memeorandum: Joel Greenberg paid $7,500 to Anthony Sabatini while Seminole Tax Collector (Orlando Sentinel)

9:45 PM ET, April 8, 2021

Top Items:

Gaetz Paid Accused Sex Trafficker, Who Then Venmo'd Teen … In two late-night Venmo transactions in May 2018, Rep. Matt Gaetz sent his friend, the accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg, $900. The next morning, over the course of eight minutes, Greenberg used the same app to send three young women varying sums of money.

Discussion: The Hill, Insider, Fox News, CNN, Mediaite, Florida Politics, Raw Story, Orlando Sentinel, The Intellectualist, NBC News, Washington Examiner, Forbes, The Sun and Talking Points Memo

New York Times:

Indicted Matt Gaetz Associate Is Expected to Plead Guilty, Lawyers Say — The associate could cooperate with prosecutors, giving them information about Mr. Gaetz's relationships that investigators are examining for possible sex trafficking violations. — ORLANDO, Fla. …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, Orlando Weekly, Vanity Fair, Insider and Poynter

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Key figure in Matt Gaetz probe likely cooperating with federal prosecutors — ORLANDO, Fla. — The legal peril Rep. Matt Gaetz is facing appeared to increase sharply Thursday after a court hearing indicated that one of Gaetz's close friends, former Seminole County, Fla., tax collector Joel Greenberg …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, USA Today, Law & Crime, Washington Post, New Republic, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Orlando Weekly, Raw Story, The Week, Vanity Fair and New York Post

Orlando Sentinel:

Joel Greenberg paid $7,500 to Anthony Sabatini while Seminole Tax Collector — Joel Greenberg, the former Seminole County Tax Collector at the center of a sprawling criminal probe into everything from stalking to wire fraud to sex trafficking, used taxpayer money to pay $7,500 in legal fees to state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, records show.

Discussion: Fox News

Ross Ibbetson / Agence France-Presse:

Punchy billboard appears overnight in Matt Gaetz's home state of Florida as he denies sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl — Gaetz, 38, is being investigated by the Department of Justice over allegations he had sex with a 17-year-old girl — DoJ is also probing separate claims that Gaetz …

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

Biden Announces Action on Guns, Saying ‘This Is Just a Start’ — Representative Matt Gaetz's communications director has also resigned amid a federal sex trafficking investigation. President Biden inaccurately described “loopholes” in federal regulations of firearms during a speech outlining his first actions to combat gun violence.

Discussion: Forbes, The Daily Beast, Insider, Raw Story, The Hill, Vox and Mediaite

CNN:
Matt Gaetz associate likely to strike plea deal, attorneys say

Discussion: CBS News, WKMG, New York Magazine, Raw Story, HuffPost, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Crooks and Liars, Forbes, IJR, Talking Points Memo, East Bay Times, Vox, The Root, The Week, Gothamist, The Intellectualist, New York Post and Insider

Washington Post:
Gaetz associate likely to strike plea deal with prosecutors in sex-trafficking case

Discussion: Congressman Matt Gaetz, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, Townhall, HotAir, Insider, Associated Press, Florida Politics and Mediaite

Tom McLaughlin / Northwest Florida Daily News:
Hub City Florida billboard takes a pot shot at U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz

Discussion: The Hill

Washington Post:

Manhattan district attorney seizes evidence from Trump executive's former daughter-in-law — NEW YORK — Investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, acting on a grand jury subpoena, took possession of financial records Thursday morning from the apartment of Jennifer Weisselberg …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Insider, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo, CNBC and The Hill

Kara Scannell / CNN:
Mueller fraud investigator brought in to help Vance's probe of Trump Org.

Discussion: Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, HotAir and The Intellectualist

Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:

AP source: NFL player Phillip Adams killed 5, then himself — COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The gunman who killed five people including a prominent doctor in South Carolina was former NFL player Phillip Adams, who killed himself early Thursday, according to a source who was briefed on the investigation.

Discussion: CNN, WBTV-TV, WCBD News 2, East Bay Times, The Daily Beast, TheBlaze, Faithwire, KTLA, WAVY-TV, The Root, Q City Metro, CBS News, Insider, CBS New York, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Associated Press, The Week, TheGrio, Law & Crime, Washington Examiner, The Sun and Deseret News

Luke Broadwater / New York Times:

In New Book, Boehner Says He Regrets Clinton Impeachment — Former Speaker John Boehner, Republican of Ohio, writes that the drive to remove President Bill Clinton was a politically motivated move he wishes he had repudiated. — WASHINGTON — Former Speaker John Boehner, Republican of Ohio …

Discussion: Raw Story, National Review and POLITICUSUSA

Jay Greene / Washington Post:

Emails show Amazon pressed Postal Service for mailbox outside warehouse before union vote — The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union may claim the company's role tainted the Bessemer, Ala., balloting and could move to overturn the results if it loses the election

Discussion: Insider, TechCrunch, NPR, The Guardian, Payday Report and Chicago Sun-Times

New York Times:
Anti-union votes lead as counting continues in Amazon union drive.

