The Daily 202: Trump solidifies control of GOP with RNC reversal on Roy Moore

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President Trump talks to reporters on Monday as he prepares to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

With Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve

The Republican National Committee announced Monday night that it is reopening the spigot for Roy Moore in Alabama and will work to elect a candidate accused of sexual misconduct against teenage girls to the U.S. Senate.

The underlying facts have not changed in the three weeks since the RNC cut off Moore. In fact, new women have come forward, additional evidence has emerged and the candidate — who categorically denies any wrongdoing — has struggled to keep his story straight.

What changed is Trump’s mind. The president formally endorsed Moore yesterday after seeing polls that showed he can win. He came to identify with the former judge because of his own experience with the “Access Hollywood” tape last year.

“Go get ’em, Roy,” Moore said Trump told him in a call from Air Force One.

Naturally, the RNC gave the “exclusive” to Breitbart, which is led by Steve Bannon. The former White House chief strategist is campaigning for Moore again in Alabama tonight. America First Action, a pro-Trump group, announced that it will spend $1.1 million to help Moore ahead of next Tuesday’s special election. Trump himself is planning a campaign-style rally in Pensacola, Fla., on Friday night, which is just across the border and part of the Mobile media market.

Meanwhile, the GOP’s moral compass continues to spin in circles — unable to find true north.

Trump, who was registered as a Democrat as recently as 2009, is remaking the GOP in his image and infusing it with his sensibilities. Many elected Republicans are uneasy with this, but they continue to go along because they’re afraid of drawing his ire or alienating his core supporters. They also desperately want to keep their Senate majority.

This may come back to haunt the party over the long term: A new Gallup report suggests that Trump is driving people away from the GOP. In November 2016, 42 percent of Americans identified as Republicans. That number has slipped five points, to 37 percent. A year ago, 44 percent of Americans identified as Democrats — the same percentage as now. The number of people identifying as independents has risen four points since Trump won.

President Trump greets Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) at the Utah state capitol on Monday. Trump traveled to Salt Lake City to announce plans to shrink two national monuments. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

— The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which canceled a joint fundraising agreement with Moore, is not following the RNC’s lead — at least for now. The campaign committee is chaired by Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who anticipates a tough reelection contest in 2020 and said last month that the Senate should vote to expel Moore if he wins.

But there has already been a remarkable shift in tone among leading Senate Republicans. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), for example, not only defended Trump’s decision but downplayed the seriousness of Moore’s alleged misconduct. “He needs every Republican he can get, so he can put his agenda through,” the president pro tempore and chairman of the Finance Committee told reporters on Monday. “That’s the only Republican you can possibly get down there. … Many of the things he allegedly did are decades ago. So it’s hard to — that’s a decision that has to be made by the people in that state. If they make that decision, who are we to question them?”

Mitch McConnell has walked back his calls for Moore to drop out. “The people of Alabama are going to decide … It’s really up to them,” the Senate majority leader said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” When asked if there would be an effort to expel Moore should he win, the Kentuckian deflected: “We’ll swear in whoever’s elected and see where we are at that particular point.”

“None of us get to vote on who’s the senator from Alabama. Just Alabama voters do. So I think we have to respect their decision — whatever it is,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), McConnell’s No. 2, told reporters on Monday.

The only sitting Senate Republican who was willing to publicly break with Trump was Jeff Flake, who is retiring rather than seeking reelection because he knew he’d probably lose in the GOP primary. IJR’s Haley Byrd reports that every other rank-and-file Republican senator she tried to talk with ducked her questions:

  • “I’m not going to make judgments on what the president does. That’s up to him,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).
  • Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said he didn’t have a statement “one way or the other on that.” “Sorry,” he said.
  • “I’ve got enough trouble paddling my own canoe,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). “I’m not going to tell the president how to do his job.”

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) campaigns for Mitt Romney in New Hampshire in 2012. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

— This is not your father’s GOP.

Mitt Romney, the party’s standard-bearer just five years ago, made clear his displeasure with Trump’s move. Interestingly, RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel is Mitt’s niece, but she’s been more loyal to the president than her kin.

In case you needed any more data points after the 2016 nominating contest, this is also not the same party that nominated either Bush 41 or Bush 43.

A good reminder from the chief strategist for Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign:

— “One senior White House official said Trump jumped in for a few reasons: because aides convinced him that his support could push Moore to victory, because he would probably take part of the blame if Moore lost and because he didn’t like the idea of backing Moore less than full-throatedly,” per Sean Sullivan, Michael Scherer and David Weigel.

“The race has exposed some tensions between [the RNC chairwoman] and the White House, White House officials and advisers said. After Trump returned from Asia, he began expressing frustrations that the RNC backed away — even though he was apprised of the decision at the time. McDaniel, according to one person close to her, felt boxed in and feels like the episode has been a bit of an embarrassment. She also wanted to quickly show the president that the RNC was loyal …

“White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has been frustrated with the Alabama race and did not want the president to dive back in with a full endorsement, these officials said. His argument was one of practicality — that the White House didn’t need to bother itself with the race and let that ‘become the focus,’ one of the people said.”

— A Washington Post-Schar School poll published this weekend found that the race is within the margin of error, with 50 percent of likely Alabama voters supporting Democrat Doug Jones and 47 percent backing Moore.

— The RNC’s announcement came hours after the publication of another story: 

Debbie Wesson Gibson, who says she openly dated Moore when she was 17 and he was 34, has discovered additional evidence of their relationship — a graduation card inscribed by Moore, who recently has denied ever knowing her. Stephanie McCrummen reports: “’Happy graduation Debbie,’ [the card] read in slanted cursive handwriting. ‘I wanted to give you this card myself. I know that you’ll be a success in anything you do. Roy.’”

When the allegations first surfaced, Moore said he remembered Gibson but didn’t remember dating her. His story keeps changing: “At a Nov. 27 campaign event … Moore said, ‘The allegations are completely false. They are malicious. Specifically, I do not know any of these women.’ At a Nov. 29 rally … Moore said, ‘Let me state once again: I do not know any of these women, did not date any of these women and have not engaged in any sexual misconduct with anyone.’

“Gibson said that after finding the [card], she was not sure whether to make it public given the threats she received after publication of the original story. Then she heard what Moore said last week, she said, and contacted The Post. ‘He called me a liar,’ said Gibson, who says she not only openly dated Moore when she was 17 but later joined him in passing out fliers during his campaign for circuit court judge in 1982 and exchanged Christmas cards with him over the years. ‘Roy Moore made an egregious mistake to attack that one thing — my integrity.’”

— Many conservative thought leaders who do not hold public office expressed disgust with Trump and the RNC’s move.

From the New York Post columnist and editor of Commentary magazine:

A senior editor at the conservative National Review magazine called the RNC’s decision “grotesque”:

From another senior writer at National Review:

From the former communications director for ex-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.):

From a longtime former Senate GOP lawyer:

Evan McMullin became a House GOP policy aide after a decade in the CIA. He ran for president as an independent last year because he was distraught that his party embraced Trump:

— How the news is playing elsewhere:

From a reporter for Yahoo News:

A New York Times reporter shared this photo of a church sign in Alabama:

From CNN’s chief national security correspondent:

From a senior editor for The Atlantic:

From a political reporter for the Daily Beast:

From a senior writer for the liberal Daily Kos:

From a writer for Tablet magazine:

From the MSNBC analyst:

From a senior writer for Mic:

From a political writer in Michigan:

— The election is one week from today. I’m about to hop on a flight for Alabama. I’ll be on the ground for the next three days.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING:

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, has faced several sexual misconduct allegations. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

— Rep. John Conyers Jr. reportedly plans to announce today he will not run for reelection following sexual harassment allegations against the Michigan Democrat. The New York Times’s Yamiche Alcindor reports: “Mr. Conyers, the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, will make the announcement by calling into a local radio show on Tuesday morning, Ian Conyers, a Michigan state senator, said in a phone interview early Tuesday. Ian Conyers, 29, the grandson of Mr. Conyers’s brother, said he now planned to run for the seat held by his 88-year-old great-uncle, a Democrat who represents the Detroit area. ‘He is not resigning. He is going to retire,’ the younger Mr. Conyers said. ‘His doctor advised him that the rigor of another campaign would be too much for him just in terms of his health.’”

— Another one of Conyers’s former staffers has also accused him of inappropriate touching. AP’s Corey Williams reports: “Elisa Grubbs made the allegation in an affidavit released late Monday by her attorney, Lisa Bloom. Grubbs is the cousin of another accuser, Marion Brown[.] … Grubbs’ affidavit says that she worked for Conyers in various capacities from approximately 2001 to about 2013. ‘Rep. Conyers slid his hand up my skirt and rubbed my thighs while I was sitting next to him in the front row of a church,’ Grubbs said. ‘I was startled and sprang to my feet and exclaimed, “He just ran his hand up my thigh!”’”

Bloom released the affidavit on Twitter and called on the House Ethics Committee to hear testimony from Conyers’s accusers:

— The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the administration can fully enforce the latest version of Trump’s travel ban while challenges to it continue. Robert Barnes reports: “The court gave no reason for its decision, but said it expected lower court review of the executive orders to proceed quickly. Oral arguments are scheduled for soon in both federal appeals court cases on whether the ban exceeds the president’s broad powers on immigration. The latest iteration [of Trump’s ban] blocks various people from eight countries — Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela. Six of the countries have Muslim majorities. But federal judges in Maryland and Hawaii have blocked its implementation for ‘foreign nationals who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.’ They said such people include grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins of people in the United States.”

Blackwater founder Erik Prince arrives for a closed-door meeting with members of the House Intelligence Committee last week on Capitol Hill. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

— The White House is reportedly weighing the creation of a private spy network to bolster intelligence services. The Intercept’s Matthew Cole and Jeremy Scahill report: “The Trump administration is considering a set of proposals developed by Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a retired CIA officer — with assistance from Oliver North, a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal — to provide CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the White House with a global, private spy network that would circumvent official U.S. intelligence agencies[.] … The sources say the plans have been pitched to the White House as a means of countering ‘deep state’ enemies in the intelligence community seeking to undermine Trump’s presidency. … Oliver North, who appears frequently on Trump’s favorite TV network, Fox News, was enlisted to help sell the effort to the administration.”

— A brush fire in Southern California spread to cover 26,000 acres in less than seven hours. The fire began about 65 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles and has already reached the northern edge of Ventura, a city with a population of over 100,000. One person has already died in a car crash escaping the fires, and two structures have been destroyed. Authorities have also issued evacuation notices to “well over 30,000” residents so far. (Travis M. Andrews)

An exhausted Rohingya refugee woman touches the shore after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by boat. (Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

GET SMART FAST:​​

  1. After using massacre, rape and arson to drive more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, leaders in the Buddhist-majority country are going one step further: denying their existence. Important landmarks are being erased, cultural leaders have been targeted, and military leaders are working to turn Rohingya land into “unrecognizable” terrain. “There is no such thing as Rohingya,” said one officer in the state security ministry. “It is fake news.” (New York Times)
  2. Yemen’s former president was killed after fleeing office following a 2011 bomb attack in which he was nearly killed. The exact circumstances of Ali Abdullah Saleh’s death, which came six years after he left office, could not be confirmed. (T. Rees Shapiro)
  3. Former congresswoman Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) was sentenced to five years in prison after using a charity for poor students as her own “personal slush fund.” (Cleve R. Wootson Jr.)

