memeorandum: Trump Hit With $10,000 Fine for Gag Order Violation After Judge Puts Ex-President on Witness Stand and Finds Him ‘Not Credible’ (Adam Klasfeld/The Messenger)

5:35 PM ET, October 25, 2023

Top Items:

CNN:

New speaker of the House Mike Johnson once wrote in support of the criminalization of gay sex — Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has a history of harsh anti-gay language from his time as an attorney for a socially conservative legal group in the mid-2000s.

Discussion: HuffPost, Media Matters for America, New Republic, Iowa Starting Line and Los Angeles Times

Washington Post:

5 things to know about Mike Johnson, the GOP's latest House speaker nominee — Republicans in the House of Representatives picked Rep. Mike Johnson (La.), who serves as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, as their fourth nominee for the speakership.

Summer Concepcion / NBC News:

GOP speaker nominee Mike Johnson played a key role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election — Johnson, the latest Republican nominee for House speaker, led an amicus brief in support of a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 victory in four battleground states.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, The Messenger, HuffPost, Bloomberg and IJR

Washington Post:

Live updates House expected to vote on Republican Mike Johnson as speaker — The House is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to install Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) as its speaker. Late Tuesday, Johnson became the fourth Republican pick for the post since the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) three weeks ago.

Charlie Sykes / The Bulwark:

A Coup on His Resume — A note for historians (and psychologists): … The Bulwark is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. — Trump reminded the GOP that he remains the apex predator in the party.

Discussion: NBC News, The Dispatch and Associated Press

New York Times:

Johnson Played Leading Role in Effort to Overturn 2020 Election — Representative Mike Johnson recruited House Republicans to back a lawsuit to overturn the results, and he was a key architect of his party's objections to certifying President Biden's victory.

Discussion: The Dean's Report, USA Today, Washington Times, Washington Post, The Mercury News, The Guardian, Bloomberg, CNN, Mediaite, New Republic, Mother Jones and ABC News

NBC News:

Who is Mike Johnson? Five things to know about the Republican nominee for speaker — The little-known Louisiana Republican says he's optimistic he'll win on the first ballot. — WASHINGTON — The newest Republican nominee for speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., is slated for a vote Wednesday in the full House.

Discussion: Washington Post, HuffPost, Roll Call, Digby's Hullabaloo, Forbes, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, Semafor, Washington Examiner, Axios, The Messenger, NewsNation, Mock Paper Scissors, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, Florida Politics and The Gateway Pundit

Punchbowl News:
10/25/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM

Discussion: CNN, Semafor, Axios, RedState, USA Today, The Hill, BizPac Review, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, The Messenger, Mock Paper Scissors, Fox News, The Daily Beast and Political Wire

The Messenger:
Democrats Eager to Use New GOP House Speaker as 2024 Campaign Weapon

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, RedState, Crooks and Liars, Semafor, Florida Politics, Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite and Fox Business

Bethany Irvine / Politico:
Playbook PM: The first MAGA speaker?

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Beast, The Message Box, The Nation, Mother Jones, RedState, Raw Story, Crooks and Liars and Political Wire

CNN:
Who is Rep. Mike Johnson, the House GOP's latest speaker nominee?

Robert B. Aderholt / Washington Post:
How each House member voted for Mike Johnson as speaker

Discussion: Fox News, NOLA.com, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Politico, Breitbart, The Hill, New York Post, The Messenger and Political Wire

Brent D. Griffiths / Insider:
Republicans shouted down a reporter and told her ‘shut up’ for asking their potential next House speaker about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election

Discussion: Reuters, The Messenger, The Hill, LGBTQ Nation, Newsweek, Outside the Beltway, The Guardian, Progress Pond, Raw Story, New Republic and CNN

Russell Berman / The Atlantic:
A Speaker Without Enemies—For Now

Discussion: emptywheel, Bloomberg, Washington Post, The American Conservative, Wall Street Journal, Outside the Beltway, Forbes, The Hill and The Messenger

Washington Post:
Democrats should help elect a credible Republican speaker

Discussion: Vox, Roll Call, Daily Kos, HotAir and New York Times

Adam Klasfeld / The Messenger:

Trump Hit With $10,000 Fine for Gag Order Violation After Judge Puts Ex-President on Witness Stand and Finds Him ‘Not Credible’ — The former president claimed under oath that he had been referring to his former fixer Michael Cohen, who was on the witness stand throughout the day and the focal point …

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, NBC News, CBS News, Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, National Review, KNSD-TV, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Law & Crime, Insider, The Guardian and Political Wire

NBC News:

Judge orders Trump to take the stand in N.Y. fraud trial, fines him $10,000 for violating gag order again — Trump was called to testify for the first time in the New York trial and was fined $10,000 for violating his gag order again. — Donald Trump stormed out of a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday …

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

Trump rages as former acolytes turn against him under legal heat — Donald Trump's wealth, power and fame acted like a magnet for new associates keen to enter his orbit. But now, key figures who sought a share of his reflected glory are turning against him to save themselves.

