Lawfare: “Before we dive into the weeds, let’s pause a moment over this. Because in important respects, the legalities—or illegalities—at issue here are secondary points. The primary point is that this is all utterly unacceptable. That a large swath of the public, and the legislative branch, has chosen to accept it does not make it more reasonable that a man seeking to be president of the United States would at the same time publicly cozy up to a foreign dictator and negotiate with his regime over a potential business opportunity—and then cover it all up. The story is likely to get worse.”
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California Republicans Didn’t See It Coming
Politico: “It was one of several nasty midterm shocks for California Republicans: Internal polling described to Politico showed Knight and Reps. Dana Rohrabacher and Mimi Walters — all of whom lost — narrowly leading their Democratic opponents at the end of the campaign. Not only did the GOP get crushed in California, the party also got taken by surprise by the intensity of the backlash in the nation’s largest state, where Republicans projected confidence nearly all year before watching Democrats flip a whopping six House districts — and possibly a seventh.”
“The nightmare results were the end result of a toxic brew of overconfidence and presidential unpopularity, as some Republicans failed to recognize and reckon with the unprecedented negative reaction to President Trump in districts from Orange County to California’s agriculture-heavy Central Valley.”
Trump Praises Bush Despite History of Animosity
President Trump, who had a hostile relationship with the last Republican family to occupy the White House, offered nothing but praise for former President George Bush just hours after the 41st commander in chief died at age 94, the New York Times reports.
Said Trump on Twitter: “President George H.W. Bush led a long, successful and beautiful life. Whenever I was with him I saw his absolute joy for life and true pride in his family. His accomplishments were great from beginning to end. He was a truly wonderful man and will be missed by all!”
Trump Will Hold Press Conference Today
The White House announced that President Trump will hold a press conference toward the end of his G20 summit visit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It’s scheduled for 1:45 p.m. ET.
Brian Stelter: “Trump’s most recent outside-the-US presser was in Helsinki. Hard to forget that one. His most recent presser at the White House was on November 7, one day after the midterms… His exchange there with CNN’s Jim Acosta led to a ban, a lawsuit, and a list of press conference ‘rules’ that no one in the press corps agreed to follow. So tune in on Saturday afternoon.”
Much at Stake When Xi and Trump Meet
“When President Trump sits down with President Xi Jinping for dinner here on Saturday, their meeting will be about more than salvaging a cordial personal relationship or trying to contain a trade dispute between the United States and China,” the New York Times reports.
“It could foretell whether these two giants — one an established but anxious superpower, the other an ambitious, impatient rising power — are destined to enter a new era of Cold War-like confrontation.”
“Remarkably, given the stakes involved, the two sides plan no other formal meetings during this gathering of the Group of 20 industrialized nations that begins on Friday. Nor do they appear to have much of an agenda, beyond the trade grievances that Mr. Trump has complained about for months.”
Cohen Claims White House Influenced False Statement
Michael Cohen said he was in “close and regular contact” with Trump’s White House staff and legal team when he prepared a statement for Congress that he now says falsely downplayed Trump’s effort to land a Trump Tower Moscow deal during the 2016 presidential campaign, Politico reports.
In a filing seeking a lenient sentence, Cohen’s attorneys say his false statement to Congress — which Cohen pleaded guilty to on Thursday — was based on Trump and his team’s efforts to “portray contact with Russian representatives” by Trump, his campaign or his company “as having effectively terminated before the Iowa caucuses of February 1, 2016.”
Quote of the Day
“Many of my memories are linked to him. We happened to work together in years of great changes. It was a dramatic time demanding huge responsibility from everyone. The result was the end of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race. I pay tribute to George Bush’s contribution toward this historic achievement. He was a genuine partner.”
— Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, quoted by Reuters.
George H.W. Bush Is Dead
“George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, was a steadfast force on the international stage for decades, from his stint as an envoy to Beijing to his eight years as vice president and his one term as commander in chief from 1989 to 1993,” the Washington Post reports.
“The last veteran of World War II to serve as president, he was a consummate public servant and a statesman who helped guide the nation and the world out of a four-decade Cold War that had carried the threat of nuclear annihilation.”
