Top Items:
Washington Post:
Barr doesn't accept key inspector general finding about FBI's Russia investigation — Attorney General William P. Barr has told associates he disagrees with the Justice Department's inspector general on one of the key findings in an upcoming report — that the FBI had enough information …
Discussion:
New York Times, Redstate, Townhall, Axios, The Hill, The Last Refuge, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, The Guardian and Raw Story
RELATED:
Jason Leopold / BuzzFeed News:
Here Are The Latest Secret Memos From Mueller's Report — BuzzFeed News sued the US government for the right to see all the work that Mueller's team kept secret. Today we are publishing the second installment of the FBI's summaries of interviews with key witnesses.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Axios, The Hill, CNN and Raw Story
Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:
Newly released documents shed light on Mueller-Trump meeting — Trump has claimed Mueller applied to be FBI director and was “turned down.” But the documents don't back up the president's version of events. — Former special counsel Robert Mueller had taken himself out of the running …
Jerry Dunleavy / Washington Examiner:
Hope Hicks says Trump Achilles's heel is intelligence assessment of Russia 2016 election interference
Hope Hicks says Trump Achilles's heel is intelligence assessment of Russia 2016 election interference
Discussion:
Raw Story
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Rep. Duncan Hunter to plead guilty in campaign finance scandal, leave Congress — Longtime congressman says he wants to spare his family the spectacle of a trial, which was to start Jan. 22 — After years of denials and claims he was the target of a political witch hunt, Rep. Duncan Hunter …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Raw Story, Bloomberg, Law & Crime and The American Independent
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KUSI Newsroom / KUSI-TV:
Congressman Duncan D. Hunter announces guilty plea on one count of misuse of campaign funds — SAN DIEGO - For 39 years, the Hunter family has represented San Diego in the 50th Congressional District, but that may come to an end next year. — Hunter is is charged with using campaign funds …
John Bresnahan / Politico:
Rep. Duncan Hunter to plead guilty in campaign finance violations case
Rep. Duncan Hunter to plead guilty in campaign finance violations case
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, KUSI-TV, Fox News and NBC News
Natasha Bertrand / Politico:
Senate panel look into Ukraine interference comes up short — With the impeachment inquiry charging forward, President Donald Trump's allies have defended his demand for political investigations from Ukraine by claiming that the government in Kyiv tried to sabotage his candidacy and boost Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Hill, Political Wire, Washington Post, HotAir, Raw Story, CNN, Mediaite and The Daily Beast
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James Downie / Washington Post:
The useful idiot from Louisiana
The useful idiot from Louisiana
Discussion:
The Independent and Axios
Jake Tapper / CNN:
GOP-led committee probed possible Ukraine interference in 2016 election and found nothing worth pursuing, sources say
GOP-led committee probed possible Ukraine interference in 2016 election and found nothing worth pursuing, sources say
Discussion:
Vanity Fair and Mediaite
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
John Kennedy vs. Vladimir Putin: How Trump defenders' Ukraine talking points compare to what Russians say
John Kennedy vs. Vladimir Putin: How Trump defenders' Ukraine talking points compare to what Russians say
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Hill, The American Independent, One America News Network, The Bulwark, Mediaite, KyivPost and Daily Kos
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Assessing the Republicans' 10 ‘findings’ in their impeachment inquiry report
Assessing the Republicans' 10 ‘findings’ in their impeachment inquiry report
Discussion:
KyivPost
Alayna Treene / Axios:
GOP impeachment report claims Trump did nothing wrong — President Trump committed “no quid pro quo, bribery, extortion, or abuse of power,” Republicans on the House committees investigating the Ukraine controversy have concluded in a 110-page report reviewed by Axios ahead of its formal release.
