memeorandum: Full Transcript: Biden's Speech on Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine Wars (New York Times)

9:10 AM ET, October 20, 2023

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Katherine Doyle / NBC News:

Trump co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro rejected plea offer from Georgia prosecutors — The Trump campaign adviser turned down the offer last month, a source said. Sidney Powell, who had been scheduled to stand trial with Chesebro, pleaded guilty on Thursday.

Rolling Stone:

Team Trump Never Dreamed Sidney Powell Would Flip on Them — She was the ultimate MAGA conspiracy theorist. Then she got charged with being part of a criminal conspiracy, and her tune started to change — Sidney Powell was the wildest of MAGA diehards — someone who swore long past …

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Steve Reilly / The Messenger:

Jack Smith Slams Trump's Bid to Dismiss Jan. 6 Charges: ‘The Defendant Is Not Above The Law’ — Donald Trump should not be exempt from prosecution on ‘presidential immunity’ grounds, prosecutors in the special counsel's office argued in a court filing Thursday night

Discussion: Politico

Kayla Gallagher / The Messenger:

Christie Challenges Trump: 'You'll Have to Face Me One Way or Another. Get Ready' — Christie says Trump's secret service detail makes it a little more ‘complicated’ for him to face Trump … GOP presidential hopeful and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is telling former President Donald Trump to …

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Kayla Gallagher / The Messenger:
Texas City Settles Lawsuit With Biden Bus Passenger Who Says Police Ignored Calls About Trump Supporters

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Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:
Special counsel urges judge to deny Trump's Jan. 6 claim of immunity

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Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Federal Prosecutors Reject Trump's Immunity Claims in Election Case

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Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Jordan and the GOP find a new low point in speaker mess — There are few things Congress loves more than a short-term solution to a long-term problem — something to help it forestall difficult decisions and paper over divisions in hopes that, at some later date, these problems will magically disappear.

NBC News:

In the latest sign of House chaos, the temporary speaker is threatening to quit — Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., is resisting a push to get him to move legislation without an explicit vote to expand his powers. — WASHINGTON — In a closed-door meeting Thursday, Rep. Patrick McHenry …

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Politico:

House GOP drowning as crisis reaches breaking point — It seems that every day without a speaker brings a new release of pent-up anger from Republicans who see no way out of their self-inflicted pain. — When Matt Gaetz stepped to the microphones during Thursday's three-hour private House GOP meeting …

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Washington Post:

Jim Jordan tries again? — Good morning, Early Birds. If you reading this newsletter hasn't slaked your interest in the speakership race, we encourage you to listen to our colleagues Marianna Sotomayor and Paul Kane break everything down on The Post's fabulous podcast, “Post Reports.”

Discussion: Associated Press and NBC4 WCMH-TV

The Daily Beast:
Speaker Saga: House GOP Can't Even Agree on Not Agreeing

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Madison Hall / Insider:
2 GOP members of Congress said they received death threats after voting against Jim Jordan as speaker

Politico:

Biden tries to make it a foreign policy election — Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross — DRIVING THE DAY — HAPPENING TODAY — AP: “Jury selection is set to begin Friday for the first defendant to go to trial in the Georgia case that accuses former President DONALD TRUMP …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, CNN and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:

Full Transcript: Biden's Speech on Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine Wars — The president laid out what he characterized as the stakes for democracy as he pleaded with Americans to stand firmly behind Israel and Ukraine. … Good evening, my fellow Americans. — We're facing an inflection point in history.

Discussion: HotAir, Mediaite, CNN, The Dispatch, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Informed Comment, National Review, NBC News, Al-Monitor and abc7NY

Ellen Mitchell / The Hill:

Biden to make prime-time case to skeptical public on Ukraine, Israel — President Biden is set to deploy the bully pulpit in his push to maintain America's support for Ukraine and lay out a vision for the U.S.'s role in the unfolding war between Israel and Hamas.

