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 …
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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.
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:
The Hill, CNN, Fox News, USA Today, Reuters, Politico, New York Times, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Althouse, Raw Story and Political Wire
Washington Post:
Barr clears Justice Dept. to investigate alleged voting irregularities as Trump makes unfounded fraud claims — Attorney General William P. Barr on Monday gave federal prosecutors approval to pursue allegations of “vote tabulation irregularities” in certain cases before results are certified …
Discussion:
NBC News, Politico, CBS News, NPR, CNN, Raw Story, Business Insider, UPI, The Daily Beast, One America News Network and KTAR.com
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:
The Hill, Raw Story and electionlawblog.org
Washington Post:
White House, escalating tensions, orders agencies to rebuff Biden transition team — The Trump White House on Monday instructed its senior government leaders to block cooperation with President-elect Joe Biden's transition team, escalating a standoff that threatens to impede his takeover of the federal government in January.
Discussion:
CNN, Raw Story, HotAir, Bloomberg and Sputnik News
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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, Business Insider, CNBC, Washington Post, Alternet.org and Common Dreams
Eliana Johnson / Washington Free Beacon:
Top USAID Official Tells Agency Leadership: ‘There Is No Transition In Place’
Top USAID Official Tells Agency Leadership: ‘There Is No Transition In Place’
Discussion:
Political Wire
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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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:
Defense News, Business Insider, Washington Post, NPR, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Los Angeles Times, Slate, Vanity Fair, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, CNN, GovExec.com, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, Washington Times, The Guardian, Fox News, KSLNewsRadio, The Hill, Task & Purpose, One America News Network, HotAir, UPI, Hackwhackers and Politico
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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:
Axios, New York Times, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, RedState, Religion News Service and The Week
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Axios:
McConnell defends Trump's refusal to concede to Biden
McConnell defends Trump's refusal to concede to Biden
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NBC News, Reuters, Talking Points Memo, HotAir, Associated Press 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
Discussion:
Business Insider, Washington Examiner, 6abc, Newsbusters, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, Foreign Policy, The Daily Caller, The Dispatch, NPR, Washington Times, Sputnik News, Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, Associated Press, Washington Post, New York Post, HotAir, Vanity Fair, Alternet.org and KTLA, more at Mediagazer »
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, New York Times, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Raw Story and New York Post
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Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Trump Adviser Leading Post-Election Legal Fight Has Coronavirus
Trump Adviser Leading Post-Election Legal Fight Has Coronavirus
Discussion:
UPI, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, The Daily Beast, Axios and Washington Times
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
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 …
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, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, Bloomberg and The Guardian
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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 …
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
Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Trump's quest to end the Affordable Care Act arrives at Supreme Court — The latest legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act comes Tuesday before a reconstituted Supreme Court, during a pandemic, in a rapidly changing political environment. — All of those factors are likely to play …
Discussion:
Associated Press, WHYY, CNBC, Kaiser Health News, ABC News and New York Post
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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
Ashton Pittman / Mississippi Free Press:
Top Mississippi Republicans Fail to Acknowledge Biden Victory as Fitch Joins Trump Lawsuit — Two days after all major national networks called the 2020 presidential election for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, none of Mississippi's top Republican leaders has acknowledged the Democrats' victory.
Discussion:
CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
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 »
Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
White House official and former GOP political operative Michael Ellis named as NSA general counsel — The Pentagon general counsel has named a White House official and former GOP political operative to be the top lawyer at the National Security Agency, the U.S. government's largest …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Raw Story
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.
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, Slate, Alternet.org, Law & Crime and Wall Street Journal
New York Times:
No, Software Glitches Are Not Affecting Vote Counts — President Trump and many of his supporters complained over the weekend that “software glitches” undermined the vote counts in Michigan and Georgia and argued that the problems portended wider issues in other counties and states that used the same software.
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
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 …
Manveen Rana / The Times:
I was asked to lie about Hunter Biden, admits Ukrainian businessman … After an election campaign built on attacking the reputation of his rival's son, Donald Trump is facing calls for a new legal investigation into his activities in Ukraine where he and his associates were looking for dirt on Hunter Biden.
Discussion:
Political Wire