election night tally favored Romney). In 2013, Avlon broke the news that Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann was under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics. The ethics investigation is thought to have contributed to her decision not to run for re-election. In 2017, Avlon published Washington's Farewell: The Founding Father's Warning to Future Generations. His publisher released the book the day that President Barack Obama gave his farewell speech. American historian Richard Norton Smith said: It's hard to tell which is more nearly perfect—John Avlon's argument or his timing. In the wake of a dispiriting campaign, Avlon finds in Washington's Farewell Address a stunningly topical antidote to excessive partisanship and greedy self interest. His book is a stake through the heart of political extremism. In April 2018 it was announced that Avlon was working on a book on Lincoln planned for release in 2020, focusing on the final five weeks of Lincoln's life and "his determination to reunite the nation through a radical new vision of winning the war by also winning the peace." Avlon's book titled Lincoln and the Fight for Peace was released in February 2021. Filmmaker Ken Burns called the book a, “A stunning accomplishment, and an essential reminder that the Civil War – the most important event in our country’s history – is very much part of who we are as a people and a nation today.” Additionally, author and presidential historian Douglas Brinkley says the book, "Brilliantly illuminates the enduring legacy of America's greatest president. With erudition and elegance, Avlon documents how Lincoln's sage political wisdom has helped democracy flourish." The New York Times said, "These are not unfamiliar tales to students of Lincoln, but Avlon makes the retelling affecting and powerful. At the same time, Avlon plays down the highly ideological Lincoln." In July 2018, Kirkus Reviews called Avlon's contribution to the anthology Fight for Liberty: Defending Democracy in the Age of Trump, "Perhaps the best piece in the collection, who observes with considerable understatement that "America is living through a stark departure from its best political traditions." Editorial approach As Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Beast, Avlon has been cited for supporting original and breaking content for the platform. "There's an explicit mandate," said Pulitzer Prize winning Daily Beast national security reporter Spencer Ackerman "from John Avlon that we are not in commodity news business. We have to break news. I am not in