Top Items:
Washington Post:
Judicial activist directed fees to Clarence Thomas's wife, urged ‘no mention of Ginni’ — Leonard Leo told GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway to bill nonprofit, then use money to pay spouse of Supreme Court justice — Conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo arranged for the wife …
Discussion:
The Hill, Alternet.org, Raw Story, The Guardian, Common Dreams, The Dispatch, Mediaite, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Forbes, HuffPost, Rolling Stone, Wide World of News, Insider, USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Wrap, PoliticusUSA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Election Law Blog and Political Wire
Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:
Trump Says Stars Get Away With Sexual Assault—'Unfortunately or Fortunately' — He keeps denying that he raped E. Jean Carroll. But Donald Trump says stars like him do indeed get away with sexual assault. — The Manhattan jury that will decide whether Donald Trump raped journalist E …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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David Badash / Raw Story:
Trump and lawyer disagree if he is returning to ‘confront’ rape accuser — Donald Trump on Thursday told reporters in Ireland he “has to” cut his trip short because he needs to “confront this woman” in court. — “This woman” is journalist E. Jean Carroll, who is suing the ex-president in a civil court case for rape and defamation.
Discussion:
Insider, The Guardian, The Hill, London Evening Standard, NBC News, Politico and New York Daily News
Irish Examiner:
Donald Trump departs Ireland to ‘confront’ accuser in New York case
Donald Trump departs Ireland to ‘confront’ accuser in New York case
Discussion:
RTÉ, Breitbart, Washington Press and Jezebel
Erica Orden / Politico:
Jury in rape trial hears from Trump — but not in person
Jury in rape trial hears from Trump — but not in person
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, The Hill and New York Post
New York Times:
In Rape Trial Deposition, Trump Says Vulgar Tape Simply Reflects Truth
In Rape Trial Deposition, Trump Says Vulgar Tape Simply Reflects Truth
Discussion:
CNN, PoliticusUSA, CBS News, Just The News, NBC News, The Daily Beast, Law & Crime, The Hill, Metro.co.uk, Associated Press, Digby's Hullabaloo, Reuters, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Examiner, NBC New York, UPI, Cyprus Mail, New York Post, Raw Story, New York Daily News, Al Jazeera, Daily Kos, ABC13 and Politico
Jay Kuo / The Status Kuo:
Things Keep Looking Worse for Justice Thomas and his Billionaire Buddy — Another blockbuster story has thrust embattled Justice Clarence Thomas back in the national spotlight. ProPublica reported on Thursday morning that billionaire Harlan Crow had paid the hefty private school tuition bill for Thomas's great nephew, Mark Martin.
Discussion:
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Sugar Justice: The Clarence Thomas Story — THE BACKCHANNEL — Did you see the latest Clarence Thomas bombshell? To head off any misunderstanding, let me state that I know with a perfect certainty that Thomas will never be removed from the Court. And while it is theoretically possible …
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
May 4, 2023 — Today began with another story about yet more ties between Supreme Court …
May 4, 2023 — Today began with another story about yet more ties between Supreme Court …
ProPublica:
Clarence Thomas' Friend Acknowledges That Billionaire Harlan Crow Paid Tuition for the Child Thomas Was Raising “as a Son”
Clarence Thomas' Friend Acknowledges That Billionaire Harlan Crow Paid Tuition for the Child Thomas Was Raising “as a Son”
Discussion:
The Hill, American Prospect, NBC News, freedombunker.com, New Republic, Washington Post, Politico and The Onion
Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:
Clarence Thomas Has Some Obscenely ‘Generous’ Friends
Clarence Thomas Has Some Obscenely ‘Generous’ Friends
Discussion:
New York Post, The Guardian, Alternet.org, Raw Story and Mediaite
New York Times:
Justice Dept. Intensifying Efforts to Determine if Trump Hid Documents — Prosecutors investigating the former president's handling of classified material have issued a wave of new subpoenas and obtained the confidential cooperation of a witness who worked at Mar-a-Lago.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Post, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, HuffPost, Political Wire, Vanity Fair, Washington Press, Mediaite and CNN
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Julia Mueller / The Hill:
DOJ finds ‘insider witness’ in Trump Mar-a-Lago documents probe: report
DOJ finds ‘insider witness’ in Trump Mar-a-Lago documents probe: report
Discussion:
FOX8 WGHP and Trending Politics Conservative
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Biden to Name Air Force Chief to Top Military Post, Officials Say — The appointment of Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. would mean that the top two Pentagon leadership positions would be inhabited by Black men for the first time in American history. — WASHINGTON — President Biden is expected …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Outside the Beltway, CNN, Fox News, Wall Street Journal and The Daily Signal
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Gary Langer / ABC News:
Blame breaks evenly if government defaults on debt, despite preference for Biden's position: POLL — Thirty-nine percent would blame the GOP, while 36% would blame the president. — Americans divide closely on whom they'd blame if the federal government defaults on its debts …
Discussion:
Politico, Orange County Register and Just The News
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Emily Guskin / Washington Post:
Americans split on who they'd blame if U.S. defaults, Post-ABC poll finds — As the debate over raising the debt ceiling continues, 39 percent say they would blame congressional Republicans, while 36 percent say they would blame President Biden — A Washington Post-ABC News poll finds Americans divided …
Discussion:
New York Times, Political Wire, Bloomberg and Politico
David Pierce / The Verge:
Mozilla's setting up shop on Mastodon and trying to reinvent content moderation … If you want to be a member of Mozilla.Social, Mozilla's new Mastodon instance, you're not allowed to harass other users. You're also not allowed to use derogatory language about gender, sex, sexual orientation …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Chris Geidner / Law Dork with Chris Geidner:
Florida lawmakers pass pair of extreme anti-trans bills — Over the past two days, Florida lawmakers passed two of the most extreme anti-transgender bills in the nation — bills that would criminalize providing gender-affirming medical care to minors as a felony and criminalize trans people …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, CNN, HuffPost, Orlando Sentinel and Politico
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Politico:
DeSantis courts evangelicals with strict abortion law; opponents counterpunch in his backyard — A multi-million-dollar initiative would roll back one of DeSantis' signature policies by allowing abortion until a fetus is viable at about 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Daily Caller and Political Wire
William Vaillancourt / The Daily Beast:
Fox's Gutfeld Somehow Blames George Floyd for Deadly NYC Subway Chokehold — “If anybody says this is like George Floyd, no. It's because of George Floyd,” he said. — Fox News host Greg Gutfeld placed responsibility for the death of homeless man Jordan Neely not on the ex-Marine …
Discussion:
BizPac Review, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Mediaite and New Jersey Online
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Karl Salzmann / Washington Free Beacon:
AOC Slams NY Mayor Over Death of Homeless Man Caught on Video
AOC Slams NY Mayor Over Death of Homeless Man Caught on Video
Discussion:
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ProPublica:
How Rep. James Clyburn Protected His District at a Cost to Black Democrats — The meeting was arranged in secret. On Nov. 19, 2021, the chief of staff for South Carolina's Senate Judiciary Committee texted Dalton Tresvant, a key aide to Rep. Jim Clyburn, the state's most powerful Democrat.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Politico:
Former Trump campaign staffer subpoenaed by DOJ is now working for House committee on elections — Thomas Lane's home was searched by the FBI. He now works on the House Administration Committee. — A former Trump campaign staffer who was subpoenaed by the Department of Justice as part …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Alex Thompson / Axios:
Scoop: Inside Hunter Biden's clash with the White House — Top aides to President Biden have clashed with Hunter Biden's team over strategies for dealing with the legal battles and Republican attacks that surround the president's son. … - Hunter's team also is moving toward creating a legal defense fund …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Fox News
Cheryl Teh / Insider:
Someone needs to tell MTG that Biden can't be both a criminal mastermind and completely senile — Greene baselessly claimed this week that Biden is the mastermind of a criminal empire. — But Greene has also hammered Biden on his age and called him “mentally incompetent.”
Sylvia Westall / Bloomberg:
Wagner Chief Again Threatens Bakhmut Pullout Over Supplies — In an expletive-laden video filmed in front of a field of corpses, Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the head of the army Valery Gerasimov of failing to supply his troops in Ukraine with enough ammunition.
Discussion:
The Hill, HotAir, CBS News, NBC News, Associated Press, Reuters, Politico, Washington Post, Voice of America, Al Jazeera, Albuquerque Journal, TheJournal.ie, CNN, The Guardian, Cyprus Mail, Perild and The Daily Beast
Beth Reinhard / Washington Post:
How Gov. Ron DeSantis deploys state police to enforce political agenda — The mission was a tightly held secret as two agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement traveled to a remote Texas town, hundreds of miles away on the U.S.-Mexico border. — They worked for a statewide …
Discussion:
Raw Story
CNN:
GOP frontrunner for NC governor mocked school shooting survivors and once justified shooting protesters — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the current Republican favorite to be the party's nominee for governor in 2024, has a long history of remarks viciously mocking and attacking teenage survivors …
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Hill and Political Wire
Rolling Stone:
Producer Tells All: How Tucker Carlson Became the GOP's MAGA Puppeteer — “He was changing the Republican Party, and he loved having that kind of power” … Carlson terrified top Republicans with threats to “destroy” them if they failed to do his bidding and used his platform to push …
Discussion:
Alternet.org, more at Mediagazer »
Bloomberg.com:
Jill Biden Will Attend King Charles III's Coronation, Touting ‘Special Relationship’ With UK — WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden has celebrated the athleticism of wounded service members with Prince Harry, discussed the value of early childhood education with Princess Kate and sipped tea poured by Queen Elizabeth II.