Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Pardons Two Russia Inquiry Figures and Blackwater Guards — The pre-Christmas wave of 20 pardons and commutations are not likely to be the last before Mr. Trump leaves office on Jan. 20. — In an audacious pre-Christmas round of pardons, President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday …
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CNN:
Trump announces wave of pardons, including Papadopoulos and former lawmakers Hunter and Collins — (CNN)President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a wave of lame duck pardons, including two for men who pleaded guilty in Robert Mueller's investigation, as well as ones for Republican allies …
Discussion:
HotAir, CNBC, The Sun, Townhall, The Intellectualist and Mock Paper Scissors
Washington Post:
Trump grants clemency to 20 people, including three GOP former members of Congress and two men convicted in the Russia probe — President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday to 20 people, including three former Republican members of Congress and two people who were convicted of crimes as part …
Discussion:
National Review, Fox News, RedState, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and The Intellectualist
The White House:
Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency
Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency
Discussion:
NPR, Greensburg Tribune-Review and UPI
Robin Bravender / Business Insider:
Bidenworld is worried Trump will trash tradition and force the president-elect to fire thousands of GOP holdovers on his first day in the White House … - President Donald Trump could complicate President-elect Joe Biden's job by leaving thousands of political holdovers in office when Inauguration Day comes.
Discussion:
Variety, Politico and Salon, more at Techmeme »
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Associated Press:
WH virus coordinator Deborah Birx says she will retire — WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, said Tuesday she plans to retire, but is willing to first help President-elect Joe Biden's team with its coronavirus response as needed.
Discussion:
Axios, Crooks and Liars, USA Today, Mock Paper Scissors, Alternet.org, Newsy, New York Times, CBS News, Townhall, Conservative News Today and Raw Story
Zoë Richards / Talking Points Memo:
‘I Will Retire’: Dr. Birx Will Not Seek Role In Biden Administration
‘I Will Retire’: Dr. Birx Will Not Seek Role In Biden Administration
Discussion:
National Review, NPR, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, The Hill, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Mediaite and Washington Examiner
Washington Post:
Trump calls on Congress to approve $2,000 stimulus checks, hinting that he might not sign economic relief bill into law without changes — The president has still not signed the measure even though it passed Monday night. He called the measure “a disgrace.”
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Axios:
Trump asks Congress to increase stimulus payments — President Trump indicated in a video Tuesday evening that he won't sign the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill and a $1.4 trillion government funding measure passed by Congress as it stands. — Why it matters: The surprise announcement …
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Examiner, CNBC, Fox News, NPR, Townhall, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze and Lucianne
Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
Trump slams relief bill, calls on Congress to increase stimulus money — President Trump berated Congress over the recently announced COVID-19 relief package and called on both chambers to send him a new bill with an increase in stimulus money for Americans.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Deadline
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Media resolutions: Do better in 2021
Media resolutions: Do better in 2021
Discussion:
CNN, U.S. Congressman Brian Babin …, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and The Week
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump turns on Pence, McConnell and White House counsel Cipollone in desperate final days — President Trump, in his final days, is turning bitterly on virtually every person around him, griping about anyone who refuses to indulge conspiracy theories or hopeless bids to overturn the election, several top officials tell Axios.
Discussion:
What The Fuck …, CNN, Washington Post, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Salon, Forbes, Vanity Fair, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite, Washington Monthly, Politico, Raw Story, Mock Paper Scissors, The Daily Caller, Election Law Blog, Law & Crime, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Outside the Beltway, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Nation, Business Insider, New York Magazine, HotAir, Alternet.org, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Intellectualist, Media Matters for America, Talking Points Memo, Crooks and Liars, Reason, The Guardian, Bloomberg, littlegreenfootballs.com, The Week, Associated Press, Hackwhackers, The Root, Washington Times and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Don't let Mitch McConnell get away with his vile rewriting of history
Don't let Mitch McConnell get away with his vile rewriting of history
Discussion:
Politico, New York Times, Slate, Jacobin, Raw Story, Breitbart and New Republic, more at Mediagazer »
Ben Collins / NBC News:
As Trump meets with QAnon influencers, the conspiracy theory's adherents beg for dictatorship — On Friday, President Donald Trump met with current and former advisers in the Oval Office, including retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, and one person familiar with the meeting said Flynn advocated …
Discussion:
ABC News and Great American Politics
The Daily Beast:
Trump Tells Sidney Powell He Won't Name Her ‘Special Counsel’ — The president has met with the conspiracy theorist lawyer recently. But he is not yet buckling to one of her wishes. … Donald Trump informed the conspiracy-theory-driven MAGA attorney Sidney Powell on Monday that he does …
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Politico:
Trump orchestrates final loyalty test in dying bid to subvert election — President Donald Trump is plotting a final stand in Congress on Jan. 6, casting it as the ultimate loyalty test in his quest to remain in power and shutting out anyone who won't get in line.
