memeorandum: Biden-Dole bond speaks to a bygone Washington (Washington Post)

3:10 PM ET, December 7, 2021

Top Items:

Meridith McGraw / Politico:

Meadows: Trump considered yanking Kavanaugh over ‘I like beer’ comments and apologetic tone — During Brett Kavanaugh's controversial 2018 Supreme Court confirmation hearings, President Donald Trump “strongly considered” dropping the nominee and instead going with a “stronger candidate,” …

Discussion: The Hill, Insider, Raw Story and Political Wire

Fox News:

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: Politico, Human Events, New York Post, The Guardian, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and Mock Paper Scissors

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: Washington Post, NBC News, CBS News, UPI, The Hill and New York 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 and USA Today

CNN:

Read: Mark Meadows' letter to January 6 committee — By CNN — (CNN)Former Donald Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows will no longer cooperate with the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol Hill riot, according to a letter obtained by CNN from his attorney to the panel.

Discussion: Insider, National Review, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, NPR, YouTube, POLITICUSUSA, IJR and Talking Points Memo

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

Discussion: Insider

New York Times:
Trump's Blood Oxygen Level in Covid Bout Was Dangerously Low, Former Aide Says

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

Oriana Gonzalez / Axios:
Mark Meadows will stop cooperating with Jan. 6 panel, attorney says

Discussion: Al Jazeera and Washington Times

Politico: POLITICO Playbook PM: Jan. 6 committee dealt two big blows

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: The White House, New York Post, Forbes, The Daily Wire, Associated Press, Washington Examiner and Twitchy

New York Times:
Biden Warns Putin of Economic Consequences if Aggression Continues

Discussion: NBC News, NPR, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, RedState, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Townhall and One America News Network

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

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner and Washington Post

Bloomberg:
U.S. Wants Nord Stream 2 Halted If Putin Invaded Ukraine

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner and CNN

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, The Root, Deadline, TVNewser, Twitchy and Hollywood Reporter, more at Mediagazer »

Politico:

McConnell closes in on support for new debt ceiling strategy — Mitch McConnell is on the verge of selling a skeptical Senate Republican Conference on a path toward allowing Democrats to more easily raise the debt ceiling, a critical development as the country faces a mid-December debt cliff.

Discussion: HotAir, CNBC, The Hill, Bloomberg, New York Post, Washington Times and Uphill

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
The media has given Republicans a free pass on assaulting democracy

Discussion: Al Jazeera

Wall Street Journal:
Lawmakers Close In on Debt-Ceiling Deal

Discussion: Insider, CNN, The Hill, NBC News and Political Wire

Aaron Zitner / Wall Street Journal:

Voters Pessimistic About Economy, Biden's Leadership, WSJ Poll Finds — First survey in The Wall Street Journal's new polling effort shows Republicans in strong position, though Democrats have advantages in some policy areas — WASHINGTON—Voters are heading into the midterm election year in a sour mood …

Discussion: NRCC, Russell’s Newsletter and Political Wire

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.

Discussion: The Hill

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 Mahablog, Progress Pond, The Guardian, Raw Story, Bipartisan Report, Townhall, Washington Examiner and Reuters, more at Mediagazer »

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

Harper Neidig / The Hill:
Judge sets July trial date in Bannon case

Discussion: NBC News and Balloon Juice

ITV News:

Downing Street staff shown joking in leaked recording about Christmas party they later denied — Senior Downing Street staff joked about holding a Christmas party in Number 10 just four days after the event is alleged to have taken place last December, a recording leaked to ITV News has revealed.

Discussion: Politico, The Guardian and The Times

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: YouTube, The American Conservative, TheBlaze, Trending Politics, Rolling Stone and Raw Story

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.

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: Politico, Mercury News, Common Dreams, New York Times, New York Post, Deadline, One America News Network and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

Neal E. Boudette / New York Times:

A New Tesla Safety Concern: Drivers Can Play Video Games in Moving Cars — 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 …

D. Patrick Rodgers / Nashville Scene:

Nathan Bedford Forrest Has Fallen — A widely mocked Nashville statue of the early KKK leader was removed Tuesday morning — The Confederacy has fallen. Again. — A notorious statue of Confederate general and early KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest that has stood beside I-65 …

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

Josh Israel / The American Independent:

New Mexico GOP lawmaker met with anti-immigrant hate group to discuss border policy — Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-NM) ran on a promise to ‘stand for every New Mexican.’ — An anti-immigrant hate group is bragging about a recent meeting it had with first-term GOP New Mexico Rep. Yvette Herrell …

Washington Post:

Biden-Dole bond speaks to a bygone Washington — Salutations, Early Birds. Today marks the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and the end of the Pentagon's victim identification program. President Biden is also set to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin today. — Tips, comments, recipes?

Discussion: Power Line, Wall Street Journal, StephenKMackSD’s Newsletter and OpenSecrets.org

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.

Teo Armus / Washington Post:

Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue will be melted down by city's African American history museum — The statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that once provoked a deadly weekend of violence in Charlottesville will soon be melted down and turned into a new piece of public artwork …

Discussion: New York Times

Real America's Voice News:

One Of The Most Anticipated And Talked About Books Of The Year Is On Store Shelves This Morning — America's Voice AM with Jessica Rivera and Terrance Bates December 7, 2021

Discussion: CNBC

Eric Kleefeld / Media Matters for America:

Group's IRS filing reveals nexus of right-wing dark money and “critical race theory” media hysteria — A recently released IRS filing for the right-wing activist group Parents Defending Education (PDE), which was founded to promote the ongoing scare campaign against the supposed teaching of …

Janelle Bitker / San Francisco Chronicle:

S.F. made parklets permanent — but added so many rules that many restaurants plan to tear them down — “It's the most uncoordinated, messed up, insulting display of government incompetence,” one supervisor said — Chelsea Hung spent $5,000 on the parklet to help save her family's 25-year-old restaurant …

Discussion: HotAir

Daily Mail:

Fury as transgender UPenn swimmer who used to compete as a man smashes TWO US women's records and finishes one race 38 seconds ahead of her nearest rival — Lia Thomas, 22, smashed two U.S. swimming records at an Akron, Ohio contest — Thomas won the 1,650 freestyle in a record …

Discussion: TheBlaze, Breitbart and The Daily Wire

Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times:

So you think Kamala Harris has it rough. Remember Dan Quayle? — Kamala Harris can't catch a break. — When she's not being ignored — which is much of the time — the vice president is portrayed as inept, impossible to work for or depicted as an anchor weighing down the listing Biden administration.

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

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