memeorandum: Trump campaign deploys Giuliani to assist flailing legal effort (Josh Gerstein/Politico)

11:50 PM ET, November 17, 2020

Top Items:

Beth LeBlanc / Detroit News:

Wayne Co. canvassers deadlock on certifying Nov. 3 election results — The Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 Tuesday along party lines on whether the county's Nov. 3 election results should be certified as at least four state and federal lawsuits sought to stop the process.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, Axios, Townhall, Breitbart, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Voter Protection Program, The Daily Caller, Big League Politics, TheBlaze, The Post Millennial and Political Wire

Washington Post:

Board in key Michigan county fails, then agrees, to certify vote totals by deadline — DETROIT — The Wayne County Board of Canvassers unanimously certified its ballot count Tuesday evening, reversing itself just hours after Republicans on the board blocked the typically uneventful task …

Discussion: CBS News, Politico, Snopes.com, Michigan Advance, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Associated Press, Breitbart and POLITICUSUSA

Clara Hendrickson / Detroit Free Press:

GOP members of Wayne County Board of Canvassers vote against certifying election results — The two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers cast an unprecedented vote Tuesday against certifying the county's November election results for the county's 43 jurisdictions …

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, The Hill, Bloomberg, Associated Press, The Week, The Last Refuge, Washington Times, TheBlaze and Political Wire

MIGOP:

Cox Statement on Wayne County Board of Canvassers Meeting — Cox Statement on Wayne County Board of Canvassers Meeting — The following statement is from Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox, regarding the Wayne County Board of Canvassers meeting today where they failed to certify the election results in Wayne County.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and Democracy Docket

Jacques Billeaud / Associated Press:
GOP seeks to postpone Maricopa County election certification

Discussion: The Hill

Ed White / Associated Press:
Michigan county fails to certify vote, stalling outcome

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story

New York Times:

Giuliani Is Said to Seek $20,000 a Day Payment for Trump Legal Work — Last week, the president put the former New York mayor in charge of the court challenges to his loss in the election. Since then they have suffered nothing but setbacks. — Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has helped oversee …

Discussion: The American Independent, Wall Street Journal, The Week, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Law & Crime, The Hill, Associated Press, Alternet.org, Talking Points Memo, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Political Flare, CNBC and Crooks and Liars

Washington Post:

In reversal, GOP officials in key Michigan county certify ballot count after striking a compromise with Democrats — Please note: The Washington Post is providing this important election information free to all readers. Get election results and other major news delivered to your inbox by signing up for breaking news email alerts.

Discussion: NPR, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Law & Crime and The Hill

Chris Megerian / Los Angeles Times:

As Trump's election lawsuits fizzle, Giuliani goes to court. It doesn't get better — Since election day, Rudolph W. Giuliani has been a firehose of conspiracy theories about why President Trump lost. — He peddled disinformation about voting software in Fox News appearances …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, CBS News, Washington Times, Business Insider and Talking Points Memo

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Trump campaign deploys Giuliani to assist flailing legal effort

Discussion: NBC News, UPI, Israpundit and CNN

David Edwards / Raw Story:

Georgia secretary of state had witnesses on call when Lindsey Graham plotted to ‘throw out’ ballots — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that at least two members of his staff witnessed Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) apparent effort to suppress the counting of legal votes in the state.

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Guardian, CNN, CANNONFIRE, The Atlanta Journal …, Law & Crime, mahablog.com, CBS News and Truthout

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Lindsey Graham's one-man voting probe prompts confusion

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Times, Politico, Washington Examiner and Forbes

Bloomberg:
Trump Attacks on Voting by Mail Cost Him in Georgia, GOP Official Says

Discussion: Raw Story, CNBC, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Week, HotAir and Political Wire

David Morgan / Reuters:
As U.S. Senate battle intensifies in Georgia, allegations fly

Discussion: Fox News, Forbes, The Week, The Hill, The Daily Beast, USA Today, WAVY-TV, Alternet.org and Outside the Beltway

CNN:

Trump fires director of Homeland Security agency who had rejected President's election conspiracy theories — (CNN)President Donald Trump on Tuesday fired the Department of Homeland Security official who had rejected Trump's claims of widespread voter fraud.

