Mother Jones: “On Thursday, Donald Trump posted a tweet falsely claiming a computerized voting system vendor had switched or deleted millions of his votes. The unfounded allegation appears to have originally been concocted by an anonymous poster on a pro-Trump forum, illustrating a common chain of right-wing disinformation: an baseless conspiracy theory is posted anonymously, a right-wing blogger cites it, a conservative news outlet picks it up, and, next, the president of the United States spreads it as supposed fact. In this instance, Trump sourced his information to a ‘report’ from One America News Network, a right-wing cable network with a penchant for pumping out right-wing propaganda and completely made-up conspiracy theories.”

“The segment featured an OAN anchor saying an ‘unaudited analysis of data obtained from Edison Research’ showed that ‘states using Dominion voting systems may have switched as many 435,000 votes from President Trump to Joe Biden’ and that “the author also finds another 2.7 million votes for Trump were deleted by Dominion, including almost 1 million in Pennsylvania alone.” OAN added that ‘analysts say the theft and threat and destruction of votes are attributed to so-called glitches in Dominion software.’ The terms OAN used—’unaudited analysis,’ ‘analyst,’ and ‘author’—may have been selected to make the claim seem legitimate. They also obscure exactly who made it. But the numbers, supposed findings, and rhetoric are nearly identical to a Tuesday post on Gateway Pundit, a right-wing site that regularly publishes falsehoods and hoaxes. Unlike OAN, the Gateway Pundit decided to cite the ‘analyst’ and link to their ‘research.’ As it turns out, its an anonymous poster on TheDonald, a pro-Trump web forum. The Gateway Pundit admitted that they didn’t verify the poster’s work, calling the analysis ‘unaudited’—for them, a term of art indicating they found the information from a random person on the internet.”

A joint statement by two internal Department of Homeland Security committees undermines outgoing President Trump’s claim that there was widespread fraud, irregularities and cheating in the November election.

The members of  the Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council and the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Council issued a statement Thursday saying there was no evidence that there were irregularities in the election that would invalidate them.

““The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result,” the statement reads. 

The final fiscal year of the Trump Administration has started just as Trump ran his businesses:  with staggering debt.

Fiscal year 2021 started with the Trump Administration running up a $284 billion deficit in October, more than twice the amount Donald Trump had run up one year before.  In FY2020, President Trump ran up a record $3.1 trillion deficit, 400% more than the annual deficit he inherited when he came into office.

“This is just the beginning,, that dominion crap switched over 500k votes from trump and deleted over 1 million trump votes in PA alone,, these scumbags need to punished ,, the full musoliani [sic] treatment” – The current top comment on the Breitbart article “Pennsylvania Appeals Court Rules for Trump Campaign in Late-ballot ID Case” posted Thursday.

Bloomberg: “New York’s attorney general continues to gather information about President Donald Trump’s business, obtaining financial records this month from the family of the Trump Organization’s CFO that could provide further insights into the company’s operations and tax strategies. The office of Attorney General Letitia James is reviewing tax records associated with a son and ex-daughter-in-law of Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, according to a person familiar with the matter. James’s office is conducting a civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization falsely reported property values to secure loans or tax benefits, she has said.”

“Bloomberg News reported on Nov. 2 that members of the Weisselberg family, including Trump Organization manager Barry Weisselberg and his now ex-wife, Jennifer, had received perks including years of free rent in a company-owned building adjacent to Central Park and use of the company’s accountant for personal tax filings. The Bloomberg report was based, in part, on documents provided by Jennifer Weisselberg. Mary Mulligan, a lawyer for Allen Weisselberg, said that her client had done nothing wrong. The attorney general’s office and Alan Garten, general counsel of the Trump Organization, declined to comment. Barry Weisselberg didn’t respond to requests for comment. Many of the benefits could create tax liabilities for the Weisselbergs, the Trump Organization or both, according to legal experts.”

In “Who Didn’t See That Coming” News, the SeaDream 1, the first cruise ship to sail with passengers through the Caribbean since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the industry, has now reported five of its passengers have tested positive for the coronavirus, CNN reports.

Operated by SeaDream Yacht Club, the ship holds up to 112 passengers and 95 crew.  On this cruise, however, there were 53 passengers and 66 crew.  Passengers and crew were notified of the positive tests by an announcement over the public address system.

The cruise marked the first one in the Caribbean after SYC completed a summer season sailing out of Norway, during which they had no positive coronavirus tests for passengers or crew.  This ship sailed out of Barbados on November 7th to start the winter season.

On last night’s episode of his Fox show, Sean Hannity interviewed White House Binder Barbie Kayleigh (Don’t Call Me Kelly) McEnany on the accusations of voter fraud coming out of Wayne County, Michigan, home of Democratic stronghold Detroit.

“Two hundred thirty-eight affidavits!” Hannity exclaimed, confusing the number of pages with the number of complaints, as Kelly flipped through the pages on camera.  To her credit, the pages Kelly held up weren’t blank.

A review of the complaints by the Washington Post, however, failed to come up with a single incident involving fraudulent or miscounted ballots.  Instead, the affidavits alleged bias, discomfort or even loud noises. 

