memeorandum: These Real Estate and Oil Tycoons Avoided Paying Taxes for Years (ProPublica)

12:30 PM ET, December 7, 2021

Top Items:

Former WH chief of staff Mark Meadows will cease cooperation with Jan. 6 committee — The former Trump administration official had previously been working with the committee — Fox News Flash top headlines for December 7 — Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows will no longer …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Human Events, New York Post, The Guardian, Mediaite, Rolling Stone and Raw Story

CNN:

Mark Meadows to halt cooperation with January 6 committee — (CNN)Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows will no longer cooperate with the House select committee investigating January 6 insurrection, according to a letter from his attorney to the panel, which was obtained by CNN on Tuesday.

Discussion: CBS News, The Hill and NBC News

New York Times:

Trump's Blood Oxygen Level in Covid Bout Was Dangerously Low, Former Aide Says — Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump's former chief of staff, said in his new book that the weakened president's blood oxygen level reached 86 during a harrowing fight against the coronavirus.

Discussion: Insider, CNN, HuffPost, Mediaite, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, The Hill and Rolling Stone

Oriana Gonzalez / Axios:

Mark Meadows will stop cooperating with Jan. 6 panel, attorney says — Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows will no longer cooperate with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, his attorney told Fox News Tuesday.

Discussion: The Guardian and Washington Times

Associated Press:

Attorney says Meadows won't cooperate with Jan. 6 panel — Attorney George Terwilliger said in a letter Tuesday that a deposition would be “untenable” because the Jan. 6 panel “has no intention of respecting boundaries” concerning questions that former President Donald Trump has claimed are off-limits because of executive privilege.

Discussion: Insider

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Meet the reporter who always seems to get a copy of the hottest tell-all Trump book first.

Discussion: Insider

CNN:
Read: Mark Meadows' letter to January 6 committee

Discussion: NPR, POLITICUSUSA and Talking Points Memo

Politico:
Meadows pulls out of tentative cooperation deal with Jan. 6 investigators

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today, New York Times, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

Trump's new media company is a $1.6 billion mirage — In October, former President Trump announced the creation of a new company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). Its signature product is a new social media site, Truth Social. According to an investor presentation …

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Guardian, Bipartisan Report, Townhall, Washington Examiner, CNBC, Raw Story and NBC News, more at Mediagazer »

Los Angeles Times:

California Rep. Devin Nunes leaving Congress to head Trump social media group — Rep. Devin Nunes, a controversial San Joaquin Valley Republican, is leaving Congress to head a social media company created by former President Trump. — “I will deeply miss being your congressman,” Nunes said in a message to his constituents on Monday.

CNN:
Who has the power? — As the senior Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee …

Discussion: The Western Journal, National Review, The Federalist, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Townhall, Washington Post, Raw Story, Instapundit, BizPac Review, Al Jazeera, Morning Shots and Todd Starnes, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

Biden administration considering options for possibly evacuating US citizens from Ukraine if Russia invades — (CNN)The Biden administration is exploring options for a potential evacuation of US citizens from Ukraine if Russia were to invade the country and create a dire security situation, half a dozen sources tell CNN.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Examiner and Twitchy

Washington Post:
Biden, Putin to discuss Ukraine in video call amid growing tensions

Discussion: Bloomberg, RedState, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Reuters, New York Post, UPI, ABC News, Fox News, Raw Story, The Hill, Voice of America, Insider and USA Today

Tara Copp / Defense One:
Austin Rejects ‘Red Lines’ for Taiwan, Ukraine

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Washington Post

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Yamiche Alcindor Joins NBC News as Washington Correspondent (EXCLUSIVE) … Alcindor, who is expected to start with NBC in March, will cover the Biden administration as well as the impact of federal policies on communities across the country and issues at the intersection of race …

Discussion: The Hill, Deadline, TVNewser and Hollywood Reporter, more at Mediagazer »

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

The media has given Republicans a free pass on assaulting democracy — The mainstream media's fixation with false equivalency between the two political parties and fear of criticism from the right has led to distorted coverage and misleading characterizations of the assault on democracy.

Discussion: NBC News

Michael Gerson / Washington Post: How is the GOP's coronavirus recklessness compatible with being pro-life?

Siobhan Hughes / Wall Street Journal: McConnell Says Republican Party Needs to Move Forward

BBC:

Jamal Khashoggi: Suspect in murder of journalist arrested — A Saudi man suspected of involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been arrested in France, reports say. — Khaled Aedh Al-Otaibi was arrested at Charles-de-Gaulle airport on Tuesday, French media report.

Discussion: Raw Story and One America News Network

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Exclusive: WSJ taps Biden, Trump pollsters for 2022 — The Wall Street Journal and its parent company Dow Jones are making big changes to its polling strategy ahead of the midterms, executives tell Axios. — Why it matters: The company had partnered with NBC News for the past three decades on polling.

ProPublica:

These Real Estate and Oil Tycoons Avoided Paying Taxes for Years — The Secret IRS Files … Here's a tale of two Stephen Rosses. — Real life Stephen Ross, who founded Related Companies, a global firm best known for developing the Time Warner Center and Hudson Yards in Manhattan, was a massive winner between 2008 and 2017.

