2 GOP senators say McConnell will move to acquit Trump, not merely dismiss charges  —  (CNN)Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is expected to hold a final vote to acquit President Donald Trump should he be impeached, when a majority of senators believe his trial has run its course instead …

William Barr is unfit to be attorney general  —  Eric H. Holder Jr., a Democrat, was U.S. attorney general from 2009 to 2015.  —  As a former U.S. attorney general, I am reluctant to publicly criticize my successors.  I respect the office and understand just how tough the job can be.

Report: Trump's Ukraine Extortion Scheme Was Financed by Russia  —  President Trump is facing impeachment primarily for abusing his power for political gain, extorting a foreign country to discredit his political rivals.  The secondary aspect of the plot is that the target of his extortion is hardly random.

DOJ charges 10 former NFL players in alleged health care fraud scheme  —  The scheme involved over $3.9 million in false health care claims.  —  The Department of Justice announced charges Thursday against 10 former NFL players over an alleged scheme to defraud millions of dollars from the league's health care benefits program.

President Trump considering adding controversial lawyer Alan Dershowitz to impeachment legal team: Sources  —  Donald Trump is gearing up for his impeachment defense in the Senate.  —  Gearing up for an impeachment trial in the Senate, President Donald Trump and his top advisers …

Fox's Chris Wallace: Trump is ‘Engaged in the Most Direct, Sustained Assault on Freedom of the Press in Our History’  —  Fox News anchor Chris Wallace called out President Donald Trump's attacks on the press in a speech at the Newseum in Washington D.C. Friday night.

Bevin pardons include convicted killer whose brother hosted campaign fundraiser for him  —  The family of a man pardoned by Gov. Matt Bevin for a homicide and other crimes in a fatal 2014 Knox County home invasion raised $21,500 at a political fundraiser last year to retire debt from Bevin's 2015 gubernatorial campaign.

Pentagon watchdog plans to review award of $400M border wall contract to firm touted by Trump  —  Fisher Sand & Gravel has been publicly and privately endorsed to build the wall by members of the Trump administration, including the president himself.  —  WASHINGTON — The Defense Department's …

Trump mocks Greta Thunberg after she wins Time Person of the Year  —  “So ridiculous,” Trump tweeted.  “Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend!  Chill Greta, Chill!”  —  Trump mocks Time's Person of the Year on Twitter

An Inside Look at the Impeachment Case's Most Intriguing Moments  —  Members of the House granted The New York Times rare access to photograph their impeachment preparations.  —  Some of the most intriguing moments in the impeachment fight on Capitol Hill take place in private …

Elizabeth Warren Draws Sharp Contrasts With Rivals in New Hampshire Speech  —  Ms. Warren, who has ramped up her criticism of her presidential opponents after months of avoiding conflict, issued another rebuke Thursday in a speech about the economy and corruption.

Lachlan Murdoch Sets L.A. Record by Paying $150 Million for a Château-Style Mansion  —  Once listed for $350 million, the Bel-Air estate of late media tycoon A. Jerrold Perenchio is the second priciest home ever to have traded in the U.S.  —  Lachlan Murdoch, media executive and son …

Can You Spot the Fake?  Hint: Look at the pundits.  —  The week before the last Democratic primary debate of 2019, a panel of pundits on MSNBC's Morning Joe gathered to make an explicit critique of one of the candidates.  Citing a “whiff of fraudulence,” political writer John Heilemann talked …

If Trump Is a Unique Danger Why Aren't Democrats Acting Like It?  —  Crisis.  An existential threat to our democracy.  A mortal danger.  A White Supremacist.  Emergency  —  This is what President Trump's opponents on the left say they believe about the current administration.

In a Turnabout, Kentucky to Give Voting Rights to 100,000 Former Felons  —  The state's new Democratic governor has said he will restore rights to many former felons, easing one of the nation's strictest policies.  Iowa would be alone in barring voting by all felons.

NBC News, MSNBC to host February Democratic debate in Las Vegas  —  The event, the third NBC News debate of the 2020 election cycle, comes in the midst of the early-state primary voting.  —  NBC News and MSNBC will host a Democratic presidential primary debate Feb. 19 in Las Vegas, the Democratic National Committee announced Thursday.

A plurality of Americans—but not of states—want Donald Trump impeached  —  The president continues to benefit from the constitution's pro-rural bias  —  Donald trump owes his presidency to America's quaint system of electing leaders.  Despite losing the popular vote …

The False Romance of Russia  —  Sherwood Eddy was a prominent American missionary as well as that now rare thing, a Christian socialist.  In the 1920s and '30s, he made more than a dozen trips to the Soviet Union.  He was not blind to the problems of the U.S.S.R., but he also found much to like.

What if Trump Weren't Nuts?  —  A moment when the president of the United States is on the verge of being impeached and also enacting a major bipartisan trade agreement is a good time to ponder the question: What if Donald Trump were not, um, you know ... what is the phrase we are groping for?