Top Items:
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.
RELATED:
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:
New York Magazine, Associated Press, The Times of Israel, Daily Kos, NewsNation and Los Angeles Times
Washington Post:
Justice Dept. releases Trump special counsel report on Jan. 6 case — President-elect Donald Trump has tried to prevent the release of special counsel Jack Smith's report before he takes office next week. — If Donald Trump wasn't elected president in November, the Justice Department …
Discussion:
Fox News, CNN, Townhall, New York Daily News, Raw Story, New York Times, Axios, The Hill, Semafor, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Kos
Ryan Bort / Rolling Stone:
The Report on Trump's 2020 Election Subversion Is Damning — “The admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” Jack Smith's team wrote in the 130-page report … The 130-page report is damning, and concludes that “the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.”
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Status Kuo, Bloomberg, New Republic, Washington Post, MSNBC, Reason, The Daily Signal, The Independent, CBS News, Deadline, The Floridian, Courthouse News Service, New Jersey Online, The Moderate Voice, Raw Story, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Mediaite, CNN and Mercury News
Norman Eisen / The Contrarian:
A Contrarian Take on Volume One of Jack Smith's Report — The fact that we are already familiar with almost all of the facts in the first volume of Jack Smith's final report on January 6th and Donald Trump's attempted self-coup, makes them no less horrifying.
Discussion:
The Atlantic
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
It was the Best of Biden, It was the Worst of Biden
NBC News:
Justice Dept. sends Congress Jack Smith's report on Trump's effort to overturn 2020 election
Justice Dept. sends Congress Jack Smith's report on Trump's effort to overturn 2020 election
Discussion:
The Guardian, Just Security, The Independent, Reuters, Bloomberg and Axios
Filip Timotija / The Hill:
Trump rages after Smith report release: ‘Lamebrain prosecutor’
Trump rages after Smith report release: ‘Lamebrain prosecutor’
Discussion:
New York Post, Washington Times, The Independent, The Post Millennial, Mediaite, The Sun, NPR and IJR
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.
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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
New York Times:
Hegseth's Drinking, Once ‘Self-Medication,’ Could Prompt Questions at His Hearing
Hegseth's Drinking, Once ‘Self-Medication,’ Could Prompt Questions at His Hearing
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, HuffPost, CBS News, Mother Jones, The Gateway Pundit, Louder With Crowder, Raw Story, The Guardian, The Independent, UPI and USA Today
Washington Examiner:
Hegseth fights back against ‘smear campaign’ as Democrats charge he is unqualified to lead Pentagon
Hegseth fights back against ‘smear campaign’ as Democrats charge he is unqualified to lead Pentagon
Discussion:
Associated Press, Fox News, Raw Story, CBS News, Axios, Townhall, Twitchy, NBC News, DefenseScoop, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Reuters, The Daily Signal, The Hill, IJR and New York Post
Bloomberg:
Hegseth Says He'd Be Pentagon ‘Change Agent,’ Rebuffing Critics at Confirmation Hearing
Hegseth Says He'd Be Pentagon ‘Change Agent,’ Rebuffing Critics at Confirmation Hearing
Discussion:
The Guardian, CNN, New Republic, IJR, Scripps News, New York Post, Washington Post and Associated Press
NBC News:
Live updates: Pete Hegseth grilled on misconduct allegations and views on women at Senate confirmation hearing
Live updates: Pete Hegseth grilled on misconduct allegations and views on women at Senate confirmation hearing
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, Mediaite and NPR
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Hirono grills Hegseth over allegations of drinking on the job
Hirono grills Hegseth over allegations of drinking on the job
Discussion:
USA Today, Townhall, Twitchy and New Republic, more at Mediagazer »
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 …
Discussion:
The Independent, CNBC and Business Insider
RELATED:
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:
New Republic, Mediaite 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 …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Fox News, ABC News, CNN, Chicago Sun Times, NBC News, The Hill, USA Today, Scripps News, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Mercury News, CBS News, UPI, One America News Network, The Guardian, RedState, Deadline, The Post Millennial, Vibe, New York Post, New Jersey Online, The Independent 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:
Washington Examiner, Washington Post, The 19th, NOTUS, Twitchy and The Hill
RELATED:
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Democrats will get amendments to Senate immigration bill, says key Republican
Democrats will get amendments to Senate immigration bill, says key Republican
Discussion:
New Republic, Semafor, The Hill and Washington Examiner
Ali Bianco / Politico:
Johnson announces flags will fly full-staff during Trump's inauguration — American flags will fly full-staff for President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday after all, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Tuesday, “to celebrate our country coming together behind the inauguration of our 47th President.”
