Top Items:
New York Times:
Russia Inquiry Review Is Said to Criticize F.B.I. but Rebuff Claims of Biased Acts — A watchdog report will portray the pursuit of a wiretap of an ex-Trump adviser as sloppy, but it also debunks some accusations by Trump allies of F.B.I. wrongdoing. — WASHINGTON — A highly anticipated report …
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Washington Post:
Justice Dept. watchdog finds political bias did not taint top officials running the FBI's Russia probe but documents other errors — The Justice Department's internal watchdog is expected to find in a forthcoming report that political bias did not taint top officials running the FBI investigation …
Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Defenders Have No Defense — Witnesses were uneven, but even his closest allies don't try to deny he did what he's accused of doing. — Look, the case has been made. Almost everything in the impeachment hearings this week fleshed out and backed up the charge that President Trump muscled Ukraine for political gain.
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Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
The Awful Truth About Impeachment — Facts be damned is Trump's approach, and it's working. — After five days, twelve witnesses, lots of shouting, and dozens of angry tweets from the President, the House Intelligence Committee's public impeachment hearings into Donald Trump's Ukraine affair ended …
Discussion:
The Nation
New York Times:
Charges of Ukrainian Meddling? A Russian Operation, U.S. Intelligence Says — Moscow has run a yearslong operation to blame Ukraine for its own 2016 election interference. Republicans have used similar talking points to defend President Trump in impeachment proceedings.
Discussion:
Axios, Mother Jones, Washington Times, Rolling Stone, Political Wire and Raw Story
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump's GOP defenders cannot be shamed. It's time to try this instead. — If there is one widely shared conclusion about the impeachment hearings that have just concluded, it's that President Trump's GOP defenders were never “gettable.” — This idea has been repeated countless times in recent days …
Discussion:
Slate and New York Times
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Brooke Singman / Fox News:
In Trump impeachment trial, Senate Republicans could turn tables on Dems
In Trump impeachment trial, Senate Republicans could turn tables on Dems
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico and The Daily Signal
Gabby Orr / Politico:
'He cares about his grievances and his reelection, and that's it'
'He cares about his grievances and his reelection, and that's it'
Discussion:
Associated Press, NPR, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, Salt Lake Tribune, Vanity Fair, Raw Story and Fox News
Eric Bradner / CNN:
Biden: Lindsey Graham will ‘regret his whole life’ doing Trump's bidding on Ukraine — Watch “CNN Tonight” at 10 p.m. ET to see Don Lemon's full interview with former Vice President Joe Biden. — Abbeville, South Carolina (CNN)Joe Biden said he is “embarrassed” for South Carolina …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair
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John Solomon Reports:
Responding to Lt. Col. Vindman about my Ukraine columns ... with the facts
Responding to Lt. Col. Vindman about my Ukraine columns ... with the facts
Discussion:
BizPac Review, Twitchy, Breitbart, Politico and Redstate
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Biden camp: Graham ‘forfeited his conscience’ over Ukraine
Biden camp: Graham ‘forfeited his conscience’ over Ukraine
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze and Axios
Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
‘A lot of things are the matter with me’: The best lines from Trump's Fox interview — President Donald Trump called in to “Fox & Friends” on Friday for a nearly hour-long interview that he agreed after was a form of “stress relief.” — As House Democrats close in on an impeachment vote …
Discussion:
One America News Network, Mediaite and Breitbart
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Michael Calderone / Politico:
Jake Tapper: Trump is trying to ‘gaslight the country’ — CNN's Jake Tapper thinks fact-checking Donald Trump is no longer enough — and he's created an hourlong special exploring the effects on foreign policy, business and the national culture of the president's compulsive lying.
Geoff Bennett / NBC News:
Yovanovitch's lawyers rate Trump's embassy portrait claim Pinocchio worthy — Lawyers for former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch say President Donald Trump's claim that she refused to hang his picture in the U.S. embassy in Ukraine is false. — “The Embassy in Kyiv hung …
Discussion:
CNN, CBS News, Joe.My.God. and Occupy Democrats
Eileen Sullivan / New York Times:
Trump Attacks Impeachment Inquiry and Accuses a Witness of Lying — Mr. Trump said a career diplomat made up a conversation between him and his ambassador to the European Union, dismissing a critical detail in the Democrats' impeachment inquiry. — WASHINGTON — President Trump unleashed …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Crooked Media and HuffPost
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Tom Nichols / USA Today:
Hill, Holmes impeachment hearing: Experts beat crackpots on Trump, Russia and Ukraine
Greg Olear / PREVAIL:
Republicans Knew About the Russian Threat in 2016. Why Do They Deny It Now?
Republicans Knew About the Russian Threat in 2016. Why Do They Deny It Now?
Discussion:
Daily Kos and The Daily Beast
Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
Trump's Crime Against America
Trump's Crime Against America
Discussion:
Reason, The Daily Beast, Lawyers, Guns & Money, HuffPost, Raw Story and The Bulwark
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Read This — I read through this a number of times before deciding to publish it. But I strongly, strongly recommend it to you. The author of the email is a former federal prosecutor. When I first read it I confess I found it all a bit loopy or improbable.
