Top Items:
New York Times:
Barr Hands Prosecutors the Authority to Investigate Voter Fraud Claims — The attorney general said that he had authorized “instances” of investigative steps but that inquiries should not be based on specious claims. — WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr …
Discussion:
CNN, Axios, Bloomberg, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Sputnik News and Washington Times
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Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:
Barr OKs election probes despite little evidence of fraud — WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr has authorized federal prosecutors across the U.S. to pursue “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities before the 2020 presidential election is certified, despite little evidence of fraud.
Associated Press:
Refusing to concede, Trump blocks cooperation on transition — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration threw the presidential transition into tumult on Monday, Attorney General William Barr authorizing the Justice Department to probe allegations of voter fraud and President Donald …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Law & Crime, Slate, Alternet.org and Wall Street Journal
New York Times:
Growing Discomfort at Law Firms Representing Trump in Election Lawsuits — Some lawyers at Jones Day and Porter Wright, which have filed suits about the 2020 vote, said they were worried about undermining the electoral system. — Like many big law firms, Jones Day, whose roots …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Hill and electionlawblog.org
David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
GOP fears conceding Trump loss would spark base revolt and loss of seats — Top Republicans in Washington are reluctant to call Joe Biden the president-elect publicly, fearing a rebellion by grassroots conservatives loyal to President Trump that would sink the party's Senate majority.
Discussion:
ABC News, CBS News, New York Times, NBC News, BuzzFeed News, Washington Post, RedState, Religion News Service, The Week and Politico
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Washington Post:
Top Republicans back Trump's efforts to challenge election results — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans on Monday backed President Trump's efforts to contest his loss to President-elect Joe Biden, despite the lack of evidence of significant fraud and sharp rebukes …
Discussion:
CNN, NPR, Reuters, USA Today, Politico, New York Times, Twin Cities, Raw Story, Political Wire, Associated Press, Althouse, Alternet.org and Wall Street Journal
Axios:
McConnell defends Trump's refusal to concede to Biden
McConnell defends Trump's refusal to concede to Biden
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NBC News, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, HotAir and Raw Story
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
McConnell declines in floor speech to congratulate Biden as president-elect
McConnell declines in floor speech to congratulate Biden as president-elect
Meghann Myers / Military Times:
Exclusive: Esper, on his way out, says he was no yes man — As had long been expected, President Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, cutting short what would have otherwise been his final months at the Pentagon, in anticipation of President-elect Joe Biden's transition in January.
Discussion:
Business Insider, Washington Examiner, Defense News, Washington Post, NPR, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Vanity Fair, Slate, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, HotAir, CNN, GovExec.com, Raw Story, Washington Times, The Guardian, Fox News, KSLNewsRadio, The Hill, Task & Purpose, One America News Network, UPI, Politico and Hackwhackers
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CNN:
Trump fires Secretary of Defense Mark Esper — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump announced on Twitter Monday that he has fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and that Christopher Miller, who serves as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will become acting secretary “effective immediately.”
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Leaked call audio shows Trump officials denying election results
Leaked call audio shows Trump officials denying election results
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, Business Insider, CNBC and Alternet.org
Politico:
GOP-led states back Trump's legal drive to challenge election — Republican-controlled state governments on Monday began throwing their weight behind President Donald Trump's legal drive to challenge the results of last week's presidential election. — A coalition of Republican attorneys general filed …
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Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Trump's quest to end the Affordable Care Act arrives at Supreme Court
Trump's quest to end the Affordable Care Act arrives at Supreme Court
Discussion:
Kaiser Health News, New York Post, WHYY, CNBC and ABC News
Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:
Biden to speak Tuesday on protecting Obamacare as Supreme Court hears case that could overturn law
Biden to speak Tuesday on protecting Obamacare as Supreme Court hears case that could overturn law
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Politico
Maryclaire Dale / Associated Press:
Trump faces long odds in challenging state vote counts
Trump faces long odds in challenging state vote counts
Discussion:
USA Today, Brookings and Washington Post
Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News:
MSNBC reportedly lets Jon Meacham go as contributor after not disclosing he was a speechwriter for Biden — MSNBC did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment — Bill McGurn reacts to Biden's first speech as president-elect — Presidential historian Jon Meacham …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
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Religion News Service:
Bishop Harry Jackson Jr., Trump evangelical adviser, has died — Bishop Harry Jackson of Maryland speaks at the unveiling of the “Justice Declaration,” a statement by Christian leaders on criminal justice, in Washington, D.C., on June 20, 2017. RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks — Flip
New York Times:
Pfizer's Early Data Shows Vaccine Is More Than 90% Effective — Pfizer announced positive early results from its coronavirus vaccine trial, cementing the lead in a frenzied global race that has unfolded at record-breaking speed. — The drug maker Pfizer announced on Monday that an early analysis …
Discussion:
The Federalist, CBS News, New Republic, Pfizer, HotAir, The Guardian, Vox, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Twitchy, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Bloomberg, Spectator USA, ThePalmieriReport, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, Alternet.org, Business Insider, Calculated Risk, New York Post, Slate, Variety, Financial Times, Forbes, COURIER, Townhall, The Daily Caller, Vanity Fair, CBS Philly, Common Dreams, The American Independent, Crooks and Liars, IJR, CBS Boston, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, Rolling Stone and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
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Zachary Brennan / Politico:
FDA grants emergency authorization for Lilly antibody treatment
FDA grants emergency authorization for Lilly antibody treatment
Discussion:
New York Times, CBS News, Forbes, 6abc, WJBF-TV and New York Post
Jan Wolfe / Reuters:
Trump campaign sues to halt Pennsylvania from certifying Biden win — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign on Monday filed a lawsuit in a Pennsylvania federal court, seeking an emergency injunction to stop state officials from certifying Joe Biden's victory in the state.