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, ABC News, Breitbart and Associated Press
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Rachael Bade / Washington Post:
Democrats quietly debate expanding impeachment articles beyond Ukraine — House Democrats are quietly debating whether to expand articles of impeachment to include charges beyond abuse of power in the Ukraine controversy, setting up a potential internal clash as the party races to impeach President Trump by Christmastime.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and The Atlantic
Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
House Judiciary announces impeachment witnesses
House Judiciary announces impeachment witnesses
Discussion:
Politico and The Gateway Pundit
Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Democrats Ready Impeachment Report as Republicans Argue Trump Did Nothing Wrong
Democrats Ready Impeachment Report as Republicans Argue Trump Did Nothing Wrong
Discussion:
HuffPost, UPI, NBC News, Daily Kos, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mediaite
Natasha Korecki / Politico:
Biden says he doesn't need Obama's endorsement — EMMETSBURG, Iowa — Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday said he didn't need Barack Obama's endorsement in the Democratic primary, even if the field were down to three people. — He also scoffed at the notion that Sen. Elizabeth Warren …
Discussion:
Reuters, ABC News, The Hill, The Independent, HotAir, Twitchy, Washington Times and NBC News
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Washington Post:
North Dakota company that Trump touted gets $400 million border wall contract — A company that President Trump urged military officials to hire for border wall construction has been awarded a $400 million contract to build a span of new barrier across an Arizona wildlife refuge …
Discussion:
The Hill and Political Wire
Adam Klasfeld / courthousenews.com:
Giuliani Associate Lev Parnas Cleared to Comply With Impeachment Subpoena — MANHATTAN (CN) - A federal judge paved the way on Monday for Rudy Giuliani's associate Lev Parnas to comply with a House subpoena for information relevant to the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
VICE and Law & Crime
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Robin Givhan / Washington Post:
Melania Trump's Christmas decorations are lovely, but that coat looks ridiculous — First lady Melania Trump unveiled this year's White House Christmas decorations in a gauzy video in which she strolls through the public rooms marveling at their holiday luster.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit, SPIN, ABC News, Twitchy, IJR, CNN and The Daily Caller
Tess Bonn / The Hill:
Bloomberg overtakes Harris in new poll — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) topped Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) in a new Hill-HarrisX poll of the Democratic presidential primary race. — The survey released on Monday found that support for the former mayor ticked …
Discussion:
Breitbart
RELATED:
Kathleen Ronayne / Associated Press:
California Gov. Newsom to campaign in Iowa for Kamala Harris
California Gov. Newsom to campaign in Iowa for Kamala Harris
Discussion:
Axios
Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
Trump administration quietly releases Lebanon military aid — 1 of 3 — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has quietly released more than $100 million in military assistance to Lebanon after months of unexplained delay. — That's according to two congressional staffers …
Discussion:
United States Department …, CNN, Axios, Fox News, One America News Network and Talking Points Memo
Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Kelly Loeffler to have powerful ally after she's tapped to Senate in Georgia — Kemp to formally announce Loeffler on Wednesday at 10 a.m. — When Gov. Brian Kemp announces on Wednesday that he's picked Kelly Loeffler for an open U.S. Senate seat, she'll have some powerful backup to help defend her new post.
Discussion:
Breitbart, New York Times, Big League Politics, Roll Call and Washington Free Beacon
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Oliver Milman / The Guardian:
Defiant Mark Zuckerberg defends Facebook policy to allow false ads — Zuckerberg says ‘people should be able to judge for themselves the character of politicians’ and compares alternative to censorship — Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has defended the company's decision …
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Washington Post:
The surprising second choices of Democratic primary voters upend political cliches — A war between ‘progressives’ and ‘moderates’? Voters don't see things the way pundits do. — To many observers, the Democratic presidential primary has highlighted the “profound ideological divides between …
Angelo Fichera / FactCheck.org:
Photo Manipulated to Show Schiff With Epstein — Quick Take — A doctored photo circulating on Facebook purports to show Rep. Adam Schiff with the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The original photo shows Schiff with his father. — Full Story
New York Times:
French Wine Could Face 100% Tariffs as Trump Confronts France Over Tech Taxes — A report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative renewed a conflict between the countries, which had negotiated a temporary truce in August. — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said on Monday …
RELATED:
Jeremy Wallace / Houston Chronicle:
Democrat Beto O'Rourke turns his attention to flipping the Texas House — A month after ending his presidential campaign, Democrat Beto O'Rourke has turned his attention to state politics — namely, an effort to help flip the Texas House of Representatives from Republican control to the Democrats.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Washington Post:
‘A pretty strong betrayal’: Brazil's Bolsonaro joins other leaders in learning that a good personal relationship with Trump has its limits — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro learned the hard way Monday what many other leaders have discovered before him: A good personal relationship with President Trump has its limits.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Makeda Easter / Los Angeles Times:
Border Patrol threw away migrants' belongings. A janitor saved and photographed them — From a distance, it's hard to make out the details of a bright yellow photograph that seems like a piece of Pop art. But up close, the carefully arranged assortment of objects — colorful pills …
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Wealthy Mercer family spent millions on conservative causes in 2018 as they distanced themselves from Trump — Republican megadonors Robert and Rebekah Mercer donated over $12 million to a variety of conservative causes last year despite distancing themselves from being associated with President Donald Trump.
Dan Levin / New York Times:
‘OxyContin Just Started Showing Up’ — Purdue Pharma introduced its opioid painkiller, OxyContin, in 1996, when the Class of 2000 entered high school. Some students began experimenting, often combining prescription opiates with alcohol at parties. — For many, what started …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and Gothamist
Ally Mutnick / Politico:
Republicans in turmoil as redistricting looms — The GOP group charged with winning state legislatures is in turmoil — sparking concerns that the party is at risk of blowing the next round of redistricting. — The Republican State Leadership Committee has seen an exodus of top staff in recent months …
Discussion:
Raw Story