Top Items:
E.J. Dionne / Washington Post:
Why Democrats owe a debt to Mitch McConnell — Democrats owe a debt to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. — Yes, you read that right. — Recall that when Democrats were debating whether to impeach President Trump last year, those opposed to the move argued there was no chance …
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Politico:
Republicans livid over Nadler's ‘cover-up’ accusation — Senate Republicans are fuming after Rep. Jerry Nadler accused them on the Senate floor of engaging in a “cover up” to protect the president, seizing on his remarks Wednesday as a significant misstep that they say undercuts Democrats' impeachment case.
Discussion:
The Hill, Digby's Hullabaloo, Raw Story, NBC News, IJR, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Breitbart
Associated Press:
Trump says he's open to trial witnesses — but backtracks — WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate began hearing opening arguments Wednesday in President Donald Trump's impeachment trial with proceedings now on a fast track. First up: Democratic House managers making their case that Trump abused …
Discussion:
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Politico:
Trump disrupts Republican trial strategy — Just five hours after Senate Republicans carefully assembled and passed an impeachment trial framework that could clear Donald Trump by next week, the president himself delivered an unwanted surprise to the GOP: The prospect of a longer trial with lots of witnesses.
Discussion:
Associated Press
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump's eruption of lies in Davos bolsters the case against him — In a way, it's fitting that only hours after Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. sternly instructed the Senate to conduct itself as “the world's greatest deliberative body,” President Trump went before the world in Davos …
Discussion:
New York Times, Raw Story, JustOneMinute and Althouse
CNN:
CNN poll: Bernie Sanders surges to join Biden atop Democratic presidential pack — (CNN)Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has improved his standing in the national Democratic race for president, joining former Vice President Joe Biden in a two-person top tier above the rest of the field, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
Discussion:
New York Times, Associated Press, Fox News, courthousenews.com, The Hill, Washington Post, NPR, Common Dreams, Vanity Fair, Breitbart, Vox, The Week, Washington Times, Jezebel, The Guardian and The Boston Globe
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Monmouth University Polling Institute:
Democrats Want a National Primary — Little change in 2020 Dem contest, Trump reelect — West Long Branch, NJ - There has not been a lot of change in the outlook for 2020 over the past month. President Donald Trump's reelection prospects remain underwater, while Joe Biden holds onto …
Discussion:
Politico, NBC News, Breitbart, courthousenews.com, New York Times, Associated Press, CNN and American Prospect
Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:
Majority of Democratic voters support single-day national primary
Majority of Democratic voters support single-day national primary
Discussion:
Politico and Associated Press
Max Boot / Washington Post:
Trump's lawyers are playing a bad hand badly — The beginning of the impeachment trial of President Trump made clear that Democrats have not only the stronger arguments but also the stronger arguers. The House impeachment managers did a masterful job on Tuesday of marshaling the evidence …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Week, Digby's Hullabaloo and Talking Points Memo
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Daniel Dale / CNN:
Fact check: Trump lawyers make at least three false claims during impeachment arguments
Fact check: Trump lawyers make at least three false claims during impeachment arguments
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Twitchy
Washington Post:
Gordon Sondland plugs away in Brussels while playing a central role in Trump's impeachment trial
VICE:
Here Is the Technical Report Suggesting Saudi Arabia's Prince Hacked Jeff Bezos' Phone — A report investigating the potential hack of Jeff Bezos' iPhone indicates that forensic investigators found a suspicious file but no evidence of any malware on the phone.
Discussion:
The Guardian, FOX2now.com, Defense One, Common Dreams, New Republic, Politico, New York Post, Wired and American Greatness, more at Techmeme »
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OHCHR:
UN experts call for investigation into allegations that Saudi Crown Prince involved in hacking of Jeff Bezos' phone
UN experts call for investigation into allegations that Saudi Crown Prince involved in hacking of Jeff Bezos' phone
Discussion:
New York Times, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, The Guardian, Mother Jones, The Verge, UPI, Fortune, New York Post, Politico, Axios and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »
The Daily Beast:
Saudi Prince Taunted Jeff Bezos Over Secret Affair Before Enquirer Exposé
Saudi Prince Taunted Jeff Bezos Over Secret Affair Before Enquirer Exposé
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, NSO Group, Washington Post, Raw Story, Financial Times and Fortune, more at Mediagazer »
Ben Riley-Smith / Telegraph:
Boris Johnson communicated with Saudi crown prince on WhatsApp, ex-UK officials say
Boris Johnson communicated with Saudi crown prince on WhatsApp, ex-UK officials say
Discussion:
The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »
Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
Glenn Greenwald on Brazil's Charges Against Him — On Tuesday, Brazilian prosecutors charged the journalist Glenn Greenwald with “cybercrimes” as part of what the government claims was his role in a “criminal organization.” They allege that Greenwald—who reported on wrongdoing …
Discussion:
Jacobin, New York Times, New Republic, Common Dreams, emptywheel, Reason, Mediaite, The Guardian and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »
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New York Times:
Trump Opens Door to Cuts to Medicare and Other Entitlement Programs — The president signaled a willingness to scale back Medicare, a shift from his 2016 platform of protecting welfare programs. — WASHINGTON — President Trump suggested on Wednesday that he would be willing to consider cuts …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Axios, National Review, DCCC, Wall Street Journal, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Bern Notice and Mediaite
Myah Ward / Politico:
Trump sets new Twitter record for presidency — President Donald Trump posted more than 140 times on Twitter on Wednesday, surpassing his mid-December record for the most daily tweets and retweets during his presidency. — The president flooded his Twitter account during the second …
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David Edwards / Raw Story:
Lindsey Graham goes berserk at impeachment presser: 'I'm not covering up anything, I'm exposing your hatred!'
