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Trump signed letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow project despite Giuliani insisting he didn't — Giuliani changes Trump Tower Moscow timelines — (CNN)A newly obtained document shows President Donald Trump signed a letter of intent to move forward with negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Russia …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Hill Reporter, Raw Story, The Week and twitchy.com
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CNN: Trump signed letter of intent to build Trump Tower in Moscow — On Tuesday night, CNN's Chris Cuomo obtained a letter of intent signed by now-President Trump to move forward with a Trump Tower in Moscow. — Why it matters: As Cuomo notes, the signed letter doesn't have direct legal implications or suggest obvious wrongdoing.


POLITICO Playbook: White House on the sidelines in spending fight — DRIVING THE DAY — HEADS UP ... THE FEDERAL RESERVE will announce whether it will continue to hike rates today at 2:30 p.m. — PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has urged the Fed to lay off another hike, but the FT puts it this way …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Right Wing Watch and Hullabaloo


As Facebook Raised a Privacy Wall, It Carved an Opening for Tech Giants — Internal documents show that the social network gave Microsoft, Amazon, Spotify and others far greater access to people's data than it has disclosed. — For years, Facebook gave some of the world's largest technology companies …
Discussion:
Facebook, Al Jazeera, CBS New York, Breitbart, Engadget, The Week, RAPPLER, The Verge, Mashable and New Republic, more at Mediagazer »
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Note to Michael Flynn: Federal Court Is Not Twitter — Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn on Tuesday got an unpleasant lesson on the difference between politically effective arguments and legally astute ones. Backed by an array of well-wishers including President Trump …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Judge's accusations mar Michael Flynn sentencing hearing — The sentencing of former Trump White House national security adviser Michael Flynn on a single charge of lying to the FBI turned into a dramatic scene in a Washington, D.C., courthouse Tuesday. Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan excoriated Flynn …
Discussion:
Power Line, Wall Street Journal and Instapundit


Michael Flynn's Lawyers Appear to Have Badly Miscalculated — Lawyers for retired General Michael Flynn had every reason to celebrate. They managed to get their client—who lobbied against U.S. interests while serving as a top Donald Trump-campaign surrogate; tried to undermine …
Discussion:
TalkLeft


'I'm not hiding my disgust, my disdain': Veteran judge upends hopes of Trump allies as he spotlights Flynn's misdeeds — For a full eight minutes, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan read aloud an inventory of Michael Flynn's lies — describing his “disgust” that President Trump's national …
Discussion:
Just Security, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Politico and The American Spectator

Trump backers just had their anti-Mueller hopes and dreams dashed
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Axios, The Daily Beast, Politico, New Republic, Patterico's Pontifications, CNN, New York Times, ABC News and The Mahablog


Court orders company to comply with special counsel subpoena in mystery grand jury appeal — (CNN)Four days after attorneys secretly argued over a grand jury subpoena suspected to be related to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election …
Discussion:
KXLF-TV
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Mueller appears victorious in mystery subpoena dispute — The ruling offers the intriguing detail that the entity fighting the Mueller subpoena is a foreign-owned company, not a specific individual, as many had speculated. — A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered a mystery corporation owned …

Washington's Mystery Witness Turns Out to Be a Corporation, Not a Person
Discussion:
The Guardian and Lawfare

READ: Appeals Court Upholds Grand Jury Subpoena In Secret Mueller-Linked Case
Discussion:
Townhall


Senate overwhelmingly backs overhaul of criminal justice system — The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system, after a remarkable political shift from Republicans who voted in large numbers to save money by reducing prison sentences …
Discussion:
Associated Press, NPR, The Guardian and Wall Street Journal
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Senate Passes Bipartisan Criminal Justice Bill — WASHINGTON — The Senate overwhelmingly approved on Tuesday the most substantial changes in a generation to the tough-on-crime prison and sentencing laws that ballooned the federal prison population and created a criminal justice system …
Discussion:
The Week and Marijuana Moment

Senate easily passes Trump-backed criminal justice reform bill
Discussion:
Vox, Raw Story and New Yorker

Senate approves Trump-backed criminal justice overhaul
Discussion:
Townhall, Jamie Dupree - AJC, KTLA and The Week


Ousted NPR news chief, ex-Fox News execs team up on new site — One was ousted from NPR amid allegations of sexual harassment. The other left Fox News shortly after writing a column widely panned as racist and anti-gay. Now they've been recruited to help launch a digital news startup …


