memeorandum: The inside story of how Trump's denial, mismanagement and magical thinking led to the pandemic's dark winter (Yasmeen Abutaleb/Washington Post)

10:40 PM ET, December 19, 2020

Top Items:

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Officials increasingly alarmed about Trump's power grab — Senior Trump administration officials are increasingly alarmed that President Trump might unleash — and abuse — the power of government in an effort to overturn the clear result of the election. — Why it matters …

Discussion: Task & Purpose, Slate, Forbes, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite

New York Times:

Trump Discussed Naming Campaign Lawyer as Special Counsel on Election Fraud — In a meeting at the White House on Friday, the president weighed appointing Sidney Powell, who promoted conspiracy theories about rigged voting machines, to probe voter fraud. — President Trump on Friday …

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:

Trump campaign told to preserve all documents related to Sidney Powell and Dominion Voting Systems — (CNN)President Donald Trump's campaign legal team sent a memo to dozens of staffers Saturday instructing them to preserve all documents related to Dominion Voting Systems and Sidney Powell …

CNN:

Heated Oval Office meeting included talk of special counsel, martial law as Trump advisers clash — (CNN)President Donald Trump convened a heated meeting in the Oval Office on Friday, including lawyer Sidney Powell and her client, former national security adviser Michael Flynn …

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Giuliani asks DHS about seizing voting machines — Rudy Giuliani called Ken Cuccinelli, second in command at the Department of Homeland Security, on Thursday night and asked him whether DHS could seize voting machines, a source familiar with the call confirmed to Axios.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Floats Coup Plan That's So Wild Even Rudy Giuliani Is Terrified — At the White House on Friday, President Trump held what may have been his most deranged meeting yet. In it, the president raged at his loyalists for betraying him, and discussed taking extra-legal measures to overturn the election.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Politico:
Trump sought to tap Sidney Powell as special counsel for election fraud

Discussion: The Hill, USA Today, WTOP, Washington Times, The Signorile Report and Mother Jones

Washington Post:
Even as Trump vows to keep fighting, his aides are quietly starting to move on

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Times, Juanita Jean's, JONATHAN TURLEY, POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire

Yasmeen Abutaleb / Washington Post:

The inside story of how Trump's denial, mismanagement and magical thinking led to the pandemic's dark winter — National reporter focusing on health policy — Reporter covering the White House White House Bureau Chief — As the number of coronavirus cases ticked upward in mid-November …

Discussion: littlegreenfootballs.com, Mediaite and Boing Boing

Ana Lucia Murillo / The Daily Beast:

White House Blocks a Statement Acknowledging Russia's Role in Cyberattack — PATHETIC — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday night that Russia was “pretty clearly” behind a huge cyberattack on U.S. agencies that compromised sensitive information.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wall Street Journal, The Intellectualist, Bloomberg, Daily Kos and CNN, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:
Amid Vaccine Rollout and Historic Hack, Trump Remains Focused on Reversing Election

Discussion: Yahoo News, KIFI-TV, Conservative News Today, Mediaite, POLITICUSUSA, Axios and Crooks and Liars, more at Techmeme »

Frank Bajak / Associated Press:
Pompeo says Russia ‘pretty clearly’ behind cyberattack on US

Discussion: Boing Boing, CNBC, Townhall, The Western Journal, Washington Times, Axios and CBS News

Vanessa Romo / NPR:
U.S. State Department Closing Two Consulates In Russia

Discussion: One America News Network and East Bay Times

Reuters:

‘Powerful tradecraft’: how foreign cyber-spies compromised America — (Reuters) - Speaking at a private dinner for tech security executives at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco in late February, America's cyber defense chief boasted how well his organizations protect the country from spies.

New York Times:
Trump Contradicts Pompeo Over Russia's Role in Hack

Discussion: Bloomberg, Israpundit, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, ABC News and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »

BBC:
US cyber-attack: Russia ‘clearly’ behind SolarWinds operation, says Pompeo

Discussion: NBC Los Angeles, The Last Refuge, Business Insider, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, NPR, New York Post and Wired

Steve Kenny / New York Times:
Pompeo Says Russia Was Behind Cyberattack on U.S.

