memeorandum: Hunter Biden demands investigations and retractions, opening new front against GOP foes (Graham Kates/CBS News)

8:20 PM ET, February 1, 2023

Top Items:

Eager to Challenge Trump, Republicans Aren't So Eager to Be the First — Nikki Haley is expected to join the 2024 race this month, but other G.O.P. contenders are taking a wait-and-see approach. Some anti-Trump Republicans worry that too much dithering could be costly.

David Frum / The Atlantic:

The GOP Is Just Obnoxious — This article was featured in One Story to Read Today, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a single must-read from The Atlantic, Monday through Friday. Sign up for it here. — Let's say you're a politician in a close race and your opponent suffers a stroke.

Discussion: The Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, Very Serious and Politico

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP senators rally to defend DeSantis from Trump attacks

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Breitbart, Just The News, HuffPost, Fox News, Washington Examiner and Politico

Ryan Teague Beckwith / Bloomberg:
Trump's Attacks on Early Voting Worry Some in GOP Over Turnout

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Examiner

New York Times:
Trump's Fund-Raising in First Weeks of '24 Race Is Relatively Weak

Discussion: Insider, Washington Post, CNN, Politico, Political Wire, Bloomberg and NBC News

Henry J. Gomez / NBC News: Michigan Republicans are in turmoil as their leaders navigate tricky Trump terrain

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
Are Republicans Ready to Move On from Donald Trump?

Discussion: Raw Story

Todd Stacy / Alabama Daily News:
Early poll: DeSantis beating Trump among Alabama Republicans

Discussion: The Hill, National Review, BizPac Review, Washington Times and The Bulwark

Graham Kates / CBS News:

Hunter Biden demands investigations and retractions, opening new front against GOP foes — Hunter Biden's legal team went on the offensive Wednesday, demanding state and federal investigations into the dissemination of material from his laptop, and threatening a defamation lawsuit …

Discussion: Washington Times, CNN and Just The News

Matt Viser / Washington Post:

Hunter Biden's lawyers, in newly aggressive strategy, target his critics — His attorneys have sent letters to prosecutors urging probes of Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon and others — Hunter Biden's lawyers, in a newly aggressive strategy, sent a series of blistering letters Wednesday …

Discussion: ABC News, TheBlaze and Twitchy

NBC News:

Hunter Biden asks for criminal probe into Trump allies for ‘theft’ of data from laptop — Lawyers for Hunter Biden sent letters Wednesday requesting investigations into allies of former President Donald Trump who they say trafficked in stolen information from his laptop …

Discussion: Associated Press, Raw Story and Psycho Politics

New York Post:

Hunter Biden finally admits infamous laptop is his as he pleads for criminal probe — So much for, the laptop “could be” mine. — First son Hunter Biden's lawyers admitted late Wednesday that the infamous laptop the now-52-year-old abandoned at a Delaware computer repair shop in the throes …

New York Times:

The College Board Strips Down Its A.P. Curriculum for African American Studies — After criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, the official course looks different: No more critical race theory, and the study of contemporary topics — like Black Lives Matter — is optional.

Associated Press:
Black history class revised by College Board amid criticism

Discussion: The Hill, East Bay Times, MyNorthwest.com and Al Jazeera

Max Tani / Semafor:

Justice Department arrests former ABC News journalist on child pornography charges — The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced the arrest of an award-winning investigative reporter on charges related to child pornography. — In a statement, the DOJ said that it was charging James Gordon Meek …

Discussion: New York Post, Rolling Stone, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, The Wrap, The Daily Beast, Variety, Law & Crime and MyNorthwest.com, more at Mediagazer »

Department of Justice:
Man Arrested for Transporting Images of Child Sexual Abuse

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, RedState, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, emptywheel, TheBlaze, The Post Millennial, Deadline and Just The News

Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:

My Printer Is Extorting Me — Subscriptions such as HP's Instant Ink challenge what it means to own our devices. — The first rule of at-home printers is that you do not need a printer until you do, and then you need it desperately. The second rule is that when you plug the printer in …

Jacqueline Sweet / Politico:

Feds probing Santos' role in service dog charity scheme — NEW YORK — FBI agents are investigating Rep. George Santos' role in an alleged GoFundMe scheme involving a disabled U.S. Navy veteran's dying service dog. — Two agents contacted former service member Richard Osthoff Wednesday …

Discussion: ABC News, NBC News, CNN, Fox News, Forbes, NBC Bay Area, Raw Story, New York Post, The Daily Caller, PoliticusUSA, Political Wire, DCCC and Courthouse News Service

Mother Jones:

George Santos Relative Says They Never Gave $5,800 Reported by the Campaign: “I'm Dumbfounded” — Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. — Last week, Mother Jones reported that more than a dozen top donors to Rep. George Santos …

Discussion: Washington Post, OpenSecrets.org, Mediaite and Raw Story

Anthony Adragna / Politico:

Guns in the House? A raucous Natural Resources panel debate — House Natural Resources Committee Republicans on Wednesday defeated Rep. Jared Huffman's (D-Calif.) push to reinstate an explicit ban on carrying firearms to the committee room after a lengthy and occasionally heated debate.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Raw Story and Roll Call

NBC News:
Democrats and Republicans clash over where lawmakers can carry guns in the Capitol

Discussion: The Hill and The Mahablog

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Jan. 6 defendant who sprayed line of police sentenced after tearful apology — A Jan. 6 defendant who sprayed a chemical irritant at about 15 police officers — and later bragged about it in a video interview — was sentenced Wednesday to 68 months in prison. This is one of the stiffest Jan. 6 sentences handed down to date.

