Welcome to the RedState Weekly Briefing  — where we take a quick look at the week’s most viewed stories in case you missed any of them. Grab a cup of coffee (or something stronger if you're in a celebratory/holiday mood), and sit down with this 21st Century Weekend Edition of your favorite (online) publication!

#1 - Christopher Wray Is Reportedly Preparing a Nasty Surprise for Donald Trump and Kash Patel — by Teri Christoph

Now for the bad news: Reports are emerging that although Wray may be leaving his post of his own accord, he does not plan to go quietly. In true deep state fashion, Wray is busy promoting loyalists at the FBI in order to "burrow" them into the agency's establishment. The goal? To disrupt Kash Patel's plans to seriously reorganize the federal government's chief law enforcement agency.

Sources within the bureau said Mr. Wray has begun promoting employees among the senior executive service, those who serve within the bureau’s leadership. These sources described this as an effort to burrow establishment figures deeper within the FBI.

Sources said a plan is being formulated to delay the new FBI director’s entry into the agency for three to four months.

Once Wray officially departs his post, his deputy director, Paul Abbate, will apparently be promoted to acting director and, in turn, name a new acting deputy director. It's unlikely that this power structure, clearly intended to disrupt the new Trump administration's plan to gut the FBI, will hold once Patel is confirmed, but there's no mistaking that Wray intends to keep his tentacles in the agency for as long as possible.

#2 - Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin Leave Joe Biden One Last Parting Gift, and Democrats Are Livid — by Bonchie

Outgoing Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was furious at the development, calling it a "direct attack on working people."

“It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that this highly qualified nominee — with a proven track record of protecting worker rights — did not have the votes,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

Someone should teach Chuck about sowing and reaping. He and his party members trashed Sinema and Manchin, with the former having to endure a Democratic Party-backed primary challenge that ultimately drove her to not seek re-election. Both were stalked and harassed for years, with left-wing protesters even following Sinema into the bathroom. Why? Because they had the audacity to not blow up an important Senate institution to allow a Democrat free-for-all, including the changing of voting laws to try to ensure a permanent majority.

#3 - Liz Cheney Threatens Donald Trump's DOJ With 'Sanctions' If They Investigate Her — by Bonchie

I'm not sure exactly how that would work. It seems as if Cheney is suggesting Congress could sanction the DOJ as a separation of powers issue. Color me skeptical that would ever happen, especially given the current Republican majority, however slim. Or maybe she means the legal establishment will step in and do her bidding? Whatever it is, Cheney's threat does show how he or she views the rule of law. While constantly bleating about it, she does not believe it applies to herself. 

Regardless, it is pedantic nonsense to latch onto Trump's mention of "all evidence" when he was clearly speaking in generalities. The January 6th committee did delete some of the evidence, and they also hid much more of it in an attempt to color the public's view of the situation for political gain. Those are undeniable facts, no matter how much Cheney tries to muddy the waters.

#4 - NEW: Shocking and Disgusting Revelations Emerge About the USCP Officer Who Killed Ashli Babbitt — by Bonchie

This is where Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) comes into the picture. Sounding like a mob boss, the then-Speaker of the House ordered that Byrd be "taken care of." The first thought was to promote him to a position requiring a top-secret security clearance. USCP General Counsel Tad DiBiase, who will come into play again momentarily, concluded that he likely couldn't obtain one. Why? Because Byrd not only had serious financial issues, but he was on the USCP's "Lewis List," which is for officers with significant issues of integrity and credibility who can not be relied upon in criminal trials.

This story gets even worse, though. According to emails exchanged with DiBiase, despite being paid tens of thousands of dollars that other officers didn't get after January 6th, Byrd was still desperate for more. He went so far as to demand money from a Memorial Fund set up for the widows of slain officers.

#5 - Biden's Teleprompter Goes Out During Speech; He Immediately Malfunctions — by Nick Arama

I think no one has been more consistently wrong about foreign policy than Joe Biden. As former Obama Secretary of Defense Robert Gates famously said, "I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” When he came in, there was relative peace, and he managed to make multiple situations worse, including the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia after Biden's "minor incursion" gaffe, the lifting of sanctions on Nord Stream 2, and the attacks on Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah. 

Then he started talking about how we had to lead the world when everything he's done has only hurt America's standing in the world. It went downhill from there.