memeorandum: U.S. and India launch high-level defense and tech initiative (Ellen Nakashima/Washington Post)

6:55 AM ET, February 1, 2023

Top Items:

It's official: Nikki Haley running for president. Formal announcement Feb. 15 — Cementing what has been in the works for months, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will formally announce she is running for president and will seek the Republican nomination for her party's 2024 ticket, The Post and Courier has learned.

Washington Post:

Haley plans to announce presidential run, as GOP race starts slowly — The former U.N. ambassador's move comes as other prospective candidates have slowed their planning — Nikki Haley, a former United Nations ambassador and governor of South Carolina, is planning to announce that she will run …

Discussion: Wide World of News

Politico:

‘They come to me’: Jane Roberts' legal recruiting work involved officials whose agencies had cases before the Supreme Court — Jane Roberts, the wife of Chief Justice John Roberts, acknowledges having represented a wide variety of public officials — including senior Justice Department officials …

Discussion: Today's Edition Newsletter

Steve Eder / New York Times:

At the Supreme Court, Ethics Questions Over a Spouse's Business Ties — The chief justice's wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, has made millions in her career recruiting lawyers to prominent law firms, some of which have business before the court. Now, a letter sent to Congress claims that may present a conflict of interest.

Discussion: Slate, The Hill, ABC News, Forbes and Washington Examiner

David Badash / Raw Story:

Another SCOTUS scandal: Chief justice's spouse makes millions placing attorneys at top law firms that argue before the court — The highly controversial and highly unpopular U.S. Supreme Court isn't just facing a historic loss of confidence, it's now facing yet another ethics scandal …

Discussion: The Mahablog

Graham Kates / CBS News:

Video of Trump deposition in New York fraud probe shows former president taking the Fifth, repeating “same answer” — Newly released video obtained by CBS News provides the first look at former President Donald Trump's deposition last summer in the New York attorney general's civil fraud investigation.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, CNN, CNBC, Raw Story, HuffPost, New Republic, Washington Examiner, New York Post, USA Today, Mediaite, Politico and The Guardian

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:

Trump pleaded the fifth more than 400 times in fraud deposition, video shows — Former president repeatedly invoked constitutional right against self-incrimination in New York footage from late last summer — Video released on Tuesday showed Donald Trump answering questions …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Insider, Fox News, New York Daily News, ABC News, abc7NY, Raw Story, CBS News and Washington Examiner

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Trump's Well-Worn Legal Playbook Starts to Look Frayed

Discussion: Raw Story

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

The historic support for George Santos's resignation — In resisting calls to push out embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has insisted that it's up to the voters. — Well, the voters have spoken, and they clearly want him out.

Discussion: One America News Network, HuffPost, The Daily Beast, The Moderate Voice, The Hill, USA Today, New Republic, UPI, New York Daily News, New York Post, Deadline, Bloomberg, The American Independent, Insider, Mediaite and Siena College Research …

Will Steakin / ABC News:
Promised green cards, catfishing, threats: How George Santos' ex-boyfriends say they were left feeling trapped, manipulated

Discussion: Raw Story, Vanity Fair, Political Wire and The Handbasket

Jesús A. Rodríguez / Politico:
16 Hours With George Santos: Dunkin' Donuts, 27,000 Steps and a Scolding

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Kevin Freking / Associated Press:
Santos tells colleagues he won't serve on 2 committees

Mike Stone / Reuters:

U.S. readies $2 bln-plus Ukraine aid package with longer-range weapons -sources — The United States is readying more than $2 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine that is expected to include longer-range rockets for the first time as well as other munitions and weapons …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Al Jazeera

Amina Dunn / Pew Research Center:
As Russian invasion nears one-year mark, partisans grow further apart on U.S. support for Ukraine

Discussion: Opinion Today, Breitbart, The Hill and The Pew Research Center

Joanna Kakissis / NPR:
Ukraine's defense minister pushes for fighter jets, even as training begins on tanks

Financial Times:
Brussels urged to rein in Ukraine's ‘unrealistic’ EU hopes

Discussion: TASS, Balloon Juice and Euractiv

Alan Rappeport / New York Times:

In Debt Limit Fight, Republicans Won't Say What Spending Cuts They Want — A renewed focus on fiscal restraint in the debt limit standoff with Democrats poses its own political risks. — WASHINGTON — At a news conference this month to showcase how Republicans will handle …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, NPR, Washington Post, R Street, Truthout, Bloomberg, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Don's Newsletter, Raw Story, Roll Call, Jacobin, HuffPost and The Spectator World

Joseph Zeballos-Roig / Semafor: Republicans have a plan B if the U.S. breaches the debt ceiling. It'd still be a disaster.