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:

Fireworks in House after Democrat says ‘insurrectionists’ should be banned from leading Pledge of Allegiance — WASHINGTON — A routine House committee meeting erupted into a heated, nearly hourlong debate Wednesday over the Pledge of Allegiance, with one Democratic lawmaker saying that …

Discussion: Insider, Mediaite, Roll Call, Plain Dealer, The Western Journal, The Floridian, Fox News, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, PoliticusUSA, The Daily Caller, Florida's Voice, Twitchy and IJR

Jonathan V. Last / The Triad:

Trump Is Losing the Grifter Class to DeSantis — And they matter more than you might think. — 1. Hungry Dogs Have To Eat — There was bad news for the Trump 2024 campaign yesterday and it wasn't Nikki Haley's pre-announcement of her campaign to challenge the former president.1

Discussion: PurpleAmerica's Substack

Adam Cancryn / Politico:

Biden and McCarthy hold ‘first good’ meeting on debt ceiling, but ‘no agreements, no promises’ — President Joe Biden met Wednesday with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in search of a path to lifting the nation's debt ceiling — and averting the potential for an economic catastrophe.

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, NBC News, Breitbart, East Bay Times, CNBC, Washington Post, Raw Story, New York Daily News, CBS News, New York Post, Washington Examiner and Bloomberg

Ryan Cooper / American Prospect:
Joe Manchin's Dumb Budget Idea Already Failed Before

Discussion: The Hill, Just The News, New Republic, Eschaton and New York Times

Lizzie Johnson / Washington Post:

An alleged $500 million Ponzi scheme preyed on Mormons. It ended with FBI gunfire. — In Las Vegas, a lawyer with huge gambling debts is accused of a financial fraud that left hundreds of victims in its wake — LAS VEGAS — The FBI arrived at the only house on this stretch of Ruffian Road at 1:25 p.m. …

CNN:

FBI finds no classified documents at Biden's Delaware vacation home — The FBI has completed its search of President Joe Biden's Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, home and no documents with classified markings were found, according to a source familiar with the matter.

NBC News:
FBI searches Biden's beach house amid classified documents investigation

Dominique Mosbergen / Wall Street Journal:

Dangerous Fungi Are Spreading Across U.S. as Temperatures Rise — Some fungi such as the type that causes Valley Fever might be adapting to endure more heat stress — Dangerous fungal infections are on the rise, and a growing body of research suggests warmer temperatures might be a culprit.

Kara Scannell / CNN:

Trump Org. controller to testify to Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money payments — A top executive of the Trump Organization is expected to appear Thursday before a Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump's alleged role in a hush money payment scheme, people familiar with the matter said.

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press, The Hill, Raw Story, ABC News, Washington Examiner, Political Wire, Vox, New York Daily News and BizPac Review

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Lawmakers Call for Inquiry Into Durham's Review of Russia Investigation — The Democrats asked the Justice Department's inspector general to scrutinize whether John H. Durham and William P. Barr “violated any laws, D.O.J. rules or practices, or canons of legal ethics.”

Discussion: Raw Story, The Raging Patriot, Balloon Juice and The Daily Wire

Houston Keene / Fox News:

Mike Lee, Rick Scott lose key committee seats, Scott blames McConnell — Rick Scott tells Fox News Digital ‘McConnell gets to pick’ committee assignments — Sen. Rick Scott loses to Mitch McConnell in GOP Senate leadership bid — FIRST ON FOX: Republican Senators Mike Lee of Utah …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and The Hill

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / The Daily Beast:

South Dakota Senator Censured, Unsuspended After ‘Suckling’ Scandal — ‘BEYOND REPROACH’ — A week after suspending state Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller, the South Dakota Senate voted Wednesday to censure and reinstate the Republican, despite a pending lawsuit in which she claimed the legislature violated …

Discussion: Associated Press and Raw Story

Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:

Senate Republicans pen letter asking DirecTV to explain decision ditching Newsmax — A group of leading Senate Republicans is requesting information from cable provider DirecTV surrounding its recent decision to drop conservative network Newsmax from its channel lineup.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The American Independent, One America News Network, DCReport.org, The Federalist, IJR and Deadline

Rebecca Klar / The Hill:

GoodRx illegally shared health data with tech giants to target ads, government alleges — Telemedicine company GoodRx allegedly shared sensitive personal health information with Google, Facebook and other firms to target ads to users, according to a complaint filed by federal regulators on Wednesday.