memeorandum: Man Charged with $1.9 Million COVID-Relief Fraud (U.S. Department of Justice)

3:25 PM ET, January 28, 2021

Top Items:

Eric Hananoki / Media Matters for America:

Marjorie Taylor Greene penned conspiracy theory that a laser beam from space started deadly 2018 California wildfire — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has done little to stop Greene's ascension in the Republican Party — In November 2018, California was hit with the worst wildfire in the state's history.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Salon, Crooks and Liars, The Hill, CNN, littlegreenfootballs.com, Washington Post, Raw Story, Fox News and IJR

WRCB-TV:

Channel 3 crew threatened with arrest after asking Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene a question during town hall meeting — A Channel 3 reporter and photojournalist were threatened with arrest after asking U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene a question during a town hall meeting in Dalton.

Discussion: CBS News, Mediaite, Washington Times, Daily Kos, The Independent, The Daily Caller, The Intellectualist, Business Insider and HotAir, more at Mediagazer »

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:

Pelosi condemns GOP for overlooking Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's incendiary comments … WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday denounced House Republican leaders for appointing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., to the committee overseeing education after she has questioned …

Discussion: Associated Press, CBS News, Raw Story, Reuters, New York Post and Forbes

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: SCOOP: Inside the White House's new thinking on Covid relief

Discussion: The Federalist, The Message Box, USA Today, The Guardian, Raw Story, Roll Call, Common Dreams, The Bulwark, Crooked Media, Daily Kos, Florida Politics, ABC7, Real America's Voice and Political Wire

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:
Parkland Parents: Marjorie Taylor Greene Won't Get Away With Lying About Our Son

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast, Vanity Fair and Daily Kos

Paul LeBlanc / CNN:
Video surfaces of Marjorie Taylor Greene confronting Parkland shooting survivor with baseless claims

Valerie Strauss / Washington Post:
Republicans assign QAnon supporter to House education committee — and top Democrats blast the move

Discussion: The Hill, IJR, Crooks and Liars, Politico, The Guardian, Informed Comment, USA Today and The Intellectualist

CNN:
Pelosi slams Republican leadership for response to Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘What could they be thinking?’

Discussion: The Hill, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia Recorder, Washington Times, IJR, Raw Story, WTOP, Mediaite, Daily Kos and Politico

Katie Shepherd / Washington Post:
A reporter tried to ask Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene about her false claims. The journalist was threatened with arrest.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, U.S. Representative …, Business Insider and The Root

Chris Stirewalt / Los Angeles Times:

Op-Ed: I called Arizona for Biden on Fox News. Here's what I learned — The New York Evening Express was no great shakes as a newspaper. But in 1886, when the New York Times ran the obituary of one of the Express' former owners, Erastus Brooks, it had to give credit where it was due.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, Washington Post, Raw Story, Patterico's Pontifications, Deadline, Mediaite, TVNewser and The Wrap

Jordan Pearson / VICE:

Robinhood Stops Users From Trading GameStop Stocks, Other Reddit YOLO Picks — With the market in chaos, even Robinhood has now turned on retail investors pumping dark-horse stocks. — Jordan Pearson — Robinhood, the fee-free investment app that has helped Redditors …

Discussion: New Republic, Raw Story, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Politico, Bloomberg, USA Today, The Last Refuge, KLRT-TV, Crooks and Liars, New York Post and Greensburg Tribune-Review

Alexis Goldstein / Markets Weekly:

What happened with GameStop? — It's not David vs Goliath. It's Goliath vs. Goliath, with David as a fig leaf — This is a free post from Markets Weekly, a newsletter by former Wall Street professional Alexis Goldstein. If you appreciated this post, please consider signing up here for premium access to all posts.

Discussion: NBC News, American Prospect, Forbes, RedState and Common Dreams, more at Techmeme »

Under the Hood:

Keeping Customers Informed Through Market Volatility — Our mission at Robinhood is to democratize finance for all. We're proud to have created a platform that has helped everyday people, from all backgrounds, shape their financial futures and invest for the long term.

