memeorandum: Gov. Reeves Declares Confederate Heritage Month, A 30-Year-Old Mississippi Tradition (Ashton Pittman/Mississippi Free Press)

1:05 PM ET, April 5, 2023

Top Items:

Trump charged with narrow violations — in pursuit of broad scheme to undermine 2016 vote — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, in a sweeping statement of facts unsealed Tuesday, accuses Donald Trump of engaging in a wide-reaching, more than two-year scheme to illegally influence …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, CNBC, American Greatness, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, IJR, PoliticusUSA, The Daily Signal, Just The News, The Hill, PIX11, Washington Examiner, National Review, Guido Fawkes, New York Times, Al Jazeera and WFLA-TV

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

A Surprise Accusation Bolsters a Risky Case Against Trump — The unsealed case against Donald J. Trump accuses him of falsifying records in part to lay the groundwork for planned lies to tax authorities. — WASHINGTON — The unsealed indictment against former President Donald J. Trump …

Discussion: NBC News, CNN, Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Fox News, The Hill, Slate, New York Times, The Daily Beast, New York Post and Reason, more at Techmeme »

Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:

The Trump indictment is a dangerous leap on the highest of wires — As a presidential candidate in 2016, frantic to keep evidence of his extramarital affairs secret, Donald Trump made extensive efforts to buy the silence of the women involved. There's never been much doubt about that.

Discussion: Tangle, The Other Side of Fear, Washington Post, Palm Beach Post, Just The News, NBC News and New York Daily News

Mike Allen / Axios:

“Never Trumpers” sound alarm about Manhattan DA's indictment — Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, as big a Trump critic as there is in the Republican Party, issued a statement saying the former president is “unfit for office” — but that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “has stretched …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, HuffPost, Alternet.org, Mitt Romney, The Daily Caller and RedState

New York Times:

We Finally Know the Case Against Trump, and It Is Strong — Ms. Agnifilo is a former Manhattan chief assistant district attorney. Mr. Eisen is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. — For weeks, Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, has come under heavy fire for pursuing a case against Donald Trump.

Discussion: Insider, Washington Post, Politico, Mediaite, Louder With Crowder, National Review, New York Post and The Nation

Marc Elias / Democracy Docket:

Trump's Indictment Adds Insult to Injury — I recently went to the doctor for a sharp pain in my knee. Normally I wouldn't have bothered, but it was bad enough that I wasn't able to run, the one exercise I enjoy. As I feared, the doctor had bad news: My running, specifically …

Dan Pfeiffer / The Message Box:

Trump Loses (and Dems Win) Again — Donald Trump was arrested and once again the rest of his party paid the price — Tuesday was the perfect metaphor for the Republican Party in the Trump era. The former President and current frontrunner for the GOP nomination was arrested, fingerprinted, and arraigned like a common criminal.

Charlie Sykes / Morning Shots:
The Non-Trivial Crimes of Donald J. Trump

Discussion: The Bulwark and The Atlantic

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
Bragg's ‘Indictment’ Even Fails as an Indictment

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ, Media Matters for America, Althouse, CBS News, Power Line, Mediaite and Breitbart

Wall Street Journal:
Bragg's Case Against Trump Leaves Ample Defense Openings, Legal Experts Say

Michael Weiss / New Lines Magazine: Queens Man Arrested

Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
Unsealed — Now we know what charges Trump faces in Manhattan — Well, today was a day.

Discussion: CBS News, RedState, Raw Story, The American Spectator, USA Today and The Federalist

Wall Street Journal:
What's Missing in the Trump Indictment

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

A ‘surreal’ day for Trump in court may only tear the country further apart — There were two big things to fear before Tuesday's momentous first criminal arraignment of an ex-president of the United States. — The first was that while Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case might cite solid evidence …

Discussion: Politico, Rasmussen Reports, Washington Examiner, Semafor, Oliver Willis Explains, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, USA Today, The Hill, Boston Herald and The Daily Signal

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:

The Humiliation of Donald Trump — He was forced to return to the island that rejected him—not in triumph, but in disgrace. — He shuffled quietly into the courtroom and took his seat at the defense table. He looked strangely small sitting there flanked by lawyers—his shoulders slumped …

Discussion: Raw Story

Charles Homans / New York Times:

Trump's Calls to Protest Fall on Weary, Wary Ears — The swarms on Manhattan streets were from media outlets, not supporters, and while the reasons to steer clear varied, Jan. 6 was on plenty of minds.

