What pandemic? We have an election to overturn!
Yesterday morning, Donald Trump tweeted simply #OVERTURN, which is about as honest a statement as you'll ever get from him. All the wild claims of voter fraud, whether through election systems manipulated by foreign countries, dead people voting, or "massive dumps" of fraudulent votes for Joe Biden, were a ruse. That's why nearly every case his team has brought to court has failed spectacularly. What those cases managed to do, however, is create the illusion of widespread fraud, while conveniently lining Trump's pockets. Millions of Americans are under the impression that the case that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed with the Supreme Court—and that is backed by attorneys general in 17 other states—rests on fraud and voting "irregularities." But at the heart of the matter is legislation that four swing states passed to expand voting access. Similar legislation was passed in states all over the country, including Texas itself. But because the election result in those four states wasn't what Trump had hoped for, these attorneys general are using the voting changes as an excuse to try to overturn an election. Disenfranchising millions of Americans is not something the Supreme Court is likely to endorse, but the mere attempt by 18 states to toss out the certified election results of four others is an unprecedented and disturbing abuse of power. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor
Welcome to all of our new readers. We're glad you're here! Please help us spread the word about THE TOPLINE by sharing it here.
The neverending election heist
— Too many Biden voters? No fair! The Texas suit argues that changes made by the four states to voting procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic to expand mail-in voting were unlawful. Texas asked the Supreme Court to immediately block the four states from using the voting results to appoint presidential electors to the Electoral College.
— Lose with Cruz. Trump has asked Sen. Ted Cruz to argue the case if the Supreme Court agrees to hear it. He has already indicated his interest in participating. Cruz's fellow senator from Texas, John Cornyn, on the other hand, has questioned the "legal theory" behind one state suing another over how it conducts its elections.
— A case with no legs. "Both procedurally and substantively, it's a mess," Justin Levitt, an election law professor at Loyola Law School in California, said of the Texas lawsuit. "There's zero chance the court agrees to take the case." Let's hope not. —Reuters
MORE: Philip Bump: The false comparison of the Russia investigation with Trump's 'fraud' claims —The Washington Post
Rubin: Don't forget how we got here
"As Trump methodically assaulted democratic norms, constitutional restraints (e.g., the emoluments clause), basic standards of civility, and objective reality, his Republican enablers remained silent or encouraged his misconduct. Not every infraction is of constitutional significance, but minor infractions if not addressed multiply. Small breaches of decorum lead to more serious violations. And 20,000 lies later, the MAGA crowd will buy just about anything, no matter how convoluted and incoherent." —Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post
Jennifer Rubin is an attorney and political opinion columnist at The Washington Post.
MORE: Adam Serwer: If you didn't vote for Trump, your vote is fraudulent —The Atlantic
This should be the top story
— Yesterday's death toll marks the first time any country on the planet has recorded more than 3,000 deaths on a single day since the pandemic began. The U.S. also reached record-high hospitalizations, with more than 106,000 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, according to the Covid Tracking Project. Health officials warn the situation is likely to get much worse in the coming weeks.
