memeorandum: Trump deposition in Carroll defamation lawsuit set for October 19 as fate of case remains in limbo (Kara Scannell/CNN)

5:55 PM ET, September 30, 2022

Top Items:

Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:

Putin's Newest Annexation Is Dire for Russia Too — His baldly illegitimate claim to four Ukrainian provinces shows contempt for the global order—and his own subjects. — Vladimir Putin today announced his annexation of four provinces of Ukraine—four provinces that he does not fully control …

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, Forbes, The Economist, 19FortyFive, New York Times and The Hill

Associated Press:

New U.S. Sanctions on Russia Hits Top Officials, Defense and Tech Sectors … Despite international condemnation, Putin signs decrees declaring four regions of Ukraine part of Russia. — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia signed decrees on Friday to declare four Ukrainian regions part …

Jonathan V. Last / The Triad:

Welcome to Cold War 2 — Putin declares war on the West. — Last night's TNB was awesome. Just two buddies, hanging out, talking about the end of democracy and playing AMA. — You can watch the replay here or listen to the podcast version here. — 1. Cold War 2

Discussion: Reuters, Breitbart, Algemeiner.com, ABC13, Balloon Juice, NPR and Associated Press

Alexei Navalny / Washington Post:

This is what a post-Putin Russia should look like — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is serving a nine-year sentence in a maximum-security penal colony. This essay was conveyed to The Post by his legal team. — What does a desirable and realistic end to the criminal war unleashed …

Discussion: The Moscow Times, Мед … and Washington Examiner

Associated Press:
Russian strike kills 25 as Kremlin to annex Ukraine regions

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
What if We're Already Fighting the Third World War with Russia?

Discussion: Eunomia, Washington Post, MindWar, Insider, Blue Virginia, New York Post and 19FortyFive

CNN:
US imposing ‘swift and severe costs’ on Russia following Putin's Ukraine annexation

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Post Millennial and Radio Free Europe/Radio …

Fatima Hussein / Associated Press:
US hits Russia with sanctions for annexing Ukrainian regions

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, CNBC, The Hill, Associated Press, UPI, New York Daily News, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, KTVX-TV, National Review, New York Post, KNSD-TV, The Daily Wire, Los Angeles Times and Politico

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Gerrymandering Isn't Giving Republicans the Advantage You Might Expect — Yes, the G.O.P. has a structural edge in the House, but it isn't anything near insurmountable for Democrats. — There is no shortage of reasons Republicans are expected to retake the House this year …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, E&E, Regular Order and Newsday

Ewan Palmer / Newsweek:
List of 49 Republicans Who Voted Against Food Security Help for Veterans

Discussion: Alaska Public Media and Raw Story

Benjamin Wallace-Wells / New Yorker:
The Curious Case of Donald Bolduc

Discussion: HotAir

Punchbowl News:
9/30/22 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM

Discussion: National Review and NRCC

Andrew Solender / Axios:
GOP's impeachment zeal

Discussion: Forbes, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and CNN

Matthew Continetti / Washington Free Beacon:
The GOP Cavalry Arrives

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Cook Political Report, Just The News and HuffPost

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Joe Manchin says he's ‘praying’ for an end to 50-50 Senate as it breaks for election

Discussion: The Daily Caller, MSNBC, National Review and Washington Times

Caitlin Emma / Politico:
House passes government funding, averting shutdown threat

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Gavin Newsom's trolling deftly unmasks Ron DeSantis's cruelty — It's hard to deny that Gov. Gavin Newsom harbors garish and even cringeworthy presidential ambitions. The California Democrat regularly trolls Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a top 2024 GOP contender, and Newsom surely knows playing foil …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Guardian, IJR, Mercury News, Townhall and Political Wire

Mackenzie Mays / Los Angeles Times:
Newsom signs bill protecting transgender youths and families fleeing red-state policies

Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:

You thought the Supreme Court's last term was bad? Brace yourself. — The cataclysmic Supreme Court term that included the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion and the end of constitutional protection for abortion would, in the normal ebb and flow, be followed by a period of quiet …

Discussion: HuffPost, Associated Press, USA Today, Townhall, CNN, NBC News and Politico

Jeff Shesol / New York Times:
The Supreme Court Is Broken. Where's Biden?

