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Mueller's Flynn Memo Should Worry Kushner and Trump — The former national security adviser provided information about interactions between the presidential transition team and Russian officials. — Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser who pleaded guilty …
Discussion:
Washington Post
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Mueller says Michael Flynn gave ‘first-hand’ details of Trump transition team contacts with Russians — Former national security advisor Michael Flynn has given special counsel Robert Mueller “first-hand” details of contacts between President Donald Trump's transition team and Russian government officials …
Discussion:
emptywheel, JustOneMinute, The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian, CANNONFIRE, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Breitbart, Above the Law, Splinter, Lawfare and Political Wire


From fishy beginning, Mueller case against Michael Flynn nears end with no jail recommendation — Michael Flynn has been waiting for more than a year to be sentenced. The retired three-star Army general, who spent 24 days as the Trump White House national security adviser, pleaded guilty on Dec. 1 …


Meadows tells Hannity that Flynn report is ‘good news for President Trump’ — Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) is characterizing special counsel Robert Mueller's sentencing report on former national security advisor Michael Flynn as “good news for President Trump” because “there is no mention of collusion.”
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA


Mueller seeks no prison time for former national security adviser Michael Flynn, citing his ‘substantial assistance’
Discussion:
New Republic, Axios, Yahoo News, BuzzFeed News, The Week, New York Magazine, ABC News, The Daily Beast, Breitbart, Contemptor and Daily Kos

Mueller strikes out trying to nail Trump - Flynn sentencing memo is a big nothing
Discussion:
Power Line

Mueller: Flynn gave ‘substantial assistance’ to probe, deserves little to no prison
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, The Week, Raw Story, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, Axios, Mediaite, Breitbart and Wall Street Journal

Michael Flynn Should Serve Little Time, Mueller Says, Citing Cooperation
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Outside the Beltway, Media Matters for America, Just Security, Taylor Marsh, ThinkProgress, Contemptor, Townhall, Deadline, Daily Kos, RAPPLER and POLITICUSUSA

New White House counsel to arrive as Democrats, Mueller close in
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo


The Latest: Wisconsin Senate limits governor's power — MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Latest on Wisconsin Republican lawmakers moving to limit the powers of the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general (all times local): — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate has passed …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Shareblue Media, Splinter, madison.com, Althouse and FiveThirtyEight
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Wisconsin Republicans Approve Bills Stripping Power From Incoming Democratic Governor — MADISON, Wis. — After a rancorous, sleepless night of debate, Republican lawmakers early Wednesday pushed through a sweeping set of bills that will limit the power of Wisconsin's incoming governor, a Democrat.

The Lame-Duck Power Grab
Discussion:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Splinter and New York Times


Inside The North Carolina Republican Vote Machine: Cash, Pills — And Ballots — BLADENBORO, North Carolina — The allegations that Republicans tampered with absentee ballots in a close North Carolina election represent the most serious federal election tampering case in years …
Discussion:
The Week, NPR, Daily Kos, Raw Story, WRAL-TV, HuffPost, Religion News Service, Roll Call, Above the Law and New York Times
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Handwritten notes show efforts to collect absentee ballots in exchange for money in Bladen Co.
Discussion:
Daily Kos


Feds Target Butina's GOP Boyfriend as Foreign Agent — Paul Erickson served as accused Kremlin spy Maria Butina's guide as she penetrated the American conservative movement. Now he's under investigation as a Russian agent, too. — BETSY WOODRUFF, ERIN BANCO12.5.18 8:00 AM ET
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story


Fate of The Weekly Standard is uncertain, editor tells staff — New York (CNN Business)The fate of The Weekly Standard, the conservative magazine that has staked out a position as a publication on the right still critical of President Donald Trump, is uncertain, Editor-in-Chief Stephen Hayes told staff …
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“Not a natural death”: the Never-Trump bastion Weekly Standard may be shut down
Discussion:
twitchy.com, Hit & Run, Hot Air, Daily Wire and Politico, more at Mediagazer »


Why We Miss the WASPs — Their more meritocratic, diverse and secular successors rule us neither as wisely nor as well. — The nostalgia flowing since the passing of George H.W. Bush has many wellsprings: admiration for the World War II generation and its dying breed of warrior-politicians …
Discussion:
Mediaite and No More Mister Nice Blog


Les Moonves Obstructed Investigation Into Misconduct Claims, Report Says — Facing multiple sexual misconduct allegations and fearing his career as an entertainment titan was over, Leslie Moonves, the chief executive of CBS, destroyed evidence and misled investigators in an attempt to preserve …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Jezebel, The Blast, The Week, Breitbart, KBZK, AOL, TMZ.com and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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14 Trump and Russia Questions Robert Mueller Knows the Answers To — MICHAEL FLYNN'S SENTENCING memo, filed yesterday with the most intriguing and interesting parts redacted by special counsel Robert Mueller, provided yet another frustrating glimpse into an investigation that seems at times almost maddeningly opaque.
Discussion:
Political Wire, Raw Story, FiveThirtyEight, Sputnik International and LewRockwell


