memeorandum: Supreme Court rejects Texas' and Trump's bid to overturn election (CNN)

9:25 PM ET, December 11, 2020

Top Items:

Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election — The suit, filed directly in the Supreme Court, sought to bar Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin from casting their electoral votes for Joseph R. Biden Jr. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday rejected …

Discussion: Raw Story, National Review, The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Holy Bullies …, Mother Jones, Washington Post, New York Post, CANNONFIRE, CBS Pittsburgh, Althouse, The Root, The Moderate Voice and Salon

Orlando Sentinel:

We apologize for endorsing U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, who wants to overturn the election … We apologize to our readers for endorsing Michael Waltz in the 2020 general election for Congress. — We had no idea, had no way of knowing at the time, that Waltz was not committed to democracy.

Discussion: New York Times, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Forbes, Associated Press, Fox News, Daytona Beach News …, Talking Points Memo, POLITICUSUSA, Alabama Political Reporter, Washington Examiner, The Intellectualist, Washington Post, Progressive Eruptions and Missouri Independent

Tom Goldstein / SCOTUSblog:

Editorial: Don't just deny Texas' original action. Decimate it. — Texas' attempt to bring an original action challenging the election results in four states is not a serious legal claim in a legitimate procedural posture, for reasons that many people have already given and that I will not repeat here.

Discussion: Reason, Los Angeles Times, The Constitutionalist, HotAir, Daily Kos and Hackwhackers

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Supreme Court dismisses bid led by Texas attorney general to overturn the presidential election results, blocking Trump's legal path to a reversal of his loss — The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a long-shot bid by President Trump and the state of Texas to overturn the results …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, USA Today, SCOTUSblog, Law & Crime, WRIC-TV and Blue Virginia

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:

Supreme Court Rejects Texas Bid to Overturn Trump's Loss — Two-paragraph order ends case Trump called ‘the big one’ — Texas lacks legal interest in other states' voting, court says — The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the bid by Texas and President Donald Trump to nullify …

Discussion: Michigan Advance, Washington Examiner, The Hill, BuzzFeed News, Variety, The Moderate Voice, CBS Philly, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, Washington Times, The Week and CBS Los Angeles

Nina Totenberg / NPR:

Supreme Court Shuts Door On Trump Election Prospects — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday night rejected an 11th hour challenge to Joe Biden's election as president. — The court's action came in a one-page order, which said the complaint was denied “for lack of standing.”

Discussion: LAW.com, Business Insider, Axios, Washington Examiner, NBC News, CBS News, CNN, Salon, The Daily Caller, Forbes, Associated Press, The Texas Tribune, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, ABC7 and The Gateway Pundit

James Wigderson / RightWisconsin:

Correction: Error in Editorial Endorsing Tiffany in GOP Primary — In a January 20 editorial, “Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District Deserves Better Than A Swamp Creature,” RightWisconsin made several errors in describing Tom Tiffany, then a candidate in Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District.

Discussion: Townhall

Politico:

Supreme Court rejects Texas-led effort to overturn Biden's victory — The Supreme Court has rejected a longshot bid by Texas and other Republican-led states to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in last month's election, dashing President Donald Trump's last-ditch hope that the justices effectively hand him a second term.

Discussion: CNBC, National Review, Washington Times, Talking Points Memo, Election Law Blog and NBC New York

Caitlin McFall / Fox News:
Wisconsin Supreme Court takes up Trump case after circuit court judge dismissed

Discussion: Washington Examiner

The Guardian:
Nearly two-thirds of House Republicans join baseless effort to overturn election

Discussion: Reuters, NBC News, The Bulwark, The Daily Signal, Minnesota Reformer, USA Today, Florida Politics, The Hill, IJR, Mic, National Review, The American Independent, WV MetroNews, Raw Story, The Week, Fox News and The Stream

CNN:
Supreme Court rejects Texas' and Trump's bid to overturn election

Discussion: USA Today, Reuters, The Daily Caller, Denver Post, Orange County Register and Deadline

Jonathan H. Adler / Reason:
Supreme Court Unanimously Denies Texas Emergency Relief, Refuses to Grant Motion for Leave to File (Updated)

Discussion: Business Insider, Breitbart, Power Line, Iowa Capital Dispatch and Instapundit

