Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Gives Clemency to More Allies, Including Manafort, Stone and Charles Kushner — It was the second wave of pardons and commutations by the president in two days, showing his willingness to use his power aggressively on behalf of loyalists. — President Trump doled out clemency …
Discussion:
The Week, The Dispatch, NPR, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Forbes, The Sun, Mock Paper Scissors, TalkLeft, Fortune, Alternet.org, New York Post and Vox
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CNN:
Trump issues 26 new pardons, including ones for Stone, Manafort and Charles Kushner — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening announced 26 new pardons, including ones for longtime ally Roger Stone, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner's father, Charles.
Tim Miller / The Bulwark:
The Treasonous Pardon of Paul Manafort — Trump, Russia, and the swamp won. America lost. — For four years we've been force-fed the preposterous dual notions that Donald Trump intended to “drain the swamp” and that any suggestion his campaign colluded with Russia in its interference in the 2016 election was a media hoax.
Discussion:
Raw Story and FOX 5 San Diego
The White House:
Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency — Today, President Donald J. Trump granted Full Pardons to 26 individuals and commuted part or all of the sentences of an additional 3 individuals. — James Kassouf — President Trump granted a full pardon to James Kassouf.
Discussion:
Business Insider, CNN, USA Today, Power Line, The Last Refuge, The Texas Tribune, FOX 5 San Diego, Reason, Raw Story and WTOP
Franklin Foer / The Atlantic:
The Triumph of Kleptocracy — Paul Manafort came of age in New Britain, Connecticut. His father, the garrulous mayor of that decaying factory town, taught him how to cobble together an electoral coalition, passing down the tricks of the trade that became the basis for the son's lucrative career as a political consultant.
Emma Austin / Courier-Journal:
President Trump grants pardon for Louisville activist Christopher 2X — A prominent Louisville activist has been granted a full pardon by President Donald Trump, according to a press release from the White House. — Christopher 2X, who runs a nonprofit in Louisville dedicated …
Discussion:
Reason
Clarence Williams / Washington Post:
Trump pardons former Prince George's County police officer — President Trump granted a pardon Wednesday to a former Prince George's County canine police officer who was convicted of a federal civil rights violation for releasing her police dog on an unarmed homeless man in 1995.
Noah Bookbinder / USA Today:
The craven corruption of Trump's pardons: Separate justice system for friends and allies
The craven corruption of Trump's pardons: Separate justice system for friends and allies
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Roll Call
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Trump pardons Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Charles Kushner
Trump pardons Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Charles Kushner
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Jezebel, LifeZette, Law & Crime, The Guardian, Fox News and Townhall
Michael Kranish / Washington Post:
Trump vowed to drain the swamp. Then he granted clemency to three former congressmen convicted of federal crimes.
Trump vowed to drain the swamp. Then he granted clemency to three former congressmen convicted of federal crimes.
CNBC:
Trump issues 26 more pardons, including Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Charles Kushner
Trump issues 26 more pardons, including Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Charles Kushner
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, BuzzFeed News, Power Line and Raw Story
John Eligon / New York Times:
Black Doctor Dies of Covid-19 After Complaining of Racist Treatment — “He made me feel like a drug addict,” Dr. Susan Moore said, accusing a white doctor of downplaying her complaints of pain and suggesting she should be discharged. — Lying in a hospital bed with an oxygen tube hugging her nostrils …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Isaac Arnsdorf / ProPublica:
Inside Trump and Barr's Last-Minute Killing Spree — Private executioners paid in cash. Middle-of-the-night killings. False or incomplete justifications. ProPublica obtained court records showing how the outgoing administration is using its final days to execute the most federal prisoners since World War II.
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Oops! Trump stomps all over David Perdue's dishonest TV messaging — As we have noted, a great many Republican ads in the Georgia runoffs feature endless fearmongering about phantom threats — scary non-white socialists, defunded police departments, Antifa mobs destroying property.
Discussion:
Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, CBS News, Mediaite and No More Mister Nice Blog
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William Saletan / Slate:
Trump's Coup Attempt Could Cost Republicans the Senate
Trump's Coup Attempt Could Cost Republicans the Senate
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post, USA Today, IJR, Sara A. Carter, One America News Network, Raw Story, Alternet.org and The Signorile Report
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Republicans just voted to defund the police — President Trump and Republicans campaigned in 2020 by scaring Americans into thinking Democrats would “defund the police” and unleash a crime spree. — This helped Republicans keep control of the Senate (for now) and grow their numbers in the House.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and NBC Bay Area
Reuters:
Millions of U.S. vaccine doses sit on ice, putting 2020 goal in doubt — (Reuters) -Millions of COVID-19 vaccines are sitting unused in U.S. hospitals and elsewhere a week into the massive inoculation campaign, putting the government's target for 20 million vaccinations this month in doubt.
