Top Items:
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, CNBC, Bloomberg, HotAir, Talking Points Memo, Forbes, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Week, Associated Press and Political Wire
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New York Times:
A President Unhappy, Unleashed and Unpredictable — President Trump remains the most powerful man in the world, but powerless to achieve what he most wants: to avoid leaving office as a loser. — With four weeks left in President Trump's term, he is at perhaps his most unleashed — and …
Discussion:
Lawfare, The Week, Vox, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Digby's Hullabaloo, Reuters, Business Insider, The Guardian, Washington Monthly and TheBlaze
Veronica Stracqualursi / CNN:
Voting machine company executive sues Trump allies for defamation — Dominion CEO debunks ‘bizarre allegations’ pushed by Trump team — Washington (CNN)An executive for a voting machine company that has been the target of conspiracy theories in the aftermath of Donald Trump's 2020 election loss …
Discussion:
Law & Crime, NPR, Forbes, Summit News and the way of improvement …, more at Mediagazer »
Politico:
Trump White House staffers receive conflicting messages about their departure — Conflicting internal memos created confusion inside the White House on Wednesday about when staffers in the Executive Office of the President should begin preparing to leave work ahead of the transition next month.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Talking Points Memo, Forbes, POLITICUSUSA, HotAir, Raw Story, The Week and Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
What happened to Maria Bartiromo? The Trump election fraud story has the TV news biz asking — When a public company makes news, a chief executive can expect a text or call from Maria Bartiromo. — The veteran business journalist, now an anchor at Fox News, made her bones by getting sit-downs …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars and Raw Story
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Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
Maria Bartiromo Duped Into On-Air Interview With Animal Rights Activist Posing as CEO of Pork Giant — Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo interviewed an animal rights activist posing as the CEO of food processing company Smithfield for an entire segment on Wednesday morning.
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Fox News management failures invited legal threat from Smartmatic
Discussion:
Media Matters for America
Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:
Trump vetoes defense bill, teeing up holiday override votes in Congress — President Trump made good Wednesday on his repeated threats to veto a $741 billion defense spending bill, setting up what is expected to be the first successful veto override of his presidency during his last weeks in office.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, The Sun, The American Independent and Associated Press
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Connor O'Brien / Politico:
Trump vetoes defense bill, setting up showdown with Congress — The veto paves the way for lawmakers to deliver a major rebuke of the president in the final weeks of his administration. — President Donald Trump vetoed major defense policy legislation Wednesday, making good on repeated threats …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Strangely Blogged, Fox News and Alternet.org
Claudia Grisales / NPR:
Trump Vetoes Defense Bill, Setting Up Congressional Vote To Potentially Override Him
Discussion:
USA Today, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Roll Call, Los Angeles Times and The Daily Caller
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump detonates a truth bomb in the Georgia Senate races — President Trump might not realize it, but he just handed Democrats a big weapon to wield against the two Republican senators running in the Georgia runoffs. — By abruptly calling for $2,000 stimulus checks on Tuesday night …
Discussion:
Vox, The Nation, Fox News, Roll Call, The Intellectualist, POLITICUSUSA, Forbes, New Yorker, The Root and Raw Story
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Susan Ferrechio / Washington Examiner:
Democrats dare GOP to block $2,000 stimulus checks in Christmas Eve vote
Discussion:
Politico, BuzzFeed News and Bloomberg
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook PM: No one knows how this ends — SO HOW DOES THIS END? That's a damn good question. — NO ONE KNOWS. Some say President DONALD TRUMP is in burn-it-down mode and is more than willing to veto the Covid relief/funding package, ending his presidency in a lengthy shutdown, with bluster and crisis.
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Kadia Goba / Axios:
Scoop: Pistol-packing freshmen prompt Congress gun review — Several incoming House freshmen have inquired about carrying guns into the Capitol, leading a board overseeing congressional security to rethink a regulation banning members from packing heat under the dome, a House aide with direct knowledge of the board review told Axios.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Mock Paper Scissors
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 …
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Josh Barro / Business Insider:
Stop lying about the relief bill … - There is a lot of nonsense being spouted about the latest COVID relief package. — People are trying to argue that the only thing average Americans get is the $600 check, but that is not true. The package includes an array of programs that will help people most in need.