National Review:
Texas Unleashes an Absurd Kraken

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, The American Independent, Politics News, Off the Kuff and The Nation

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
Biden Transition Live Updates: Democrats and Some Republicans Applaud Supreme Court Rejection of Suit to Overturn Election

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, Business Insider, Reason, Associated Press, POLITICUSUSA, One America News Network, Mediaite, HotAir, Politics News, YouGov, New York Post and The Daily Signal

Politico:
Senate Republicans shun House GOP bid to overturn the election

Discussion: Fox News, Slate, The Hill, Roll Call, abc7NY, IJR, The American Independent, Newsbusters, Arizona Mirror, Florida Phoenix, Mediaite, GovExec.com, NBC4 Washington, Lawyers, Guns & Money, WTOP and Marketplace

Jonah Goldberg / The Dispatch:
The Galling Hypocrisy of Texas AG Ken Paxton

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, VICE, Business Insider, Mediaite, HotAir, Morning Shots and The Week

Patricia Murphy / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Mike Pence cheers Texas suit against Georgia: ‘God bless Texas!’

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The American Independent, BillMoyers.com and Business Insider

Washington Post:
Pelosi accuses Republicans of ‘subverting the Constitution’ as more GOP lawmakers backed failed attempt to undo Biden's win in the Supreme Court

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, RedState, Missouri Independent, Iowa Capital Dispatch, Georgia Recorder, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth and Political Wire

Washington Post:

White House orders FDA chief to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Friday or submit his resignation — The message from a top Trump aide prompted the agency to accelerate its announcement, which had been planned for early Saturday. — White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Friday told Stephen Hahn …

New York Times:

F.D.A. Clears Pfizer Vaccine, and Millions of Doses Will Be Shipped Right Away — An initial shipment of about 2.9 million doses of the vaccine will be sent around the United States over the next week. — The Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use on Friday …

Discussion: Las Vegas Review-Journal, Washington Post, Mic, Poynter, NBC4 Washington, The Week, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Breitbart

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Top House Republican joins group supporting Texas lawsuit seeking to invalidate election results

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Forbes, The Hill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, The US Sun and Breitbart

Axios:
Meadows hints FDA chief's job is in jeopardy over coronavirus vaccine

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Guardian and The Week

US Food and Drug Administration:
FDA Statement on Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, New York Times, WRIC-TV, Vox, CBS News, Good Morning America, KGET-TV, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Gothamist, HotAir, NBC Los Angeles, Boston Herald, IJR, Forbes, The Week, Fox News, WPRI-TV, KTLA and KCLO-TV

CNN:
White House chief of staff told FDA chief vaccine must be authorized Friday or he needs to resign

Discussion: Washington Post, Reuters, The Hill, Associated Press and Bloomberg

Tom Winter / NBC News:

Email to Hunter Biden raises fresh questions about his tax dealings — Hunter Biden's former business partner sent him an email in 2017 saying he did not disclose on his tax returns $400,000 in income from the Ukrainian natural gas company where he sat on the board, according to a copy of the email obtained by NBC News.

Discussion: Breitbart, Townhall, Political Wire, The National Interest and NBC Boston

New York Times:

Material From Giuliani Spurred a Separate Justice Dept. Pursuit of Hunter Biden — The inquiry, based out of Pittsburgh, was run parallel to an investigation in Delaware and raised alarms among F.B.I. agents about politicization. — WASHINGTON — As federal investigators in Delaware …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Washington Examiner, IJR, The Daily Caller, Lawfare, New York Post, Vanity Fair, Sara A. Carter, HotAir, The Western Journal and Business Insider

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Chris Murphy's surprise floor speech raises tough questions for Democrats — If there's one thing that widespread Republican support for President Trump's effort to overturn the election results suggests, it's that we're entering into uncertain and potentially treacherous territory when it comes …

Discussion: Business Insider and Talking Points Memo

Jennifer Rutledge / Conservative Action Project:

Conservatives Call on State Legislators to Appoint New Electors, in Accordance with the Constitution — The evidence overwhelmingly shows officials in key battleground states—as the result of a coordinated pressure campaign by Democrats and allied groups—violated the Constitution …

Discussion: The Dispatch, Washington Examiner and Breitbart

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
Hatred of liberals is all that's left of conservatism

Discussion: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Washington Post:

Sidney Powell's secret witness ‘Spyder’ is an IT consultant. He told The Post he never worked in military intelligence. — The witness is code-named “Spyder.” Or sometimes “Spider.” His identity is so closely guarded that lawyer Sidney Powell has sought to keep it even from opposing counsel.

