memeorandum: Ken Paxton emerges victorious from yet another career scandal (Patrick Svitek/The Texas Tribune)

8:50 PM ET, September 17, 2023

Top Items:

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

‘A colossal mistake to showcase this sociopath’: NBC facing backlash after ‘shameful’ Trump interview airs — NBC's attempt to avoid the pitfalls of the Donald Trump CNN town hall which was a contributing factor to the departure of CEO of CNN Worldwide Chris Licht does not appear to have panned out despite being taped and edited.

Discussion: The Mahablog and NBC News

Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:

Kristen Welker's ‘Meet the Press’ Debut Derailed by Trump Derangement — Her debut turn as “Meet the Press” moderator was doomed from the moment she booked Donald Trump as her first interview. — Journalists and commentators for years have wrestled with the question of how to approach Donald Trump …

Discussion: Raw Story, NBC News, Vox, PoliticusUSA, Twitchy, American Wire News, Mediaite, The Guardian and New York Post

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:

‘Waste of time’: Rhetoric expert explains why there's no way to fact-check Trump's ‘layers of lies’ — Rhetoric expert, Professor Jennifer Mercieca, explained that the way that new “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker held the interview with Donald Trump had no hope of ever being able to adequately fact-check the president.

Discussion: CNN and Newsbusters

NBC News:

Full transcript: Read Kristen Welker's interview with Trump — NBC's “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker conducted a wide-ranging interview with former President Donald Trump. — Full Trump Interview: 'I don't consider us to have much of a democracy right now'

Discussion: HuffPost, ABC News, RedState, New York Post, TIME, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Raw Story and The Messenger

New York Times:

Trump Says He Hopes Meadows Will Remain ‘Loyal’ to Him in Election Case — The former president, who has been warned against saying anything that could influence witnesses in his election interference case, made the statements during an interview on “Meet the Press.”

Discussion: Vanity Fair, The Japan Times and Raw Story

Jane C. Timm / NBC News:

Fact checking Trump's ‘Meet the Press’ interview — At least 11 different points during the interview, former President Trump flubbed numbers, misstated facts or omitted critical context. — Full Trump Interview: 'I don't consider us to have much of a democracy right now'

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Daily News, HuffPost, Raw Story, Rolling Stone and Fox News

New York Times:

‘A Terrible Mistake’: Trump Criticizes DeSantis on Abortion Ban — The former president, while denouncing his chief rival for the Republican nomination, also largely evaded questions on the issue. — Former President Donald J. Trump, whose Supreme Court appointments led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade …

Discussion: The Guardian, Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, Vanity Fair, NBC News, Mediaite, The Floridian, Associated Press and Political Wire

Jason Lange / Reuters:

Trump says it was his decision to persist with 2020 election challenges — Former U.S. President Donald Trump said he dismissed the views of his own lawyers in continuing to challenge his 2020 defeat because he did not respect them, saying in an interview aired on Sunday that he had made up his own mind …

Discussion: NBC News, CNN, Washington Examiner, Politico, Political Wire, The Messenger and Digby's Hullabaloo

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Trump says he doesn't worry about going to jail: 'I don't even think about it'

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Los Angeles Times, TMZ.com, Deadline, The Guardian, USA Today, The Hill, UPROXX, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Insider, HotAir, Fox News, Mediaite, Rolling Stone and The Messenger

Axios:

Scoop: Schumer ditches Senate's informal dress code … - “Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor. … - Fetterman, who was elected last year, initially followed Senate tradition and wore suits. … The change applies only to senators — staff members will still be required to follow the old dress code.

Discussion: NBC News, New York Post, PennLive, New York Magazine, Washington Examiner, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy, UPROXX, National Review and Instapundit

Fox News:
Senate will no longer enforce a dress code for senators

Discussion: Raised by Liberals …

Kristin Wilson / CNN:
McCarthy says defense spending bill will get a vote this week ‘win or lose’

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill and Political Wire

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: How GOP pressured Texas senators over Paxton's impeachment trial — Following a secret campaign coordinated by top Trump allies, Texas state senators yesterday acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton of all impeachment charges, allowing him to return to his post.

Discussion: The Texas Tribune, Raw Story, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast, KXAN-TV, HuffPost, NPR, Breitbart, The Daily Caller and NBC News

Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:

Ken Paxton emerges victorious from yet another career scandal — It marked a screaming milestone in a two-decade political career that has seen Paxton harness the state's increasingly conservative politics — and later the rise of Donald Trump — to stay in power longer than his vulnerabilities would suggest.

Discussion: Diane Ravitch's blog and Bloomberg

Alicia Diaz / Bloomberg:

Biden Says ‘Lots of Luck’ to Republicans Looking to Impeach Him — President first reacted to impeachment inquiry last week — Republicans probe as federal budget deadline approaches — President Joe Biden derided the House's impeachment probe against him, responding with sarcasm …

Discussion: Breitbart, NPR, PoliticusUSA, ABC News, New York Post, Political Wire and Raw Story

Lauren Sforza / The Hill:
House GOP in midst of ‘civil war’ amid shutdown threat, warns Dem leader

Discussion: Politico, National Review, NBC News, Reuters, ABC News, The Daily Caller, Bloomberg, USA Today and Breitbart

Ben Sisario / New York Times:

Jann Wenner Removed From Rock Hall Board After Times Interview — The Rolling Stone co-founder's exit comes a day after The New York Times published an interview in which he made widely criticized comments. — Jann Wenner, the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine, has been removed …

Associated Press:

Indiana attorney general sues hospital system over privacy of Ohio girl who traveled for abortion — The lawsuit, filed Friday in Indianapolis federal court, marked Attorney General Todd Rokita's latest attempt to seek disciplinary legal action against Dr. Caitlin Bernard.

Discussion: Raw Story

CBS News:

CBS News Biden-Trump poll finds concerns about Biden finishing a second term, and voters' finances also weigh on Biden — The summer before an election year is not always kind to first-term Democrats. — In August of 1995 Bob Dole led Bill Clinton. In the summer of 2011, the public's …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, The Hill, Political Wire and American Wire News