memeorandum: Manhattan DA Hires Ex-DOJ Official to Help Lead Trump Investigation (Jonah E. Bromwich/New York Times)

3:35 PM ET, December 5, 2022

Top Items:

Republican hopes fade as Warnock momentum picks up in Georgia — ATHENS, Ga — Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker barnstormed Georgia in a final plea for votes amid signs of growing momentum for the Democratic incumbent — and fading GOP hopes — ahead of Tuesday's runoff.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Washington Post, PoliticusUSA, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, New Republic, New York Magazine, Bloomberg, New York Times, CBS News, The Hill, USA Today and Axios

Washington Post:

Trump dares Republicans (again) to repudiate him — Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. On this day in 1791, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna. He was just 35. — Correction: A previous version of this intro misstated the year Mozart died. — The big idea

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story, RedState, Reuters, Newsbusters, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New Republic, Florida Politics, The Times of Israel, Washington Times and WSAV-TV

J. Miles Coleman / Sabato's Crystal Ball:

Georgia Runoff to Leans Democratic — Trump forces in danger of yet another Peach State setback — Dear Readers: Join us Wednesday at 2 p.m. eastern for a Twitter Spaces featuring J. Miles Coleman and Kyle Kondik of the Crystal Ball along with our Center for Politics colleague Carah Ong Whaley …

Discussion: The Daily Wire, Washington Post, CNN, Slate, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fox News, The American Spectator and The Hill

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Trump insists he doesn't want to ‘terminate’ Constitution — Former President Trump on Monday insisted he does not want to “terminate” the Constitution, responding to broad backlash after he said over the weekend its rules and laws should be disregarded so he can return to the White House.

Discussion: Forbes, Fox News, Much Ado About Some …, Metro.co.uk, Mediaite, Just The News, Raw Story, The Moderate Voice, IJR and HuffPost

Tierney Sneed / CNN:

Giuliani pressed on role in Trump 2020 election reversal legal gambits during attorney discipline hearing — Facing possible professional sanctions, Rudy Giuliani described on Monday the Trump campaign's legal strategy for challenging the 2020 election results and how the former New York mayor …

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Law & Crime, Mediaite, Election Law Blog, Raw Story and Washington Examiner

Politico:
Murphy talks DGA chairmanship — and Biden

Discussion: Associated Press

NBC News:
As Senate runoff nears, Herschel Walker's ex-girlfriend details abuse

Discussion: New Republic, The Guardian, ABC News and Raw Story

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Six looming lessons from the Georgia runoff

Discussion: CBS News

NBC News:

Hackers linked to Chinese government stole millions in Covid benefits, Secret Service says — Hackers linked to the Chinese government stole at least $20 million in U.S. Covid relief benefits, including Small Business Administration loans and unemployment insurance funds in over a dozen states, according to the Secret Service.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, The Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, National Review, New York Post, Twitchy, Raw Story, RedState, The Hill and The Post Millennial, more at Techmeme »

Jared Malsin / Wall Street Journal:

Blasts Hit Russian Air Bases as Moscow Launches Missile Barrage on Ukraine — Intense fighting continues in eastern Ukraine as Russia presses its offensive on Bakhmut — Explosions hit two Russian air bases on Monday, while Ukrainian officials hinted at a capability to strike deeper within …

Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Altered Himars Rocket Launchers to Keep Ukraine From Firing Missiles Into Russia

Discussion: BBC, The Hill, The Western Journal and The Daily Caller

Jamey Keaten / Associated Press:
Russia says it downed Ukraine drones attacking its bases

Discussion: New York Times, The Times of Israel, TASS, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, HotAir, Insider, Bloomberg, The Guardian and Radio Free Europe/Radio …

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Elon Musk and Matt Taibbi Set Off Debate Over Release of Twitter Files — A release of internal documents from Twitter set off intense debates in the intersecting worlds of media, politics and tech. — It was, on the surface, a typical example of reporting the news: a journalist obtains internal documents …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, National Review, RedState, Progress Pond, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Balloon Juice, Twitchy, Althouse and Power Line, more at Mediagazer »

Dean Obeidallah / CNN:
Elon Musk's Twitter is helping to normalize a neo-Nazi

Discussion: Engadget, more at Mediagazer »

Miranda Devine / New York Post:
FBI warned Twitter during ‘weekly’ meetings of Hunter Biden ‘hack-and-leak operation’ before censoring The Post

Discussion: HotAir, Fox News, Daily Mail, Washington Times, Instapundit, National Review, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, American Greatness, TheBlaze, The 100 Days, The Daily Wire, The Post Millennial, JONATHAN TURLEY, Fox News and Nicholas Grossman

Jonah E. Bromwich / New York Times:

Manhattan DA Hires Ex-DOJ Official to Help Lead Trump Investigation — The official, Matthew Colangelo, also worked on the New York attorney general's investigation of the former president. — The Manhattan district attorney is hiring a former senior justice department official with a history …

Discussion: The Hill, Insider, Bloomberg, Raw Story and Associated Press

Olaf Scholz / Foreign Affairs:

The Global Zeitenwende … The world is facing a Zeitenwende: an epochal tectonic shift. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has put an end to an era. New powers have emerged or reemerged, including an economically strong and politically assertive China.

