memeorandum: Old foes thwart Biden's foreign policy pivot (Jonathan Lemire/Politico)

10:05 AM ET, December 9, 2021

Top Items:

Inside Trump's hunt for “disloyal” Republicans — Donald Trump and his associates are systematically reshaping the Republican Party, working to install hand-picked loyalists across federal and state governments and destroy those he feels have been disloyal, sources close to the former president tell Axios.

Discussion: Insider, Popular Information, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Revolution, Raw Story and Georgia Recorder

Reuters:

Georgia Republicans purge Black Democrats from county election boards — Protesters filled the meeting room of the Spalding County Board of Elections in October, upset that the board had disallowed early voting on Sundays for the Nov. 2 municipal election. A year ago, Sunday voting …

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

David Perdue confesses he would have aided a coup. He's not the only one. — David Perdue, the former U.S. senator from Georgia and now a candidate for governor, made a stunning confession on Wednesday: Despite there being no evidence of election fraud and multiple audits that showed President Biden won …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Los Angeles Times and Conservative Guardian

Emma Hurt / Axios:
Scoop: Trump-backed Perdue says he wouldn't have certified Georgia 2020 results

Discussion: NBC News, The Racket News, Mediaite, Georgia Recorder, CNN, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Insider and Forbes

New York Post:

Fox Christmas tree arson suspect released without bail — The arsonist who allegedly torched the Fox News Christmas tree was freed after his arraignment Wednesday night because his charges were not eligible for bail under new liberal reform laws. — “I didn't do it!” suspect Craig Tamanaha …

Discussion: HotAir, Breitbart, RedState, CITIZEN STRINGER, National Review, BizPac Review, Townhall, YouTube, Twitchy, Fox News and Deadline

Jackson Richman / Mediaite:
Fox News to Light New Christmas Tree After Previous One Torched

Discussion: Gothamist, Raw Story, Snopes.com and The American Independent

Greg Pollowitz / Twitchy:
Meet Craig Tamanaha, the 49-year-old arrested for allegedly setting fire to the Fox News Christmas tree

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ

New York Times:

Event Planner Working on Bob Dole's Funeral Is Let Go for Jan. 6 Ties — Tim Unes was helping to plan memorial events for Mr. Dole when it came to light that he had been subpoenaed by the committee investigating the Capitol riot. — WASHINGTON — The Elizabeth Dole Foundation has cut ties with Tim Unes …

Discussion: Insider and Political Wire

Luke Broadwater / New York Times:

Meadows Sues Pelosi in Bid to Block Jan. 6 Committee Subpoena — The suit came hours after the committee said it would prepare a criminal contempt of Congress referral against Mark Meadows, who was President Donald J. Trump's chief of staff on Jan. 6. — WASHINGTON — Mark Meadows …

Politico:
Jan. 6 investigators' new challenge: Trump allies pleading the Fifth

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Fox News and New York Post

Ruy Teixeira / The Liberal Patriot:

The Democrats' Hispanic Voter Problem — It's Not As Bad As You Think—It's Worse — The Democrats are steadily losing ground with Hispanic voters. The seriousness of this problem tends to be underestimated in Democratic circles for a couple of reasons: (1) they don't realize how big the shift is …

Discussion: The New Neo, Campaign Update and Breitbart

Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:

Democrats Are Losing the Culture Wars — Maybe Bill Clinton got a few things right after all. — For years, Democrats have rarely cited Clinton and the centrist New Democrat movement he led through the '90s except to renounce his “third way” approach to welfare, crime, and other issues as a violation of the party's principles.

Discussion: Breitbart

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Senate votes to nix Biden's vaccine mandate for businesses — The Senate on Wednesday voted to nix President Biden's vaccine mandate for larger businesses, handing Republicans a symbolic win. — Senators voted 52-48 on the resolution, which needed a simple majority to be approved.

Politico:

Progressives get rolled on Pentagon policy — Democrats had big plans this year when they took full control of Washington, D.C. — before political reality got in the way. For proof, look no further than this year's Pentagon policy bill. — The compromise National Defense Authorization Act …

Discussion: CNBC, HotAir, Washington Examiner, CNN, Raw Story, Gizmodo, WTOP News and American Prospect

Kate Aronoff / New Republic:

Biden's Democracy Summit Is Dumb — “This is a moment to try to refocus our fellow citizens on what makes us exceptional,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Politico's James Traub of the White House's two-day Summit for Democracy, kicking off Thursday.

Discussion: Washington Post, The American Spectator, Common Dreams and Forbes

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:
The First Rule of the Democracy Club? Be a Damn Democracy.

Discussion: The Hill

Zachary Petrizzo / The Daily Beast:

Mike Lindell Supports Fans' Push to ‘Bombard’ Supreme Court — OVERNIGHT SHIPPING — Increasingly restless supporters of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell have a new plan of action: Send the Supreme Court physical copies of the pillow maven's dubious and unsigned 80-plus page court filing that seeks to overturn the 2020 election.

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Ann Althouse / Althouse: “I think the Commission's summary of the case against court-packing (pp. …

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:

Tucker Carlson's Jan. 6 ‘Agent Provocateur’ Is A Big Tucker Fan And An Amateur Cardinals Mascot — “If I'm wrong, so be it, bro,” Carlson's guest said after he'd told Fox News viewers that the St. Louis baseball booster was “clearly a law enforcement officer.”

Washington Post:

New York attorney general seeks Trump's deposition as part of civil fraud investigation — New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking a deposition from former president Donald Trump early next year as part of her investigation into potential fraud inside the Trump Organization, according to people familiar with the matter.