Discussion: Al Jazeera, Raw Story, New York Post and Daily Herald, more at Techmeme »

CNN:

Scathing watchdog report reveals Capitol Police had expired ammo and ineffective shields during riot — Mother of injured officer to riot accomplices: How dare you? — (CNN)A scathing report by the US Capitol Police watchdog obtained by CNN reveals that there were even more law enforcement failures prior …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Noah Bierman / Los Angeles Times:

Politicians dread the sting of #KHive, the fervent online fans of Kamala Harris — When Rep. Ro Khanna started pressing Vice President Kamala Harris to use her procedural power to push a national minimum wage hike a few weeks ago, he found himself targeted by a swarm of online Harris supporters.

Discussion: Politico

Teo Armus / Washington Post:

Video shows Texas GOP official seeking ‘army’ of volunteers to monitor polls in mostly Black and Hispanic Houston precincts — In a leaked video of a recent presentation, a man who identifies himself as a GOP official in Harris County, Tex., says the party needs 10,000 Republicans for an “election integrity brigade” in Houston.

Discussion: The Hill

Naomi Lim / Washington Examiner:

Biden suggests commercial aircraft will fly at 21,000 miles an hour in next decade — President Joe Biden has caused confusion after predicting some commercial airplanes could fly at speeds of up to 21,000 miles per hour in the next 10 years, faster than the hypersonic weapons under development by the military.

Discussion: Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
You Can't Ignore Physics, Joe

Discussion: RedState, New York Post and Twitchy

CBS News:

“60 Minutes” on its story about vaccine distribution in Palm Beach County — CBS News issued a statement Wednesday that defended a “60 Minutes” segment that aired Sunday, April 4, on the early vaccine rollout in Palm Beach County and pushed back against claims made in recent days by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Discussion: HotAir, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, spectator.us, The Daily Caller and Poynter

Gina Kolata / New York Times:

Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World From the Coronavirus — Collaborating with devoted colleagues, Dr. Kariko laid the groundwork for the mRNA vaccines turning the tide of the pandemic. — She grew up in Hungary, daughter of a butcher. She decided she wanted to be a scientist, although she had never met one.

Emily Anthes / New York Times:

Has the Era of Overzealous Cleaning Finally Come to an End? — This week, the C.D.C. acknowledged what scientists have been saying for months: The risk of catching the coronavirus from surfaces is low. — When the coronavirus began to spread in the United States last spring, many experts warned of the danger posed by surfaces.

Discussion: SFist and HotAir

Dave Gilson / Mother Jones:

Trump Put a Right-Wing Radio Host in Charge of a National Park. Emails Show the Chaos That Ensued. — Click the highlighted text for more. — Last December 7, Michael Savage kicked off his radio program by railing yet again against the “demonic” and “fascist” governors who had locked down their states to slow the spread of COVID.

Discussion: Raw Story

Jeff Burlew / Tallahassee Democrat:

Florida Elections Commission general counsel arrested on child porn charges — Eric Lipman also served as an officer with a nonprofit soccer league for boys and girls aged 4-17. — View Comments — The general counsel for the Florida Elections Commission was arrested Wednesday on charges …

Discussion: The Hill and Florida Politics

WTOP:

Capitol riot defendant ‘viciously’ beaten in D.C. jail, lawyer says … A Capitol riot defendant was “viciously and savagely” beaten by a guard in a Washington, D.C. jail and may lose sight in one eye because of his injuries, one of his lawyers told the CBS affiliate in the city, WUSA-TV.

Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News:

YouTube faces backlash as progressive journalist claims tech giant ‘trying to push us off the platform’ — Status Coup's Jordan Chariton says YouTube's suppression of independent journos favors mainstream outlets — Scalise blasts Big Tech crackdowns: 'These aren't mistakes'

Tucker Higgins / CNBC:

Man who carried Confederate flag to Capitol during Jan. 6 riot indicted — Kevin Seefried, who was photographed carrying a Confederate flag in the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots in Washington, has been indicted by a grand jury on five counts related to obstruction, entering restricted property and disorderly conduct.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes and Raw Story

Brad Esposito / Nieman Lab:

“The idea that we can change anything, I have given up on”: NBC News' Brandy Zadrozny on documenting the “depressing” internet — “Suddenly, the stupid stuff on the internet, the scary stuff on the internet, became just so mainstream and important. And that totally should not be.”

