Dec 10, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Comey says Democrats "have to" beat Trump in 2020

Former FBI Director James Comey. Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

Former FBI Director James Comey urged Democrats to nominate the best possible candidate to defeat President Trump in 2020 at an event Sunday night, saying Americans must "use every breath we have to make sure the lies stop on January 20, 2021," CNN reports.

"We have to remind ourselves that the president of the United States of America is publicly announcing that people are committing crimes, they should be in jail — private citizens — that's not OK. And if we become numb to it, we risk surrendering the norm."

The backdrop: Comey has grown to become a vocal critic of Trump since being fired in May 2017, at various points labeling his presidency "an attack of our values" and the rule of law. That has opened him up to repeated character attacks from the president — most recently on Sunday, when Trump tweeted that "Leakin’ James Comey must have set a record for who lied the most to Congress in one day."

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Axios

Updated 58 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 4 p.m. ET: 19,720,406 — Total deaths: 728,176 — Total recoveries — 11,970,444 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 4 p.m. ET: 5,032,299 — Total deaths: 162,751 — Total recoveries: 1,643,118 — Total tests: 61,080,587 — Map.
Politics: Pelosi says states don't have the funds to comply with Trump's executive order on unemployment — Mnuchin says Trump executive orders were cleared by Justice Department.
Public health: Ex-FDA head: U.S. will "definitely" see 200,000 to 300,000 virus deaths by end of 2020 — Fauci says chances are "not great" that COVID-19 vaccine will be 98% effective.
Schools: Nine test positive at Georgia school where photo showing packed hallway went viral — How back-to-school is playing out in the South as coronavirus rages on.

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Rashaan Ayesh

1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Poll shows Biden leading Trump in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania

Photo: Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images

Joe Biden leads President Trump 48% to 42% in Wisconsin and 49% to 43% in Pennsylvania, according to the latest CBS/YouGov Battleground Tracker poll.

Why it matters: Trump's surprise wins in the two states, where many voters broke his way after deciding the week before the election, helped propel him to an Electoral College victory over Hillary Clinton. Trump won Wisconsin with 47% of the vote and Pennsylvania with 48% in 2016, according to the New York Times.

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Fadel Allassan

3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Blumenthal calls classified briefing on Russian interference "absolutely chilling"

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D- Conn.) called on the Trump administration to declassify intelligence detailing Russian efforts to influence the 2020 elections, telling MSNBC on Sunday that the classified briefing lawmakers received about the Kremlin's activities last week was "absolutely chilling."

The big picture: National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director William Evanina said in a statement Friday that the Russian government is "using a range of measures" to "denigrate" Joe Biden ahead of the election. China and Iran would prefer that Trump is defeated, according to Evanina.