memeorandum: Syria's state capture: the rising influence of Mrs Assad (Raya Jalabi/Financial Times)

12:15 AM ET, April 3, 2023

Top Items:

Trump's Team Blasts His Lawyer as ‘Dumb’ ‘Loudmouth’ — Joe Tacopina “pisses off others with his antics, but he's a blunt object that Donald Trump wants, apparently,” one source says … But his lawyers are already fighting — with themselves. — Days after the former president's indictment …

Hugo Lowell / The Guardian:

Donald Trump vows to escalate attacks against Alvin Bragg - sources — The former president was stunned by the indictment at first, but after 24 hours he indicated he wanted to 'rough ‘em up’ — Donald Trump has told advisers and associates in recent days that he is prepared to escalate attacks …

Discussion: The Post Millennial, New York Post, Washington Examiner, Florida Politics, Political Wire and WESH-TV

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

Maggie Haberman on Donald Trump — We talk with a Trump reporter to prepare you for the week when he will likely be arrested. — Donald Trump is expected to fly to New York this week from his home in Florida to be arrested. For now, the specific charges are unknown because the indictment is under seal …

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit and New York Daily News

Josephine Harvey / HuffPost:

Bill Barr Says Trump Taking The Stand Is A Very Bad Idea: ‘Lacks All Self-Control’ — The former attorney general said it would be a “particularly bad idea” for Trump to testify at trial. — Former Attorney General William Barr said he would not advise Donald Trump to attempt to defend himself …

Discussion: Insider, Fox News, BizPac Review, New York Post, Washington Press, Joe.My.God. and The Hill

New York Times:

Ahead of Trump's Arrival, New York Readies for Protests and Celebrations — Donald J. Trump is expected to fly in on Monday night, then he is expected to spend the night in Trump Tower. The police will monitor every movement. — Even for a city accustomed to celebrity appearances …

Discussion: ABC News, Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, New York Daily News, Washington Examiner, UPI, New York Post, Politico, NBC News, The Hill, The Western Journal, Fox News and Associated Press

Quin Hillyer / Washington Examiner:

Exclusive: Louisiana backstory puts puzzling twist on Trump-Daniels tale — With the political world obsessed with the rather flimsy indictment in New York of former President Donald Trump, here's what puzzles me: Why did Trump pay off somebody to keep quiet something that was already prominently in the public domain?

Josh Kraushaar / Axios:
Trump's Republican revival

Discussion: Tusk, ABC News, Washington Times, Yahoo News, Digby's Hullabaloo and Insider

CBS News:
Early DeSantis supporters exhibit Trump fatigue: “I wish he would kind of enjoy retirement”

Discussion: Florida Politics, RedState, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Fox News, The Atlantic, Financial Times, Insider, Raw Story, USA Today and NBC News

New York Times:
2 Pro-Impeachment Senators Question Motives Behind Trump Indictment

Discussion: Washington Times, Fox News, RedState, National Review, Politico and The Hill

Julia Mueller / The Hill:
Psaki to Democrats on Trump indictment: ‘Stay out of it for now’

Discussion: Breitbart, New York Post and Washington Times

Alisa Wiersema / ABC News:
ABC News exclusive: Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces 2024 presidential run

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Indictment secrecy repeats pattern of past efforts targeting Trump

Discussion: The Mahablog

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
Trump legal team will look to challenge ‘every potential issue’ once indictment is unsealed

Discussion: Insider, Joe.My.God., HuffPost, CBS News and NewsNation

Washington Post:

Justice Dept. said to have more evidence of possible Trump obstruction at Mar-a-Lago — Ex-staffer's emails, texts are guiding investigators, who increasingly suspect Trump went through boxes after subpoena — Justice Department and FBI investigators have amassed fresh evidence pointing …

Discussion: Insider, Rolling Stone, CNN, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Press, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Forbes, The Hill, Washington Examiner and Political Wire

Sarah K. Burris / Alternet.org:

The DOJ gets texts and emails about Donald Trump from his assistant: report — The Washington Post report detailing new court documents that have found evidence of additional obstructions of justice also revealed that the Justice Department got its hands on key information.