Harper Neidig / The Hill:

Prosecutors say they can make their case against Bannon in a day — Federal prosecutors told a judge that they could present their case against Steve Bannon to a jury in a single day, pushing back on the former White House strategist's efforts to delay his criminal trial over his refusal to comply with a congressional subpoena.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire

Gordon Lubold / Wall Street Journal:

Saudi Arabia Pleads for Missile-Defense Resupply as Its Arsenal Runs Low — Conflict pits $1 million Patriot interceptors against Houthi rebels' $10,000 ‘flying lawn mowers’ — WASHINGTON—Saudi Arabia is running out of the ammunition it uses to defend against weekly drone and missile attacks …

Discussion: New York Post, Defense One and Al Jazeera

Neal E. Boudette / New York Times:

Tesla Drivers Can Now Play Video Games Even With Car Moving — The feature raises fresh questions about whether Tesla is compromising safety as it rushes to add new technologies. — Not long after buying a Tesla Model 3 this summer, Vince Patton saw a YouTube clip highlighting a feature …

Discussion: Raw Story

Julian Mark / Washington Post:

In new podcast interview, Kyle Rittenhouse says traveling to Kenosha was ‘not the best idea’ — About 24 minutes into the podcast “You Are Here” on the right-wing network the Blaze on Monday night, co-host Sydney Watson told her guest, Kyle Rittenhouse, that it was “kind of impressive” that …

Discussion: The American Conservative, YouTube, Rolling Stone, Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit

Jim Geraghty / National Review:

Georgia Republicans Face a Huge Decision — On the menu today: With David Perdue jumping into Georgia's GOP gubernatorial primary, Peach State Republicans face a huge and consequential choice; a report from South Africa indicates that the Omicron variant may not be all that virulent …

Discussion: Washington Post, Peach State Politics … and The Racket News

Tim Alberta / The Atlantic:

He Voted to Impeach. Can He Survive in the GOP? — Late at night on the second Tuesday of January, Peter Meijer, a 33-year-old freshman congressman from West Michigan, paced the half-unpacked rooms of his new rental apartment in Washington, D.C., dreading the decision he would soon have to make.

Connor O'Brien / Politico:

Lawmakers drop proposal to add women to the draft as defense bill headaches mount — Compromise defense policy legislation set to be filed Monday will not require women to register for a military draft, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations, a stunning turnaround …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Senator Josh Hawley, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, The Daily Wire, Fox News, ABC News, Roll Call, Breitbart and Althouse

Tom Mashberg / New York Times:

Michael Steinhardt, Billionaire, Surrenders $70 Million in Stolen Relics — The hedge fund pioneer is barred for life from buying more antiquities. He turned over 180 stolen objects that had decorated his homes and office. — Michael H. Steinhardt, the billionaire hedge fund pioneer …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Raw Story and CNBC

Talmon Joseph Smith / New York Times:

Americans' Pandemic-Era ‘Excess Savings’ Are Dwindling for Many — The drop in cash reserves has vast implications for the working class and could dampen consumer spending, a large share of economic activity. — Infusions of government cash that warded off an economic calamity have left millions …

Discussion: Eschaton

Zack Kopplin / American Prospect:

Cowboy Drugstore — Traces of a kleptocrat from Iraq to Delaware to Miami — Masrour Barzani, Iraqi Kurdistan prime minister and owner of a Miami building housing a CVS … A few blocks from the water, in the heart of Miami's glitzy South Beach, is a drugstore not like the others.

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:

Who is Jeffrey Clark and Why Does He Matter? — Clark wanted to do all the election subversion Bill Barr wouldn't. — There's no good reason you should know Jeffrey Clark's name. — Before the 2020 election, he was just another run-of-the-mill Republican lawyer with a cushy appointment in the federal government.

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Post

New York Times:

On the Banks of the Furious Congo River, a 5-Star Emporium of Ambition — As the clean energy revolution upends the centuries-long lock of fossil fuels on the global economy, dealmakers and hustlers converge on the Fleuve Congo Hotel. — KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo …

New York Times:

Omicron Is Fast Moving, but Perhaps Less Severe, Early Reports Suggest — Researchers in South Africa, where the variant is spreading quickly, say it may cause less serious Covid cases than other forms of the virus, but it is unclear whether that will hold true.

Discussion: HotAir, Townhall, The Daily Wire, Twitchy and Political Wire

Jonathan Edwards / Washington Post:

A man planted bombs hours after a Black Lives Matter protest in Pittsburgh. He was sentenced to probation. — No one could see the homemade bombs Matthew Michanowicz was carrying as he rode his bike in downtown Pittsburgh on May 31, 2020. — The city was a tinder box that afternoon.

Discussion: Raw Story

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Defendant in Case Brought by Durham Says New Evidence Undercuts Charge — Lawyers for Michael Sussmann, accused by the Trump-era special counsel of lying to the F.B.I., asked for a quick trial after receiving what they said was helpful material from prosecutors.

Discussion: Washington Times

Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:

Fox News is Killing Us: Here are the Receipts — 'Tis the holiday season and the heroes of Fox News are valiantly arraying their forces in the War On Christmas, even as ICU beds are filling up and a new strain of COVID has arrived. — In the spirit of the season I am making a special plea …

Discussion: North Stars and Cowboy Bars

Axios:

Scoop: Over 200 papers quietly sue Big Tech — Newspapers all over the country have been quietly filing antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook for the past year, alleging the two firms monopolized the digital ad market for revenue that would otherwise go to local news.

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Slashdot