  4. Former CFPB Director Richard Cordray is expected to announce his gubernatorial bid in Ohio today. Cordray will make the announcement at a dinner in his hometown, kicking off a “kitchen table” tour of the state. (Columbus Dispatch)

  5. Two NRSC staffers resigned following reports they broke into the NRCC’s computer servers. Laura Kleffner and Krista Madaio had previously worked at the NRCC and apparently used their old passwords to access information about more than 200,000 donors. (Politico)
  6. Two years after the Supreme Court granted same-sex couples the right to marry, the justices will consider the case of a Colorado baker who refused in 2012 to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. The justices will determine whether the baker’s actions are protected under the First Amendment or whether they constitute an act of illegal discrimination. (Robert Barnes)
  7. Ben Carson’s business manager wants to purchase the liberal Washington City Paper. In a colorful profile, The Post’s Ben Terris explores the enigma of Armstrong Williams — a black conservative pundit who was schooled on Washington’s inner workings by a segregationist. He spars with reporters on Carson’s behalf but insists he has “no agenda” for the alt-weekly. (Is he 55 or 58? “Either one works.”)  
  8. Former independent presidential candidate John B. Anderson died at 95. The Illinois Republican voted against many of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs but gradually embraced them, even casting a decisive vote in favor of the Fair Housing Act that heightened his national profile before he ran against Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter in 1980. (Anne Kenderdine)
  9. LaVar Ball has pulled his son LiAngelo, one of the UCLA basketball players who was jailed then released in China, out of school. Ball hopes to prepare his son for the NBA draft after LiAngelo was indefinitely suspended from playing at UCLA. (Neil Greenberg and Des Bieler)
  10. A medic who was born in the back of an ambulance delivered a baby in the back of his own ambulance on his birthday. Daniel Helsel assisted the pregnant woman exactly 42 years after his mother gave birth on the side of the Beltway. (Lynh Bui)

Paul Manafort arrives for a bond hearing at U.S. District Court in Washington last month. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

THERE’S A BEAR IN THE WOODS:

— Robert Mueller’s team of prosecutors asserted that a longtime associate of Paul Manafort has been “assessed to have ties” to Russian intelligence — the first time the special counsel has alleged a Trump official had such contacts. Rosalind S. Helderman and Spencer S. Hsu report: “The statement came as prosecutors working for [Mueller] withdrew their support for a joint bail deal filed last week that would have released Manafort from home detention and GPS monitoring while he awaits trial … In the four-page filing Monday, prosecutor Andrew Weissman urged the judge to reject the bail deal, arguing that Manafort and a Russian colleague have been secretly ghostwriting an English-language editorial that appeared to defend Manafort’s work advising a Russia-friendly political party in Ukraine.” The government says the editorial violated a court order prohibiting the parties from making public statements that could sway jurors.

  • Manafort worked on the draft as recently as Nov. 30 with the longtime Russian colleague who “is currently based in Russia and assessed to have ties to a Russian intelligence service,” according to the court filing. Prosecutors indicated they would file further supporting evidence under seal.
  • While the Russian colleague was not identified, some have pointed to Manafort’s longtime Russian employee, Konstantin Kilimnik, who ran his Kiev office for 10 years and met with Manafort on two separate occasions during the 2016 campaign. Kilimnik also served as Manafort’s liaison to Oleg Deripaska, a Putin-linked oligarch whom Manafort offered to provide “private briefings” on the Trump campaign.

— Deutsche Bank has reportedly received a subpoena from Mueller regarding its business dealings with Trump. Bloomberg’s Steven Arons reports: “Mueller has issued a subpoena to Germany’s largest lender, forcing the bank to submit documents on its client relationship with Trump and his family, said a person briefed on the matter[.] … Deutsche Bank for months has rebuffed calls by Democratic lawmakers to provide more transparency over the roughly $300 million Trump owed to the bank for his real estate dealings prior to becoming president.”

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his then-deputy, K.T. McFarland. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

— An email sent during the transition by Trump’s former deputy national security adviser, K.T. McFarland, appears to directly contradict her July congressional testimony about contacts between Michael Flynn and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The New York Times’s Michael S. Schmidt and Sharon LaFraniere report: “Ms. McFarland had told lawmakers that she did not discuss or know anything about interactions between [Kislyak] and Mr. Flynn … But [newly obtained emails] appear to undermine those statements. In a Dec. 29 message about newly imposed Obama administration sanctions against Russia for its election interference, Ms. McFarland, then serving on Mr. Trump’s transition team, told another transition official that Mr. Flynn would be talking to the Russian ambassador that evening.”

— In May 2016, an NRA-connected operative with ties to Russia emailed Rick Dearborn, a top Trump campaign adviser and close associate of Jeff Sessions, offering to arrange a back-channel meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin. The email bore the subject line: “Kremlin Connection.” The New York Times’s Nicholas Fandos reports: “In [the email], the N.R.A. member said he wanted the advice of Mr. Dearborn and [Sessions], then a foreign policy adviser to Mr. Trump and Mr. Dearborn’s longtime boss, about how to proceed in connecting the two leaders. Russia, he wrote, was ‘quietly but actively seeking a dialogue with the U.S. and would attempt to use the N.R.A.’s annual convention in Louisville to make ‘first contact.’ The emailed outreach … [came] around the same time that Russians were trying to make other connections to the Trump campaign.”

— A 2016 RNC delegate claims a Trump campaign aide told her that Trump himself pushed for watering down the party platform’s stance on Ukraine. NPR’s Carrie Johnson reports: “Diana Denman, a Republican delegate who supported arming U.S. allies in Ukraine, has told people that Trump aide J.D. Gordon said at the Republican Convention in 2016 that Trump directed him to support weakening that position in the official platform. Ultimately, the softer position was adopted. Denman is scheduled to meet this week with the House and Senate Intelligence committees to discuss what she saw, said two sources familiar with the briefings.” Gordon refuted Denman’s account in messages to NPR.

— Russia listed several international news services as foreign agents in retaliation for the United States’ conflict with the Kremlin-backed network RT. David Filipov reports: “The Justice Ministry published a list of nine outlets, which includes Russian-language subsidiaries of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that cover the Caucasus region of Russia, Crimea, Siberia, and two predominantly Muslim regions in central Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. The ban also includes Current Time TV, which is produced by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Factograph a website produced by Radio Liberty.”

President Trump speaks to reporters before he departs for Utah. (Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto Agency/REX)

INSIDE TRUMP’S HEAD:

— Trump lawyer John Dowd offered a bold new legal defense for his client, claiming in two interviews that presidents “cannot be found guilty of obstruction of justice.” His assertion comes after Trump tweeted that he “knew” Flynn lied about his contacts with Russia before firing him — an admission experts say increased the president’s legal exposure to obstruction of justice charges. Sari Horwitz and Philip Rucker report: “Inside the White House, some senior officials were baffled that Dowd publicly offered this interpretation of the law, which has been advanced since the summer by constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz in defense of Trump but flatly dismissed by many other legal scholars. [White House lawyer Ty Cobb] said Monday that the Dershowitz-Dowd theory was not the president’s official legal strategy. ‘It’s interesting as a technical legal issue, but the president’s lawyers intend to present a fact-based defense, not a mere legal defense,’ Cobb [told The Post]. ‘That should resolve things, but we all shall see.”

— Trump told reporters he feels “very badly” for Flynn because his lies to the FBI have “ruined his life,” attempting to draw comparisons to Hillary Clinton, who has never been charged with lying to the FBI. Phil reports: “I feel badly for General Flynn,” Trump said on the South Lawn of the White House, as he boarded Marine One ahead of a trip to Utah. “He’s led a very strong life, and I feel very badly.” “I will say this: Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI[.] … Nothing happened to her,” Trump continued. “Flynn lied, and they destroyed his life. I think it’s a shame. Hillary Clinton, on the 4th of July weekend, went to the FBI[.] … It was the most incredible thing anyone’s ever seen. She lied many times. Nothing happened[.] … Flynn lied, and it’s like they ruined his life. It’s very unfair.”

— In a Post op-ed, “The Art of the Deal” co-author Tony Schwartz, who spent hundreds of hours observing Trump, predicts his tweets and public remarks will only get wilder as the Russia probe moves closer to the president’s doorstep. “For five decades now, Trump’s pattern has been that the more aggrieved and vulnerable he feels, the more intensely he doubles down on the behaviors that have always worked for him in the past,” he says. “Trump’s first move in the face of criticism has always been to assume the role of victim. ‘Unfair’ has long been one of his favorite words. He always perceives himself as the victim, so he feels justified in lashing back at his perceived accusers. … Sunday’s tweetstorm won’t be the last time the president indulges in self-pity, deceit and deflection. In all likelihood, it will get worse.”

— “The Cost of Trump’s Attacks on the FBI,” by Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith (who ran the Office of Legal Counsel under George W. Bush) in The Atlantic: “Just about everyone I knew when I worked in the Justice Department had an idealistic sense of mission — about the importance of law enforcement to the country’s welfare, about the integrity of the department’s actions, and about commitment to the rule of law. … Trump’s assault on executive branch departments and employees is crippling these cultures of commitment. I know this from talking to several Justice Department friends[.] … And yet as best I can tell, not a single cabinet official or agency head has stood up to the president’s attacks on the integrity of his or her department, or of federal employees more generally.”

— FBI Director Christopher Wray did send an encouraging note to agency staffers last night, but he refrained from calling out the president by name. Devlin Barrett reports: Wray told “employees to keep focused on their mission and praising them for ‘example after example’ of their professionalism. The note did not mention the president’s criticism or his claim over the weekend that the FBI was ‘in Tatters.’ Instead, Mr. Wray sought to reassure them of his faith in their work.”

THE RECKONING:

— Former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who accused Trump of sexual misconduct during the campaign, is pursuing a defamation suit against the president. Frances Stead Sellers reports: “The defamation suit filed in January in New York State Supreme Court by Zervos … has reached a critical point, with oral arguments over Trump’s motion to dismiss scheduled for Tuesday, after which the judge is expected to rule on whether the case may move forward. If it proceeds, Zervos’s attorneys could gather and make public incidents from Trump’s past and Trump could be called to testify, with the unwelcome specter of a former president looming over him: It was Bill Clinton’s misleading sworn testimony — not the repeated allegations of sexual harassment against him — that eventually led to his impeachment.”

— A woman who settled with Bill O’Reilly over harassment allegations has sued both O’Reilly and Fox News for defamation, saying public statements made by the network and the former anchor violated the settlement and portrayed her as a liar and a “politically motivated extortionist.” (New York Times)

— Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Tex.), whose sexual harassment settlement of $84,000 was covered by public funds, announced he would reimburse taxpayers but doesn’t plan to resign. “I want to be clear that I didn’t do anything wrong,” Farenthold told a local NBC affiliate. “But I also don’t want the taxpayers to be on the hook for this, and I want to be able to talk about it and fix the system without people saying, ‘Blake, you benefited from this system. You don’t have a right to talk about it or fix it.’” (Elise Viebeck)

— The Democratic president of the Massachusetts Senate has been forced to step aside, at least temporarily, after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against his husband. The Boston Globe’s Joshua Miller and Michael Levenson report: The state Senate also “set in motion a Senate investigation stemming from allegations that [Stanley C. Rosenberg’s] husband sexually assaulted or harassed four men. At the same time, Attorney General Maura T. Healey and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley urged alleged victims of Rosenberg’s husband, Bryon Hefner, to come forward so they can launch a separate, criminal investigation into Hefner’s conduct.”

— A Kentucky House staffer says GOP leaders used funds provided by “prominent campaign donors” to settle a sexual harassment claim against former House speaker Jeff Hoover. In a newly filed lawsuit, the staffer also claims she has been unfairly punished since shedding light on the inappropriate sexual relationship — with lawmakers “shunning” her and otherwise making it impossible to do her job. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

— Lobbyist Pamela Lopez accused California Assemblyman Matt Dababneh (D) of following her into a bathroom at a social gathering and exposing himself to her. Lopez has filed a complaint with the state Assembly, which is being scrutinized after over 140 women signed a letter describing the California legislature’s “pervasive” culture of sexual harassment. (Eli Rosenberg)

— The leader of the New York City Ballet now faces a sexual harassment investigation. The New York Times’s Robin Pogrebin reports: “As part of the investigation, [Peter] Martins is believed to have discussed romantic relationships he has had with female dancers[.] … [A ballet spokesman] said that since 2010 the company ‘has had a policy precluding a reporting relationship between a supervisor and subordinate where a romantic relationship exists.’ … In recent interviews, two former City Ballet dancers and three former students at the school described a culture in which Mr. Martins was known for sleeping with dancers, some of whom received better roles because of their personal relationships with him.”

— Christiane Amanpour’s political affairs program will replace “Charlie Rose” on an interim basis. PBS cut ties with the veteran journalist after sexual misconduct allegations against him. (CNN)

THE AGENDA:

— Trump announced that he is drastically shrinking two national monuments established in Utah by his Democratic predecessors — ordering the largest reduction of public lands protection in U.S. history. Josh Dawsey and Juliet Eilperin report: “Trump’s move to shrink the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by more than 1.1 million acres and more than 800,000 acres, respectively, immediately sparked an outpouring of praise from conservative lawmakers as well as activists’ protests outside the White House and in Utah. It also plunges the Trump administration into uncharted legal territory since no president has sought to modify monuments established under the 1906 Antiquities Act in more than half a century.”