Discussion: Fox News, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, Mother Jones, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Times, New York Post, TechCrunch, Associated Press, Townhall, Deadline, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite, Just The News, Boing Boing and UPI, more at Techmeme »

NBC News:
Trump fires head of election cybersecurity who debunked conspiracy theories

Discussion: Wired, The Hill, The Guardian, Washington Post, Politico, NPR, Atlantic Council, Bloomberg, Roll Call, Al Jazeera, Common Dreams, Mashable and YourCentralValley.com

Washington Post:
Trump fires top DHS official who refuted his claims that the election was rigged

Discussion: abc7NY

Kevin Johnson / USA Today:
Trump ousts Homeland Security cyber chief Chris Krebs, who called election secure

Discussion: Associated Press, CBS News, Raw Story, KNSD-TV and NPR

Jonathan Oosting / Bridge Magazine:

Joe Biden won, Michigan elector coup ‘not going to happen,’ GOP leader says — LANSING — Democrat Joe Biden is the president-elect, and while Michigan's Republican-led Legislature is investigating the election, it will not award the state's 16 electors to GOP President Donald Trump …

Discussion: VICE, New York Times, POLITICUSUSA, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Kate Brumback / Associated Press:

Second Georgia county finds previously uncounted votes — ATLANTA (AP) — A second Georgia county has uncovered a trove of votes not previously included in the election results, but it doesn't change the overall outcome of the presidential race, the secretary of state's office said Tuesday.

Discussion: Washington Times, CNN, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Examiner

David Clemons / WaltonTribune.com:
Votes added in recount

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

WSB-TV:
Another Georgia county has uncovered 2,700 missing votes, Secretary of State's office says

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, TheBlaze, Breitbart, The Daily Signal, RedState, National Review, UPI, The Western Journal and Snopes.com

ABC News:

Infighting and an attempted ‘coup’: Trump team erupts into chaos as Giuliani takes over legal efforts — Giuliani filed to appear in court on behalf of the campaign Tuesday. — Catch up on the developing stories making headlines.

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, Law & Crime, Political Wire, HotAir and Eschaton

Pete Williams / NBC News:

Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejects Trump campaign claim of problems with ballot observers — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the Trump campaign's claim that Philadelphia violated state election law in the way it handled observers at a city ballot counting center.

Discussion: The Philadelphia Inquirer, CBS News, Bloomberg, Common Dreams, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Greensburg Tribune-Review, Politico, CNN, POLITICUSUSA, CNBC, Forbes, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, The Hill, CBS Philly, New York Post and Reason

Mark Sherman / Associated Press:
House asks justices to put off case over Russia grand jury

Discussion: CBS News, Politico, HotAir, Jacobin, SCOTUSblog, Bloomberg, CNBC, Roll Call, CNN, Washington Examiner, Law & Crime, Washington Times and UPI

J. Peder Zane / Real Clear Politics:
What If Biden Were Seeking Recounts?

Discussion: Washington Post, Japan Times, Blue Virginia, Al Jazeera, PRESS RUN and Althouse

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

What Obama gets right — and very wrong — about the media — Everybody's a media critic these days — and Barack Obama is an astute one. But for those who remember certain aspects of his presidency, he's got a bit of a credibility problem. — He's certainly right when he frets that America …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, The Western Journal, Mediaite, New Republic, Deadline, The Week and Columbia Journalism Review

Michael Conway / NBC News:
Why Biden should pardon Trump — and we Democrats should want him to

Discussion: Axios and No More Mister Nice Blog

NBC News:
President-elect Biden wary of Trump-focused investigations, sources say

Discussion: U.S. Representative …, New York Times, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, Common Dreams, The Week, Mediaite, Washington Post, Alternet.org, NBC Chicago, Patterico's Pontifications, National Review, ABC News, HotAir, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, emptywheel and Reuters

David Freedlander / New York Magazine:

An Ex-Cop for Mayor? Eric Adams Wants to Find Out. — “I am not the Ivy League guy in this race, you know. I mean, I am CUNY,” Eric Adams says with a laugh on a late-morning F-train back to Borough Hall in Brooklyn after a rally for more mental-health beds at a Park Slope hospital.