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Robert Jimison / New York Times:
Speaker Orders Capitol Hill Flags Raised for Inauguration
Speaker Orders Capitol Hill Flags Raised for Inauguration
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, USA Today, The Hill, Townhall, Associated Press, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, UPI, RADAR, FOX 7 Austin, CBS News, The Independent, KFMB, New York Post, Washington Times, Fox News, NBC News, HuffPost, New York Daily News and Office of the Texas Governor
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.
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Examiner, New York Post, HotAir, Breitbart, Frontpage Mag, The Sun, NPR, Washington Post, Middle East Monitor, Power Line, CNN, Diplomatic,, Fox News, The Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel, The Hill, The Japan Times, One America News Network, Channel 4 News, Daily Mail, Jewish Insider, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and Axios
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:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, PoliticusUSA and Digby's Hullabaloo
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.
Nahal Toosi / Politico:
Marco Rubio Isn't Likely to Last Long as Secretary of State — He's being undermined by fellow Republicans, and that's before he shows up to lead a workforce Trump distrusts. — Congratulations, Marco Rubio! You'll soon be secretary of State. — Condolences, too. You're not likely to last long in the job.
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Forward, Just Security, The Conversation and Bloomberg
Jamison Foser / Finding Gravity:
The Washington Post just endorsed 19 Trump nominees. Here are the 5 worst. — Remember when Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos spiked the paper's planned editorial board endorsement of Kamala Harris and then Bezos piously insisted that endorsements demonstrate bias and his publisher William Lewis claimed …
Discussion:
New Republic and The Daily Caller
Jonathan Alter / Washington Monthly:
A Life Sentence of Disgrace — It goes without saying that the big historic event of last week—maybe of the year—is the catastrophic L.A. Fire, which I will write about in the weeks ahead. But before we say farewell to Jimmy Carter's Long Goodbye, I wanted to tell you a bit about my experience …
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
Judy Kurtz / The Hill:
Ivanka Trump: Politics ‘a very dark, negative business’ — Ivanka Trump says she has a hatred of politics, calling it a “very dark, negative business,” while opening up about her decision not to work in her father's second administration. — “I love policy and impact. I hate politics.
Discussion:
TSC HIM & HER SHOW, The Independent and Raw Story
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
Harris declines to invite Vance for courtesy visit to vice president's residence before inauguration — When JD Vance, his wife Usha and their three young children move into the Naval Observatory residence on Jan. 20, it will be their first time inside the white Queen Anne-style mansion …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, TheGrio, New Jersey Online, Breitbart, RedState, IJR, Raw Story, Townhall, Twitchy and Washington Examiner
Dave Levinthal / Rolling Stone:
Democratic Senators Say a Campaign Treasurer Stole Their Money — Tim Kaine and Mark Warner suspect their former treasurer misappropriated funds from their political committees — WASHINGTON — At least four Democratic political committees suspect their former campaign treasurer is behind the …
Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Top Democrat rejects any conditions on wildfire aid — House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) on Tuesday flatly rejected Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) proposal for conditions to be put on federal aid for California wildfires, setting up a potential partisan fight …
Discussion:
USA Today, Reuters, Rolling Stone, Arizona Mirror, E&E News, HuffPost, The Bulwark, Axios, New Republic, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and The Post Millennial
Dylan Matthews / Vox:
The president who could not choose — “To govern is to choose, however difficult the choices may be.” —Pierre Mendès France, prime minister of France 1954-'55 — If you want to understand where Joe Biden's presidency went wrong, when his administration stopped looking …
Christopher Knight / The Federalist:
No One Wants A Biden Presidential Library — There is absolutely nothing commendable about Biden and his career, especially about his four years in the White House. — During the California leg of a year-long journey across America, I devoted a day to visiting two presidential libraries within a short distance of each other.
Discussion:
The Knight Shift