Eamon Javers / CNBC:
Republicans in Washington warn Wall Street: The GameStop populists are more powerful than you think

Discussion: ETFdb and Boing Boing

New York Times:
GameStop Stock Soars as Reddit Investors Take On Wall St.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Townhall, Reason, Bulwark+, Power Line, alexdanco.com, Jacobin, Fox News, Brane Space, The Week, The Guardian, Japan Times, HuffPost, Althouse, The Hill, CNBC, Washington Examiner and New Republic, more at Techmeme »

Tucker Higgins / CNBC:
Lawmakers from AOC to Ted Cruz are bashing Robinhood over its GameStop trading freeze

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Post, The Atlantic and Mother Jones, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:
GameStop Mania Reveals Power Shift on Wall Street—and the Pros Are Reeling

Discussion: CNBC, The Other McCain, New York Times, National Review, The Information, Slate, Politico and The Daily Caller

Jesse McKinley / New York Times:

N.Y. Severely Undercounted Virus Deaths in Nursing Homes, Report Says — The state attorney general, Letitia James, said the Cuomo administration likely omitted thousands of Covid-19 deaths of nursing home residents. — ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York State attorney general accused …

New York Times:

McConnell Was Done With Trump. His Party Said Not So Fast. — After four years, the minority leader had finally had enough. But with most Republicans rallying around Donald J. Trump, he sided with his colleagues trying to throw out the impeachment case.

Discussion: Reason, Outside the Beltway, Sun-Sentinel, IJR, Washington Post, Salon, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Breitbart and COURIER

Politico:
Dems ready to plow ahead on Covid relief

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, CBS News, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo and IJR

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Byron York's Daily Memo: What if Democrats don't go through with Trump's trial?

Discussion: Fox News, Politico, RedState, National Review and Mediaite

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Schumer and McConnell close to finalizing pact on organizing 50-50 Senate

Discussion: CNN

J. Miles Coleman / Sabato's Crystal Ball:

2022 Senate Races: Initial Ratings — On a potentially limited playing field, both parties look to expand past their current 50 seats — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — Republicans will be defending more Senate seats than Democrats in 2022, but both sides have some potential pickup opportunities …

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller and USA Today

Joseph Choi / The Hill:

Man arrested with gun, ammunition near Capitol — A man was arrested on Wednesday after it was discovered there was a handgun in his vehicle parked near the U.S. Capitol, authorities said. — Dennis Westover, 71, of South Charleston, W.Va., was arrested on Wednesday …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, United States Capitol Police, CNN, The Daily Caller and Boing Boing

The Daily Beast:
MAGA Supporter Arrested Yards From Capitol With Gun, Ammo, ‘Stop the Steal’ Paperwork

Discussion: Forbes, Raw Story, wusa9.com, The Independent and New York Post

Dylan Scott / Vox:

Biden just took his first step to expand health coverage — Biden is opening up Obamacare enrollment and planning an ad blitz. — SHARE All sharing options — Eight days into his administration, President Joe Biden took a small step to expand health coverage during the Covid-19 pandemic …

Discussion: Fox News, Yahoo News, CBS News, Politico, The Independent, Breitbart, Trending Politics, New York Times, Jacobin and Bloomberg

The White House:
FACT SHEET: President Biden to Sign Executive Orders Strengthening Americans' Access to Quality, Affordable Health Care

Discussion: National Review, Breitbart, Mother Jones, Washington Post, Reason, ACA Signups, ABC7 and The Week

Jeremy Wallace / Houston Chronicle:

Beto O'Rourke says he's thinking about running for governor — Gary Kubiak describes David Culley as ‘energy in the building’ — Want to reduce inflammation? Try the Mediterranean diet. — In climate push, Biden bets on cutting fossil fuels while protecting jobs

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Fox News and National Review

Julia Manchester / The Hill: O'Rourke mulling run for Texas governor

Tim Carman / Washington Post:

Subway's tuna is not tuna, but a ‘mixture of various concoctions,’ a lawsuit alleges — Subway describes its tuna sandwich as “freshly baked bread” layered with “flaked tuna blended with creamy mayo then topped with your choice of crisp, fresh veggies.” It's a description designed to activate …

Discussion: Fox News, Law & Crime and Boing Boing

Steven Mufson / Washington Post:

General Motors to eliminate gasoline and diesel light-duty cars and SUVs by 2035 — Big U.S. automaker says it will invest heavily in electric vehicles and become carbon neutral by 2040 — General Motors said Thursday that it will end the sale of all gasoline and diesel powered passenger cars …

Mary Barra / LinkedIn:
General Motors Intends to Lead the Auto Industry and the World to a Net-Zero-Carbon Future

Discussion: CBS News, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller and CNBC

American Prospect:

Merrick Garland Wants Former Facebook Lawyer to Top Antitrust Division — Susan Davies has spent much of the last decade working on behalf of major mergers and fending off antitrust enforcement. — Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland is working behind the scenes to install longtime aide Susan Davies …

Discussion: Breitbart and Washington Post

Natasha Korecki / Politico:

Twitter's priceless gift to Biden — As he entered his first week in office, President Joe Biden was handed a priceless gift: the blissful sound of former President Donald Trump's Twitter silence. — Gone are the pre-dawn tirades, the all-caps declarations, the “Sleepy Joe” mocking …

Discussion: The latest factchecks …, Breitbart, National Review, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story

Arizona Republic:

Republicans demand audit of Kelli Ward's narrow win for Arizona GOP chair — Yvonne Wingett Sanchez Ronald J. HansenArizona Republic — After months of sounding the alarm on what she claimed was a stolen presidential election, Kelli Ward is facing questions about her own reelection Saturday as Arizona Republican Party chair.

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, HotAir, CNN, Forbes, Twitchy, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and Election Law Blog

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

GOP senator stocks office with 13 former Trump staffers — As Trump administration alums face a tough job market after the Capitol riot, one new Republican Senate office has turned into a full-employment factory for Trump officials looking for their next gig.

Discussion: Bloomberg

U.S. Department of Justice:

Man Charged with $1.9 Million COVID-Relief Fraud — A Nevada man was charged in an indictment Wednesday for his alleged participation in a scheme to defraud multiple financial institutions by filing bank loan applications that fraudulently sought more than $1.9 million dollars …

Discussion: The Hill and The Daily Caller

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

The Republican Party is about doing nothing — The Republican Party, judging from its lack of output in the House and Senate, has little to contribute to the restoration of Americans' health and prosperity. They have essentially no interest in addressing racial inequity or in rooting out domestic terrorism.

Discussion: CNBC, Raw Story, CNN, The Bulwark, Reason, Washington Times, Daily Kos and Bloomberg

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Trump officials moved most Bureau of Land Management staffers out of D.C. More than 87 percent quit instead. — The decision to relocate BLM headquarters to Colorado and redistribute jobs in the West prompted 287 employees to retire or find other jobs — The Trump administration's decision …

Marc Caputo / Politico:

‘What Democrat beats that guy?’: Top Dems flinch from Rubio challenge — MIAMI — Few Republicans are more loathed by Democrats than Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Many have never looked at him the same since, after helping to draft the 2013 bipartisan immigration bill, he backed away under conservative pressure.

Discussion: Twitchy

Business Insider:

Watchdog group accuses the Trump campaign and family members of engaging in ‘schemes’ that hid massive election spending and likely broke federal law … - An election watchdog group has filed an updated complaint with the FEC against the Trump campaign. — The complaint cites Insider's reporting …

Discussion: Raw Story

Oversight Board:

Announcing the Oversight Board's first case decisions — Today, the Oversight Board is announcing its first decisions. — In the five case decisions published today, the Board overturned four of Facebook's decisions, upheld one and issued nine policy recommendations to the company.