Discussion:
TIME
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Brad Polumbo / Washington Examiner:
Trump is totally right to call the stimulus deal a ‘disgrace’
Discussion:
Washington Post, National Review, Bangor Daily News, The Federalist and WGN-TV
Roman Chiarello / Fox News:
Rep. Jody Hice slams ‘inexcusable’ coronavirus relief bill, calls for reopening of economy
Discussion:
ABC News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Axios
Tom Knowles / The Times:
Octopuses are ocean thugs that punch fish — Despite its extraordinary intelligence, the life of an octopus is a solitary one. So perhaps it is no wonder that the mighty brained cephalopod engages in a little thuggery to relieve the boredom. — Scientists have discovered that, on occasions …
David Tarrant / Dallas Morning News:
Fort Worth pastor who urged ‘faith over fear’ in the pandemic mourns parents who died of COVID complications — The pastor of 2nd Mile Church in north Fort Worth, where his parents were members, said he was surprised by the sudden surge in COVID cases in recent weeks in Tarrant County.
NBC New York:
Andrew Yang Files Paperwork to Run for New York City Mayor — Two recent polls showed Yang leading Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams in a Democratic primary contest — Businessman and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has filed paperwork to run for mayor of New York City …
Discussion:
The Hill and City & State NY
Marc Ambinder / The Daily Beast:
Sources: Secret Service Has No Plan if Trump Refuses to Go — But they do have procedures for handling trespassers. — If there are any checklists or plans, procedures or guidelines for the Secret Service to follow in the event of an autogolpe—a Latin American-style crisis …
Discussion:
National Review, Vanity Fair, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Hackwhackers and Business Insider
Patrick Lohmann / Syracuse Post-Standard:
Brindisi-Tenney race narrows even more: 3 to 5 votes separate candidates — OSWEGO, N.Y. — The incredibly close race for the 22nd Congressional District got even closer Tuesday, as about 90 new votes from a bundle of about 2,500 affidavit ballots from Oneida County were counted.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, HotAir and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Steve Israel / The Hill:
Here is the good news of 2020 — First the bad news. This is a coronavirus Christmas. The disease surges, infection rates climb again, a new coronavirus mutation spreads in Britain. In America and the rest of the world, families remain separated and lonely.
Zach Abolverdi / USA Today:
Florida's Keyontae Johnson diagnosed with heart inflammation that has been associated with COVID-19 — GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida forward Keyontae Johnson, who collapsed on the court during a game Dec. 12 at Florida State, has been diagnosed with a heart inflammation that may be related to an earlier infection for COVID-19.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
Public Statement — Statement of SEC Chairman Jay Clayton — I recently submitted a letter to President Donald J. Trump informing him that today, December 23, 2020, will be my last day as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The text of the letter is included below.
Discussion:
Bloomberg
Tessa Duvall / Courier-Journal:
Challenge coin for Louisville officers, meant to depict protests, shows city on fire — LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Pictures of a controversial new ‘challenge coin’ for Louisville police officers surfaced on social media Wednesday morning, immediately sparking backlash over its depiction …
Anand Giridharadas / The.Ink:
$600 checks are a “crime,” says the pope's favorite economist — A conversation with economist Mariana Mazzucato on the case against Scroogenomics … I watched “The Muppet Christmas Carol” with my family last night, and whenever Michael Caine's Ebenezer Scrooge character came onscreen …
Washington Post:
In Iraq, Trump's Blackwater pardons meet with cynicism, fatigue — BAGHDAD — The 2007 unprovoked killing of Iraqi civilians by Blackwater security contractors is remembered here as one of the most emblematic chapters of America's ruinous invasion. — Yet the news Wednesday that President Trump …
Discussion:
Business Insider and Roll Call
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
A Massive Purge Is Underway at Alex Jones' Infowars — Layoffs! Dissent! A Michael Flynn snub! Things are not well in the house that brain pills built. — At a pro-Trump rally in Washington D.C. earlier this month, conspiracy theory magnate Alex Jones came face-to-face with a star …
Cornel West / Jewish Currents:
The Radical Heschel — ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL, who died on this day 48 years ago, was the greatest exemplar of the prophetic legacy of Jerusalem in the most anti-Jewish century of recorded time. He drew inspiration from the biblical prophets, whom he wrote about in great depth …
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