Nixon went to Mar-a-Lago

Richard Nixon went to Mar-a-Lago a month before he resigned the Presidency, July 1974: pic.twitter.com/gtetmj1AJu

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) December 20, 2018

The First Step Act

I don’t think much of Trump but I commend him for promoting this bill which is a start on prison reform. McConnell didn’t want to have a vote on it but it passed the Senate by 87-12 with support from liberals and conservatives.

Awesome piece by @JDiamond1 and @arogDC on how the criminal justice reform bill happenedhttps://t.co/oPDLrYSNDo

— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) December 19, 2018

Breaking: House backs overhaul of criminal justice system in bipartisan win for Trump https://t.co/hlQHnl2MbE

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 20, 2018

There is some good news amidst the chaos: the Senate passed a bipartisan sentencing reform bill. While there is still much more to do, it is a step in the right direction to make our system more just and our communities more safe.

— Sally Yates (@SallyQYates) December 19, 2018

After yrs of bipartisan work w Sens Durbin & Lee The First Step Act passed the Senate 2night w a big bipartisan victory 87-12 vote Historic criminal justice reform happens once in a generation Now on its way 2 House & Pres Trump waiting w a pen to sign

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) December 19, 2018

12 Republicans voted No on FIRST STEP Act:
Barrasso
Cotton
Enzi
Kennedy
Kyl
Murkowski
Risch
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Shelby
Sullivan

— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) December 19, 2018

The First Step Act would make about 2,660 prisoners who were sentenced for crack-related crimes before 2010 eligible for release, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. https://t.co/cVL6xuymzr

— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 20, 2018

House passes bipartisan criminal justice reform bill "First Step Act" https://t.co/NyJDh9GT5n

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) December 20, 2018

The FIRST STEP Act is not perfect—but we are in a mass incarceration crisis, and it will help undo some of the many harms caused by our broken criminal justice system.

We look forward to working with Congress in 2019 to build a system that serves all Americans equally. https://t.co/Tqh019Tlqa

— ACLU (@ACLU) December 20, 2018

Landmark criminal justice reform bill clears the Senate https://t.co/pZqvghplEX pic.twitter.com/0evYleesZl

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 20, 2018

Professor Longhair’s 100th Birthday

Professor Longhair is my favorite New Orleans musician. His piano playing is amazing and the rhythms are always pushed by the percussion. There are lots of good albums but my favorite is Rock’N’Roll Gumbo which was recorded in 1974 but not released in the US until the mid-1980s. His albums have huge overlaps on songs but that’s fine because the versions are always unique and worth listening to.

Today would have been Professor Longhair's 100th birthday. In his honor, some of those who knew Fess well, performed with him or were influenced by his unique style share their memories of the great Fess https://t.co/MGim3Q6rwq

— OffBeat Magazine (@OffBeatMagazine) December 19, 2018

One hundred years ago today, New Orleans piano legend Henry Roeland Byrd aka Professor Longhair was born. 🎹🎶 #Fess100 pic.twitter.com/5RaciyElk3

— New Orleans Jazz Museum (@nolajazzmuseum) December 19, 2018

PROFESSOR LONGHAIR – Big Chief Parts 1 & 2 – WATCHhttps://t.co/Kbv1nfKrHZ

— 広瀬もず (@mono_hoshi_zao) December 20, 2018

To celebrate Professor Longhair's 100th birthday, here’s Dr. John telling Clint Eastwood in “Piano Blues” about his hero, and Fess playing Tipitina! #Fess100 https://t.co/E2Dpa7aA1Z

— Dr. John (@akadrjohn) December 19, 2018

Plane crashes into Baltimore Memorial Stadium 12/19/76

On December 19, 1976, a small plane crashed into the upper deck of Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium.

Fortunately, the football game was over and nobody was seriously injured.

The photos are amazing.

Donald Kroner crashed a plane into Baltimore's Memorial Stadium in 1976 after a Colts vs. Steelers game. Nobody was injured, but it made for a crazy story the next day. 👇 https://t.co/nutNHtaSx3
— Ghosts of Baltimore (@GhostsofBmore) August 28, 2022

A single-engine plane crashes into the upper deck of Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium

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Trump/Russia Clue board game

Two great tweets:

I want credit (and a share of the profits). pic.twitter.com/SAk01MjZD1

— Middle Kid (@MiddlKid) December 20, 2018

hellooooo…. pic.twitter.com/KrwIVdvRH2

— matt grow (@MattMtbtms) December 20, 2018

Schumer shows some resistance on judges

Good for him.