Discussion: New York Magazine

Katie Hawkinson / The Daily Beast:

‘60 Minutes’ Interview With Marjorie Taylor Greene Prompts Backlash — ‘INSANE’ — 60 Minutes is set to air an interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Sunday evening—and people across the media landscape are furious. In response to the news, The New York Times Magazine …

Discussion: Mediaite, Washington Examiner, The Wrap, New York Daily News, CBS News, Alternet.org, Forbes, Crooks and Liars, The Gateway Pundit, TMZ.com, Twitchy and Fox News, more at Mediagazer »

AJ McDougall / The Daily Beast:

MTG Calls Dems a ‘Party of Pedophiles’ in Softball ‘60 Minutes’ Interview — The soft-pedaled segment also featured footage of the congresswoman working out and deflecting blame for calling the Parkland shooting a false-flag operation. — Though Lesley Stahl opened her controversial sit …

Discussion: CBS News, The Hill, Raw Story, Mediaite, RedState, Washington Examiner, Political Wire, BizPac Review and Washington Press

New York Times:

Influential Russian Military Blogger Is Killed in St. Petersburg Bombing — Vladlen Tatarsky represented a radical wing of pro-invasion bloggers and activists who backed Moscow's war but also criticized what they saw as the flaws in the Russian Army. — An influential Russian military blogger …

Discussion: The Guardian, Reuters, CNN, Associated Press, New York Daily News, KVIA-TV, UPI, New York Post, Bloomberg and Just The News

BBC:
Cafe explosion in St Petersburg kills military blogger

Discussion: Al Jazeera, The Times of Israel, Associated Press, Metro.co.uk, Joe.My.God., The Sun, The Hill, Fox News, Politico, The Guardian and Political Wire

Anastasia Stognei / Financial Times:
Russian pro-war blogger killed in St Petersburg restaurant blast

Discussion: Reuters

Rob Crilly / Daily Mail:

Trump's lawyers believe a Manhattan judge impose a GAG order on Monday that will BAN him talking about his Tuesday arrest in NYC - with a penalty of 30 DAYS jail time or $1,000 fine — Trump could be gagged by a Manhattan court on Monday ahead of hearing — His legal team is considering hiring …

Discussion: RedState, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit and The Western Journal

Paul Kirby / BBC:

Sanna Marin defeated by Finland's conservatives in tight race — Finnish conservative leader Petteri Orpo has won a nail-biting three-way election race, defeating Prime Minister Sanna Marin's centre left. — “We got the biggest mandate,” said the leader of the National Coalition Party …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian, WTOP News, Bloomberg and Al Jazeera

Jon Henley / The Guardian:
Sanna Marin suffers defeat in Finland election as SDP beaten into third place

Discussion: Financial Times, Reuters, New York Post, El País, Associated Press, New York Times, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, Politico, CNBC and Breitbart

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

Twitter strikes New York Times' verified badge on Elon Musk's orders — The Times and other news organizations say they won't pay for the icon, which is designed to protect against impersonation — Twitter removed the “verified” badge from the New York Times' main account on Sunday …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Bloomberg, NBC News, Forbes, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Slay News, The Western Journal, Washington Press, The Hill, Mother Jones, The Gateway Pundit and The Post Millennial, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

Silicon Valley Bank's risk model flashed red. So its executives changed it. — Focused on profits, leaders made decisions that foreshadowed the bank's surprise failure — Flush with cash from a booming tech industry, Silicon Valley Bank executives embarked on a strategy in 2020 …

more at Techmeme »

Heather Haddon / Wall Street Journal:

McDonald's Temporarily Shuts U.S. Offices as Chain Prepares for Layoff Notices — Fast-food company expected to notify workers of their job status virtually — McDonald's Corp. MCD .66%increase; green up pointing triangle is temporarily closing its U.S. offices this week as it prepares …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Reuters, The Gateway Pundit, Breaking911 and The Daily Caller

Associated Press:

Saudis to cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day — Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers on Sunday announced surprise cuts totaling up to 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the year, a move that could raise prices worldwide.

Discussion: Reuters, Bloomberg, The Hill, Financial Times, El País, Breaking911, Al Jazeera, Associated Press and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:

In old, feel-good story, Putin bought teacher an apartment. He didn't. — Newly uncovered financial records show that an offshore account secretly controlled by Roman Abramovich paid for a Tel Aviv apartment for the Russian president's high school teacher of German

Discussion: The Times of Israel

Washington Post:

Blinken presses for release of U.S. journalist in call with Russian counterpart — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the “immediate release” of a U.S. journalist detained in Russia and another imprisoned American in a rare phone call Sunday with the country's foreign minister.

Discussion: New York Post, ABC7, The Hill and CBS News, more at Mediagazer »