, as secretary of homeland security.
Discussion:
Daily Mail, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, alan.com, Political Wire and Mediaite
Rebecca Morin / Politico:
Bolton: Russian hacks could actually have been by Obama administration — Ambassador John Bolton claimed Sunday that hacks during the election season could have been “a false flag” operation — possibly committed by the Obama administration itself. — In an interview with Fox News' Eric Shawn …
Discussion:
Washington Post, BillMoyers.com, The Week, TheBlaze, Political Wire, The Guardian, Scared Monkeys and ABC News
Cyra Master / The Hill:
Bolton questions if Russian hacks were ‘false flag’ — 's State Department, questioned reports of Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. — “It is not at all clear to me, just viewing this from the outside, that this hacking into the DNC and the RNC was not a false flag operation …
Discussion:
ABC News, Politico, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, New York Magazine, Raw Story and Washington Post
David Frum / The Atlantic:
Five Questions About Russia's Election Hacking — The evidence to support the CIA's conclusion that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump remains mostly secret. But the outline of the case is no mystery. Both Democratic and Republican Party servers were reportedly hacked …
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John Fund / National Review:
What's Behind Trump's Move to the Right? — He owes nothing to the old guard, he sees a window for bold reforms, and he knows who his enemies are. — The biggest surprise Donald Trump has provided as president-elect is just how conservative a cabinet he is putting together.
Discussion:
Shot in the Dark
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Juan Williams / The Hill:
Who will survive in Trump's reality show?
The Independent:
China flies nuclear bomber over South China Sea to ‘send a message’ to Donald Trump — China flew a nuclear-capable bomber outside its borders in a show of force less than a week before US President-elect Donald Trump's phone call with the president of Taiwan, it has been reported.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, NPR and Patterico's Pontifications
Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:
Democrats fear another Trump trouncing — As Donald Trump's inauguration draws near, Democrats fear they remain woefully unprepared to fight the new president's agenda. — The party loses its standard-bearer once President Barack Obama leaves office, and the Democratic National Committee …
Discussion:
Raw Story and No More Mister Nice Blog
Ali Breland / The Hill:
Senate fails to confirm FCC Commissioner after lengthy battle — Jessica Rosenworcel will be forced step down from her post as commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission after Congress finished it last legislative session of the year on Saturday without confirming her.
Discussion:
RedState
Emily Rauhala / Washington Post:
Trump draws rebuke after saying U.S. isn't bound by One China policy — BEIJING — President-elect Trump is talking about Taiwan again — and nobody, it seems, is pleased about his comments on the nearly four-decade-old basis of U.S.-Chinese relations. — In an interview broadcast Sunday …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Israel wants mosques to turn the volume way down — JERUSALEM — When the call to prayer begins in the Palestinian neighborhoods here, the Muslim faithful hear a song beautiful and sublime. Hour by hour, five times a day, it is the soundtrack of their lives. And it stirs deep emotions.
Discussion:
Althouse
RELATED:
Lesley Stahl / CBS News:
Israel's prime minister welcomes Trump presidency
Israel's prime minister welcomes Trump presidency
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Politico and Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The Cipher Brief:
Fmr. CIA Acting Dir. Michael Morell: “This Is the Political Equivalent of 9/11” — The Washington Post report on a secret CIA assessment concluding that Russia intervened in the U.S. Presidential election with the intention of helping President-elect Donald Trump win is only part …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Politico
Knoxville News-Sentinel:
Sam Venable: Santa grants a final wish — Eric Schmitt-Matzen looks every bit the part of Santa Claus. — His 6-foot frame carries 310 pounds, leaving “just enough of a lap for the kids to sit on,” he says with a gentle Kringley chuckle right out of Central Casting. — No fake facial fuzz for this guy.
Discussion:
FOX2now.com, AOL and Fox News Insider
Niall Stanage / The Hill:
Dems grapple with lessons from Clinton disaster — Democrats are grappling with how to draw the right lessons — and avoid the wrong ones — after an extraordinary presidential election. — Hillary Clinton — 's loss to Donald Trump — is an unmitigated disaster for Democrats, who want to ensure nothing like it happens again.
Michael Crowley / Politico:
Flynn deputy raises more doubts about Trump team — At a political rally in June 2009, Donald Trump's soon-to-be deputy national security adviser, K.T. McFarland, offered a jarring prediction. — China might cancel the Fourth of July, she said. — “They're going to want something for their money.
Discussion:
Defense One