— House conservatives briefly withheld their support for opening negotiations on the GOP’s tax plan, saying they secured a commitment to continue talking about pushing back the deadline for a government funding resolution to Dec. 30. Leaders are trying to pass a resolution to keep the government funded by Friday, when a shutdown would occur if they don’t. Ed O’Keefe, Mike DeBonis​ and Erica Werner report: “Conservative leaders described the move as a ‘tactical decision’ meant to reduce the chances that Republicans would have to accept an immigration deal with Democrats or higher spending caps alongside a vote to cut taxes.”

— Fake numbers? Before the Senate approved its tax plan last week, Republicans made a concerted effort to discredit the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, which released a report showing that even with economic growth taken into account, the tax plan would grow the deficit by $1 trillion. The New York Times’s Jim Tankersley reports: “Public statements and messaging documents obtained by The New York Times show a concerted push by Republican lawmakers to discredit a nonpartisan agency they had long praised. Party leaders circulated two pages of ‘response points’ that declared ‘the substance, timing and growth assumptions of J.C.T.’s “dynamic” score are suspect.’ Among their arguments was that the joint committee was using ‘consistently wrong’ growth models to assess the effect the tax cuts would have on hiring, wages and investment.”

— Is the tax plan “a great, big, beautiful Christmas present” for the American people, as Trump argues? The Post’s Andrew Van Dam assembled historical reports on the 10 largest tax cuts of the past 50 years to find out. “After doing our best to find comparable data … we learned a few things: Comparing tax plans across generations is hard. But we can say the Republicans’ $1.4 trillion tax plan isn’t the biggest in history. It’s not even the biggest in the past decade. It’s probably the most regressive tax cut in the past 50 years, but there’s not enough data to speak with absolute confidence. The Bush tax cuts were pretty regressive too. … That said, it is hard to find a tax plan that has done less for the middle class.”

— Trump’s nominee for a top U.N. position has repeatedly praised far-right personality Milo Yiannopoulos and shared disparaging memes about prominent Democrats and progressives on his Facebook page. CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski and Chris Massie report: “If confirmed, [Patrick] Murray would serve under [Nikki Haley] in representing US interests at the United Nations and would act as a fill-in for Haley … when she is unavailable. On Facebook, Murray praised Yiannopoulos multiple times in 2016, writing comments of approval like ‘Milo rocks,’ ‘preach, Milo!,’ and ‘clone this guy’ … [and] arguing that Britain should leave the [E.U.] to stop Muslim immigration[.] In one of the articles shared by Murray, Yiannopoulos writes about [Trump’s plan to screen immigrants] … saying, ‘The test will apply to all immigrants, yet its obvious target is Muslims, who, as we know, get a bit bomby in the presence of gays [and] a bit rapey in the presence of women …’”

THE NEW WORLD ORDER:

— Arab leaders are warning the Trump administration against recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Loveday Morris reports: “In a late-night call Sunday, Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, warned Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that such a decision could ‘trigger anger across the Arab and Muslim world, fuel tension and jeopardize peace efforts,’ according to Jordan’s state news agency. … For more than two decades, successive U.S. presidents have signed a waiver every six months that allows them to delay a move of the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on national security grounds. … The White House was expected to let Monday’s deadline for the next signing pass unmentioned, a signal that a shift is likely to be in the works. Trump is likely to outline a new policy on Jerusalem and the embassy in a speech Wednesday[.]”

— U.S. officials pushed back on early claims of victory for Bashar al-Assad’s government from Syria and Russia. Missy Ryan reports: “Senior officials described a severely weakened Syrian state, grappling with challenges including loss of oil revenue; severe infrastructure damage; increasing reliance on outside powers for cash, food and fighters; and a military barely able to keep multiple armed groups at bay. … That picture is sharply different from the one presented by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who assured Assad during a recent visit to Russia that the long Syrian conflict is ‘nearing completion.’”

— British Prime Minister Theresa May is nearing a final Brexit deal with E.U. leaders — on their terms. Michael Birnbaum and William Booth report: “The elements of the deal … appeared to signal an acknowledgment by British negotiators that they have scant leverage in the negotiation. On issues such as what Britain will pay before exiting and a special status for Northern Ireland, British leaders were being pushed toward Europe’s demands after long vowing otherwise. … [T]he emerging terms of the agreement raised questions about how [May] would convince her own divided public about the best way forward. On Monday, she was forced to leave a day of Brussels meetings with no deal in hand following sharp objections from political forces back home.”

— Jim Mattis urged Pakistan to “redouble” its efforts to combat Islamist militants. Pamela Constable reports: “But Mattis seemed to tone down the sharp language he has used in congressional hearings and other settings to accuse Pakistan of harboring Afghan Taliban fighters. Instead, he adopted a milder, more diplomatic approach aimed at finding ‘common ground.’”

SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ:

Twitter released data on the most retweeted and most liked tweets of the year. On the most retweeted list, Barack Obama appears four times, while Trump does not appear at all. Obama’s tweet in the wake of the Charlottesville violence was the second-most retweeted tweet of the year:

(The most retweeted tweet of the year involved a plea to Wendy’s for a year of free chicken nuggets.)

ABC News’s executive editorial producer compiled this list after Trump’s lawyer’s most recent comments about obstruction of justice:

From a writer for The Fix:

From one of The Post’s congressional reporters:

Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to Obama, on Paul Manafort:

Fox News’s Tucker Carlson attacked the FBI:

Paul Ryan announced the House members who will serve on the conference committee for the tax plan:

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) hit back against the comment by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that ending the estate tax awards those who invest their money instead of spending it on “booze or women or movies”:

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said he was “honored” to be with Trump as he flew to Salt Lake City (the president called Moore during the flight to endorse him):

From a New York Times reporter:

The clothing company Patagonia protested the move, per a political reporter for CNBC:

From The Post’s satirical columnist:

Conservative pundit Ana Navarro derided Trump’s comment in Utah that “Christmas is back”:

Time announced the finalists for its “Person of the Year” issue:

C-SPAN shared this throwback in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against James Levine:

Mike Pence speaks during a vigil for victims in the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)

GOOD READS FROM ELSEWHERE:

— The Atlantic published a new profile on the vice president revealing Pence considered a coup to replace Trump atop the ticket after the “Access Hollywood” tape came out. McKay Coppins writes: “It’s been reported that Pence sent Trump a letter saying he needed time to decide whether he could stay with the campaign. But in fact, according to several Republicans familiar with the situation, he wasn’t just thinking about dropping out—he was contemplating a coup. Within hours of The Post’s bombshell, Pence made it clear to the Republican National Committee that he was ready to take Trump’s place as the party’s nominee. Such a move just four weeks before Election Day would have been unprecedented—but the situation seemed dire enough to call for radical action. …

“Already, Reince Priebus’s office was being flooded with panicked calls from GOP officials and donors urging the RNC chairman to get rid of Trump by whatever means necessary. One Republican senator called on the party to engage emergency protocols to nominate a new candidate. RNC lawyers huddled to explore an obscure legal mechanism by which they might force Trump off the ticket. Meanwhile, a small group of billionaires was trying to put together money for a ‘buyout’—even going so far as to ask a Trump associate how much money the candidate would require to walk away from the race. According to someone with knowledge of the talks, they were given an answer of $800 million. (It’s unclear whether Trump was aware of this discussion or whether the offer was actually made.) Republican donors and party leaders began buzzing about making Pence the nominee and drafting Condoleezza Rice as his running mate.”

— New York Times, “Women Line Up to Run for Office, Harnessing Their Outrage at Trump,” by Michael Tackett: “For [California pediatrician] Mai-Khanh Tran … it was the day after the presidential election in 2016 and she looked into the eyes of a young patient with a brain tumor whose family had only recently obtained health insurance. For Andrea Ramsey, the president of a nonprofit children’s health clinic … it [when] her local congressman voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act … None of the women had seriously contemplated running for public office before. They had no money or organization. But they were dismayed with the direction of the country, they said, starting with the election of [Trump], and finally decided to act. [Now], the number of women challenging incumbents is almost four times the number at the same period in 2015[.]”

— Politico Magazine, “The Loneliest Democrat in Trump Country,” by Adam Wren: “An incumbent Democrat in a state Donald Trump won by 19 points, Donnelly is constantly dogged by Republicans aiming to unseat him when he runs for reelection next November, including House Republicans Todd Rokita and Luke Messer. An America Rising tracker who only identified himself to me as Randy literally stalks Donnelly’s in-state events, lying in wait for a gaffe. On the other side, Donnelly faces disgruntled Democrats who think he’s far too conservative. A fiscal and military hawk who shares the president’s views on trade, Donnelly is the nation’s second most moderate senator[.] … So if you want to know which way the political winds are blowing—who’s going to triumph in the upcoming midterms, and perhaps beyond—you need to watch Joe Donnelly.”

— New York Times, “Where Silicon Valley Is Going to Get in Touch With Its Soul,” by Nellie Bowles:  “It has been a hard year for the tech industry. Prominent figures like Sean Parker and Justin Rosenstein, horrified by what technology has become, have begun to publicly denounce companies like Facebook that made them rich. And so Silicon Valley has come to the Esalen Institute, a storied hippie hotel here on the Pacific coast … [that reopened in October] with a new mission: It will be a home for technologists to reckon with what they have built. Dave Morin, a venture capitalist and early Facebook employee, will lead a program on depression and tech; a former Google ethicist, Tristan Harris, led a weekend on internet addiction … Chargers have been installed for Tesla electric cars, and there is usually a line to use them.

“‘There’s a dawning consciousness emerging in Silicon Valley as people recognize that their conventional success isn’t necessarily making the world a better place,’ said [one former] Google product manager … ‘The C.E.O.s, inside they’re hurting. They can’t sleep at night.’”

HOT ON THE LEFT:

“[Two] people fired after ‘deplorable’ comments surface directed at Eagle Grove basketball team, from KIMT: “Two employees at radio station KIOW have been fired after inappropriate comments surfaced on a video feed on Forest City’s school website [during a basketball game]. During the nearly 90-second conversation, the topics include how Eagle Grove has many players with last names they think are Hispanic and ‘Espanol people in Eagle Grove.’ ‘They’re all foreigners,’ the two say. During one back and forth … Orin Harris, a longtime voice of Forest City athletics, is heard saying: ‘As [Trump] would say, go back where they came from,’ the man said. The second person in the conversation was Holly Jane Kusserow-Smidt, who is also a teacher within the [school district]. She has been placed on administrative leave.”

 

HOT ON THE RIGHT

“ABC News president excoriates staff over Brian Ross’ Michael Flynn error,” from CNN: “ABC News president James Goldston excoriated staff Monday over Brian Ross’ major error on a report about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and announced that Ross, the network’s chief investigative reporter, will no longer cover stories related to President Trump. Goldston also told staffers that the network was conducting a ‘full review’ of the error and its aftermath. … ‘I don’t think ever in my career have I felt more rage and disappointment and frustration that I felt through this weekend and through the last half of Friday,’ Goldston said [on an editorial call]. … Goldston noted that ABC News ‘spent this weekend getting absolutely pilloried as a news division for reporting fake news.’”

 

DAYBOOK:

Trump has a lunch with Republican senators and a discussion with American business owners before hosting the Congressional Ball.

Pence is on Capitol Hill meeting with Senate Republicans and will also attend the ball this evening.

 

NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.:

— D.C. will see a lot of clouds today, with showers starting in the afternoon. The Capital Weather Gang forecasts: “Pockets of drizzle or mist under mostly cloudy skies should dry out middle to late morning.  And we should then stay dry into the early half of the afternoon under mostly cloudy skies as highs warm into the lower to middle 60s.  Look for rain showers to expand from west to east in the later afternoon with moderate intensities possible.”

— The Capitals beat the Sharks 4-1. (Isabelle Khurshudyan)

— The Wizards lost to the Jazz 116-69, the team’s worst point margin since 1971. (Candace Buckner)

— Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) released her bill calling for increased funding and changes to Metro. Robert McCartney reports: “Comstock’s bill aims to pry additional funding for Metro from a skeptical Congress to help cover an estimated $500 million a year to ensure safety and reliability. In return, it would overhaul the much-criticized board and adopt long-term changes designed to improve the agency’s governance, finances and operations.”

