memeorandum: The Case for Neera Tanden (Matthew Cooper/Washington Monthly)

11:45 PM ET, December 1, 2020

Top Items:

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:

Justice Department investigating potential presidential pardon bribery scheme, court records reveal — (CNN)The Justice Department is investigating a potential crime related to funneling money to the White House or related political committee in exchange for a presidential pardon …

Discussion: NBC News, Reuters, Fox News, Raw Story, NPR, Business Insider, UPI, New York Post, POLITICUSUSA, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze, Lawyers, Guns & Money, littlegreenfootballs.com, CANNONFIRE, Mediaite, justoneminute.typepad.com, Washington Times and Political Wire

Michael Balsamo / Associated Press:

Barr: No evidence of fraud that'd change election outcome — WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

New York Times:

Trump Has Discussed With Advisers Pardons for His 3 Eldest Children and Giuliani — Rudolph W. Giuliani, who is promoting baseless claims of widespread election fraud, talked about a pardon with President Trump as recently as last week. — President Trump has discussed with advisers whether …

Discussion: Business Insider, The Hill, ABC News, Forbes, Raw Story, Alternet.org, Mediaite, KVIA-TV, Vox, CNBC, Washington Post, The Week and Talking Points Memo

Associated Press:

Barr appoints special counsel in Russia probe investigation — WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr has given extra protection to the prosecutor he appointed to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, giving him the authority of a special counsel to complete his work without being easily fired.

New York Times:

Barr Admits Finding No Evidence of Fraud That Could Have Swayed Election — The attorney general made the comments in an interview with The Associated Press. A Republican official in Georgia urged President Trump to “stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence.”

Associated Press:

Trump teases 2024 run at White House Christmas party — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump teased running again for president in 2024 as he hosted a holiday reception at the White House on Tuesday evening. — “It's been an amazing four years,” Trump told the crowd, which included many Republican National Committee members.

Discussion: Politico, CNN and The Daily Caller

Eric Tucker / Associated Press:

US probing potential bribery, lobbying scheme for pardon — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether there was a secret scheme to lobby White House officials for a pardon as well as a related plot to offer a hefty political contribution in exchange for clemency, according to a court document unsealed Tuesday.

Discussion: One America News Network

Joe Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

AG Barr Destroys His Name for All Eternity - His Actions Today Confirm He Is Just Another Card-Carrying Swamp Rat — Today US Attorney General Bill Barr reportedly told the Associated Press that the DOJ has not uncovered any evidence of widespread fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 election.

Discussion: Fox News and New York Post

Noah Feldman / Bloomberg:

Pardoning Giuliani Would Put Trump in Legal Jeopardy — Any lawyer would tell the president it wasn't worth the risk to himself. — If President Donald Trump wants to avoid federal criminal investigation once he's out of office, here's my free advice: Don't pardon Rudy Giuliani.

Discussion: Michigan Advance, Business Insider and Washington Examiner

Wall Street Journal:

Trump's Fraud Claims Hit a Barr — The AG says the feds have seen no evidence that would overturn Joe Biden's victory. — By The Editorial Board — Bill Barr can take the heat, and on Tuesday the stalwart Attorney General guaranteed he'll get it when he said “to date …

Discussion: New York Times, Reuters and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

ABC News:
White House vetting pardon requests as some push Trump to preemptively pardon family

Discussion: New York Times, Daily Kos, CNN, Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA, Vanity Fair, The Hill, The Week, Slate, Talking Points Memo, Forbes and Mediaite

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Banished from the Trump legal team, attorney Sidney Powell still finds a guest chair on Fox

Discussion: Alternet.org

CNN:
READ: Court filing on DOJ pardon investigation

Discussion: HotAir, Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump pressures Barr to release so-called Durham report

Discussion: VICE, The Texas Tribune, Reason, Spectator USA, Politico, ABC News and Liberty Unyielding

USA Today:

Lawsuit by Trump allies challenging Pennsylvania election results reaches Supreme Court — WASHINGTON - A long-shot effort to overturn the presidential election results in Pennsylvania made its way to the Supreme Court Tuesday. — Conservative Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa. …

Discussion: Breitbart

Washington Post:
Trump allies to ask Supreme Court to block Pennsylvania ruling on mail-in ballots

Discussion: We Love Trump, Washington Examiner, Mock Paper Scissors, The Gateway Pundit and Political Wire

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
Trump Allies Ask High Court to Nullify Biden's Pennsylvania Win

Discussion: The Daily Caller and CNBC

Daniel Horowitz / TheBlaze:
Republicans have a moral obligation to support the Pennsylvania lawsuit against universal mail-in ballots

Discussion: Law & Crime and Washington Examiner

Ted Cruz:
Sen. Cruz Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Emergency Appeal on Pennsylvania Election Challenge

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Wire, RedState, TheBlaze, UPI, POLITICUSUSA, Election Law Blog and Townhall

Emily Jacobs / New York Post:

Neera Tanden deletes over a thousand tweets amid Biden OMB nomination — President-elect Joe Biden's pick to run the Office of Management and Budget, Neera Tanden, appears to have deleted over 1,000 tweets since Nov. 1, after posts targeting lawmakers whose vote she will need for confirmation resurfaced.

