memeorandum: McCarthy's bid to quash January 6 commission underscores GOP split on Trump (CNN)

7:05 AM ET, May 19, 2021

Top Items:

Lachlan Markay / Axios:

Feds investigating alleged scheme to illegally finance Collins' reelection bid — The FBI is investigating what it describes as a massive scheme to illegally finance Sen. Susan Collins' 2020 reelection bid, Axios has learned. — What's happening: A recently unsealed search warrant application shows …

Discussion: Insider, Forbes, The Stranger, Breitbart, The Week, The Daily Caller, The Hill, driftglass, Fox News and Political Wire

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: An insider's guide to Biden and Israel — DRIVING THE DAY — BREAKING LAST NIGHT: “New York attorney general adds ‘criminal capacity’ to probe of Trump Organization,” CNN: “New York Attorney General LETITIA JAMES is joining the Manhattan district attorney's office …

Discussion: New York Times and EURACTIV.com

Wall Street Journal:
FBI Probes Defense Contractor's Contributions to Sen. Susan Collins

Discussion: Bloomberg

CNN:

New York attorney general adds ‘criminal capacity’ to probe of Trump Organization — (CNN)New York Attorney General Letitia James is joining the Manhattan district attorney's office in a criminal investigation of the Trump Organization, James' office said Tuesday.

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, NBC10 Philadelphia, Forbes, New York Post, CBS News, Mediaite, Daily News, Wall Street Journal, 6abc, Associated Press, CBS New York, USA Today, Al Jazeera, ABC News, Insider, The Hill, The Week, The Wrap, Washington Examiner and PIX11

Washington Post:

Investigation of Trump Organization now exploring possible criminal conduct, N.Y. attorney general's office says — NEW YORK — New York Attorney General Letitia James's investigation into the Trump Organization is now considered a criminal matter, James's office said Tuesday night …

Discussion: Fox News, HuffPost, Associated Press, Raw Story, Bloomberg, The Week and Mock Paper Scissors

Chris Cillizza / CNN:

The real reasons for why Kevin McCarthy is afraid of a January 6 commission — (CNN)Days after a bipartisan agreement was reached in the House to form a commission to examine the roots and events of the January 6 riot at the US Capitol, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday that he opposes the bill.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Nation, The Bulwark, Politico, New York Times, Washington Post, CBS News, The Hill and HuffPost

Alayna Treene / Axios:

Sources: McConnell opposed to current Jan. 6 commission — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told his fellow Republicans during a closed-door caucus lunch Tuesday he can't support a Jan. 6 commission in its current form, two sources familiar with his remarks tell Axios.

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

Peter Stevenson / Washington Post:

At least 7 GOP senators say they're open to a commission focused on Jan. 6 — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday announced his opposition to a bipartisan deal for a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. — But he doesn't have the final say.

Discussion: The Bulwark, CNN, The Week, KEYT-TV, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, IJR, BuzzFeed News and The Hill

CNN:
McCarthy's bid to quash January 6 commission underscores GOP split on Trump

Discussion: Yahoo Entertainment, KEYT-TV, Raw Story, New York Times, Mediaite, HuffPost, Slate, Breitbart and Talking Points Memo

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

House Democrats' 2020 election autopsy: Bad polling hurt and GOP attacks worked — For the second time in four years, Rep. Sean Maloney (D-N.Y.) drew one of the toughest assignments: investigating what went wrong in a disappointing election. — The 2017 after-action review followed …

Discussion: New York Times and Florida Politics

Washington Post: Democrats think voters will reward them for sending checks. What if they're wrong?

ABC News:

Biden floors electric Ford truck in test drive as he pushes infrastructure plan — Biden went pedal to the metal while modeling green energy with a test drive. — Biden endorses cease-fire in Middle East amid mounting pressure — The administration has been focusing on quiet diplomatic efforts behind the scenes.

Discussion: Insider

Michael Wayland / CNBC:
Ford reveals new electric F-150 Lightning pickup during Biden's visit to Michigan plant

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, IJR, HotAir and Bloomberg

Matt Viser / Washington Post:
'I'm a car guy': Biden zips around in electric Ford truck to boost clean-energy agenda

Discussion: Politico, The Week, The Daily Caller, Roll Call and Associated Press

Lorraine Woellert / Politico:
Biden and an iconic American truck join forces in the fossil fuel culture war

Discussion: Washington Post, The White House, ABC News and New York Times

Eric Bradner / CNN:

Arizona auditors now say voter data is intact, after sparking GOP feud — ‘Exasperated’: GOP Arizona election official reacts to Trump's election lie — (CNN)Auditors hired by the Arizona state Senate backtracked Tuesday from claims that a key database had been deleted …

Discussion: USA Today, Associated Press, Washington Post, Arizona Mirror, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, KTAR.com and Arizona Republic

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
In Arizona, Republicans accidentally created a robust demonstration of the shoddiness of their fraud claims

Discussion: Esquire, Media Matters for America, Raw Story, Breitbart, KTAR.com and Twitchy

Nahal Toosi / Politico:

Source: U.S. helped avert Israeli ground invasion of Gaza; hopes rise conflict could end soon — The Biden administration is increasingly hopeful that the deadly conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants is in its final stages, and U.S. officials are confident their mostly behind …

Discussion: Washington Post, Foreign Policy, The Economic Times, NBC Chicago and Al-Monitor

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:
House Democrats Vote Against Hamas Sanctions

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner and National Review

Newsweek:
Will Dems Rebuke the Squad for Parroting Hamas Talking Points?

