memeorandum: Meeting between Saudi and Syrian intelligence chiefs hints at detente (Martin Chulov/The Guardian)

9:30 PM ET, May 4, 2021

Top Items:

Kadia Goba / Axios:

Scoop: McCarthy trashes Cheney on hot mic — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Tuesday he's “lost confidence” in Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) during a moment of candor caught on a hot mic, a tape reviewed by Axios shows. — What he's saying: “I think she's got real problems …

Wall Street Journal:

Purging Liz Cheney — GOP leaders shouldn't have to lie about 2020 to keep their job. — By The Editorial Board — This should be a hopeful moment for House Republicans. While they're playing defense in the minority for now, their prospects for picking up the five net seats they need …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite and IJR

Axios:

Trump and inner circle hang on Facebook verdict — Donald Trump and his inner circle are anxiously awaiting Facebook's decision about whether to reinstate him to the platform, viewing it as the propellant for an increasingly likely second presidential campaign in 2024.

Discussion: Washington Post, Forbes, The Week and Breitbart

Henry Olsen / Washington Post:

Liz Cheney's biggest problem has nothing to do with Trump — Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) is purportedly again at risk of losing her position as House Republican Conference chair, the third-ranking member of the House GOP leadership. For most Republicans, the reason is that she crossed President Donald Trump …

Discussion: CNN, The Signorile Report, Real America's Voice News, Breitbart, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Times

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Republicans Are Purging Liz Cheney for Opposing Trump's Insurrection

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Examiner, RedState, CNN, National Review, Associated Press, The Hill, Daily Kos, Raw Story, ABC News, HuffPost, New York Times and ijr.com

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:
Kevin McCarthy: Master of Strategery

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Hill, RedState, Breitbart, The Moderate Voice, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Washington Post, Washington Times, Insider, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo and Washington Examiner

Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
McCarthy confirms living arrangements with Luntz after tip to Tucker Carlson

Discussion: Daily Mail, HotAir, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, CNBC, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Mediaite and The Week

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

Trump launches new communications platform months after Twitter, Facebook ban — The space will allow Trump to post comments, images, and videos

Politico:
'It really f—ks the other ‘24 wannabes’: How Facebook could give Trump a huge boost

Discussion: Raw Story, HotAir and Mediaite

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:

Secret William Barr memo saying not to charge Trump must be released, judge says — A federal judge this week rejected the Justice Department's attempts to keep secret a departmental opinion to not charge former President Donald Trump with obstruction at the end of the Mueller investigation …

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Judge orders release of DOJ memo justifying not prosecuting Trump — A federal judge has ordered the release of a key Justice Department memo supporting former Attorney William Barr's conclusion that former President Donald Trump should not be prosecuted for obstruction of justice …

Discussion: Fox News, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, The Intellectualist, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times and Insider

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

Judge Says Barr Misled on How His Justice Dept. Viewed Trump's Actions — Judge Amy Berman Jackson said in a ruling that the misleading statements were similar to others that William P. Barr, the former attorney general, had made about the Mueller investigation.

Discussion: The Hill

Linnaea Honl-Stuenkel / CREW: Judge orders DOJ release Trump obstruction memo

New York Times:

Giuliani's Legal Bills Are Growing. His Allies Want Trump to Pay Them. — As Rudolph Giuliani faces an escalating federal investigation and defamation suits, his advisers believe he should benefit from a $250 million Trump campaign war chest. — As a federal investigation …

Discussion: Law & Crime, Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, Crooks and Liars and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Rebecca Davis O'Brien / Wall Street Journal:

Prosecutors Seek Outside Review of Materials Seized From Rudy Giuliani — Attorney-client privilege concerns cited in letter to Manhattan federal judge — Manhattan federal prosecutors have asked a judge to appoint an outside authority known as a “special master” to oversee a review …

Discussion: Bloomberg, New York Daily News, Insider, IJR, Law & Crime and New York Post

Ariel Zilber / Associated Press:

Derek Chauvin juror LIED about protest: Cop's hope of appeal boosted after picture emerges of juror at BLM rally wearing ‘Get Your Knee Off Our Necks’ T-shirt despite telling court he'd never been on a march — Brandon Mitchell was one of 12 jurors who convicted Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, National Review, Raw Story, The New Neo, Washington Times, Fox News, WCCO | CBS Minnesota and Twitchy

JONATHAN TURLEY:
Juror 52: Does Chauvin Have A New Challenge Over Juror Brandon Mitchell?

