memeorandum: Bulgaria Moves to Dismiss Powerful Prosecutor in Judicial Clash (Slav Okov/Bloomberg)

2:05 PM ET, June 12, 2023

Top Items:

Benjy Sarlin / Semafor:

Trump's political fortunes haven't changed, but his legal situation is getting dark — The News — As the country digested the Donald Trump indictment over the weekend, two clear takeaways emerged. Legally, his path to avoiding conviction has never been narrower.

Discussion: New York Post, Just The News, HuffPost, IJR, RedState, Bloomberg, The Hill and New York Times

Andrew O'Hehir / Salon:

Trump's “peril is extreme”: Former federal prosecutor on the historic Mar-a-Lago indictment — Charges against Trump almost “open and shut,” says Dennis Aftergut — and prosecutors will ask for prison time — As the entire world now knows, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith's sweeping indictment …

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Post, Raw Story and The Weekly Sift

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:

A Cold Civil War Is Upon Us — A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM's Morning Memo. — The Incipient Threat Of Political Violence — In the wake of the Mar-a-Lago indictment there were echoes of Trump's call to arms before Jan. 6, urging supporters to protest his first court appearance tomorrow.

Discussion: Washington Post, BizPac Review, Raw Story and New York Times

New York Times:
Notes by M. Evan Corcoran, a Trump Lawyer, Gave Prosecutors a Road Map

Discussion: Washington Post, Frontpage Mag, Raw Story and Slate

Julia Davis / The Daily Beast:
Putin's Pals Dream Up Fresh Plot to Help Trump Beat Biden

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Mediaite and Power Line

Andrew C. McCarthy / New York Post: Biden deserves same treatment as Trump for his classified documents scandal

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The impossible challenge of telling Trump fans the truth

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, National Review, Voice of America, Raw Story, NewsNation, Rolling Stone, Washington Press, The Guardian, Fox News, The Recount, Mediaite, UPI, Mother Jones, Politico, CNBC, Reuters, Forbes, PoliticusUSA, The Hill and Breitbart

Politico:
Playbook: The House GOP rebellion enters a second week

Discussion: Punchbowl News, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Washington Post, NPR and The Hill

Terry Jones / Issues & Insights:
Can Anyone Beat Biden And Trump For Nominations? I&I/TIPP Poll

Discussion: Florida Politics

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: Fox sends Tucker Carlson cease-and-desist letter — Fox News has sent a “cease and desist” letter to Tucker Carlson as he ramps up a competing series on Twitter that drew a combined 169 million views for its first two episodes, Axios has learned.

NBC News:
Fox News sends Tucker Carlson cease-and-desist letter over new Twitter show

Discussion: HotAir

Elaina Plott Calabro / The Atlantic:

A Star Reporter's Break With Reality — Lara Logan was once a respected 60 Minutes correspondent. Now she trades in conspiracy theories that even far-right media disavow. What happened? — the footage is shown before she takes the stage: Lara Logan in a headscarf, addressing the camera from the streets of Mogadishu.

Discussion: Political Wire

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

More Say Birth Gender Should Dictate Sports Participation — WASHINGTON, D.C. — A larger majority of Americans now (69%) than in 2021 (62%) say transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete on sports teams that conform with their birth gender. Likewise, fewer endorse transgender athletes …

Discussion: HotAir, Washington Free Beacon, The Hill, National Review, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller and Fox News

David Gilbert / VICE:

‘I Want Blood’: Heavily-Armed Trump Supporters Say They'll Protest Trump's Indictment — “Just buying more ammo,” one Trump supporter posted in a right-wing messaging board. — Supporters of former president Donald Trump are planning mass protests at a Miami courthouse on Tuesday, following Trump's indictment last week.

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Press, Washington Post, Political Wire, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos and Rolling Stone

Tess Owen / VICE: Proud Boys Too Upset About Bud Light to Care About Trump's Indictment

Mark Berman / Washington Post:
Trump heading to Miami before classified documents court date

Discussion: The Hill, Yahoo News, Fox News, New York Times, NPR, CBS News, UPI, Al Jazeera, No More Mister Nice Blog, NBC 6 South Florida, National Review and Wall Street Journal

Slate:

Aileen Cannon's Previous Rulings About Trump Demand Her Recusal — Soon after the news broke that Donald Trump will become the first former president to face federal criminal charges—37 counts that include willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, BizPac Review, New Republic, RedState, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit and Balloon Juice

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
Will the Judge in Trump's Case Recuse Herself—or Be Forced To?

Discussion: Florida Bulldog, Althouse, Washington Press and Raw Story

Morgan Winsor / ABC News:

Interstate 95 collapse repairs to take ‘months’ in Philadelphia, officials say — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said repairs will “take some number of months.” — Repairs on Interstate 95 are expected to take “months” after an elevated section collapsed in Philadelphia on Sunday morning …

Discussion: 6abc, NBC10 Philadelphia, Washington Post, Fox News, CBS News, Associated Press, New York Post, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, New York Daily News, The Daily Caller and The Hill

Ron Todt / Associated Press:
Section of heavily traveled I-95 collapses in Philadelphia after tanker truck catches fire

David Aaron / Just Security:

How Much Prison Time Does Former President Trump Face? Applying the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines — Now that the public has seen the current list of federal charges against former President Donald Trump, there is a long road ahead. If the defendant is ultimately convicted, that road will lead to sentencing.

Jason Wilson / The Guardian:

Republican official appears to have moved $1.3m from non-profit to own law firm — RNC committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon takes $120,000 salary from non-profit Center for American Liberty for two-hour week — The San Francisco lawyer Harmeet Dhillon is a fixture on Fox News who has garnered support …

Discussion: Raw Story

Hugh Hewitt / The Hugh Hewitt Show:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis On “Reconstitutionalizing The Government” — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joined me this morning to talk about his campaign for the presidency: — Audio: — 06-12hhs-desantis — Transcript: — HH: Joined from Tallahassee by the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, now running for president.

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite and Florida Politics

Andrew J. Tobias / Plain Dealer:

State Issue 1 ballot language must be rewritten, Ohio Supreme Court rules — COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court handed a limited victory to opponents of State Issue 1 on Monday by ordering Republican state officials to rewrite ballot language summarizing the measure's effects.

Discussion: WCMH-TV and Political Wire

Associated Press:

The Great Grift: How billions in COVID-19 relief aid was stolen or wasted — Much of the theft was brazen, even simple. Fraudsters used the Social Security numbers of dead people and federal prisoners to get unemployment checks. Cheaters collected those benefits in multiple states.

Discussion: Washington Examiner and The Hill

J.D. Capelouto / Semafor:

‘Eat, Pray, Love’ author pulls next book over Ukrainian backlash to Russian setting — The News — Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote the 2006 memoir said Monday that her upcoming novel won't be released as scheduled after she received backlash from Ukrainian fans over the fact that the book is set in Russia.

Discussion: NBC News, Goodreads, The Hill, Politico, New York Post, UPI, New York Daily News, The Guardian and The Hollywood Reporter

New York Times:

Silvio Berlusconi, Showman Who Upended Italian Politics and Culture, Dies at 86 — He introduced sex and glamour to Italian TV and then brought the same formula to politics, dominating the country and its culture for more than 20 years. — ROME — Silvio Berlusconi, the brash media mogul …

Discussion: Politico, The Guardian, Deadline, BBC, Al Jazeera, The Atlantic, Jacobin, Breitbart, Associated Press, Variety, CBS News, UPI, Financial Times, Reuters, vaticannews.va, The Daily Caller, Foreign Policy and Semafor

Gitanjali Poonia / Deseret News:

Utahns split on whether Sen. Mitt Romney should run for reelection — According to a new poll, Romney's approval rating among Utah voters has dropped since March — According to the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll, 41% of Utah voters say they approve …

Discussion: The Hill, Political Wire and Breitbart

Rachel M. Cohen / Vox:

The little-noticed court decision that changed homelessness in America — Is there a right to sleep outside? — Five years ago, a federal court issued a crucial ruling. People experiencing homelessness, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said, can't be punished for sleeping outside …

Discussion: Fox News and Los Angeles Times

Ben Hodges / CEPA:

Think Ukraine's Offensive Has Started? Wait for the Heavy Brigades — There's fighting underway across frontline Ukraine, says Lt-Gen (rtd.) Ben Hodges, but the decisive moment will come when we see hundreds of armored vehicles hitting Russian lines. — The social media channels …

Discussion: Breitbart, The Federalist and Reuters

Ned Foley / Election Law Blog:

Justin Levitt remains “in the fetal position” after Allen v. Milligan — That's a quote from his extensive interview with Bolts regarding the decision and its implications. Justin amplified the point behind his vivid metaphor: “There's absolutely no question that the VRA remains …

Politico:

The surprising corner of the Senate that's sinking Biden nominees — Three presidential picks so far this year withdrew because they lacked enough support in the Commerce Committee, where there's four Democrats up for reelection in swing states next fall. — Relatively obscure nominations …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Examiner and New York Post

Barak Ravid / Axios:

Scoop: Israel to announce plans for thousands of new settlement units in West Bank — The Israeli government told the Biden administration it intends to announce later this month the building and planning of thousands of new housing units in the settlements in the occupied West Bank, three Israeli and U.S. officials told Axios.