Discussion: Monmouth University …, Washington Post, Common Dreams, CBS News, Raw Story, Arizona Mirror, Washington Examiner, The Nation, Roll Call and Gallup

Washington Post:

Trump's legal team divided over how to handle Mar-a-Lago case — New lawyer's advice to seek an ‘off-ramp’ with Justice Department is not being heeded, people familiar with discussions say — After attorney Christopher Kise accepted $3 million to represent Donald Trump in the FBI's investigation …

Discussion: Zandar Versus The Stupid, Raw Story and USA Today

Michael Kruse / Politico:

'It's My Curse and My Salvation': Trump's Most Famous Chronicler Opens Up — NEW YORK — Late one recent afternoon, Maggie Haberman pulled into a parking spot in the lot at Gargiulo's, the old-time Italian restaurant in Coney Island where Donald Trump's father used to eat lunch.

Discussion: Insider, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Hill and IJR

Jason Leopold / Bloomberg:

For Obama, One Trump Term Wasn't a Big Worry, but ‘Eight Years Would Be a Problem’ — Barack Obama told reporters in his last days as president that he wasn't worried about a single Donald Trump term, but was concerned about a “sustained period” of political norms being undermined if he served two terms …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jake Bleiberg / Associated Press:

Dysfunction in Texas AG's office as Paxton seeks third term — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's staff this month quietly dropped a series of human trafficking and child sexual assault cases after losing track of one of the victims, a stumble in open court emblematic of broader dysfunction inside …

Discussion: Off the Kuff

CNN:

GOP congressional candidate Joe Kent's ties to white nationalists include interview with Nazi sympathizer — Despite disavowing White nationalism last spring when one of its adherents endorsed him, a US House candidate in Washington subsequently gave a previously unreported interview in June to a Nazi sympathizer and White nationalist.

Discussion: Political Wire

Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:

Pennsylvania 2022: Fetterman's Lead Shrinks in US Senate Race; Shapiro's Lead Expands For Governor's Seat — Home Polls Pennsylvania 2022: Fetterman's Lead Shrinks in US Senate Race; Shapiro's Lead Expands For Governor's Seat — The latest Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey …

Discussion: Breitbart, The Hill, Townhall, RedState, The Intersection, WHTM-TV, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Greensburg Tribune-Review, WITF, Newsradio 1070 WKOK, USA Today, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Daily Wire and Political Wire

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
A new reminder that candidate quality matters

Discussion: Jezebel

Politico:
Georgia and Nevada on their minds: Senate watchers sweat two swing states

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Jen Fifield / Votebeat:

Trump allies have interviewed nearly 200 election officials to probe for weaknesses — Volunteers for “Operation Eagles Wings” are using surveys in eight states to seek support for conspiracy theories. — Two of Donald Trump's most prominent allies in his fight to overturn the 2020 election …

Discussion: The Texas Tribune, Raw Story, Bridge Michigan and WSVN-TV

Asawin Suebsaeng / Rolling Stone:

Tucker Carlson Secretly Tried to Get Jared Kushner to Broker Pardon for Roger Stone, Book Reveals — Maggie Haberman writes in Confidence Man that the Fox News host went to great lengths to get former President Trump to let his former campaign adviser off the hook

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Political Wire and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:

Facebook scrambles to escape stock's death spiral as users flee, sales drop — Meta is trading at its lowest since early 2019, and the stock is one of the worst performers this year in the S&P 500. — The company's problems are mounting, whether it's the ad hit from Apple's iOS changes or the growing threat posed by TikTok.

Discussion: CBS News, Breitbart, New York Post, Big League Politics, Bloomberg and TechCrunch

Matt Lavietes / NBC News:

NYC human rights officials are ‘closely monitoring’ allegations against the owner of a gay bar — NBC News previously reported that Michael J. Cohen was accused of unwanted sexual conduct and discrimination. Cohen's attorney said he is not under investigation.

Jesse Singal / Singal-Minded:

It Isn't Journalism's Job To Hand-Hold People To The Correct Moral Conclusions — Stop hating your readers — One of the silliest ideas to infect mainstream journalism in recent years is the notion that when journalists produce work about a bad person, they must signpost that work …

Emma Kinery / CNBC:

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson formally sworn in as Biden, Harris look on — (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) — Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was welcomed there with a traditional investiture ceremony attended by President Joe Biden …