memeorandum: Inside the Secret DeSantis Donor Briefing (Exclusive) (Marc Caputo/The Messenger)

7:00 PM ET, May 25, 2023

Top Items:

Trump workers moved Mar-a-Lago boxes a day before FBI came for documents — New details, including alleged ‘dress rehearsal’ for moving sensitive papers, show a focus on Donald Trump's instructions and intent — Two of Donald Trump's employees moved boxes of papers the day before FBI agents …

Discussion: CNN, Insider, Raw Story, PoliticusUSA, Washington Press, Alternet.org, Mediaite, Forbes and Joe.My.God.

Rolling Stone:

Trump's Lawyers Warn Him: Get Ready to Be Indicted by the Feds — The former president has angrily complained in response to predictions that if the Justice Department is going to charge him, then “what about Joe Biden?” … The feds have also been probing whether or not Trump tried …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Raw Story, The Messenger, Bloomberg and Talking Points Memo

Marc Caputo / The Messenger:

Inside the Secret DeSantis Donor Briefing (Exclusive) — DeSantis pollster sees Trump's support in early primary states as ‘soft,’ even as the former president holds a big lead nationally. … Before he officially entered the presidential race Wednesday, Ron DeSantis was already barraged …

Discussion: Florida's Voice, The Daily Caller and The Hill

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

It Was More Than a #DeSaster — Ron DeSantis's botched campaign launch suggests that he's no Trump killer. — I've long been of the view that Donald Trump is something akin to a horror-movie monster—a Godzilla or a T. Rex, say—for the American political system.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Media Matters for America, Washington Times, Politico, IJR, Democrats, Wired, Forbes, Mediaite, The Hill, Gizmodo, Washington Press, Fox News, The Nation, Washington Examiner and The Floridian, more at Mediagazer »

Margaret Sullivan / The Guardian:

Now's the time to think about just how bad a DeSantis presidency would be — Consider what the two-term governor has wrought in his home state and in his early forays into world affairs — olitical journalists and pundits spent much of Wednesday obsessing over the gimmicky way that the Florida governor …

Discussion: New York Times and The Nation

Alex Thompson / Axios:

DeSantis PAC adds fake fighter jets to launch video — The super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign altered footage to include the sound and sight of fighter jets flying over the Florida governor in its video promoting his campaign launch. — The video by Never Back Down …

Discussion: Insider, FIRST DRAFT, Forbes, Raw Story, Joe.My.God. and UPROXX

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:

Ron DeSantis vs. the ‘Woke Mind Virus’ — Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida could have made his presidential campaign announcement in some idyllic seaside park, surrounded by the wholesome families he's trying to defend from subversive books and the Walt Disney Company.

Discussion: Vox, The Nation, Mediaite, Washington Examiner and CNN

Miami Herald:
In Miami, DeSantis supporters get campaign intel on how governor plans to beat Trump

Discussion: Insider and Florida Politics

Richard Luscombe / The Guardian: Florida groups warn America of danger from ‘dictator’ DeSantis

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Everybody Calm Down about DeSantis's Campaign Début

Discussion: Vanity Fair, No More Mister Nice Blog, Semafor, RedState, Reason, Axios, Breitbart and The Daily Dot

Sarah Smith / BBC:
The campaign launch Ron DeSantis will want to forget

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Here's what top DeSantis lieutenants said in their private huddle with donors

Discussion: The Economist, NBC News, Bloomberg and New York Post

NBC News:

Oath Keepers founder sentenced to 18 years in Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy case — Stewart Rhodes, who said after the Capitol attack that the rioters “should have brought rifles,” received the longest sentence of any Jan. 6 defendant to date. — WASHINGTON — The founder of the far-right Oath Keepers …

Mariana Alfaro / Washington Post:

DeSantis says, if elected president, he'd consider pardons for Jan. 6 offenders — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that, if elected president, he would consider pardoning some of those convicted on charges related to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Discussion: The Hill and Florida Politics

Alan Feuer / New York Times:

Oath Keepers Leader Is Sentenced to 18 Years in Jan. 6 Sedition Case — The sentence for Stewart Rhodes was the longest so far in the federal investigation of the Capitol attack and the first issued to a defendant convicted of sedition. — Reporting from Washington

