memeorandum: Clarence Thomas's Gifts and the Supreme Court's Credibility (David Leonhardt/New York Times)

12:10 PM ET, April 18, 2023

Top Items:

Clare Malone / New Yorker:

What Dominion Has to Prove in Its Case Against Fox News — Did the hosts of the country's most popular cable news network know that Trump's lies about the election were untrue? — Downtown Wilmington was already lousy with reporters when the news broke, on Sunday evening, that the Dominion v. Fox trial would be delayed by a day.

Discussion: Mediaite, Associated Press, Joe.My.God., Raw Story, The Hill, NBC News, NPR, Adweek and CNN, more at Mediagazer »

Jane C. Timm / NBC News:

Fired Fox News producer says she found more evidence relevant to Dominion case — Abby Grossberg said in a new sworn statement that she recently found two more recordings on an old cellphone, which she alleges Fox News lawyers failed to search. — WILMINGTON, Del. — Ex-Fox News producer Abby Grossberg …

Discussion: Alternet.org

Washington Post:

Jury selected in Dominion v. Fox News trial — The judge reminded jurors they cannot talk about the case, among themselves or with members of... The judge is now giving instructions to the newly sworn-in jury. “You have to follow every... The judge decided to replace one of the alternate jurors with a new juror after the...

Discussion: Deadline, Joe.My.God., Political Wire and CBS News

CNBC:

Fox News-Dominion defamation trial moves to opening arguments — Fox News trial in the Dominion Voting Systems' defamation lawsuit is kicking off. — Dominion has accused Fox of “intentionally and falsely” blaming it for Donald Trump's loss to Joe Biden by airing false claims that the company rigged the 2020 election.

Discussion: Reuters, Media Matters for America, Wall Street Journal, NBC New York, Reason, The Wrap, Financial Times, CNN, Associated Press, One America News Network, Just The News, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Deseret News

Rolling Stone:

Key DeSantis Donors Rip Him in Private Chats: ‘What the F-ck Is Wrong With RD?’ — The governor's donor prowess fueled his rise to Trump's top GOP rival, but the money men are getting anxious — THE RON DESANTIS megadonor meltdown is accelerating. — On a group chat of wealthy DeSantis donors …

Discussion: The Hill, Daily Kos, Occupy Democrats and Puck

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
DeSantis, in Latest Volley Against Disney, Suggests Punitive Steps

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
DeSantis's Thuggish Threats Against Disney

Discussion: Politico, Joe.My.God., National Review, FIRST DRAFT, CNN, Raw Story, Bloomberg, Florida Politics, Mediaite and HotAir

J.D. Capelouto / Semafor:
Chris Christie: 'I don't think Ron DeSantis is a conservative'

Discussion: Washington Examiner, National Review, Mediaite, BizPac Review and IJR

Matthew Kassel / Jewish Insider:
DeSantis takes steps to attract center-right Jewish voters

Discussion: Washington Press

New York Times:

84-Year-Old Is Charged in Shooting of Black Teenager Who Went to Wrong House — Lawyers for the family of Ralph Yarl, 16, said he was critically injured when he was shot twice in Kansas City, Mo. — The errand that nearly cost Ralph Yarl his life was of the sort that falls to older brothers everywhere.

Discussion: Deseret News, The GW Hatchet, HuffPost, Kansas City Star, Associated Press, IJR, New York Post and CBS News

CNN:

‘I want justice to look the same’: The aunt of a Black teen who rang the wrong doorbell and was shot by a White homeowner reacts to charges — A White, 84-year-old homeowner charged with shooting Ralph Yarl after the Black teen went to the wrong Kansas City address to pick up his siblings told police …

Discussion: Mediaite, The Black Wall Street Times and Associated Press

Associated Press:
Man charged in front-door shooting of Black teen Ralph Yarl

Washington Post:
White Kansas City man, 85, charged in shooting of Black teen

Discussion: ABC News, NBC News, USA Today, NPR, TIME, Insider, Summit News, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, KMBC, CBS News, Sputnik News, The Gateway Pundit, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, KCTV, UPI, New York Post, Law & Crime, The Hill, Okayplayer, Metro.co.uk, Reuters and Raw Story