Discussion: One America News Network, The Daily Wire and HotAir

Chao Xiong / Star Tribune:
Chauvin juror defends participation in March on Washington after social media post surfaces

Discussion: National Review, Washington Post, New York Times, TheBlaze, The Western Journal, FOX 46 Charlotte, Law & Crime, NewsOne, The Daily Caller, RedState, Outside the Beltway, Townhall, Washington Examiner and The Hill

David Zweig / New York Magazine:

Experts: CDC's Summer-Camp Rules Are ‘Cruel’ and ‘Irrational’ — From the peak on January 8 to today, following the trajectory of new COVID cases in the U.S. is like a descent on the Matterhorn. The mortality rate has taken a similar plunge over the past few months.

Discussion: HotAir

Robby Soave / Reason: The CDC's Guidance for Summer Camps Is Insane

Hans Nichols / Axios:

Scoop: Biden weighs posting LA Mayor Garcetti to India — President Biden is considering naming Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to a high-profile ambassadorship, possibly India, people familiar with the matter tell Axios. — Why it matters: The potential exit of the Democratic executive …

Discussion: RedState

Emma Green / The Atlantic:

The Liberals Who Can't Quit Lockdown — Lurking among the jubilant Americans venturing back out to bars and planning their summer-wedding travel is a different group: liberals who aren't quite ready to let go of pandemic restrictions. For this subset, diligence against COVID-19 remains …

Discussion: Truth and Consequences, IJR, HotAir, MinnPost and Breitbart

Ian Haworth / The Daily Wire:

EXCLUSIVE: ‘People Are Going To Be Very, Very Happy When I Make A Certain Announcement!’ Donald Trump Hints At 2024 Run — One question at the forefront of the minds of supporters and critics alike of former President Donald Trump is whether he will return to the campaign trail and run for president once more in 2024.

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Caller, IJR, Raw Story and The Western Journal

Jessie Balmert / USA Today:
Ohio GOP will discuss possible censure of Rep. Anthony Gonzalez for impeaching Trump

Discussion: Fox News, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Why Rising Diversity Might Not Help Democrats as Much as They Hope — Voters of color make up an increasing percentage of the United States electorate, but that trend isn't hurting Republicans as much as conservatives fear. — The Census Bureau released two important sets of data last week …

Discussion: HotAir and Althouse

Charles Sykes / Politico:

Paul Ryan, It's Time for You to Stand Up to Fox — Dear Paul: — I'm often asked whether we are still friends. I usually answer: Yes, but we're taking a break and seeing other people. — I'd like to talk to you about some of those other people today, specifically your colleagues at Fox.

Discussion: Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, CNN and Media Matters for America

Sam Levin / The Guardian:

'We're terrorized': LA sheriffs frequently harass families of people they kill, says report — Los Angeles sheriff's department has routinely retaliated against victims' relatives who speak out, NLG and ACLU say in report — Los Angeles sheriff deputies frequently harass the families …

Discussion: WEB OF EVIL

CNN:

Biden's plan to fight domestic terror will mark shift from Trump — Here's how DHS Secretary Mayorkas plans to address domestic terrorism — (CNN)The Biden administration will release i ts highly anticipated national strategy for fighting domestic terrorists in the coming weeks …

Discussion: Breitbart

Sarah Mucha / Axios:

Biden's new goal: 160 million Americans fully vaccinated by July 4th — President Biden will announce Tuesday a new goal to get 160 million Americans fully vaccinated and at least one shot administered to 70% of individuals by the Fourth of July holiday, senior administration officials told reporters.

