memeorandum: Republicans' stealthy primary play (Lachlan Markay/Axios)

1:30 PM ET, September 13, 2022

Top Items:

Republicans tried to sidestep the issue of abortion. Now they're seeking a reset. — Republicans' first step was admitting they had an abortion problem. Now, GOP candidates are racing to limit self-inflicted damage — and trying to blunt Democrats' edge on the issue — before November's midterm elections.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, National Review, Talking Points Memo, BRIGHT, Progress Report, CNN, Balloon Juice and The Guardian

Rebecca Falconer / Axios:

Lindsey Graham to propose new national abortion restrictions bill … - Graham has previously introduced bills that sought to ban abortions nationally from 20 weeks. … - Republican candidates across the U.S. have moved to disappear hardline anti-abortion stances they took during their primaries …

Discussion: The American Independent, Vanity Fair, New York Post, PoliticusUSA, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, Twitchy, Raw Story and Blue Virginia

Washington Post:
Graham introduces bill to ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks

Discussion: VICE, HuffPost, Politico, CNBC, Insider, CBS News, Jezebel, Just The News and Rolling Stone

Tyler Olson / Fox News:
Graham introducing 15-week abortion ban, says bill may help GOP in midterms

Discussion: National Review and The Guardian

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar / The Independent:

Liz Cheney says new revelations reveal true ‘danger’ of Donald Trump — Cheney is one of the two Republicans on the investigating committee … Congresswoman Liz Cheney said Donald Trump's unwillingness to leave the White House after being defeated in the 2020 presidential election …

Cami Mondeaux / Washington Examiner:
Ex-top Trump adviser rips ‘thievery’ of White House documents during presidency

Discussion: Washington Post and Newsweek

Zachary Petrizzo / The Daily Beast:
Peter Navarro Trashes Trump's Chiefs and ‘Cabinet of Clowns’

Discussion: Insider, New Book Releases …, Mediaite and Raw Story

Jacob Kornbluh / The Forward: ‘Shabbat Shalom and Sayonara’: Loyalists tried to oust Kushner via Shabbat meeting with Trump

Luke Broadwater / New York Times:
Archives Is Unsure Whether Trump Surrendered All Records, Panel Says

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Insider, Reuters, USA Today, Bloomberg, Florida Politics and Forbes

Zachary Cohen / CNN:
House Oversight Committee asks Archives if Trump still possesses presidential records

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Associated Press, New York Post and Raw Story

New York Times:

Justice Dept. Issues 40 Subpoenas in a Week, Expanding Its Jan. 6 Inquiry — Over the past week, it also seized the phones of two top Trump advisers, a sign of an escalating investigation two months before the midterm elections. — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has issued …

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump faces a new threat: Scrutiny of ‘stop the steal’ money scam

Discussion: The Post Millennial, Politico and RedState

Associated Press:
Trump's PAC faces scrutiny amid intensifying legal probes

Discussion: CNN, Balloon Juice and The Full Belmonte

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:

What Happens to Russia After It Loses? — In the aftermath of Putin's catastrophic war on Ukraine, Russia will never be the same. … With reports of Russian troops fleeing like “Olympic sprinters,” leaving behind weapons, crashing their tanks into trees, and turning over more than 3,000 square kilometers …

Discussion: ABC, Newsweek and CNN

Walter Russell Mead / Wall Street Journal:
What if Putin Uses a Nuclear Weapon in Ukraine?

Discussion: Foreign Policy, The Hill and Reaction

Charlie Sykes / Morning Shots:
Will the U.S. Abandon Ukraine? It Could Happen.

Discussion: Washington Post

Washington Post:

Intelligence points to potential turning point in Ukraine war — Whether Ukraine's gains are permanent, Western intelligence officials said, depends on Russia's next moves, especially whether President Vladimir Putin orders up reinforcements — A Ukrainian counteroffensive …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Financial Times, CNN, Outside the Beltway, Euractiv, JustOneMinute, New York Times and Political Wire

New York Times:

The Critical Moment Behind Ukraine's Rapid Advance — WASHINGTON — The strategy behind Ukraine's rapid military gains in recent days began to take shape months ago during a series of intense conversations between Ukrainian and U.S. officials about the way forward in the war against Russia, according to American officials.

Discussion: NewsNation, Washington Examiner and Al Jazeera

Lucia Mutikani / Reuters:

Monthly U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly rise in August; core inflation picks up — Monthly U.S consumer prices unexpectedly rose in August as declining gasoline prices were offset by gains in the costs of rent and food, giving cover for the Federal Reserve to deliver another hefty interest rate increase next Wednesday.