— A Metro train was reportedly damaged after a man threw a LimeBike onto the tracks at the Minnesota Avenue station. (Martine Powers)

VIDEOS OF THE DAY:

Stephen Colbert interviewed Billy Bush on the Late Show:

The former communications director to Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Tex.) described the effect her sexual harassment claim had on her career:

A woman with Stage 4 cancer claims she was asked to leave the town hall of Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) town hall after asking a health-care question:

John Oliver confronted Dustin Hoffman about sexual misconduct allegations against the actor:

And France’s first lady officially named a 4-month-old panda cub at a French zoo:

Essential California: Wildfire breaks out in Ventura County

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Must be nice: There’s a $43-million public high school on the campus of software company Oracle. New York Times

CRIME AND COURTS

See you in court: For more than a year, Uber Technologies Inc. concealed a massive hack that exposed the personal data of millions of drivers and riders, violating a California law that requires companies to promptly report such breaches, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer. Los Angeles Times

She turned in her son: Before dawn, a woman with her 18-year-old son in her car flagged down a sergeant at Riverside’s Magnolia Avenue police station with a startling request. She said she wanted to turn in her son, who had earlier called her to say he had molested two boys, 8 and 4, in a motel room. Los Angeles Times

An appeal and outrage: “Brock Turner, the former Stanford student whose three-month jail stint for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman drew national condemnation, has filed an appeal that has reinflamed anger among activists and advocates of women who have endured sexual violence.” San Francisco Chronicle

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Sans Spacey: “House of Cards” will resume production in 2018 without Kevin Spacey, said Ted Sarandos, the chief content officer of Netflix. The sixth and final season of the popular series will feature a lead role for Robin Wright, who plays the wife of Spacey’s character. Production on the sixth season of “House of Cards” came to a halt Oct. 31 after sexual misconduct allegations against Spacey, who starred in the series for five seasons as politician Frank Underwood and also served as an executive producer. Spacey was officially suspended from the show early last month. Los Angeles Times

Drama: The father of UCLA freshman shooting guard LiAngelo Ball said Monday that he intended to withdraw his son from school over concerns related to the indefinite suspension he was issued last month for his acknowledged role in a shoplifting incident. Los Angeles Times

Plus: “In what many employees at Staples Center view as the ‘LaVar Ball rule,’ this season the Los Angeles Lakers are enforcing “an existing policy” that no longer allows members of the media to congregate in a section of the arena among family and associates of players after games.” ESPN

History lesson here: The Hollywood screen legend Hedy Lamarr also had a career as a wartime inventor. The New Yorker

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

Los Angeles area: Sunny, 74, Tuesday. Sunny, 77, Wednesday. San Diego: Partly cloudy, 72, Tuesday. Sunny, 75, Wednesday. San Francisco area: Sunny, 62, Tuesday. Sunny, 61, Wednesday. Sacramento: Sunny, 61, Tuesday. Sunny, 59, Wednesday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Today’s California memory comes from Nina Mintzer:

“We moved to California two days after our wedding in 1966. While playing miniature golf in Hollywood, we were approached by a scout who asked us if we wanted to be on ‘The Newlywed Game.’ We won first prize and had a console TV delivered weeks later. We explained to the deliverymen that we had won it as they looked around our empty apartment. My grandmother’s comment was that she knew when I moved to Hollywood that I would be on TV and become famous. I am not; but we have lived our life here, and we know that Brooklyn is a good place to be from, but California is home.”

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. Send us an email to let us know what you love or fondly remember about our state. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Benjamin Oreskes and Shelby Grad. Also follow them on Twitter @boreskes and @shelbygrad.

Supreme Court asked if wedding cake baker’s case protects religious freedom or illegal discrimination

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The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Tuesday in one of the term’s most anticipated cases: whether the First Amendment protects a Colorado baker from creating a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Jack C. Phillips, who owns Masterpiece Cakeshop in a Denver suburb, contends that dual guarantees in the First Amendment — for free speech and for the free exercise of religion — protect him against Colorado’s public accommodations law, which requires businesses to serve customers equally regardless of “disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or ancestry.”

[Supreme Court asked if case protects religious rights or discrimination]

Scattered across the country, florists, bakers, photographers and others have claimed that being forced to offer their wedding services to same-sex couples violates their rights. Courts have routinely turned down the business owners — as the Colorado Court of Appeals did to Phillips in this case, saying that state anti-discrimination laws require businesses that are open to the public to treat all potential customers equally.

There’s no dispute about what happened.

In 2012, when same-sex marriage was still prohibited in Colorado, Charlie Craig and David Mullins decided to get married in Massachusetts, where it was legal. They would return to Denver for a reception, and those helping with the plans suggested they get a cake from Masterpiece.

The couple arrived with Craig’s mother and a book of ideas, but Phillips cut short the meeting as soon as he learned the cake was to celebrate the couple’s marriage.

Phillips recalled: “Our conversation was just about 20 seconds long. ‘Sorry guys, I don’t make cakes for same-sex weddings.’ ”

The couple then learned that Colorado’s public accommodations law specifically prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation, and they filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

The commission ruled against Phillips, and the appeals court upheld the decision.

“Masterpiece remains free to continue espousing its religious beliefs, including its opposition to same-sex marriage,” Judge Daniel M. Taubman wrote. “However, if it wishes to operate as a public accommodation and conduct business within the State of Colorado, [the law] prohibits it from picking and choosing customers based on their sexual orientation.”

The Trump administration filed a filed a brief on behalf of Phillips; supporters of the couple said it was the first time the government has argued for an exemption to an anti-discrimination law.

But the government agreed with Phillips that his cakes are a form of expression, and he cannot be compelled to use his talents for something in which he does not believe.

“Forcing Phillips to create expression for and participate in a ceremony that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs invades his First Amendment rights,” the government said.

It did not take a position on Phillips’ argument that complying with the law would violate the free exercise of his religion.

The case is Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

Conyers Will Leave Congress in Wake of Harassment Claims

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The decision sets up a battle within the Conyers family for his Detroit-area House seat. Ian Conyers, a Michigan state senator and the grandson of Mr. Conyers’s brother, said he also plans to run for the seat held by his 88-year-old great-uncle.

“His doctor advised him that the rigor of another campaign would be too much for him just in terms of his health,” Ian Conyers said.

The congressman, who took his Michigan seat in the House in 1965, has already stepped aside as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee amid swirling allegations of sexual improprieties. He has been facing intense pressure to resign.

Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader, have each said Mr. Conyers should resign after a woman who settled a sexual harassment claim against him said on television that the congressman had “violated” her body, repeatedly propositioned her for sex and asked her to touch his genitals. Other former staff members have since come forward to say he harassed them or behaved inappropriately.

The younger Mr. Conyers said that despite the accusations, he believes Michigan voters will reward his family’s work in politics by electing him.

The congressman “still enjoys healthy support in our district,” Mr. Conyers said.

He added, “People are ready to support our dean and to support our family as we continue to fight, as we have for leading up to a century, for people from Southeast Michigan.”

He said he believed his great-uncle should have due process but stopped short of defending him.

“I stand with my uncle in terms of his belief of no specific wrongdoing,” Mr. Conyers said. “However, those things need to have their day in court.”

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The state senator, who has been in office for about a year, said he had planned to run for re-election next year for his current statehouse seat but would give up that race to run for his great-uncle’s seat in Washington.

“I’m absolutely going to file for his seat. The work of our congressional district, where I come out of, has to continue,” he said. “We have got to have someone who has depth and experience but also historical understanding of what it takes to fight this type of evil in Washington.”

The elder Mr. Conyers plans to call into “The Mildred Gaddis Show,” a local radio program, to make the announcement, the younger Mr. Conyers said. His decision comes as several other lawmakers face allegations of inappropriate behavior.

Representative Joe Barton, a Republican and the Texas delegation’s most senior House member, announced this week in an interview with The Dallas Morning News that he would not seek re-election after sexually suggestive online messages that he sent to a constituent came to light.

Representative Blake Farenthold, Republican of Texas, is also facing pressure after it was revealed last week that he used $84,000 in taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment claim with his former communications director, Lauren Greene. She accused him of regularly making comments to gauge her interest in a sexual relationship, including saying he was having “sexual fantasies” about her.

And last week, an Ohio Army veteran became the fifth woman to accuse Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, of inappropriate touching. Senior House Democrats have also begun calling for Mr. Franken to resign.

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California teen admits molesting dozens of kids since he was 10

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According to police, a California teenager charged with sexually assaulting two young boys, admitted to molesting as many as 50 children over the past eight years in the state. He’s being held on $1 million bail.
USA TODAY

A California teen was being held on $1 million bail Monday after police in Riverside say he admitted molesting dozens of children since he was 10 years old.

Police arrested Joseph Hayden Boston, 18, on counts of oral copulation on a child under the age of 10, authorities said.

“This is going to affect not only the victims for a long time, but also our detectives and officers involved in this,” Officer Ryan Railsback of Riverside police told KABC-TV. “To hear someone just be very open about what they’ve done, and they’re only 18 themselves.”

In a statement, Riverside police say Boston molested two boys, ages 8 and 4, Saturday at the Simply Home Inn and Suites where Boston was staying. The victims, who were staying at the motel with their parents, had been allowed to go into the suspect’s room where the molestation occurred, police said.

Hours later, the suspect called his own mother and told her what he had done, according to the statement. His mother drove to the hotel, picked Boston up and drove him to the police station.

“Officers interviewed the suspect and he confessed to sexually assaulting the two juvenile victims in his motel room,” the statement said. “He also admitted to molesting upwards of 50 children since he was 10 years old in different cities where he had lived.”

More: Metropolitan Opera suspends conductor James Levine after abuse claims

More: Swedish man gets 10 years for online rape of American, Canadian teens

Detectives believe Boston has victimized other children who have not yet come forward and were asking for anyone with information about the suspect or possible victims to contact Riverside police.

Boston has also lived in the Southern California cities of Lakewood and Buena Park, the statement said.

Detectives from the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit were assisting in the investigation. The Riverside County Child Protective Services took custody of the two victims, police said.

Trump fully endorses Roy Moore

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Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump fully endorsed Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore on Twitter Monday morning.

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Predicting the Fallout from CVS Buying Aetna: DealBook Briefing

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Critics corner

• Charley Grant writes: “CVS Health has taken bold action to win back investors. The potential benefits outweigh the serious risks.” (Heard on the Street)

• Robert Cyran writes, “With more than $20 billion of debt on its books, and another $49 billion lined up for the deal, CVS may find fending off Amazon puts its own financial health at risk.” (Breakingviews)

The advisers behind CVS’s deal for Aetna.

Putting together a $69 billion transaction is no small feat, and in this case required a small army of banks and law firms. Here’s who worked for whom:

CVS

• Barclays

• Goldman Sachs

• Centerview Partners (working for CVS’s board)

• Bank of America (providing financing along with Barclays and Goldman)

• Shearman Sterling

• Dechert

• McDermott Will Emery

Aetna

• Lazard

• Allen Company

• Evercore (working for Aetna’s board)

• Davis Polk Wardwell

• Simpson Thacher Bartlett (working for Aetna’s board)

Some context: This is the biggest ever deal in the health insurance business, according to Thomson Reuters. It’s also the biggest deal agreed to this year, since Qualcomm is fighting off Broadcom’s now-hostile $105 billion takeover bid.

Potential riches abound: Thomson Reuters estimates that the financial advisers on the Aetna transaction could split between $120 million and $140 million in fees if the deal is completed.

Senator Mitch McConnell, center, and other Republicans on Capitol Hill on Friday.


Tom Brenner/The New York Times

The Senate passed its tax overhaul bill. Now what?

After persuading every Republican senator but Bob Corker of Tennessee to vote in favor of the legislation, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and his team must now reconcile their plan with the House version. (Don’t forget: Congress needs to pass a stopgap funding measure for the government by late Friday or risk a shutdown.)

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The flurry of last-minute changes, which Democrats loudly criticized, led Goldman Sachs economists to slightly raise their estimates of how much economic growth the bill would create.

But there are many issues to be sorted out, including the tax rate, whether to make the individual tax cuts permanent, how many tax brackets to have and when the new corporate tax rate should kick in.

An unexpected twist: The Senate bill unexpectedly kept the alternative minimum tax for individuals and corporations. That means that companies could lose access to a research and development tax break that is used often by manufacturers, tech concerns and drug makers, according to the WSJ.

He said it: “What the Senate did, in their befuddled mess, is drove me out of business and then bragged about the fact that they got some tax reform passed,” Robert Murray, the C.E.O. of the coal miner Murray Energy, to the WSJ.