Kevin Roberts / The American Conservative:
Getting Serious About Responsible Defense Spending

Discussion: New Republic and Washington Examiner

New York Times:

DeSantis Takes On the Education Establishment, and Builds His Brand — A proposal by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to overhaul higher education would mandate courses in Western civilization, eliminate diversity programs and reduce the protections of tenure. — Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Law Dork with Chris Geidner, Florida Politics, Talking Points Memo, Fox News and Raw Story

Jack Stripling / Washington Post:
DeSantis aims to cut college diversity efforts; New College ousts president

NBC News:

Top Jan. 6 investigator says FBI, other agencies could have stopped Capitol mob had they acted on intel already collected — The House Jan. 6 committee concluded that the FBI and other federal security agencies could have prevented a violent mob from overrunning the Capitol had they acted …

Discussion: New York Times, Insider, Newsbusters and Roll Call

New York Times:

House Votes to End Covid Precautions as G.O.P. Uses Pandemic in Political Attacks — Republicans in Congress are seeking to capitalize on discontent about the federal coronavirus response while the party's presidential contenders are vying to be the biggest foe of restrictions.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Majority Leader and New York Daily News

Amy Gardner / Washington Post:

GOP report shows plan to ramp up focus on disproven election fraud claims — The report prepared by the Republican National Committee proposes expanding ‘election integrity’ activities in response to perceptions of a rigged process — A new internal report prepared by the Republican …

Discussion: Raw Story

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:

U.S. and India launch high-level defense and tech initiative — Geopolitical concerns about China and Russia form backdrop of partnership — The United States and India on Tuesday formally established a high-level initiative on defense and emerging technologies — what national security …

Discussion: Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

CBS News:

FBI searched the Penn Biden Center in mid-November — Washington — The FBI searched the Penn Biden Center offices in mid-November, according to two sources familiar with the investigation, after lawyers for President Biden had found about 10 documents marked classified there on Nov. 2.

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Company Offers Advanced Drones to Ukraine for One Dollar, With Some Costs — Sale of long-range, high-speed Reaper unmanned aircraft would require Biden administration approval — A U.S. weapons maker is offering to sell the Ukraine government two Reaper MQ-9 drones for a dollar …

Discussion: CBS News

Brittany Bernstein / National Review:

$5 Million Reparations Payment for Black Residents Not Enough, San Francisco Official Says — A San Francisco advisory committee's recommendation that the city pay out hefty reparations to the city's longtime black residents does not go far enough toward making things right …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Washington Examiner

Josh Boswell / Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Set phone up so I can spy on you showering.’ Hunter Biden threatened to withhold cash-strapped assistant's pay if she didn't FaceTime him naked, texts show - as it's revealed she's the FOURTH employee with whom he had a sexual relationship — Texts obtained by DailyMail.com show First Son asked assistant for video sex

Discussion: New York Post, RedState, The Western Journal, Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial and TEMPLE CO

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump big money machine prepares for battle with DeSantis, other rivals — The operatives running former President Donald Trump's cash-flush super PAC met quietly in December to sketch out their lines of attack against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other potential GOP rivals …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, 19FortyFive, HotAir, The Hill and Raw Story

Dánica Coto / Associated Press:

4 key suspects in Haiti presidential slaying in US custody — Four key suspects in the killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse were transferred to the United States for prosecution as the case stagnates in Haiti amid death threats that have spooked local judges, U.S. officials announced Tuesday.

Discussion: New York Times, CBS News, Department of Justice, Axios, Al Jazeera, Rolling Stone, UPI and Raw Story

Matthew Cunningham-Cook / The Lever:

Mass. Prisoners Could Choose Between Freedom And Their Organs — A new bill would allow prisoners to get time off their sentence if they donate their organs or bone marrow. — Massachusetts Democrats have a bold new proposal for prisoners: donate your organs or bone marrow …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Camilo Montoya-Galvez / CBS News:

Republican-led states ask judge to shut down DACA program for immigrant “Dreamers” — Washington — Nine Republican-controlled states asked a federal judge in Texas on Tuesday to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in its entirety over two years …

Discussion: Fox News, CNN and Washington Examiner

Zac Howard / The Florida Standard:

Democrat Politician Agrees with DeSantis, Calls Rejected AP Course “Trash” — Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor has been an outspoken critic of the governor, but the two men agree on the lack of educational value in the recently rejected AP African American Studies course. — January 31, 2023 .

Discussion: The American Conservative and Fox News