Deval Patrick bows out of 2020 presidential run — Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is calling close allies and informing them he is not running for president in 2020, sources close to the governor tell POLITICO. — Patrick informed staff and advisers of his decision Tuesday …
Discussion:
CNN, The Week, New York Times, Political Wire and CBS Boston
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The Democrats' wild 2020 free-for-all — Democrats are about to hit the wildest turn we have seen in a presidential campaign. — The big picture: Dozens of people are thinking of running — and running early — in the rage-and-rapid-reaction era of Donald J. Trump.
Discussion:
CNN, Yahoo News, Political Wire, KBZK and Associated Press
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Rudy Giuliani Says Twitter Sabotaged His Tweet. Actually, He Did It Himself. — To Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor who is one of President Trump's lawyers, it was an example of how low Twitter would stoop to carry out its anti-Trump agenda. — It was, decidedly, no such thing.
Discussion:
Vox, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, Washington Post, Engadget, Boing Boing, IJR, Splinter and Mediaite


New York's Vanishing Mayor — Mayor Bill de Blasio spends far less time at City Hall than he once did, leading some city officials to ask: Has the mayor lost focus? — When the New York City commissioner who oversaw a much-criticized response to a recent snowstorm was told to resign late last week …
Discussion:
www.wnyc.org


Facebook allegedly offered advertisers special access to users data and activities, according to documents released by British lawmakers — A key British lawmaker alleged Wednesday that Facebook maintained “whitelisting agreements” that gave select companies preferential access to valuable user data …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »


“Everyone's for Sale”: A Generation of Digital-Media Darlings Prepares for a Frigid Winter — Vice, Vox, and BuzzFeed, among other companies that once heralded the dawn of a new media age, are now grappling with decidedly old-media problems. — It was around this time last year that things …
Discussion:
CNN, more at Mediagazer »


‘Chaos breeds chaos’: Trump's erratic and false claims roil the globe. Again. — After his Argentine steak dinner last weekend with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Trump announced that they had reached an “incredible deal” to temporarily suspend his trade war.
Discussion:
The Resurgent, One America News Network, SupChina, Axios and The Mahablog
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President Trump traveled 250 yards to greet George W. Bush. He used a stretch limo and an eight-vehicle motorcade to make the trip. — President Trump traversed a wide political chasm Tuesday evening when he personally welcomed George W. Bush, his occasional foil, to Blair House …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, Political Wire, The Guardian, TheBlaze, Breitbart, Washington Press, ABC News and New York Times


Michigan Legislature OKs gutting wage, paid sick time laws — LANSING, Mich. — The Republican-led Michigan Legislature on Tuesday passed bills that would delay a minimum wage hike and scale back paid sick leave requirements, an unprecedented lame-duck strategy that was endorsed legally …
Discussion:
Common Dreams and Mother Jones


Mark Zuckerberg's Biggest Problem: Internal Tensions At Facebook Are Boiling Over — “It's the bunker mentality. These people have been under siege for 600 days now. They're getting tired, getting cranky — the only survival strategy is to quit or fully buy in.”


France's fuel tax retreat dismays COP24 climate talks — KATOWICE, Poland — France's sudden U-turn over an unpopular fuel tax in the face of violent anti-government protests sent shivers through the COP24 climate summit. — That's because the sight of one of Europe's …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Bloomberg, One America News Network and iea.org
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Smoke a Joint, Save the Subway? — As the list of states that have legalized marijuana continues to grow, New York could have a new reason to embrace cannabis: It could help save the subway. — Some state and city leaders have started to discuss the idea of making recreational marijuana legal …
Discussion:
The Reality-Based Community


Roger Stone won't shut up — Defying the advice of pretty much every defense lawyer in America, Roger Stone won't stop talking. — The longtime political adviser to President Donald Trump gives lengthy interviews about his role in the 2016 presidential election.


I'm a Democrat and a Feminist. And I Support Betsy DeVos's Title IX Reforms. — There is an uncomfortable truth in the current system. No one wants to talk about it. — Ms. Bazelon is the director of the criminal juvenile justice and the racial justice clinics at the University of San Francisco School of Law.


Michelle Obama Tells a Secret: ‘I Have Been at Every Powerful Table You Can Think of... They Are Not That Smart’ — Former first lady Michelle Obama confessed she still suffered from “imposter syndrome,” even as her memoir, Becoming, broke sales records last month and became the year's best-selling book 15 days after it was published.


The Clintons Are Now The Spinal Tap Of The Political World — Prices: Bill and Hillary Clinton thought they were in high demand around the country. Collapsing ticket prices to their “Evening With The Clintons” show how wrong they were. It is, as the saying goes, a teachable moment.