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4:20 PM ET, December 17, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
Jack Smith tells Congress he could prove Trump engaged in a ‘criminal scheme’ to overturn 2020 election  —  Smith testified about his investigations into Trump during a closed-door hearing with members of the House Judiciary Committee.  —  WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith told …
RELATED:
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Jack Smith makes his case against Trump in closed-door deposition … He maintained that this team found evidence to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.”
Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Jack Smith says he'd do it all over again in testimony on Trump to House GOP
Kevin Freking / Associated Press:
Republicans defy Speaker Johnson to force House vote on extending ACA subsidies  —  Four centrist Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vole on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy …
RELATED:
Axios:
House Republicans help Democrats defy Johnson on ACA in stunning revolt  —  Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) signed Democrats' discharge petition Wednesday to force a vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies — a pointed rebuke of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
GOP Reps. Fitzpatrick and Lawler join Democrats' Obamacare discharge petition
NBC News:
Centrist Republicans revolt, signing a petition to force a vote on Obamacare funding
Carol Leonnig / MS NOW:
FBI's No. 2 quietly tells colleagues he's moving on  —  Speculation and anticipation have gripped the nation's premier law enforcement agency over the future of one of its top leaders, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino.  —  Bongino has quietly told confidants he plans to formally leave …
Joey Garrison / USA Today:
Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado  —  WASHINGTON ‒ The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
RELATED:
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
Republicans are quiet quitting on Trump  —  The White House chief of staff says the president has “an alcoholic's personality”  —  Donald Trump is worried that Republicans aren't as afraid of him as they used to be.  Despite his self-billing as a dealmaker, the president has only ever had one tool to control his party: fear.
RELATED:
Justin Glawe / Public Notice:
2025 was a political disaster for MAGA
Discussion: PBS NewsHour and The Mahablog
Shane O'Neill / Washington Post:
His Vanity Fair photos of Trumpworld blew up online.  We called to talk.  —  Every line, spot, blemish and blood vessel was captured by Christopher Anderson's lens.  What was he thinking?  —  On Tuesday, Vanity Fair published a two-part story by Chris Whipple about the inner circle …
RELATED:
Jenny Goldsberry / Washington Examiner:
Byron York points out Susie Wiles ‘invited’ Vanity Fair controversy
Washington Post:
American Academy of Pediatrics loses HHS funding after criticizing RFK Jr.  —  HHS cuts key AAP grants, citing concerns about “identity-based language” and insufficient focus on agency priorities.  The organization said the cuts could harm child health.
Reuters:
They prosecuted the Capitol rioters.  Now the rioters and the DOJ are after them.  —  After Trump's mass pardons of the U.S. Capitol rioters, some have gained influence inside the Justice Department, meeting with officials to push for prosecutions of the federal lawyers who once helped convict them, Reuters found.
RELATED:
Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:   Unprecedented errors are eroding the credibility of Trump's Justice Department
Connor O'Brien / Politico:
Senate passes defense bill that defies Trump and forces sharing of boat strike videos … Lawmakers are using the sprawling policy bill to demand the Pentagon hand over unedited videos of strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Latin America.  The bill restricts a quarter …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Dangles Cash Payments to Buoy Voters' Views of the Economy  —  With tariffs unpopular and prices still high, the White House has teased the promise of tariff rebates and large tax refunds next year.  —  Tariffs are unpopular, prices remain stubbornly high and Americans are souring on President Trump's handling of the economy.
RELATED:
ProPublica:
Inside the Trump Administration's Man-Made Hunger Crisis  —  On July 18, a mild, overcast night in Nairobi, Kenya, a team of President Donald Trump's top foreign aid advisers ducked into a meeting room at the Tribe Hotel, their luxury accommodations in the city's diplomatic quarter, for a private dinner.
Discussion: Futurism
Ron Dicker / HuffPost:
Senator Reaches Damning Conclusions After Classified Briefing With Hegseth, Rubio  —  Sen. Chris Murphy trashed a meeting with the Cabinet duo about the Trump administration's boat bombings.  —  Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said a classified meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …
Washington Post:
A retired policeman was jailed over an anti-Trump meme.  Now he's suing.  —  Attorneys for 61-year-old Larry Bushart say a Tennessee sheriff violated the First Amendment: “In America, we do not jail people for political speech.” … A retired Tennessee policeman who spent more than a month …
New York Times:
Harvard Secretly Investigates Students Over Larry Summers Video on Epstein  —  The students face discipline for recording Mr. Summers, the former Harvard president, discussing his ties to Jeffrey Epstein in a Harvard class.  —  Harvard officials have opened a secret disciplinary investigation …
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
The Man Who Rules the Country Presides Over Nothing  —  There is a presidency at work in Washington, but it is not clear that there is a president at work in the Oval Office.  —  Ask Donald Trump about the goings on of his administration, and there is a good chance he'll defer to a deputy rather than answer the question.
Discussion: Talking Points Memo
Paul Krugman:
An A+++++  Economy, My A++  —  Trump made big boasts but he isn't delivering  —  When Politico recently asked Donald Trump to grade the current U.S. economy, he replied “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.”  He made this boast at a time when actual economic data were still scarce …
John Podhoretz / Commentary Magazine:
Norman Podhoretz, 1930-2025  —  My father died tonight, December 16, a month shy of his 96th birthday.  Norman Podhoretz passed peacefully and without pain, with a new translation of The Odyssey on his desk that had been sent to him by his friend Roger Hertog.
Washington Post:
Senators freeze Coast Guard admiral's promotion over swastika, noose policy  —  Adm. Kevin Lunday had condemned both symbols and directed they be prohibited, but a new workplace harassment policy downgrading them to “potentially divisive” was allowed to take effect.  —  Just now
Washington Post:
Trump administration admits to targeting blue states for energy grant cuts  —  Justice Department lawyers argue in a court filing that it is constitutional for the administration to withhold funding based on partisan politics. … Government reporters Meryl Kornfield and Hannah Natanson …
Vivek Ramaswamy / New York Times:
What Is an American?  —  There are two competing visions now emerging on the American right, and they are incompatible.  One vision of American identity is based on lineage, blood and soil: Inherited attributes matter most.  The purest form of an American is a so-called heritage American …
Wall Street Journal:
Senators Press FBI Over Failure to Investigate Epstein's Lawyer and Accountant  —  The FBI never interviewed Darren Indyke or Richard Kahn about their work for Epstein; they deny knowing about Epstein's crimes  —  A group of Democratic senators is asking the Justice Department to explain …
The New York Editorial Board:
John Catsimatidis on Donald Trump, Immigration, and New York Republicans  —  John Catsimatidis — a businessman, Republican, political donor, radio host and station owner, 2013 candidate for New York City mayor, Donald Trump ally, and (former) Curtis Sliwa employer — spoke with The New York Editorial Board …
Evanston RoundTable:
Federal agents, including CBP Commander Bovino, back in Evanston Wednesday  —  U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr.  Gregory Bovino and federal agents were in at least two places in Evanston on Wednesday morning and reportedly took several individuals into custody.  The activity marks …
Tara Suter / The Hill:
Hegseth overhauling chaplain corps, targeting ‘new age’ concepts  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday he is overhauling the military's chaplain corps, which provide religious and spiritual support to members of the armed forces and their families, saying he intended to target “new age” concepts.
Politico:
Appeals court clears way for Trump to keep National Guard on DC streets … In particular, the judges said it would be “constitutionally troubling” for the president to borrow National Guard troops from one state to conduct law enforcement missions in another “non-consenting” state.
Fox News:
EXCLUSIVE: First look at ‘MELANIA’ film  —  EXCLUSIVE: First lady Melania Trump is giving Fox News an exclusive first look at her upcoming film, “MELANIA,” set to hit theaters worldwide next month.  —  The 104-minute film is set to hit theaters globally on Jan. 30, 2026 …
 
