memeorandum: Trump Is Testing the Bounds of Presidential Immunity—and Losing (Jose Pagliery/The Daily Beast)

3:35 PM ET, December 27, 2023

Top Items:

Trump Demands MAGA Group Give Him ‘Millions.’ That's Not Legal, Experts Say — Trump wants a cut from a think tank raising money to support his agenda and staff his administration, sources tell Rolling Stone. … At least that's how former President Donald Trump sees it.

Discussion: Raw Story

Daniel Barnes / NBC News:

Special counsel Jack Smith seeks to block Trump from making ‘political attacks’ during trial — Smith also asked the court to prohibit Trump from blaming law enforcement for the attack on Jan. 6, 2021. — WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith filed a motion Wednesday …

Discussion: HotAir, Raw Story and New York Daily News

Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:

Trump demands recusal of Maine secretary of state in 14th Amendment determination — Former President Trump on Wednesday demanded the Maine secretary of state recuse herself from her upcoming decision on the former president's ballot eligibility under the 14th Amendment, citing her past statements about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Discussion: The Messenger, The Maine Wire and Truthout

Danny Hakim / New York Times:

A Fake Trump Elector in Michigan Told Prosecutors of Regret, Anger — The Trump supporter is the only one of the 16 fake Michigan electors who has agreed to cooperate with the authorities and had charges against him dropped. — One of the Republicans in Michigan who acted as a fake elector …

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, HuffPost, Political Wire and Election Law Blog

Marshall Cohen / CNN:

Michigan Supreme Court rejects ‘insurrectionist ban’ case and keeps Trump on 2024 primary ballot — The Michigan Supreme Court has rejected an attempt to remove former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot based on the US Constitution's “insurrectionist ban.”

Axios:
Exclusive data: Trump lowers his own social media punch

Discussion: New York Times, The Messenger, The Hill and Raw Story

Patrick Marley / Washington Post:
Michigan Supreme Court allows Trump to appear on 2024 primary ballot

Discussion: Townhall, CBS News, Politico, California Globe, One America News Network, IJR, New York Daily News, Raw Story, The Messenger, Washington Examiner and Grabien News

Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:
Trump Is Testing the Bounds of Presidential Immunity—and Losing

Discussion: Salon, Raw Story, New York Daily News, Business Insider and HuffPost

Eric Bazail-Eimil / Politico:
Trump shares cryptic ‘dictatorship’ word cloud on Truth Social

Discussion: The Messenger, NBC News, Truthout, Sun-Sentinel, The Independent, HuffPost, New Republic, Raw Story, DNyuz, Althouse, CNN, Axios, REALITYCHEX.COM, The Daily Beast, Twitchy, The Hill and Business Insider

The Guardian:
FBI investigating threats directed at Colorado supreme court justices after Trump ruling

Discussion: 77 WABC, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, DNyuz, The Post Millennial, FOX31 Denver, Associated Press, National Review, CBS News, UPI, USA Today, New York Post and HuffPost

Holly Otterbein / Politico:

John Fetterman isn't the politician you thought he'd be — and he doesn't care — John Fetterman's had a rollercoaster of a year. — In January, he was sworn into office as Pennsylvania's new Democratic senator despite suffering from a debilitating stroke on the campaign trail.

Discussion: The Hill, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Messenger, Fox News and IJR

Dan Ladden-Hall / The Daily Beast:

Trans Actress Accuses Delta Staff of ‘Human Rights Violation’ in Viral Row — Tommy Dorfman claimed one of the airline workers had “intentionally” referred to her with the wrong pronoun. — Transgender actress Tommy Dorfman accused Delta Air Lines workers of committing a “human rights violation” …

Discussion: RedState

Maura Zurick / Newsweek:
Viral Video of Trans Actress Being Misgendered by Delta Staff Sparks Debate

Discussion: Blaze Media, TMZ.com, Washington Examiner, Page Six, RedState, Louder With Crowder, The Daily Caller, The Messenger, IJR, The Gateway Pundit and The Post Millennial