Hacked European Cables Reveal a World of Anxiety About Trump, Russia and Iran — WASHINGTON — Hackers infiltrated the European Union's diplomatic communications network for years, downloading thousands of cables that reveal concerns about an unpredictable Trump administration and struggles …
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, Bloomberg, Raw Story and EURACTIV.com


Here Are The Advertisers Boycotting Tucker Carlson's Show — The Fox News host is facing backlash after suggesting that immigrants make our country “poorer and dirtier and more divided” on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” — Fox News' Tucker Carlson is rapidly losing advertisers amid a controversy …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, CNN, Contemptor, ThinkProgress, Media Matters for America, The Guardian and NBC News, more at Mediagazer »
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Advertisers Flee Tucker Carlson's Fox News Show After He Derides Immigrants
Discussion:
Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and CNBC


Power Up: 'Cameras can't get in' is only reason Democrats say border patrol facility that held 7-year-old girl is still open — Happy Wednesday, Power People. We're en route from Texas back to Washington to close out the rest of the week. Comments, ideas, Christmas cookie recipes??
Discussion:
Daily Wire
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Judiciary dismisses ‘serious’ misconduct complaints against Brett M. Kavanaugh — The judicial council reviewing dozens of misconduct claims against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh has dismissed the complaints that coincided with his contentious nomination battle.
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South Carolina GOP could scrap 2020 primary to protect Trump — The South Carolina Republican Party could cancel its marquee presidential nominating contest in 2020 in a move to protect President Trump from any primary challengers. — Drew McKissick, chairman of the South Carolina GOP …


The National Gallery of Identity Politics — Forget Monet or Hopper. The art museum's new director wants to tackle ‘gender equality,’ ‘social justice’ and ‘diversity.’ — 'Every thing is what it is and not another thing," observed the 18th-century British philosopher Joseph Butler.
Discussion:
Instapundit


Revealed: Arron Banks Brexit campaign's ‘secret’ meetings with Cambridge Analytica — Leaked emails show Leave.EU misled parliament and UK regulator about meetings with controversial Trump-linked firm - where they discussed targeting British voters. Steve Bannon was included in correspondence.


It's time to face the facts: Racism is a national security issue — Sherrilyn Ifill is president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. — Two newly released reports from the Senate Intelligence Committee about Russian interference in the 2016 election have been nothing short of revelatory.
Discussion:
New York Times, EURACTIV.com and Mother Jones, more at Mediagazer »


In ways subtle and loud, the presidential contest is already underway in Iowa — DES MOINES — When New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) came here two months ago, he lingered long after events ended to talk to the curious, posing for selfies with anyone who wanted one.


Cleveland man alleges racial profiling after bank refuses to cash check, calls 911 — BROOKLYN, OH (WOIO) - A Cleveland man says he was racially profiled at a local branch when they called the cops on him for trying to cash a check. — Paul McCowns tells Cleveland 19 he went …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Hill Reporter and The Root
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Our pick of the decade's eight best young economists — They mostly want to change the world, not just fathom it — “The solution in Vietnam”, said William DePuy, an American general in 1966, “is more bombs, more shells, more napalm.” But where exactly to drop it all?
Discussion:
Marginal REVOLUTION

Poll: Democrat Leads GOP Governor in Kentucky — A new poll of next year's gubernatorial race in Kentucky shows Democrats in position to extend their nationwide winning streak beyond the 2018 midterms. — Aside from taking back the House majority, Democrats also gained seven governorships around the country.


Fed's Powell under pressure over rate rises — Jay Powell will today wrap up the thorniest policy meeting of his chairmanship as the Federal Reserve faces a barrage of calls for easy money as the stock market slides in anticipation of soggy global economic growth.
Discussion:
Political Wire


Imperatives for Democrats — For all their differences, House Democrats need to unite around a pro-worker agenda. The party also needs a smart way to winnow its immense field of presidential prospects. — Of all the dogs that did not bark in the night during the 2018 midterm-election campaigns …


The Trump Foundation Gets Put to Sleep — New York's attorney general dissolves the president's personal piggy bank, but a lawsuit against the faux charity alleging fraud continues. — The Trump Foundation, a tiny New York outfit masquerading as a philanthropy but operating, essentially …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, OpenSecrets.org, Raw Story, Daily Kos, New Republic and Law & Crime