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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.
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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, Daily Kos, NewsNation, The Times of Israel and Los Angeles Times


Trump would have been convicted over 2020 election, says special counsel — Report by Jack Smith says evidence ‘was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction’ had Trump not won re-election in 2024 — Donald Trump would have been convicted of crimes over his failed attempt to cling …
Discussion:
CBS News, USA Today, CNN, The Daily Signal, The Floridian, Raw Story, The Sun, The Independent, Reuters, NPR, Axios, Bloomberg and Mediaite


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, Townhall, New York Daily News, Raw Story, New York Times, The Hill, Semafor, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos and CNN


A Contrarian Take on Volume One of Jack Smith's Report
Discussion:
The Atlantic

Trump rages after Smith report release: ‘Lamebrain prosecutor’
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Post, The Independent, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial, Mediaite and IJR

Justice Dept. sends Congress Jack Smith's report on Trump's effort to overturn 2020 election
Discussion:
Just Security, The Independent, Axios and Bloomberg


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.
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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.


Former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson makes request ahead of hearing
Discussion:
Al Jazeera

Live Updates: Pete Hegseth to Face Sharp Questions at Confirmation Hearing
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, NBC News, Washington Examiner, CBS News, NOTUS, The Federalist, Florida Politics, IJR, CNN, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Semafor, TMZ.com, Townhall, NewsNation, Courthouse News Service, Twin Cities, The Independent, New York Post, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, Bloomberg and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Mediagazer »

Hegseth's Drinking, Once ‘Self-Medication,’ Could Prompt Questions at His Hearing
Discussion:
Axios, MeidasTouch News, HuffPost, CBS News, Vanity Fair, Mother Jones, The Gateway Pundit, Louder With Crowder, Raw Story, The Independent, UPI and USA Today

Hirono grills Hegseth over allegations of drinking on the job
Discussion:
HotAir, Fox News, New York Post, RedState, USA Today, New Republic, Townhall, Twitchy and Washington Times


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:
Mock Paper Scissors, Washington Examiner, New Republic, CNBC, The Independent and Business Insider
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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


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:
Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and NOTUS
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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:
The 19th, Politico, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, freebeacon.com, New York Post, Twitchy, The Daily Signal, The Gateway Pundit and The Hill

House Passes Bill to Bar Trans Athletes From Female School Sports Teams
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Politico, Axios, Washington Examiner, The Independent, NOTUS and Erin In The Morning


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, New York Magazine, CNN, Chicago Sun Times, Fox News, ABC News, NBC News, The Hill, Mercury News, USA Today, Scripps News, One America News Network, CBS News, UPI, The Guardian, RedState, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, New York Post, New Jersey Online, Deadline, The Independent, The Post Millennial, Vibe and Daily Mail


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:
Raw Story, Florida Politics and Florida Phoenix
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Marco Rubio Isn't Likely to Last Long as Secretary of State
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Forward, Just Security, The Conversation and Bloomberg

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 …
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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


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, Breitbart, The Sun, Frontpage Mag, NPR, HotAir, Washington Post, Middle East Monitor, Power Line, CNN, Diplomatic,, Fox News, The Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Hill, The Japan Times, The Times of Israel, One America News Network, Channel 4 News, Daily Mail, Jewish Insider, Bloomberg and Al Jazeera


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


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:
PoliticusUSA, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Letters from an American, Balloon Juice and Digby's Hullabaloo


‘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:
New York Post


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 …


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 …


Scoop: Blackburn eyeing run for Tennessee governor … - State and federal elected officials have been making calls in support of her possible candidacy in recent days, a source tells Axios. — With Tennessee voters leaning solidly Republican, the GOP primary will likely determine the state's next governor.


How to Fix America's Two-Party Problem — Mr. Wegman is a member of the Times editorial board, where he writes about democracy, law and politics. Mr. Drutman is a senior fellow at New America and the author of “Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America.”
Discussion:
Election Law Blog


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


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, IJR, Raw Story, Breitbart, New Jersey Online, Townhall, RedState, Twitchy and Washington Examiner


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