Pardonpalooza

The Justice Department is investigating a possible bribery-for-pardon scheme; the UK signs off on Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine. Tonight's Sentences was written by Cameron Peters. TOP NEWS New court documents reveal a DOJ investigation into a potential bribery-for-pardon scheme Mark Wilson/Getty Images - In a Tuesday night scoop by CNN, new court documents have revealed that the Justice Department is investigating a possible bribery-for-pardon scheme involving the Trump White House. [[CNN / Katelyn Polantz](] - The documents, which are heavily redacted, are light on details of the case but appear to show two parallel plans to secure a pardon: a lobbying effort focused on senior White House officials, and a potential bribery scheme involving a “substantial political contribution.” [[NPR / Ryan Lucas](] - Names of individuals potentially under investigation are all redacted, and the DOJ said Tuesday that no government officials were or are “currently a subject or target of the investigation disclosed in this filing.” [[Washington Post / Spencer S. Hsu](] - On Twitter Tuesday, President Donald Trump described the story as “fake news,” despite the existence of federal court documents and a reported trove of evidence including “over fifty digital media devices.” [[Twitter / Donald J. Trump](] - Presidential pardons shortly before leaving office are not unusual — though the possible bribery scheme revealed Tuesday is of course a different matter — and Trump got an early start last month with a pardon for his former national security adviser, retired Gen. Mike Flynn. [[Vox / Andrew Prokop](] - Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations with a former Russian ambassador shortly after the 2016 election, though the DOJ moved to drop its case against him earlier this year. [[Axios](] - Next on the list for a (preemptive) pardon could be Trump’s three eldest children — Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric — as well as son-in-law Jared Kushner and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. None of Trump’s family members are facing immediate legal jeopardy. [[NYT / Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt](] - There is also said to be a wide-ranging effort by people outside of Trump’s inner circle to secure pardons in the closing days of his administration. Among others, Tiger King star Joe Exotic (not his real name) is said to be lobbying for a pardon. [[ABC / John Santucci, Katherine Faulders, and Olivia Rubin](] [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( The UK approves Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine - The United Kingdom on Wednesday became the first country to approve Pfizer’s promising Covid-19 vaccine for use, setting up a first round of vaccinations starting next week. [[Vox / Umair Irfan](] - Data from clinical trials suggest that the vaccine, which consists of two doses delivered three weeks apart, is as much as 95 percent effective in immunizing patients against the coronavirus. [[BBC / Michelle Roberts](] - The news comes not a moment too soon: The UK reported its highest infection numbers of the pandemic in mid-November, and as of Tuesday, daily new Covid-19 cases in the country remain higher than at any point before October. [[New York Times](] - In the US, the Food and Drug Administration is currently in the process of considering an emergency use authorization for the same Pfizer vaccine, as well as for a second candidate produced by Moderna. [[NPR / Jaclyn Diaz](] - The UK regulatory agency in charge of reviewing and authorizing the vaccine says it was able to beat other countries to the finish line using a “rolling review” process as clinical trials were ongoing, rather than waiting for all the data to be released at once. [[Time / Ciara Nugent](] - About 800,000 early doses of the vaccine are likely to be available in the UK next week, and care home residents and workers will receive first priority, followed by health care workers and anyone 80 and older. [[CNN / Emma Reynolds, Stephanie Halasz, Frederik Pleitgen, and Lindsay Isaac](] MISCELLANEOUS The Republican Senate majority fell to just 52 seats Wednesday as new Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, was sworn in. [[Twitter / Frank Thorp V](] - Three pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong were sentenced to prison on Wednesday. [[Vox / Jen Kirby](] - Pro cycling has a diversity problem. Back-to-back national champion Justin Williams is trying to change that. [[NYT / Andy Cochrane](] - To succeed in hyperpolarized politics, argues Vox's David Roberts, Joe Biden should do everything at once. [[Vox / David Roberts](] - How the pandemic is forcing some men to reevaluate — and strengthen — their friendships. [[Washington Post / Samantha Schmidt](] [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( VERBATIM "I don't have all the best words to do this because I'm angry, and the straw that broke the camel's back today is, again, this 20-year-old contractor for a voting system company just trying to do his job. … There's a noose out there with his name on it. And it's not right." [[Georgia elections official Gabriel Sterling on President Trump's refusal to condemn supporters threatening violence against election workers / Georgia Public Broadcasting](] LISTEN TO THIS [The most important Cabinet positions aren’t the ones you’d think.]( President-elect Biden has started announcing his Cabinet nominees, but Matthew Yglesias says the most important positions aren’t the ones you’d think. [[Spotify / Sean Rameswaram](] [Read more from Vox](#) [The government’s failure to provide economic relief is killing people]( [It’ll take months to immunize all Americans against Covid-19. Here’s who’ll likely go first.]( [Religious conservatives have won a revolutionary victory in the Supreme Court]( [How Trump’s blizzard of misleading fundraising emails explains his refusal to concede]( [This winter, the Vox Book Club is reading about lesbian necromancers in space]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. 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