memeorandum: The US may be flouting its own laws by sending unrestricted aid to Israel (Nicole Narea/Vox)

3:00 PM ET, December 22, 2023

Top Items:

Trump recorded pressuring Wayne County canvassers not to certify 2020 vote — Then-President Donald Trump personally pressured two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers not to sign the certification of the 2020 presidential election, according to recordings reviewed …

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:

Supreme Court sidesteps decision on Trump presidential immunity claim in federal election interference case — Trump is claiming broad immunity for actions he took in office, including efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results for which he faces criminal prosecution.

Discussion: NPR, Fox News, Business Insider, Axios, CBS News, UPI, The Hill, Politico, New York Post, PBS NewsHour, WHDH-TV, Washington Examiner, BizPac Review, CNBC, The Messenger and Mercury News

Jess Bidgood / The Boston Globe:

'He's the only one that's speaking the truth': Trump's fans trust nothing — except him — CORALVILLE, Iowa — Joannie Firkins, 63, does not trust the COVID vaccine. She does not trust the Internal Revenue Service. She does not trust the results of the 2020 election and she certainly does not trust President Biden.

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Darren Samuelsohn / The Messenger:
Former Trump DOJ Official Jeff Clark Loses Fight to Halt His Georgia RICO Case Pending Appeal

Discussion: Raw Story and Outside the Beltway

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia officials ask FBI to investigate emails from pro-Trump election skeptic

Discussion: Raw Story and The Messenger

John Santucci / ABC News:
Trump allegedly pressured Michigan election workers not to certify 2020 vote: Report

Discussion: Raw Story and acecomments.mu.nu

Washington Post:
Biden economic adviser sees ‘a glimmer of evidence’ Americans feel better about the economy

Discussion: Politico and The Daily Caller

Tara Suter / The Hill:
Recordings reportedly show Trump pressuring Michigan canvassers to not certify 2020 vote: Detroit News

Discussion: 6abc, Raw Story, BizPac Review, USA Today, The Daily Beast, The Messenger and Mediaite

The White House:

A Proclamation on Granting Pardon for the Offense of Simple Possession of Marijuana, Attempted Simple Possession of Marijuana, or Use of Marijuana — In Proclamation 10467 of October 6, 2022 (Granting Pardon for the Offense of Simple Possession of Marijuana), I exercised my authority under …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Business Insider, Rolling Stone, Washington Examiner, UPI and The Gateway Pundit

Associated Press:
Biden pardons thousands convicted of marijuana charges on federal lands and in Washington

Discussion: The Hill, NPR, TIME, Reason, Washington Times, New York Post, CBS News, ABC News, WDTN-TV, Chicago Tribune, Axios, Bloomberg, NewsNation, USA Today and WUSA

Michael Barfield / Florida Center …:

Police have recovered second Ziegler sex video, sources say — A sex video involving Sarasota School Board member Bridget Ziegler and an unidentified woman has been recovered by police as part of the ongoing criminal investigation of a rape allegation made against Bridget's husband …

Discussion: The Messenger, Balloon Juice, Raw Story and Mock Paper Scissors

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:

Joe Rogan Corrected On-Air for Blaming Trump Gaffe on Biden — The podcaster was caught off guard by a live fact-check from his own team that revealed it was Trump—not Biden—who made the gaffe in question. — Joe Rogan has done it again. But this time, even his own producers couldn't help …

Discussion: Mediaite, HuffPost, The Messenger and Raw Story

Washington Post:

Pro-DeSantis super PAC cancels ads in Iowa and New Hampshire — It's the latest shift for the organization, which now says it is “laser focused” on its ground game in early states. — Never Back Down, the embattled super PAC supporting Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis …

Discussion: New York Post and Washington Times

Alexandra Marquez / NBC News:
Ron DeSantis' super PAC cancels remaining ad reservations as another group aims to fills the void

Discussion: The Messenger, CBS News, New York Times, Daily Caller News Foundation, The National Pulse+, Washington Post and New York Magazine

New York Times:
How DeSantis's Ambitious, Costly Ground Game Has Sputtered

Discussion: The Dispatch, Politico, CBS News, Florida Politics and Bloomberg

Abené Clayton / The Guardian:

