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 …
Discussion:
Townhall, Mediaite, Conservative Christian News, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, Daily Kos, Joe.My.God., Redstate, The Daily Caller, The Last Refuge, CNN, POLITICUSUSA, Vox, Raw Story, IJR, Deadline, Fox News, National Review, PJ Media Home, BizPac Review, The American Spectator, The Week, Breitbart, Power Line, TheBlaze, New York Post and Washington Post
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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 …
Discussion:
Law & Crime and Raw Story
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.
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:
Washington Post, RealClearPolitics and The Nation
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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.
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Keep in mind these points about a historic week
Keep in mind these points about a historic week
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Steve Scherer / Reuters:
Exclusive: U.S. Navy secretary backs SEAL's expulsion review, despite Trump objection — HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (Reuters) - U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said on Friday a Navy SEAL convicted of battlefield misconduct should face a board of peers weighing whether to oust him from the elite force …
Discussion:
Navy Times and The Gateway Pundit
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Sébastien Roblin / NBC News:
Navy defies Trump's clemency of SEAL Edward Gallagher to save its institutional integrity — The Pentagon's effort to discipline a rogue SEAL despite presidential intervention shows the military understands it needs to get elite units in order. — The Navy announced it was considering …
Doyle Hodges / Washington Post:
Trump said the Navy can't take away Eddie Gallagher's SEAL qualification. That could be a problem.
Trump said the Navy can't take away Eddie Gallagher's SEAL qualification. That could be a problem.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God. and Redstate
Vicky Ward / CNN:
Giuliani associate willing to tell Congress Nunes met with ex-Ukrainian official to get dirt on Biden — (CNN)A lawyer for an indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani tells CNN that his client is willing to tell Congress about meetings the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Grant Stern / Occupy Democrats:
House Dem points out that Devin Nunes could be an impeachment inquiry witness — A House Democrat just pointed out the surprising fact that the House Intelligence Committee's ranking Republican member might have to appear as a fact witness in the panel's impeachment inquiry.
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Hullabaloo
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, Breitbart and Mediaite
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Toluse Olorunnipa / Washington Post:
In rollicking 53-minute conversation, Trump embraces conspiracies, spreads falsehoods and insults opponents
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook PM: Trump riffs for an hour, Bloomberg's big buy
POLITICO Playbook PM: Trump riffs for an hour, Bloomberg's big buy
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post and New York Times
David Lynch / Washington Post:
Trump says he might veto legislation that aims to protect human rights in Hong Kong because bill …
Trump says he might veto legislation that aims to protect human rights in Hong Kong because bill …
Discussion:
Reason and Foreign Policy
Washington Post:
Trump opens up Camp David as an ‘adult playground’ to woo GOP lawmakers during impeachment — President Trump, partial to gold and marble elegance, never took a shine to rustic Camp David. So acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney pitched him on an unusual idea at the start of the House impeachment inquiry …
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:
Washington Post, HuffPost, Reuters, Vanity Fair and TheBlaze
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, The Atlantic and New York Times
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, The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Balloon Juice, New York Times and Washington Post
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:
CBS News, Occupy Democrats and Talking Points Memo
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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, New York Times and TechCrunch
Washington Free Beacon:
Warren Confronted by School Choice Activist Over Sending Son to Private School — The Democratic presidential candidate elided the inconvenient fact that her son attended a tony private school — Confronted by a school-choice activist Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Mediaite
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 …
Simon Shuster / TIME:
Exclusive: CEO of Ukraine State Gas Firm Preparing to Testify in Giuliani Probe — The CEO of Ukraine's state gas company, Naftogaz, is ready to give evidence in a U.S. federal investigation that is reportedly probing the business dealings of Rudy Giuliani, the CEO said in an exclusive interview on Friday.
Discussion:
Raw Story
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:
Townhall, Associated Press, Fox News, CNN, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Hill, Axios, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, CBS News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mother Jones and Roll Call
Sky Palma / Raw Story:
‘Delete your account traitor’: GOPer Marsha Blackburn slammed for ugly smear of Lt. Col. Vindman — In a tweet fired off today, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) took a jab at one of the witnesses who testified at this week's hearings in the House impeachment inquiry, and she immediately …
Sacha Baron Cohen / The Guardian:
Read Sacha Baron Cohen's scathing attack on Facebook in full: ‘greatest propaganda machine in history’ — In a speech, the actor argued that Facebook would have run ads by Hitler. Here are his remarks in full … Thank you, ADL, for this recognition and your work in fighting racism, hate and bigotry.
Discussion:
Reason, Algemeiner.com and Mashable
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Peter Baker / New York Times:
Bolton Teases a City Eager to Hear His Story — John R. Bolton, President Trump's former national security adviser, said he was breaking his silence — on Twitter. But what he meant was that he was taking back control of his Twitter account. He kept quiet on Ukraine and impeachment.
Discussion:
Big League Politics, New York Post, ABC News, IJR, Mediaite and Raw Story
Jennifer Haberkorn / Los Angeles Times:
Schiff isn't ruling out more impeachment hearings — The House Intelligence Committee has begun work on its report in the impeachment inquiry against President Trump, Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) said in an interview Friday. — The committee, which on Thursday wrapped up public testimony …
Discussion:
ABC News
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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, The Daily Signal and Politico
Alex Kotch / Sludge:
Nation's Biggest Charity Is Funding Influential White Nationalist Group — A charitable nonprofit linked to Fidelity Investments has donated at least $100,000 to the New Century Foundation, the organization behind white nationalist publication American Renaissance, since mid-2015. — EDITED BY
Discussion:
HuffPost
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 …
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.
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:
Daily Kos, Raw Story, Fox News and Washington Post
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:
New York Times, Vox and POLITICUSUSA
Andrew Feinberg / The Independent:
After a damaging week and a bizarre Fox rant, psychiatrists and GOP strategists are worried for Trump — 'He has terrible judgment, and if he had real lawyers they would've hit him with a cattle-prod before they let him do that interview' — For a man who craves the spotlight …
Darwin BondGraham / The Appeal:
In a Private Facebook Group, California Police Brag About Breaking State Law to Help ICE — Some officers have recently boasted about breaking state law and collaborating with ICE, according to messages posted in a private Facebook group and obtained by The Appeal.
John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Chick-fil-A Caves to the Left, the Cartoon — I wrote here about Chick-fil-A caving in to liberal pressure by limiting its financial support to a small group of organizations that does not include, among others, the Salvation Army. This strikes me as an unforced error and a terrible business decision.
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 Hill, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, HuffPost, Political Wire and Raw Story