Discussion: Fox News, Politico, Daily Kos, Conservative News Today, Slate, The Week and The Guardian

Rick Rouan / The Columbus Dispatch:
Rob Portman knocks tweets from Biden's pick for budget post, won't address Donald Trump's

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Post, The National Interest, New York Post and Power Line

Matthew Cooper / Washington Monthly:
The Case for Neera Tanden

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Washington Examiner and Fox News

Alex Hendrie / Americans for Tax Reform: Biden OMB Pick Wants National Soda Tax

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Biden's pick to lead OMB could face scrutiny for Wall Street ties, clashes with progressives

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Post and New York Times

Matthew Choi / Politico:

‘I gave every inch of my life to him’: Brad Parscale opens up about final days in Trump campaign — Brad Parscale wants to clear the air about his fall from the perches of the Trump campaign. — During an interview with Fox News' Martha MacCallum that aired Tuesday, President Donald Trump's …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Fox News, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Deadline

Molly Beck / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

GOP candidate says he was used without permission as a plaintiff in lawsuit to overturn Wisconsin election results — MADISON - A Republican candidate for Congress who lost his election on Nov. 3 says his name is being used without permission as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit …

Discussion: Snopes.com, Detroit Free Press, HotAir and Reason

CNBC:
Trump sues to reverse Biden win in Wisconsin

Heather Knight / San Francisco Chronicle:

S.F. Mayor London Breed had her own French Laundry party — the night after Gavin Newsom's — Gov. Gavin Newsom is in good company when it comes to politicians attending fancy birthday parties while encouraging others to avoid gathering. — It turns out San Francisco Mayor London Breed dined …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Fox News, The Guardian, California Globe, RedState, Mediaite, NBC Bay Area, CBS San Francisco, The Gateway Pundit, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, FOX 11 Los Angeles, New York Post, The Federalist and Law & Crime

Christopher Krebs / Washington Post:

Trump fired me for saying this, but I'll say it again: The election wasn't rigged — Christopher Krebs is the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. On Wednesday at 11 a.m. on Washington Post Live, Post columnist David Ignatius will interview Christopher Krebs …

Discussion: Business Insider, The Week, The Daily Caller and POLITICUSUSA

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Fired cybersecurity chief hints at legal action after Trump campaign lawyer said he should be executed

Discussion: Washington Times, NPR, TODAY.com, Forbes, Axios, IJR, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Politico and news.com.au

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Obama: Broad slogans like “defund the police” lose people — Former President Barack Obama told Peter Hamby on the Snapchat original political show “Good Luck America” that “snappy” slogans such as “defund the police” can alienate people, making the statements less effective than intended.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner and The Hill

Peter Hamby / Vanity Fair: “Do You Want to Actually Get Something Done, or Do You Want to Feel Good?”: Obama Urges Activists to Talk Reforming, Not Defunding, the Police

Zach Montellaro / Politico:

Georgia election official condemns Trump after threat to worker — Gabriel Sterling, an aide to Georgia's secretary of state, said Trump should “stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence.” — Gabriel Sterling, Voting Systems Manager for the Georgia Secretary of State's office …

Discussion: Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, USA Today, NPR, Reuters, Associated Press, National Review, Business Insider, Big League Politics and The Guardian

Washington Post:
'Someone's going to get killed': GOP election official in Georgia blames President Trump for fostering violent threats

Discussion: Mediaite, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Mother Jones and Daily Kos

Jason Leopold / BuzzFeed News:

This Is The Last Batch Of FBI Memos From The Mueller Probe — The final batch of summaries of interviews conducted for former special counsel Robert Mueller's two-year criminal investigation into the 2016 election has been released by the government six weeks before President Donald Trump is set to leave office.

Jerry Dunleavy / Washington Examiner:
Schiff suggests Biden's attorney general could end Durham's special counsel investigation

Discussion: New York Post, Reason and Law & Crime

Camille Caldera / USA Today:

Fact check: Jen Psaki was gifted a hammer and sickle hat at a diplomatic meeting — The claim: A photo shows Jen Psaki wearing a hammer and sickle hat while posing with officials from Russia. — President-elect Joe Biden named his administration's senior communications staff on Sunday.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Breitbart, Gregg Jarrett and Washington Monthly

Adam Payne / Business Insider:

An anti-gay Hungarian politician has resigned after being caught by the police fleeing a 25-man orgy through a window … - An ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban resigned from the European Parliament after attending what was described as a 25-man orgy in Brussels.

Discussion: The Guardian, Politico, euronews, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, The Gaily Grind and New York Post

New York Times:

Another Official Is Ousted From the Pentagon — The Defense Department said Christopher Maier resigned, but his supporters say he was forced out of a job leading military efforts to combat ISIS. — WASHINGTON — The Pentagon policy official overseeing the military's efforts to combat …

Discussion: Task & Purpose, Associated Press, Foreign Policy, Business Insider, WTOP, The Week and CNN

New York Times:

Utah Monolith Removed by Four Men, Photographer Says — A photographer said four men dismantled the mysterious shiny object that has captivated the country. — It was, by most standards, a short stay. The pop-up metal monolith that became the focus of international attention …

Discussion: NPR, Observer, INSIDER, The Guardian, New York Post, Full Feed and Washington Examiner

Washington Post:

25 former D.C. Bar presidents: Lawyers should not be complicit in Trump's attack on democracy — The period since the election has seen a destructive and unwarranted series of abusive lawsuits filed by some members of the American legal profession. While lawyers must represent their clients …

Axios:

“Couldn't keep his zipper up”: Schumer regrets recruiting Cunningham in N.C. Senate race — Chuck Schumer told party donors during recent calls that the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the fact that Cal Cunningham “couldn't keep his zipper up” crushed Democrats' chances of regaining the Senate …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, TheBlaze, RedState, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

NBC News:

Trump considers 2024 campaign kickoff on Inauguration Day — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is discussing possibly launching a 2024 campaign to retake the White House on Inauguration Day and skipping the swearing-in of his successor, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story and MSNBC

Military Times:

This retired three-star falsely claims US soldiers died attacking a CIA facility in Germany tied to election fraud — It is a scenario that makes the antics of animated spy Archer seem plausible by comparison, spun by the former third in command of the U.S. Air Force.

Discussion: Snopes.com and Task & Purpose