Shira Rubin / Washington Post:

Israel opposed the Iran nuclear deal, but former Israeli officials increasingly say U.S. pullout was a mistake — TEL AVIV — A growing number of former Israeli security officials are publicly faulting their government for opposing a nuclear deal negotiated in 2015 between Iran and world powers …

Discussion: Algemeiner.com and Informed Comment

Alexander Cornwell / Reuters:
U.S. moves to tighten Iran sanctions enforcement as nuclear talks stall

Discussion: The Times of Israel

Laurence Norman / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Moves to Tighten Iran Sanctions Enforcement as Nuclear Talks Stall

Discussion: Atlantic Council, MyNorthwest.com and Political Wire

Washington Free Beacon:

NEVER FORGET: All the Libs Who Fell for the Jussie Smollett Hate Crime Hoax — Democrats, celebs, and journalists jumped to condemn fabricated attack — Jussie Smollett, the C-list actor best known for his role as Terry Hall in The Mighty Ducks, is finally on trial in Chicago for allegedly staging …

Jonathan Turley / The Hill:
Jussie Smollett's final act: How a hate crime hoax became a pitch for jury nullification

Discussion: Breitbart

Roni Caryn Rabin / New York Times:

The Coronavirus Attacks Fat Tissue, Scientists Find — The research may help explain why people who are overweight and obese have been at higher risk of severe illness and death from Covid. — From the start of the pandemic, the coronavirus seemed to target people carrying extra pounds.

Discussion: The National Interest, KFF, STAT, UPI, Townhall, CNN, NPR and Pfizer

Mike Stobbe / Associated Press:
The AP Interview: CDC chief says omicron mostly mild so far

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The National Interest, CNN, CBS Denver, The Daily Beast, Boston Herald and HotAir

Jonathan Lemire / Politico:

Old foes thwart Biden's foreign policy pivot — President Joe Biden wants to pivot U.S. foreign policy to the future but has not yet been able to shake the past. — Biden took office early this year promising a new era for the United States on the world stage, casting aside …

Discussion: Bloomberg, HuffPost, NPR, Denver Post, Los Angeles Times and The Guardian

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Graham warns GOP about Trump's wrath on debt vote — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) offered a forceful warning to Republican colleagues during a private lunch on Wednesday, saying former President Trump will come down hard on any GOP senators who vote for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's …

Discussion: CNN, HotAir, Raw Story and Todd Starnes

Rowan Scarborough / Washington Times:

Biden cancels oil while Americans suffer and the world laughs — OPINION: — It has been quite a transition for America, from being the world's self-sufficient No. 1 oil producer to begging horrible foreigners to pump more fossil fuels. But by God, President Biden did it. With ease.

Washington Post:

Low-profile heiress who ‘played a strong role’ in financing Jan. 6 rally is thrust into spotlight — Eight days before the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, a little-known Trump donor living thousands of miles away in the Tuscan countryside quietly wired a total of $650,000 to three organizations that helped stage and promote the event.

Discussion: CREW, Raw Story and Washington Times

BBC:

Sanna Marin: Finland's PM sorry for clubbing after Covid contact — Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin has apologised for going clubbing after coming into close contact with a Covid-19 case. — Sanna Marin went on a night out in Helsinki on Saturday, hours after her foreign minister had tested positive.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, Insider, Gizmodo, New York Post, Cup of Coffee, Gawker, The Daily Wire, The Stranger, Mediaite and Twitchy

Laura He / CNN:

Evergrande has defaulted on its debt, Fitch Ratings says — Hong Kong (CNN Business)Evergrande, the embattled Chinese property developer, has defaulted on its debt, according to Fitch Ratings. — The credit ratings agency on Thursday downgraded the company and its subsidiaries to …

William Neuman / New York Times:

De Blasio Fought for 2 Years to Keep Ethics Warning Secret. Here's Why. — Mayor Bill de Blasio was warned that he created an “appearance of coercion and improper access” by directly contacting donors who had business before the city. — When Bill de Blasio was first elected mayor of New York …

Discussion: New York Magazine

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: Why tongues are wagging inside the House GOP — DRIVING THE DAY — THE RETURN OF RENEE — Former Rep. RENEE ELLMERS announced on Twitter Wednesday that she's running for Congress again in North Carolina's 4th district — and sent the House GOP gossip mill into overdrive.

Discussion: Washington Post and BizPac Review

David Harrison / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to 184,000 — With tight labor supply, claims reach a 52-year record low — Worker filings for unemployment benefits hit the lowest level in more than half a century last week as a tight labor market keeps layoffs low. — Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs …

Discussion: CNBC and The Daily Caller

BBC:

New Zealand to ban cigarettes for future generations — New Zealand will ban the sale of tobacco to its next generation, in a bid to eventually phase out smoking. — Anyone born after 2008 will not be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime, under a law expected to be enacted next year.

Andrew Jeong / Washington Post:

A GOP senator suggested gargling mouthwash to kill the coronavirus. Doctors and Listerine are skeptical. — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) recommended mouthwash as a treatment for the coronavirus during a town hall meeting Wednesday, immediately drawing criticism for suggesting gargling would offer protection.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Raw Story and HuffPost

Abigail Shrier / The Truth Fairy:

What I told the students of Princeton — I was so honored tonight to be hosted by the Princeton Tory, the Witherspoon Institute and the Tikvah Fund. The undergraduates I met tonight were clear sighted and brilliant and astonishingly well read. There's so much on their shoulders.

Discussion: Unreported Truths