Republicans blocked lots of Obama nominees.

Awesome. This is big.https://t.co/Z9kZg3ifnb

— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) December 19, 2018

Trump lied about the Moscow Trump Tower

We now know he signed a letter of intent for it. Liar!

Rudy Giuliani lied about it too. Why lie? What are they hiding?

Jun. 16, 2015
Trump launches presidential campaign.

Oct. 28, 2015
Date of Trump's signed letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow.

Jun. 9, 2016
Jared Kushner, Don Jr., Paul Manafort meet Russian lawyer at Trump Tower NYC.

Jul. 27, 2016
Trump: "I have nothing to do with Russia." https://t.co/CTxgTrgxJY

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) December 19, 2018

“A newly obtained document shows President Donald Trump signed a letter of intent to move forward with negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Russia, despite his attorney Rudy Giuliani claiming on Sunday the document was never signed.” https://t.co/UdEf1vfqGQ

— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) December 19, 2018

As @ChrisCuomo aptly points out, Giuliani's role in publicly weaving lies about the facts in the Russia case is not a legal strategy, it is a public relations strategy. Exhibit A: https://t.co/LPCmb9gEfs

— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) December 19, 2018

Appears @RudyGiuliani lied, again.

Also, if the attempted penthouse gift to Putin at Trump Tower Moscow is true, then @realDonaldTrump or his company may have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a felony. FCPA prevents bribery or attempted bribery of foreign officials. https://t.co/iHK7F6EMwk

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 19, 2018

CNN: Trump signed letter of intent to move forward on Trump Tower in Russia in 2015
https://t.co/csAK6bgYg5

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) December 19, 2018

* Quid: Trump Tower Moscow
* Quo: "The Special Counsel’s Office is preparing court filings that are expected to detail Trump associates’ conversations about sanctions relief." https://t.co/VB2zWJvcyo via @thedailybeast

— Amy Siskind 🏳️‍🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) December 19, 2018

Rudy on Sunday: "It was a real estate project. There was a letter of intent to go forward, but no one signed it.” Turns out that Trump did sign the October 2015 letter for the Trump Tower Moscow project, according to a copy of it https://t.co/g9JBo7hF6E

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 19, 2018

Giuliani told @DanaBashCNN two days ago that for Trump Tower Moscow, "there was a letter of intent to go forward, but no one signed it." False. Don Jr. already told Congress his dad signed the deal. And today, @ChrisCuomo obtained the signed letter itself. https://t.co/YY2dcBMIgH pic.twitter.com/hScKgXAQ86

— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) December 19, 2018

North Carolina Congressional district #9 coverage from North Carolina

This is a link to great local coverage of the election fraud.

I am proud of the work my @wsoctv team and I are producing related to #NC09. We will not stop investigating these claims of election fraud or be intimidated. Here is a link to all of our past coverage:https://t.co/uZ0YVygsem

— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) December 19, 2018

Here is other coverage of North Carolina:

This is a remarkable story: As evidence of election fraud mounts, Republicans in North Carolina now pushing not only for new general election but also for new primary to remove the GOP candidate who appears to have benefited from the fraud via @CNNPolitics https://t.co/ORPNAVXrXo

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 12, 2018

This dude almost certainly committed election fraud on a massive scale and the headline probably ought to emphasize that rather than trying to be cute. https://t.co/B5raieNHle

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) December 15, 2018

Some really good reporting here by @AmyEGardner and @bethreinhard on the tangled web in N.C. election-fraud investigation. https://t.co/XDq7lzKbA0

— Paul Farhi (@farhip) December 15, 2018

After years of railing against supposed voting fraud, Republicans have fallen silent or actively attacked a probe that threatens one of their own. https://t.co/4XHlPAMxVx

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 9, 2018

It is election fraud, not voter fraud. Voters didn’t do anything wrong.

Republicans need to stop looking for excuses to blame voters for everything. https://t.co/5tVMU5GWuq

— Abe Rakov (@aberakov) December 10, 2018

Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed a bill that would require photographic identification to vote in North Carolina. https://t.co/UdTlEvvhxI

— Eugene Scott (@Eugene_Scott) December 15, 2018

Stop enabling liars

I can’t listen to Trump, Conway, or Sanders. I am glad they invented the mute button.

