memeorandum: Putin Quietly Signals He Is Open to a Cease-Fire in Ukraine (New York Times)

8:45 PM ET, December 23, 2023

Top Items:

Melanie Mason / Politico:

Newsom pans efforts to block Trump from California ballot — A number of California politicians rushed to fast-track efforts to deem Trump ineligible for the presidency after the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling. — LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom has a message for California politicians eager …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Los Angeles Times, RedState, National Review, New York Post, One America News Network, The Daily Caller, The Messenger, The Hill, NBC News and New York Times

Lauren Irwin / The Hill:

Canada's Trudeau says a second Trump presidency could harm climate goals — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview that if former President Trump were reelected, it could cause harm for climate goals. — Trudeau expressed to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) …

Discussion: CBC News, The Messenger, NPR, Reuters, NBC News and Los Angeles Times

Michael C. Bender / New York Times:

Trump Pushes Forward in 2024 Run Amid Indictments and Colorado Ruling — This week's debate over his very eligibility for office served as a stark reminder that anyone else facing such a wide array of legal problems would have left the political stage long ago. — In another era, a politician would have walked away.

Discussion: claytoonz, Washington Examiner, Althouse, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politico and HuffPost

Lauren Irwin / The Hill:

Scaramucci on Trump's rhetoric compared to Hitler: 'It's a total dog whistle' — Former Trump communications director Anthony Scaramucci claimed former President Trump's remarks that drew comparisons to Adolf Hitler, “Mein Kampf” and Nazi Germany are “a total dog whistle.”

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Mediaite

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.

New York Times:

Democrats in Key States Worry Biden Could Be a Drag on Their Races — Candidates for the Senate and House have expressed concern that the president has not done enough to build an operation or excite voters. — Democrats in battleground states are growing increasingly anxious …

Discussion: Washington Times, Political Wire, The Daily Caller, Wall Street Journal, PJ Media, Talking Points Memo and Washington Examiner

Jocelyn Benson / The Daily Beast:

I'm Michigan's Chief Election Official. Trump's Still a Threat to Democracy, So Let's Be Prepared. — The new report about Trump's attempt to interfere with my state's election certification doesn't surprise me. We must stay vigilant over the danger he'll bring in 2024.

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Times, Michigan Advance, Fox News, New York Daily News, BizPac Review, CBS News, Digby's Hullabaloo, USA Today, NBC News, Letters from an American and Breitbart

Lara Seligman / Politico:
Trump hints at possible picks for Pentagon chief in a second term

Discussion: RedState, New York Magazine, New York Times, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, The Messenger and The Hill

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Supreme Court Won't Hear Case on Trump's Immunity Defense for Now

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story, NPR, South Dakota Searchlight, Outside the Beltway, Vanity Fair, SCOTUSblog, Vox, El País, CNN, BizPac Review, Associated Press and Election Law Blog

Kierra Frazier / Politico:
Trump vows a peaceful transfer of power if reelected

Discussion: The Hill, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Messenger, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Raw Story and RedState

Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:
Trump's 2020 Bullying of Michigan Election Officials Is Blatant Authoritarianism

Discussion: Fox News, Raw Story, Reuters, The Guardian, NBC News, Washington Examiner, Press Herald, Associated Press, PBS NewsHour, HuffPost, Politico and ABC News

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

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Mediaite, BizPac Review, Washington Examiner, RedState, The Messenger, NBC News, ABC News, New York Times, New York Post, Daily Kos, Bloomberg, HuffPost, PoliticusUSA, The Daily Caller, Political Wire and Mock Paper Scissors

New York Times:

Putin Quietly Signals He Is Open to a Cease-Fire in Ukraine — Despite its bravado in public, the Kremlin has indicated its interest in striking a deal to halt the war — so long as it could still declare victory. — Despite its bravado in public, the Kremlin has indicated its interest …

Discussion: New York Post, The Messenger, Lawyers, Guns & Money, USA Today, Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal:

Biden Convinced Netanyahu to Halt a Pre-Emptive Strike Against Hezbollah — Urgent call illustrates Washington's attempts to prevent a widening war in the Middle East — WASHINGTON—President Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt a pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah forces …

Discussion: The Times of Israel, The Hill, The Messenger, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Boston Herald, Political Wire, Mother Jones, New York Times, FDD and The Daily Register

Nick Robertson / The Hill:

Federal judge denies request to block Massachusetts assault weapons ban — A federal judge in Massachusetts shut down an attempt to block the state's assault weapons ban Friday, arguing that the law does not break with recent Supreme Court precedent that has severely shaken gun control legislation.

Discussion: Mass.gov, Boston Herald and RedState

Mother Jones:

The Far-Right Pushes a New Conspiracy Theory to Discredit Jack Smith — A new conspiracy theory rising on the right is being deployed to help Donald Trump. — It claims that Jack Smith, the special counsel who is prosecuting Trump for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election …

Discussion: Raw Story

The Times of Israel:

Oil tanker hit near Indian coast amid maritime hostilities against Israel by Houthis — The ship, identified as the Liberian-flagged Chem Pluto, sustains damage but none of its mostly-Indian crew are hurt; Jerusalem believes Iran behind drone strike on high seas

Discussion: Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Daily Caller News Foundation, Voice of America and Breitbart

The Hill:

We cannot turn our back on the Endangered Species Act after 50 years of preventing extinction — Fifty years ago, Republicans and Democrats in both chambers came together in an inspirational show of bipartisanship to pass one of our nation's most respected and successful conservation laws: the Endangered Species Act.

Discussion: Press Herald and The Daily Caller

Journal Sentinel:

Wisconsin Supreme Court rules legislative maps unconstitutional, orders new boundaries for 2024 vote — Molly Beck Jessie OpoienMilwaukee Journal Sentinel — MADISON - The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Republican-controlled state Legislature to draw new legislative boundaries ahead …