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 …
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Washington Examiner, CNBC, HotAir, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, The National Interest, Mediaite, Forbes, 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:
Right Wing Watch, Lawfare, The Week, Vox, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Digby's Hullabaloo, Business Insider, Reuters, The Guardian, Washington Monthly and TheBlaze
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
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 »
The Daily Beast:
‘This Is Just What Jared Does’: Kushner Bails on Trump's Mission to Destroy the 2020 Election — The president's son-in-law has developed a reputation in Trumpland for being conspicuously absent when things turn rocky. — As President Donald Trump tries to nullify the 2020 election …
Discussion:
Election Law Blog
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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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 Geller Report News
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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, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, Strangely Blogged, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and Alternet.org
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:
Forbes, The Nation, Vox, American Prospect, Roll Call, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Intellectualist, POLITICUSUSA, New Yorker, The Root and Raw Story
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Politico:
‘Complete clusterf—’: Trump leaves Washington in limbo
‘Complete clusterf—’: Trump leaves Washington in limbo
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Bloomberg, New York Times, Florida Politics, The Signorile Report, Associated Press and WLOS-TV
Susan Ferrechio / Washington Examiner:
Democrats dare GOP to block $2,000 stimulus checks in Christmas Eve vote
Democrats dare GOP to block $2,000 stimulus checks in Christmas Eve vote
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, Fox News, BuzzFeed News, Forbes and Bloomberg
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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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:
Digby's Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller and Mock Paper Scissors
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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.
Discussion:
New York Times, Detroit News, The Hill, Washington Examiner, HotAir, Conservative News Today, Business Insider, Fortune, Roll Call and COURIER
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.
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TIME
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Brad Polumbo / Washington Examiner:
Trump is totally right to call the stimulus deal a ‘disgrace’
Trump is totally right to call the stimulus deal a ‘disgrace’
Discussion:
National Review, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Federalist and WGN-TV
Roman Chiarello / Fox News:
Rep. Jody Hice slams ‘inexcusable’ coronavirus relief bill, calls for reopening of economy
Rep. Jody Hice slams ‘inexcusable’ coronavirus relief bill, calls for reopening of economy
Discussion:
ABC News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Axios
Berkeley Lovelace Jr / CNBC:
The U.S. has vaccinated just 1 million people out of a goal of 20 million for December — The CDC said just 1,008,025 shots had been administered as of Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET. — That's roughly 19 million doses shy of earlier projections for December.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Mediaite and KTVZ-TV
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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 …
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
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 — 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:
The Hill, City & State NY, New York Post and The Daily Caller
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, Raw Story, Alternet.org, 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.
Davey Alba / New York Times:
Pennsylvania man is accused of casting Trump vote for his dead mother. — Shortly after the November election, the Trump campaign circulated on its Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as its website, the names of seven dead Americans in the battleground states of Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Discussion:
Business Insider
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
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 …