Top Items:
Tim Miller / The Bulwark:
The Treasonous Pardon of Paul Manafort — Trump, Russia, and the swamp won. America lost. — For four years we've been force-fed the preposterous dual notions that Donald Trump intended to “drain the swamp” and that any suggestion his campaign colluded with Russia in its interference in the 2016 election was a media hoax.
Discussion:
Raw Story and FOX 5 San Diego
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New York Times:
Trump Gives Clemency to More Allies, Including Manafort, Stone and Charles Kushner — It was the second wave of pardons and commutations by the president in two days, showing his willingness to use his power aggressively on behalf of loyalists. — President Trump doled out clemency …
Discussion:
The Week, NPR, The Dispatch, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Forbes, The Sun, TalkLeft, Mock Paper Scissors, Fortune, Alternet.org, New York Post and Vox
Franklin Foer / The Atlantic:
The Triumph of Kleptocracy — Paul Manafort came of age in New Britain, Connecticut. His father, the garrulous mayor of that decaying factory town, taught him how to cobble together an electoral coalition, passing down the tricks of the trade that became the basis for the son's lucrative career as a political consultant.
CNN:
Trump issues 26 new pardons, including ones for Stone, Manafort and Charles Kushner — Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening announced 26 new pardons, including ones for longtime ally Roger Stone, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner's father, Charles.
The White House:
Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency — Today, President Donald J. Trump granted Full Pardons to 26 individuals and commuted part or all of the sentences of an additional 3 individuals. — James Kassouf — President Trump granted a full pardon to James Kassouf.
Discussion:
CNN, Business Insider, USA Today, Power Line, The Last Refuge, The Texas Tribune, FOX 5 San Diego, Reason, HotAir, Raw Story and WTOP
Clarence Williams / Washington Post:
Trump pardons former Prince George's County police officer — President Trump granted a pardon Wednesday to a former Prince George's County canine police officer who was convicted of a federal civil rights violation for releasing her police dog on an unarmed homeless man in 1995.
Noah Bookbinder / USA Today:
The craven corruption of Trump's pardons: Separate justice system for friends and allies — For Trump, whether the crime is corruption, lying to law enforcement or even war crimes, justice does not apply to those who have been loyal to him. — The pardon power is traditionally viewed …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Roll Call
Emma Austin / Courier-Journal:
President Trump grants pardon for Louisville activist Christopher 2X
Discussion:
Reason
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Trump pardons Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Charles Kushner
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Jezebel, LifeZette, Law & Crime, The Guardian, Fox News and Townhall
Michael Kranish / Washington Post:
Trump vowed to drain the swamp. Then he granted clemency to three former congressmen convicted of federal crimes.
Politico:
Trump pardons Manafort, Stone, father of Jared Kushner
Discussion:
Axios, CBS News, Conservative News Today, emptywheel, Reuters, Fox News, Business Insider, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, The Wrap and WTOP
Joe Concha / The Hill:
Joe Biden's continued ‘Russian misinformation’ defense of Hunter is conspiracy-level laughable — President-elect Joe Biden continued his campaign strategy of running from anything resembling a tough question from a reporter when attempting to leave the stage after another “press conference” …
Discussion:
New York Times
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Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Republicans just voted to defund the police — President Trump and Republicans campaigned in 2020 by scaring Americans into thinking Democrats would “defund the police” and unleash a crime spree. — This helped Republicans keep control of the Senate (for now) and grow their numbers in the House.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and NBC Bay Area
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John Eligon / New York Times:
Black Doctor Dies of Covid-19 After Complaining of Racist Treatment — “He made me feel like a drug addict,” Dr. Susan Moore said, accusing a white doctor of downplaying her complaints of pain and suggesting she should be discharged. — Lying in a hospital bed with an oxygen tube hugging her nostrils …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Donald G. McNeil Jr / New York Times:
How Much Herd Immunity Is Enough? — Scientists initially estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the population needed to acquire resistance to the coronavirus to banish it. Now Dr. Anthony Fauci and others are quietly shifting that number upward. — At what point does a country achieve herd immunity?
