Top Items:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
An Insurgency From Inside the Oval Office — President Trump's effort to overturn the election he lost has gone beyond mere venting of grievances at the risk of damaging the very American democracy he is charged with defending. — WASHINGTON — President Trump's relentless effort to overturn …
Discussion:
Fox News, Associated Press, The Nation, TheBlaze, Florida Phoenix and WRIC-TV
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Marc Caputo / Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: The backstory of Trump's Georgia call — DRIVING THE DAY — Good morning from Atlanta, Gateway to the South and the pulsing center of Tuesday's two U.S. Senate runoffs that will determine partisan control of the upper chamber and the success of Joe Biden's first term as president.
Richard L. Hasen / Slate:
Donald Trump Should Be Prosecuted for His Shakedown of Georgia's Brad Raffensperger — President Donald Trump likely broke both federal and state law in a Saturday phone call during which he encouraged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn the state's election results.
Discussion:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Atlantic, Vox, The Hill, Business Insider, Fox News, Arizona Republic, CNN, NPR, Raw Story, Washington Post, Politico, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, The Nation, POLITICUSUSA, Reason, Daily Kos, Mediaite, The American Independent, Just Security, The Dispatch, Eschaton, The Week and Bloomberg
David Frum / The Atlantic:
Trump Crosses a Bright-Red Line — In a bombshell conversation with Georgia's secretary of state yesterday, President Donald Trump made monkeys of every Republican official and every conservative talking head who professed to believe Trump's allegations of voter fraud.
Quint Forgey / Politico:
Raffensperger: Trump could face investigation over election call — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Monday that it was unlikely his office would open an investigation into his weekend phone call with President Donald Trump, but suggested a criminal probe could still be launched by an Atlanta-area district attorney.
Discussion:
CBS News, Fox News, ABC News, Business Insider, CNN, HotAir, New York Times, The Daily Caller, The Nation, TheGrio, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, National Review, IJR, KTLA and Daily Kos
Nick Niedzwiadek / Politico:
‘Disgusting’: Perdue hammers Georgia secretary of state for recording Trump call — Sen. David Perdue tore into Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Monday for recording a phone call with President Donald Trump over the weekend, calling it “disgusting” to do so.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Times, Breitbart and Raw Story
Chandelis Duster / CNN:
Georgia GOP lieutenant governor says Trump call with secretary of state ‘inappropriate’ — Washington (CNN)Georgia's Republican lieutenant governor on Monday condemned President Donald Trump's phone call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, saying the President's effort to pressure …
Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Trump Call to Georgia Official Might Violate State and Federal Law
Trump Call to Georgia Official Might Violate State and Federal Law
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Reason, Axios, Raw Story, The American Independent, CNN, DCReport.org, DNyuz, New York Magazine, Liberty Unyielding, Daily Kos, Daily Maverick, The Guardian, IJR, The Daily Caller, The Wrap, Salon, HotAir, National Review, The Intellectualist, Fox News, Business Insider, The Week, Common Dreams, HuffPost, Washington Monthly, Foreign Policy, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit, No More Mister Nice Blog, Al Jazeera, Law & Crime and The Atlanta Voice
NBC News:
Democrats ask FBI Director Wray to open criminal probe into Trump after leaked phone call
Democrats ask FBI Director Wray to open criminal probe into Trump after leaked phone call
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill, The Daily Caller, TheGrio, Washington Times, UPI and NBC New York
Asha Rangappa / The Daily Beast:
It's Time to Impeach Trump Again for His Georgia Shakedown Call
It's Time to Impeach Trump Again for His Georgia Shakedown Call
Discussion:
Raw Story, CBS San Francisco, Mercury News and Strangely Blogged
Jessica Taylor / The Cook Political Report:
One Day Out: Will Trump Torpedo Republican Chances in the Georgia Runoffs?
One Day Out: Will Trump Torpedo Republican Chances in the Georgia Runoffs?
Discussion:
Bloomberg, American Prospect, Raw Story, Sara A. Carter and Liberty Unyielding
Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Georgia's Raffensperger says he ‘never believed’ it appropriate to speak with Trump about election
Georgia's Raffensperger says he ‘never believed’ it appropriate to speak with Trump about election
Discussion:
CBS News, Raw Story, UPI, POLITICUSUSA, The Intellectualist, Washington Times, Business Insider and Towleroad Gay News
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
The Senate's coup-staging ‘Dirty Dozen’ shouldn't be allowed to hold office
The Senate's coup-staging ‘Dirty Dozen’ shouldn't be allowed to hold office
Discussion:
Fox News, CNN and DCReport.org
NBC News:
Chaos, division, shakeups and shakedowns: Two months that sum up Trump's presidency
Chaos, division, shakeups and shakedowns: Two months that sum up Trump's presidency
Discussion:
Fox News, Washington Examiner, Just Security, Raw Story, The Hill, DNyuz and The Sun
Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
Brad Raffensperger Opens Up About Pressure From Trump in Leaked Call: I ‘Never Believed it Was Appropriate’ to Talk to Him, But He ‘Pushed’
Brad Raffensperger Opens Up About Pressure From Trump in Leaked Call: I ‘Never Believed it Was Appropriate’ to Talk to Him, But He ‘Pushed’
Discussion:
Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications, Disrn and Law & Crime
Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Trump's New Year's Resolution: ‘Find 11,780 Votes’ in Georgia
Trump's New Year's Resolution: ‘Find 11,780 Votes’ in Georgia
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones and Vox
Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas:
Cotton Statement on Joint Session of Congress — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Contact: Caroline Tabler or James Arnold (202) 734-0430 — Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) released the following statement on the joint session of Congress later this week:
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Axios, Law & Crime, DNyuz, NewsNation Now, The Week, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, The American Independent, Patterico's Pontifications, HotAir, National Review, Mediaite, IJR, Townhall, Salt Lake Tribune, Business Insider, Political Wire and Laura Ingraham
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Mike Allen / Axios:
The GOP battle lines drawn by Trump and McConnell will shape the next four years
The GOP battle lines drawn by Trump and McConnell will shape the next four years
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, Daily Kos, DNyuz, RedState, Bloomberg, Washington Monthly and Raw Story
Russell Berman / The Atlantic:
Mitch McConnell's Slipping Grip on the Republican Party
Mitch McConnell's Slipping Grip on the Republican Party
Discussion:
Business Insider, Mother Jones, RedState, Talking Points Memo, DNyuz, Daily Kos, ABC News, Florida Politics, Common Dreams, Raw Story and Crooks and Liars
Gerald F. Seib / Wall Street Journal:
In Trump's Final Days, Lines Are Drawn for a Republican Civil War
In Trump's Final Days, Lines Are Drawn for a Republican Civil War
Discussion:
Politico, Fox News, Boston Herald, The Guardian and Roll Call
Jonathan Rauch / Persuasion:
The Made-Up Conspiracy — A Republican bid to deny Biden's victory is another worrying Trumpist disinformation ploy — When Republican senators attempt to block congressional confirmation of Joe Biden's presidential victory this week, they will not succeed in reversing the outcome of the election.
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Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
We must stop calling Trump's enablers ‘conservative.’ They are the radical right. — You hear the word “radical” a lot these days. It's usually aimed like a lethal weapon at Democratic office-seekers, especially those who want to unseat a Republican incumbent.
Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
EXCLUSIVE: Atlanta-Based U.S. Attorney Abruptly Departs Office Sooner Than Expected — The U.S. attorney in Atlanta departed his post Monday, TPM has learned, after previously indicating that he would not leave until Inauguration Day. — The reason for U.S. Attorney Byung “BJay” Pak's change of plans are not clear.
Peter Swindon / The Sunday Post:
Donald Trump could be planning Turnberry trip as Scots airport told to expect a high-flyer the day before Joe Biden's inauguration … © Robert Perry/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock — US President Donald Trump could be planning a trip to Scotland to avoid attending his successor Joe Biden's inauguration, according to aviation sources.
Discussion:
Towleroad Gay News, The Intellectualist, Mock Paper Scissors and Crooks and Liars
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Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
Worse Than Treason — “We are what we pretend to be,” Kurt Vonnegut wrote in the opening of his 1962 novel, Mother Night, “and so we must be careful what we pretend to be.” Republicans in Congress are pretending to be seditionists—and so they have become, in fact, seditionists.
Discussion:
Washington Post
Mona Charen / The Bulwark:
The Wall Street Journal Epitomizes the Failure of Elite Conservatism — Once the paper of record for conservative opinion-makers, the Journal's editorial page has betrayed its readers. — The Wall Street Journal editorial page is probably the most influential elite conservative outlet in the country.
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The Intercept:
FBI Questioned a Michigan Senate Staffer After Zoom Call About Banning Tear Gas … Two officers with an FBI task force showed up at the home of a Michigan state senator's chief of staff and aggressively questioned her about a draft bill she had discussed on a private legislative Zoom call.
Helen Branswell / STAT:
Britain takes a gamble with Covid-19 vaccines, upping the stakes for the rest of us — In an extraordinary time, British health authorities are taking extraordinary measures to beat back Covid-19. But some experts say that, in doing so, they are also taking a serious gamble.
Discussion:
In the Pipeline and Japan Times
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Noah Higgins-Dunn / CNBC:
Moderna increases minimum 2021 Covid vaccine production by 20% to 600 million doses
Moderna increases minimum 2021 Covid vaccine production by 20% to 600 million doses
Yuval Levin / National Review:
Failures of Leadership in a Populist Age — For many years now, an important segment of the Republican electorate has been increasingly frustrated with the elites who lead our core institutions. The political outlook of these voters has come to be defined by that frustration …
Discussion:
HotAir, Raw Story and American Greatness
Kate Conger / New York Times:
Hundreds of Google Employees Unionize, Culminating Years of Activism — The creation of the union, a rarity in Silicon Valley, follows years of increasing outspokenness by Google workers. Executives have struggled to handle the change. — OAKLAND, Calif. — More than 225 Google engineers …
Discussion:
CBS News, Bloomberg, Washington Post, The Hill, VICE, NPR, Alphabet Workers Union, DNyuz, Breitbart, The Verge, New York Post, The Daily Caller, The National Pulse, The Week and UPI, more at Techmeme »
Newsmax:
Trump Ga. Transcript Shows Case for Vote Fraud, President Acted Properly — The Washington Post on Sunday released audio of a Saturday phone call between President Donald Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which the two can be heard discussing election results.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Liberty Unyielding, IJR, Daily Kos, The Week and Business Insider
Lara Seligman / Politico:
Trump keeps carrier in Middle East, overruling his Pentagon chief — President Donald Trump was behind the abrupt decision announced on Sunday night to reverse course and keep the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the Middle East due to Iranian threats against top U.S. officials, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
Discussion:
New York Times, Common Dreams, CNN, ABC News, The Daily Caller and Wall Street Journal
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Rhode Island governor emerges as leading candidate for Commerce Department — Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has emerged as a leading candidate to be President-elect Joe Biden's commerce secretary, according to people familiar with the matter. — Why it matters: Raimondo …
Susan Ferrechio / Washington Examiner:
House Republicans try to block Democratic rules package that sidelines GOP — House Republicans Tuesday kicked off the 117th Congress by attempting to block the Democratic-crafted rules package for the session that will further sideline the GOP. — Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican …
Discussion:
Axios and Newsbusters