How companies plan to spend their tax-cut money

“Simplifying the tax code will reduce compliance costs and make it possible for job creators to reinvest more of their own money in their enterprises,” Mitch McConnell wrote in a WSJ op-ed.

But it’s not always that simple. Executives at CalPortland, which mines limestone to make cement, told the NYT that the company probably wouldn’t use the extra cash to immediately hire new workers.

A scene from “The Americans,” on the FX network, which is a part of 21st Century Fox.


Patrick Harbron/FX

What prompted Disney to resume talks to buy parts of Fox?

Maybe the media giant came back to the negotiating table because it feared that Comcast was advancing in talks to buy prime 21st Century Fox assets like the Fox movie studio, cable channels like FX and stakes in the British broadcaster Sky and the Indian broadcaster Star.

The next milestone: The Murdoch family is expected to make its decision by the end of the month, Michael was told on Saturday. If the sale moves forward, it would be an extraordinary breakup of an empire that the Murdochs spent decades putting together.

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The wild card: Would either a Comcast bid or a Disney bid for Fox assets run afoul of antitrust regulators? Remember that the Justice Department has cited the effects of Comcast’s takeover for NBCUniversal as a major reason for suing to block the Time Warner deal.


Investors still have a fever, and the only prescription is more Bitcoin.

Its value surged to $11,800 at one point this morning, helped in part by the Venezuelan government announcing its interest in starting its own digital currency, to be known as the “petro.”

The latest signs of the Bitcoin frenzy

• Nowhere has the public frenzy over Bitcoin been more feverish than in South Korea, prompting the prime minister to express his concern. (NYT)

• Is it time to think about Fedcoin? Central banks are increasingly looking at whether they should create digital currencies. (WSJ)

• Wall Street is about to join the fun after the C.F.T.C. gave a green light to plans to introduce Bitcoin futures. The futures will be settled by cash so traders won’t be getting their hands dirty buying the stuff directly. (Barrons)

There’s just one issue: No one’s using it, the WSJ reports.

Michael Flynn after his plea hearing on Friday in Washington.


Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

How Robert Mueller can hit Wall Street hard.

Take a look at how the S.P. 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average moved after Michael Flynn pleaded guilty and disclosed that he was cooperating with Mr. Mueller:


Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge — the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, or the VIX, which measures expectations of how wildly the stock market will swing in the next month — jumped at almost the same time. The spike was the index’s biggest one-day jump since August.

The two stock indexes and the VIX calmed down by day’s end, perhaps because of the Senate tax overhaul’s progress to passage. But expect any future bombshell revelations from Mr. Mueller to again hit investors in the gut.

Wang Huning spoke Sunday at the opening of the fourth World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, China.


Aly Song/Reuters

China told tech C.E.O.s that it wants to control its internet.

The man who has helped shape President Xi Jinping’s policies has told the World Internet Conference — whose audience this past weekend included Tim Cook of Apple and Sundar Pichai of Google — that China had a right to regulate its own internet.

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But that Communist Party official, Wang Huning, added, “China stands ready to develop new rules and systems of internet governance to serve all parties and counteract current imbalances.”

Despite the ongoing concerns about China’s close policing of its online space, Mr. Cook and Chuck Robbins of Cisco touted their commitment to the country.

Extra credit: The WSJ reported on how two of China’s top internet companies, Alibaba and Tencent, help the country spy on its citizens. And China showed off its interest in artificial intelligence, according to the NYT.



Karsten Moran for The New York Times

The latest in misconduct news.

• After firing Matt Lauer, NBC maintained that its executives were unaware of his purported sexual misconduct until they heard a detailed complaint that week. (NYT)

• Visa fired one of its top executives, Jim McCarthy, who handled partnerships, saying his behavior had violated company policy. The memo did not specify why he was dismissed. (Recode)

• Vice Media fired three employees for behavior that included verbal and sexual harassment. One was Jason Mojica, the head of the documentary films unit. (NYT)

• The hard-edge style of a Hollywood lawyer, Marty Singer, has collided with a sudden cultural shift toward empowering people who speak out against about abuse. (LAT)

How to fend off an unwanted takeover bid by 3G Capital.

The key, Paul Polman of Unilever told the FT, was that the 3G-backed Kraft Heinz (where he sits on the board) was making an ill-advised hostile takeover bid.

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From Scheherazade Daneshkhu and Lionel Barber:

“Unknown to us at that time, Warren wasn’t actively involved. With the confidence he has, probably, in those people, he had delegated [the bid] to these people — that would be my best interpretation,” says Mr. Polman.

Mr. Buffett was duly bombarded. “Warren was approached by probably more people than he expected,” says Mr. Polman, declining to say who did so. “As soon as Warren discovered that this was a hostile takeover, the tone of the conversation became different.”

Revolving Door

• Thomas Barkin, a senior executive at McKinsey, has been chosen to lead the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., according to a person familiar with the decision. (Bloomberg)

The Speed Read

• Blue Apron’s new chief executive may be well-paced to patch some of the company’s problems, but perhaps no one can fix what looks like an ailing business model. (Bloomberg Gadfly)

• Splitting the job of a chief executive can work, but only if the two bosses are self-effacing, so it makes it hard to imagine co-chief executives running Goldman Sachs. (FT)

• Oracle is bringing a public charter school onto its campus, where employees will be able to mentor students. (NYT)

• Units of HNA Group are stepping up their fund-raising in the local bond market even as borrowing costs soar, adding to the worrisome debt burden of the Chinese conglomerate. (Bloomberg)

• Swiss banks have begun reporting to the Swiss Money Laundering Reporting Office suspicious account activity among some of their Saudi Arabian clients, according to people close to the situation. (FT)

Each weekday, DealBook reporters in New York and London offer commentary and analysis on the day’s most important business news. Want this in your own email inbox? Here’s the sign-up.

You can find live updates of DealBook coverage throughout the day at nytimes.com/dealbook.

Follow Andrew Ross Sorkin @andrewrsorkin, Michael J. de la Merced @m_delamerced and Amie Tsang @amietsang on Twitter.

We’d love your feedback as we experiment with the writing, format and design of this briefing. Please email thoughts and suggestions to bizday@nytimes.com.

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President Trump Expected to Shrink Bears Ears by as Much as 90 Percent

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Americans on both sides of the aisle have anxiously awaited the decision. On Saturday thousands of people gathered in cowboy hats and ski jackets on the steps of Utah’s capitol to protest the president’s expected reduction. “Defend the sacred,” read one sign. “Keep your tiny hands off our public lands,” read another.

Further south, at the edge of the monument, another group gathered to applaud Mr. Trump’s decision, standing beneath a banner: “Thank you for listening to local voices.”

Who stands to benefit?

Mr. Trump’s decision to reduce Bears Ears would be viewed as a victory for Republican lawmakers, fossil fuel companies and rural Westerners who argue that monument designations are federal land grabs that limit revenue and stifle local control. And it would be considered a defeat for many environmentalists and recreation groups and for the five Indian nations who have fought for generations to protect the Bears Ears region.

The Navajo Nation has vowed to challenge the decision in court, along with other tribes and conservation and outdoor industry groups.

“We will stand and fight all the way,” said Russell Begaye, president of the Navajo Nation, adding that the United States government had already taken “millions of acres of my people’s land.”

“We have suffered enough,” he said.

In a statement before the announcement, Senator Hatch, an opponent of Bears Ears, said he believed President Trump’s decision was a “win for everyone.”

The federal government controls about two-thirds of the land in Utah, and the state’s leading politicians have long pushed for more local control of public lands.

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Mr. Trump is scheduled to make his announcement at the state capitol, accompanied by Gov. Gary Herbert and others. “This is really nothing more than a realignment, a reconfiguration of the boundaries,” Mr. Herbert said.

What are national monuments?

The president is also expected to announce that he will cut another national monument in Utah, Grand Staircase-Escalante, to about half its current size. And he could make changes to 25 other monuments under review, including Gold Butte in Nevada and Cascade-Siskiyou in Oregon and California.

National monuments are lands that are protected from some kinds of development by law. They are roughly analogous to national parks, but while national parks are created by Congress, national monuments are created by presidents through the Antiquities Act, a 1906 law that has been used by both Republicans and Democrats over the years to protect millions of acres of federal land.

Each monument has its own specific restrictions. At Bears Ears, for example, federal rules forbid new mining and drilling, but allow the interior department to continue to issue cattle grazing leases.

Supporters of the Antiquities Act say the law is part of the bedrock of American conservation. But some Republican lawmakers, particularly those in Utah, argue that recent presidents have abused the act, using it to put aside far more land than its language permits. The law says that presidents should limit designations to the “the smallest area compatible” with the care of the natural features that the monument is meant to protect.

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Why is the legal fight so important?

Mr. Trump would not be the first president to shrink a monument. Woodrow Wilson reduced Mount Olympus by half. Franklin Roosevelt cut the Grand Canyon monument at the behest of ranchers. (Both are now national parks.)

But the courts have never ruled on whether a president actually has the power to make these changes. The coming legal battle will probably have far-reaching implications.

If Mr. Trump’s legal challengers win in court, the decision could affirm future presidents’ rights to use the Antiquities Act to extend protection to large areas of public land. And it could cement the boundaries of Bears Ears laid out by President Barack Obama.

But if they lose, Mr. Trump and future presidents could drastically shrink any of the dozens of monuments created by their predecessors, opening the formerly protected terrain for all kinds of development.

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One-hundred and twenty-one scholars recently signed a letter arguing that only Congress can legally shrink a monument. Todd Gaziano of the Pacific Legal Foundation and John Yoo of the University of California, Berkeley’s law school, hold an opposing view, and argue that the power to create a monument “implicitly also includes the power of reversal.”

Why did President Obama set aside the land in the first place?

President Obama created Bears Ears National Monument in December 2016, after years of lobbying by five tribes in the region: the Navajo, the Hopi, the Ute Mountain Ute, the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Zuni. It is named for a pair of towering buttes — the Bears Ears — that dominate much of the landscape.

Mr. Obama set the boundaries to include 1.3 million acres. Monument supporters say it contains 100,000 sites of archaeological importance, including grave sites, ceremonial grounds and ancient cliff dwellings. In the 1800s, Navajo people used the area’s remote canyons to avoid capture by the Army, and several tribal leaders were born in the shadows of the Bears Ears.

The monument’s foundation document, written by the White House staff during the Obama administration, describes its sharp pinnacles, broad mesas, solitary hoodoos and verdant hanging gardens in poetic terms.

“From earth to sky, the region is unsurpassed in wonders,” the document says. “As one of the most intact and least roaded areas in the contiguous United States, Bears Ears has that rare and arresting quality of deafening silence.”

Why is the Trump administration considering changes?

For its supporters, the Bears Ears monument designation came to symbolize an indigenous victory after centuries of frustration.

For its opponents, it was an abuse of power by Mr. Obama, an infringement on the right of local people to decide what happens in their backyard.

“Our country places a high premium on consent,” said Phil Lyman, a county commissioner who lives at the edge of the monument. The designation, he said, “felt very nonconsensual.”

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In September, a version of Mr. Zinke’s report recommended changing the boundaries of six of the 27 monuments under review.

But he also recommended the creation of three new monuments. One was at Camp Nelson, Ky., a post where black soldiers trained during the Civil War. Another was the Mississippi home of the civil rights hero Medgar Evers.

The third was in an area called the Badger-Two Medicine, in Mr. Zinke’s home state of Montana.

Follow Julie Turkewitz on Twitter @julieturkewitz.


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North Korea ICBM could carry decoys to confuse US missile defense system, expert says

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Tensions with North Korea in focus after missile test

Former USS Cole Commander Kirk Lippold weighs in on ‘Cost of Freedom.’

The advanced intercontinental ballistic missile unveiled by North Korea last week is capable of reaching any major U.S. city — and may be able to disguise itself en route to its final destination.

The Hwasong-15 rocket could be equipped to carry decoys in a bid to evade U.S. missile interceptors such as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, Michael Elleman, the senior fellow for missile defense at International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Fox News.

“One of the unfortunate implication of the recent test, because it is so much larger in size, it also has the capacity to carry decoys that would further confuse our missile defense. It increases the probability that it could evade THAAD,” Elleman said. “Whether if North Korea has tested decoys or countermeasures [is unclear] — but it has throw-weight to carry simple decoys.”

