Top Items:
Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
The Most Damning Lines in Jack Smith's Brutal Trump January 6 Report — Special counsel Jack Smith did not hold back in his final report on the investigation into Donald Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 election. — While much of it contains information already made public …
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Magazine, The Floridian, NewsNation and The Times of Israel
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New York Times:
Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case — “But for Mr. Trump's election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” the report said.
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Plans ‘Energy Dominance’ Executive Orders After Inauguration
Trump Plans ‘Energy Dominance’ Executive Orders After Inauguration
Discussion:
Twitchy, Fox News and Press Herald
Norman Eisen / The Contrarian:
A Contrarian Take on Volume One of Jack Smith's Report
David Frum / The Atlantic:
Jack Smith Gives Up
Jack Smith Gives Up
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Raw Story and The American Spectator
Washington Post:
What we learned from the Trump Jan. 6 report by special counsel Jack Smith
What we learned from the Trump Jan. 6 report by special counsel Jack Smith
Discussion:
The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Associated Press, El País, Bloomberg, New Jersey Online, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, The Independent, Deseret News, USA Today, Deadline, CBS News, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Politico, Raw Story, CNN, The Hill, Mercury News and New York Daily News
Benjamin Wittes / Default:
The Situation: The Cult of Unqualified Authenticity — On Pete Hegseth and the first hearing for a Trump nominee for a major cabinet position — Meet The Authors — Published by The Lawfare Institute in Cooperation With — The Situation on Friday reflected on the sentencing of Donald Trump in New York.
Discussion:
Courthouse News Service and Wall Street Journal
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Jane Mayer / New Yorker:
The Pressure Campaign to Get Pete Hegseth Confirmed as Defense Secretary — Supporters of Donald Trump's nominee have intimidated potential witnesses and suppressed the F.B.I. background check of the former Fox News host in the run-up to his Senate hearing.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Fox News, Defense One, Associated Press, New York Times, Slate, Daily Caller News Foundation, Ohio Capital Journal, The 19th, Lawyers, Guns & Money, ABC News, Politico, Punchbowl News, Semafor, 19FortyFive, IJR, USA Today, The Hill, Balloon Juice, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Doomsday Scenario, New Jersey Online, Bloomberg and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »
Sarah Fitzpatrick / NBC News:
Former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson makes request ahead of hearing — Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson and her nonprofit group sent a letter yesterday asking the Senate Armed Services Committee to allow an alleged victim of sexual assault to testify anonymously at Hegseth's confirmation hearing.
Discussion:
Associated Press and Al Jazeera
NBC News:
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg to attend Trump's inauguration — The three will be seated together on the inauguration platform with other prominent guests. — Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday …
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Tara Suter / The Hill:
Bannon: Zuckerberg 'can't be trusted' — Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President-elect Trump, went after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a Monday episode of his “Bannon's War Room” podcast. — “Zuckerberg can't be trusted, at all,” Bannon said on his show, in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.
Discussion:
Mediaite, New Republic, USA Today and Vanity Fair
Darlene Superville / Associated Press:
Michelle Obama will skip Trump inauguration, but ex-Presidents Obama, Clinton and Bush will be there — Former first lady Michelle Obama will skip the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the second time in two weeks that she is not attending a gathering of former U.S. leaders and their spouses …
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New York Times:
Michelle Obama Will Skip Trump's Inauguration — Mrs. Obama also declined to attend the funeral of Jimmy Carter last week, which would have put her face-to-face with Mr. Trump. — Michelle Obama, the former first lady, will not attend the inauguration of President-elect Donald J. Trump, her office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Discussion:
CNN, Daily Kos, CBS News, Fox News, Washington Post, Townhall, UPI, New York Post, Washington Times, The Independent, One America News Network, New Jersey Online, Deadline, Scripps News and Daily Mail
Juliegrace Brufke / The Daily Beast:
GOP Senator Flames Dems for ‘Cheating’ and Voting ‘Drunk’ — “And don't tell me you haven't seen it, because I know you have,” the Republican senator said.
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal
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Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
Minnesota state House Democrats walk out in effort to block GOP speaker vote
Minnesota state House Democrats walk out in effort to block GOP speaker vote
Discussion:
The Hill, MPR News, Associated Press, NPR, Alpha News, Minnesota Reformer, Raw Story, Power Line, LifeNews.com, FOX 7 Austin, Twin Cities and The Texas Tribune
Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:
Society is making you sick, GOP says. Too bad their plans will make you sicker.