Discussion:
The Hill, Axios, The Sun, Washington Times, OpenSecrets.org and Alternet.org
David Edwards / Raw Story:
Karl Rove goes off on Sidney Powell: ‘Any idiot with access to Google’ can debunk her lawsuits
David Enrich / New York Times:
Trump's Longtime Banker at Deutsche Bank Resigns — Rosemary Vrablic, who oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to President Trump's company, will leave the bank next week. — President Trump's longtime banker at Deutsche Bank, who arranged for the German lender to make hundreds …
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Kara Scannell / CNN:
Trump's private bankers resign from Deutsche Bank
Trump's private bankers resign from Deutsche Bank
Discussion:
The Hill, UPI and The Intellectualist
Los Angeles Times:
Alex Padilla becomes California's first Latino U.S. senator, replacing Kamala Harris — Alex Padilla, a Los Angeles Democrat who once developed software for satellites but later rose through local and state political office to become California secretary of state, was chosen Tuesday …
Discussion:
Washington Post, California Governor, KUSI-TV, FiveThirtyEight, The Root, One America News Network, Twitchy, CNBC, UPI, Fox News and Reuters
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Shawn Hubler / New York Times:
Alex Padilla Will Replace Kamala Harris in the Senate
Alex Padilla Will Replace Kamala Harris in the Senate
Discussion:
Politico, Los Angeles Times, Fortune, Deadline, Press Enterprise, HotAir, The 19th, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, The Federalist, NPR, ABC7, Washington Examiner and New York Post
Benjamin Wermund / Houston Chronicle:
Texas AG Ken Paxton urged White House to revoke Harris County COVID relief — FILE- In this Sept. 10, 2020, file photo, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Austin Police Association in Austin, Texas. Paxton on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, announced a multi-state lawsuit against Google …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
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Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The dishonest heart of the challenge to the 2020 election results
The dishonest heart of the challenge to the 2020 election results
Discussion:
Detroit News and Raw Story
Nick Niedzwiadek / Politico:
Trump nominates Hope Hicks, Ric Grenell to government posts — President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced plans to appoint another slate of top allies to various government boards, yet another sign that his time in office is winding to a close. — The president named Hope Hicks to be a member …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire
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Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Senior Trump advisers prepare to launch policy group
Senior Trump advisers prepare to launch policy group
Discussion:
The Hill and Political Wire
Washington Post:
FBI links Iran to online hit list targeting top officials who've refuted Trump's election fraud claims — The FBI has concluded that Iran was behind online efforts earlier this month to incite violence against the bureau's director, a former top U.S. cyber expert and multiple state elections …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Bradford Betz / Fox News:
Warnock's wife told officer that her husband is ‘a great actor’ after domestic dispute — Medical officials did not find visible signs of injury on his wife's foot and Warnock was never charged with a crime. — Ossoff, Warnock would embrace ‘far-left liberal policies’ in Senate: Alyssa Farah
Discussion:
Georgia Memo
Andrew Blankstein / NBC News:
Former Rep. Katie Hill sues ex-husband, Daily Mail, Redstate.com over ‘nonconsensual porn’ — LOS ANGELES — Former congresswoman Katie Hill filed suit in Los Angeles Tuesday against her ex-husband and the owners of Redstate.com and the Daily Mail, saying they had distributed what amounted to …
Mike Stobbe / Associated Press:
US deaths in 2020 top 3 million, by far most ever counted — NEW YORK (AP) — This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time — due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic. — Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months.
Discussion:
Centers for Disease Control, The Hill, The Intellectualist and The Daily Caller
Substack Blog:
Substack's view of content moderation — Building a system that puts readers and writers in charge — As Substack grows, there is increasing interest in the stance we take on content moderation. It's a complicated issue, so we wanted to take a moment to lay out our position clearly and explain how we got there.
Discussion:
The Verge and TechCrunch, more at Mediagazer »
Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:
Judge Says Lin Wood's Post-Election Lawsuits May Have Violated Several Professional Rules, Orders Him to Respond — Attorney Lin Wood's lawsuits aimed to topple the 2020 election may have violated Delaware's rules of professional conduct, preventing him from representing President Donald …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Becket Adams / Washington Examiner:
AOC is right — When Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is right, she's right. — She's also an embarrassing hypocrite, but that doesn't mean she's wrong. — The New York representative went on a righteous tear Monday after it became clear that Congress was going to pass a massive …
Discussion:
The Pipeline, HotAir and Roll Call
Wall Street Journal:
Hunter Biden's Family Name Aided Deals with Foreign Tycoons — Business dealings of Joe Biden's son are at the center of a federal tax investigation and loom over the start of his presidency — Hunter Biden ramped up business activities with European and Chinese tycoons as his father exited the vice presidency four years ago.
The Cook Political Report:
36 Facts About the 2020 Elections — In keeping with our end-of-cycle tradition, we found 36 interesting things to tide you over during the holidays as we take a break. — PRESIDENTIAL: — 1. A president's job approval rating is one of the most consistent (and accurate) predictors of electoral performance.
Discussion:
CNN and Washington Post