North Korea released photos of the Hwasong-15 ICBM that showed it was much bigger than its predecessor.

 (KCNA via Reuters)

The decoys could be as simple as Mylar balloons that could trick the system’s radars as the ICBM flies straight toward the U.S., Kingston Reif, from the Arms Control Association, told NPR.

The Hermit Kingdom released photos of the Hwasong-15, which it dubbed the “greatest ICBM,” a day after Wednesday’s stunning middle-of-the-night launch. Photos revealed the rocket was a significant improvement from its predecessor, the Hwasong-14, launched in July.

“The photographs from North Korea tells a number of things. First and foremost, it informs us that this wasn’t a modified version of the Hwasong-14. It’s a completely new missile,” Elleman said.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF NORTH KOREA FIRES A MISSILE AT THE US

He added the photos revealed a new mechanism for steering the missile’s first stage, which could be a significant innovation.

Kim Jong Un was pictured analyzing North Korea’s new ICBM before last week’s launch.

 (KCNA via KNS)

“In short, it eliminates the amount of things that could go wrong,” Elleman said. “It assures greater reliability.”

Meanwhile, the missile’s size gives it twice the thrust capability and allows it to carry a payload — a warhead or any system strapped on a missile — weighing at least 2,204 pounds, according to Elleman.

“North Korea can certainly make a warhead small enough to fall [between 1,543 pounds and 2,204 pounds],” he said. “This missile has the capability to hit anywhere in the U.S. in principle.”

FLIGHT CREW WITNESSED NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR MISSILE TEST, AIRLINE SAYS

North Korea’s claim it now has the capability of placing a “super-large nuclear warhead” on an ICBM that’s capable of reaching American soil has reportedly prompted the U.S. to deploy THAAD anti-ballistic missile systems along the West Coast, Reuters reported Saturday, citing congressmen Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Adam Smith, D-Wash.

The THAAD anti-ballistic missile defense system was transported to South Korea as a defense against North Korea’s ICBMs.

 (Reuters)

The Pentagon told Fox News in a Monday statement: “We have no additional information to provide.”

Though it appears Kim’s rocket scientists have made huge strides in the regime’s missile program, there are still likely more tests coming in the near future. Wednesday’s launch did not survive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere — a feat North Korea is working to perfect, a U.S. official told Fox News.

As for when the next missile launch will take place, it could be weeks or months, Elleman said, depending on if Kim wants to instigate the U.S. or collect data.

“The fact that this was successful means that they can do a test on a normal trajectory sooner. They can do it in a matter of weeks or they can wait a certain amount of time…based on how much data they need,” Elleman said.

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report. 

A THAAD interceptor is launched from the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska.

 (Reuters)

Katherine Lam is a breaking and trending news digital producer for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter at @bykatherinelam

The Daily 202: Botched damage control efforts keep making the Russia scandal worse for Trump

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With Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve

THE BIG IDEA: President Trump’s aides spent the weekend applying tourniquets to stop the bleeding from more self-inflicted wounds. Continuing a pattern, the White House took a bad story and made it worse. With his legal exposure increased, the president then sought to change the subject.

On Saturday, Trump tweeted this about his former national security adviser: “I had to fire General (Michael) Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI.”

Legal experts said this could be used as evidence that the president was trying to obstruct justice when he allegedly asked James Comey to take it easy on Flynn and then, when he didn’t, fired him as FBI director.

On Sunday, Trump’s personal lawyer claimed responsibility for writing the tweet — which he called sloppy. John Dowd clarified that the president knew in late January that Flynn had probably given FBI agents the same inaccurate account he provided to Vice President Pence about a call with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

“Dowd said the information was passed to Trump by White House counsel Donald McGahn, who had been warned about Flynn’s statement to the vice president by a senior Justice Department official,” Carol D. Leonnig, John Wagner and Ellen Nakashima reported last night. “A person close to the White House involved in the case termed the Saturday tweet ‘a screw-up of historic proportions’ that has ‘caused enormous consternation in the White House.’”

— Washington is now consumed by speculation about what shoe drops next. Here are seven questions that will determine what course special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation takes from here:

1. What did Flynn give up in exchange for leniency?

Flynn was part of Trump’s inner circle and even considered as a potential running mate. Mueller reportedly agreed to spare the disgraced ex-general’s son and does not plan to pursue several potential charges that carried much stronger potential penalties than making a false statement to the FBI.

If there was nothing inappropriate about reaching out to the Russians, as the president and his lawyers say, why didn’t Flynn tell the truth when FBI agents asked about it? What exactly was Flynn instructed to tell the Russians?

Trump insists he’s not worried about anything Flynn might say. “No, I’m not,” he said as he left the White House Saturday for fundraisers. “And what has been shown is (there was) no collusion.”

In fact, this has not been shown. 

2. Has anyone else lied to the FBI?

“At least two dozen people who traveled in Trump’s orbit in 2016 and 2017 — on the campaign trail, in his transition operation and then in the White House — have been questioned in the past 10 weeks,” per Robert Costa, Carol D. Leonnig and Josh Dawsey. “The most high profile is (Jared) Kushner, who met with Mueller’s team in November, as well as former chief of staff Reince Priebus and former press secretary Sean Spicer. Former foreign policy adviser J.D. Gordon has also been interviewed. White House communications director Hope Hicks was scheduled to sit down with Mueller’s team a few days before Thanksgiving. Mueller’s team has also indicated plans to interview senior associate White House counsel James Burnham and policy adviser Stephen Miller.”

  • “McGahn, who was interviewed by Mueller’s prosecutors for a full day Thursday, was scheduled to return Friday to complete his interview. However, the special counsel postponed the session as a courtesy to allow McGahn to help the White House manage the response to Flynn’s plea …”
  • White House lawyer Ty Cobb declined to say which White House aides remain to be interviewed.
  • “In the past several weeks, Mueller’s operation has reached out to new witnesses in Trump’s circle, telling them they may be asked to come in for an interview.”

Many of these interviews lasted several hours. If he can show that anyone made false statements, Mueller can now circle back and has leverage over them. 

The president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has been identified by sources as the “very senior member” of the transition team who allegedly directed Michael Flynn to contact the Russian ambassador. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

3. What did Kushner tell Mueller’s team about Flynn and the Russia contacts?

Trump’s son-in-law has been identified by sources as the “very senior member” of the transition team who Flynn says directed him in December to reach out to Kislyak and lobby him about a U.N. resolution on Israeli settlements. Flynn admits that he was not truthful when asked by the FBI on Jan. 24 about those interactions, but we don’t know what Kushner told investigators last month. Kushner’s lawyer has declined to comment.

Bob, Carol and Josh interviewed several witnesses who have been interviewed by Mueller’s team, and some of them said they were surprised by the volume of questions about Kushner. “I remember specifically being asked about Jared a number of times,” said one witness. “Another witness said agents and prosecutors repeatedly asked him about Trump’s decision-making during the May weekend he decided to fire (Comey). Prosecutors inquired whether Kushner had pushed the president to jettison Comey, according to two people familiar with the interview.” Conservative blogger Jen Rubin, who practiced law for two decades, raises several additional questions about Kushner: “What was the Trump team going to get in exchange for lifting sanctions against Russia? If Kushner directed Flynn to contact Russian officials, was he then looking to cover that up when he urged the president to fire (Comey)? … If Flynn’s contacts were authorized and legal, why did Trump allow him to lie to the vice president about them? … Did Kushner derive any financial benefit from contacts with Russians? Why did he meet with a Russian bank during the transition? … Did Kushner intentionally omit Russia contacts on his disclosure forms? … What connection, if any, exists between Russian officials and the Trump campaign data operation conducted by Cambridge Analytica and overseen by Kushner? … Will Trump attempt to pardon Kushner if he is indicted?”

Newsweek reports that, among other significant omissions, Kushner did not disclose in paperwork for the Office of Government Ethics that he led the Charles and Seryl Kushner Foundation from 2006 to 2015, during a time when the group funded an Israeli settlement then considered illegal under international law. “The failure to disclose his role in the foundation — at a time when he was being tasked with serving as the president’s Middle East peace envoy — follows a pattern of egregious omissions that would bar any other official from continuing to serve in the West Wing,” Chris Riotta reports. 

4. How many other people on the Trump team knew about and/or approved of Flynn’s interactions with the Russians?

Flynn admitted in his plea deal that he spoke with another member of the transition team before he talked to Kislyak on Dec. 29 about why the Kremlin should not retaliate against the United States for sanctions that had just been announced by the Obama administration. People familiar with the matter say that this person was K.T. McFarland, who was pushed out as deputy national security adviser after Flynn’s departure and is now awaiting confirmation as Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Singapore.

That day, McFarland reportedly emailed Tom Bossert, who was another transition official and is now the president’s homeland security adviser, to say that the sanctions were aimed at discrediting Trump’s victory. According to the New York Times, McFarland passed along word that Flynn would be speaking with Kislyak hours after the sanctions were announced: “If there is a tit-for-tat escalation Trump will have difficulty improving relations with Russia, which has just thrown U.S.A. election to him,” she wrote.

Bossert then forwarded her email to six other people — including Priebus, Spicer and chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon — and urged them to “defend election legitimacy now,” according to the Times, which said McFarland couldn’t be reached. 

Former FBI director James Comey is sworn in during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in June. (Alex Brandon/AP)

5. What did Trump himself know and when did he know it?

The day after he pushed Flynn to resign, Trump met with Comey. The former FBI director has testified under oath (and presented contemporaneous notes to back up his account) that Trump said, “I hope you can let this go.”

The president tweeted Sunday morning, “I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn.”

6. Who else and what else is Mueller looking at that we don’t know about yet?

Another lower-level Trump campaign aide, foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, previously pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Agents arrested him in July. He pleaded guilty at a secret hearing in October. Mueller kept the information private until he indicted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate, Rick Gates, on Oct. 30.

“Precisely what Papadopoulos did in recent months to aid the government remains unclear and the subject of speculation among Trump aides and former campaign officials,” Politico’s Josh Gerstein reports. “Prosecutors seemed pleased with the cooperation because they dropped the obstruction charge … Spokespeople for Mueller’s office and the FBI declined to comment for this article, but in court papers they cited a need to keep the charges against Papadopoulos secret because of planned interviews with other Trump campaign officials and others relevant to the investigation.”

7. How far will Trump and congressional Republicans go to thwart the ongoing Russia investigations?

Trying to go on the offensive, Trump spent Sunday attacking the integrity of the FBI. He noted that Peter Strzok — the former top FBI official assigned to Mueller’s probe — was taken off that job this summer after his bosses discovered that he and another member of Mueller’s team had exchanged politically charged texts disparaging Trump and supporting Hillary Clinton.

“Strzok, as deputy head of counterintelligence at the FBI, was a key player in the investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server to do government work as secretary of state,” Karoun Demirjian and Devlin Barrett reported Saturday. “During the Clinton investigation, Strzok was involved in a romantic relationship with FBI lawyer Lisa Page, who worked for Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.”

In a tweetstorm, Trump said the FBI’s “reputation is in tatters.” He retweeted a conservative pundit saying that Chris Wray, who Trump appointed to replace Comey, needs to “clean house”: 

It was reported last week that Trump has pushed key GOP leaders on Capitol Hill to “move on” from their investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Some Republican lawmakers are responding to damaging revelations about Trump by ramping up their calls for new inquiries … into Clinton.

Many people who are close to Trump have been warning him that Mueller means nothing but trouble, and that he’s making a mistake by being as cooperative as his lawyers want him to be. “I don’t know what they’re smoking,” Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, a friend of the president’s, said on ABC’s “This Week.” “Robert Mueller poses an existential threat to the Trump presidency.” Now the question is what will Trump do about it.

Meanwhile, FBI agents and alumni are defending the bureau: 

The president of the FBI Agents Association issued this statement after Trump trashed the bureau’s professionals:

Comey posted this quote from earlier in the year:

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING:

US Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth jets are seen at a South Korean air base in Gwangju. (AFP/Getty Images)

— The United States and South Korean air forces began military exercises that include simulated strikes on North Korea. Anna Fifield reports: “North Korea denounced the exercises as dangerous ‘when insane President Trump is running wild,’ while analysts warned that they sharply increase the chances of miscalculation and accidental conflict. More than 230 warplanes — including six U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors and another six F-35A stealth fighters deployed to the peninsula especially for the exercises — are taking part. … They will practice for a range of wartime scenarios, including enemy infiltration drills and precision strikes on mock North Korean nuclear and missile targets, [a] statement added.”