Discussion: Associated Press, CNN, The Federalist, Breitbart, WFLA-TV, KSNG-TV, CBS News, The Guardian, The Times of Israel, Fox News, Al-Monitor, Atlantic Council, RedState, The New Arab, The Messenger, ABC News, HuffPost, PIX11, New York Post, Mediaite, PoliticusUSA and New York Times

Akbar Shahid Ahmed / HuffPost:
Exclusive: ‘Mutiny Brewing’ Inside State Department Over Israel-Palestine Policy

Discussion: PBS NewsHour, RedState, Politico, One America News Network and NPR

Nick Robertson / The Hill:
Bidens speak with family of Palestinian-American boy killed in hate crime

Discussion: ThePrint and Washington Post

NBC News:
Biden to argue for American support of Israel and Ukraine in Oval Office address

Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:

Judge Won't Let Alex Jones Use Bankruptcy to Avoid Sandy Hook Damages — A Texas court ruling means the Infowars broadcaster must pay most of the $1.4 billion he owes Sandy Hook families, regardless of whether his business survives. — The judge in Alex Jones's bankruptcy case ruled …

Discussion: Reuters, Boing Boing and Crooks and Liars

Politico:

House GOP abandons plan to empower temp speaker — Jim Jordan, who earlier on Thursday indicated that he would pause speaker balloting and back the idea, now could reverse course and go to the floor again.

Discussion: Zandar Versus The Stupid, The American Conservative, New Jersey Globe and Mock Paper Scissors

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
The Inside Story of How Jim Jordan Broke the Model, Didn't Become Speaker and Decided That was Fine

Discussion: Punchbowl News, The Messenger and Washington Post

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

Elon Musk's X removes the New York Times' verification badge — The unexplained decision removes the only symbol distinguishing the news organization from impostors and comes amid a flood of false information related to the Israel-Gaza war, some of which Musk has personally endorsed.

more at Mediagazer »

Shawn Hubler / New York Times:

Laphonza Butler Will Not Run for Senate in 2024 — Ms. Butler, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom just weeks ago to fill Dianne Feinstein's seat, said she had realized that “this is not the greatest use of my voice.” — Laphonza Butler, who was appointed 18 days ago to fill …

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Politico:

Dean Phillips has told lawmakers he's running against Joe Biden — But one person who talked to the representative said he was still being coy. — Rep. Dean Phillips has begun signaling to fellow House members that he plans to launch a challenge to President Joe Biden.

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Phil Stewart / Reuters:

Exclusive: US Army charges Private Travis King with desertion over dash into North Korea — The U.S. Army has charged Private Travis King with crimes ranging from desertion for running into North Korea in July to assault against fellow soldiers and solicitation of child pornography, according to documents obtained by Reuters.

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Rowaida Abdelaziz / HuffPost:

More Than 400 Capitol Hill Staffers Call For Cease-Fire In Gaza — The staffers signed a letter as bloodshed escalates ― and as elected members of Congress are largely in lockstep behind the Biden administration's approach to the conflict. — Muslim and Jewish congressional staffers signed …

Discussion: Politico, BizPac Review, Washington Examiner and Twitchy

WJLA-TV:

Maryland judge found shot in driveway of Hagerstown home, dies at hospital: Officials — HAGERSTOWN, Md. (7News) — A Washington County judge has died after he was found shot in the driveway of his Hagerstown home Thursday night, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office (WCSO).

Discussion: The Hill, NBC News, DC News Now, ABC News, CBS News, The Messenger, The Daily Caller, NBC4 Washington, Washington Examiner, Fox News, New York Post, Atlas News, WUSA and UPI

Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:

October 2023 National Poll: Trump Making Inroads with Young Voters Against Biden, Maintains Majority Support in Republican Primary — Home Polls October 2023 National Poll: Trump Making Inroads with Young Voters Against Biden, Maintains Majority Support in Republican Primary

Discussion: Florida Politics

New York Times:

The True Story Behind ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Is Being Erased From Oklahoma Classrooms — During the early 20th century, members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma were systematically murdered by white settlers. Yet outside the Osage Nation, the history of this racial injustice …

Discussion: National Review, Mashable, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times and New Yorker

Tara Suter / The Hill:

Hutchinson calls Trump an ‘isolationist’ — Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) called former President Trump an “isolationist” during a Thursday forum at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. — “Donald Trump fundamentally believes in a ring around the United States,” …