memeorandum: Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC): ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ Police Reform Can Get Done, Says Qualified Immunity For Officers ‘Cannot Be On The Table’ (Wyatt DobrovichFago/FOX News Radio)

10:05 AM ET, June 17, 2021

Top Items:

Biden politely reads riot act to Putin — Modest goal of stabilising US relations with Russia conveys realism that eluded earlier presidents — Summitry, contrary to a former British prime minister, is nothing like tennis. The outcome is rarely “game, set and match”.

Discussion: pjmedia.com, The Gateway Pundit, RealClearInvestigations, New Republic, New Yorker, Hollywood Life, The Daily Cartoonist, Raw Story, Insider, Salon, Breitbart, Washington Times, The US Sun, Blue Virginia, Political Flare, Lucianne and Louder With Crowder

USA Today:

Joe Biden, the U.S. president who in Geneva didn't shame America like Trump in Helsinki — Our View: Whether real progress ensues remains to be seen. But America needed to witness its leader engage in necessary diplomacy without humiliating himself. — The Editorial BoardUSA TODAY

Discussion: New York Post, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, NBC10 Philadelphia, Raw Story, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Gizmodo, The Western Journal, New York Times, Mediaite, The US Sun, Associated Press and Lucianne

Washington Examiner:

Joe Biden's silly Russia summit — President Donald Trump's 2018 Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin was a manifest disgrace. The former president was thoroughly manipulated by Putin into undermining America and its values. — And if Helsinki's watchword was shamefulness, Geneva's watchword is nothingness.

Discussion: spiked, The Guardian and Denver Post

Alexander Vindman / New York Times:

The Biden-Putin Meeting Was Progress, But Not Enough — Mr. Vindman served as director for European and Russian affairs at the National Security Council, from 2018-2020. — The last time an American president held a summit with President Vladimir Putin of Russia — July 16, 2018 …

Discussion: Forbes, WTOP, The National Interest, YouGov and Axios, more at Techmeme »

Max Boot / Washington Post:
Biden wiped the smirk off Putin's face

Discussion: The Western Journal, CNN, Daily Mail, Occupy Democrats, The Hill, Townhall, spectatorworld.com, Vanity Fair, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, New York Magazine, Twitchy, Althouse and HotAir

CNN:
Biden finds his comfort zone on the world stage in first international trip as president

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Fox News, The US Sun and One America News Network

William Saletan / Slate:
Trump Made the GOP More Friendly to Putin. It's Sabotaging Biden.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner, One America News Network and Daily Kos

The White House:
U.S.-Russia Presidential Joint Statement on Strategic Stability

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Defense One, The Register, The American Spectator, Fox Business, USA Today, Vox, Political Flare, Washington Post, Mediaite and Тел …

Washington Post:

GOP congressman refuses to shake hands with D.C. police officer who protected the Capitol on Jan. 6 — Rep. Andrew S. Clyde (R-Ga.), who voted against awarding police officers the Congressional Gold Medal for their bravery in protecting the U.S. Capitol against violent, pro-Trump rioters on Jan. 6 …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, HuffPost, Morning Shots, Insider, Forbes, Occupy Democrats, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Washington Times, Mediaite and Patterico's Pontifications

Melanie Zanona / Politico:

GOP hands Dems a new line of attack: They're for ‘Trump over the cops’ — Republicans often blast Democrats for wanting to defund the police. But Democrats have a new rebuttal: The GOP won't defend the police. — In the aftermath of the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack …

Discussion: HuffPost and The Atlantic

Paul LeBlanc / CNN:
Officer injured in Capitol riot blasts GOP lawmaker's behavior as ‘disgusting’ after tense exchange

Discussion: The Hill, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, East Bay Times and Slate

Matt Ford / New Republic:
Republicans Are on the Brink of Embracing the Capitol Rioters

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Western Journal, CNN and The Hill

Richard L. Hasen / Slate:

Democrats Should Leap at the Chance to Take Joe Manchin's Deal — Sen. Joe Manchin, who thus far has opposed Democrats' big election reform bill, has finally made his counteroffer. On Wednesday, the West Virginian proposed a series of changes to the “For the People Act” that could win his vote.