GET SMART FAST:​​

  1. CVS agreed to purchase Aetna for $69 billion, a blockbuster deal that could transform the health-care industry – as well as the pharmacy chain of more than 9,600 stores. (Carolyn Y. Johnson)
  2. The acquittal in the Kate Steinle case has reinvigorated calls for hard line immigration policies, including Trump’s border wall. The hashtag #KatesWall was trending as social media users, including white nationalist Richard Spencer, demanded a wall dedicated to her memory. (Kristine Phillips)
  3. Sixteen top retired military commanders urged Congress to pass gun-control legislation. Their letter to lawmakers comes as the House plans to vote on a bill allowing concealed firearms to be carried across state lines, a top priority for the NRA. (Katie Zezima)
  4. The Defense Department is boosting spending on artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing, saying these innovations are transforming warfare in the same way as the rifle, telegraph and railroads did in their day. (Christian Davenport)
  5. A new study concluded over 13,000 archaeological and historical sites along the Atlantic and Golf coasts are under threat by rising sea levels. The Jamestown settlement and the Kennedy Space Center are among the endangered sites. (Charles Q. Choi)
  6. A woman with a transplanted uterus has successfully given birth for the first time in the United States, delivering a promising sign for thousands of infertile women. It’s another step forward in the world of transplant surgeries. (Cleve R. Wootson Jr.)
  7. Alabama snagged the final spot in the 2017 College Football Playoffs, sneaking into the four-team lineup with Clemson, Oklahoma and Georgia despite its failure to reach the SEC championship. A 13-member committee made the decision, making Alabama the only team to have reached the playoffs in every season the system has existed. (Chuck Culpepper)
  8. A Canadian model who attempted to dye her eyeball purple several months ago says she’s now at risk of losing it. As her vision continues to decline, she’s taken to social media to warn against the trend known as “sclera staining” — a bizarre, but increasingly popular, procedure that involves injecting ink into the whites of someone’s eye. (Amy B Wang)

Donald Trump eats dinner with Mitt Romney and Reince Priebus at Jean-Georges restaurant in New York on Nov. 29, 2016. (Evan Vucci/AP)

WEST WING INTRIGUE:

— Trump is going all out to persuade Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to run for reelection because he is nervous Mitt Romney might get his seat. Politico’s Alex Isenstadt reports: “Romney has been preparing to run for Hatch’s seat on the long-held assumption that the 83-year-old would retire. Yet Hatch … is now refusing to rule out another campaign — a circumstance Romney’s infuriated inner circle blames squarely on the president. Their suspicions are warranted: Trump has sounded off to friends about how he doesn’t like the idea of a Senator Romney. The president’s mostly behind-the-scenes campaign to sway Hatch will burst into public view on Monday, when he arrives in Salt Lake City to hold a well-choreographed event designed to showcase his affection for the powerful Senate Finance Committee chairman.”

— Steve Bannon is also reportedly considering a Hatch endorsement. The Washington Examiner’s David M. Drucker reports: “[S]hort on insurgent Republicans willing to challenge Hatch, Bannon is eying the seven-term senator as a better option than Romney. … ‘If Steve had a choice between Orrin Hatch and Mitt Romney, he would pick Hatch 10 times out of 10,’ [a] source close to Bannon told the Washington Examiner.”

— Even as John Kelly has sought to impose order on the White House, Trump has found workarounds to circumvent Kelly’s authority. The Wall Street Journal’s Michael C. Bender reports: “The president on occasion has called White House aides to the private residence in the evening, where he makes assignments and asks them not to tell Mr. Kelly about the plans, according to several people familiar with the matter. At least once, aides have declined to carry out the requested task so as not to run afoul of Mr. Kelly[.] … The president, who values counsel from an informal group of confidants outside the White House, also sometimes bypasses the normal scheduling for phone calls that give other White House staff, including Mr. Kelly, some control and influence over who the president talks to and when. Instead, some of his friends have taken to calling Melania Trump and asking her to pass messages to her husband[.]”

TAXING PROBLEMS:

— Trump undermined Senate Republicans just hours after they passed his top legislative priority early Saturday morning in the tax package, saying he’d be open to raising the corporate rate even though GOPers held the line against such pressure. From David J. Lynch and Damien Paletta: On his way to New York for three fundraisers, Trump told reporters that the corporate tax rate in the GOP plan might end up rising to 22 percent from 20 percent. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate had fought hard to keep the corporate rate low, with the Senate late Friday rejecting a Republican-backed proposal to push it up to 21 percent in exchange for more working-family tax breaks.”

— OMB Director Mick Mulvaney said Trump could be open to a “small” change in the corporate rate. “You know he’s wanted a 15 percent rate from the very beginning. That move to a 20 percent rate is part of the discussion. My understanding is that the Senate has a 20 percent rate now. The House has a 20 percent rate now. We’re happy with both of those numbers,” Mulvaney said, adding, “If something small happens in conference that gets us across the finish line, we’ll look at it on a case-by-case basis. But I don’t think you’ll see any significant change in our position on the corporate taxes.” (CBS News)

— Floating that idea could complicate negotiations between Senate and House Republicans, who now have to reconcile the versions of the package passed by both chambers. From Erica Werner, Damian and Mike DeBonis report: “Party leaders insist that there are no showstopping differences between their two bills, each of which features a decrease in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. Still, the bills feature differences worth hundreds of billions of dollars.” 

The key differences include:

  • “[T]he Senate changed its bill to preserve a provision of the current tax code that sets an alternative minimum tax floor for very wealthy individuals. That provision would be eliminated in the House bill, and scrapping the alternative minimum tax has long been a priority for GOP tax writers.”
  • “The two bills take markedly different approaches to the taxation of pass-through business income, with the House bill providing a much larger tax cut.”
  • “The Senate bills begins lowering the corporate tax rate in 2019, and the House bill begins lowering it in 2018.”
  • “The House bill has only four [individual tax] brackets, and the top rate remains unchanged at 39.6 percent; the Senate bill keeps seven brackets but lowers the top rate to 38.5.”
  • “The House bill creates a five-year ‘family flexibility credit’ that aims to help families lower their taxes. The Senate bill doesn’t have such a measure.”
  • “The House bill entirely eliminates the estate tax … beginning in 2024, while the Senate bill scales it back dramatically without getting rid of it entirely.”

— The political ramifications could be costly: In pro-Trump areas, many voters are skeptical of the tax bill, viewing the cuts largely as a giveaway to the nation’s wealthiest. Jenna Johnson files from the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights, which voted heavily for Trump: “On a busy weeknight at the 5 Star Lanes bowling alley … there was little excitement about the Republican plan to cut taxes. A 60-year-old retiree bowling with a group of girlfriends said she’s tired of the middle class having to pay more so the wealthy can become even wealthier. A few lanes away, a middle-aged woman with frizzy gray hair said that the more she hears about the plan, the more she hates it. And a group of young guys in matching shirts said they didn’t even know the proposal was in the works, although they seemed skeptical that their taxes would ever go down in a meaningful way.”

Lee Johnson, a 63-year-old retiree, expressed skepticism about the GOP’s closed-door crafting of the plan — and their inability to answer a simple question, “Is this going to help the middle class?” “I don’t even get upset anymore, because they’re not going to listen,” said Johnson. “They don’t care. There’s nothing else to say. They just don’t care.”

— Mitch McConnell predicted the bill will become a “winning issue” once voters feel its effects. “We think this will produce results, results we will certainly be able to talk to the American people about in the fall of 2018 and 2020 as well,” he said Sunday. (Karen Tumulty) 

— The majority leader promoted the Senate bill in an op-ed for today’s Wall Street Journal: “Lowering taxes for families and small businesses is a central part of President Trump’s agenda, and we worked together toward this accomplishment for the American people. After a substantive and lengthy debate through an open process, we passed legislation that fulfills goals shared by congressional Republicans and the president.”

— But Democrats see an opportunity to hammer Republicans on a plan they think is a “scam” to benefit the GOP’s wealth donors, hastily passed with little procedural oversight. David Weigel, Robert Costa and Paul Kane report: “The test for Republicans is whether they can convince voters that this legislation will put more money in their wallets — and the GOP leader is not sure whether they can do that in time for the 2018 elections. ‘We don’t know,’ McConnell said,” acknowledging the measure wasn’t currently popular with voters. “But he said he thinks that in the long run, the economic boost will come and voters will eventually reward Republicans.”

Democrats say we’ve been down this road before: Veterans of President Barack Obama’s administration, with memories of how Republicans attacked the passage of the Affordable Care Act, argued that Republicans [were] overly optimistic and had misread the national mood. Republicans were ‘deluding themselves,’ said former Obama strategist David Axelrod, to think that voters would reward them for a tax cut.”

— Watch for this quote from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to get a lot of attention today: “I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing, as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.” (Des Moines Register)

Eric Henry, owner of TS Designs, stands in the facility he uses to print T-shirts in Burlington, N.C. (Madeline Gray for The Washington Post)

— Zooming out: Republicans have been looking to North Carolina — a state that slashed state corporate and individual rates four years ago by employing many of the same elements embraced in the Senate GOP plan. But it’s not really a success story. Todd C. Frankel reports: “The tax changes in North Carolina haven’t produced the fiscal calamity that led Republican legislators in Kansas this year to reverse dramatic cuts they passed a few years earlier, but nor have they produced the kind of win-for-all economic prosperity national Republicans say their effort will spur. But even if the top-line numbers have improved, workers have not seen huge benefits. The median hourly wage in North Carolina grew roughly on par with the national rate, while the average hourly wage and annual wage grew notably slower, according the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

— Find out how the tax overhaul could affect your own bottom line by using The Post’s handy calculator here. 

President Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan meet to discuss spending bills as two empty chairs mark the absence of Democratic leadership. (Kevin Dietsch/European Pressphoto Agency/EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

SHUTDOWN WATCH:

— Republicans’ victory on taxes could be short-lived if lawmakers don’t pass a spending bill to avert a government shutdown this week. Paul Kane writes: “All that talk of knowing how to govern because Republicans did something they like to do — cut taxes — could get swept aside by a partial shutdown of the government during the holiday season, fueled by an issue that has bedeviled their party for more than a decade: immigration. . . . McConnell vowed there would not be a government shutdown but appeared to be daring Democrats into a showdown over an issue that does not face a deadline until March — when Trump has ordered the end of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which gave temporary legal status to the ‘dreamers.’”

— Even moderate House Republicans are leaning on Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to address the DACA issue. Politico’s John Bresnahan reports: “Ryan and his leadership team have vowed for weeks to keep DACA and year-end spending negotiations separate — at least publicly. Ryan, however, now is getting squeezed by both ends of his conference, with a group of more than two dozen moderate Republicans from swing districts siding with Democrats and pushing Ryan to fix DACA by 2018.”

— Congress is expected to pass a two-week stopgap bill as they sort out issues for a longer-term package. The New York Times’s Thomas Kaplan reports: “The stopgap spending measure would provide more time for negotiations between the two parties over raising strict spending caps that were imposed in 2011 as they try to work toward a long-term spending deal for the 2018 fiscal year . . . In a deal to raise the limits, defense hawks want a sizable increase in military spending. But Democrats are pushing to ensure that nondefense spending is increased by the same amount as military spending. Once congressional leaders reach a deal on raising the caps, a long-term spending package can be negotiated. Lawmakers could pass another stopgap spending measure later in December to keep the government open until that long-term package is ready to be voted on.”

