Palm Springs Desert Sun: “The race to represent California’s 36th District in the U.S. House of Representatives just became much less confusing: Republican challenger Raul Ruiz announced Wednesday he was dropping his challenge against Raul Ruiz, the incumbent Democratic congressman with the same name.”
Deval Patrick Left Off Michigan Ballot
Although former Gov. Deval Patrick’s (D) presidential campaign “is expressing frustration that he will not be listed on Michigan’s Democratic primary ballot,” a state party source tells CNN that Patrick “will not be listed for a simple reason: His campaign didn’t ask.”
The Democrats Most Likely to Vote Against Impeachment
The Democrats rumored as most likely to vote against impeachment on the House floor next week: Reps. Jared Golden (D-ME), Collin Peterson (D-MN), Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ), Anthony Brindisi (D-NY), and Kendra Horn (D-OK).
DNC Announces Four More Debates Early Next Year
The DNC has announced the plans for the next four presidential primary debates which will occur in each of the first four voting states.
They’re included in our new Political Calendar.
Pelosi Won’t Whip Impeachment Vote
Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that the Democrats will not be whipping the impeachment vote.
Said Pelosi: “We are not whipping this legislation, nor do we ever whip something like this. People have to come to their own conclusions. They have seen the facts, as presented in the intelligence committee, they’ve seen the constitution – they know it, they take an oath to protect and defend it. They’ve seen the constitutional experts speak about it. They’ll make their own decisions. I don’t say anything.”
She also confirmed the House vote would take place next week.
Quote of the Day
“I’m not in the camp of calling a bunch of witnesses… I think as an American, the best thing we do is deep-six this thing.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by Axios, arguing for a short impeachment trial in the Senate.
What’s the Plan for Impeachment?
Playbook: “While lawmakers in the Capitol have settled into a familiar and tested routine — Republicans defending the president, Democrats ripping him to shreds — the president seems to have no strategy. The White House complains about the process, calling it flawed and crooked. And the president’s aides, advisers and surrogates keep saying the Senate process will be fairer, as they look forward to hearing from Hunter and Joe Biden. The Bidens will not be testifying in this trial, senators have said, so the White House is constantly creating a construct in which the GOP Senate will have let down the base.”
“Yet Democrats don’t seem to have a plan, either, for what happens after the Senate acquits Trump. How will Democratic voters process that inevitable result? And how will they respond when Trump claims the Senate vote has vindicated him? And finally, what will they do if he keeps engaging in what they’ve deemed to be impeachable acts?”
Ukraine Extortion Scheme Was Financed by Russia
Jonathan Chait: “President Trump is facing impeachment primarily for abusing his power for political gain, extorting a foreign country to discredit his political rivals. The secondary aspect of the plot is that the target of his extortion is hardly random. Ukraine is the victim of Russian aggression, and Russia’s continuing incursions into Ukrainian territory is the muscle that gave Trump’s threats leverage. Trump’s domestic interests are one intended beneficiary of his scheme. The other is Vladimir Putin…”
“Meanwhile, federal prosecutors charged yesterday evening that Lev Parnas, an associate of President Trump who represented him in Ukraine, was wired $1 million from a Russian bank account weeks before his arrest. Which is to say, Trump’s Ukraine plot appears to have been financed by Russia…”
“Rudy has worked as Trump’s lawyer for ‘free,’ but Parnas paid him half a million dollars for his work. If Parnas himself was being paid by Russian sources, this means the Russians were essentially subsidizing Trump, paying for the work themselves so he didn’t have to lay out a dime of his own money.”
Hawaii GOP Cancels Presidential Primary
“The Hawaii Republican Party has canceled plans for its statewide presidential preference poll and committed all 19 of its national convention delegates to back the reelection of President Trump,” the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports.
The Hill: “Hawaii follows Kansas, Alaska, South Carolina, Arizona and Nevada in canceling a nominating contest.”
Watchdog to Review Contract to Firm Touted by Trump
“The Defense Department’s internal watchdog plans to review a recent Army Corps of Engineers decision to award a $400 million contract for border wall construction to a North Dakota company that has been publicly and privately endorsed by members of the Trump administration, including the president himself,” NBC News reports.
Study Undermines Warren’s Wealth Tax Claims
“A new study from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School finds that Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax on the richest Americans will generate at least $1 trillion less than what the campaign claims, potentially undermining the key funding source for her plans to expand government-backed health care, education and other programs,” CNBC reports.
“Warren’s tax, if implemented in 2021, would raise $2.3 trillion to $2.7 trillion in additional revenue over 10 years, well below the $3.75 trillion her campaign estimates.”
House Judiciary Resumes Debate on Impeachment
Beginning at 9 am ET, the House Judiciary Committee will resume debate on the articles of impeachment against President Trump.
The committee today is expected to vote on those articles later today, setting up a vote by the full House of Representatives sometime next week.
Trump Mocks ‘Person of the Year’ Pick
President Trump slammed Time magazine’s decision to name teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg as its Person of the Year as “so ridiculous.”
Said Trump: “So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!”
The Washington Post reports Thunberg wasted little time in offering a rejoinder to Trump. Shortly after his tweet, she had updated her Twitter profile to read: “A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.”
Michelle Obama’s Bestselling Year
Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming, will mark one year — 52 weeks — on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list on December 22, Axios reports.
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What If Trump Weren’t Nuts?
John Harris: “Let’s dispense, for the moment, with normative judgments of psychology and law and confine this instead to a purely analytical exercise about politics: What if Trump weren’t nuts? That word works well enough to describe a president who says things that no other presidents has said, who picks fights that no other president would pick, who has shattered so many norms that he has altered, perhaps permanently, Washington’s definition of normal. Even Trump, who would not agree that he is nuts, does not seem to mind and at times even jokes about the common perception among foes domestic and foreign that he is.”
“With an unemployment rate at just 3.5 percent, he would have a wide and possibly leisurely path to re-election, rather than the narrow and arduous one he is facing. More than that, he likely would be basking in recognition of how many of his signature ideas have crashed through old barriers and are driving the agenda in both parties.”
Feds Seek to Revoke Bail of Giuliani Associate
Politico: “Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to revoke the bail of a Rudy Giuliani associate who is currently under home detention in Florida while awaiting trial on charges of illegally funneling foreign money into U.S. campaigns. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan contended in a court filing on Wednesday that the defendant, Lev Parnas, lied about his finances and should be jailed to prevent him from fleeing.”
The British Elections Are Underway
London Playbook: “Tonight’s result will have truly seismic repercussions for the U.K., with the two main parties offering wildly different visions of how Britain’s economy and place in the world should be transformed through the 2020s and beyond.”
McConnell Keeps Pushing on Judges
“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump clinched their 50th circuit court judge in just three years on Wednesday, only five short of President Barack Obama’s record over an eight-year period. And McConnell isn’t done yet,” Politico reports.
“Now that he’s filled virtually every vacancy in the powerful appellate court system, the Senate majority leader will try and cram through 18 lower-level lifetime judges next week, some of them supported by Democrats.”