memeorandum: Russian sources disappeared after Trump declassified ex-spy's evidence, UK court told (Haroon Siddique/The Guardian)

11:40 PM ET, October 17, 2023

Top Items:

Jim Jordan's allies tried strong-arming his GOP critics. It backfired. — “The one thing that will never work with me — if you try to pressure me, if you try to threaten me, then I shut off,” GOP Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart said. — Jim Jordan's allies attempted to badger House Republicans into making him speaker.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Axios, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Dispatch, The Hill, Political Wire, Sean Hannity, Washington Post, Raw Story and Mediaite

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:

Who is Jim Jordan? — The Ohio Republican, who is vying to be speaker, has served in the House since 2007. — WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is the only candidate in the race for House speaker, but he's still struggling to win over enough support from rank-and-file Republicans to get elected in a formal floor vote.

Discussion: Slate, HuffPost, ABC News and The Messenger

Joe Perticone / The Bulwark:

Jim Jordan's Speaker Bid Hanging by a Thread — Good afternoon and welcome to Press Pass. Today's edition is free, so sign up below if you haven't already and please share this newsletter with someone who you think might benefit from a regular dose of informative pain.

Charlie Nash / Mediaite:

Congressman's Wife Receives Anonymous Texts Warning Husband to Vote For Jim Jordan: ‘Will Not Hold Any Political Office Ever Again’ — The wife of Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) reportedly received anonymous text messages and emails warning her husband to back Rep. Jim Jordan's (R-OH) House speakership campaign ahead of Tuesday's vote.

Discussion: Raw Story, Tampa Free Press and Washington Examiner

Bryan Metzger / Insider:
Here's what we know about Jim Jordan and the Ohio State University wrestling scandal

Discussion: ABC News, Raw Story, Mediaite, Boing Boing and Talking Points Memo

Brian Beutler / Off Message:
Jim Jordan Won't Make A Scandal Of Himself

Spencer Kimball / CNBC:
Jim Jordan loses first House speaker vote, will try again Wednesday

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Washington Times, The Messenger, NBC 7 San Diego, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Roll Call, NBC News, PoliticusUSA, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Insider, The Guardian and Punchbowl News

Eva Surovell / The Messenger:
Trump Predicts Jordan Speakership Bid Will Be Successful: 'He's A Fantastic Young Man'

Discussion: Political Wire and ABC News

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
The Apotheosis of Jim Jordan Is a Sight to Behold

Discussion: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fox News and Yahoo News

Mychael Schnell / The Hill:
Jordan fails to win Speakership on first ballot

Discussion: BizPac Review, Breitbart, Mediaite, WFLA-TV, The Messenger, Washington Free Beacon, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, The Morning Call, KXAN-TV, National Journal, KSNG-TV and acecomments.mu.nu

Washington Post:
House likely to vote today on Jim Jordan for speaker

Discussion: RedState, Law Dork, Reuters, Washington Examiner, The Daily Signal, The Floridian, ArkansasTimes, NBC News, USA Today, Digby's Hullabaloo, CNN, Fox News, Mediaite, Associated Press, The Daily Beast and New York Times

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Democrats craft strategy to make GOP pay at the ballot box if Jim Jordan is elected speaker

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Fox News, inews.co.uk, Politico, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Bloomberg

Haroon Siddique / The Guardian:

Russian sources disappeared after Trump declassified ex-spy's evidence, UK court told — Former MI6 officer's witness statement criticises ‘reckless’ publication of Mueller testimony about ex-president's Russia links — Donald Trump's decision to declassify evidence given by a former British spy …

Discussion: ThePrint, New York Times and Financial Times

Associated Press:

Israel-Hamas war: Israel bombs Gaza where civilians sought refuge — The Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike Tuesday hit a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, killing hundreds. If confirmed, the attack would be by far the deadliest Israeli airstrike in five wars fought since 2008.

Washington Post:
Israel-Gaza war live updates

Discussion: The Hill, abc7NY, Rolling Stone, NewsNation, Breitbart, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, Associated Press and CBS News

Phil Stewart / Reuters:
Exclusive: Senior US general flies into Israel as its war with Hamas deepens

Discussion: The Daily Beast, United States Department …, Washington Examiner, City Journal, The Sun, New York Times and The Hill

U.S. Department of Defense:

Department of Defense Releases Declassified Images, Videos of Coercive and Risky PLA Operational Behavior — The Department of Defense today released a collection of declassified images and videos depicting 15 recent cases of coercive and risky operational behavior by the People's Liberation Army …

Discussion: New York Post, Washington Examiner and Global News

CNN:
US accuses China of ‘coercive and risky’ behavior in the air over the Pacific

