Top Items:
Thomas Lifson / American Thinker:
Statement — We received a lengthy letter from Dominion's defamation lawyers explaining why they believe that their client has been the victim of defamatory statements. Having considered the full import of the letter, we have agreed to their request that we publish the following statement:
Discussion:
Law & Crime, The Hill, Big League Politics, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Snopes.com, Mediaite, Lucianne, National Review and SOOPERMEXICAN
Washington Post:
Vaccine reserve was already exhausted when Trump administration vowed to release it, dashing hopes of expanded access — States were anticipating a windfall after federal officials said they would stop holding back second doses. But the approach had already changed, and no stockpile exists.
Discussion:
New York Times, KVIA-TV, Vanity Fair, The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, WV MetroNews, NBC News, Missouri Independent, TheGrio, Los Angeles Times, Daily Camera, CNN, Bring Me The News, Common Dreams, Washington Examiner, The Colorado Sun, Bangor Daily News, Virginia Mercury, KOIN-TV, Business Insider, Gothamist, VTDigger, Forbes, Mediaite, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, Rolling Stone, The Hill, HotAir, The Week, CBS News, Balloon Juice and Denver Post
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Wall Street Journal:
Covid-19 Vaccine Leaders Waited Months to Approve Distribution Plans — Holdup left states with little time to develop mass-vaccination plan; U.S. says it needed time for interagency clearance — Operation Warp Speed leaders waited more than two months to approve a plan to distribute …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Bloomberg, The Aspen beat, HotAir, New York Times and Washington Post
Merrit Kennedy / NPR:
Biden Administration Will Rename ‘Operation Warp Speed,’ Citing Trump ‘Failures’
Biden Administration Will Rename ‘Operation Warp Speed,’ Citing Trump ‘Failures’
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Daily Caller and FiercePharma
Washington Post:
How the rioters who stormed the Capitol came dangerously close to Pence — The violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 came perilously close to Vice President Pence, who was not evacuated from the Senate chamber for about 14 minutes after the Capitol Police reported …
Discussion:
CNN, Sputnik News, Business Insider, Axios, Lawyers, Guns & Money, TheBlaze, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, NewsHounds blog, Mock Paper Scissors, Forbes, The Guardian, KVIA-TV, CNBC, Raw Story and Mediaite
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Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Capitol Police intelligence report warned three days before attack that ‘Congress itself’ could be targeted — Three days before thousands of rioters converged on the U.S. Capitol, an internal Capitol Police intelligence report warned of a violent scenario in which “Congress itself” …
Discussion:
Jacobin, The Root, Raw Story, NPR, Business Insider, The Week and New York Times
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
A pillow salesman apparently has some ideas about declaring martial law — The galaxy of individuals who have orbited President Trump over the past five years is not lacking for unusual characters. Few, though, have had quite the same trajectory as businessman Michael Lindell.
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Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Photos capture notes from Trump ally leaving the White House on Friday.
