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Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:
AT WAR WITH THE TRUTH … A confidential trove of government documents obtained by The Washington Post reveals that senior U.S. officials failed to tell the truth about the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign, making rosy pronouncements they knew to be false and hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable.
Discussion:
National Review, CNN, New York Post, Reason, New York Times, Mediaite, IJR, Raw Story and Instapundit
New York Times:
The Indispensable Man: How Giuliani Led Trump to the Brink of Impeachment — Not so long ago, it seemed to Rudolph W. Giuliani that he would be presiding over a hefty part of the world. — Holding court a few nights after the 2016 election in a private cigar bar on Fifth Avenue …
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Franklin Foer / The Atlantic:
Rudy Giuliani Knows What He's Doing — It can sometimes seem as if Donald Trump has outsourced the defense of his presidency to an erratic buffoon. Rudy Giuliani is the self-styled security expert who can't stop butt-dialing. He is the trusted attorney whom journalists routinely bait into damning admissions.
Paul LeBlanc / CNN:
Washington Post: Barr told Trump he was not being well served by Giuliani — Washington (CNN)Attorney General William Barr counseled President Donald Trump that his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani has become a liability for his administration, The Washington Post reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the conversations.
Discussion:
Mediaite
Washington Post:
Impeachment hearings live updates: Judiciary Committee begins hearing cases for and against Trump's removal
Impeachment hearings live updates: Judiciary Committee begins hearing cases for and against Trump's removal
Washington Post:
Inside Giuliani's dual roles: Power-broker-for-hire and shadow foreign policy adviser
Inside Giuliani's dual roles: Power-broker-for-hire and shadow foreign policy adviser
Discussion:
NBC News, Vanity Fair, The Hill, JONATHAN TURLEY, Mediaite, The Independent and Raw Story
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
House Judiciary Committee holds hearing on impeachment evidence: Live updates
House Judiciary Committee holds hearing on impeachment evidence: Live updates
Discussion:
Axios
New York Times:
With White House Absent, Impeachment Devolves Into Partisan Brawl
With White House Absent, Impeachment Devolves Into Partisan Brawl
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, No More Mister Nice Blog, Associated Press, POLITICUSUSA, Daily Kos and Raw Story
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
The Eight Counts of Impeachment That Trump Deserves
Katie Benner / New York Times:
Barr Allows for Release of Additional Details About Ex-Spy Behind Steele Dossier — The British former spy was told on the eve of its release that a highly anticipated inspector general's report would contain further information about him than he had expected.
Discussion:
Redstate, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Fox News
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Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
How Giuliani and Barr set out to defend Trump
How Giuliani and Barr set out to defend Trump
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, ABC News and NBC News
Susan Simpson / Just Security:
Seven Outright Falsehoods in GOP Staff Report on Impeachment — On December 2, 2019, Republican staff of the three committees overseeing the impeachment inquiry published a report prepared for the GOP Chairs: Representatives Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan, and Michael McCaul.
Discussion:
emptywheel
New York Times:
Paul A. Volcker, Fed Chairman Who Waged War on Inflation, Is Dead at 92 — Mr. Volcker helped shape American economic policy for decades, notably by leading the Federal Reserve's brute-force campaign to subdue inflation in the 1970s and '80s. — Paul A. Volcker, who helped shape American economic policy …
Christopher Mathias / HuffPost:
Kamala Harris Leads Senators In Demanding ‘Immediate Removal’ Of Stephen Miller — More than half of Senate Democrats say Miller's “demonstrable white nationalist ideology has been directly translated” into Trump administration policy. — Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) …
Discussion:
The Independent
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs / New York Times:
Pensacola Attack Probed for Terrorism Link. Saudi Suspect Clashed With Instructor. — The F.B.I. said it was conducting a terrorism investigation into the shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, as new information emerged about the gunman's training at the facility.
