memeorandum: How Hard Is It to Overturn an American Election? (Benjamin Wittes/Lawfare)

6:40 PM ET, November 11, 2020

Top Items:

The Electoral College play — As the weaknesses of President Trump's legal cases to overturn Joe Biden's win become clearer, Republicans are talking more about the Electoral College — hinting at an extreme last-chance way for Trump to cling to power. — What we're watching …

Discussion: Althouse, Associated Press, CBS News, HotAir, Alternet.org, Real Clear Politics, Politico, The Intellectualist and Political Wire

Howard Kurtz / Fox News:

The endless election: Why both sides keep punching back — Howard Kurtz: No TV network has power to call election for Joe Biden — We are mired in the politics of perpetual payback. — It used to be that presidential elections settled things for awhile, even when power changed hands …

Discussion: Washington Post, Mother Jones, ABC News, Axios, alicublog, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite, Raw Story, Conservative News Today, The Nation, The Guardian, Townhall, USA Today and The Wrap

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

The corrupt bargain between Trump and Republicans is about to unravel — President Trump needs Republicans to help him validate his big lie that the votes of millions of Americans are illegitimate and that the election is being stolen from him. Meanwhile, Republicans need Trump to keep …

Discussion: Politico, 6abc, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Forbes

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

No, the ‘Hail Mary’ plan for Trump isn't going to work — By now, it has become overwhelmingly obvious that President Trump will lose most or all his court battles over the phantom voter fraud he's alleging. But there's still a scenario for Trump that is rattling around the Internet, one that's widely called a “Hail Mary.”

Discussion: WISN, Vox, HotAir and Orlando Sentinel

Richard L. Hasen / The Atlantic:

Trump Needs Three Consecutive Hail Mary Passes — Despite the clear math showing that Joe Biden has won the election, President Donald Trump has refused to concede. He has directed his legal team to keep on fighting to try to overturn the results of the election, including in a new 105-page federal-court filing in Pennsylvania.

Discussion: Washington Post, Forbes, RedState, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, electionlawblog.org and Arizona Republic

Sam Levine / The Guardian:
Can Trump actually stage a coup and stay in office for a second term?

Discussion: Fox News, Arizona Mirror, New York Times, Washington Post, New York Sun, Washington Monthly, Daily Maverick, Alternet.org, Denver Post and The Mahablog

Edward Foley / Washington Post:
Relax. Biden will be sworn in Jan. 20.

Discussion: NBC News, Slate, Raw Story, New York Times and Alternet.org

Washington Post:

In poll watcher affidavits, Trump campaign offers no evidence of fraud in Detroit ballot-counting — Inside Detroit's absentee-ballot-counting center, one Republican poll watcher complained that workers were wearing Black Lives Matter gear. She thought one of them — a “man of intimidating size” — had followed her too closely.

Discussion: Washington Examiner and AOL.com

Leon Wolf / TheBlaze: The Trump campaign has released 234 pages of affidavits regarding alleged voting regularities in Michigan. Here's what they say.

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:
‘Karen Was Upset’: Trump Suit Cites Mostly Trivial Complaints By GOP Poll-Watchers

Discussion: Alternet.org

Detroit Free Press:
Trump lawsuit affidavits allege Michigan election misconduct, don't show widespread fraud

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Israpundit, Digby's Hullabaloo and Statistical Modeling …

Dave Boucher / Detroit Free Press:
AG Nessel: Trump's baseless elections lawsuits essentially say ‘Black people are corrupt’

Discussion: The Hill, Law & Crime and Mother Jones

Matt Naham / Law & Crime:

Lawyers Litigating for Trump Suddenly Remember Their Licenses Are on the Line If They Lie to a Judge — There's a big difference between a) waving around a stack of affidavits in a safe space and b) bringing your claims before a judge. We saw that difference on Tuesday in the Trump campaign's case in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Discussion: The Intellectualist

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Trump lawyers suffer embarrassing rebukes from judges over voter fraud claims … After that “nonzero” answer, Diamond pressed the Trump campaign lawyer to be more explicit — and he suggestively invoked their standing with the bar: “I'm asking you as a member of the bar of this court …