“Oath Keepers militia leader Stewart Rhodes said that he has armed men on standby outside of Washington, D.C., to supposedly prevent the 2020 presidential election from being stolen from President Donald Trump. Echoing elements of the QAnon conspiracy theory during an appearance on far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ program, Rhodes said the only way to prevent his men from engaging in a ‘bloody fight’ would be Trump declassifying information to supposedly expose pedophiles in the ‘deep state’ and allow the president to stay in power.”

“Rhodes also indicated his militia will be involved in a rally to support Trump planned for this weekend in the nation’s capital. Rhodes’ Oath Keepers militia, which comprises ‘former law enforcement officials and military veterans,’ is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as ‘one of the largest radical antigovernment groups in the U.S. today.’ But, as Rhodes recent public comments have made clear, the organization’s purpose has shifted from opposing the government to instead act as a pro-Trump vigilante group that is willing to violently support Trump’s unjust attempts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election” – Media Matters.

Daily Beast: “After a tumultuous year at Fox News that included the network’s own ‘Brain Room’ warning hosts and anchors not to trust his ‘disinformation,’ pro-Trump columnist John Solomon is no longer a paid contributor with the network. A Fox News spokesperson confirmed to The Daily Beast that Solomon is no longer affiliated with the conservative cable outlet. Solomon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. While Solomon’s hits on Fox News have dried up in recent months—he has not appeared since July—he has remained a regular presence on the Fox Business Network’s stridently pro-Trump shows hosted by Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo. In his recent appearances, he has been identified solely as the editor-in-chief of his right-wing digital outlet Just The News or the author of Fallout, his latest book heartily endorsed by President Donald Trump. The last time he was identified as a Fox contributor on its airwaves was during an Oct. 14 appearance on Bartiromo’s show. Solomon’s Twitter account does not list Fox News in his bio.”

While experts recommend avoiding any indoor gatherings during the upcoming holiday season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests those who plan on hosting or going to Thanksgiving Day events start quarantining today to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The CDC released guidance earlier this week suggesting those traveling to see family and friends for Thanksgiving self-isolate for 14 days before the holiday to reduce the likelihood of spreading the coronavirus to others.

If you’re hosting an event, encourage your guests to self-isolate for the next two weeks to ensure they do not develop symptoms or get exposed to an infected person in the meantime.  Also, the CDC asks hosts to plan events outdoors when possible and to give guests plenty of room to maintain safe social distancing.  (It’s also a good reason to exclude your Trump-loving uncle from the guest list:  “Sorry, Uncle Bob, we’d be too crowded if you show up, and we don’t want you catching the ‘rona!”)

“For regulars on the internet forum 8kun, Election Day was supposed to be a revelation. President Donald Trump would win in a landslide, maybe sweeping all 50 states, in a glorious victory foretold by 8kun’s most famous user: the anonymous personality known as Q. Instead, Trump lost, Q has gone silent, and one of 8kun’s main administrators has quit” reports the Daily Beast.

“8kun, a shady forum previously known as 8chan, has survived challenges in the past. The site went dark when it lost support from internet services companies in 2019 after three alleged mass shooters used the site to advertise their massacres. But now 8kun appears to be facing a more existential threat as the QAnon conspiracy theory flounders, the forum’s top talent jumps ship, and prominent users float conspiracy theories about corrupt dealings behind the scenes at 8kun. 8kun is ground zero for QAnon, the far-right conspiracy theory that falsely accuses President Donald Trump’s opponents of Satanic pedophilia and cannibalism. Q, who claims to be a high-level military intelligence figure, posts exclusively to 8kun. That means the forum has effectively hitched its fortunes to the theory. ‘The only reason people are still going to 8chan at all is because of Q,’ Fredrick Brennan, who founded the site as 8chan, told The Daily Beast. ‘All the other users have basically left. It’s pretty abysmal over that right now, as far as user engagement is concerned.'”

Richard Hopkins, the US Postal Service employee who falsely claimed that he directly heard the Erie postmaster plot with other postal workers to backdate late mail-in ballots, told US Postal Inspectors that Project Veritas staff wrote the sworn affidavit he signed and later recanted, the Washington Post reports.

Saying that he only heard snippets of conversations and that he never actually heard anyone make the plan he claimed, Hopkins was asked by postal inspectors if he wanted to stand by his accusations.  “At this point? No,” Hopkins replied.

Hopkins said he didn’t write the statement he signed; Project Veritas did.  Hopkins claimed he didn’t even know what the majority of the statement said. 

The largest percentage of eligible American voters cast ballots in the 2020 election than in any election since 1900, according to projections from the Washington Post.

With more than 150 million votes already count, and millions more yet to be tallied, the Post estimates that 66.5% of eligible voters took part in this November’s election.  That would be the highest percentage since 1900, in the famously heated battle between Republican William McKinley and Democrat William Jennings Bryant.

This year’s turnout was more impressive than the 1900 election for a number of reasons.  Not only is the population of the nation four times greater than in 1900, but a larger portion of the population has the right to vote.  With the 19th Amendment, women’s suffrage legalized more than 50% of the American population to vote a century ago.  Jim Crow laws were largely eliminated so Black Americans could vote in former Confederate states, although republicans continue to put up roadblocks to minorities voting.

