Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Flynn case: “A federal judge on Monday sharply rejected Michael Flynn’s argument that he was targeted by politically motivated federal agents — and set a sentencing date of next month for President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, who has pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents.”
* It’s a breezy read: “The House Judiciary Committee released its full report on the impeachment of President Donald Trump early Monday, ahead of consideration by the full House as early as Wednesday.”
* NAFTA 2.0: “Mexico’s top trade negotiator plans to return to Washington on Sunday to express his outrage over language in the U.S. bill to implement the new North American trade agreement, potentially complicating the House’s plans to pass the USMCA this week.”
* Remember when Trump said this wasn’t happening? “North Korea conducted a test at a missile launch site on Friday, the regime said, in a bid to pressure Washington to offer substantial concessions in stalled denuclearization talks.”
* For consumers who missed yesterday’s ACA enrollment deadline, it’s not too late: “The open enrollment period for Obamacare has been extended until December 18 for those who couldn’t sign up on Sunday, the original deadline, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Monday.”
* Afghanistan: “The Trump administration intends to announce the drawdown of about 4,000 troops from Afghanistan as early next week, according to three current and former U.S. officials. The withdrawal will leave between 8,000 and 9,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the officials said.”
* Occasionally, we see the effects when U.S. leadership disappears: “Global climate talks lurched to an end here Sunday with finger-pointing, accusations of failure and fresh doubts about the world’s collective resolve to slow the warming of the planet — at a moment when scientists say time is running out for people to avert steadily worsening climate disasters.”
* Reproductive rights: “Mississippi’s outgoing governor vowed Saturday to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Mississippi’s ban on abortion at 15 weeks…. The call came a day after a federal appeals court ruled the ban was unconstitutional.” * Fallout from the Horowitz report: “FBI Director Christopher Wray has ordered more than 40 changes in how the bureau seeks secret surveillance warrants and handles other matters after the Justice Department inspector general pointed out a series of flaws in the bureau’s efforts to monitor a former Trump campaign adviser.” * Remember, Trump loves to describe the details of conversations that occurred only in his mind: “Trump has described the same conversation about Israel four times. Each time, the name of his Jewish friend changed.” * A notable observation from the Columbia Journalism Review: “Democrats, for the most part, are engaging with the factual record; Republicans, for the most part, are not. These positions are manifestly not equivalent. Treating them as such does not serve any useful concept of fairness; instead, it rebounds clearly to the advantage of the one side (Republicans) for whom nonsense being taken seriously is a victory in itself.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