Discussion: HotAir

Bradley P. Moss / The Atlantic:
No Self-Respecting Lawyer Should Touch Trump's Election-Fraud Claims

Discussion: Associated Press and Salon

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Where the Post-Election Lawsuits Stand

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Gingrich 360, New York Post and The American Independent

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Divisive Pentagon hire may rush troop withdrawals before Trump's exit — President Trump's newly installed acting Pentagon chief is bringing on a senior adviser in a sign the administration wants to accelerate the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Middle East before the end …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Vox, CNN, NBC News, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Raw Story and Washington Post

New York Times: Christopher Miller Named Acting Defense Secretary

Lee Fang / The Intercept:
Another Official Dismissed at the Pentagon as Trump Continues Unusual Shake-Up

Discussion: Raw Story, Defense One, ABC News and Washington Post

Michael Gold / New York Times:

Covid-19 Live Updates: As U.S. Breaks Hospitalization and Case Records, Even N.Y., N.J. and Connecticut Are Worried — For the first time, new daily cases in the U.S. passed 139,000 and hospitalizations exceeded 61,000. The C.D.C. said masks protect the wearer, too.

Discussion: The Hill, Forbes, CNN, NPR, TheBlaze, Fox News, Raw Story, Mediaite and NBC Chicago

Bloomberg:
Two White House Aides, Guest of Giuliani Test Positive for Virus

Discussion: CNBC, Business Insider and Talking Points Memo

Peter Alexander / NBC News: Another Trump ally who attended Election Night party tests positive for Covid

NBC News:

Trump may accept results but never concede he lost, aides say — WASHINGTON — There is a growing expectation among President Donald Trump's advisers that he will never concede that he lost re-election, even after votes are certified in battleground states over the coming weeks …

Discussion: CNBC, Raw Story and Political Wire

Betsy Klein / CNN:
Trump's public schedules show little interest in work as he protests Biden's legitimate election

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Newsmax, Jacobin, The Unz Review and Raw Story

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:
The Georgia Runoffs Are a Referendum on a Large Stimulus

Discussion: The American Independent, Washington Post, CNBC, USA Today, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Maverick, Washington Times and Bloomberg

Benjamin Wittes / Lawfare:

How Hard Is It to Overturn an American Election? — And so it has come to this: The president of the United States is trying to overturn the results of a national election he unambiguously lost with a combination of petulant whining, spiteful and flailing executive action, and magic.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, Reason, Los Angeles Times, Townhall, The Root, The American Mind and Political Wire

E.J. Dionne / Washington Post:
Of course Republicans are doing this. It's who they are.

Discussion: Raw Story

Todd J. Gillman / Dallas Morning News:

Dallas' Robert Jeffress, leading pro-Trump evangelical conservative: ‘Biden is president-elect’ — Trump ally concedes that's a ‘bitter pill’ but says ‘Christians are not hypocrites’ and must accept Biden's victory — WASHINGTON — One of President Donald Trump's top evangelical Christian allies …

Discussion: The American Independent, Crooks and Liars, TheBlaze, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Mediaite and The Intellectualist

Elizabeth Thomas / ABC News:
Pastor Robert Jeffress, staunch Trump evangelical supporter, calls Biden president-elect

Discussion: Religion News Service, Raw Story and The American Independent

John R. Bolton / Washington Post:

Time is running out for Trump — and Republicans who coddle him — John R. Bolton served as national security adviser under President Trump and is the author of “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir.” — As of this writing, the Republican Party has not suffered permanent damage …

Discussion: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Hill, HotAir, CNN, New York Post and NBC10 Philadelphia

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

An early poll of Georgia's twin Senate runoffs shows tight races — A poll from a Republican-leaning national firm shows neither political party with a clear advantage in the twin January runoffs that are likely to decide control of the U.S. Senate. — The poll showed Kelly Loeffler at 49% …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, The Hill, The American Independent, HotAir and National Review

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Ga. doesn't need baseless accusations

Discussion: Georgia Recorder, The Hill and The Intercept

Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:
Florida's Scott aims at Schumer in TV ad for Georgia runoffs

Discussion: Politico, The Capitolist and Florida Politics

Brad Reed / Raw Story:

Civil war brewing inside Proud Boys as top leader says he's done pretending he isn't a Nazi — The far-right Proud Boys gang has long denied that it is a white nationalist organization and has instead claimed that it only exists to defend “Western Civilization.”

