memeorandum: Surprise Medical Bills Cost Americans Millions. Congress Is Finally Set to Ban Most of Them. (New York Times)

12:10 PM ET, December 21, 2020

Top Items:

“If it Hadn't Been for the Prompt Work of the Medics”: FSB Officer Inadvertently Confesses Murder Plot to Navalny — Bellingcat and its partners reported that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) was implicated in the near-fatal nerve-agent poisoning of Alexey Navalny on 20 August 2020.

Discussion: Radio Free Europe/Radio … and The Daily Beast

CNN:

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny dupes spy into revealing how he was poisoned — Watch Clarissa Ward and the latest on the revelations about Navalny's poisoning and its aftermath, on Anderson Cooper 360˚ tonight on CNN at 8 ET. — Moscow (CNN)A Russian agent sent …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Defense One, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, HotAir, Mediaite, Alternet.org and Mock Paper Scissors

Ben Smith / New York Times:

The ‘Red Slime’ Lawsuit That Could Sink Right-Wing Media — Voting machine companies threaten “highly dangerous” cases against Fox, Newsmax and OAN, says Floyd Abrams. — Antonio Mugica was in Boca Raton when an American presidential election really melted down in 2000 …

Discussion: Business Insider, TVNewser, Alternet.org, Twitchy, Washington Examiner and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Mona Charen / The Bulwark:
Lou Dobbs Debunks Himself

Discussion: The Guardian, USA Today and HotAir, more at Mediagazer »

Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:

Engaging With Trump's Die-Hard Supporters Isn't Productive — President-elect Joe Biden made national unity a centerpiece of his campaign, and no patriotic American who wants to repair the damage of the Donald Trump years can argue with such a noble call. The election is over …

Discussion: Reuters, The Wrap, Patterico's Pontifications and Alternet.org

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The GOP whitewashing of the Trump stain has quietly begun

Discussion: Unfogged

Emily Czachor / Newsweek:
Trump Shares Video Suggesting COVID Pandemic Created to Make Him Look Bad, Lose Election

Discussion: The American Independent and Alternet.org

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

Undercutting Trump, Barr says there's no basis for seizing voting machines, using special counsels for election fraud, Hunter Biden — Outgoing Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday he saw no basis for the federal government seizing voting machines and that he did not intend to appoint …

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, CNBC, USA Today, Bloomberg, Reuters, Business Insider, Associated Press, CNN, HotAir, The Sun, New York Post, Mediaite, Florida Politics and Political Wire

Zachary Basu / Axios:

Barr refutes Trump on Hunter Biden, voting machines, Russia hack — Attorney General Bill Barr told reporters Monday that he sees no reason to name a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, there is no basis for the federal government to seize voting machines, and that he agrees …

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner, Townhall and Reason

Eric Boehlert / PRESS RUN:
Trump plots martial law from White House — the press shrugs

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Guardian, American Military News and Morning Consult

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Republicans desperate to avoid floor fight over Electoral College vote — National Republicans are desperate to avoid a floor fight in Congress over the certification of the Electoral College vote next month, believing it would be horrible politics to continue waging what most recognize …

Discussion: Alternet.org, New York Post, Washington Examiner and CNN

Associated Press:

Trump wants Supreme Court to overturn Pa. election results — WASHINGTON (AP) — Undeterred by dismissals and admonitions from judges, President Donald Trump's campaign continued with its unprecedented efforts to overturn the results of the Nov 3. election Sunday, saying it had filed a new petition with the Supreme Court.

Discussion: American Greatness, The Philadelphia Inquirer, HotAir, Townhall, Business Insider, UPI, Washington Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, Forbes and Washington Examiner

Virginia Governor / Virginia Governor Ralph Northam:

Virginia Removes Confederate Statue from U.S. Capitol — Commission recently selected civil rights icon Barbara Johns to represent the Commonwealth with new statue — WASHINGTON, D.C.—Governor Ralph Northam today announced that Virginia's statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee …

Discussion: CNN, NPR, Axios, WSPA-TV, New York Post, IJR and Forbes

Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
Robert E. Lee statue removed from US Capitol

Discussion: Blue Virginia

Quint Forgey / Politico:
Robert E. Lee statue removed from Capitol

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner and National Review

Thomas Franck / CNBC:

Americans will get stimulus checks as soon as next week, Mnuchin says — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Americans could see stimulus checks hit their bank accounts in a matter of days. — Mnuchin's comments came hours before Congress is expected to pass a new, $900 billion Covid-19 relief bill.

Discussion: Business Insider, POLITICUSUSA, IJR, The Signorile Report, UPI and Al Jazeera

Politico:
Congress on the verge of passing massive stimulus

Discussion: ABC News, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, CBS News, Healthcare Dive, Club for Growth, Bloomberg and Press Herald

New York Times:
Surprise Medical Bills Cost Americans Millions. Congress Is Finally Set to Ban Most of Them.

