President Trump has failed in his legal bid to throw out a defamation lawsuit filed against him from advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who accuses Trump of raping her 24 years ago, the New York Times reports.
Will the Supreme Court Take Up Faithless Electors?
First Read: “The U.S. Supreme Court could decide as early as today if it will take up the cases whether electors in the Electoral College can side with a different presidential than the one who won the popular vote in their state.”
“The question at hand: Are the electors who cast the actual ballots for president and vice president required to follow the results of the popular vote in their states? Or are they free to vote as they wish?”
“A decision that they are free agents could give a single elector – or a small group of them – the power to decide the outcome of a presidential election, if the popular vote results in an apparent Electoral College tie or is close to one.”
‘You’ve Hit a Shocking New Low’
Preet Bharara slams Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) for asserting on Fox News that Democrats “are in love with terrorists. We see that they mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families.”
“I realize that you are a politician and that hyperbolic, hyperpartisan claptrap is the unfortunate fashion of the day. But even allowing for the new normal of nastiness in political rhetoric, your casual slur of countless good Americans hits a new bottom…”
“You are not a talk radio host or a carnival barker. You are a pastor, an attorney and a sitting member of Congress. Therefore, the evidence would suggest you should know better. To utter such garbage, which you know to be false and defamatory, goes against all the training and teaching you must have received. But you got your cheap shot across, and perhaps that’s all that matters to you.”
Quote of the Day
“I sort of hope it’s Joe because he will hear ‘where’s Hunter’ every single debate, nine times a debate.”
— President Trump, quoted by Fox News, claiming he wants Joe Biden to be the Democratic nominee.
Was Impeachment Delay Inspired by John Dean?
Time: “Pelosi, according to an aide, had been mulling the tactic since she heard former Nixon White House counsel John Dean float the idea on CNN on Dec. 5…”
Kansas Senate Race Now Competitive
Cook Political Report: “Ultimately Kansas shouldn’t be a headache for the GOP, but it’s quickly becoming one. And as long as Kobach looks like the likely nominee — barring a reversal from Pompeo or a stronger showing from Marshall or Wagle or another candidate — that gives Democrats a much more plausible path. Given those dynamics, we’re moving this race to the Lean Republican column.”
Bloomberg Will Fund Campaign Effort Even If He Loses
“Michael Bloomberg’s massive campaign apparatus and an army of some 500 staffers will march on through the general election in November even if he loses the Democratic nomination, shifting their efforts toward working to elect whoever the party selects to face President Trump,” NBC News reports.
“Bloomberg’s vast tech operation will also be redirected to help the eventual nominee, as Democrats struggle to compete with the vaunted digital operation built by Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. Hawkfish, a digital company started by Bloomberg that’s carrying out his $100 million online ad campaign, will be retained through Election Day to help defeat President Trump.”
Said campaign manager Kevin Sheekey: “Mike Bloomberg is either going to be the nominee or the most important person supporting the Democratic nominee for president. He is dedicated to getting Trump out of the White House.”
China Steps Up Political Interference In Taiwan
Axios: “As Taiwan’s January 11 presidential election approaches, the Chinese government is spreading disinformation and taking coercive political maneuvers aimed at convincing voters Taiwan is helpless without China.”
Nikkea Asian Review: Five things to know a day before Taiwan elections.
Novelists Offer $200K for White House Press Briefing
Bestselling novelists Stephen King and Don Winslow have offered to donate $200,000 to a children’s hospital if the White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, will hold a press conference, The Guardian reports.
Iraq Asks U.S. to Plan Troop Withdrawal
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi asked the United States to send a delegation to Iraq to set up a mechanism for troop withdrawal from the country, the Washington Post reports.
Video of Epstein Suicide Attempt ‘No Longer Exists’
Associated Press: “Video footage of the area around Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell on a day he survived an apparent suicide attempt ‘no longer exists,’ federal prosecutors told a judge Thursday.”
“Officials at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York believed they had preserved footage of guards finding Epstein after he appeared to have attempted suicide, but actually saved a video from a different part of the jail.”
“The FBI also has determined that the footage does not exist on the jail’s backup video system ‘as a result of technical errors.'”
