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TRUMP STRIKES DEAL WITH DEVIL … via POLITICO: "This isn't about politics, and giving the president a win," [Nancy] Pelosi said at POLITICO’s Women Rule Summit on Tuesday, reiterating her long-held view that improving upon the current NAFTA deal should supersede partisan politics.
"I don't think any one of us is so important—including the president of the United States—that if we have an opportunity to advance the well-being of America's workers, America's farmers, and America's manufacturers, America's interests, that if we have an opportunity to do the right thing by the American people that we should walk away from it because of him? It's just not worth it, in my view," she asserted.
WHITE FLAG … Small group of Democrats floats censure instead of impeachment," via POLITICO: The idea of censure, according to the lawmakers, is to offer a competing alternative to impeachment that could attract at least some Republican support on the floor. It would also help Democrats avoid a lengthy impeachment trial in the Senate, which some in this group fear could tilt public opinion toward the GOP in the final months before the 2020 election.
"Right now, there's no other options. This is another option," said one lawmaker who attended Monday’s meeting.
ENDLESS WAR … "Democratic congressman says 'it will not end if the Senate does not convict'," via YAHOO: "If the Senate does not convict, that does not mean that it's over," [Rep. Al] Green said in an interview with Yahoo News shortly after the articles were unveiled.
"It simply means that for these two charges the president has not been convicted and he is still in office, which means that he is still subject to impeachment for other charges," he said.
The two articles of impeachment presented by House Democratic leadership are for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to the investigation into whether Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate a political rival.
ME TOO … "Woman suing Hunter Biden over love child wants details about his lucrative Ukraine work," via CNBC: A woman who had a love child by Hunter Biden, son of Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden, is demanding that he formally divulge how much he earned from working for a Ukraine gas company that plays a key role in the ongoing impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
Arkansas resident Lunden Alexis Roberts also is demanding in her pending paternity case that Hunter Biden admit that he could have continued serving as a board member of the company, Burisma.
JOE CHALLENGES RIVALS TO IQ TEST … "Biden: Aiming to Eliminate Carbon Emissions by 2030 Is Unscientific," by WFB’s Elizabeth Matamoros: "Anybody who tells you they can eliminate carbon in the air by the year 2030 has no notion of the science," [Joe] Biden said during an NPR interview released Monday. "Find me one scientist in the world. You guys, you guys know better than this."
NPR host Rachel Martin questioned whether Biden’s "Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice" climate plan, which aims to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050, is progressive enough for Democratic voters.
TRUMP SAVES AMERICAN … "In Rare Diplomatic Breakthrough, U.S., Iran See Eye to Eye on Prisoner Swaps," by WFB’s Adam Kredo: Following a surprise prisoner swap over the weekend, senior officials in Tehran and Washington, D.C., expressed a desire to sit down for diplomatic talks that could provide a pathway to negotiations on a range of matters, including the long-stalled nuclear weapons issue that has seen Iran hit with crippling sanctions during President Donald Trump's tenure in office …
Senior U.S. diplomats who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon about the trade said it potentially represents a "first step" toward a broader dialogue with Iran on the issue of hostages, including the most well known imprisoned American, Robert Levinson, who has been in Iranian custody for 13 years.
THE REAL VICTIMS … "Reporters Enraged Over Media Portrayal in ‘Richard Jewell’," by WFB’s David Rutz: Slate acknowledged Jewell was in part a victim of a "merciless media spotlight" but harangued the movie for making [former police reporter Kathy] Scruggs serve as a scapegoat for "everything wrong with the press."
Slate‘s Mark Joseph Stern called for a "flat-out boycott" of the movie over the trope of a female reporter trading sex for tips. Former BuzzFeed scribe John Stanton was more direct, telling Warner Brothers, "f—k y'all and all your movies."
BILL COSBY’S LAWYER FINDS NEW CLIENT … "Atlanta Journal-Constitution Hires Media Scourge to Threaten Clint Eastwood Over ‘Richard Jewell’," via DAILY BEAST: [Hollywood attorney Marty] Singer’s letter—which was also sent to screenwriter Billy Ray and journalist Marie Brenner, the author of the 1997 Vanity Fair article on which the film was partly based, along with Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwin’s book—says the movie "falsely portrays the AJC and its personnel as extraordinarily reckless, using unprofessional and highly inappropriate reporting methods and engaging in constitutional malice by recklessly disregarding information inconsistent with its planned reporting." …
"The film is based on a wide range of highly credible source material. There is no disputing that Richard Jewell was an innocent man whose reputation and life were shredded by a miscarriage of justice," Warner Bros. said in a statement.
FAKE NEWS … "CNN Forced to Correct 2017 Manafort Bombshell Following IG Report," by WFB’s Alex Griswold: "On December 9, 2019, the Justice Department Inspector General released a report regarding the opening of the investigation on Russian election interference and Donald Trump's campaign," reads the Monday editor's note. "In the report, the IG contradicts what CNN was told in 2017, noting that the FBI team overseeing the investigation did not seek FISA surveillance of Paul Manafort." …
The editor's note is not the first time CNN walked back a bombshell report that was contradicted by official sources. CNN reported in June 2017 that former FBI director James Comey would contradict President Trump's claim that Comey had told him he was not under investigation. The network was forced to issue a correction a day later when Comey testified before Congress that he gave Trump that assurance three times.
TELL US WHERE THE AD TOUCHED YOU … "Thanos Creator Feels "Violated" After Trump Campaign's 'Avengers' Ad," via HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: In the climax of Avengers: Endgame, the chief villain Thanos utters the now-famous line "I am inevitable" before snapping his fingers in an attempt to destroy all life in the universe. On Tuesday, that scene took on new meaning when the campaign for President Donald Trump released a video with Thanos replaced by Trump.
Jim Starlin, the comic book writer and artist who created Thanos in 1973, was not amused by the use of his creation in the video.
"After my initial feeling of being violated, seeing that pompous fool using my creation to stroke his infantile ego, it finally struck me that the leader of my country and the free world actually enjoys comparing himself to a mass murderer," Starlin said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "How sick is that?"
WHO AM I, WHY AM I HERE … "On The Campaign Trail, Joe Biden Is Very Confused," by WFB’s Andrew Kugle: The 77-year-old former vice president has on multiple occasions mistaken the state he was campaigning in for a different state. While in Iowa, Biden said he was in Ohio. While in New Hampshire, Biden said he was in Iowa. Sometimes he corrects himself, but other times he doesn't.
On one occasion, Biden was campaigning in Keene, New Hampshire, but said he was in Vermont. "What’s not to like about Vermont in terms of the beauty of it? And what a neat town," Biden said.
DAYS SINCE JOE BIDEN DID A SUNDAY SHOW: 1,095. Come back, Joe!
"You know who really doesn’t have it? Joe Biden." —Former President Barack Obama
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