California town proposes ban on Pride, Black and women's history celebrations — Far-right council members in Huntington Beach introduce agenda item to switch focus to US wars and America's independence — The southern California city of Huntington Beach, a bastion of conservative voters …

Discussion: Raw Story and Los Angeles Times

Politico:

Democrats sue New Hampshire over GOP-backed election law — President Joe Biden's campaign is supporting the legal challenge, which was first shared with POLITICO. — The Democratic National Committee is suing New Hampshire officials over a Republican-backed election law that it claims …

Discussion: The Hill, The Messenger, Fox News and Election Law Blog

Alex Thompson / Axios:
Scoop: Biden campaign plots late push ahead of South Carolina primary

Discussion: New York Magazine, Fox News, Associated Press and The Messenger

Hugh Hewitt / The Hugh Hewitt Show:

Former President Donald Trump On President Biden, Support for Israel, The War In Ukraine, Campaign 2024, and What a Second Trump Term Would Look Like — Former President Trump Donald Trump joined me this morning: — Audio: — 12-22hhs-trump — Transcript:

Discussion: HuffPost, The Messenger, The Daily Caller and PoliticusUSA

Alexander Tin / CBS News:

New COVID variant JN.1 surges to 44% of cases, CDC estimates — even higher in New York, New Jersey — The new COVID-19 variant that scientists call JN.1 now makes up about 44.1% of COVID-19 cases across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated Friday …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Messenger, ABC7, NDTV, Forbes, NBC News, Deseret News, Metro.co.uk and Boston Herald

Mary Ilyushina / Washington Post:

Raunchy celebrity party in Russia draws outrage over ‘nude illusion’ theme — RIGA, Latvia — A raunchy celebrity-filled party in Moscow has drawn the ire of Russian politicians and fervent Christian Orthodox activists who are urging law enforcement to punish the event's guests and organizers …

Discussion: Business Insider, The Messenger and Althouse

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:

When her family needed money, Nikki Haley found a lucrative path — The candidate's public policy positions — hawkish and pro-business — created well-paid private opportunities when she abruptly resigned from government in 2018 — Nikki Haley was representing the United States on the world stage …

Discussion: Raw Story

Politico:

Trump allies and MAGA luminaries move to kill off the Haley-for-VP buzz — Haley's rise has prompted speculation she'd be a logical running mate for Trump. — Donald Trump's allies, MAGA media influencers and even his son are sending the Republican frontrunner a message as he begins …

Discussion: PJ Media, Boston Herald, The Post Millennial, USA Today and The Messenger

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:

Jan. 6 rioters the far right claimed were antifa keep getting unmasked as Trump supporters — Misinformation about the Capitol attack continues to go viral on the right, but the claims are slowly getting debunked, federal case by federal case. — WASHINGTON — In nearly three years since …

Discussion: Raw Story and Reason

Nicole Narea / Vox:

The US may be flouting its own laws by sending unrestricted aid to Israel — US law limits aid to countries that violate human rights. Here's why it isn't applied to Israel. — The recent high-profile killings of three Israeli hostages, two women in a Gaza church, and 11 unarmed Palestinian men …

Adam Entous / New York Times:

Hunter Biden Text Cited in Impeachment Inquiry Is Not What G.O.P. Suggests — A 2019 message from the president's son alluded to giving his father half his salary. The back story offers unflattering insights into the Biden family but does not support assertions of corruption.

Discussion: Fox News, Raw Story and IJR

Wall Street Journal:

How Putin's Right-Hand Man Took Out Prigozhin — Nikolai Patrushev, a top ally of the Russian leader for decades, put in motion the assassination of the mutinous chief of the Wagner mercenary group — On the tarmac of a Moscow airport in late August, Yevgeny Prigozhin waited …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Business Insider, The Messenger, Reuters, New York Post, The Sun, Bloomberg, Diane Ravitch's blog and Atlantic Council

Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:

WaPo Finally Reaches New Deal With Union After 18 Months — The contract negotiations have been a protracted source of tensions within the esteemed newsroom. — After about 18 months, two publishers, three rounds of job cuts, and a daylong walkout, The Washington Post and its union …

Discussion: The Hill, Washingtonian and Fox News, more at Mediagazer »