THE TRUMP TAKEOVER:

— Michael Kranish obtained an advance copy of Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie’s new book, “Let Trump Be Trump,” officially out tomorrow “Sooner or later, everybody who works for Donald Trump will see a side of him that makes you wonder why you took a job with him in the first place,” the authors write. Among the standout themes from the book:

  • Trump’s disloyalty to staff — and the constant rivalries among them: “Lewandowski wrote of a time when he was so ill that he fell asleep on a plane, only to be awakened by Trump, saying, ‘Corey, if you can’t take it, we’ll get somebody else.’ In another episode, Lewandowski describes how staffer Sam Nunberg was purposely left behind at a McDonald’s because Nunberg’s special-order burger was taking too long. ‘Leave him,’ Trump said. ‘Let’s go.’ And they did.” When Lewandowski was ultimately fired as campaign manager, he says, Trump left the task to his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
  • Trump’s temper and propensity for “face-ripping” screaming fits: Hope Hicks was tasked with steaming Trump’s suits while he was wearing them (“get the machine!” Trump would yell) and any oversight — no matter how minor — could leave aides on the receiving end of a screaming, profanity-laced tirade. After Trump learned Paul Manafort suggested the president shouldn’t appear on Sunday news shows, for example, Trump ordered his helicopter pilot to lower the altitude to make an immediate cellphone call. “Did you say I shouldn’t be on TV on Sunday? I’ll go on TV anytime I g–damn f—ing want …” Trump yelled. “Tone it down? I wanna turn it up! … You’re a political pro? Let me tell you something. I’m a pro at life. I’ve been around a time or two. I know guys like you, with your hair and skin …”
  • Trump’s eating habits (aka his fast-food obsession): Lewandowski and other top aides went to “elaborate” efforts to carefully time their delivery of hot fast food to Trump’s plane before departing campaign rallies. The four main food groups were “McDonalds, KFC, pizza and Diet Coke.” And in-flight fare consisted largely of Oreos, potato chips, and pretzels — since Trump, a known germaphobe, refused to eat from a previously-opened package.

Donald Trump in 2005 with actress Arianne Zucker and Billy Bush. (Obtained by The Washington Post)

MEN BEHAVING BADLY:

— Former NBC host Billy Bush confirmed the validity of Trump’s “Access Hollywood” comments in a New York Times op-ed, following reports the president privately disputes that he made the lewd 2005 remarks. “Of course he said it,” Bush wrote. “And we laughed along, without a single doubt that this was hypothetical hot air from America’s highest-rated bloviator. Along with Donald Trump and me, there were seven other guys present on the bus at the time, and every single one of us assumed we were listening to a crass standup act. … We now know better[.]”

— The Metropolitan Opera in New York said it will begin investigating allegations that famed music conductor James Levine sexually abused a teenager more than three decades ago. In a statement Saturday, Met officials acknowledged they had known about the allegations for at least a year, but that they were denied by Levine and said they heard nothing further from police. The Times reports that the Met decided to begin the probe after receiving media inquiries regarding Levine’s behavior. (Anne Midgette)

— The spotlight on sexual misconduct allegations has reinforced activism on the subject at American colleges and universities. The New York Times’s Caitlin Dickerson and Stephanie Saul report: “Colleges large and small have fielded reports against students and professors. Some schools said they had begun strengthening anti-harassment policies. Lawyers who represent victims say they have been flooded with calls.” The historically black colleges of Spelman and Morehouse are dealing with student complaints that the school doesn’t take assault claims seriously enough. “The issue was particularly painful for [female] Spelman students, who spoke of a shared legacy with Morehouse that gave them great pride and, they said, could be perversely discouraging victims from coming forward or assailants from being punished.”

— “About That Secret Button in Matt Lauer’s Office,” by The Atlantic’s David Sims: “The Times reported that the button is a ‘regular security measure installed for high-profile employees’ at NBC. Whether it’s a mundane precautionary tool or an accessory worthy of a Bond villain, it’s also a concrete manifestation of a reality reflected in so many of these recent allegations: the unabridged power and protection that accompany celebrity. Even beyond that, the button is a potent metaphor for the way that systems — those seemingly disinterested institutional structures — can insidiously work in favor of the people who already wield the most influence.”

— ICYMI: Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Tex.) reportedly settled a 2014 sexual harassment complaint for $84,000 using taxpayer funds. Politico’s Rachael Bade reports: “Lauren Greene, the Texas Republican’s former communications director, sued her boss in December 2014 over allegations of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. Greene said another Farenthold aide told her the lawmaker said he had ‘sexual fantasies’ and ‘wet dreams’ about Greene. She also claimed that Farenthold ‘regularly drank to excess’ and told her in February 2014 that he was ‘estranged from his wife and had not had sex with her in years.’ When she complained about comments Farenthold and a male staffer made to her, Greene said the congressman improperly fired her. She filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, but the case was later dropped after both parties reached a private settlement.”

MOORE DECISIONS:

— One week out from Alabama’s Senate election, the race between Roy Moore and Doug Jones remains neck-and-neck. A Washington Post-Schar School poll published Saturday gave Jones a three-point advantage, 50 to 47 percent.

  • A 53 percent majority say they see Jones as the candidate with higher standards of personal moral conduct, while about a third of likely voters say the same of Moore.
  • 1 in 4 voters say the candidates’ moral conduct is the “most important” deciding factor in their vote — and among those voters, Jones holds a 67 to 30 percent advantage.
  • Jones has the backing of 1 in 6 GOP-leaning likely voters, while just 1 in 14 Democrat-leaning voters back Moore.
  • Women are more likely to find the allegations against Moore credible and to support Jones. Moore leads by 15 points among likely male voters, while Jones leads by 18 points among likely female voters.

— But: a CBS News poll found a 71 percent majority of Republicans in Alabama believe the wave of sexual misconduct allegations against Moore are false. Among voters who believe the allegations are false, 92 percent of them believe Democrats are behind the charges, while 88 percent say newspapers and the media are to blame. And while 53 percent of Republican voters in the state say the Moore allegations are a “concern,” they say other things “matter more” in the race. (One-third of Republicans say the allegations are not a concern to them.) The poll also gave Moore a six-point advantage in the race.

— McConnell has backed off his demand that Moore exit the race. “I’m going to let the people of Alabama make the call,” McConnell said. He added, “The Ethics Committee will have to consider the matters that have been litigated in the campaign should that particular candidate win.” (ABC News)

— Trump said he needs Roy Moore in Washington in tweets this morning:

SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ:

A CNN correspondent commented on John Dowd claiming he wrote Trump’s controversial tweet on Flynn:

From a contributing editor at Vanity Fair:

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) responded to Eichenwald’s tweet:

The former attorney general came to the FBI’s defense after Trump criticized the agency:

So did Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.):

From a former U.S. attorney who got fired by Trump after being told he would be kept on:

This 2016 tweet from Sarah Huckabee Sanders made after Comey reopened the Clinton email probe right before the election, made the rounds again:

Hillary Clinton encouraged her followers to keep up the fight against the tax bill:

From a fellow at the liberal Roosevelt Institute:

Trump went after ABC News’s Brian Ross for his suspension over incorrect reporting on Flynn’s plea deal:

But Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) defended Ross:

Trump honored the legacy of Rosa Parks:

A former Clinton White House staffer addressed reports of Kushner’s undisclosed role at a foundation that funded Israeli settlements: 

And the No. 2 Senate Republican shared this view from Washington:

GOOD READS FROM ELSEWHERE:

— The New York Times, “11-Year-Old Has Spent Her Life in Jail, a Serial Killer as a Cellmate,” by Rod Nordland: “Meena got chickenpox, measles and the mumps in prison. She was born there, nursed there and weaned there. Now 11 years old, she has spent her entire life in prison and will probably spend the rest of her childhood there as well. The girl has never committed a crime, but her mother, Shirin Gul, is a convicted serial killer serving a life sentence, and under Afghan prison policy she can keep her daughter with her until she turns 18. … Her plight is extreme, but not unique. In the women’s wing of the Nangarhar provincial prison here, she is one of 36 children jailed with their mothers, among 42 women in all. But none of the other children have spent such a long time in custody; most of their mothers’ sentences are much shorter.”

— The Wall Street Journal, “Like the Cubans Before Them, Venezuelan Exiles Are Transforming Florida Politics,” by José de Córdoba and  Arian Campo-Flores: “Tens of thousands of Venezuelans, pushed by a failed economy and repression back home, are finding their way to South Florida. Their growing numbers and Venezuela’s dramatic implosion could tip the political balance in this crucial swing state, where presidential elections are decided by the thinnest of margins. … There is a sense in local political circles that the Venezuelan vote remains up for grabs. In 2008, 62% of Venezuelan-Americans voted for John McCain, the GOP nominee, but four years later, they swung sharply the other way, with 76% voting for Barack Obama, according to exit polls by [a Democratic polling] firm.”

— BuzzFeed News, “How Trolls Locked My Twitter Account For 10 Days, And Welp,” by Katie Notopoulos: “A few days before, I got a flood of replies to an old tweet from 2011 that said ‘kill all white people’. I’m sure in 2011 I thought this was a funny joke (look carefully, and you will notice the Ironic Capitalization), though it’s not so funny now when there are Literal Nazis running amok. The ironic thing about Literal Nazis is that they have weaponized taking things literally. And that’s what they did here.”

— The New York Times, “The Lure of a Better Life, Amid Cold and Darkness,” by Andrew Higgins: “Norilsk, once a slave labor camp, is prospering as a source of palladium. Not bad, except for the two months of darkness and temperatures of minus 80.”

HOT ON THE LEFT:

“Obama should be arrested for implying Trump needs a filter, Fox Business host suggests,” from Cleve R. Wootson Jr.: “Before he left office, Barack Obama said his goal was to steer clear of the political spotlight, [giving] the new president room to govern … But a Fox Business commentator said Obama violated that unwritten rule with a recent comment about Trump’s tweets. What’s more, according to Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, that violation should merit arrest. “I think U.S. marshals should follow [Obama], and anytime he wants to go follow the president like he is and behave [like that],’ Dobbs said on his show Friday. ‘I mean, this is just bad manners. It’s boorish and it’s absurd and he doesn’t realize how foolish he looks.’ ‘I mean, he should be brought back by the marshals. Isn’t there some law that says presidents shouldn’t be attacking sitting presidents?’”

 

HOT ON THE RIGHT

“MSNBC’s Joy Reid apologizes for ‘insensitive’ LGBT blog posts,” from NBC News: “MSNBC host Joy Reid issued an apology on Sunday for a series of blog posts nearly a decade ago, mostly critical of former Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, that have been criticized as homophobic and ‘anti-gay.’ ‘This note is my apology to all who are disappointed by the content of blogs I wrote a decade ago, for which my choice of words and tone have legitimately been criticized,’ Reid said in a statement in a statement shared with NBC News, which, like MSNBC, is owned by NBCUniversal. … The blog posts were unearthed on Thursday by Twitter user @Jamie_Maz. … The Twitter user noted Reid repeatedly referred to Crist as ‘Miss Charlie’ in her posts and speculated that his 2008 marriage to a woman was a fraud and part of a ‘veep marketing strategy.’”

 

DAYBOOK:

Trump will travel to Salt Lake City today to meet with leaders of the Mormon Church and give a speech at the state capitol. 

 

NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.:

— It will be mostly sunny in D.C. with mild temperatures today. The Capital Weather Gang forecasts: “High pressure is in control so we can expect plenty of sunshine and pleasantly cool afternoon temperatures. After most of us start the day in the 30s, highs climb into the mid-50s this afternoon with hardly a breeze.”

— Democrat Joshua Cole, who lost his House of Delegates race by only 82 votes amid revelations that some voters were wrongfully assigned to his district, has decided to seek a state-funded recount. (Michael E. Ruane)

— Virginia’s Election Day last month set a record for rainfall, potentially affecting voter turnout. (Martin Weil)

— Employees at a Starbucks in downtown D.C. recounted how Inauguration Day protesters broke storefront windows as prosecutors attempt to convict the protesters on rioting charges. Keith L. Alexander reports: “[A]round 10:30, [Aurelia] Taylor said a group of demonstrators was walking by when someone threw a brick that shattered a shop window. ‘It sounded like thunder,’ Taylor testified recently in D.C. Superior Court. ‘I had to get my [employees] to safety as quickly as I could,’ she said. Then another window was shattered. And another.”

— The decline in Metro’s ridership has coincided with the rise of Uber and Lyft in the D.C. area. Faiz Siddiqui reports: “Metro has hired a consultant to build ridership models that take into account the impact of ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft as part of the transit agency’s effort to determine where its riders have gone and how to win them back.”

VIDEOS OF THE DAY:

Trump was visited on SNL by Michael Flynn, “the ghost of witness flipped”:

The women of SNL sang “Welcome to Hell” to highlight recent revelations of sexual misconduct:

Demonstrators in Salt Lake City protested the Trump administration’s decision to shrink the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments:

The Kennedy Center honored artists such as Lionel Richie and Gloria Estefan as Trump skipped the event:

An Australian lawmaker proposed to his longtime partner while giving a speech on same-sex marriage:

HBO will air a documentary tonight on former Post editor Ben Bradlee. Watch the trailer: