Top Items:
Business Insider:
EXCLUSIVE: Jared Kushner helped create a Trump campaign shell company that secretly paid the president's family members and spent $617 million in reelection cash, a source tells Insider … - Jared Kushner approved the creation of a shell company that spent almost half of the Trump campaign's $1.26B war chest …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Raw Story, The Sun, Daily Kos, The Mahablog, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Intellectualist
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New York Times:
Trump's Future: Tons of Cash and Plenty of Options for Spending It — When President Trump departs the White House, he will have a huge pile of cash to fuel his future ambitions. He can hold rallies, hire staff and even lay groundwork for a potential 2024 run.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, American Interregnum, Alternet.org and Commentary Magazine
Rachel Olding / The Daily Beast:
Kushner OK'd Trump Campaign Shell Company That Secretly Paid Inner Circle: Report — ENDLESS GRIFT — Jared Kushner approved the creation of a shell company that operated like a “campaign within a campaign” and secretly funneled millions of dollars in campaign cash to Trump family members, Business Insider reports.
New York Times:
Lara Trump served on the board of a company through which the Trump political operation spent more than $700 million. — Lara Trump, President Trump's daughter-in-law and a senior campaign adviser, served on the board of a limited liability company through which the Trump political operation …
Discussion:
The Intellectualist and Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I
Axios:
Scoop: Pentagon halts Biden transition briefings — Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller ordered a Pentagon-wide halt to cooperation with the transition of President-elect Biden, shocking officials across the Defense Department, senior administration officials tell Axios.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, CNBC, Business Insider, Buttermilk Sky, Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Dispatch, Forbes, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, The Sun, Vanity Fair, The Daily Caller, American Military News, Washington Examiner, GovExec.com, Mic, Daily Kos, Alternet.org, POLITICUSUSA, Defense One, New York Post, Crooks and Liars, NOQ Report, Sara A. Carter, The Week, Raw Story, The Intellectualist and The Root
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Trevor Hunnicutt / Reuters:
Biden team says Defense Department officials halted cooperation
Biden team says Defense Department officials halted cooperation
Discussion:
Associated Press, CNN, NPR and The Hill
David Folkenflik / NPR:
‘New York Times’ Retracts Core Of Hit Podcast Series ‘Caliphate’ On ISIS — Toggle more options — The New York Times has retracted the core of its hit 2018 podcast series Caliphate after an internal review found the paper failed to heed red flags indicating that the man it relied upon …
Discussion:
Variety, New York Times, Deadline, WTOP, Forbes, Twitchy, The Hill, TheBlaze, Washington Post, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Reason, Althouse and HotAir, more at Mediagazer »
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New York Times:
New York Times Says ‘Caliphate’ Podcast Fell Short of Standards
New York Times Says ‘Caliphate’ Podcast Fell Short of Standards
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Verge, Washington Post, Mediaite, New York Post, HotAir and Washington Examiner, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
A Riveting ISIS Story, Told in a Times Podcast, Falls Apart
A Riveting ISIS Story, Told in a Times Podcast, Falls Apart
Discussion:
Conservative News Today, KIFI-TV and The Wrap
Rukmini Callimachi / New York Times:
ISIS Leader Paid Rival for Protection but Was Betrayed by His Own
Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:
William Barr: ‘One Standard of Justice’ — The departing attorney general talks about John Durham, Robert Mueller, Hunter Biden, Mike Flynn and the flak he's taken from both parties. — The U.S. attorney general is meditating on one of his frustrations with the modern Justice Department …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Washington Examiner, Mediaite and emptywheel
Los Angeles Times:
The wealthy scramble for COVID-19 vaccines: ‘If I donate $25,000 ... would that help me?’ — They're offering tens of thousands of dollars in cash, making their personal assistants pester doctors every day, and asking whether a five-figure donation to a hospital would help them jump the line.
Discussion:
The Week, The Daily Caller, HotAir and New York Post
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Executive For US Video Conference Company Spied On Dissidents At Direction Of Chinese Intelligence, Feds Say — A Chinese tech executive spied on users of a U.S. company's video conferencing platform on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party's intelligence services, according to federal prosecutors.
Discussion:
Zoom Blog, The Verge, The Western Journal, National Review, New York Post, Mashable and WPHM
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Nina Totenberg / NPR:
Supreme Court Punts Census Case, Giving Trump An Iffy Chance To Alter Numbers — Toggle more options — The U.S. Supreme Court ducked a direct ruling Friday on whether President Trump can exclude undocumented immigrants from a key census count. — At issue in the case …
Discussion:
The Hill, SCOTUSblog, HotAir, RedState, Roll Call, BorderReport, Slate and The Western Journal
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Lawrence Hurley / Reuters:
U.S. Supreme Court throws out challenge to Trump census immigrant plan
U.S. Supreme Court throws out challenge to Trump census immigrant plan
Discussion:
New York Times, Reason, NPR, Breitbart, Conservative News Today, Talking Points Memo, Boundless, BuzzFeed News, The Daily Caller and New York Post
Peter Nicholas / The Atlantic:
Was It Worth It? — People who work for President Donald Trump typically meet one of two fates. They fail to show the unthinking loyalty he demands and get fired. Or, maybe worse, they don't get fired—they endure the tantrums and turmoil and survive another day, binding themselves …
Rudy Takala / Mediaite:
Eric Bolling Savages Establishment Republicans: ‘Trump May Be the Last GOP President’ — Eric Bolling savaged “establishment” Republicans on Friday, telling his viewers they were the reason Donald Trump would be the last Republican president for the foreseeable future.