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, The Hill, Florida Phoenix, New York Daily News, Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

David Edwards / Raw Story:
Ron DeSantis says he would consider pardoning Trump for Jan. 6

Discussion: HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God., Digby's Hullabaloo, Rolling Stone and Mediaite

Lauren Sforza / The Hill:
DeSantis says he'll consider pardoning Jan. 6 defendants, including Trump

Discussion: Clay & Buck's …, CNBC, New York Post, UPI, National Review, The Wrap, Forbes, Democrats, Just The News, IJR and The Messenger

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes gets 18 years for Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy

Discussion: acecomments.mu.nu, The Sun, Associated Press, The Hill, Bloomberg, Raw Story, USA Today, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God. and CBS News

J. David Goodman / New York Times:

Texas Panel Recommends Impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton — The Republican-led House committee said Mr. Paxton's abuses of office rose to the level of possible crimes that warranted an impeachment vote. — Reporting from Austin — A Republican-led committee of the Texas House …

Discussion: Advocate and The Texas Tribune

The Texas Tribune:

Aide to Ken Paxton calls investigation into attorney general “illegal,” says Paxton can't be impeached for current allegations — Chris Hilton, head of litigation in the attorney general's office, told reporters that lawmakers can't oust Paxton. His comments came as a House committee met behind closed doors …

Discussion: Associated Press, Axios, Fox News, Vox, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, KXAN-TV, Forbes, Political Wire and Off the Kuff

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Supreme Court Limits E.P.A.'s Power to Address Water Pollution — The justices ruled that discharges into some wetlands are not covered by the Clean Water Act. — Reporting from Washington — The Supreme Court on Thursday curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency's authority …

Matt Ford / New Republic:

Samuel Alito's Colleagues Catch Him in a Judicial Contradiction — Three years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that a federal law banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sex also applies to gay and transgender workers. Justice Neil Gorsuch crafted a narrow ruling that drew upon …

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Supreme Court delivers blow to wetlands protections in win for Idaho landowners

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Missouri Independent, Reuters, The Daily Beast, Associated Press, Roll Call, One America News Network, E&E News, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Washington Free Beacon, Courthouse News Service, NPR and Washington Examiner

Politico:

House conservatives blanch at leaked details of McCarthy-Biden debt talks — The group was already unlikely to support a final bipartisan deal, but lingering anger with Kevin McCarthy could have lasting implications on his speakership. — As details leak about an emerging bipartisan debt deal …

Discussion: New York Times, CBS News, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller and Courthouse News Service

Haris Alic / Washington Times: 35 Freedom Caucus members demand McCarthy expand debt limit negotiations with Biden

Dan Froomkin / Press Watch: Republicans are hellbent on default because why not

Washington Post:
Biden aides offer IRS cuts to GOP, hoping to spare other programs

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, GovExec.com, The Guardian, The Hill, HuffPost, FOX8 WGHP, FiveThirtyEight, Associated Press, Daily Montanan, IJR and The Daily Caller

Ben Jacobs / New York Magazine:

CPAC Is Rocked by a Resignation — A top leader in the organization that puts on CPAC, the highly influential conference of conservative leaders, resigned on Tuesday night citing financial mysteries surrounding the organization's leader. — Bob Beauprez, the longtime treasurer …

Discussion: Mediaite, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Washington Press, Joe.My.God., The National Pulse+ and The Daily Beast

Washington Post:

CPAC treasurer accuses chief Matt Schlapp of financial, personnel mismanagement — The resignation letter adds pressure on Schlapp, who is fighting a defamation lawsuit from a campaign staffer who alleges he groped him — Matt Schlapp, the prominent Trump ally who leads …

Discussion: The Hill and PoliticusUSA

Haven Orecchio-Egresitz / Insider:

Lauren Boebert's son called 911 in tears to report his father was ‘throwing’ him around the house. Then she took the phone. — In December, Lauren Boebert's teen son called 911 to report his dad was “throwing me” in the house. — The teen sobbed throughout the two-minute call, saying he didn't understand why his dad was mad.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Daily Caller, The Daily Dot, Jezebel and Joe.My.God.

