memeorandum: Donald Trump lost the popular vote by 2.8 million. Most Republicans are convinced he won. (Judd Legum/ThinkProgress)

12:05 PM ET, December 18, 2016

Top Items:

A new poll shows an astonishing 52% of Republicans incorrectly think Trump won the popular vote — Amid the speculation on whether the electoral college will refuse to make Donald Trump president, many Trump opponents are pinning their hopes on one glaring fact: Hillary Clinton's sizable win in the popular vote.

Discussion: Political Wire

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Donald Trump lost the popular vote by 2.8 million. Most Republicans are convinced he won. — They are very wrong. — Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, collecting 2.8 million more votes than Donald Trump. Her margin of victory was more than five times larger than Al Gore's …

Discussion: alan.com and New York Times

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Electors under siege — On Monday, members of the Electoral College will cast their historic votes for the next president of the United States. In the meantime, they are under siege. — The nation's 538 presidential electors have been thrust into the political foreground like never before in American history.

Discussion: Political Wire, The Point, Vox Popoli, Vox, Hot Air, Business Insider and Independent Journal Review

Robert Samuels / Washington Post:
In last-shot bid, thousands urge electoral college to block Trump at Monday vote

Discussion: Vox, New York Times, Victory Girls Blog, The Week, RedState and TheBlaze

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Court: Removing ‘faithless’ electors may be unconstitutional

Discussion: Jamie Dupree, Hot Air, Occupy Democrats, The Daily Caller and Politicus USA

ABC News:

‘This Week’ Transcript 12-18-16: Donna Brazile — THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT FOR ‘THIS WEEK’ on December 18, 2016 and it will be updated. — MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC HOST: Let's take that straight to Donna Brazile, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, which took the brunt of Russia's cyber hack.

Discussion: Politico, AOL and Politicus USA

John Shattuck / BostonGlobe.com:

Donald Trump raises specter of treason — A specter of treason hovers over Donald Trump. He has brought it on himself by dismissing a bipartisan call for an investigation of Russia's hacking of the Democratic National Committee as a “ridiculous” political attack on the legitimacy of his election as president.

Discussion: RedState, Hot Air, The Reality-Based Community, CANNONFIRE, Raw Story and Scripting News

The Huffington Post:

Is Donald Trump Mentally Ill? 3 Professors of Psychiatry Ask President Obama to conduct “a full medical and neuropsychiatric evaluation” — Communication Strategist, Author of “Words That Shook The World” — We are writing to express our grave concern regarding the mental stability of our President-Elect.

Discussion: Raw Story, Occupy Democrats and RedState

Eugene Scott / CNN:

Lynch says reaction to Bill Clinton meeting was ‘painful’ — Washington (CNN)Attorney General Loretta Lynch says she regrets not recognizing that her meeting with Bill Clinton over the summer would turn out to be problematic, saying it was “painful” that it called into question the integrity of the Justice Department.

Discussion: The Week and BizPac Review

Nicki Rossoll / ABC News:

DNC Chair Contradicts Obama: Russian Hackers Came After Us ‘Until End of Election’ — Democratic National Chair Donna Brazile said Russian hackers persisted in trying to break into the organization's computers “daily, hourly” until after the election — contradicting President Obama's assertion …

Discussion: Political Wire

Liz Spayd / New York Times:

Preaching the Gospel of Diversity, but Not Following It — ONLY two of the 20-plus reporters who covered the presidential campaign for The New York Times were black. None were Latino or Asian. That's less diversity than you'll find in Donald Trump's cabinet thus far.

Elana Schor / Politico:

ExxonMobil helped defeat Russia sanctions bill — ExxonMobil successfully lobbied against a bill that would have made it harder for the next president to lift sanctions against Russia, clearing the way for the oil giant to restart a program worth billions of dollars if Donald Trump eases those restrictions as president.

Stephanie McCrummen / Washington Post:

In the Chappaqua woods, a search for Hillary Clinton — CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. — The other day, Carol Meyer and her friend Ellen went walking in the woods of Chappaqua. For all they knew, they might see a coyote or some rare mushrooms or Hillary Clinton. — “I just have a sense — ” said Ellen, putting on her gloves.

Discussion: twitchy.com

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

China says it will return US drone it seized — China said Saturday it will return the unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) it seized in the South China Sea from the U.S., the Pentagon confirmed. — “We have registered our objection to China's unlawful seizure of a U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle operating …

Discussion: The New Americana, ABC News, Occupy Democrats, The Right Scoop and BizPac Review

Karl de Vries / CNN:
US says China will return underwater drone; Trump slams Beijing over incident

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

Intelligence expert: 10 years ago Trump would have faced a treason trial after being ‘co-opted’ by Putin — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Appearing on MSNBC's AM Joy, an intelligence expert flatly stated that 10 years ago President-elect Donald Trump would be facing …