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Washington Post and TheBlaze

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Biden to waive sanctions on company in charge of Nord Stream 2 — The Biden administration will waive sanctions on the corporate entity and CEO overseeing the construction of Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline into Germany, according to two sources briefed on the decision.

Jason Abbruzzese / NBC News:

Obama on UFO videos: 'We don't know exactly what they are' … Former President Barack Obama on Monday offered a blunt assessment of the videos of unidentified aerial phenomenon that have continued to gain attention in the United States. — “What is true, and I'm actually being serious here …

Discussion: The Intellectualist

Jana Winter / Yahoo News:

Facial recognition, fake identities and digital surveillance tools: Inside the post office's covert internet operations program — The post office's law enforcement arm has faced intense congressional scrutiny in recent weeks over its Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) …

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
A ‘Community for All’? Not So Fast, This Wisconsin County Says.

Discussion: Raw Story

Brittany Shammas / Washington Post:

A GOP congressman compared Capitol rioters to tourists. Photos show him barricading a door. — Rep. Andrew S. Clyde (R-Ga.) last week downplayed the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, comparing the mob's breaching of the building to a “normal tourist visit.” — But photos from that day show …

Discussion: New York Times, TheGrio, HuffPost and CNN

Leighton Akira Woodhouse / leightonwoodhouse:

“Disinformation” is the New Disinformation — The media's dismissal of the Wuhan lab leak hypothesis tells us much more about the media than about the hypothesis. — 6 hr ago — There was no Facebook back in 2003. YouTube wouldn't exist for another two years, Twitter for another three.

Discussion: unz.com, Meduza.io and Medium

David Frum / The Atlantic:
The Pro-Trump Culture War on American Scientists

Discussion: The Week, econlib.org, National Review, The Wire Science, justoneminute.typepad.com and Washington Post

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

The Inside Story of the Biden-Harris Debate Blowup — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have appeared so in lockstep that it's hard to remember how tense their early campaign days were. — POLITICO illustration/photos by AP and courtesy of Kamala Harris

Discussion: Media Matters for America

Noah Caldwell / NPR:

America's Satanic Panic Returns — This Time Through QAnon — The first time sociologist Mary de Young heard about QAnon, she thought: “Here we go again.” — De Young spent her career studying moral panics — specifically, what became known as the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s …

Discussion: Raw Story

NRC:

Eleven children receiving NRC trauma care killed in their homes by Israeli air strikes — Global Middle East Palestine Children — The Norwegian Refugee Council confirmed today that 11 of over 60 children killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza over the last week were participating …

Discussion: Insider and Washington Post

Rachel Olding / The Daily Beast:

Judge Tosses Michigan Election Lawsuit That Trump Was Still Clinging To — END NOTE — Last week, more than six months after the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump released a statement claiming that a pending lawsuit in Michigan would, finally, uncover massive election fraud.

Discussion: Detroit Free Press and RedState

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

“They Want Enough Money to Keep Up the Fight”: New York Media's Top Union Erupts in Conflict Over Cash — The NewsGuild of New York, overextended from a spate of organizing, is running into opposition from members over footing the bill. As one source put it: “The Guild basically wants Times employees to underwrite the revolution.”

more at Mediagazer »

Joshua Vaughn / The Appeal:

Ed Gainey Wins Democratic Nomination for Pittsburgh Mayor — The state representative will almost certainly be the city's first Black mayor, and his victory follows a year of nationwide social upheaval over police and racial justice issues. — State Representative Ed Gainey won …

Discussion: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Hill and CBS Pittsburgh

T. Becket Adams / And another thing:

Twitter's Holocaust problem — Accounts cheering the slaughter of Jews are in the clear so long as they occasionally delete their pro-genocide tweets. — 9 hr ago — Twitter plays by a bizarre set of rules. — Verified users who tweet in support of the slaughter of Jews …

Discussion: Breitbart, IJR and Washington Times

A.G. Gancarski / Florida Politics:

Rick Scott continues to plead with Donald Trump to stay out of Senate primaries — Will a scorned ex-President play in Senate primaries? Scott hopes not. — U.S. Sen. Rick Scott continues to express hope that former President Donald Trump won't engage against Senate incumbents in 2022.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Reis Thebault / Washington Post:

For some Navy pilots, UFO sightings were an ordinary event: ‘Every day for at least a couple years’ — When the Navy pilot first spotted the strange object hovering in restricted airspace off the Atlantic Coast, he was stunned — no exhaust plume, no visible engine and all the makings of something secret …

Discussion: TheBlaze

Daniel Marans / HuffPost:

Progressives Ask Biden Not To Name Pharma Allies To Top Patent Posts — Liberal groups want the president to ignore corporate-friendly voices and build on his decision to waive intellectual property protections for the COVID-19 vaccine. — An array of progressive groups sent President Joe Biden …