Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis tells NBC News there was "a conspiracy on the part of the Russians and others to help him get elected. That's not right. That's not fair."
I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected and they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. I don't plan to attend inauguration. It'll be the first one that I miss since I've been in the Congress. You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong.
Steve Mnuchin, the former Goldman exec, will face the Senate Finance Committee on January 19, the day before the inauguration. He's pledged to divest his holdings in 42 companies, if confirmed.
Forbes has a new interview with Palantir CEO Alex Karp, where he flatly denies that his company would ever take part in building a Muslim registry for the Trump administration.
Why the worry?: Palantir was partly funded by the CIA and has numerous alphabet soup agencies as clients. Toss in Gawker's report last month that the company built Customs and Border Protection a system that tracks immigrants.
And don't forget: Trump advisor Peter Thiel is Palantir's chairman.
Flynn, the incoming National Security Advisor, was in touch with the Russian ambassador the same day the Obama administration sanctioned Russia for hacking American campaign officials.
The AP confirms that the Obama administration is aware of the contacts. David Ignatius was the first to report the news in a Washington Post column last night.
Incoming advisor Anthony Scaramucci is downplaying his role at the Trump White House. He told pool reporters at Trump Tower today that it would be an "overstatement" to compare him to Jarrett, who had a Secret Service detail and was a close confidant to Obama.
Actually, per Scaramucci: "Valerie and I know each other quite well and I will be speaking to her later in the day."
Scaramucci Fun fact: His nickname is "The Mooch." That is all.
VJ fun fact: The only people who, like VJ, have been in the same powerful role for the entire Obama administration are Michelle and Joe Biden.
The AP reports that Donald Trump's inaugural committee has raised more than $90 million for his inaugural. That's a lot! President Obama raised $55 million and $43 million for his inaugurals, respectively.
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are calling on James Comey to acknowledge whether his FBI is investigating Donald Trump's ties to Russia. Politico with the scoop on the letter.
It follows reports last night that Comey personally briefed Trump on the dossier alleging Russia was collecting financial and sexual blackmail on the president-elect.
The retired general came to Capitol Hill today to face questions from the Senate Armed Services committee.
The big story: Mattis cleared his main hurdle today, securing Senate support for a waiver allowing him to speed up the waiting process for retired military officers to become Secretary of Defense. The vote wasn't close, at 81 to 17.
What's next: A House vote on the waiver, and a Senate vote on confirmation. He'll pass both. (Hearing recaps below.)
Trump wants to modify the temporary visa program used by big companies, including major tech firms like Microsoft and Google, to fill high-skilled jobs.
The big question: How severely will he try to curtail the so-called H1-B visas for foreign workers? The proposals include:
Stephen Miller, a policy advisor to Trump who used to work for Jeff Sessions, has suggested getting rid of the current lottery system used to distribute the visas. A possibility is to replace it with a system that favor visa petitions for jobs that pay the highest salaries, Reuters reports.
Another proposal that was discussed at last month's Trump-Tech meeting in New York, according to Reuters, included raising the cost of visa applications from large companies to discourage huge filing numbers.
What it means for tech: Major tech firms seem open to possible modifications of the program as long as it isn't significantly curtailed or shut down altogether. They also aren't opposed to efforts to address existing fraud of the program. They'll be watching this issue closely.
Per pool reports, the far-right French politician was spotted in the basement of Trump Tower. As you can see, she's drinking coffee. Le Pen is a presidential candidate in May's elections.
Incoming WH press secretary Sean Spicer told CNN that Le Pen was not there to meet with Trump or the transition team, adding that the tower is open to the public.
James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, called President-elect Trump last night to express his "profound dismay" at this week's leaks, but also to deny they were responsible. Trump tweeted about it this morning.
James Clapper called me yesterday to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated. Made up, phony facts.Too bad!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2017
Xi Jinping to be the new champion of globalization
The Chinese president will be the first in history to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month. He is set to discuss the Chinese plan for "inclusive globalization," despite his government's continued reliance on protectionist policies that protect its export sector. With western governments under the spell of nationalism, Jinping has emerged as one of the few leaders eager promote further global integration—rhetorically at least.
Maureen Dowd's interview with Trump's tech whisperer and the financier behind the Gawker lawsuit is worth an entire read. Here are some golden nuggets.
On Trump and the "apocalyptic" election: "Everyone says Trump is going to change everything way too much," he tells Dowd. "Well, maybe Trump is going to change everything way too little. That seems like the much more plausible risk to me."
There was a way in which Trump was funny, so you could be apocalyptic and funny at the same time. It's a strange combination, but it's somehow very powerful psychologically.