Discussion:
VICE, New York Post, UPI, Florida Politics, The Dispatch and PBS NewsHour
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Firehouse Strategies:
BREAKING: As Impeachment Moves Ahead Trump Surges in Battleground States — Firehouse/Optimus December Battleground State Poll: As Impeachment Moves Ahead, President Trump Well-Positioned Against Leading Democratic Contenders — This week we continued our quarterly battleground polling series in Michigan …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Axios and Breitbart
New York Times:
India Prepares to Block Naturalization for Muslims — A bill establishing a religious test for immigration to India is expected to pass Parliament, a major step for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist agenda. — HYDERABAD, India — India took a major step toward …
Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:
AP Interview: Warren says voters are ready for female ticket — 1 of 4 — CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Elizabeth Warren said Sunday she believes Americans are ready for a presidential ticket with two women at the top, rejecting concerns from some Democrats that a woman can't beat President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
NBC News, The Hill, Breitbart, Axios and The Guardian
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New York Times:
Sanna Marin of Finland to Become World's Youngest Prime Minister — At 34, Ms. Marin will head a coalition made up of five parties, in a government led by women. — HELSINKI, Finland — Sanna Marin, 34, is set to become the world's youngest sitting prime minister when she is sworn in this week in Finland …
Meridith McGraw / Politico:
Possible pardons loom for former Trump aides — Roger Stone's supporters are making a pardon pitch everywhere President Donald Trump looks: Fox News, InfoWars, Twitter, even the White House driveway. — Michael Flynn abruptly hired a bombastic lawyer who spouts Trump-friendly theories …
Discussion:
Raw Story
CNN:
Trump to meet with Russian foreign minister Tuesday — WaPo: Prosecutor finds no evidence Russia probe was a setup — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump is planning to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday in Washington, an encounter that is sure …
Margaret Talev / Axios:
Biden promises restrictions on Hunter, family if elected — Former Vice President Joe Biden, in an interview with “Axios on HBO,” promised to prohibit his son Hunter, and other family members, from cashing in on his name and position overseas if he wins the presidency.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, National Review, Politico, Disrn, Political Wire, Breitbart, HuffPost, New York Post and Mediaite
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Jenny Vrentas / Sports Illustrated:
2019 Sportsperson of the Year: Megan Rapinoe — Playing the world's game, on the world's stage, under attack by a world leader, she dominated. And in doing so without fear, Megan Rapinoe became a voice for so many across the world. — Before the final whistle, before the chants of …
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The massive triumph of the rich, illustrated by stunning new data — The triumph of the rich, which is one of the defining stories of our time, is generally described as largely the reflection of two factors. The first, of course, is the explosion of income among top earners …
Washington Post:
White House, congressional Democrats on cusp of revised North American trade deal, Trumka says — The White House and House Democrats are on the cusp of finalizing a new trade deal for North America, a major achievement for President Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that comes even as Democrats prepare to impeach the president.
Mariel Padilla / New York Times:
NATO Conference Is Canceled After U.S. Ambassador Barred a Trump Critic — An expert was scheduled to speak at the Copenhagen event but was told the ambassador, Carla Sands, had vetoed his participation. — The United States ambassador to Denmark barred an American NATO expert critical …
Discussion:
Stan Sloan, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, Balloon Juice and BuzzFeed News
Joshua Green / Bloomberg:
Don't Look Now, But Things Are Getting Brighter for Trump — For a guy who's about to be impeached, President Trump is looking like he's in better and better shape to be reelected. — A year ago, the Federal Reserve was about to make its fourth interest rate hike. Stock markets were plummeting.
James Queally / Los Angeles Times:
Claremont Nativity scene depicts Jesus, Mary and Joseph as refugees separated in cages — A Methodist church in Claremont unveiled a Nativity scene Saturday night depicting Jesus, Mary and Joseph as refugees in cages, likening one of the most well-known images of the Christmas season to photos …
Discussion:
Karen Clark Ristine, Breitbart, Common Dreams and FOX6Now.com
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Facebook ads push misinformation about HIV prevention drugs, LGBT activists say, ‘harming public health’ — Fifty-two top LGBT advocates say the company has ignored their calls to action, creating a major public-health concern that puts patients at risk. — Facebook users have been bombarded …
Kim Tong-hyung / Associated Press:
North Korea calls Trump ‘erratic’ old man over tweets — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea insulted U.S. President Donald Trump again on Monday, calling him a “heedless and erratic old man” after he tweeted that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wouldn't want to abandon a special relationship between …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Contemptor
Lauren Fruen / Daily Mail:
Fox and Friends host Pete Hegseth is ‘BANNED from Twitter’ after sharing anti-American ‘manifesto’ of Pensacola shooter Mohammed Alshamrani — Alshamrani's social media, which was taken down after the attack, appeared to show a variety of anti-Israel postings and a quote from Osama bin Laden
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VodkaPundit