Discussion: NBC News, POLITICUSUSA, New York Magazine, Blue Virginia, Sludge, Wall Street Journal, Politico, New York Times, Associated Press, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, HuffPost and Truthout

Ian Millhiser / Vox:

Joe Manchin's sweeping new voting rights proposal, explained — The pivotal senator has released a potentially transformative plan to promote fair elections. — No voting rights bill will become law without Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-WV) approval, at least in the current Congress.

Discussion: Daily Kos, CBS News and HotAir

The Intercept:
Leaked Audio of Sen. Joe Manchin Call With Billionaire Donors Provides Rare Glimpse of Dealmaking on Filibuster and January 6 Commission

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, National Review, RedState, The Guardian, Digby's Hullabaloo, Forbes, Mediaite and Balloon Juice

Ann Coulter: The John Lewis Act Is the Dems' Path to Permanent Power

Jazz Shaw / HotAir:

The bipartisan “everything is infrastructure” push — You can tell how quickly the ground is shifting in terms of “infrastructure week” by the evolution of this headline from the Associated Press. When I first saw the article go up last night, it read “Impatient Democrats prepare to go-it-alone on infrastructure.”

Discussion: Politico, CNN and CNBC

Politico:
Senate Democrats weigh $6T infrastructure bill, without GOP

Discussion: Political Wire

Laura Barrón-López / Politico:
White House tries to privately calm Democratic fears on infrastructure deal

Discussion: Washington Post and Daily Torch

NBC News:

House passes bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday … The House on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of making Juneteenth a national federal holiday with a 415-14 tally, and Democrats are hopeful President Joe Biden will sign the measure into law by Saturday.

Discussion: ABC News, Mediaite, CNN, New York Post, The US Sun, HuffPost, WBBH-TV, New York Magazine, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Insider, BuzzFeed News, Bangor Daily News, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, UPI and Associated Press

U.S. Representative Matt Rosendale:
Rep. Rosendale Statement on Juneteenth Vote

Discussion: Forbes, The Hill, HuffPost, USA Today, United States Senator …, The Daily Caller, Townhall and Talking Points Memo

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
Congress votes overwhelmingly to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. The day commemorates the end of slavery in Texas in 1865.

Discussion: Deseret News, National Review, TheGrio, The Hill, Twitchy, Political Wire and Washingtonian

Marc Caputo / Politico:

In secret recording, Florida Republican threatens to send Russian-Ukrainian ‘hit squad’ after rival — MIAMI — A little-known GOP candidate in one of Florida's most competitive congressional seats was secretly recorded threatening to send “a Russian and Ukrainian hit squad” to a fellow Republican opponent to make her “disappear.”

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

New York Times:

Justice Dept. Ends Criminal Inquiry, Lawsuit on John Bolton's Book — President Donald J. Trump had pressured the department to use its legal powers to stop his former national security adviser from publishing embarrassing details about him. — The Justice Department has closed …

Discussion: Law & Crime, Fox News, NBC News, Above the Law, USA Today, Washington Post, ABC News, The Hill, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, CBS News, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, CNN, CNBC, Insider, Raw Story and Just The News, more at Mediagazer »

Politico:
Justice Department drops Trump-era investigation and lawsuit over Bolton book

Discussion: Axios, Wall Street Journal, UPI, Washington Examiner, National Review, Deadline and Bloomberg

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:

Pennsylvania's Conspiracy Kiss-Up Contest — To win Donald Trump's endorsement, candidates for the state's two major 2022 races embrace his big election lie. — Former President Donald Trump is watching Pennsylvania. — Like every other campaign observer, Trump knows …

Discussion: Raw Story, HuffPost and Politico

Seth Barron / The American Mind:

New Crime City — Progressive posturing in NYC creates a standard of savage permission. … The demonization of the police in New York City and the criminalization of normal police behavior accelerated under Mayor de Blasio. Social media and cell phones have certainly amplified the tendency.