Discussion:
The Hill
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Berkeley Lovelace Jr / CNBC:
The U.S. has vaccinated just 1 million people out of a goal of 20 million for December
The U.S. has vaccinated just 1 million people out of a goal of 20 million for December
Discussion:
UPI, The Daily Caller, IJR, Mediaite, Washington Examiner and KTVZ-TV
Politico:
‘Complete clusterf—’: Trump leaves Washington in limbo — President Donald Trump has once again thrown Washington into chaos, making uneven demands that have left lawmakers baffled and Americans coping with a global pandemic uncertain when they'll be getting long-promised financial help.
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Paul Campos / New York Magazine:
Pence Should Remove Trump From Office on Sunday — In what are supposed to be the final days of his presidency, Donald Trump has been discussing invoking martial law to overturn the results of the 2020 election and seizing supposedly fraudulent voting machines that — according …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
Giuliani told to preserve all records as lawyers for Dominion warn legal action is ‘imminent’ — (CNN)A defamation law firm representing Dominion Voting Systems has sent letters to White House counsel Pat Cipollone and President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani instructing …
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Veronica Stracqualursi / CNN:
Voting machine company executive sues Trump allies for defamation
Voting machine company executive sues Trump allies for defamation
Discussion:
Law & Crime, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Forbes, Summit News, Washington Examiner and the way of improvement …
Donald G. McNeil Jr / New York Times:
How Much Herd Immunity Is Enough? — Scientists initially estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the population needed to acquire resistance to the coronavirus to banish it. Now Dr. Anthony Fauci and others are quietly shifting that number upward. — At what point does a country achieve herd immunity?
Washington Examiner:
The season of truth — Christmas is a celebration of many things, but most of all, of truth. — The Christ child was a threat to a violent and avaricious ancient world just as he is to a modern world drowning in lies. The greatest lie of all is each person's belief in its own ability …
USA Today:
Exclusive: As Trump leaves office, 50% of Americans see him as a ‘failed’ president — Susan Page Sarah ElbeshbishiUSA TODAY — President Donald Trump leaves the White House next month with the country more sharply divided than when he moved in and amid caustic assessments of his record in office …
Discussion:
The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Salon, The National Interest, KTVZ-TV, The Guardian and Political Wire
Politico:
New cracks emerge among Democrats over Biden's Pentagon pick — President-elect Joe Biden's historic choice for secretary of defense is running into hurdles on Capitol Hill, as key Democrats express concerns publicly and privately about whether installing a retired four-star general at the helm …
Business Insider:
EXCLUSIVE: A deputy to Eric Trump helped build a campaign shell company to protect the president from grift. But the secretive operation morphed into a mystery — even for top Trump campaign staffers. … - One of Eric Trump's top deputies played an important role overseeing …
Discussion:
The Guardian
Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Trump is trashing the government on his way out. Biden is confident he can fix it. — President Trump, growing more unhinged by the hour, appears to be doing his best to trash the federal government on his way out — a matter of no small concern to the successor who, starting at noon on Jan. 20 …
Discussion:
Forbes, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, NPR, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, LifeZette, Breitbart, Center for Public Integrity, Mediaite and HotAir
Yascha Mounk / Persuasion:
Why I'm Losing Trust in the Institutions — The CDC came scarily close to adopting a plan that would, according to its own models, have killed thousands of Americans. — 1 hr ago — Who should be first in line to get the vaccine against Covid-19? — These kinds of decisions are never easy …
Robert Kuttner / American Prospect:
Biden's Cabinet: The Scorecard So Far — The Biden administration's nominee for secretary of the interior, Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM), speaks at the Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, December 19, 2020. — As Prospect readers know, we've worked since March to shed light on appointments …
NBC New York:
Andrew Yang Files Paperwork to Run for New York City Mayor — Businessman and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has filed paperwork to run for mayor of New York City, the city's Campaign Finance Board confirmed on Wednesday. — Yang's filing has the potential to immediately upend …
Discussion:
Twitchy, City & State NY, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Forbes, Politico, The Hill, The Verge, Breitbart and Fox News
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
DOJ officials in ‘ongoing discussions’ about Hunter Biden special counsel, some say it's ‘warranted’: sources — Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who left the DOJ on Wednesday, said this week that he had “not seen a reason” to appoint a special counsel to probe Hunter Biden.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
David Sirota / Jacobin:
Where in the World Is Kamala Harris? — Vice president-elect Kamala Harris made headlines earlier this year pushing $2,000 checks for all American. But suddenly, despite being desperately needed right now, she's nowhere to be found on the issue. — After Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar humiliated herself …
Discussion:
Fox News, CBS Boston and Alternet.org