memeorandum: James Comer, leading the GOP Biden probe, insists he's ‘bipartisan’ as he flirts with higher office (Scott Wong/NBC News)

3:10 PM ET, August 31, 2023

Top Items:

Chris Whipple / New York Times:

Mark Meadows Is a Warning About a Second Trump Term — On Monday, Mark Meadows, a former White House chief of staff, testified in an effort to move the Georgia racketeering case against his former boss Donald Trump and co-defendants to federal court. On the stand, he said that he believed …

Discussion: Filosofa's Word, The Dispatch and Raw Story

Graham Kates / CBS News:

Trump enters not guilty plea in Fulton County, won't appear for arraignment — Former President Donald Trump has entered a not guilty plea to 13 Georgia felony counts related to an alleged scheme to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election results. — An attorney for Trump filed …

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, The Hill, Bloomberg, Politico, USA Today, The Messenger, UPI, The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian, DC Enquirer, One America News Network and Semafor

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

BREAKING: Trump pleads not guilty, waives arraignment in Fulton — X — Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to the 13 criminal charges recently handed up against him by a Fulton County grand jury. In a brief court filing, the Republican also acknowledged that he is waiving his right to an arraignment.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, CNBC, Mediaite, Raw Story, PoliticusUSA, The Daily Caller, Just The News, Al Jazeera, Rolling Stone and The Post Millennial

New York Times:
The Key Players in Trump's Plot to Upend the Election, Mapped

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Post and The Atlantic

Nicole Narea / Vox:
Trump could soon be in big legal trouble for inflating his net worth

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, Just The News, Raw Story, CNN, Washington Examiner, UPROXX, CNBC, Fortune, Forbes, New York Daily News, Daily Kos, Associated Press and The Post Millennial

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Trump asks to sever Georgia election case from co-defendants seeking speedy trial

Discussion: Associated Press, Forbes, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Patterico's Pontifications, NBC10 Philadelphia, HuffPost, New Republic and CNN

Insider:
Trump told NY officials he was too busy saving the world ‘from nuclear holocaust’ to commit business fraud

Discussion: HotAir, The Messenger, New Republic, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, UPROXX, DC Enquirer, New York Times and Associated Press

New York Times:
Trump Asks to Dismiss Suit as A.G. Says He Inflated Worth by $2.2 Billion

Discussion: Insider, New York Magazine, ABC News, CNN, The Mahablog, Talking Points Memo, Morning Shots, The Hill, The Guardian, UPI, Reuters, CBS News, Bloomberg, Law & Crime, The Messenger, New York Post, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, Political Wire and Politico

Andy Campbell / HuffPost:

Proud Boy Joe Biggs Sentenced To 17 Years Over Jan. 6 Plot — Biggs, an Army veteran and former Infowars correspondent, is one of five Proud Boys leaders convicted in one of the Justice Department's highest-profile Jan. 6 cases. — Joseph Biggs, a leader and top propagandist …

Discussion: NPR, New York Times, Washington Examiner, USA Today, ABC News, Orlando Sentinel, CBS News, Associated Press, Rolling Stone, Daily Kos, UPI, Just The News, Self-love Is My Superpower, Washington Post, The Root, Florida Politics and The Hill

Washington Post:

Proud Boy leader Joseph Biggs sentenced to 17 years for Jan. 6 crimes — A former leader in the far-right Proud Boys group was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in prison, just shy of the longest punishment imposed on a participant in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, NPR, UPI, Reuters, CNBC, Associated Press, The Post Millennial, Raw Story, Forbes, Washington Examiner, ABC News and CBS News

NBC News:

Proud Boy Joe Biggs receives 17 years in Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy case — The former Infowars correspondent, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy, “served as an instigator and leader” during the Capitol attack, federal prosecutors said. — Proud Boy Joe Biggs sentenced to 17 years in prison in Jan. 6 case

Discussion: MSNBC, The Daily Caller, Forbes, Political Wire and Associated Press

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Joe Biggs, Proud Boys leader, gets 17-year prison sentence for role in Jan. 6 attack

Discussion: The Messenger, Raw Story, The Post Millennial, Just The News, The Hill, NPR, Washington Examiner and CNN

Burgess Everett / Politico:

GOP senators weigh ‘special’ meeting on their leadership after McConnell's freeze — It takes just five Republicans to force such a sitdown, the most direct way to specifically discuss their future amid revived questions about the leader's health. — A handful of GOP senators is weighing whether …

Discussion: The Messenger, Digby's Hullabaloo, Outside the Beltway, CNN, PBS NewsHour, Political Wire, NBC News, Metro.co.uk, The American Spectator, New Republic, ABC News and PJ Media