Harvard Law Students Snub Trump Judges
Boston Globe: “Used to be that the promise of earning a sterling line on a resume and connections to stars of the legal profession was enough to lure Harvard law students to federal clerkships.”
“But recently, when Harvard Law School was urging its students to apply to work for one of President Trump’s newly appointed judges, it felt the need to offer further incentives: ‘Next to Lake Tahoe and great skiing!’ the job alert read.”
“But that apparently wasn’t enough. Two days later, in mid-December, the law school again nudged its students to apply for clerkships with federal judges, noting that some judges, including two Trump appointees, had received no Harvard applications — calling them ‘wasted opportunities.’”
Boeing Employees Mocked FAA Over 737 Max
New York Times: “Boeing employees mocked federal rules, talked about deceiving regulators and joked about potential flaws in the 737 Max as it was being developed, according to over a hundred pages of internal messages delivered Thursday to congressional investigators.”
Said one of the employees: “I still haven’t been forgiven by God for the covering up I did last year.”
“The most damaging messages included conversations among Boeing pilots and other employees about software issues and other problems with flight simulators for the Max, a plane later involved in two accidents, in late 2018 and early 2019, that killed 346 people and threw the company into chaos. The employees appear to discuss instances in which the company concealed such problems from the F.A.A. during the regulator’s certification of the simulators, which were used in the development of the Max, as well as in training for pilots who had not previously flown a 737.”
Trump Team Made Fast Work of Iran Strike
Wall Street Journal: “The new team was cohesive and less inclined than its predecessors to push back against the president’s wishes, according to administration officials and others consulted by the White House. They were also less likely to consult in advance with other administration, Pentagon or State Department officials, congressional leaders or foreign allies, some of these officials said.”
Warren’s Surprising Closing Argument
“Elizabeth Warren is often portrayed in media as a figure of the left-wing, locked in a battle with Bernie Sanders for the progressive base of the party. In fact, polling frequently shows she’s the second choice not just of Sanders voters, but of Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg supporters, too,” Politico reports.
“Seeking a spark heading into the Iowa caucuses, Warren and her allies are making a surprising closing argument: That she’s best positioned to unite and excite the party — and is therefore the most electable.”
Amash Says Trump Abused Power in Iran Strike
Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI) told CNN he believes President Trump abused his power by ordering the drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
Said Amash: “Based on the information I have from the classified briefing I attended, I do think so.”
Jared Kushner Shifts Focus to Re-Election Campaign
New York Times: “Unlike the behind-the-scenes role he played in the 2016 campaign — where he was seen as a key figure but, campaign aides said, never took a title and avoided blame — Mr. Kushner is positioning himself now as the person officially overseeing the entire campaign from his office in the West Wing, organizing campaign meetings and making decisions about staffing and spending. His more prominent role comes after much of 2019 was spent bogged down by the Russia-related investigations that had dogged the president since he took office.”
“The portfolio marks a sharp departure from Mr. Kushner’s focus in the early days of the administration, when he sought to be a central driver of administration Middle East policy, acting at times as a shadow secretary of state who circumvented official channels of power within the State Department.”
Behind Tom Steyer’s Polling Surge
Nate Cohn: “The explanation for Mr. Steyer’s surge is straightforward: uncontested dominance of the airwaves. According to FiveThirtyEight’s ad spending tracker, he has spent more on television advertisements than all other candidates combined — not counting the other billionaire in the race, Michael Bloomberg.”
“In contrast with Mr. Bloomberg, Mr. Steyer’s advertisements are concentrated in the four early states, though his spending in Iowa and New Hampshire has not yielded a similar breakthrough. That’s probably because other candidates are spending there. There may be another reason: Perhaps there’s more to the claim than many assume that Iowa and New Hampshire take their responsibilities at the top of the calendar more seriously than other states.”
“The Fox polls suggest that Mr. Steyer has made broad gains among Democratic voters, spanning most age, educational, racial and ideological groups. The breadth of his support is fairly impressive, given that the Democratic electorate has often split along factional lines so far this cycle. The depth of his support is untested, though.”