Discussion: CNET, Balloon Juice, The Week, Meduza.io, TOP SECRET UMBRA, Axios, Mediaite, Politico, Fox News, Vanity Fair, Slate, Forbes and Business Insider

Washington Post:

Lawmakers hit major roadblock over GOP plan to limit Federal Reserve, imperiling weekend deal for emergency relief package — Both Democrats and Republicans say an issue over the Federal Reserve's authority remains a significant hurdle. — Senior congressional lawmakers attempting to complete …

Discussion: New York Times, New York Post, Political Wire and Reuters

Politico:
Stimulus talks stall as GOP digs in over Fed

Discussion: Business Insider, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Fox News, KIFI-TV, Slate, New York Times and The Sun

Frank Pallotta / CNN:

Jim Carrey will no longer play Joe Biden on ‘SNL’ — New York (CNN Business)Jim Carrey's short stint as Joe Biden has come to an end. — Carrey will no longer play the president-elect on “Saturday Night Live,” the comedian announced on Twitter Saturday. — “Though my term was only meant …

Discussion: Variety, Chicago Sun-Times, Deadline, The Wrap, Glamour, Althouse, New York Post and Mashable

Wall Street Journal:

Defense Officials Push Proposal to Separate NSA, Cyber Command — Proposal to split control of the two agencies before end of Trump administration faces resistance from lawmakers — WASHINGTON—Some senior Defense Department officials are pressing to formally separate the leadership …

more at Techmeme »

Christopher Bing / Reuters:
Congress, experts worry about potential spy agency reorganization amid hack response

Discussion: Associated Press

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:

Lou Dobbs debunks his own claims of election fraud — after a legal demand from Smartmatic — A fact-check segment that aired on his Fox Business show Friday will be rebroadcast on two other Fox programs this weekend — Something surprising happened Friday night on Lou Dobbs's top-rated show on the Fox Business Network.

Discussion: Slate, Conservative News Today, CNN and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »

Ron Lieber / New York Times:

An Oral History of the World's Biggest Coupon — Bed Bath & Beyond's plus-size mailer, known as Big Blue, has made it to TV, eBay, even a mobster's kitchen drawer. “The poor mailmen,” the company's former marketing V.P. said, “what we did to them.” — The F.B.I. found one in the junk drawer …

New York Times:

U.K. Imposes Harsher Lockdown on London, Citing New Version of Virus — Scientists in Britain say the new variant is spreading faster than previous ones, but does not appear to make people sicker. — LONDON — Alarmed by a what he called a faster-spreading variant of the coronavirus …

Discussion: Bloomberg, CNN, Slate and TheGrio

Ashok Selvam / Eater Chicago:

Stephanie Izard Apologizes For a Poorly Received Representation of a Korean Dish — A photo posted Thursday using Izard's social media handle showed a “bibimbap” without any cultural context, igniting a conversation on cultural appropriation — A fellow Chicago chef is once again accusing …

Brittny Mejia / Los Angeles Times:

They risk their lives cleaning hospitals. Now, they are getting vaccinated. ‘I want people to know that we exist’ — Maria Saravia changes in and out of protective gear 24 times a day — once for each patient room she enters on the COVID-19 floor at Keck Hospital of USC.

Anand Giridharadas / The.Ink:

EXCLUSIVE: The Sacklers' group chat of pain — The Ink reviewed the WhatsApp text thread of a family behind the opioid crisis, as they faced — and refused to face — the walls closing in — For years, as an opioid crisis ravaged America, the Sackler family, which founded Purdue Pharma …

Discussion: COURIER

CNN:

Tucker Carlson's vaccine rant should be called out by every reputable news organization — Joe Lockhart is a CNN political analyst. He was the White House press secretary from 1998-2000 in President Bill Clinton's administration. He co-hosts the podcast “Words Matter.”

Discussion: The Guardian

Alexi McCammond / Axios:

Scoop: Lance Bottoms rejected Biden's SBA offer — Joe Biden implored Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to accept a job heading the Small Business Administration earlier this week, a lesser position she rejected after he characterized it as “only the first step” for her during his presidency …

Clay Risen / New York Times:

Jean Graetz, White Supporter of Civil Rights in Alabama, Dies at 90 — With her husband, Robert, Mrs. Graetz became a friend of Rosa Parks and supported the Montgomery bus boycott, despite threats to her life. — Jean Graetz, who was among the few white people in Montgomery, Ala. …

Brian Bakst / MPR News:

Minn. Sen. Jerry Relph dies of COVID-19 complications — Brian Bakst and Kirsti MarohnSt. — Jerry Relph, a first-term state senator from St. Cloud, died Friday of complications of COVID-19, his family and the Senate majority leader confirmed. — “Jerry dedicated his life to service …