memeorandum: “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 (Peter Hamby/Vanity Fair)

9:15 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: Associated Press, Fox News, Business Insider, New York Post, POLITICUSUSA, CANNONFIRE, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Talking Points Memo, One America News Network, littlegreenfootballs.com, Raw Story, Mediaite, 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.

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.”

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: The Hill, ABC News, CNN, Raw Story, Alternet.org, Mediaite, CNBC, Vox, The Week, Washington Examiner and Talking Points Memo

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: 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: Daily Kos, Michigan Advance and Business Insider

ABC News:

White House vetting pardon requests as some push Trump to preemptively pardon family — Vetting has already commenced in some cases by White House lawyers, sources say. — Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. — As White House aides come to terms with the election results …

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

CNN:
READ: Court filing on DOJ pardon investigation

Discussion: HotAir, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

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

Discussion: Alternet.org

CNN:
William Barr says there is no evidence of widespread fraud in presidential election

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New York Times, Reason, New York Post, CNBC, spiked, Politico, KVIA-TV, Alternet.org and Liberty Unyielding

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:
Barr says he hasn't seen fraud that could affect the election outcome

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Fox News, ABC News, Mediaite, Raw Story and Reuters

Rick Rouan / The Columbus Dispatch:

Rob Portman knocks tweets from Biden's pick for budget post, won't address Donald Trump's — U.S. Sen. Rob Portman said he would support giving a hearing to President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to oversee the Office of Management and Budget even though he is concerned that she is too “partisan” to do the job.

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

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

Matthew Cooper / Washington Monthly:
The Case for Neera Tanden

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Fox News

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

Tyler Olson / Fox News:
Biden pick Neera Tanden repudiated Michelle Obama catchphrase, said 'going high doesn't f—king work'

Discussion: New York Post, Politico and The Dispatch

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

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

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

CNBC:

Trump sues to reverse Biden win in Wisconsin — President Trump's campaign filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin seeking to invalidate President-elect Joe Biden's win there. — The suit asks the Wisconsin Supreme Court to nullify and withdraw Gov. Tony Evers' certification of the election.

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

Discussion: CNBC

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

Discussion: Law & Crime, National Review and Washington Examiner

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: The Hill and Washington Examiner

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: New York Times, CNN, USA Today, Reuters, Mediaite, Business Insider, Big League Politics, The Guardian and National Review

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Duncan pushes back on false voter fraud claims: 'We're better than this'

Discussion: Georgia Recorder, Washington Post, The American Independent, Fox News and Alternet.org

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Georgia Republicans beg Trump to release them from his prison of lies

Discussion: Mediaite, The Hill, CNN, Alternet.org, HotAir, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Newsbusters, The American Independent, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Reuters and Daily Kos

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: Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, CBS San Francisco, TheBlaze, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, FOX 11 Los Angeles, The Federalist, Law & Crime and Washington Examiner

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

Alayna Treene / Axios:
Exclusive: Don Jr. tells Georgia Senate voters that Trump is on the ballot

Discussion: Fox News, Breitbart, Forbes, New York Times, The Hill, HotAir, Mock Paper Scissors and Political Wire

Washington Post:

Bipartisan group of Senators prepares $908 billion stimulus plan, aiming to break partisan logjam — Package comes amid signs economy is weakening but so far does not have buy in from White House, congressional leaders — A bipartisan group of senators is expected to unveil …

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

Catherine Thorbecke / ABC News:

Nasdaq unveils new push to mandate diversity in corporate boardrooms — Nasdaq filed its proposal with the SEC on Tuesday. — Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. — Demetrius Freeman/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE — Nasdaq is proposing new rules that would mandate diversity …

Discussion: CNBC, Power Line, Wall Street Journal, The Root, Al Jazeera, WTMJ, CBS News, WTOP and Washington Examiner

Hans Bader / Liberty Unyielding: NASDAQ proposes illegal racial quotas for corporate boards; ACLU applauds

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

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

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

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

NBC Bay Area:

San Jose Mayor Ignored Health Protocols During Holiday Celebration — San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo appears to have broken health protocols in celebrating Thanksgiving with family members outside of his own household. — The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit has learned Liccardo celebrated …