 
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 More Items: 
New York Times:
Nearly $900 Million Flowed in Secret to Help Harris and Trump in 2024
Discussion: Bloomberg
Washington Post:
‘You see this news?’: What Charlie Kirk's alleged killer told friends after the attack
Ariana Eunjung Cha / Washington Post:
Trump taps Yale doctor who pushed unproven covid treatment to lead U.S. cancer effort
Discussion: Wired
Craig Harrington / Media Matters for America:
Fox found its culprit for high grocery prices following Democratic election victories — Joe Biden
David Gilbert / Wired:
The Most Powerful Politics Influencers Barely Post About Politics
Discussion: Gizmodo
 Earlier Items: 
Axios:
FCC chair suggests agency isn't independent, word cut from mission statement
Isaac Arnsdorf / Washington Post:
DHS fast-tracked $1 billion contract to pro-Trump donor's company
Discussion: The Intellectualist
Matt Sepic / MPR News:
Judge frees couple charged with ‘kidnapping’ immigration agent as defense challenges government's account
Bloomberg:
A New Way to Understand America's Congressional Doom Loop
Discussion: al.com
Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
Why Are Democrats So Afraid to Even Mention the Source of Trump's Political Power?
Discussion: Raw Story
Johnny Ryan / The Guardian:
This is Europe's secret weapon against Trump: it could burst his AI bubble
Discussion: Ars Technica and Politico
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Academy signs a multiyear deal that gives YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars, beginning in 2029 and running through 2033, streaming for free

Wall Street Journal:
WBD recommends shareholders reject Paramount's unsolicited cash bid, calling the offer “illusory” and saying it believes Netflix's proposal is still superior

Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Filing: Comcast's offer to merge NBCUniversal with WBD valued Comcast's media and theme-park assets at about $81B; Comcast's overall valuation is about $111B

 
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