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Spends Final Days Focused on GOP Defectors, Senate Defense
Trump Spends Final Days Focused on GOP Defectors, Senate Defense
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post, Fox News, New York Post, TheGrio, DCReport.org, Raw Story and Lucianne
Ben Jacobs / New York Magazine:
Even the Guy MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Wants for a Coup Is Confused
Even the Guy MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Wants for a Coup Is Confused
Discussion:
The Guardian, Occupy Democrats and POLITICUSUSA
Pew Research Center:
Biden Begins Presidency With Positive Ratings; Trump Departs With Lowest-Ever Job Mark — 68% of public does not want Trump to remain a major political figure in the future — Pew Research Center conducted this study to examine the public's reactions to the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The Hill, WAFF-TV, USA Today, Breitbart, The Moderate Voice, FiveThirtyEight, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Vox, The Lid, Washington Examiner, wabe.org, Mother Jones, Business Insider, Los Angeles Times, TheGrio, The Daily Caller, The Week, The Wrap, Mediaite, HotAir and Townhall
New York Times:
Pence, occupying a leadership void, calls Harris to offer assistance — as Trump plans his Inauguration Day getaway. — Vice President Mike Pence telephoned Vice President-elect Kamala Harris Thursday to congratulate her and offer his belated assistance — filling a leadership role …
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New York Times:
Live Updates: Police Investigating Whether Lawmakers Gave Mob Members Tour of Capitol Before Riot
Live Updates: Police Investigating Whether Lawmakers Gave Mob Members Tour of Capitol Before Riot
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reason, Washington Times and Axios
Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Pence calls Harris while Trump continues to stew in denial
Pence calls Harris while Trump continues to stew in denial
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, CNBC, Palm Beach Post, The Guardian, Fox News and Hamodia
New York Times:
Atlanta Prosecutor Appears to Move Closer to Trump Inquiry — The Fulton County district attorney is weighing an inquiry into possible election interference and is said to be considering hiring an outside counsel. — ATLANTA — Prosecutors in Georgia appear increasingly likely to open …
ABC News:
Longtime Trump advisers connected to groups behind rally that led to Capitol attack — Roger Stone, Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn all promoted the Jan. 6 rally. — US Capitol riots: Tracking the insurrection — On Jan. 6, rioters coming from a pro-Trump rally broke into the U.S. Capitol …
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Politico:
Trump weighing a pardon for Steve Bannon — President Donald Trump is considering granting a pardon to Steve Bannon, his former White House chief strategist and top campaign aide, who was charged with swindling donors to a private crowdsourcing effort to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border …
Courtney Linder / Popular Mechanics:
Why Joe Biden Can't Bring His Peloton to the White House
Why Joe Biden Can't Bring His Peloton to the White House
Discussion:
Politico
Lachlan Markay / Axios:
John Weaver, former McCain aide, acknowledges “inappropriate” messages — John Weaver, a veteran Republican operative who co-founded the Lincoln Project, declared in a statement to Axios on Friday that he sent “inappropriate,” sexually charged messages to multiple men.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and RedState
CNBC:
Biden to deploy FEMA, National Guard to set up Covid vaccine clinics across the U.S. — President-elect Joe Biden plans to use FEMA and the National Guard to build coronavirus vaccine clinics across the United States, according to new details of his Covid-19 vaccination plan released by his transition team on Friday.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Business Insider, Vox, The Week, STAT, Trending Politics and CNN
Alex Barker / Financial Times:
James Murdoch blasts US media for unleashing ‘insidious forces’ — Comments from Rupert's son are his strongest rebuke of industry practices since leaving the family business — James Murdoch has castigated the US media for the “toxic politics” threatening American democracy …
Discussion:
The Hill, more at Mediagazer »
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Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump's GOP has an ugly authoritarian core. A new poll exposes it. — In the wake of President Trump's incitement of a violent insurrectionist assault on our seat of government, a new Post-ABC News poll offers perhaps the most detailed look yet at public attitudes about the attack …
Discussion:
Trending Politics and HotAir
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NRA:
NRA Leaves New York to Reincorporate in Texas, Announces New Strategic Plan — NRA Plans to Exit New York to Pursue Opportunity, Growth and Progress in Texas; Plan Benefits Association, Its Millions of Members, and All Supporters of the Second Amendment — Fairfax, VA - The National Rifle Association …
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, CNN, HuffPost, Bloomberg, The Wrap, Deadline, Common Dreams, Sputnik News, Twitchy, Washingtonian and Raw Story
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Susan M. Gordon / Washington Post:
A former president Trump won't ‘need to know.’ Cut off his intelligence. — Susan M. Gordon was the principal deputy director of national intelligence from 2017 to 2019. — Every former president in the modern era has benefited from a unique national security perk after leaving the White House …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Oren Liebermann / CNN:
Trump's Pentagon chief says he ‘cannot wait to leave’ his job — (CNN)Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, who will leave office in less than a week. stated that he 'cannot wait to leave this job," according to a transcript released by the Department of Defense.
