memeorandum: “There Was No Plan. He Is Deranged” — During the reporting of his latest book on the attack … (Marc Pitzke/Spiegel Online)

1:05 PM ET, July 13, 2021

Top Items:

Mike Allen / Axios:

Trump unloads on Kavanaugh in new Michael Wolff book — Former President Donald Trump, in a book out Tuesday by Michael Wolff, says he is “very disappointed” in votes by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, his own hard-won nominee, and that he “hasn't had the courage you need to be a great justice.”

Discussion: HotAir, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Joe.My.God. and IJR

Devan Cole / CNN:

Trump said whoever ‘leaked’ info on his White House bunker stay should be ‘executed,’ new book claims — Then-President Donald Trump told a number of his advisers in 2020 that whoever leaked information about his stay in the White House bunker during protests last June had committed treason …

Discussion: Insider, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story, Mediaite, POLITICUSUSA, Crooks and Liars and Political Wire

Marc Pitzke / Spiegel Online:

“There Was No Plan. He Is Deranged” — During the reporting of his latest book on the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, “Fire and Fury” author Michael Wolff says he got an invitation to meet the former president at Mar-a-Lago. In an interview, he tells DER SPIEGEL what ensued.

Discussion: Raw Story

Joan Walsh / The Nation:
Yes, Tomorrow Will Be Worse—Because of Journalism Like This

Discussion: The Present Age

Washington Post:

‘I Alone Can Fix It’ book excerpt: Inside Trump's Election Day and the birth of the ‘big lie’ … Finally, Election Day had arrived. The morning of Nov. 3, 2020, President Trump was upbeat. The mood in the West Wing was good. Some aides talked giddily of a landslide.

Discussion: The Guardian, Insider, Raw Story, American Greatness, HuffPost, Mock Paper Scissors, Politico, The Hill, UPI, Mercury News, Mediaite, USA Today, The Stream, One America News Network, Joe.My.God., NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, IJR and Lucianne

Politico:

‘Get on the team or shut up’: How Trump created an army of GOP enforcers — From the earliest days of his presidency Donald Trump and his political team worked to re-engineer the infrastructure of the Republican Party, installing allies in top leadership posts in key states.

Discussion: HotAir, Slate, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story and CNN

Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:

Cheney fundraising surge continues, as Wyoming congresswoman sets second straight record — Cheney, who was ousted as House Republican Conference Chair in May, hauls in nearly $1.9M in past three months — Liz Cheney speaks out after being ousted by Republican Party

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, The Daily Caller, Axios, National Review, CNN and No More Mister Nice Blog

Mychael Schnell / The Hill:

Cheney tops Stefanik in fundraising — Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who was ousted from her leadership role in the House Republican caucus, topped her replacement, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), by about $400,000 in fundraising last quarter. — Cheney raised $1.88 million in the second quarter of 2021 …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Juan Williams / The Hill:
Republicans prefer Trump's fantasies over truth and facts

Discussion: The Guardian, Bloomberg, Florida Politics, The Daily Beast and Boston Herald

Jeanna Smialek / New York Times:

Prices jumped 5.4 percent in June, the biggest rise since 2008. — A key measure of inflation jumped sharply in June, a gain that is sure to keep concerns over rising prices front and center at the White House and Federal Reserve. — The Consumer Price Index climbed by 5.4 percent …

Discussion: Sacramento Bee

Gwynn Guilford / Wall Street Journal:
June Consumer Prices Climbed Sharply Again as Economy Rebounded

Discussion: Twitchy and New York Post

Olivia Rockeman / Bloomberg:
U.S. Consumer Prices Jump Most Since 2008, Topping All Estimates

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Inflation climbs higher than expected in June as price index rises 5.4%

Discussion: UPI, NPR and Townhall

The Tennessean:

Tennessee's former top vaccine official: ‘I am afraid for my state’ — Editor's note: On Monday, July 12, the Tennessee Department of Health fired Dr. Michelle Fiscus, the top vaccine official in the Tennessee state government. Fiscus said she was scapegoated to appease Republican state lawmakers …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Insider

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

The obscure foundation funding “Critical Race Theory” hysteria — Critical Race Theory (CRT), once a little-known academic concept, is now at the center of the national political discussion. CRT is discussed incessantly on Fox News. It is featured in campaign advertisements.