Discussion:
The Hill, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Townhall and The Guardian
RELATED:
Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:
Trump Campaign Files Federal Lawsuit Seeking to Block Pennsylvania from Certifying Election Results
Trump Campaign Files Federal Lawsuit Seeking to Block Pennsylvania from Certifying Election Results
Discussion:
6abc and NBC10 Philadelphia
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Trump privately discussing 2024 run — President Trump has already told advisers he's thinking about running for president again in 2024, two sources familiar with the conversations tell Axios. — Why it matters: This is the clearest indication yet that Trump understands he has lost …
Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
Nate Cohn Explains What the Polls Got Wrong — Last week, Joe Biden was elected the forty-sixth President of the United States, defeating Donald Trump by what is likely to be several percentage points nationwide. The margins in crucial swing states, however, were closer than polling averages suggested that they would be.
Elizabeth Dwoskin / Washington Post:
Facebook takes down a large network of pages tied to Stephen Bannon for pushing misinformation — The pages, which pushed the ‘Stop the Steal’ effort and other misleading messages, were removed over the weekend, while the former top Trump strategist's account was frozen
Discussion:
Raw Story and Breitbart, more at Techmeme »
Evan Osnos / New Yorker:
Pulling Our Politics Back from the Brink — After a bitterly contested election, the country teeters between persuasion and force. — In the hours after Election Day, as Donald Trump seemed on the point of losing the Presidency, he spiralled through emotions like Lear on the heath …
Discussion:
Politico, CNN, Roll Call, IJR, The Marshall Project and Washington Post, more at Techmeme »
Hunter Walker / Yahoo News:
Trump's election challenge is continuing, but the campaign is already shedding staff — WASHINGTON — Two days after Joe Biden was declared the winner in the presidential election, President Trump and his allies have vowed to keep on fighting, but his campaign team has already let go of some staff …
Discussion:
The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Washington Times, Raw Story and New York Post
New York Times:
Trump Administration Removes Scientist in Charge of Assessing Climate Change — Michael Kuperberg was told he would no longer oversee the National Climate Assessment. The job is expected to go to a climate-change skeptic, according to people familiar with the changes.
Discussion:
Politico
Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Trump Adviser Leading Post-Election Legal Fight Has Coronavirus — Aide David Bossie was diagnosed Sunday in White House test — Bossie helping with strategy after Meadows tested positive — David Bossie, an outside adviser to Donald Trump who is leading his post-election fight over vote counts …
Discussion:
UPI, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, The Daily Beast, Axios and Washington Times
New York Times:
Democracy Required Kind of a Lot of Patience, Actually — Delaware's own Joe Biden was eventually named the winner of the 2020 presidential race. By then, Delaware itself had gotten a decent turn in the spotlight, as the nation waited. — WILMINGTON, Del. — The teleprompters were set …
Jess Bravin / Wall Street Journal:
No Evidence of Systematic Fraud in U.S. Elections, International Observer Mission Reports — A team of international observers invited by the Trump administration has issued a preliminary report giving high marks to the conduct of last week's elections—and it criticizes President …
Theodore Schleifer / Vox:
The former CEO of Google has applied to become a citizen of Cyprus — Eric Schmidt is effectively buying a passport that he can use to enter the European Union. — The former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, is finalizing a plan to become a citizen of the island of Cyprus, Recode has learned …
Discussion:
The National Interest and New York Post
Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:
Gingrich Says Trump Commitment to Election Legal Battle Has Intensified — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a vocal proponent of the Trump campaign's continuing efforts to fight the election outcome, said President Trump's commitment to the legal battle has only intensified in recent days.
New York Times:
How Trump's Refusal to Concede Affects Biden's National Security Transition — President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has yet to receive a presidential daily briefing, and it was unclear whether his team would have access to classified information. — President Trump's refusal to concede …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Morning Consult:
Election Trust Tracker: Republican Trust in Elections Plummets as 7 in 10 Say 2020 Election Was Not Free and Fair — An ongoing survey research project to gauge how voters are responding to unprecedented electoral conditions — Three days after every major media outlet called the election …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Matt Friedman / Politico:
Man featured at Giuliani press conference is a convicted sex offender — The first person Rudy Giuliani, the attorney for President Donald Trump, called up as a witness to baseless allegations of vote counting shenanigans in Philadelphia during a press conference last week is a sex offender …