Discussion: CBS News, Politico, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, UPI, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and Reuters

NBC News:

Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley sentenced to prison on Jan. 6 charges — The former candidate for Michigan governor was arrested during the Republican primary last year. — WASHINGTON — A former Republican candidate for Michigan governor was sentenced Tuesday to 60 days …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, HuffPost, Mercury News, Reason, Law & Crime, Political Wire, Raw Story and Washington Post

AJ McDougall / The Daily Beast:
Failed GOP Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate Jailed on Jan. 6 Charges

Discussion: Raw Story

Derrick Bryson Taylor / New York Times:

Man, Wrongfully Imprisoned for 16 Years, Is Fatally Shot During Traffic Stop — Leonard Allan Cure, who was exonerated in 2020 after being convicted of armed robbery, was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy in Georgia after being pulled over for speeding.

Discussion: The Guardian, Georgia Bureau …, Outside the Beltway, The Messenger, Rolling Stone, New York Post, Law & Crime, NBC News, The Root, Metro.co.uk, Breaking911, Raw Story and Sun-Sentinel

Ben Wilson / Washington Free Beacon:

WATCH: Cornell Professor Says Hamas Atrocities Were ‘Exhilarating’ — A Cornell University professor told a crowd of students that the Hamas terror attacks against Israeli citizens were “exhilarating” and “energizing.” — “It was exhilarating,” Russell Rickford, a history professor at Cornell …

Discussion: Daily Mail, The Cornell Daily Sun, Breitbart, New York Post, GB News, Twitchy, VINnews, Tampa Free Press, The Daily Caller, The Messenger, Mediaite, TMZ.com, The College Fix and The Gateway Pundit

Jerusalem Post:

IDF confirms Islamic Jihad failed rocket destroyed Gaza hospital — Rockets fired by factions in the Gaza Strip often fall short, with Palestinians killed in a number of past such incidents. — The IDF confirmed late Tuesday night that Islamic Jihad's failed rocket had destroyed a Gaza hospital …

Lauren Irwin / The Hill:

North Carolina governor sues Republicans over election rules change — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) sued Republicans over a state Senate bill that changed election rules in the state. — Cooper's lawsuit, filed against President Pro Tempore Phillip Berger, Speaker of the House Timothy Moore …

Discussion: governor.nc.gov and CBS News

Ryan Gaydos / Fox News:

Transgender female fencer scores world title over 14-time champion — Liz Kocab has won 8 world championships — A transgender female fencer picked up an eighth world championship on Sunday at the 2023 FIE Veteran Fencing World Championships. — Liz Kocab won in the Vet Women's Epee …

Discussion: Breitbart and The Daily Caller

Charlie Sykes / The Bulwark:

Normie GOP, R.I.P. — “Moderates always cave. A tale as old as time.” —GOP member of Congress — Happy Tuesday. — Let's start today with three stories: — Eight years ago, former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal called then-candidate Donald Trump an “egomaniacal madman”; an …

Discussion: Political Wire and Semafor

Jeet Heer / The Nation:

The Right's Latest Target: Unmarried Women — Archconservatives find single women threatening, and they're trying to browbeat them into submission. — Pocket — This article appears in the October 30/November 6, 2023 issue, with the headline “Scolds and the Single Girl.”

Jeff Nelson / People:

Britney Spears Reveals She Had an Abortion Because Justin Timberlake 'Didn't Want to Be a Father' (Exclusive) — Britney Spears is sharing a painful experience she's kept private for 20 years. — In her upcoming memoir The Woman in Me, the pop icon, 41, reveals that when she dated Justin Timberlake …

Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:

This morning, the Justice Department announced that the United States has reached a settlement with the plaintiffs in the case of Ms. L. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a class action lawsuit filed in 2018 over the Trump administration's policy of separating parents and children at the southwest border to deter migrants.

Discussion: Mother Jones, KTSM-TV, CBS News, US Department of Justice, NPR and Raw Story

Reuters:

Lebanon's Hezbollah denounces Gaza hospital strike, protests in Beirut — Lebanon's Hezbollah denounced what the group said was Israel's deadly attack on a Gaza hospital and called for “a day of unprecedented anger” on Wednesday, as protests erupted outside the U.S. embassy in Beirut just hours after the incident.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Messenger, Associated Press, Fox News, Al Jazeera, ThePrint and Atlas News

Politico:

Ukraine uses secretly shipped U.S. missiles to launch surprise strike — The delivery and use on the battlefield marks a major ramp up of the administration's defense of Ukraine. — The Ukrainian military on Tuesday used U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles to strike nine Russian helicopters …