The Manchurian Candidate: Reports have surfaced that both President Obama and President-elect Donald Trump were shown intelligence documents that say Russian operatives claim to have information that is both personally and financially compromising to Trump. CNN and The New York Times gave no details on what that information might be and were careful to say it is not verified.

CNN also reports that there were repeated communications between the Trump campaign and the Russians.

The NY Times reports that, “Details of the reports began circulating in the fall and were widely known among journalists and politicians in Washington.” No one reported it, but the website Buzzfeed has now published the letter from a former British intelligence agent giving damning and salacious details that is the basis for the report.

Trump aide Kellyanne Conway on CBS This Morning called it “35 pages of a grade B spy novel,” and today, Russia denies the whole thing.

The AP’s diplomatic reporter Matt Lee tweeted, “‘Raw’ intelligence is often just rumor. That’s why it’s called ‘raw’ and not considered to be ‘ripe.’”

Trump, ever the victim in victory, tweeted, “FAKE NEWS – A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!”

Sweet Home Chicago: President Obama kept it on the upbeat in his final speech to the nation last night in Chicago before a cheering crowd of hometown fans, but he included some warnings. He said the political turmoil of recent months threatens to break the bonds that hold our democracy together. “We weaken those ties when we define some of us as more American than others, when we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt, and when we sit back and blame the leaders we elect without examining our own role in electing them.”

The President, of course, spent time trying to seal the image of his record of bringing healthcare and millions of jobs to Americans. He grew teary when speaking about his wife, Michelle, and daughters.

And he said he will not disappear. “It has been the honor of my life to serve you,” Obama said. “I won’t stop; in fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days.”

Advice and Consent: A protester interrupted the opening moments of Sen. , Jeff Sessions’ statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee as the panel began the approval of President-elect Trump’s cabinet appointment. He’s one of Trump’s more controversial appointees. At least a dozen protesters accusing Sessions of being racist were thrown out.

Sessions denied that he is racist and said his record has been twisted by opponents.

He painted a picture of rising crime in the country and said, “In the last several years, law enforcement as a whole has been unfairly maligned and blamed for the unacceptable actions of a few of their bad actors.”

Sessions tried to say the right things to please the Democrats in particular, but stuck to some of his beliefs. He admitted that he believes abortion and same-sex marriage are wrong, but he supports them as the law of the land. Contrary to Donald Trump, Sessions said torture is illegal, even though he once supported it, and he spoke out against a ban on Muslim immigration.

Death: A federal jury in Charleston, SC sentenced 22-year-old Dylann Roof to death for killing 9 parishioners in an historic black church. The prosecutor called Roof “an unrepentant racist.”

Roof always said he was justified in committing the murders and refused to use psychological illness as an excuse. Representing himself in the penalty phase of the trial, Roof never asked the jury to spare his life. “I felt like I had to do it, and I still feel like I had to do it,” Roof said.

No Spin Zone: Amidst the sexual harassment scandal involving former Fox News boss Roger Ailes, the network quietly settled a sexual harassment complaint against host Bill O’Reilly brought by another on-air employee. The sum is reported to be in the high six figures. O’Reilly’s show, “The O’Reilly Factor,” makes about $180 million a year for Fox.

The NY Times obtained a copy of a letter sent to Fox by lawyers for Juliet Huddy, detailing accusations that O’Reilly repeatedly made sexual advances and tried to damage her career when she declined.

O’Reilly’s lawyer said there was “no basis” for Huddy’s complaint, but O’Reilly settled a previous complaint by a Fox employee in 2004. O’Reilly said there was no basis for that one either.

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