memeorandum: With Alaska call, all eyes on Georgia's two unresolved Senate races (Marisa Schultz/Fox News)

5:00 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, Alternet.org, HotAir, Real Clear Politics, CBS News, Politico, The Intellectualist and Political Wire

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

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, Axios, ABC News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Nation, alicublog, Conservative News Today, Mediaite, Raw Story, 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, HotAir, 6abc and Forbes

WISN:
GOP lawmaker suggests Wisconsin electors choose presidential winner

Discussion: Washington Post, UpNorthNews, Vox, The Intellectualist, Wisconsin Examiner and The Daily Poster

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

Discussion: Washington Post, HuffPost, Associated Press, Reason, Los Angeles Times, Townhall, Denver Post, The American Mind, CNBC, CBS Pittsburgh, Alternet.org and Political Wire

BuzzFeed News:
Two Republican Members Of The Electoral College Have A Message: Biden Won

Discussion: The Bulwark, Washington Post, Alternet.org, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Hoffman Files, NBC4 Washington, The Guardian, DaddyBear's Den, WWTV-TV/WWUP-TV and Outside the Beltway

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: Raw Story and Political Wire

Betsy Klein / CNN:

Trump's public schedules show little interest in work as he protests Biden's legitimate election — (CNN)The President of the United States is absent without leave. President Donald Trump is set to make his first public appearance in six days Wednesday when he visits Arlington National Cemetery …

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, Business Insider, Daily Maverick, USA Today, CNBC, Washington Times and Bloomberg

Associated Press:
Trump to emerge from White House to mark Veterans Day

Discussion: CBS News, Political Wire, Florida Phoenix, Twin Cities and KTAR.com

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: Washington Examiner, The American Independent, 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

Gabby Orr / Politico:
How Biden swung the religious vote

Discussion: Raw Story and National Review

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 and ABA Journal

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 …

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 Voter Protection Program

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

New York Times:

He Sidestepped Pompeo and Got Slapped Down. Now He's the New Pentagon Chief. — President Trump's new acting secretary of defense began a since-aborted diplomatic gambit last month to negotiate with a Somali terrorist group — drawing the ire of the secretary of state.

Lee Fang / The Intercept:

Another Official Dismissed at the Pentagon as Trump Continues Unusual Shake-Up … The sweeping dismissal of Pentagon officials, an overhaul that began on Monday with President Donald Trump's sudden firing of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, has continued. The Intercept has learned that Mark Tomb …

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

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

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

Discussion: Politico, The Capitolist and Florida Politics

Marisa Schultz / Fox News:
With Alaska call, all eyes on Georgia's two unresolved Senate races

Discussion: Associated Press, LaCorte News, Georgia Recorder and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

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: The Hill, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, VICE, CNN, Tennessee Lookout, NBC4 Washington, New York Post and Fox News

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, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Bloomberg, DCReport.org, Digby's Hullabaloo, Telegraph and Alternet.org

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Examiner, VICE and Forbes

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Why Trump and Republicans Are Plotting to Undermine Democracy

Discussion: CNN, Las Vegas Review-Journal and Digby's Hullabaloo

95.5 WSB:

Georgia will recount all votes in presidential race by hand, Secretary of State says — ATLANTA — Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says the state will begin a full audit of election results in Georgia today. It's the first time this has ever happened in our state.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, TheBlaze, Associated Press, CNN and CBS News

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

Discussion: Georgia Recorder, The Hill and The Intercept

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Georgia will recount presidential election ballots by hand as Biden's lead over Trump grows

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

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: Business Insider, The Hill, CNN, NPR, Conservative News Today, TheBlaze, Raw Story, Mediaite, Fox News, The Daily Caller and NBC Chicago

Chris Pandolfo / TheBlaze:

Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick offers up to $1 million reward for evidence of voter fraud — 'President Trump's pursuit of voter fraud is not only essential to determine the outcome of this election, it is essential to maintain our democracy and restore faith in future elections'

Discussion: CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, Alternet.org, Dan Patrick …, New York Post, USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Texas Tribune, The Hill, myfox8.com and ABC13

Detroit Free Press:

Trump lawsuit affidavits allege Michigan election misconduct, don't show widespread fraud — Dave Boucher Paul EganDetroit Free Press — Signed and sworn statements from more than 100 people included in a new lawsuit filed in a Michigan federal court by the campaign of President Donald …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Israpundit, Reuters, 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: Law & Crime and Mother Jones

Timothy Snyder / The Boston Globe:

Trump's big election lie pushes America toward autocracy … When you lose, it is good and healthy to know why. In the First World War, the conflict that defined our modern world, the Germans lost because of the overwhelming force assembled by their enemies on the Western Front.

Discussion: HotAir

New York Times:
The Times Called Officials in Every State: No Evidence of Voter Fraud

Katie Benner / New York Times:

Barr's Decision on Voter Fraud Inflames Existing Tensions With Anticorruption Prosecutors — The department's handling of President Trump's dealings with Ukraine and a potential case against the former interior secretary exacerbated tensions with career prosecutors.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Raw Story and Digby's Hullabaloo

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: Outside the Beltway

ABC News:

Biden to name White House chief of staff as soon as this week — Ron Klain is considered to be a leading contender. — Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. — President-elect Joe Biden is expected to name his White House chief of staff as soon as this week, multiple sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

Washington Post:

How Biden aims to amp up the government's fight against climate change — A new administration would enlist departments like Transportation, Agriculture and Treasury to advance its climate goals — President-elect Joe Biden is poised to embed action on climate change across the breadth …

Discussion: Bloomberg and Board of Governors …

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

Maria Polletta / Arizona Republic:

Judge rejects Trump team's request for secret evidence in lawsuit over Maricopa County votes — An attorney representing President Donald Trump's reelection team, in a lawsuit alleging poll workers “incorrectly rejected” Election Day votes, asked a Maricopa County Superior Court judge …

Discussion: Fox News, POLITICUSUSA and 12news.com

New York Times:

Fact-Checked on Facebook and Twitter, Conservatives Switch Their Apps — Since the election, millions have migrated to alternative social media and media sites like Parler, Rumble and Newsmax. — Corey Adam, a political comedian from Minneapolis, joined a mass social media switcheroo last week.

more at Techmeme »

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

A furious behind-the-scenes battle to counter Trump's threat to national security — President Trump's senior military and intelligence officials have been warning him strongly against declassifying information about Russia that his advisers say would compromise sensitive collection methods and anger key allies.