memeorandum: The debates mattered. They just didn't knock out Trump. (Steven Shepard/Politico)

7:20 AM ET, December 6, 2023

Top Items:

Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:

Bannon, Patel say Trump ‘dead serious’ about revenge on media: 'We're going to come after you' — Steve Bannon and Kash Patel claimed that former President Trump is “dead serious” about exacting revenge on his political enemies if he wins a second term as president, and they warned members …

Discussion: Associated Press, HuffPost, Media Matters for America, Mediaite and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

William Vaillancourt / The Daily Beast:

Trump Refuses to Tell Hannity He Will Not Abuse Power if Re-Elected — When asked a very simple question, Trump refused to rule out acting illegally and abusing his power. — Donald Trump, in a Fox News town hall Wednesday, did not rule out breaking the law if re-elected president.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times, Axios, The Hill, The Messenger, The Daily Signal, NBC News, GB News, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, The Dispatch, Politico, Washington Post, Mediaite, WTOP News, Associated Press and Washington Times

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Jack Smith wants to tell jury about Trump's earlier attempts to sow doubt about elections

Washington Post:
Special counsel alleges Trump ‘sent’ supporters on path to Jan. 6 violence

Discussion: Raw Story, The Daily Beast, KEYT-TV, The Hill, NBC News, Fox News, The Messenger, The Daily Signal, Breitbart, Mediaite and Alternet.org

New York Times:
Donald Trump's 2024 Campaign, in His Own Menacing Words

Discussion: Raw Story

Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Special counsel outlines bid to show Trump motive, knowledge of plan to stay in power

Discussion: The Messenger, Alternet.org, New Republic, New York Times and emptywheel

Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:

Mike Johnson's Office Walks Back Reason For Blurring Insurrectionists' Faces — After saying faces were blurred in security footage to shield alleged Jan. 6 rioters from prosecution, a spokesperson confirmed the DOJ already has access to the unedited clips.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Raw Story, New Republic, The Moderate Voice, Alternet.org and Daily Kos

Stephen Neukam / The Messenger:

GOP Decision to Blur Jan. 6 Faces Has Democrats ‘Deeply Troubled’ — 'They don't get a chance to alter that footage for the American people to be the best judge,' Rep. Annie Kuster told The Messenger — JWPlayer — House Democrats excoriated House Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to blur …

Discussion: NBC News, New Republic, Alternet.org, UPI, Vanity Fair, Axios, ABC7, UPROXX, Washington Examiner, KEYT-TV, The Hill, Breitbart and Mediaite

Miranda Nazzaro / The Hill:
Cheney blasts GOP for blurring faces in Jan. 6 tapes: Nothing ‘can change the facts’

Discussion: RedState and CNN

Arthur Delaney / HuffPost:
Mike Johnson Says Republicans Are Blurring Jan. 6 Footage To Protect Rioters From DOJ

Discussion: National Review, Axios, The Dworkin Report, Raw Story and PoliticusUSA

NBC News:

Senate confirms 425 military nominees after Sen. Tommy Tuberville drops his hold — Tuberville “has nothing to show for his 10 months of delay,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a scathing speech after the nominees were confirmed. Tuberville has retained his holds on roughly 11 other promotions.

Discussion: CNN, Rolling Stone, New York Times, Military Times, USA Today, Alternet.org, Wall Street Journal, Roll Call, The Hill, Raw Story, Iowa Capital Dispatch, National Review, Bloomberg, USNI News, The Messenger, The Daily Beast and Daily Kos

Washington Post:
Tommy Tuberville announces end to blanket military holds

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Biden rips Tuberville after military holds lifted: ‘I hope no one forgets what he did’

Discussion: Raw Story, The White House, PoliticusUSA, The Guardian, USA Today, Washington Examiner and NPR

John Sexton / HotAir:

Progressive Briahna Joy Gray Demands More Evidence Israeli Women Were Raped on 10/7 (Update) — As you may have seen already, there have been a series of stories coming out in the past week about the sexual assault of Israeli women by Hamas during the 10/7 attack.

Discussion: BBC, The Times of Israel and Fox News

Daily Mail:

Hamas raped men as well as women during October 7 attack: Investigators reveal how sex assault victims were tied up, stripped and mutilated as Israel launches its ‘biggest ever criminal investigation’ — Advocacy group said sexual violence was perpetrated against both sexes

Discussion: WTOP News, Breitbart, Reuters, NBC News, One America News Network and The Messenger

New York Times:
Accounts of Sexual Violence by Hamas Are Aired Amid Criticism of U.N.