Justin Haskins / Washington Examiner:
Teaching critical race theory isn't just wrong. It might be illegal

Discussion: RedState, Yahoo News and Townhall

Laura Vozzella / Washington Post:

Youngkin to skip marquee debate over moderator's donation to Clinton Bush Haiti Fund — RICHMOND — Republican Glenn Youngkin will skip what is typically the premier debate of the Virginia governor's race, saying he objects to the moderator, PBS NewsHour host Judy Woodruff …

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill and NBC News

Scott Cohn / CNBC:
Virginia is back as America's Top State for Business in 2021

Discussion: The Daily Caller and ARLnow.com

Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times:

Newsom won't be listed as a Democrat on recall ballot, judge says — Gov. Gavin Newsom cannot identify himself as a Democrat on the September recall ballot because he missed the deadline to designate his party affiliation, a superior court judge in Sacramento ruled Monday.

Discussion: The Hill, Courthouse News Service, The Daily Caller, NBC News, BizPac Review, CBS Sacramento, Associated Press, New York Post and Townhall

Jake Dima / Washington Examiner:
Newsom will not be listed as Democrat on recall ballot after missing registration deadline

Discussion: Politico

Michael R. Blood / Associated Press:
Radio host Larry Elder enters California recall election

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall and Twitchy

The Daily Beast:

Bill O'Reilly's Accuser Finally Breaks Her Silence — HER STORY … In an exclusive interview, Andrea Mackris reveals the full scope of Bill O'Reilly's alleged harassment of her—and why she doesn't care if telling all means blowing up her NDA. … New York litigator David Ratner shouted at his client …

Roger Sollenberger / The Daily Beast:
Donald Trump May Already Be Violating Campaign Laws

Discussion: Raw Story

Laura K. Field / The Bulwark:

What the Hell Happened to the Claremont Institute? — [A printable PDF of this article is available here.] — Just before 11 o'clock on the morning of January 6—an hour before President Donald Trump began riling up his “Save America” rally in front of the White House …

Discussion: Bulwark+

KVUE-TV:

‘They will be arrested.’ Gov. Abbott responds to Texas Democrats' flight to Washington, D.C. — The Texas Legislature's special session started on July 8. Among the issues that lawmakers are expected to address are bail reform and “election integrity.” — AUSTIN, Texas …

Darragh Roche / Newsweek:
Greg Abbott Says Fleeing Texas Democrats ‘Will Be Arrested’ When They Return to State

Discussion: Austin American-Statesman, The Hill, Fox News, Insider, Washington Examiner, HotAir, The Gateway Pundit, POLITICUSUSA, Breitbart, ABC7, The Western Journal, The Guardian, National Review, New York Post, Joe.My.God. and Townhall

Dylan Byers / NBC News:

The Atlantic thrived through Trump and the pandemic. The future is harder. — Nicholas Thompson, the chief executive of The Atlantic, gave a presentation to employees last month in which he disclosed some uncomfortable truths about the state of the magazine.

more at Mediagazer »

Dan Diamond / Washington Post:

Biden to pick former West Virginia health official as nation's drug czar — Rahul Gupta, ally of Manchin, would oversee drug policy strategy if confirmed — President Biden has selected a former West Virginia health official as the nation's top drug policy official, according …

Discussion: Politico

Bill McMorris / RealClearInvestigations:

Unions' Focus on Woke Over Work Rankles Rank and File — Los Angeles school teacher Glenn Laird has been a union stalwart for almost four decades. He served as a co-chair of his school's delegation to United Teachers Los Angeles and proudly wore union purple on the picket line. — Pride at Work