— So far, the U.S. has logged nearly 15.4 million coronavirus cases, with more than 289,000 deaths. Both figures are, by far, the highest in the world, largely as a result of a disastrous federal response to the pandemic.— Still, there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, as the U.S. is getting closer to its first vaccinations. A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee is reviewing the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech today. If it is approved as expected, the first vaccines could be administered within days. —Market Watch
MORE: CDC's Redfield told staff to delete email, official tells House watchdog —Politico
This week on the Hill
If you're waiting for a coronavirus stimulus package from Congress, you'll have to wait a little longer. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today that she believes the bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers engaged in negotiations over a coronavirus relief bill are nearing a deal. The $908 billion proposal is not a concrete bill yet, however, and lawmakers remain divided over the scale and scope of a relief package. Time is running out for Congress to pass any relief proposal, as it also must negotiate and approve an omnibus government funding bill before Dec. 18 to avert a government shutdown. —CBS News
— One-week funding extension. Yesterday, the House approved a one-week extension in funding for the federal government in an effort to give lawmakers more time to hammer out agreements on spending bills and emergency economic relief. Appropriators have continued to make progress on a set of spending bills to fund federal agencies, with only a few outstanding policy issues left to be resolved by congressional leaders. —The Washington Post
— Defense policy bill passes. On Tuesday, the House voted by a veto-proof majority to pass the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, after reaching an agreement on terms with the Senate last week. The bill authorizes a 3% pay increase for members of the armed services and expands civilian federal employees' access to paid-leave benefits. Lawmakers are preparing to come back after Christmas to vote on it again, if necessary, since President Trump has threatened to veto the legislation when it reaches his desk. —Government Executive
— Senate backs arms sale. The Senate has defeated a congressional effort to block the Trump Administration's controversial transfer of $23 billion in advanced fighter jets and drones to the United Arab Emirates. Trump had issued a formal threat to veto the effort to block the sale of F-35 fighter jets and Reaper drones, but two procedural votes failed to gain a majority of the Senate, meaning the transfer will go forward. —Al Jazeera
MORE: Pelosi rallies behind Swalwell amid Chinese spy firestorm —Politico
Idaho Press Ed Board: The spiral of intimidation must end
"When dissenters target the homes of our public servants, intimidating their families and neighbors, the best and the brightest will be discouraged from serving. It is already happening when you see so many highly qualified and bright people avoid public service, or leave it. That's not how it's always been in our country, and our country's future is at stake if this downward spiral continues." —Idaho Press
MORE: 'We are not going to stand for that any longer': Idaho group wants intimidation of public officials to stop —KTVB
Hunter Biden under investigation
— The investigation into Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings has been underway since 2018, and involves not only the DOJ but also the Internal Revenue Service. The probe is specifically focused on his business dealings with China. Joe Biden is not a target of the probe.
— It's not clear how far investigators have gotten, or if they plan to bring an indictment. However, when prosecutors do bring a case, they almost always win. The DOJ Criminal Tax Division had a 97% conviction rate in fiscal year 2019, according to department data.
— Some Republican lawmakers seized on the disclosure of the investigation to call on Attorney General Bill Barr to appoint a special counsel to investigate the matter—a move that would ensure the probe carries at least into Joe Biden's early presidency. To date, no evidence has surfaced to back President Trump's claims that the president-elect benefited from, or participated in, any of his son's ventures. —Bloomberg
Stiglitz: A chance to repair democracy's cracks
"Reconstructing our democracy will be daunting, but it will also lift us up. Democracies are about more than elections every four years. Successful ones entail broad-based civic engagement with an array of civil society's institutions; collective action is about more than just the government or public institutions. It doesn't destroy individuality or freedom, but can strengthen them and enable all of us to flourish." —Joseph Stiglitz in The New York Times
Joseph Stiglitz is an economist, public policy analyst, Columbia University professor, and the chief economist of the Roosevelt Institute, a nonprofit think tank. He is the recipient of the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
"What do Milosevic in Serbia (2000), Yanukovich in Ukraine (2004), Lukashenko in Belarus (2020), and Trump (2020) have in common? They're all leaders who tried to #OVERTURN the will of the people as expressed in free and fair elections. So shameful that a U.S. president is on this list." —Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia (@McFaul)
I challenge anyone who is going along with this assault on democracy to look back 80-90 years ago and pull up the accounts of how Adolf Hitler came to power. "Hitler's Circle of Evil" is a good reference. Watch the throngs of tens of thousands of gullible and ignorant Germans who shouted and screamed their adoration and support for one of the most deranged figures in history. LOOK...HARD. What you see is a mirrored reflection of yourselves. —Mike C., Utah
tell us what you think
about today's stories
The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
Got feedback about THE TOPLINE? Send it to Melissa Amour, Managing Editor, at editor@thetopline.com.
Did you receive this email from a friend? Sign up at www.thetopline.com.
CARE ABOUT DEMOCRACY? SHARE SOME DEMOCRACY.
If you love THE TOPLINE, share it with your friends and reap the rewards—from a shoutout in an issue of TL, to exclusive swag, to a call with Evan and Mindy.
Your Dashboard has everything you need to easily share THE TOPLINE
and track your progress.