Jonathan Mattise / Associated Press:

Hagerty talks elections with Trump after affirming Biden win — NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In his first week, Tennessee's freshman U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty watched in horror as the Capitol riots unfolded around him and decided to back down from his plans to oppose the electoral college results …

Discussion: Raw Story

Stephen Gutowski / Washington Free Beacon:

Biden Gun Speech Filled With Falsehoods — President Joe Biden made numerous false and misleading statements while unveiling a package of gun-control actions on Thursday. — Biden falsely described how federal firearm laws work as he called for Congress to amend those laws.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post, The Hill, RedState, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, Iowa Capital Dispatch, BuzzFeed News and Washington Times

Sherman Smith / Kansas Reflector:

Kansas Senate Majority Leader had 0.17 blood alcohol level in wrong-way pursuit — TOPEKA — Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop reeked of alcohol, struggled to speak or walk, and threatened the Kansas Highway Patrol officer who stopped him in the early hours of March 16 for driving the wrong way on Interstate 70 in Topeka.

Discussion: Political Wire

Ezra Klein / New York Times:

Four Ways of Looking at the Radicalism of Joe Biden — It's unexpected, but it's not inexplicable. — Joe Biden didn't wake up one day and realize he'd been wrong for 30 years. — I covered him in the Senate, in the Obama White House, in the Democratic Party's post-Trump reckoning.

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, Insider, The Daily Caller, Foreign Policy, Ballotpedia News, Washington Post, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Bloomberg and Mother Jones

Doha Madani / NBC News:

1 dead, 5 others shot in Texas industrial park shooting; suspect in custody … At least one person is dead and five others were shot — four in critical condition — in a shooting at an industrial park in Bryan, Texas, and the suspect is in custody. — Officers responded to a call reporting …

Discussion: CBS News, FOX 26 Houston, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth and Raw Story

Lee Fang / The Intercept:

Howard Dean Pushes Biden to Oppose Generic Covid-19 Vaccines for Developing Countries … Howard Dean, the former progressive champion, is calling on President Joe Biden to reject a special intellectual property waiver that would allow low-cost, generic coronavirus vaccines to be produced to meet the needs of low-income countries.

Discussion: Common Dreams

Rich Lowry / National Review:

That Time Stacey Abrams Suppressed the Vote — The activist started Jim Crow 2.0 in Georgia. — y the time the reader of the Stacey Abrams book Our Time Is Now gets to page 89, he is numb with the relentless contentions that any effort to make the Georgia elections system more secure or economical …

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Caitlyn Jenner moves closer to California recall run — Transgender rights activist and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner and her political advisers are gathering at her Malibu home next week to discuss her potential candidacy in the upcoming California gubernatorial recall election.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner, CBS News, National Review, New York Times, Metro Weekly, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and California Globe

Steve Marowski / MLive.com:

Student responsible for racist graffiti that was found in Albion College dorm, officials say — ALBION, MI — Albion College and the Albion Department of Public Safety say a student is responsible for racist graffiti found in a dorm last weekend. — Albion police brought the 21-year-old Black male …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and Liberty Unyielding

Shane Harris / Washington Post:

Intelligence forecast sees a post-coronavirus world upended by climate change and splintering societies — U.S. intelligence officials have little comfort to offer a pandemic-weary planet about where the world is heading in the next 20 years. Short answer: It looks pretty bleak.

Discussion: New York Times, The Intellectualist, Digby's Hullabaloo and Wall Street Journal

Washington Post:

Facebook and Twitter must ban all anti-vaccine accounts — Letitia James is the attorney general of New York. William Tong is the attorney general of Connecticut. — President Biden has announced that every adult in the nation will be eligible for the covid-19 vaccine as of April 19.

Natalie Allison / The Tennessean:

Gov. Bill Lee signs permitless carry bill into law as Tennessee joins 18 other states — Tennessee is officially one of 19 states where permitless gun carry will be the law. — Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed a bill allowing most adults to carry a handgun without a permit …

Discussion: Insider, The Hill, The Daily Caller and WVLT

Zachary Petrizzo / Salon:

White nationalist “groyper” movement links up with anti-vaxxers, threatens use of weapons — “Manipulate my DNA or inject satan juice, nah, I'm good,” wrote a follower of young white nationalist Nick Fuentes — Young white nationalist leader Nicholas Fuentes and his “groyper army” …

Associated Press:

Expert: Lack of oxygen killed George Floyd, not drugs — MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd died of a lack of oxygen from being pinned to the pavement with a knee on his neck, a medical expert testified at former Officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial Thursday, emphatically rejecting the defense theory …

Discussion: abc7NY, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Washington Examiner

Nick Miroff / Washington Post:

Biden administration spending $60 million per week to shelter unaccompanied minors — The Biden administration appears to be spending at least $60 million per week to care for the more than 16,000 migrant teenagers and children in shelters operated by the Department of Health and Human Services …

Discussion: Fox News, HotAir, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, The Federalist and New York Post