CNN:
McConnell appears to freeze while speaking with reporters in Kentucky

Manu Raju / CNN:
Capitol physician medically clears McConnell after health scares prompt new questions over his leadership position

Discussion: CNBC, USA Today, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, The Guardian, Mediaite, IJR and NBC News

Ann E. Marimow / Washington Post:

Justice Thomas says he used private jet for security reasons after Dobbs leak — In required financial disclosure, Justice Clarence Thomas reports three 2022 trips on private jet of Harlan Crow — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas reported three 2022 trips on the private jet …

Ariane de Vogue / CNN:
Clarence Thomas officially discloses private trips on GOP donor Harlan Crow's plane

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, UPI, Raw Story and USA Today

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Clarence Thomas discloses private jet trips provided by billionaire Harlan Crow

Discussion: The Hill, Insider, New York Post, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, CBS News and USA Today

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Kemp rejects talk of special session, says punishing Fani Willis carries risks — X — During a remarkable press conference, Gov. Brian Kemp quashed the idea of a special legislative session pushed by former President Donald Trump and his allies to oust Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis …

Discussion: Forbes, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, WXIA-TV, Fox News, USA Today, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Mediaite, HotAir, Newsweek, Associated Press and Political Wire

Dan Ladden-Hall / The Daily Beast:

45 New Victims Allegedly ID'd in Leaked Chats From Andrew Tate's ‘War Room’ — Paying members allegedly discussed chilling techniques to abuse and groom women into sex work. — Members of influencer Andrew Tate's “War Room” group discussed techniques for how to groom women …

Discussion: BBC, New York Daily News, The Messenger, Raw Story and Jezebel

Andy Rose / CNN:

Alabama attorney general says he has right to prosecute people who facilitate travel for out-of-state abortions — Alabama's Republican attorney general said in a court filing that he has the right to prosecute people who make travel arrangements for pregnant women to have out-of-state abortions.

Discussion: The Hill, al.com, Daily Kos, The Messenger, Rolling Stone and Raw Story

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Giuliani loses support of billionaires Langone, Cooperman: 'I wouldn't give him a nickel' — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will not be getting help with his legal bills from many of the big-money donors who financed his 2008 campaign for president.

Discussion: Raw Story, PoliticusUSA, New York Daily News, The Guardian and Miami Herald

Governor Jim Pillen was sworn …:

Governor Pillen Establishes Women's Bill of Rights by Executive Order — CONTACT: — LINCOLN, NE - Today, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed an Executive Order establishing the Women's Bill of Rights. Gov. Pillen is the second U.S. Governor to sign such an order, declaring the biological definition of male and female.

Discussion: The Hill, National Review, Omaha World-Herald, LGBTQ Nation, Nebraska Examiner, The Messenger, The Daily Caller and UPI

Victor Nava / New York Post:

Hunter Biden's firm, Joe's VP office exchanged more than 1,000 emails: records — Hunter Biden's Rosemont Seneca Partners investment firm traded more than 1,000 emails with Joe Biden's office during his time as vice president — and hundreds remain hidden because of executive privilege asserted …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, acecomments.mu.nu, America First Legal, RedState, HotAir, American Greatness, DC Enquirer, The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, The Messenger, CNN, Breitbart and National Review

Miranda Devine / New York Post:
Americans are getting wise to Joe Biden's corruption — despite his media gatekeepers

Discussion: Just The News

Washington Post:

For George Santos, a life in Brazil at odds with his GOP politics — NITERÓI, Brazil — The sight of the newcomer took Gino Fonseca by surprise. As one of the city's most prominent drag queens, Fonseca thought he knew most everyone who worked the nightclubs and LGBTQ events.

Matt Stieb / New York Magazine:

Rudy Giuliani Literally Can't Afford to Be Defaming People — Rudy Giuliani can't even afford to lie about random people anymore. — A federal judge in Georgia ordered Giuliani on Wednesday to forfeit a defamation suit filed by two poll workers, whom he falsely claimed had tampered with ballots after the 2020 election.

NBC News:

Mitch McConnell is ‘medically clear’ to continue work, U.S. Capitol doctor says — The Capitol's attending physician said he “conferred” with the Republican leader's neurology team and that “occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery.”

Discussion: CBS News, Insider and NBC Bay Area

The Daily Beast:

RNC Members Acknowledge Their Fundraising Is ‘in the Toilet’ — The Republican National Committee is having some serious money problems. … Pay Dirt is a weekly foray into the pigpen of political funding. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Thursday.

Discussion: Raw Story

Myah Ward / Politico:

Biden administration proposes to close loophole on background checks — The DOJ proposal comes days after the latest series of mass shootings. — The Biden administration on Thursday moved to expand background checks for gun purchases, a step toward fulfilling a key ask from gun safety groups.