Discussion: NBC News, Politico, The Guardian, The Messenger, The Hill, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Exposing the role …, National Review, RedState, Fox News, The Times of Israel and Digby's Hullabaloo

Houston Keene / Fox News:

Riley Gaines hits back at ‘Squad’ Dem calling her testimony ‘transphobic’: You're a ‘misogynist’ — Lee called a point of order, urging Gaines' remarks be struck from the record, but it was withdrawn — NCAA swimming legend and women's sports advocate Riley Gaines hit back against a …

Discussion: Twitchy

Houston Keene / Fox News:
AOC claims women will face ‘genital examinations’ if biological men barred from female sports

Discussion: Breitbart

Melanie Zanona / CNN:

Marjorie Taylor Greene alleged a male Republican got physically aggressive with her — In a private meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson last week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene accused fellow Georgia Republican Rep. Richard McCormick of getting physically aggressive with her …

Discussion: The Messenger, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Hill, Mediaite, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Politico

Brent D. Griffiths / Business Insider:

Liz Cheney says Nancy Pelosi didn't care about any of the bad things she said about Pelosi before she appointed Cheney to the Jan. 6 committee — Liz Cheney said she had barely talked to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi before a critical phone call. — Pelosi, Cheney wrote in her new book …

Discussion: Raw Story, Alternet.org, Vanity Fair, NPR, Political Wire and Twitchy

Chaya Tong / The Daily Beast:
Liz Cheney's Memoir Is an Instant Bestseller

Discussion: The Hill, HuffPost, Mediaite, The Daily Beast and Raw Story

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Giuliani's no-show prevents courtroom confrontation with Georgia election workers — Rudy Giuliani is facing money damages in the election workers' defamation lawsuit. — Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers who have been tormented by harassment and threats since 2020 …

Discussion: NBC News, New York Daily News, KEYT-TV, Alternet.org, Political Wire and The Hill

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:

Inside the Secret Meeting That Cleared the Way for Tom Suozzi's Return — Gov. Kathy Hochul had been toying with blocking the former congressman's nomination for the crucial special election to replace George Santos. Then a phone call came. — With his successor, George Santos …

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, New York Daily News and New York Post

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Special election to replace ex-Rep. George Santos set for Feb. 13

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Times, Axios, New York Post, Washington Examiner, The Hill, abc7NY, Associated Press and The Messenger

CNN:

Biden tells donors he's 'not sure I'd be running' in 2024 if Trump wasn't in the race — President Joe Biden told Democratic donors Tuesday he wasn't confident he'd be seeking another term if his predecessor Donald Trump wasn't running for the White House, a notably candid assessment …

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:
Mad at Biden's inflation record? Another Trump term would be way worse.

Discussion: Washington Times, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Raw Story, Twitchy, NBC News, Bloomberg, Political Wire and The Atlantic

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Wall Street opens wallets wide for ‘Trump alternative’ Nikki Haley at $500K fundraiser

Discussion: Bloomberg

Steven Shepard / Politico:

The debates mattered. They just didn't knock out Trump. — Nikki Haley's rise and Vivek Ramaswamy's fall are the direct results of their debate performances. — Nikki Haley was at just 3 percent when she got on a debate stage in late August and started taking shots at her rivals.

Discussion: The Hill, NBC News, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, HotAir, ABC News, Al Jazeera, New York Daily News, USA Today, NPR, HuffPost, Bloomberg and The Daily Caller

Politico:

‘Test case’ for America: Colorado's top court poised to weigh Trump's eligibility to run again — A Wednesday argument brings the question of Trump's eligibility under the 14th Amendment one step closer to the Supreme Court. — The most potent effort to disqualify Donald Trump …

Discussion: The Messenger, CBS News, NBC News and Alternet.org

Reese Gorman / Washington Examiner:

Rep. Nancy Mace has lost three senior staff members in past week — Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has lost three of her senior staffers in the past week, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. — Her three senior staffers include her former chief of staff Dan Hanlon …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Daily Beast and Political Wire

Emily Shugerman / The Daily Beast:

Pregnant Woman Carrying Doomed Fetus Sues to Get Abortion — Kate Cox's fetus will likely not survive days past birth. So she's asking a Texas court to block the state's abortion laws and let her end the pregnancy. — A woman whose fetus has a fatal condition is petitioning a Texas court …

Discussion: The Texas Tribune, CBS News, KEYT-TV, The Hill and New York Times

Lauren Sforza / The Hill:

Al Gore calls social media algorithms ‘digital’ AR-15s — Former Vice President Al Gore took aim at social media algorithms on Tuesday, saying sites that are “dominated by algorithms” are the “digital equivalent of AR-15s.” — Gore, speaking at the the Bloomberg Green at COP28 event …