Become a member. Already a member? Log in.
Former President Donald Trump’s forthcoming Truth Social calls itself a “free speech platform” but will use AI censors to moderate posts to keep it “family-friendly,” Fox Business reports.
Meanwhile, Axios reports that Truth Social “is reaching out to internet influencers asking them to “reserve their spots” for when it launches in February or March.”
President Biden phoned Peter Doocy of Fox News after being caught on a hot mic calling him “a stupid son of a bitch” and said, “It’s nothing personal, pal,” the Daily Beast reports.
When asked by Sean Hannity if Biden apologized, Doocy remained diplomatic and said the president “cleared the air.”
He added: “And I appreciate it. We had a nice call.”
A federal judge is forcing conservative lawyer John Eastman, who worked for Donald Trump before the January 6 insurrection, to respond to a House select committee subpoena for his emails — “setting congressional investigators up to receive access to information they’ve wanted for months but had not been able to get,” CNN reports.
“Eastman previously refused to provide information to the House when it subpoenaed him directly for testimony and documents. He had claimed his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination as a response to nearly 150 questions and to his document subpoena.”
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) seems awfully serious about launching a primary challenge to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Punchbowl News reports.
Gallego went to New York over the weekend to meet with some of Sinema’s donors about a possible Senate run in 2024.
Rudy Giuliani is selling signed 9/11 t-shirts for $911.00.
“China on Monday dismissed a report suggesting President Xi Jinping may have asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin not to invade Ukraine during the Beijing Winter Olympic Games,” the South China Morning Post reports.
WCVB: “Alcohol excise taxes have increased slightly in the past five fiscal years. Halfway through the current fiscal year, Massachusetts has collected $51.3 million so far in alcohol excise taxes.”
“For the first time, marijuana excise taxes have exceeded alcohol’s. At the same midway point this fiscal year, the state has collected $74.2 million as December 2021.”
“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held firm on a refusal to supply weapons to Ukraine, brushing off criticism that the stance undermines efforts to deter Russia from an incursion,” Bloomberg reports.
“Europe’s largest economy has a long-standing policy against exporting weapons to conflict zones and will stick to it.”
Punchbowl News: “The Biden administration will hold two classified briefings today for congressional leadership aides and committee staff on the deteriorating situation in Ukraine, with the Russian military buildup continuing on that embattled nation’s eastern border.“
“Administration officials are working on briefings for all members of the House and Senate, but that will have to wait until Congress returns next week.”
“Omicron infections are trending down nationally, but the number of deaths is as high now as it was during the summer’s Delta wave,” Axios reports.
“Russian troops are encircling Ukraine from three sides. In Washington and Brussels, there are warnings of crushing sanctions if Vladimir Putin orders an invasion. Embassy families — both American and Russian — are being evacuated from Kyiv,” the New York Times reports.
“Yet there are still diplomatic options — ‘offramps’ in the lingo of the negotiators — and in the next several days the Biden administration and NATO are expected to respond, in writing, to Mr. Putin’s far-reaching demands.”
“The question is whether there is real potential for compromise in three distinct areas: Russia’s demand for ironclad assurances that Ukraine won’t enter NATO; that NATO won’t further expand; and that Russia can somehow restore some approximation of its sphere of influence in the region to before the strategic map of Europe was redrawn in the mid-1990s.”
“A panel of three federal judges threw out Alabama’s congressional map on Monday and ordered state lawmakers to draw a new one with two, rather than just one, districts that are likely to elect Black representatives,” the New York Times reports.
“The case is certain to be appealed and could lead to the U.S. Supreme Court addressing the question of whether lawmakers can draw political maps to achieve a specific racial composition, a practice known as racial gerrymandering.”
“The bipartisan group focused on updating the Electoral Count Act of 1887 is seizing on this recess period to court senators more freely,” Axios reports.
“The group is led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and includes many members who helped reach the bipartisan infrastructure deal. They see themselves as the only hope of creating an election reform package able to muster 60 votes in the Senate.”
“Mike Pompeo’s political action committee spent $30,000 on media training from last March to June — the most on any service beyond payroll during the first six months of 2021,” Axios reports.
“The former secretary of State hasn’t just been losing weight but working to hone his media skills amid speculation about a possible presidential run, records show.”
“The spending highlights the premium Pompeo places on upgrading his personal and political brand, amid a renewed presence on the airwaves.”
The Office of Congressional Ethics said that it had found reason to believe that Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL) offered a job to a potential primary opponent in exchange for the rival to drop out of the race, Insider reports.
The case now goes to the House Ethics Committee, where it will be reviewed by her peers.
At the end of a photo op, Peter Doocy of Fox News shouted a question to President Biden:
DOOCY: Do you think inflation is a political liability in the midterms?
BIDEN: It’s a great asset—more inflation. What a stupid son of a bitch.
“Sheldon Silver, the Democratic powerhouse who ruled Albany until he was convicted on federal corruption charges in a stunning fall from grace, has died,” the New York Post reports.
Hall of Fame basketball player John Stockton falsely told the Spokane Spokesman-Review that more than 100 professional athletes have died of Covid vaccination.
Said Stockton: “I think it’s highly recorded now, there’s 150 I believe now, it’s over 100 professional athletes dead – professional athletes – the prime of their life, dropping dead that are vaccinated, right on the pitch, right on the field, right on the court.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.