Caroline Petrow-Cohen / Los Angeles Times:

Nobody's ever lost their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Will Trump be the first? — (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) — Hollywood Hills resident Andrew Rudick is on a mission. — Over the last three years, he's submitted public records requests, retrieved case documents …

Discussion: Raw Story

Jacob Knutson / Axios: Thousands — and some city officials — want Trump's Hollywood star removed

Michael Hirsh / Politico:

The Biden Administration Is Quietly Shifting Its Strategy in Ukraine — For two years, Biden and Zelenskyy have been focused on driving Russia from Ukraine. Now Washington is discussing a move to a more defensive posture. — President Joe Biden has shifted from promising the U.S. would back Ukraine for …

Discussion: New York Post

William Grimes / New York Times:

Tom Smothers, Comic Half of the Smothers Brothers, Dies at 86 — Though he played a naïve buffoon onstage, he was the driving force behind the folk-singing duo's groundbreaking TV show. — Tom Smothers, the older half of the comic folk duo the Smothers Brothers, whose skits and songs on …

Discussion: Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, National Comedy Center, DNyuz, PoliticusUSA, Variety, New York Post, The Sun, Los Angeles Times, WHTM-TV, CBS News, Associated Press, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Rolling Stone, Althouse and Press Herald

Jonathan Larsen / Salon:

GOP congressman traveled to Uganda to support anti-LGBTQ death penalty law — Rep. Tim Walberg co-chairs the National Prayer Breakfast — and urged Uganda to “stand firm” on “death to gays” law — In a little-noticed October speech in Uganda, Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich. …

Discussion: DNyuz and Raw Story

Connor O'Brien / Politico:

Alabama lawmakers vow to keep fighting on Space Command, and it could involve Trump — “We've got two paths, both of which are good,” House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers said. — Despite President Joe Biden's decision this summer to reverse a Trump-era move and keep U.S. Space Command in Colorado …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and The Messenger

Kirsti Knolle / Reuters:

OBITUARY Gaston Glock, the man behind the gun, dies aged 94 - APA — Gaston Glock, the reclusive engineer and tycoon who developed one of the world's best-selling handguns, died on Wednesday aged 94, Austrian news agency APA said. — The Austrian won loyal followings among police …

Discussion: The Messenger

Washington Post:

After Sandy Hook, they voted no. Now these senators want new gun laws. — Reflecting on a decade of mass killings and surging AR-15 sales, four current and three former senators recant some or all of their 2013 positions on gun laws in emotional interviews with The Post

Discussion: The Hill and Mediaite

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:

Democratic group makes a $5.9 million bet on flipping George Santos' House seat — First on NBC News: House Majority PAC plans to spend heavily on TV, digital and mail ads to win a special election that it is calling a harbinger for the November battle over the chamber.

Discussion: The Hill, House Majority PAC, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, New York Post and The Messenger

Stuart Lau / Politico:

Jacques Delors, architect of a united Europe, is dead at 98 — BRUSSELS — Jacques Delors, who headed the European Commission between 1985 and 1995 and is seen as one of the most important architects of a European internal market and single currency, died on Wednesday, aged 98.

Discussion: Reuters, Associated Press, DNyuz and The Sun

NBC News:

Matt Napolitano, Fox News audio anchor and reporter, dies at 33 after a brief illness — Napolitano wrote and produced segments for all Fox News audio platforms. He contributed sports-related coverage for Fox Business Network's “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” weekday series anchored by Neil Cavuto.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New York Post, Adweek, Outsports, Fox News, The Daily Caller, The Messenger and Deadline

Associated Press:

Trump says he didn't know his immigration rhetoric echoes Hitler. That's part of a broader pattern — NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has centered his unlikely rise from reality television star to onetime — and potentially future — president on the idea that he's wiser …

Discussion: Raw Story and Mock Paper Scissors