memeorandum: Build Back Better would make Biden's annus horribilis even worse (George F. Will/Washington Post)

12:35 PM ET, December 15, 2021

Top Items:

During January 6 Hearing, Schiff Doctored Text Messages Between Mark Meadows And Rep. Jim Jordan — Democrat Adam Schiff doctored text messages between Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan during Monday's Jan. 6 hearings, an investigation by The Federalist shows. — Oops, he did it again.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, We Love Trump, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Vanity Fair, Just Security, Washington Examiner, The Hill and NBC News

Michael Brendan Dougherty / National Review:

Gone Too Far — The Capitol riot happened because President Donald Trump simply lied, and lied, and lied. — s cable television broadcast the scenes of Trump supporters breaking past police lines and even smashing their way into the Capitol on January 6, the president's son, Donald Trump Jr. …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Mother Jones, Washington Examiner and CNN

Angie Drobnic Holan / PolitiFact:

The 2021 Lie of the Year: Lies about the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and its significance — Shortly after 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, supporters of President Donald J. Trump breached the U.S. Capitol, turning the seat of American democracy into the scene of an unforgettable crime.

Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:
Fox News hosts blast House committee for releasing their Jan. 6 text messages to Meadows

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Raw Story and Just Security

Betsy Klein / CNN:
Biden says Meadows seems ‘worthy of being held in contempt’ for failing to appear for interview with January 6 committee

Discussion: Raleigh News & Observer, Insider, The Hill, CBS News, New York Post, Raw Story, IJR, Breitbart and New Republic, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:
‘Need to end this call’: January 6 committee reveals new text messages to Meadows on House floor

Discussion: The Boston Globe, The Guardian, Raw Story, WBUR, Talking Points Memo, The Signorile Report, Florida Politics, Breitbart and Insider

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:

WaPo analyst: Time to face the possibility that Biden loses on BBB — It's long past time for that consideration, although Henry Olsen likely doesn't disagree. He cites “progressives' irresistible force” clashing against Joe Manchin's immovable fiscal realism as an end stage, but that has been the clash all along.

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Washington Post

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Democrats push Manchin on ‘nuclear option’ for voting rights

Discussion: Washington Post and Insider

Ben Terris / Washington Post: One year of ‘President Manchin’: For the Democratic agenda, all roads go through West Virginia

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Biden on passing agenda by year's end: ‘I hope so’

Discussion: Fox News

Dylan McGuinness / Houston Chronicle:

Former Houston cop who thought A/C repairman was a voter fraud mastermind indicted on felony assault charge — A Harris County grand jury on Tuesday indicted former Houston police captain Mark Aguirre on an assault charge after he was accused of running a man off the road and pointing to a gun …

Discussion: Political Wire and Off the Kuff

ABC13: Ex-HPD captain indicted for aggravated assault in bizarre voter fraud conspiracy case

National Archives:

JFK Assassination Records - 2021 Additional Documents Release — Have a question about JFK Assassination Records? — Ask it on HistoryHub! — The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is processing previously withheld John F. Kennedy assassination-related records to comply …

Katie Bo Lillis / CNN:
Biden administration releases previously classified JFK assassination documents

Discussion: National Review and Politico

Reuters:

The military-intelligence veterans who helped lead Trump's campaign of disinformation — After Donald Trump lost the White House, ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and three other current and former U.S. Army officers challenged the vote's legitimacy and pushed baseless conspiracy claims.

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs / New York Times:

Derek Chauvin Pleads Guilty to Violating George Floyd's Rights — The guilty plea is likely to lengthen the imprisonment of Mr. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who is already serving a prison sentence of 22 and a half years for murder. — ST. PAUL, Minn. …

Discussion: KARE-TV, The Daily Beast, Metro.co.uk, Raw Story and Rolling Stone

Mychael Schnell / The Hill:
Chauvin pleads guilty to violating Floyd's civil rights

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Post and POLITICUSUSA

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Build Back Better would make Biden's annus horribilis even worse — At the end of his year of Old Testament afflictions — the political equivalent of Job losing his camels and acquiring boils — President Biden might be muttering: Job was at least spared Sens. Joe Manchin III and Kyrsten Sinema.

Monmouth University Polling Institute:

Most Americans ‘Worn Out’ By Covid — Public officials' Covid ratings down; dip in support for mandates — West Long Branch, NJ - A majority of Americans say they feel “worn out” by how Covid has impacted their daily lives, and nearly half feel “angry” about it.

Washington Post:

This block used to be for first-time homebuyers. Then global investors bought in. — LA VERGNE, TENN. — The homes on Tammy Sue Lane aren't fancy. Modest in size and clad in vinyl siding, the houses were priced below $200,000 when most were built about 15 years ago …

Dionne Johnson / KLFY-TV:

Lafayette City Judge Michelle Odinet responds to use of racial slurs in home video following burglary — LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — Lafayette City Court Judge Michelle Odinet confirmed with News 10 that over the weekend she and her family were victims of an armed burglary at their home in the upscale area of Bendel Gardens.

Discussion: CBS News, The Advocate, Insider and The Daily Beast

Joe Concha / The Hill:

Hillary 2024? Given the competition, she may be the Dems' best hope — There may be a rematch coming in the 2024 race for the White House. But we're not talking (God help us) Biden-Trump II. — Instead, 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is an interesting prospect to consider …

Discussion: HotAir and The Western Journal

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:

Republicans Who Assailed Biden's Stimulus Bill Are Embracing the Money — Republican governors who criticized the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill as wasteful are championing state projects funded by the money. — WASHINGTON — At her annual budget address this month, Gov. Kristi Noem …

Discussion: Vanity Fair

Phil Mattingly / CNN:

Biden set to surpass Trump in first-year judicial nominees; a window into a major Democratic push — (CNN)President Joe Biden will soon announce his latest wave of nine judicial nominees, according to a White House official, capping a year where the selections — and an effort to establish …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Jeanna Smialek / New York Times:

Fed Expected to Cut Economic Support Faster as Inflation Fears Grow — How different age groups think inflation will rise — The Federal Reserve's approach to controlling inflation depends on ordinary Americans' expectations. If people expect inflation to remain low into the future …

Discussion: The Daily Wire and The Verge

Gabriel T. Rubin / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Retail Sales Rose Modestly in November

Discussion: New York Post

Tyler O'Neil / Fox News:

DeSantis takes aim at CRT training in schools and corporate America — DeSantis' administration moved against critical race theory in schools; now the governor is broadening his efforts — DeSantis: Americans are rebelling against the Democratic Party — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis …

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Human Events, Florida Phoenix, POLITICUSUSA, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, The Daily Wire, Florida Politics, The Federalist and Townhall

Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:

Trump Rang in Birthday by Inflating Golf Club's Value by $42 Million — The then-president celebrated his 71st birthday by inflating the value of his New York golf course by $42 million. That's now under investigation. — A small town north of New York City is now openly confirming …

Discussion: Insider and Raw Story

New York Times:
Trump Fraud Inquiry's Focus: Did He Mislead His Own Accountants?

Discussion: Insider, Washington Post, CNN, Today's Edition Newsletter and Political Wire

Anne Barnard / New York Times:

N.Y.C.'s Gas Ban Takes Fight Against Climate Change to the Kitchen — New York is set to become the nation's largest city to enact a ban on gas heat and stoves in new buildings. It's a major step away from fossil fuels that is expected to influence wider markets.

Discussion: Washington Examiner

T. Becket Adams / And another thing:

That Dana Milbank column is even dumber than you think — Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank is as lousy a statistician as he is a political commentator. — Milbank claims journalists have been harder on President Joe Biden in the first year of his presidency than they were on former President Donald Trump in his last.

Jaclyn Diaz / NPR:

A leader of an Ohio Muslim organization was fired for spying for a hate group — The Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations says it fired one of its top leaders after discovering he was sharing information about the organization to “a known anti-Muslim hate group.”

Discussion: USA Today, CAIR, Raw Story and Fox 8 Cleveland WJW

Keith E. Whittington / Washington Post:

The intellectual freedom that made public colleges great is under threat — Across the country, state legislators are trying to control what happens in classrooms — and who gets hired and fired — Faculty members at public universities are under fire in numerous states …

Discussion: Reason

Jonathan D. Salant / New Jersey Online:

Menendez slips, fractures shoulder in rush to get to U.S. Senate floor for vote — His Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing had ended and a vote awaited, so Robert Menendez darted to the U.S. Capitol to reach the Senate floor. — But en route, the New Jersey senator slipped getting onto …