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The Daily Beast:

The New Yorker Fires Jeffrey Toobin After Investigation Into Zoom Masturbation Incident — The top writer had been suspended last month after exposing himself during a video call with colleagues. — The New Yorker has fired staff writer Jeffrey Toobin after a weeks-long investigation …

Russell Mills / 102.3 KRMG:

Lankford guarantees “peaceful transition,” talks about COVID vaccine prospects — The Oklahoma Senator says Friday becomes the next important date, as the GSA can then start certifying the states' results — TULSA — Twin crises continue to create confusion for people across the country …

CNN:

Biden poised to announce his chief of staff as early as Thursday, with Ron Klain the leading finalist — (CNN)President-elect Joe Biden is poised to name his White House chief of staff as early as Thursday, with longtime adviser Ron Klain the leading finalist for the post, three people familiar with the matter tell CNN.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and NBC News

ABC News: Biden to name White House chief of staff as soon as this week

Mona Charen / The Bulwark:

There Is No Return to Normalcy — In defeat, Donald Trump has perfected the grievance-fueled conspiracy machine in the Republican Party. — The day after the firing of the secretary of defense who resisted the use of troops against peaceful American protesters is probably not a great …

Discussion: Law & Crime, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Chicago Sun-Times, COURIER, DCReport.org, Digby's Hullabaloo and Telegraph

Hayes Brown / MSNBC:
How much does the GOP buy Trump's ‘election fraud’ claims?

Discussion: The Bulwark, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Forbes and VICE

Alayna Treene / Axios:

Rubio says the GOP needs to reset after 2020 — After the 2020 election, Republicans need to rebrand their party as the champions of working-class voters and steer away from its traditional embrace of big business, Sen. Marco Rubio said in an interview with Axios.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, HotAir and HBR.org

Will Feuer / CNBC:

Biden Covid advisor says U.S. lockdown of 4 to 6 weeks could control pandemic and revive economy — Dr. Michael Osterholm, a coronavirus advisor to President-elect Joe Biden, said a nationwide lockdown would help bring the virus under control in the U.S. — He said the government …

Discussion: RedState, The Gateway Pundit and Twitchy

Ron Kampeas / Jewish Telegraphic Agency:

Amid White House COVID-19 outbreak, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner pulled their 3 kids from a DC Jewish school — WASHINGTON (JTA) — Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump pulled their children out of a Jewish day school in Washington, D.C., two weeks before Election Day and three weeks after an outbreak …

Politico:

Pelosi floats above Democrats' civil war — Shortly before Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team faced a gauntlet of angry Democrats disappointed by the election, they held a private call to strategize. — The message, Pelosi and others agreed, was clear: If they didn't rein in the far left …

Discussion: Fox News and Outside the Beltway

CNN:

To my family who chose Trump over me: Was it worth it? — Richard L. Eldredge is a contributing editor at Atlanta magazine and the founder and editor in chief of the digital arts magazine, Eldredge ATL. The views expressed here are his own. Read more opinion on CNN. — (CNN)"Was it worth it?"

Teo Armus / Washington Post:

Mississippi Republican calls for his state to ‘succeed from the union’ after Biden victory — As the dust settles from the 2020 presidential election, one disappointed Mississippi lawmaker has a proposition for the Magnolia State. Instead of being governed by President-elect Joe Biden …

Discussion: Business Insider, Crooks and Liars and The Hill

Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:

Why Trump Fears Leaving the White House — Losing the presidency leaves him vulnerable to financial and legal danger. — Donald Trump is the luckiest man alive. Unlike almost, well, everyone, he's been protected from the consequences of his own mistakes his entire life.

Discussion: Washington Post