Society is making you sick, GOP says. Too bad their plans will make you sicker.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Politico:
Trump and DeSantis golf, with Rubio replacement looming — President-elect Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are meeting over a round of golf on Tuesday, as key decisions loom in the state they both call home. The meetup is taking place as Trump backed DeSantis' recent call …
Discussion:
Twitchy, Raw Story, Florida Politics and Florida Phoenix
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Nahal Toosi / Politico:
Marco Rubio Isn't Likely to Last Long as Secretary of State
Marco Rubio Isn't Likely to Last Long as Secretary of State
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation, NPR, The Forward, Just Security, Raw Story, The Conversation and Bloomberg
Associated Press:
Biden moves to lift state sponsor of terrorism designation for Cuba, part of deal to free prisoners
Biden moves to lift state sponsor of terrorism designation for Cuba, part of deal to free prisoners
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, Reuters, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Fox News, Bloomberg, El País, Al Jazeera, The Daily Register, The White House, The American Conservative, Semafor, Raw Story, The Independent, Hartford Courant, New York Post, Associated Press, The Post Millennial and Daily Mail
Caitlin Yilek / CBS News:
House passes ban on transgender students in girls sports — Washington — The House on Tuesday passed a Republican measure banning transgender girls and women from competing on school sports teams that match their gender identity after the party leaned into the issue during the 2024 campaign.
Discussion:
Fox News, HuffPost, USA Today, Politico, The 19th, Washington Post, The Hill, Washington Examiner, freebeacon.com, The Texas Tribune, New York Post, Twitchy and The Gateway Pundit
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Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Vice Is a Moat — 1. Secretary Pete — Here is the thing about Pete Hegseth: — Imagine that his character was sterling. That he was a fine, upstanding man, admired by all who know him. That he had dedicated his life to service and been judged to be as good a human being as Mister Rogers or Dolly Parton.
CBS News:
Israel and Hamas agree in principle to ceasefire and hostage deal, sources say — A draft deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and hostage release has been agreed to in principle and, if all goes well, will be finalized by Israel and Hamas this week, Arab, U.S. and Israeli officials told CBS News.
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Associated Press:
Hamas OKs draft agreement of a Gaza ceasefire and the release of some hostages, officials say
Hamas OKs draft agreement of a Gaza ceasefire and the release of some hostages, officials say
Discussion:
Reuters, Politico, New York Times, Atlantic Council, The National, Commentary Magazine, The Times of Israel, Just Security, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Fox News, NPR, Algemeiner.com, HotAir, Breitbart, New York Post, Power Line, CBS News, Channel 4 News, Crikey, Foreign Policy, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Sun, The Hill and Axios
Julia Mueller / The Hill:
Texas House elects new Speaker in blow to far-right wing — The Texas House on Tuesday elected state Rep. Dustin Burrows (R) to lead the chamber in a blow to the rising far-right wing of the party, defeating a candidate supported by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and other top state figures.
Discussion:
The Texas Tribune, FOX 7 Austin and The Barbed Wire
Robert Jimison / New York Times:
Speaker Orders Capitol Hill Flags Raised for Inauguration — President-elect Donald J. Trump had complained that flags were scheduled to fly at half-staff — a symbol of mourning for former President Jimmy Carter — on the day of his inauguration. — Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday announced …
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The White House:
Certification of Rescission of Cuba's Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism — Certification of Rescission of Cuba's Designation — Pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and consistent with sections 1754(c) and 1768(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act …
Discussion:
RedState, Florida Phoenix, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit
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Charlie Spiering / Daily Mail:
I was fully indoctrinated into the Democrat ‘cult.’ Here's why I left my liberal influencer life behind to raise money for Trump — A former high energy Democratic fundraiser, failed congressional candidate and social media influencer is now raising money for President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural committee.
Discussion:
The Hill
Punchbowl News:
Jan. 6 committee members talk to White House about pardons … In an interview, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chaired the Jan. 6 committee, said he spoke to the White House counsel's office last month about the issue. Thompson noted that he hadn't talked directly with President Joe Biden on the topic …
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Dan De Luce / NBC News:
Iran ‘never’ plotted to kill Trump during campaign, Iran's president tells NBC News — The Justice Department in November charged an Iranian man in an alleged murder-for-hire plot to assassinate then-candidate Donald Trump and two others. — Iran “never” plotted to assassinate Donald Trump during …
Discussion:
Reuters
Mark Lemley / Mark Lemley on LinkedIn:
I have struggled with how to respond to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook's descent into toxic masculinity and Neo-Nazi madness. While I have thought about quitting Facebook, I find great value in the connections and friends I have here, and it doesn't seem fair that I should lose that because Zuckerberg is having a mid-life crisis.
Politico:
Johnson backs away from go-it-alone debt ceiling plan — The speaker acknowledged the borrowing limit could be included in government funding talks — where he'll need Democratic votes. — Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday backed away from a plan to address the approaching federal debt cliff …
Discussion:
NOTUS, PoliticusUSA, The Hill, Washington Examiner and Balloon Juice
Myah Ward / Politico:
‘Days of thunder’: Steve Bannon on the second coming of the Trump administration — The former adviser sat for a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO this week. — Steve Bannon had some thoughts on what the next four years have in store for Donald Trump as he returns to the White House.
Discussion:
The Guardian and New York Post
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Kaine clashes with Hegseth over infidelity, drinking, scandals — Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) clashed sharply with secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth over his infidelity and reports of public drunkenness and drunkenness on the job, repeatedly pressing Hegseth on his character and judgment.