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

On the Campaign Trail With Andrew Giuliani The Son of Rudy is working out his father issues on the road to Albany. — Andrew Giuliani was holding a silver spoon. He just was. There's no getting around it. Sitting in a booth at Mansion Diner on 86th and York — about a thousand feet …

Discussion: Mediaite

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

A Final Column on What it Means to Be a Columnist — This is the last of Frank Bruni's regular Opinion columns, but his popular weekly newsletter will live on. To keep up with his political analysis, cultural commentary and personal reflections, sign up here. — I owe Ted Cruz an apology.

Michelle Liu / Associated Press:

2 South Carolina executions halted until firing squad formed — COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked the planned executions of two inmates by electrocution, saying they cannot be put to death until they truly have the choice of the firing squad option set …

Discussion: UPI, 101Biography, CNN, The Daily Beast, The Hill, MyNorthwest.com and New York Post

Tik Root / Washington Post:

Earth is now trapping an ‘unprecedented’ amount of heat, NASA says — New research shows that the amount of heat the planet traps has roughly doubled since 2005, contributing to more rapidly warming oceans, air and land — The amount of heat Earth traps has roughly doubled since 2005 …

Wyatt DobrovichFago / FOX News Radio:

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC): ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ Police Reform Can Get Done, Says Qualified Immunity For Officers ‘Cannot Be On The Table’ — Listen To The Full Interview Below: — Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) joined Fox News Radio's Guy Benson Show to discuss his ongoing efforts to spearhead bipartisan police reform on Capitol hill.

Discussion: Breitbart

Bryan Mena / Wall Street Journal:

Jobless Claims Rose Last Week, Pausing Downward Trend — As Covid-19 restrictions continue to wane, new filings make biggest jump since late March — Worker filings for initial unemployment benefits rose by 37,000 to 412,000 last week, marking the first increase since late April and pausing …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

John McWhorter / It Bears Mentioning:

YOU ARE NOT A RACIST TO CRITICIZE CRITICAL RACE THEORY. — Dismiss those pretending that if you don't like what's happening in our schools, you're a jingoistic moron who doesn't want kids to learn about racism. — 7 hr ago — Since a year ago, CRT-infused members of The Elect …

Lachlan Markay / Axios:

Scoop: NRCC to accept cryptocurrency donations — The Republicans' House campaign arm will begin accepting contributions in cryptocurrency, Axios has learned. — Why it matters: The National Republican Congressional Committee is the first national party committee to solicit crypto donations.

Discussion: Insider

Apple Daily:

Apple Daily accused of using journalism to endanger national security — Hong Kong's national security police have arrested two executives and three news staff of Apple Daily, the only pro-democracy newspaper in the city, for foreign collusion, and raided its office.

Discussion: CNN, UPI, Fox News, International Press Institute and WTOP, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Boswell / Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: ‘No yellow!’ Hunter Biden used slur to refer to Asians in 2019 texts with his cousin Caroline who asked if he preferred ‘foreign or domestic’ women - as he's already been blasted as racist for using the n-word — Hunter Biden referred to Asians with the offensive term 'yellow …

Discussion: New York Post, National Review, The US Sun, 101Biography, The Daily Caller, The Western Journal, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Lucianne and Breitbart

Dean Obeidallah / MSNBC:

The FBI says the Capitol riot was ‘terrorism.’ Democrats (and Republicans) should, too. — On Tuesday, we heard FBI Director Christopher Wray testify before the House Oversight Committee that Jan. 6 was an act of “domestic terrorism” that has “no place in our democracy.”