Discussion:
New Republic, Wall Street Journal and POLITICUSUSA
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Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
Pelosi, McConnell receive COVID-19 vaccine
Pelosi, McConnell receive COVID-19 vaccine
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Forbes, KIFI-TV, The Western Journal, ABC13, One America News Network, The Week, Townhall and Washington Post
Oriana Gonzalez / Axios:
Lawmakers receive COVID-19 vaccine
Lawmakers receive COVID-19 vaccine
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Western Journal, IJR and Politico
Washington Post:
Interior shuts Washington Monument after interior secretary tests positive for the coronavirus — Park Service staff say they may have been exposed when David Bernhardt led a private, after-hours tour — Officials have taken the extraordinary step of closing the Washington Monument starting Friday …
Discussion:
NPS.gov, Associated Press, Washingtonian, USA Today, Raw Story, Daily Kos and NBC4 Washington
Ken Gormley / Washington Post:
If Trump pardons himself, Biden should un-pardon him — Ken Gormley is an expert on the Constitution, the presidency and the pardon power. He is president of Duquesne University. — If President Trump makes the ill-advised decision to try to pardon himself before he leaves the White House in January …
Owen Churchill / South China Morning Post:
US senator blocks bill giving Hongkongers special refugee status — Cruz says China would exploit relaxed immigration standards to send spies to the US Under the bill, Hongkongers would be granted temporary protected status, joining citizens from 10 other countries including Syria …
Rebecca Kheel / The Hill:
Space Force troops to be called ‘guardians’ — Service members in the year-old Space Force will be called “guardians,” Vice President Pence announced Friday. — “It is my honor, on behalf of the president of the United States, to announce that henceforth the men and women …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Defense One, Air Force Magazine, POLITICUSUSA and American Military News
Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
Lou Dobbs Airs Stunning Fact-Check of His Own Election Conspiracies After Company Threatens Legal Action — Fox Business host Lou Dobbs has recently taken to raising questions about voting machine companies, which have been cast as complicit in the supposed grand conspiracy to steal the 2020 election from President Donald Trump.
Marisa Schultz / Fox News:
McCarthy gets FBI briefing on Swalwell: ‘He should not be on Intel’ committee — GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy emerged Friday from a closed-door FBI briefing on Rep. Eric Swalwell's contact with alleged Chinese spy saying the California Democrat should not have access to the nation's secrets.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, National Review and The Gateway Pundit
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Joseph Simonson / Washington Examiner:
Questions raised over when Eric Swalwell knew about Chinese spy suspect Fang Fang
Questions raised over when Eric Swalwell knew about Chinese spy suspect Fang Fang
Discussion:
New York Post and The Gateway Pundit
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
From BuzzFeed to Axios, Digital Media Players Prepare for Deal Frenzy — Big players explore acquiring rivals and going public through blank-check companies — Momentum is building toward consolidation in the digital media sector as big and small players alike look for potential combinations.
Tina Nguyen / Politico:
MAGA leaders call for the troops to keep Trump in office — An 1807 law invoked only in the most violent circumstances is now a rallying cry for the MAGA-ites most committed to the fantasy that Donald Trump will never leave office. — The law, the Insurrection Act, allows the president …
Discussion:
Byline Times, Task & Purpose, The Root and Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
Covid-Aid Talks Go Down to the Wire — Short-term bill would fund government through Dec. 20 as negotiations continue over coronavirus relief package — WASHINGTON—The House and Senate passed a two-day spending bill Friday evening, sending it over to the White House in a bid to prevent …
Discussion:
Axios, The Hill, Bloomberg, CNBC, USA Today, New York Post, Washington Post, NBC4 Washington, Roll Call, Associated Press, NBC 6 South Florida and One America News Network
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The Daily Beast:
Inside the Ivanka-Melania War — Melania Trump's one-time confidant takes us deep into one of the White House's nastiest battles. — They're the two most important women in Donald Trump's life. And they absolutely loathe one another. — Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, the former Melania Trump confidant …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Jose Del Real / Washington Post:
‘Latinx’ hasn't even caught on among Latinos. It never will. — The term is an English-language contrivance, not a real gesture at gender inclusivity. — The term “Latinx,” modifying “Latino” and “Latina” to describe people in a gender-inclusive way, has become commonplace — in some quarters.
Axios:
Trump expected to issue wave of pre-Christmas pardons today — President Trump plans to issue a wave of pardons today, moving to expedite acts of clemency before Christmas, according to a source with direct knowledge and advocates who have been briefed on the plans.
Discussion:
Lawfare, CREW, The Sun, Washington Post, CNN, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, The Federalist and Fox News
Federal Register:
AGENCY: — Food and Drug Administration, HHS. — ACTION: — Proposed rule. — SUMMARY: — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) proposes to revoke the standard of identity and the standard of quality for frozen cherry pie. This action, in part, responds to a citizen petition submitted …
Discussion:
Reason, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite and National Review
Alexander Sammon / American Prospect:
The Establishment Strikes Back — Henry Cuellar and centrist Democrats mutiny against progressives in a key committee fight. — AOC in August during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing — Committee assignments are one of the least eye-catching parts of politics …
Discussion:
Townhall, RedState, Alternet.org, HotAir, The Western Journal, Politico and CNBC
Alex Kaplan / Media Matters for America:
A viral 4chan hoax about Chief Justice John Roberts tricked a presidential elector and pro-Trump media — A hoax from a far-right message board about a rejected pro-Trump Supreme Court case went viral, drawing millions of views on social media and tricking a presidential elector in Texas …
Discussion:
YouGov, The Dispatch and Raw Story
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
GOP senator blocks bill to provide $1,200 stimulus checks — GOP Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) on Friday blocked an effort to pass a second round of stimulus checks, arguing coronavirus relief needs to be targeted and raising concerns about the country's debt. — Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) …
Discussion:
Breitbart, TheBlaze, The Intellectualist and Balloon Juice