Discussion: Insider, The Messenger, Civil Discourse …, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, The Hill, CBS News, Mediaite, Digby's Hullabaloo, HuffPost, Bloomberg, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Right Wing Watch, The Atlantic and Daily Kos

Jacob Shamsian / Insider:
Sidney Powell pushes claims that 2020 election was rigged and prosecutors ‘extorted’ her after she pleaded guilty to election interference

Discussion: Raw Story

The Hill:
Titanic Trump: Co-defendants flee sinking MAGA ship

Discussion: Raw Story and Politico

Jo Becker / New York Times:

Justice Thomas's R.V. Loan Was Forgiven, Senate Inquiry Finds — The justice failed to repay much, perhaps all, of the $267,230 loan. His benefactor wiped the slate clean, with ethical and potential tax consequences. — The terms of the private loan were as generous as they were clear …

Discussion: New York Daily News and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Wall Street Journal:

Israel Agrees to Delay Invasion of Gaza So U.S. Can Rush Missile Defenses to Region — Israel has agreed, for now, to a request from the U.S. to get its air defenses in place to protect U.S. troops in the region ahead of an expected ground invasion of Gaza, U.S. and Israeli officials said.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, The Times of Israel, Politico, HotAir, inews.co.uk, TASS, BizPac Review, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Reuters, The Messenger, NewsNation and israelhayom.com

Lara Seligman / Politico:
Several U.S. troops report brain injury from attacks in Iraq and Syria

Discussion: The Hill, Breitbart and CNN

Wall Street Journal:
Israel-Hamas War Updates: Israel Agrees to Delay Gaza Invasion for U.S. Military to Prepare Defenses

Discussion: Reuters, National Review, Sean Hannity, The Messenger and Politico

Antonio Planas / NBC News:

12-year-old who emailed bomb threats to Maryland schools knew state law would prevent charges — A 12-year-old admitted to emailing seven bomb threats to schools, but state law says children younger than 13 can only face “crime of violence” charges. — A 12-year-old responsible …

Discussion: Montgomery County Maryland, Washington Post, The Messenger, One America News Network, WUSA and DC News Now

Phil Williams / WTVF-TV:

Voters soundly reject Gabrielle Hanson, other MAGA candidates in historic Franklin, Tennessee election — FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — In perhaps the most bizarre race that this picturesque Middle Tennessee community has ever experienced, Franklin voters resoundingly rejected a candidate for mayor …

Discussion: Associated Press, LGBTQ Nation, Raw Story, The Messenger and The Daily Beast

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

It's the culture war, stupid: How Republicans view the presidency — One of the central refrains of Donald Trump's campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — a refrain focused, justifiably, on a general election rematch against President Biden — is that the economy was more robust during his tenure in the White House.

PRRI:
Threats to American Democracy Ahead of an Unprecedented Presidential Election

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, Mock Paper Scissors, The Hill, Breitbart and WITF

NBC News:

Rep. Jamaal Bowman charged with misdemeanor for pulling fire alarm in a Capitol building — The alarm was set off Sept. 30 in the Cannon office building last month as Republicans sought to initiate voting on a spending measure to keep the government open. — Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y. …

Discussion: Politico, CBS News, The Messenger, The Daily Beast, New York Post, WUSA, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press and Semafor

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

FBI received ‘criminal information’ from over 40 confidential sources on Joe Biden, Hunter, James: Grassley — Grassley alleges that the FBI and DOJ sought to shut down investigations into the Bidens — EXCLUSIVE: The FBI maintained more than 40 confidential human sources …

Matthew Kassel / Jewish Insider:

North Carolina lt. governor quoted Hitler in newly unearthed social media posts — Mark Robinson, the leading GOP candidate for governor, also likened the toppling of a Confederate statue to Kristallnacht, among other incendiary remarks — Mark Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina …

Discussion: Raw Story

Politico:

Republicans pray for an early voting reversal in Virginia — The Republican Party under President Donald Trump has abandoned the practice. Glenn Youngkin is betting Virginia Republicans can be convinced otherwise. — GLEN ALLEN, Va. — Gov. Glenn Youngkin is trying to get Republican voters …

Discussion: The Hill, National Review, Washington Examiner and The Messenger