“Defendants CNN Broadcasting, Inc., CNN Productions, Inc., and CNN Interactive Group, Inc. move to dismiss Plaintiff Donald J. Trump for President’s libel claim. The Court grants Defendants’ motion and dismisses Plaintiff’s complaint for failing sufficiently to plead malice… On June 13, 2019, CNN contributor Larry Noble published an article entitled ‘Soliciting dirt on your opponents from a foreign government is a crime. Mueller should have charged Trump campaign officials with it.'”

“After discussing Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, President Trump’s response to the investigation, and subsequent statements by President Trump, Rudy Giuliani (one of President Trump’s attorneys), and Jared Kushner (President Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor) about potential (or hypothetical) involvement by foreign governments in the 2020 election, Mr. Noble wrote: ‘The Trump campaign assessed the potential risks and benefits of again seeking Russia’s help in 2020 and has decided to leave that option on the table’. Plaintiff sued Defendants for libel, claiming the Statement is defamatory and false and that, at the time of publication, Defendants knew it was false. Defendants move to dismiss for failure to state a claim” – Opinion and order, Judge Michael L. Brown, US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.

You can see it the empty page here. This was not a suspension or removal by Twitter itself, the page would say so. Will continue investigating.

The election is over. Trump lost. Twitter have nothing to fear from him. They almost certainly have nothing to fear from Joe Biden – or at least nothing to fear as badly as they would have had Trump won reelection. The very worst they’d have to deal with if they were to ban Trump now is the Senate GOP subpoenaing them again, and congressional subpoenas are optional now that Trump’s minions ignored pretty much every single one they got from the House these last two years.

Since first doing so in late May of this year, Twitter has flagged 82 of Trump’s tweets as of Thursday afternoon on November 12, 2020 – fully 59 of them since election day. That’s insane. Any regular citizen would’ve been banned permanently a long time before reaching that point.

Twitter claims that Trump’s tweets are in the ‘public interest’ and he’s given special status as a ‘world leader’ until January 20th – after which he’d be subject to bans. But what the hell are they waiting for? The damage is being done now with all of this bullshit about the election that he’s been posting. What does another two months mean when this is a completely arbitrary and self-imposed standard anyway? Grab your loins and do it Twitter.

“Fox Corp. shares tumbled with speculation ramping up that President Donald Trump might back or launch a rival news service after he leaves office. Axios reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources, that Trump is planning a subscription-based streaming platform similar to Fox Nation, a $6-a-month service launched two years ago. Fox shares declined from the start of trading, and the drop deepened after Trump amplified a series of Twitter posts from users criticizing Fox News as insufficiently loyal to the president and urging conservatives to switch to rivals such as Newsmax. Fox Corp. shares fell 6% to $25.82 as of 12:15 p.m. in New York. The company is scheduled to hold its annual meeting later Thursday in Los Angeles” – Bloomberg.

Review Journal Editorial Board: “President Donald Trump takes pride in his reputation as a disruptive force. Drain the swamp, and all that. He came into office almost four years ago vowing to upend Beltway norms, and now he insists on leaving in similarly unconventional fashion. It is too fitting that the Trump presidency concludes amid a babel of bluster and bravado. But the president does a disservice to his more rabid supporters by insisting that he would have won the Nov. 3 election absent voter fraud. That’s simply false.”

“Why, if there were some orchestrated Democratic attempt to rig the balloting, did the party underachieve in congressional and statewide balloting across the country? Occam’s razor applies here. The simplest explanation is typically the correct one. Mr. Trump indeed faced an overtly hostile press, a political establishment that treated him as an enemy occupier and an opposition party that took leave of its senses at the mere thought of his existence. But Mr. Trump lost this election because he ultimately didn’t attract enough votes and failed to win a handful of swing states that broke his way in 2016. Mr. Trump can keep fighting — and no doubt will. In the meantime, however, he has nothing to lose by cooperating with President-elect Biden’s transition team. Mr. Trump expected no less from the Obama administration in 2016 even as Hillary’s acolytes floated ways to manipulate the Electoral College vote. Mr. Biden deserves the same consideration today regardless of how long the president seeks to delay the inevitable.”

“President-elect Joe Biden spoke this morning with His Holiness Pope Francis. The president-elect thanked His Holiness for extending blessings and congratulations and noted his appreciation for His Holiness’ leadership in promoting peace, reconciliation” – MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin.

A federal judge in New York has scheduled a conference call with the lawyers for E. Jean Carroll and Donald Trump in early December, a sign that the civil lawsuit will move forward despite attempts by Trump’s Department of Justice to undermine the case, ABC News reports.

Carroll sued Trump after Trump called her a liar and said “She’s not my type” after Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the dressing room of a New York City department store in the 1990s.

The Justice Department attempted to take over as the defendant in the case, claiming that Trump’s statements were done in his official capacity as President of the United States.  That motion was denied last month.  The order for a conference call among the parties signals that there is sufficient evidence to support the allegations.