Peter Wade / Rolling Stone:
Trump Brags About Concealing Impeachment Evidence: 'We Have All the Material, They Don't'
Trump Brags About Concealing Impeachment Evidence: 'We Have All the Material, They Don't'
Discussion:
Mother Jones, HuffPost and Law & Crime
Alana Goodman / Washington Examiner:
Hunter Biden renting $12,000-per-month Hollywood home while defying child support suit — Hunter Biden is defying a court order to disclose his financial information as part of a child support fight while renting a $3.8 million designer home in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, for $12,000 per month.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Pew Research Center:
By a Narrow Margin, Americans Say Senate Trial Should Result in Trump's Removal — Majority says Trump has definitely or probably done things that are illegal — How we did this — As the Senate impeachment trial gets underway, slightly more Americans say that Donald Trump should be removed …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Hill and Bloomberg
Jack Allison / The Outline:
Live from New York, it's Michael Che's weird fixation with me — My feud with the ‘Saturday Night Live’ head writer has lasted several months all because I said his show was unfunny. — Culture — My feud with the ‘Saturday Night Live’ head writer has lasted several months all because I said his show was unfunny.
Roger Parloff / Newsweek:
Reagan's solicitor general says ‘All honorable people’ have left Trump's Cabinet: ‘He is capable of doing serious damage’ — THE NEWSWEEK INTERVIEW — Charles Fried was a fervent, superior officer on the frontlines of the Reagan Revolution. As solicitor general of the United States from 1985 to 1989 …
Sean Wilentz / The Atlantic:
A Matter of Facts — With much fanfare, The New York Times Magazine devoted an entire issue in August to what it called the 1619 Project. The project's aim, the magazine announced, was to reinterpret the entirety of American history. “Our democracy's founding ideals,” its lead essay proclaimed, “were false when they were written.”
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
Maker of Hit Podcast ‘Serial’ Explores Sale — Serial Productions has one of the best-known brands in digital audio; New York Times considered a potential suitor — The company behind the hit true-crime podcast “Serial” is exploring a sale, according to a person familiar with the matter …
Laura Geggel / NBC News:
Ancient viruses never observed by humans discovered in Tibetan glacier — Melting ice from climate change could release the pathogens into the environment, one researcher said, calling it a “worst-case scenario.” — For the past 15,000 years, a glacier on the northwestern Tibetan Plateau …
Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
Kushner's FBI interviews to be held for review, Justice Department says — (CNN)The Justice Department did not hand over the FBI's summary of Jared Kushner's interviews with special counsel Robert Mueller last week — despite a judge's order to do so — because “a member of the intelligence community” …
Bill Bowden / Arkansas Online:
Appear in Arkansas court, explain, judge orders Hunter Biden — Hunter Biden must appear Jan. 29 in a Batesville courtroom and explain why he shouldn't be held in contempt for violating court orders to provide financial information in his Arkansas paternity case.
Discussion:
Townhall, Breitbart, Fox News, PJ Media Home, The Gateway Pundit and National Review
Wall Street Journal:
Veterans Differ With Trump Over Injuries From Iran Missile Attack — President says U.S. injuries in attack in Iraq weren't very serious; veterans say his comments were ignorant — WASHINGTON— President Trump said the head injuries suffered by American service members in an Iranian missile strike weren't …
Discussion:
Mother Jones
Philip Bobbitt / Lawfare:
Alan Dershowitz's Strange Constitutional Arguments on Impoundment and Foreign Policy — On Jan. 17, the White House announced that Alan Dershowitz would be joining the president's defense team in his Senate impeachment trial. That same day, Dershowitz published a statement defending President …
Discussion:
Spectator USA and Power Line
Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
A Netflix Deal, a $15 Million Memoir, and Other Likelihoods of Harry and Meghan's Post-Royal Business Model — Hollywood and publishing sources say Megxit can definitely be monetized. But “the idea that there's an Obama analog here strikes me as a real stretch,” says one.
Discussion:
Breitbart
BBC:
Monty Python star Terry Jones dies aged 77 — Monty Python star Terry Jones has died at the age of 77, his agent has said … You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts.
Discussion:
BBC
John Ganz / The Outline:
Andrew Yang and the New American Tories — What links celebrity Yang supporters like Dave Chappelle, Rivers Cuomo, and Norm MacDonald? — Power — What links celebrity Yang supporters like Dave Chappelle, Rivers Cuomo, and Norm MacDonald? — A great groaning and rolling-of-eyes seized …
Christopher Miller / BuzzFeed News:
Mike Pompeo Is Going To Ukraine — KYIV — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Ukraine next week, just as the Senate's impeachment trial of Donald Trump on charges he sought to pressure Ukraine's government into investigating Joe Biden heats up.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA and Axios
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Democrats shoot down talk of Bolton, Hunter Biden witness swap — Senate Democrats are dismissing chatter about attempts at an agreement that would guarantee former national security adviser John Bolton testifies in President Trump's impeachment trial in exchange for former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden also testifying.
Discussion:
ABC News, BuzzFeed News, Associated Press, Washington Post, Breitbart and IJR
Kyle Mantyla / Right Wing Watch:
Virulent Anti-Semite Rick Wiles Has Once Again Received White House Press Credentials — As we have noted several times before, right-wing conspiracy theorist and End Times broadcaster Rick Wiles is deeply anti-Semitic and dedicates many of his TruNews programs to railing against Israel and Jews.
Discussion:
Mediaite and The American Independent