memeorandum: Hunter Biden's lawyer says trial ‘not inevitable’ as scrutiny mounts (CNN)

5:10 PM ET, August 13, 2023

Top Items:

CNN:

Exclusive: Georgia prosecutors have messages showing Trump's team is behind voting system breach — Atlanta-area prosecutors investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia are in possession of text messages and emails directly connecting members of Donald Trump's legal team …

New York Times:

How Trump Benefits From an Indictment Effect — In polling, fund-raising and conservative media, the former president has turned criminal charges into political assets. — Early on March 18, former President Donald J. Trump hit send on a social media post saying he would be “arrested on Tuesday of next week.”

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Althouse and Florida Politics

Wall Street Journal:

Georgia Is Ground Zero for Trump Exhaustion as Another Indictment Looms — Case is a reminder of the 2020 election saga that has torn state GOP apart; 'It's just getting ridiculous' — PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.—Georgia has become ground zero for exhaustion over the legal drama surrounding Donald Trump …

Discussion: The Messenger, CNN, The Hill, RedState, Raw Story, HuffPost, Politico, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit and Election Law Blog

Brady Leonard / Washington Examiner:

What is the plan, Trump? — Former President Donald Trump is notoriously a man of many words, as are his multitudes of surrogates and supporters. The 45th president and his team have had quite a bit to say recently about the mental state of special counsel Jack Smith, “disloyal” Ron …

Discussion: The Guardian, Raw Story, The Hill and The Daily Beast

Washington Post:
Trump swoops into Iowa fair, defying customs and clashing with DeSantis

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, PJ Media, Reuters, USA Today, Associated Press, Political Wire, Des Moines Register, Fox News, Washington Examiner, New York Times, CNN and Al Jazeera, more at Mediagazer »

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
BREAKING: Fulton grand jury to hear Trump case early next week

Discussion: Forbes, Mediaite, Raw Story, New York Post, ABC News, Bloomberg and PoliticusUSA

Nicholas Nehamas / New York Times:
DeSantis Gets Heckled and Trolled on His Big Day With Trump in Iowa

Discussion: USA Today, PJ Media, BizPac Review, Florida Politics, Fox News, Mother Jones, RedState, Just The News, Daily Mail, Washington Examiner, The Messenger, The Hill and The Daily Caller

Politico:
'There's something missing': DeSantis can't escape Trump's shadow in Iowa

Discussion: Rolling Stone, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, CNN, Political Wire, Reuters, The Messenger and The Daily Caller

Richard Fausset / New York Times:
Trump Election Interference Case to Go to Grand Jury in Georgia Early Next Week

Discussion: The Daily Beast and The Gateway Pundit

Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing / Politico:
Trump blames left for legal costs

Discussion: RedState, The Hill, 19FortyFive and Raw Story

NBC News:
Ron DeSantis dogged by protesters at Iowa State Fair

Discussion: Insider, BizPac Review, The Daily Beast, IJR, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Political Wire and The Hill

CNN:
First on CNN: Fulton County DA to present Trump election subversion case to grand jury early next week

Discussion: Mediaite, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Washington Post, Breitbart, Just The News, BizPac Review, The Guardian, Raw Story, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Messenger, HuffPost and RedState

Ian Millhiser / Vox:

The Supreme Court is taking a wrecking ball to the wall between church and state — The Court's Republican majority has ground the Constitution's establishment clause down to a nub. — Last June, a previously obscure Oklahoma state board voted to allow two Roman Catholic dioceses to operate a charter school in that state.

Discussion: The Guardian

David Cohen / Politico:

Christie says no one has given him a loyalty pledge to sign — The RNC's loyalty pledge is a hot issue in advance of the first GOP debate. — Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie said Sunday he has yet to sign the party's loyalty pledge because no one has given it to him.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Fox News, Vanity Fair, The Hill, The Messenger, Political Wire, Insider, PJ Media, USA Today, New York Post and Althouse

Julia Mueller / The Hill:

Trump creates spectacle with debate guessing game — Former President Trump is seeking to keep the spotlight on him by drawing out his decision on whether or not to join his fellow candidates in the first GOP presidential primary debate later this month. — Trump has been threatening …

CNN:

Hunter Biden's lawyer says trial ‘not inevitable’ as scrutiny mounts — Hunter Biden's lawyer on Sunday said a trial is “not inevitable,” days after the Trump-appointed US attorney investigating the president's son was granted special counsel status following a breakdown in plea talks to resolve tax and gun charges.

Discussion: USA Today, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Messenger, CBS News, Politico, New York Daily News, Fox News, PJ Media, New York Post, RedState, Washington Times, Political Wire and BizPac Review

Hailey Fuchs / Politico:

Louis DeJoy: From Trump villain to Biden's clean energy buddy — The postmaster general has struck up an unexpected partnership with the president's green guru, John Podesta. — During the summer of 2020, there were few bigger Democratic super villains than Louis DeJoy.

Nicolás Misculin / Reuters:

Argentina set for primary vote with ruling Peronists fighting for survival — Argentines head to the polls on Sunday in primary elections, with voters set to punish the ruling center-left Peronist coalition, angry at inflation scraping 116% and a cost of living crisis that has left four in 10 people in poverty.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, El País, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, Political Wire and nationalinterest.org

Associated Press:

Death toll from Maui wildfire reaches 89, making it the deadliest in the US in more than 100 years — A fire that swept through a picturesque town in Maui this week has killed at least 89 people, authorities said Saturday, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire of the past century.

Clay Wirestone / Kansas Reflector:

In Marion County newspaper raid, a grim threat to Kansans' First Amendment rights — Marion County Record papers for sale in the newspaper's office beside a collection of Kansas Press Association awards on Aug. 11, 2023, the day the office was raided by local law enforcement. (Sam Bailey/Kansas Reflector)

Lisa Hagen / NPR:

Violent threats against public officials are rising. Here's why — For extremism researchers, the shooting death this week of a Utah man who was alleged to have made violent threats against President Joe Biden and other public officials highlights a concerning trend.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Rolling Stone

Molly Beck / Journal Sentinel:

Vos says lawmakers may consider impeachment if Protasiewicz doesn't recuse from redistricting cases — MADISON - If Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz does not recuse from lawsuits challenging the state's legislative boundaries, Republicans who control the state Legislature …

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos and Political Wire

Gary Fineout / Politico:

Former Rep. Al Lawson's Florida congressional seat could come back under new agreement — “This is a promising step forward for Black voters,” said the director of litigation and policy for the National Redistricting Foundation. — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A major legal challenge …

Discussion: Insider, al.com and Equal Ground

Washington Post:

See where Sen. Tommy Tuberville is blocking 301 military promotions — From Alabama to Asia, the scope of senior military officers frozen in place by a dispute between Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is vast, including not only the incoming leaders of the Joint Chiefs …