Discussion: The Hill

Emily Cochrane / New York Times:
Congress Strikes Long-Sought Stimulus Deal to Provide $900 Billion in Aid

Discussion: New York Magazine, CNBC, AFP, Digby's Hullabaloo, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, New York Daily News, USA Today, New York Post, Space.com, Washington Post, Fox News, The Hill, Variety, Forbes, Vox and The Mahablog, more at Techmeme »

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

Trump Is Already Wondering What Airport Will Bear His Name — The president has been asking aides and advisers what the process is for getting an airport named after him—another sign his mind is drifting to a post-presidency. — In the dying days of his presidency, Donald Trump has taken …

Discussion: Washington Post, Vanity Fair, No More Mister Nice Blog, Alternet.org, The American Independent, CNN, Byline Times, Business Insider, Vox, Washington Examiner, Patterico's Pontifications, IJR and NBC News

Justin Sink / Bloomberg:

Trump Sets ‘Beautiful’ as the New Standard for Federal Buildings — Executive action makes classical style default in Washington — Order stops short of fully banning modernist architecture — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday making classical architecture …

Stephanie Clifford / Elle:

The Journalist and the Pharma Bro — Why did Christie Smythe upend her life and stability for Martin Shkreli, one of the least-liked men in the world? — Almost every weekday for six years, Christie Smythe took the F train from Park Slope downtown to her desk at Brooklyn's federal court …

Discussion: Gothamist, The Wrap, The Guardian, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Jezebel, Law & Crime, New York Post and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:

White House secures ‘three martini lunch’ tax deduction in draft of coronavirus relief package — President Trump has long seized on the tax break as a way to revive the restaurant industry. But economists have panned it as ineffective and largely benefitting the wealthy.

Discussion: National Review, Bloomberg, Reason, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Intellectualist, Business Insider and Mother Jones

Associated Press:

Justice Dept. charges bombmaker in 1988 Pan Am explosion — The Justice Department has unsealed charges against a Libyan bombmaker in the 1988 explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland — Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. — ABCNews.com

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, UPI, WSPA-TV and NBC New York

Erica Newland / New York Times:

'I'm Haunted by What I Did' as a Lawyer in the Trump Justice Department — No matter our intentions, lawyers like me were complicit. We owe the country our honesty about what we saw — and should do in the future. — Ms. Newland worked in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department from 2016-18.

Discussion: Mediaite and Alternet.org

Washington Post:

‘A real mess’: Trump is leaving behind crises and undermining Biden before he takes office — When President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office on Jan. 20, the list of crises he will face includes a massive cyber intrusion, a still-raging global pandemic, a slowing economic recovery …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Pirate's Cove, Bloomberg, RedState, Boston Herald, California Healthline, Hír TV - rovat, Los Angeles Times and Mother Jones

Andrew Restuccia / Wall Street Journal:

Biden Adds New Members to His White House Economic Team — President-elect hires David Kamin, a former Obama administration budget official, and Bharat Ramamurti, a longtime aide to Sen. Elizabeth Warren — WASHINGTON—President-elect Joe Biden is rounding out his economic team …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Politico and The Daily Caller

Zach Everson / 1100 Pennsylvania:

Hundreds partied at Mar-a-Lago with Turning Point — President profited as sold out, $2,000/person reception and dinner flouting COVID guidance — Turning Point USA held a sold-out $2,000/person gala at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night. Based on photos posted to Instagram …

Discussion: Media Matters for America and UPI

Tovah Lazaroff / Jerusalem Post:

US Embassy courtyard named in Jared Kushner's honor — Kushner, along with a visiting US delegation stopped in the embassy in the afternoon for a small ceremony with US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. — The courtyard of the US Embassy in Jerusalem was named Monday in honor …

Washington Post:

More than 1.3 million Georgians have already voted in the Senate runoffs, rivaling general election turnout — ATLANTA — More than 1.3 million Georgians have already voted in two Senate runoffs taking place next month — a number that rivals the turnout at this point in the November election …

Discussion: Political IQ, Forbes, HotAir and The Daily Caller

Katrin Bennhold / New York Times:

She Called Police Over a Neo-Nazi Threat. But the Neo-Nazis Were Inside the Police. — Death threats linked to police computers and the discovery of far-right chat groups in police departments across Germany have fed concerns about far-right infiltration.

Robert Knight / Washington Times:

Ruling elites continue cultural cleansing rampage and not even Honest Abe is safe — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — It may be Christmastime, but our ruling elites are keeping up their campaign of cultural cleansing. — Not even Honest Abe is safe. — In San Francisco, a committee tasked to rid …