Discussion: Political Wire

Washington Post:
Biden sets new vaccine goals as White House grapples with its message

Discussion: ABC News, The Guardian, Breitbart, UPI, IJR, Washington Examiner, Politico, CNN and National Review

Mark Niesse / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Mass Georgia voter cancellations begin using info from other states — Turnout helps reduce size of voter purge from record highs — Georgia election officials plan to start canceling voter registrations as soon as this week, on a smaller scale than in past years and, for the first time …

Discussion: Democracy Docket

Yoav Gonen / THE CITY:

NYPD Oversight Board Overturned Hundreds of Its Own Police Misconduct Findings — Several members of a board that probes NYPD misconduct regularly overturn their own staff's investigative findings that wrongdoing occurred — helping to clear cops in hundreds of cases in recent years, an internal analysis obtained by THE CITY shows.

Teo Armus / Washington Post:

Are the Bidens giants? Are the Carters tiny? Or are our eyes failing us? — On first glance, the photograph seems typical enough. President Biden and first lady Jill Biden kneel beside their predecessors in the White House, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, during a trip to Georgia last week.

Discussion: Breitbart, HotAir, Instapundit, The Guardian, KTVX-TV, spectator.us, Fox News, Snopes.com, Townhall and ABC7

Lilia Luciano / CBS News:

U.S. begins reuniting families separated under Trump's “zero tolerance” policy — For 18-year-old Bryan Chavez, Tuesday felt like a dream. It was the first time he'd seen his mother in nearly four years after they were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border by the Trump administration's “zero tolerance” policy in 2017.

Tom Krattenmaker / USA Today:

Corporations aren't ‘woke,’ they just know their customers. Watch and learn, Republicans. — Why are corporations for democracy, against racism and invested in fighting climate change? They're trying to please people and turn profits. — Have corporations been absorbed by the “woke mob …

Discussion: The Editorial Board

Denitsa Tsekova / Yahoo Finance:

Only the ‘lucky few’ will pay higher taxes under Biden's plan, analysis finds — President Joe Biden is planning to raise revenue to fund his infrastructure plans through numerous tax hikes that would mostly hit the top 0.7% of Americans, a new analysis found.

Discussion: Townhall

The Intercept:

DOJ Threatened MIT Researchers With Subpoena in Collaboration With Bolivian Coup Regime … A Justice Department trial attorney repeatedly contacted Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers asking, eventually under threat of subpoena, about research they had conducted …

Will Carless / USA Today:

Proud Boys saw wave of contributions from Chinese diaspora before Capitol attack — The donations started coming in about 10 p.m. on Dec. 17. — A donor named Li Zhang gave $100. A few minutes later, someone named Jun Li donated $100. Then Hao Xu gave $20, followed shortly by $25 from a Ying Pei.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Raw Story and Reuters

Martin Chulov / The Guardian:

Meeting between Saudi and Syrian intelligence chiefs hints at detente — Visit to Damascus by Gen Khalid Humaidan suggests imminent thawing of relations between regional foes — Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief has travelled to Damascus to meet his Syrian counterpart in the first known meeting …

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Yamiche Alcindor Is Named Host of ‘Washington Week’ on PBS — She succeeds Robert Costa at a program best known as the longtime home of the anchor Gwen Ifill. — Last month, when Yamiche Alcindor learned she would become the next moderator of the PBS current-affairs show “Washington Week …

Discussion: TheGrio, WETA, The Federalist, Variety, RedState, The Hill, Twitchy, Washingtonian, The Wrap and TVNewser, more at Mediagazer »

The Yeshiva World:

Former NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Has Been Released Early From Prison — Sources tell YWN that NY Assemblyman Sheldon Silver has been released from prison and is on his way home. He was released five years earlier than his six year sentence. His original release date was March 10, 2026.

Discussion: Associated Press

Reuters:

Senior Swiss diplomat in Iran found dead after fall from high-rise — The first secretary at the Swiss embassy in Tehran was found dead on Tuesday after falling from a high-rise building where she lived in the north of the city, a spokesman for emergency services was quoted as saying by Iranian news agencies.