Aaron Kliegman / Fox News:

University program linking Christians, Republicans to Nazis granted DHS funds under ‘anti-terror’ initiative — Biden admin funding controversial efforts to treat conservative groups as radical, watchdog warns — FIRST ON FOX: The Biden administration is doling out taxpayer money through …

Discussion: New York Post, The Daily Signal, HotAir, Human Events, National Review, Newsbusters, Trending Politics Conservative, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, BizPac Review, One America News Network and Twitchy

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:
Republicans triggered by Homeland Security chart showing right-wing extremism begins with GOP activism

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Newsbusters

Chris Stokel-Walker / The i Paper:

Twitter is making researchers delete data it gave them unless they pay $42,000 — EXCLUSIVEMove to hike price of academic access compared to ‘book burning’ amid fears it will harm fight against misinformation online — Academic researchers have been set a deadline of the end of the month …

Brooke Leigh Howard / The Daily Beast:

School That Allegedly Had ‘Black’ Classrooms Now in More Trouble — An expanded federal probe is underway after a parent blew the whistle on apparent segregation at an Atlanta elementary school. — A federal department has expanded its probe into an Atlanta school district after a parent …

Discussion: Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Raw Story

Nathan L. Gonzales / Roll Call:

Left-behind polling memo shows abortion hurting outlook for GOP — Generic support for Democratic House and Senate increased — One party's trash is another party's treasure. — In the latest chapter of what seems to be a long-running series about Roll Call getting ahold of things people …

Discussion: Political Wire

Reuters:

Exclusive: Slimmed-down US debt ceiling deal takes shape — U.S. President Joe Biden and top Republican lawmaker Kevin McCarthy are edging close to a deal on the U.S. debt ceiling, with the parties just $70 billion apart on discretionary spending, according to a person familiar with the talks.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, NBC 7 San Diego, The Messenger, New York Times and New Republic

Andrew Lapin / Jewish Telegraphic Agency:

The Florida mom who sought to ban Amanda Gorman's poem says she's sorry for promoting the Protocols of the Elders of Zion — (JTA) - Months before a Miami-area mother persuaded a local school to restrict access to an Amanda Gorman poem, she was posting antisemitic memes on her Facebook page.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Raw Story and NewsOne

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Target's surrender to MAGA rage shows how anti-wokeness really works — It is sometimes said that corporate America is a battleground in the culture wars. This has taken on ugly new meaning in the case of Target, which just announced that it will pull some LBGTQ-friendly merchandise …

Discussion: BizPac Review and Digby's Hullabaloo

Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:

Navy SEALS training plagued by massive problems, according to investigation after death of sailor — The training program for Navy SEALs is plagued by widespread failures in medical care, poor oversight and the use of performance-enhancing drugs that have increased the risk of injury and death …

Discussion: CNN and CBS News

Timothy Bella / Washington Post:

A Black 11-year-old called 911. Police arrived and shot him, his mom says. — An unarmed 11-year-old Black boy in Mississippi was shot by a police officer after he called 911 to report a domestic disturbance to try to protect his mother, his family's attorney said.

Discussion: NBC News, CNN, Associated Press, Mississippi Free Press, The Messenger, WGN-TV, TheBlaze and CBS News

Michael Peregrine / Forbes:

Gym Shoes In The Oval Office Is A Sartorial Wake-Up Call For Leaders — It was, to borrow a Sports Illustrated phrase, a sign that the apocalypse is near. — Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries …

Jennifer Agiesta / CNN:

CNN Poll: Biden has a lead over Democratic primary challengers, but faces headwinds overall — President Joe Biden's bid for a second term begins with a wide advantage over his declared opponents for the Democratic nomination, but he faces headwinds among the overall public from declining favorability …

Discussion: National Review, The Hill, Washington Post, Monmouth University … and Fox News

eScholarship:

Release #2023-05: Feinstein and preferences for US Senate — ...Main ContentMetricsAuthor & Article Info — Release #2023-04: While Californians view Newsom in very positive terms, clouds loom with regard to his managing the state's impending budget deficit.