Kevin Fagan / San Francisco Chronicle:

Zodiac ‘340 Cipher’ cracked by code experts 51 years after it was sent to the S.F. Chronicle — The solution to what's known as the 340 Cipher, one of the most vexing mysteries of the Zodiac Killer's murderous saga, has been found by a code-breaking team from the United States, Australia and Belgium.

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, KGET-TV, The Guardian, Fox News, The US Sun, CBS San Francisco, The Daily Caller, ABC7 and globalnews.ca

New York Times:

Manhattan D.A. Intensifies Investigation of Trump — Prosecutors have recently interviewed employees of President Trump's lender and insurance brokerage, in the latest indication that he still faces the potential threat of criminal charges once he leaves office.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Politico, Bloomberg, Vanity Fair, Business Insider, POLITICUSUSA, CNN, Law & Crime, The Week, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, The Intellectualist, Raw Story and The Root

BuzzFeed News:

After The US Election, Key People Are Leaving Facebook And Torching The Company In Departure Notes — On Wednesday, a Facebook data scientist departed the social networking company after a two-year stint, leaving a farewell note for their colleagues to ponder.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, more at Techmeme »

Ursula Perano / Axios:

Devin Nunes says he's tested positive for COVID-19 — Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) told California radio station KMJNOW on Friday that he's tested positive for the coronavirus. — The big picture: Nunes is an ardent defender of President Trump and former chair of the House Intelligence Committee.

Discussion: The Federalist and Raw Story

Sonam Sheth / Business Insider:
California Rep. Devin Nunes says he tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies

Discussion: CNN and Axios

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:

Democrat wants to use Civil War law about traitors to ban 126 Republicans from being seated in Congress — Only one-third of the Republicans elected to Congress in 2020 will be seated in Congress come January if one New Jersey Democrat has his way. — Rep. Bill Prscrell, Jr. (D-NJ) …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Washington Examiner, Common Dreams, Right Journalism and The Intellectualist

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Most Republicans say President Trump was robbed — Most Republicans also say GOP lawsuits are helping American democracy — Trump meets with attorneys general over Texas election lawsuit — Sixty-eight percent of Republicans believe the election was stolen from President Trump.

Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Voters give President Trump mixed reviews after 4 years

Discussion: The Hill and Opinion Today

Bob Smietana / Religion News Service:

Dave Ramsey, Christian personal finance guru, defies COVID-19 to keep staff at desks — Flip — NASHVILLE (RNS) — Christian personal finance guru Dave Ramsey hopes his staff will spread peace and goodwill during the Christmas season. — They may also be spreading COVID-19.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:

NY Times Assistant Who Edited Cotton's ‘Send in the Troops’ Column Resigns — Six months after the inflammatory column and opinions editor James Bennet's subsequent resignation, the editorial assistant who edited the piece has left the Times. … The New York Times staffer who edited …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Jerry Dunleavy / Washington Examiner:

‘Russian disinformation’ claims gave Joe Biden and media cover to dismiss Hunter allegations — President-elect Joe Biden's campaign, along with many in the media, dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop story, which emerged in October as part of a Russian disinformation operation, without evidence.

Discussion: Politico, And another thing, The Hill, RedState and New York Post

Sky Palma / Raw Story:

GOP candidate who pushed QAnon conspiracy theory gets arrested for child pornography — Ben Gibson, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in November, was arrested in Louisiana this Wednesday and booked on four counts of child pornography, WGNO reports. — Gibson, who was an active Airman …

Discussion: WGNO, Daily Kos, The US Sun and The Intellectualist

New York Times:

FKA twigs Sues Shia LaBeouf, Citing ‘Relentless’ Abusive Relationship — The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles by the musician, accuses the actor of sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress. — Just after Valentine's Day in 2019, the musician FKA twigs was in a car speeding toward Los Angeles.