Reuters:
Millions of U.S. vaccine doses sit on ice, putting 2020 goal in doubt — (Reuters) -Millions of COVID-19 vaccines are sitting unused in U.S. hospitals and elsewhere a week into the massive inoculation campaign, putting the government's target for 20 million vaccinations this month in doubt.
Discussion:
The Hill
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Berkeley Lovelace Jr / CNBC:
The U.S. has vaccinated just 1 million people out of a goal of 20 million for December
Discussion:
UPI, The Daily Caller, IJR, Mediaite, Washington Examiner and KTVZ-TV
USA Today:
Exclusive: As Trump leaves office, 50% of Americans see him as a ‘failed’ president — Susan Page Sarah ElbeshbishiUSA TODAY — President Donald Trump leaves the White House next month with the country more sharply divided than when he moved in and amid caustic assessments of his record in office …
Discussion:
The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Salon, The National Interest, KTVZ-TV, The Guardian and Political Wire
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Oops! Trump stomps all over David Perdue's dishonest TV messaging — As we have noted, a great many Republican ads in the Georgia runoffs feature endless fearmongering about phantom threats — scary non-white socialists, defunded police departments, Antifa mobs destroying property.
Discussion:
Business Insider, CBS News, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and No More Mister Nice Blog
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William Saletan / Slate:
Trump's Coup Attempt Could Cost Republicans the Senate
Discussion:
CNN, USA Today, Washington Post, IJR, Sara A. Carter, One America News Network, Raw Story and Alternet.org
Isaac Arnsdorf / ProPublica:
Inside Trump and Barr's Last-Minute Killing Spree — Private executioners paid in cash. Middle-of-the-night killings. False or incomplete justifications. ProPublica obtained court records showing how the outgoing administration is using its final days to execute the most federal prisoners since World War II.
Paul Campos / New York Magazine:
Pence Should Remove Trump From Office on Sunday — In what are supposed to be the final days of his presidency, Donald Trump has been discussing invoking martial law to overturn the results of the 2020 election and seizing supposedly fraudulent voting machines that — according …
Discussion:
HotAir, Outside the Beltway and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Washington Examiner:
The season of truth — Christmas is a celebration of many things, but most of all, of truth. — The Christ child was a threat to a violent and avaricious ancient world just as he is to a modern world drowning in lies. The greatest lie of all is each person's belief in its own ability …
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Host of ‘The Daily’ Clouds ‘N.Y. Times’ Effort To Restore Trust After ‘Caliphate’ — Toggle more options — Late last week, The New York Times issued one of its biggest mea culpas in years. The nation's leading newspaper returned a Peabody award and a citation as a finalist …
Discussion:
Meduza.io and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »
Rep. Steve Cohen / The Hill:
Stopping the abuse of the pardon power — How much more corruption do we have to endure before we see Donald Trump's term end on Jan. 20? Trump's most recent grants of clemency add to his pattern of self-serving publicity stunts and pervert a power designed for mercy …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Daily Beast and Mother Jones
Jerusalem Post:
Trump gives awards to top aides for Arab-Israeli deals — Senior US officials are hoping to seal one more agreement before Trump's term expires on Jan. 20. — President Donald Trump gave national security awards on Wednesday to several top advisers for their role in helping broker agreements aimed …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
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Washington Post:
Trump administration pushes forward on $500 million weapons deal with Saudi Arabia — The Trump administration has formally notified Congress that it intends to sell nearly $500 million in precision bombs to Saudi Arabia, a transaction that is likely to fuel criticism from lawmakers who object …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Politico:
New cracks emerge among Democrats over Biden's Pentagon pick — President-elect Joe Biden's historic choice for secretary of defense is running into hurdles on Capitol Hill, as key Democrats express concerns publicly and privately about whether installing a retired four-star general at the helm …
Perla Trevizo / The Texas Tribune:
The Trump administration awarded border wall contracts to build on land it doesn't own in Texas — The government's strategy of awarding contracts before acquiring titles to land in Texas has led to millions of dollars in costs for delays. Things could get even more complicated …
Discussion:
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