Discussion: FXStreet, Axios, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Fortune and Twitchy

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
BREAKING: Bidenflation still roaring as CPI hits 8.3%, core CPI near high at 6.3%

Discussion: Yahoo Finance, CNBC, Fortune, CNSNews, Washington Times, Twitchy and Breitbart

Rob Wile / NBC News:
Inflation fell slightly to 8.3% in August as pain from higher prices lingers

Discussion: CBS News, IJR, New York Post, Financial Times and Ground News

Aaron Sibarium / Washington Free Beacon:

Nation's Largest Public University Hit With Class Action Suit Over Race-Based Hiring Practices — The largest public university in the United States is reserving faculty positions based on race and making six-figure bonuses available exclusively to minorities, programs that are now the subject of a class action lawsuit.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Lachlan Markay / Axios:

Republicans' stealthy primary play — Deep-pocketed Republican groups are pouring millions into efforts to knock off hard-right GOP primary candidates — while ensuring the source of the cash stays shrouded until after voters select their nominees, Axios has learned.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Politico and Reason

NBC News:

Verdicts for men charged in Jan. 6 assaults could have a major impact on Capitol prosecutions — WASHINGTON — A federal judge in D.C. on Tuesday will hand down verdicts in the trial of three Jan. 6 defendants that could have a major impact on the trajectory of Capitol attack prosecutions going forward.

Discussion: Raw Story

Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:

Senate to Investigate Charge That Trump Meddled in Prosecutor's Office — The allegations of political motivation are in a new book by the former U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman. — The Senate Judiciary Committee will investigate allegations that the Justice Department under …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Hill, NewsNation, CNN and ABC News

Mike Allen / Axios:

First look: Pence was “angry” on Jan. 6 — Former Vice President Mike Pence writes in a memoir — “So Help Me God,” out Nov. 15 — that when the Capitol was attacked while he was presiding over a joint session to certify the 2020 election results, “I was not afraid, but I was angry.”

Discussion: Insider, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Hill and Political Wire

New York Times:

King Charles Inherits Untold Riches, and Passes Off His Own Empire — As prince, Charles used tax breaks, offshore accounts and canny real estate investments to turn a sleepy estate into a billion-dollar business. — LONDON — King Charles III built his own empire long before he inherited his mother's.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Mediaite and Defector

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

The big takeaway from Trump's legal filings: He has no defense — The Trump legal brain trust's latest filing has been met with proper ridicule. From its characterization of the documents retrieved from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate as “purported ‘classified records’ ” (Is there some doubt? …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, CNN and Just The News

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:

Over 1,300 New York Times employees pledge not to return to office — The New York Times expects employees to start returning to the office three days a week starting this week — but more than 1,300 journalists are saying hell no, they won't go. — It's just the latest blow …

Discussion: HotAir, The Hill, Townhall, The Daily Caller, National Review, Breitbart, Twitchy, Fortune, IJR and Power Line, more at Mediagazer »

Los Angeles Times:

Rapper PnB Rock fatally shot during robbery at Roscoe's; police seek gunman — Police were seeking suspects after PnB Rock, the Philadelphia rapper best known for his 2016 hit “Selfish,” was fatally shot during a robbery at the Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles restaurant in South Los Angeles on Monday afternoon.

Discussion: CNN, TMZ.com, Not the Bee, The Sun, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, The Root, Variety, Breitbart, abc7NY, The Hollywood Reporter, WGN-TV, ABC7, Entertainment Tonight and al.com

David Gilbert / VICE:

Trump's Not Even Pretending to Hide His Support for QAnon Any More — “President Trump himself is making it UNDENIABLE that he is 100% aligning with the Q operation,” one QAnon follower said. — David Gilbert — Former President Donald Trump has now shared his most explicit endorsement of the QAnon conspiracy movement to date.

Discussion: Raw Story

Janan Ganesh / Financial Times:

US soft power grows as the alternatives become clear — America is more attractive in the light of Russia's failed aggression and China's domestic troubles — In 2020, according to the Pew Research Center, 31 per cent of French people had a favourable view of the US.

Politico:

‘Sleazy backroom deal’: Progressives tangle one more time with Manchin — After nearly two years of watching Joe Manchin tank some of their biggest priorities, House progressives finally have sway over one of his. And they have every intention of using it.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, HotAir, The Hill, CNN, Washington Times and Pennsylvania Capital-Star