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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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:
Business Insider, New York Times, Fox News, CNN, The Hill, Reuters, USA Today, Raw Story, Political Wire, Twin Cities, Althouse and Wall Street Journal
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.
Discussion:
HotAir, CNBC, The Week, The Daily Wire, Axios, The Daily Caller, Instapundit, Washington Post, RedState, Big League Politics, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, The Epoch Times, Reuters, The National Interest, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Twitchy, Townhall, justoneminute.typepad.com and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »
Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:
DOJ's election crimes chief resigns after Barr directs prosecutors to probe voter fraud claims — The head of the branch of the Justice Department that prosecutes election crimes resigned Monday hours after Attorney General William Barr issued a memo to federal prosecutors to investigate …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Washington Post
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:
Business Insider, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, The Hill 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:
The Daily Beast, CBS News, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, CNN, ABC News, Raw Story, HotAir, The Western Journal, Sputnik News and Bloomberg
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Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Leaked call audio shows Trump officials denying election results — Top Trump loyalists are trying to cling to power by firing critics, rehiring other loyalists, instructing federal government employees that the election isn't over yet, and threatening appointees that their future work prospects …
Discussion:
New York Times, CNBC, Business Insider, Alternet.org, Political Wire, Common Dreams and Vanity Fair
Reuters:
Biden camp calls for GSA to recognize victory so U.S. presidential transition can begin
Biden camp calls for GSA to recognize victory so U.S. presidential transition can begin
Discussion:
CBS News, Axios, One America News Network and The Hill
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:
Politico
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:
New York Times, Althouse, Newsbusters, The Daily Caller, The Hill and The Week
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New York Times:
Helping to Shape the Words of the President-Elect: A Presidential Historian — Jon Meacham, best known for writing about past presidents like Andrew Jackson and George Bush, has helped shape some of Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s most significant speeches. — WASHINGTON — Jon Meacham …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Trump Plans PAC in Hopes of Keeping Hold on G.O.P. — The PAC could accept donations from an unlimited number of people and spend to benefit other candidates, allowing the president to retain influence in a party remade largely in his image. — President Trump is planning to form …
Discussion:
CNN, Axios, HotAir, Full Feed, IJR, The Hill, National Review, Washington Post, Florida Politics, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Townhall and Forbes
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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:
Politico, The American Spectator, The Daily Signal and CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
Shane Harris / Washington Post:
As an ex-president, Trump could disclose the secrets he learned while in office, current and former officials fear — As president, Donald Trump selectively revealed highly classified information to attack his adversaries, gain political advantage and to impress or intimidate foreign governments …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, NPR, Associated Press, Balloon Juice and Foreign Policy
Jack Khoury / Haaretz:
Saeb Erekat, Top Palestinian Peace Negotiator, Dies at 65 After Contracting COVID — He was close to both Arafat and Abbas, and considered one of the main voices of the Palestinians on the world stage — Dr. Saeb Erekat, a prominent Palestinian negotiator and Secretary General …
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Daniel Estrin / NPR:
Longtime Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat Dies Of Complications From COVID-19
Longtime Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat Dies Of Complications From COVID-19
Discussion:
Bloomberg, UPI, Fox News, New York Times and One America News Network
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
Los Angeles Times:
Trump slows Biden transition with denials, lawsuits — As the morning sun bathed the White House grounds on an unseasonably warm November Monday, the rattle of construction could be heard nearby as workers began erecting the viewing stands for the next president's inaugural ceremony.
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, Townhall, littlegreenfootballs.com, Fox News and UPI
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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:
Washington Post and Politico
ABC News:
The Note: Georgia races loom as tests of Trumpism and Trump's GOP — Trump's political ideology will get at least one more big series of tests. — Obamacare in the balance before the Supreme Court — ABC News' Devin Dwyer reports on arguments before the Supreme Court this week …
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, NBC News, New York Magazine, Florida Politics, Fox News, Bloomberg and Politico
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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:
CBS News, Associated Press, NBC News, Washington Examiner, New York Post and ABC News
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.
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 …
Politico:
'We're not some demonic cult': Democrats fume over faulty messaging — House Democrats have the majority and are ripping each other to shreds. Senate Democrats fell short for the third cycle in a row, but are only grousing about getting out-messaged by Republicans.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Washington Post, NBC News, CNN, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Infidel753
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Be Alarmed — I hope I am over wary; but if I am not, there is, even now, something of ill-omen amongst us. —Abraham Lincoln, Lyceum Address, January 27, 1838 I know, I know. Donald Trump is a petulant child, and congressional Republicans are just humoring him.
Roger Sollenberger / Salon:
Did Sen. Kelly Loeffler take advantage of a Trump tax loophole to write off campaign jet? — Records suggest Loeffler may have deducted a jet she used on campaign trips, letting the government eat the cost — Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Georgia Republican now seeking to hold her seat …
Patrick Reevell / ABC News:
Former Marine Paul Whelan speaks from Russian prison: ABC News exclusive — It's his first interview since his arrest on spying allegations two years ago. — Referendum will allow Putin to stay in power until 2036 — The referendum allows Russian President Vladimir Putin to run again …
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
Washington Examiner:
Election Day should not last two months — The absurd delays in ballot-counting across the country add weight to arguments against the wide use of early- and mail-in voting. They also should make opponents of early voting consider other alternatives that would make voting easier.
Mike Allen / Axios:
Exclusive: Valerie Biden Owens previews brother's governing style — Valerie Biden Owens, her brother's closest political adviser for 49 years, told me in an interview for “Axios on HBO” that President-elect Joe Biden plans to ignore the distractions of President Trump while building and launching a government.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Dispatch
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:
Washington Examiner, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Washington Post, Defense News, Informed Comment, Task & Purpose, The Week, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, CNN, NPR, Vanity Fair, KSLNewsRadio, Slate, Al Jazeera, Fox News, The Hill, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Alternet.org, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, The Guardian, One America News Network, The Federalist, HotAir, UPI, Hackwhackers and Politico
Ann Saphir / Reuters:
In first for Fed, U.S. central bank says climate poses stability risks — (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve for the first time called out climate change among risks enumerated in its biannual financial stability report, and warned about the potential for abrupt changes in asset values in response to a warming planet.