Discussion: Real Clear Politics

Evan Perez / CNN:

Several tied to Haiti assassination plot were previously US law enforcement informants — Several of the men involved in the operation that killed Haiti's president previously worked as US law enforcement informants, according to people briefed on the matter, as US investigators grapple …

Discussion: Fox News, Reuters, Miami Herald, New York Post, Reason, WSVN-TV, Sputnik News, NOQ Report, The Daily Caller, KRDO, Insider, Breitbart, Los Angeles Times, REVOLT, Twin Cities and WBBH-TV

Ann Marimow / Washington Post:

Lawsuit targets Texas abortion law deputizing citizens to enforce six-week ban — Abortion rights advocates and providers filed a federal lawsuit in Texas on Tuesday seeking to block a new state law empowering individuals to sue anyone assisting a woman with getting an abortion …

Discussion: RedState and New Republic

Bari Weiss / Common Sense with Bari Weiss:

A Witch Trial at the Legal Aid Society — Maud Maron was a model public defender. Then she was forced out of her job because of her political views and her race. — 12 hr ago — If you google “bleeding heart liberal,” Maud Maron might well turn up as the first hit.

Discussion: New York Post

Lisa Rein / Washington Post:

Fired and defiant, former Social Security chief is cut off from agency computers — Ousted Social Security commissioner Andrew Saul, the Trump appointee who declared Friday he would defy his firing by President Biden, on Monday found his access to agency computers cut off, even as his acting replacement moved to undo his policies.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Crooks and Liars, Political Wire, Wall Street Journal and Raw Story

Julia Azari / FiveThirtyEight:

Presidents Used To Be The Faces Of Their Political Parties. Is That No Longer The Case? — In our polarized political era, presidents have increasingly become the faces of their parties, operating as symbols of what their parties value — and what the opposing party rejects.

Alexander Sammon / American Prospect:

There's Just One Problem With Biden's Executive Order Spree — The administration's staffing deficiencies could imperil the entire agenda. — President Biden hands out a pen after signing an executive order aimed at promoting competition in the economy, in the State Dining Room of the White House, July 9, 2021.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and New Yorker

New York Times:

A surge in appointments follows the issuing of new vaccination rules in France. — More than 1.3 million people in France were reported to have booked appointments for coronavirus shots within hours of President Emmanuel Macron's announcement of new vaccination requirements as the authorities scrambled …

Discussion: France 24, NPR, The Verge, Poynter and The Guardian

Cammy Pedroja / Newsweek:

Megyn Kelly Says Media Hyped up Capitol Riot to Make It Look ‘Worse than It Actually Was’ — Megyn Kelly, the host of the Megyn Kelly Show podcast, said on her Monday episode that “there is no question” the media exaggerated the events of the January 6 Capitol insurrection as “much worse than it actually was.”

Discussion: Raw Story and IJR

CNN:

Taliban fighters execute 22 Afghan commandos as they try to surrender — Dawlat Abad, Afghanistan (CNN)Over clear but unsteady video, the words ring out: “Surrender, commandos, surrender.” Several men emerge from a building; they are clearly unarmed. — Gunfire erupts.

Discussion: Insider

Washington Post:

Why Facebook really, really doesn't want to discourage extremism — Our research finds that outrage is what goes viral — and that makes money. — Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook executives allegedly shut down internal research showing that the platform increased …

Bill Press / The Hill:

Ice cream's back — thank you, Joe! — On the official schedule, it was just another vaccination push. On Tuesday, July 6, first lady Jill Biden jetted to Savannah, Ga., in yet one more valiant attempt to convince Americans not yet vaccinated to step up and do the right thing.

Laura Baxter / The Federalist:

Thanks To Neil Gorsuch, The Biden Administration Is Forcing Employers Everywhere To End Free Speech And Put Men In Women's Bathrooms — Thanks to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, the EEOC has declared war on people who hold traditional views on sex, women who value their safety and privacy, and people who simply believe in science.