“His death, at 94 on Nov. 30, also marked the passing of an era.”
New York Times: “Mr. Bush was a skilled bureaucratic and diplomatic player who, as president, helped end four decades of Cold War and the threat of nuclear engagement with a nuanced handling of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the liberation of Eastern Europe.”
“Yet for all his success in the international arena, his presidency faltered as voters seemed to perceive him as detached from their everyday lives.”
Cohen Was Told Trump Would Pardon Him
Michael Cohen “was under the impression Trump would offer him a pardon in exchange for staying on message in support of the President in discussions with federal prosecutors,” CNN reports.
“After a March 2018 visit to Mar-a-Lago, the President’s private club in Florida, Cohen returned to New York believing that his former boss would protect him if he faced any charges for sticking to his story about the 2016 payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels… Trump was also at Mar-a-Lago at the time of Cohen’s visit.”
“Another source said that after the April 2018 FBI raid on Cohen’s office and home, people close to the President assured Cohen that Trump would take care of him. And Cohen believed that meant that the President would offer him a pardon if he stayed on message. It is unclear who specifically reached out to Cohen.”
AP Retracts Call of North Carolina House Race
The Associated Press is retracting its call of a winner for U.S. House in North Carolina’s 9th congressional district.
The AP had called the race for Mark Harris (R) on Nov. 9, after Dan McCready (D) conceded the election but the North Carolina board of elections has delayed certifying the results, citing “claims of irregularities and fraudulent activities related to absentee by-mail voting.”
FiveThirtyEight: “Where do we go from here? It’s unclear. If the state board of elections finds that fraud did indeed taint the results, it has the authority to call a new election — even if the fraud wasn’t widespread enough to change the winner. And according to the U.S. Constitution, the soon-to-be-Democratic House of Representatives has the final say on the qualifications of its members; it could theoretically refuse to seat Harris until it’s satisfied that he won fairly.”
Pelosi Refuses to Make Deal on Her Exit
“Nancy Pelosi is refusing to entertain an end date on her leadership, even as more detractors have indicated they would support her speakership if she negotiates with them,” Politico reports.
“Pelosi is still short the votes to reclaim the speaker’s gavel in January but said the request many of her opponents are making — that she provide a clear timeline for when she’ll make way for a new crop of Democratic leaders — is unworkable.”
Espy Will Run for Senate Again
Mike Espy (D) filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his intention to run again for U.S. Senate in Mississippi in 2020, The Hill reports.
Espy lost a runoff to Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) earlier this week to fill the remaining two years of Sen. Thad Cochran’s (R-MS) term.
The Fastest Growing Fault Lines In U.S. Politics
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Six White House Officials Violated the Hatch Act
“Six White House officials violated a federal law that prohibits public employees from conducting political activity in their official roles when they used their official Twitter accounts to send or display political messages supporting President Trump,” the Washington Post reports.
“The six employees — which included members of the press office — deleted their social media posts once they were told they had violated the Hatch Act.”
Party for Giuliani Nixed Because No One Wants to Go
Plans for a party celebrating the 25-year anniversary of Rudy Giuliani becoming the mayor of New York City are “fizzling out” because he is “too toxic,” the New York Daily News reports.
Said the source: “Rudy wanted it to appear to come together organically.”
Putin Greets MBS at the G20
Watch Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greet each other at the G20 summit in Argentina.
Politico: “It was a striking display of locker-room camaraderie between the two vilified tough guys — Putin, the former KGB agent who has been Russia’s supreme leader for just shy of two decades, and the young monarch who, according to Western and Turkish intelligence, ordered the killing and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”
Clerk Stalls License Over ‘Foreign’ New Mexico ID
“A District of Columbia clerk and a supervisor refused to accept a New Mexico man’s state driver’s license as he sought a marriage license because she and her supervisor believed New Mexico was a foreign country,” the AP reports.
North Carolina Board Again Refuses to Certify House Race
North Carolina’s state board of elections declined to certify Mark Harris’ (R) apparent victory over Dan McCready (D) in the state’s 9th congressional district again on Friday, instead calling for a hearing to discuss the matter on or before Dec. 21, the Charlotte Observer reports.