Discussion:
HotAir
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Wall Street Journal:
Kudlow Criticizes Trump for Handling of Riot, Treatment of Pence — President's top economic adviser faulted his boss for recent actions, praised administration policy legacy on taxes and trade — WASHINGTON—President Trump's top economic adviser criticized his boss's handling of the riot …
Kara Scannell / CNN:
Manhattan DA expands criminal investigation into Trump Organization finances to include family compound in Westchester County — (CNN)The Manhattan district attorney's office has expanded its criminal investigation into the Trump Organization's finances to include the family's compound in Westchester County …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
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Corinne Ramey / Wall Street Journal:
Manhattan Prosecutors Seek Records About Trump's Seven Springs Estate
Manhattan Prosecutors Seek Records About Trump's Seven Springs Estate
Discussion:
Bloomberg, CNBC and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
USA Today:
Feds walk back claims Capitol rioters meant to ‘capture and assassinate’ elected officials — Matthew Brown Kevin Johnson Richard RuelasUSA TODAY — Federal authorities said Friday that there is “no direct evidence of kill and capture teams” among the Capitol rioters …
Discussion:
CNN, The American Independent, Sputnik News, Mock Paper Scissors, CBS Baltimore and Lucianne
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E. Jean Carroll / Vanity Fair:
“After Me, Baby, You're Gonna Be Ruined for Anyone Else”: Donald Trump Refused to Take ‘No’ From Women—And Then From America Itself — Donald Trump is leaving office with a reputation marred by two impeachments, multiple scandals, and a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Discussion:
The National Interest and Political Flare
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
The world will take away a tragic truth from Biden's inauguration — This was excerpted from the January 15 edition of CNN's Meanwhile in America, the daily email about US politics for global readers. Click here to read past editions and subscribe. — (CNN)There'll be no arguments …
Discussion:
Vox, Rolling Stone and Twin Cities
Ben Collins / NBC News:
Online far-right movements fracture in wake of Capitol riot — Online far-right movements are splintering in the wake of last week's Capitol riot, as some radical anti-government movements show signs of disillusionment with the relatively hands-off approach of some QAnon conspiracy theorists amid warnings of future violence.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Luke Mogelson / New Yorker:
Among the Insurrectionists — The Capitol was breached by Trump supporters who had been declaring, at rally after rally, that they would go to violent lengths to keep the President in power. A chronicle of an attack foretold. — By the end of President Donald Trump's crusade against American democracy …
Discussion:
The American Conservative, Trending Politics, Politico, Political Wire and The Dispatch
Jim Turner / Creative Loafing:
As of now, Publix is only offering vaccine in Florida counties won by Republicans — DeSantis said the initial rollout has focused on areas where hospital systems might need assistance and where there are large senior populations. — Photo via DeSantis/Twitter
Politico:
Top FEMA official attended Trump's ‘Stop the Steal’ rally — A top official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has been assisting in preparations for the Inauguration next week, attended President Donald Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6.
Fred Kaplan / Slate:
Worst Secretary of State Ever — It's an open question whether Donald Trump will go down as the worst president in American history (James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson remain formidable contenders), but there's no question that Mike Pompeo, his most fervid lapdog, is the worst secretary of state.
Paul Campos / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Lauren Boebert wants you to know that she's totally NOT GUILTY of that thing that she definitely didn't do — QAnon conspiracy nut and gun fetishist Lauren Boebert went off half-cocked (snicker) at Rep. Sean Patrick Mahoney (D-Reality), claiming that Mahoney had slandered her in the most base and vile way:
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Intellectualist, Balloon Juice and boebert.house.gov
KUSA-TV:
Letter from 68 Colorado elected officials requests investigation into Boebert's actions — The letter to House leaders says “there is deep concern about her actions leading up to and during the protests that turned into a violent and deadly mob.” — COLORADO, USA — In a letter …
Discussion:
Colorado Times Recorder, The Hill, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA and The Intellectualist
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Politico's revolt over Ben Shapiro guest-hosting Playbook went too far — Ben Shapiro once tweeted, “Israelis like to build. Arabs like to bomb crap and live in open sewage. This is not a difficult issue. #settlementsrock.” He once belittled Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown as …
Politico:
GOP freshman lawmakers splinter over Trump — The House GOP's high-profile freshman class is fracturing less than two weeks into the new Congress, and it's all over one man: Donald Trump. — Trump's failed gambit to overturn the election — and the deadly Capitol riots that followed …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, Associated Press and Business Insider