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Balloon Juice and Washington Post
Sydney Morning Herald:
Defecting Chinese spy offers information trove to Australian government — A Chinese spy has risked his life to defect to Australia and is now offering a trove of unprecedented inside intelligence on how China conducts its interference operations abroad. — Wang “William” Liqiang …
Discussion:
PoliticalShort
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David Lynch / Washington Post:
Trump says he might veto legislation that aims to protect human rights in Hong Kong because bill would impact China trade talks — The legislation easily passed Congress with a veto-proof majority — President Trump suggested on Friday that he might veto legislation designed …
Discussion:
Reason and Foreign Policy
Associated Press:
Health groups urge Trump to move ahead with e-cig flavor ban — WASHINGTON (AP) — Health advocates are encouraging President Donald Trump to move forward with a federal ban on thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes. — Trump is meeting at the White House on Friday with medical experts …
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Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:
South Bend black leader endorses Biden, rebukes Buttigieg — The longest-serving African American man on the South Bend, Ind., Common Council is endorsing Joe Biden for president, a rejection of Pete Buttigieg that highlights the South Bend mayor's struggles with black voters.
Discussion:
CNN, Fox News, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, The Boston Globe, Axios, The Hill, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Guardian, CBS News, Mother Jones, New York Times, Roll Call, Slate and Washington Post
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Harry Siegel / New York Daily News:
‘1984’ arrives 35 years late: Republicans like Devin Nunes are intent on making 2 plus 2 equal whatever the hell they want it to — “It was a bright cold day,” begins George Orwell's “1984,” “and the clocks were striking 13.” — That came to mind as the impeachment drama reached its 11th hour …
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Grant Stern / Occupy Democrats:
House Dem points out that Devin Nunes could be an impeachment inquiry witness
House Dem points out that Devin Nunes could be an impeachment inquiry witness
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Bloomberg makes ‘massive’ ad buy — In the latest sign Michael Bloomberg is prepared to spend freely on a prospective presidential bid, the billionaire has begun booking a huge quantity of TV ad time in media markets across the country — including the one that's home to President Donald Trump's winter White House, Mar-a-Lago.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story
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Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
Bloomberg Prepares Huge TV Blitz, Reserving $30 Million in Ads
Bloomberg Prepares Huge TV Blitz, Reserving $30 Million in Ads
Discussion:
ABC News, Axios and The Guardian
Ellen Barry / New York Times:
The Jungle Prince of Delhi — For 40 years, journalists chronicled the eccentric royal family of Oudh, deposed aristocrats who lived in a ruined palace in the Indian capital. It was a tragic, astonishing story. But was it true? — NEW DELHI — On a spring afternoon in 2016 …
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Keep in mind these points about a historic week — An exhausting and historic week of impeachment hearings came to an end Thursday when House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) gaveled the proceedings to a close. Take time to watch the whole thing:
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
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Brent Larkin / Plain Dealer:
Jim Jordan was imposed on us for egregiously partisan reasons. Now he's afflicting the nation. — CLEVELAND — Of all the regions in all the states in all the country, Jim Jordan got dragged into ours. There was no good reason to punish Greater Cleveland by making the person who's …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Fox News and Washington Post
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Impeachment is about to get a Robert Mueller reprise — Right now, impeachment is all about Ukraine. But after Thanksgiving, prepare for a Robert Mueller reprise. — Now that House Democrats have wrapped up public hearings on President Donald Trump's pressure campaign to get Ukraine …
Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:
AG Barr: Epstein's death was a ‘perfect storm of screw-ups’ — 1 of 6 — ABOARD A US GOVERNMENT AIRCRAFT (AP) — Attorney General William Barr says Jeffrey Epstein's death was the result of a “perfect storm of screw-ups.” — Barr's comments in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press come days …
Discussion:
emptywheel, The Independent, National Review, New York Times, IJR, HuffPost, The Hill, Joe.My.God., Axios, Raw Story and Political Wire
Katie Benner / New York Times:
Barr's Legal Views Come Under Fire From Conservative-Leaning Lawyers — A speech by Mr. Barr last week, in which he argued that Mr. Trump had never overstepped his authority, so alarmed a group of lawyers that they felt compelled to push back publicly. — WASHINGTON — A group …
Jack Holmes / Esquire:
President Fox News Grandpa Had Himself a Morning on Fox & Friends — If you are in any way tethered to observable reality, you will have noticed that this was not a good week for Donald Trump, American president. — A parade of witnesses testified under oath
Discussion:
Vox, POLITICUSUSA and Washington Post
Seth Cousins / Washington Post:
I was a juror in Roger Stone's trial. I am proud of how we came to our decision. — Seth Cousins was juror Number 3 in the Roger Stone trial. — During the first half of November, I traveled a brief journey with 14 fellow Americans, all of them strangers to me.
Kevin Sieff / Washington Post:
In squalid Mexico tent city, asylum seekers are growing so desperate they're sending their children over the border alone — MATAMOROS, Mexico — In the middle of the largest refugee camp on the U.S. border — close enough to Texas that migrants can see an American flag hovering across the Rio Grande …
Thomas Beaumont / Associated Press:
AP sources: Ex-Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack plans to endorse Biden — DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack plans to publicly endorse Joe Biden for president at a rally on Saturday, two people close to Biden's campaign told The Associated Press. — The former two-term governor …
Discussion:
Political Wire