Discussion: Politico, Vox and NBC News

Politico:
With an ‘arraignment party,’ Trump jolts his campaign

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Magazine and Insider

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Fact-checking Trump's comments and ‘truths’ on arraignment day

Discussion: The Hill, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, PolitiFact, Legal Affairs and Trials …, Louder With Crowder, IJR, Bloomberg and Fox 8 Cleveland WJW

The City:
Most New Yorkers Don't Get the Trump Treatment at Arraignment

Discussion: HuffPost, Alternet.org and New York Times

Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:
Trump Struggles to Defend Himself in Bizarre Post-Arrest Speech

Discussion: New York Post, VICE, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Baltimore Sun, Insider, RedState and Right Side Broadcasting …

Julia Davis / The Daily Beast:
Team Putin Brutally Mocks Their Beloved Trump in Arrest Skit

Discussion: Raw Story

Calder McHugh / Politico:
Trump Is Not Ready For His Closeup

Discussion: PJ Media

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Trump says Republicans in Congress should ‘defund’ Justice Department, FBI

Discussion: NBC News, Insider, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, RADAR, Forbes, Rolling Stone, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Raw Story and The Hill

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election: Protasiewicz Wins With Abortion Message — Janet Protasiewicz prevailed in the state's highly consequential contest for the Supreme Court, which will now be likely to reverse the state's abortion ban and end the use of gerrymandered legislative maps.

Adam Edelman / NBC News:
Liberals gain control of the Wisconsin state Supreme Court for the first time in 15 years

Patrick Marley / Washington Post:
Liberals win control of Wisconsin Supreme Court ahead of abortion case

Discussion: Axios, New York Times, VICE, IJR, Althouse, PJ Media, Reuters, WisPolitics, WisPolitics, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice, Just The News, National Review and Semafor

Tatiana Siegel / Variety:

Don Lemon's Misogyny at CNN, Exposed: Malicious Texts, Mocking Female Co-Workers and ‘Diva-Like Behavior’ — Back in 2008, Don Lemon was co-anchoring CNN's “Live From” weekday show with Kyra Phillips, a gig that he landed after he arrived at the network two years prior from local news in Chicago.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Twitchy and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Novak / Forbes:

Twitter Adds ‘State-Affiliated Media’ Label To NPR Account Putting It On Par With Russia Today — Twitter added a warning to NPR's Twitter account on Tuesday, declaring it as “state-affiliated media,” a label that's typically been reserved for foreign media outlets that represent the official views …

Discussion: Techdirt, The Hill, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair, Variety, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Bloomberg, Semafor, Fox News, Newsbusters, TheBlaze, Twitchy, Louder With Crowder and The Post Millennial, more at Mediagazer »

Military.com:

The Threat from Extremist Groups Is Growing. Service Members and Vets Are Getting Sucked into the Violence. — “Nothing shall deter us from our duty in this eternal struggle — not death nor prison,” Brandon Russell wrote from his jail cell in May 2020. “We are always comforted by the thought …

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

Tricia Cotham Switches Parties, Giving Republicans Veto-Proof Majority — The change in allegiances by a Democratic state representative gave Republicans narrow veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the legislature, allowing them to bypass Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat.

Discussion: NC Newsline, Associated Press, Fox News, Pluribus News, NBC News, RedState, Forbes and Slay News

Lucille Sherman / Axios:
NC Democrat expected to change parties

Zachary Cohen / CNN:

Exclusive: National security officials tell special counsel Trump was repeatedly warned he did not have the authority to seize voting machines — Former top national security officials have testified to a federal grand jury that they repeatedly told former President Donald Trump and his allies …

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:

Did Media Learn Nothing From 2016? — The wall-to-wall coverage of Trump's arraignment shows how quickly the lessons of his election have been forgotten. — The Trump Show is back. The former president's arrest on felony charges of falsifying business records related to a hush-money payment …

Cheyanne M. Daniels / The Hill: Exonerated Central Park Five member mimics Trump with full page ad against former president

Ryan Gaydos / Fox News:

LSU's Angel Reese won't accept Jill Biden apology: 'We'll go to the Obamas' — Reese called Jill Biden's suggestion ‘A JOKE’ — LSU forward Angel Reese appeared to be burnt up about the suggestion first lady Jill Biden made about the possibility of inviting Iowa to the White House for its run to the national championship.

Discussion: Insider, New York Post, RedState, HotAir, Associated Press, Newsbusters, Slay News, Breitbart, Erick Erickson's Show Notes and CNN

Seima Oki / The Japan News:

China Plans to Ban Exports of Rare Earth Magnet Tech — BEIJING — China is considering banning the export of technologies used to produce high-performance rare earth magnets deployed in electric vehicles, wind turbine motors and other products, citing “national security” as a reason, it has been learned.

Daniel Marans / HuffPost:

Brandon Johnson, Progressive Union Organizer, Elected Mayor Of Chicago — Johnson's victory over centrist Paul Vallas is a major achievement for the activist left. — Overcoming a major fundraising gap, accusations that he would “defund” the police and public polling that predicted his defeat …

Paul Kiel / ProPublica:

Private Planes and Luxury Yachts Aren't Just Toys for the Ultrawealthy. They're Also Huge Tax Breaks. — The Secret IRS Files — Flying to Ireland to inhale the seaside air as you drive a golf ball into the scenic distance. Crossing the country to reach your enormous yacht, which is ready for your Hudson River pleasure cruise.

Phil McCausland / NBC News:

Sutherland Springs victims say they've reached $144.5 million settlement with DOJ — The “tentative agreement,” which still has to be approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland, would end years of legal battle for more than 80 survivors and victims' relatives.