WAGA-TV:

FOX 5 Poll: Senate runoff extremely tight, Gov. Kemp's approval rating slips — ATLANTA - A new exclusive InsiderAdvantage/FOX5 Atlanta Poll released on Tuesday takes a look at Georgia's Senate races, Gov. Brian Kemp's approval rating, and if Georgians believe the last election was fair.

Discussion: Raw Story

Allan Smith / NBC News:

McConnell says there will be ‘orderly transfer’ of power … Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday said there will be an “orderly transfer” between administrations on Jan. 20, though he did not mention President-elect Joe Biden or President Donald Trump, who is refusing to concede, by name.

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Talking Points Memo

National Review:
No to Shelton — James Lankford Says ‘Not In A Hurry’ to Give Joe Biden Intelligence Briefings

Discussion: Washington Post, HotAir and Raw Story

Washington Post:
Senate blocks Judy Shelton nomination to the Fed

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Washington Examiner, National Review, NPR, Raw Story, Associated Press, The Week, Slate, Al Jazeera and The Hill

Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:

Immunity to the Coronavirus May Last Years, New Data Hint — Blood samples from recovered patients suggest a powerful, long-lasting immune response, researchers reported. — How long might immunity to the coronavirus last? Years, maybe even decades, according to a new study …

Discussion: bioRxiv, Washington Examiner, HotAir, TheBlaze, New York Post and The Week

Jake Bleiberg / Associated Press:

AP Sources: FBI is investigating Texas attorney general — DALLAS (AP) — The FBI is investigating allegations that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton broke the law in using his office to benefit a wealthy donor, according to two people with knowledge of the probe.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Austin American-Statesman, The Texas Tribune, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, Raw Story and Political Wire

US Food and Drug Administration:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes First COVID-19 Test for Self-Testing at Home — For Immediate Release: — Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first COVID-19 diagnostic test for self-testing at home and that provides rapid results.

Discussion: CBS News, Politico, NPR, KTLA and New York Post

Breaking911:

Pair Charged With Voter Fraud Allegedly Submitted THOUSANDS of Fraudulent Applications on Behalf of Homeless People — CALIFORNIA — Two men have been charged in a 41-count criminal complaint for allegedly submitting thousands of fraudulent voter registration applications on behalf of homeless people …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

NBC Los Angeles:
Pair Charged With Voter Fraud Allegedly Submitted Thousands of Fraudulent Applications on Behalf of Homeless People

Discussion: Breitbart, New York Post, Law & Crime, Raw Story, KTLA and The Post Millennial

Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:

Chuck Grassley, second-oldest senator, tests positive for Covid-19 — Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Tuesday that he tested positive for Covid-19. … Grassley, 87, said earlier Tuesday that he was under quarantine at home after learning he had been exposed to someone with the virus.

Discussion: Des Moines Register, NPR, New York Times, Breitbart, New York Post, The Guardian, CNBC, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Townhall, BuzzFeed News and Axios

Tyler Van Dyke / Washington Examiner:
Chuck Grassley tests positive for COVID-19

Discussion: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, USA Today, Politico, Fox News, Washington Post, National Review, Mediaite and Raw Story

CNN:

Trump remains bunkered in the White House as the world spins on — (CNN)President Donald Trump's agenda listed “no public events” on Tuesday — the 10th time since the election that those words have appeared on his daily schedule. — He has answered no questions from reporters …

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, BuzzFeed News, Al Jazeera, USA Today, NPR, Political Wire and Reuters

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:

QAnon Mom Arrested For Murder of Fringe Legal Theorist — Neely Petrie-Blanchard allegedly shot the amateur legal expert who she'd turned to to reclaim custody of her kid. — A once murky alliance forged in a world of internet conspiracy theories appears to have ended in murder this past Sunday …

Discussion: Raw Story

Senator Mitt Romney:

Romney Statement on Proposed Troop Withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq — WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today released the following statement after the Pentagon announced that the U.S. plans to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan and Iraq by January 15, 2021.

Clayton Guse / New York Daily News:

‘An end to the New York way of life’: MTA proposes catastrophic service cuts amid COVID-19 budget crunch — A 40% cut in weekday subway service and layoffs of more than 9,000 transit workers are on the table as MTA honchos battle a COVID-19 financial catastrophe, the Daily News has learned.