In a world awash in disinformation, there’s no ‘both sides’ to the truth. The media must stop enabling liars. My column https://t.co/GoB3WeYybf

— Margaret Sullivan (@Sulliview) December 17, 2018

Trump helps Russia and Turkey in Syria

Who is he working for? Even Republicans think this is a bad move. Trump is bribing Turkey to keep quiet about the Khashoggi murder plus they bought weapons from the US.

Trump claims ISIS has been totally defeated in Syria but this is not true.

New statement from @PressSec confirms that the US is withdrawing troops from Syria and reiterates Trump's claim that "the United States has defeated the territorial caliphate" pic.twitter.com/zuwiQdw5ds

— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) December 19, 2018

If this actually happens, it’s a stunning development both procedurally and substantively.

There’s lots of room for reasonable debate about what role—if any—the US military should be playing in Syria. But a knee-jerk, unplanned, across-the-board withdrawal seems … unwise. https://t.co/tO2N2qeZGf

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 19, 2018

Here is the full Reuters quote:

The decision came after a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Friday. “Everything that has followed is implementing the agreement that was made in that call,” the official said.

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) December 19, 2018

MORE: All U.S. State Department personnel are being evacuated from Syria within 24 hours – official pic.twitter.com/XOnbuEzarZ

— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) December 19, 2018

Syria pullout + Patriots + plus promise to look again at Gulen extradition; Erdogan got an awful lot from Trump. In exchange for what? I expect we won't be hearing much more from Turkey about the Khashoggi murder. https://t.co/zRpPJeqhhU

— Jackson Diehl (@JacksonDiehl) December 19, 2018

Isn't one likely explanation of the Trump Syria announcement that it's part of the price paid to Ankara to go easy on the Saudi crown prince? The 2000 US personnel are deployed with Syrian Kurds- a big irritant to Ankara. Syrian Kurds now weakened https://t.co/Goap3G2jTJ

— David Frum (@davidfrum) December 19, 2018

Three separate reports including by the Pentagon Inspector General, by the United Nations and by ⁦@CSIS⁩ have estimated that ISIS still has between 20,000 and 30,000 fighters just in Iraq and Syria, but sure, let’s call the group “defeated.” #DejaVu https://t.co/6hDb4ilUIR

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) December 19, 2018

Marco Rubio railed on the president’s decision to pull out of Syria, saying whoever advised him has done a “great disservice” to the country. He said to us that Trump has put the US at risk by his decision – and it will make the world view America as an unreliable partner.

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 19, 2018

Trump ally Lindsey Graham calls a withdrawal from Syria “an Obama-like mistake,” arguing that it will "be seen by Iran and other bad actors as a sign of American weakness in the efforts to contain Iranian expansion."

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) December 19, 2018

Responding to this, a Pentagon official asks me: “so when does Russia announce their victory?” https://t.co/1kWL3XH9oT

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) December 19, 2018

We have not defeated ISIS in Syria or Iraq. We have, however, left Raqqa and Mosul in ruins, filled with dead bodies and unexploded ordnance, and cut recovery aid. There is every reason to expect the group’s resurgence. https://t.co/GwRoksaESh https://t.co/bZPKc2g71e

— Ben Taub (@bentaub91) December 19, 2018

#Syria & US racing developments:

• Trump ready to withdraw ~ 2000 US troops: WSJ , CNN , Reuters
• Move coordinated with Erdogan: US military disagrees, State sidelined
• Pence to the Pentagon
• Trump called Erdogan Friday
• Allies informed

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) December 19, 2018

There is no strategic logic behind what the President just did in Syria, unless the strategy is changing the news cycle and trying to rally the base in anticipation of worse news to come.

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 19, 2018

Nice to know everyone in the Trump administration is on the same page regarding Syria policy https://t.co/Fmf7ufENOu

— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) December 19, 2018

“But one Defense Department official suggested that Mr. Trump also wants to divert attention away from the series of legal challenges confronting him over the recent days: the Russian investigation run by the special counsel…” https://t.co/fGWsPVUbLm

— Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman) December 19, 2018

The president has now dismissed or undermined US intelligence assessments on:

– Russian interference in the election
-Saudi Crown Prince direction of Khashoggi murder
– North Korea’s continued missile and nuclear activity
– ISIS’s continued presence in Syria

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 19, 2018