Discussion: Bloomberg and Washington Post

Politico: Germany backtracks on defense spending promises made after Ukraine invasion

CNN:

FBI joins investigation into North Carolina power outage caused by ‘intentional’ attacks on substations — With no suspects or motive announced, the FBI is joining the investigation into power outages in a North Carolina county believed to have been caused by “intentional” and “targeted” …

Raleigh News & Observer:
Latest update: Attack by ‘cowards’ could leave Moore County without power for days

Washington Post:

Congress working to strike last-minute immigration deals — As time runs out on the year, lawmakers are negotiating protections for Dreamers and other immigration reforms. — A handful of bipartisan senators are working to strike separate 11th-hour immigration deals before Republicans …

Discussion: NumbersUSA Education …, Political Wire and The Hill

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Finally, a bipartisan deal to help the ‘dreamers’ is within reach

Discussion: America's Voice and Roll Call

David Cole / New York Times:

The Supreme Court Is About to Ask the Wrong Question About the First Amendment — Can an artist be compelled to create a website for an event she does not condone? That's the question the Supreme Court has said it will take up on Monday, when it hears oral arguments in 303 Creative v. Elenis.

Discussion: RedState, Washington Blade, Wall Street Journal, CBS News and Still More to Say

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
A New Clash Between Faith and Gay Rights Arrives at a Changed Supreme Court

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Examiner, HotAir, National Review, Bloomberg, Forbes, New York Post, Twitchy, UPI, NPR, ABC News, Politico, The Daily Wire, Althouse and Washington Post

Lisa Rein / Washington Post:

Social Security offices critical to disability benefits hit breaking point — State operations that review claims face massive backlogs, leaving disabled Americans waiting months and even years for judgments — The Disability Determination Division in Austin was at a breaking point.

Discussion: The Hill

CNN:

Exclusive: China operating over 100 police stations across the world with the help of some host nations, report claims — Beijing has set up more than 100 so-called overseas police stations across the globe to monitor, harass and in some cases repatriate Chinese citizens living in exile …

Discussion: Newsweek, Euractiv, The Guardian, Politico and Daily Mail

Philip Jankowski / Dallas Morning News:

Secretary of State John Scott, Texas' top election official, resigns — Scott led Texas' elections through the tumultuous implementation of new election laws. — AUSTIN - Texas Secretary of State John Scott, who is the state's top election official, will resign at the end of the year.

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Texas Tribune and KXAN-TV

Summer Concepcion / NBC News:

Justice Alito jokes about Black Santa, Ashley Madison during Supreme Court arguments — Justice Samuel Alito joked about Black Santa, children in Klan robes and dating websites as the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case weighing a conservative evangelical Christian web designer's bid to avoid working on same-sex weddings Monday.

Discussion: Insider, Raw Story, Law & Crime, The Moderate Voice and The Forward

Breitbart:

SOURCES: McConnell Caves to Pelosi, Schumer, Allows JCPA Media Cartel Bailout Bill to Be Included in Defense Package — Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell has caved to outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and will allow the National Defense Authorization Act …

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ and The Gateway Pundit

Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:

Arizona certifies 2022 election results amid threat of more GOP challenges — Arizona officials certified the state's vote canvass on Monday, officially declaring winners in the high-profile gubernatorial and Senate races, among other contests, as GOP figures vow to fight the election results in court.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, NewsNation, Just The News and NPR

David Byler / Washington Post:

Did uncontested races cost the Democrats the House popular vote? — In last month's midterms, Republican House candidates have won about 54 million votes and Democrats have taken about 51 million — translating into a three percentage point advantage for the GOP.

Discussion: Euractiv and New York Times

Michael Finnegan / Los Angeles Times:

Michael Avenatti gets 14 years in prison for stealing millions of dollars from clients — Michael Avenatti, the once swaggering celebrity lawyer who was undone by his proclivity for embezzlement and fraud, was sentenced Monday to 14 years in prison Monday for dodging taxes and stealing millions of dollars from clients.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Law & Crime