New York Times:

DeSantis Tried to Bury Her. Now She's Helping Trump Try to Bury Him. — Susie Wiles helped Ron DeSantis become governor of Florida, but he turned against her and banished her from his orbit. Donald Trump was all too happy to bring her in from the cold. — Two months before Election Day 2020 …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Raw Story and Washington Monthly

Mike Murphy / Bulwark+:
Iowa Is a Big Problem for Trump

Discussion: NBC News, Iowa Starting Line and Raw Story

Joshua Green / Bloomberg:
DeSantis's Fight Against Disney Won't Help Him Beat Trump

Discussion: USA Today, Insider, New York Daily News, RedState, LGBTQ Nation, Florida Politics, Newsbusters, New York Post, Joe.My.God., Pluribus News and Sean Hannity

Eugene Robinson / Washington Post:

Clarence Thomas's explanations fail the laugh test — During his much-too-long tenure on the Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas has been totally, tragically wrong about almost everything. But for a long time, I tried to convince myself that he was at least sincere in his deplorable ideology.

Discussion: Politico and Raw Story

David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Clarence Thomas's Gifts and the Supreme Court's Credibility

Discussion: Insider

Ann M. Simmons / Wall Street Journal:

Russian Court Upholds WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich's Detention — Journalist to remain in pretrial detention at Moscow's Lefortovo prison — A Moscow court upheld the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich at the prison where he has been held since his arrest last month.

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Booked: Liz Cheney in deal to stop Trump's reelection — Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the anti-Trump Republican face of the recent House investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, has landed a book deal timed to stop the former president's apparent march to the GOP presidential nomination.

Discussion: Hachette Book Group, Axios, Associated Press, Joe.My.God. and New York Post

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:
Trump team prepares to fight efforts to block him from ballots over Jan. 6

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

David Corn / Mother Jones:

Donald Trump's Lawyers Just Made a Big Mistake — Their plan is to discredit Michael Cohen. Instead, they're undermining their own client's case. — Washington, DC, Bureau Chief — Last week, when Donald Trump filed a $500 million civil lawsuit in federal court against his former lawyer …

Discussion: Above the Law

Ally Mutnick / Politico:

The one thing Trump and McConnell agree on: A hatred for this group — The anti-tax group wants to pick Senate candidates. Republicans see a 2022 repeat. — Former President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell don't agree on much, but there's still one thing that unites them: A disdain for the Club for Growth.

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:

House GOP puts on united front as conflict brews behind the scenes — After 100 days in control, House Republicans have not reached consensus on how they will handle a vote on raising the debt ceiling — a critical piece of legislation that, if not passed, has global economic implications.

Discussion: Semafor, The Hill, CNN, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Wide World of News, Reuters, Sputnik News, Wall Street Journal, Boston Herald, Washington Times and UPI

Punchbowl News:
Lots of debt limit news

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo and NPR

Hannah Story Brown / New Republic:

The Ghost of a Trump Appointee Is Haunting Merrick Garland's Justice Department — With the news of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's historic indictment of Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up other crimes this April, the spotlight on the Justice Department has harshened.

Corky Siemaszko / NBC News:

Oklahoma county leaders caught on audio talking about killing reporters, complaining they can no longer lynch Black people — “I am both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County,” Gov. Kevin Stitt said. — The governor of Oklahoma …

Discussion: Washington Post, Alternet.org, Raw Story, New York Daily News, The Root, Digby's Hullabaloo, KFOR-TV, WWLP-TV, Washington Examiner, Insider, Tulsa World, Associated Press, KSLA-TV, The Oklahoman, HuffPost, Joe.My.God., Heartland Signal and The Daily Beast

Roger Sollenberger / The Daily Beast:

George Santos' Mysterious Campaign Loans Somehow Get Even More Mysterious — A central question about George Santos' campaign has been how did he come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars to loan to it. The story is changing again. — Rep. George Santos (R-NY) announced Monday that he would …

Discussion: USA Today, Insider and Raw Story

NBC News:

Sen. Bob Menendez unveils plan for immigration overhaul — The outline represents the latest effort to tackle an issue that hasn't seen significant progress on Capitol Hill in decades. — Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., on Tuesday introduced a framework for revamping immigration programs amid ongoing concerns …

Discussion: The Hill, Fox News, HotAir, Washington Times, Breitbart, Roll Call, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Washington Examiner and Just The News

Scott Macfarlane / CBS News:

Justice Department to seek longest sentence in any Jan. 6 riot case so far — The U.S. Department of Justice will seek the longest prison sentence in any January 6 riot case to date when it argues for more than 24 years in prison for Peter Schwartz of Pennsylvania at sentencing on May 5.

Discussion: Raw Story and The Daily Caller

Washington Post:

Why Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Russia, should live in freedom — The sentencing of our opinions contributor, Vladimir Kara-Murza, to a quarter-century in prison on Monday by a Moscow court, raises three very loud alarms. The first is that his health is fragile and he might not survive 25 years in prison.

Discussion: Politico, UPI, openDemocracy, Reuters, The Guardian, One America News Network, New York Times, TASS, Persuasion, Financial Times, The Moscow Times, Associated Press, Euractiv, U.S. Embassy & Consulates … and Washington Free Beacon

Associated Press:

No charges for officers in Jayland Walker police shooting — An Ohio grand jury declined to indict eight police officers who fired 94 shots in the death of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man who fired at least one round at officers during a car and foot chase last summer, the state's attorney general announced Monday.

Discussion: Akron Beacon Journal, ABC News, CBS News, Washington Post, CNN, UPI, Forbes, MyNorthwest.com, New York Times, New Republic, New York Daily News, The Root, USA Today, Associated Press, PHL17.com, NBC Connecticut and NBC Chicago

Christopher Tremoglie / Washington Examiner:

Don Trump Jr. and the GOP are weak to call for leniency on Bud Light — What is it about the many conservatives and Republicans who are so quick to surrender against companies that go against conservative Republican values? It always seems that when the going gets tough, many conservatives and Republicans get going.

Discussion: Raw Story

Associated Press:

Littlest intruder: Toddler crawls through White House fence — A toddler on Tuesday earned the title of one of the tiniest White House intruders after he squeezed through the metal fencing on the north side of the executive mansion. U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division officers …

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:

Jim Jordan Brought His Cabaret Act to New York City — At a ridiculous field hearing on crime in New York, the one thing the visitors didn't want to talk about was this country's insane attraction to its firearms. — Years ago, Republican senator Everett Dirksen moved heaven and earth to make the marigold the national flower.

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, New York Post, National Review and Associated Press

Jessica Gresko / Associated Press:

New Jersey wins Supreme Court dispute against New York — The Supreme Court says New Jersey can withdraw from a commission the state created decades ago with New York to combat the mob's influence at their joint port. The high court ruled unanimously Tuesday that the Garden State doesn't need …

Discussion: CNBC and Washington Examiner

Charlie Sykes / Morning Shots:

A Harrowing Tale From the Heartland — Plus: Meatball's revenge — It looks like the Fox/Dominion Trial is on today. And it's going to be a helluva show. — DeSantis threatens Disney with a prison. — Jim Jordan reminds us that he's a clown.

Discussion: Zandar Versus The Stupid, New York Times, Mediaite and Mock Paper Scissors

Alex Gangitano / The Hill:

Biden signs executive order to support care workers, expand affordable care options — President Biden on Tuesday will sign an executive order to boost compensation for care workers, support family caregivers, and expand affordable care options through 50 directives to federal agencies.

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Examiner, The White House, The 19th, Reuters, CNN, New York Daily News, UPI, Washington Times, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, New York Times and NBC News

New York Times:

How Mexico Became the Biggest User of the World's Most Notorious Spy Tool — A Times investigation reveals the story behind how Mexico became the first and most prolific user of Pegasus. It's still using it, despite promising to stop. — The Israelis had come to Mexico to clinch a major sale …

Discussion: The Citizen Lab and Insider Paper, more at Techmeme »

Adam Pemble / Associated Press:

Putin visits Russian troops in occupied Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday visited command posts of the Kremlin's forces fighting in Ukraine in an apparent effort to rally his troops as the war approaches its 14th month and Kyiv readies a possible counteroffensive with Western-supplied weapons.