memeorandum: Mattis secretly advised Arab monarch on Yemen war, records show (Washington Post)

11:40 AM ET, February 6, 2024

Top Items:

David Frum / The Atlantic:

The GOP's True Priority — The Republicans who won't take yes for an answer — Sometimes, a negotiation produces a deal. — Sometimes, a negotiation reveals the truth. — Negotiators in the Senate have produced a draft agreement on immigration and asylum. The deal delivers on Republican priorities.

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story and Michigan Advance

Lauren Sforza / The Hill:

Chip Roy: Border package authors 'don't know what they're talking about' — Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) took aim at bipartisan Senate negotiators for the border security deal revealed over the weekend that he says he will oppose. — Roy criticized the proposed deal on CNN's …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, BizPac Review, Mediaite, American Military News, The Maine Wire and Politico

Wall Street Journal:

A Border Security Bill Worth Passing — The Senate bill has reforms Trump never came close to getting. — Do Republicans want to better secure the U.S. border, or do they want to keep what has become an open sore festering for another year as an election issue?

Discussion: The Hill, HuffPost, Washington Post, ABC News, New York Times, Twitchy, Fox News, Mediaite, Politico, Associated Press, Raw Story, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, NPR, Roll Call, Fargo | KFGO, Washington Times, CBS News, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, Semafor and Axios

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

As a compromise border plan collapses, the GOP is in disarray — There can be little doubt that one of the major American political parties is in disarray, but it's not the Democratic Party. — For those familiar with online political commentary, the phrase “Dems in disarray” …

Discussion: Business Insider and Politico

Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:

February 5, 2024 — It's been an exceedingly weird 24 hours. — Last night the Senate released the text of the national security supplemental bill on which a bipartisan team of negotiators has been working for four months. Negotiators were working on adding a border component …

Discussion: Rolling Stone, New Republic, DNyuz, New York Daily News, Raw Story, MeidasTouch, LGBTQ Nation and Washington Examiner

Igor Bobic / HuffPost:
In Huge Reversal, GOP Poised To Kill The Border-Ukraine Package It Demanded

Discussion: The Hill, ABC News, Fox News, Bloomberg, NBC News, Punchbowl News, Washington Examiner, Semafor, RedState, Talking Points Memo and NPR

Judd Legum / Popular Information:
The immigration “compromise” — On Sunday, a group of Senators — James Lankford (R-OK) …

Discussion: Washington Post, Houston Public Media, Nevada Current, The Hill, Washington Times, Idaho Capital Sun, Mediaite and Washington Examiner

Nicole Narea / Vox:
Democrats are trying to pass a right-wing border bill, but the GOP won't let them

Discussion: Power Line, BizPac Review, UPI, The Federalist, NBC News, The Daily Beast, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Los Angeles Times, Off Message, ABC News and CNN

Washington Post:
Border-for-Ukraine deal on life support as GOP opposition mounts

William Vaillancourt / The Daily Beast:
Trump Now Falsely Claims He Didn't Endorse Immigration Bill Co-Author

Discussion: Raw Story, The Oklahoman, CNN, HuffPost, Rolling Stone, DNyuz and The Hill

Politico:
Our border deal whip count: It's halfway to getting blocked

Discussion: Associated Press

Punchbowl News:
Senate GOP poised to block border deal — for now

Discussion: HotAir, Semafor, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, New Republic, BizPac Review, Power Line and Washington Examiner

Axios:
Trump activates MAGA caucus to kill Senate border deal, weaken McConnell

Discussion: Breitbart, Raw Story, The American Spectator, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, The Federalist, RedState and The Hill

Dan Ladden-Hall / The Daily Beast:
Biden Would Veto GOP-Backed Standalone Bill for Aid to Israel, White House Says

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, Crooks and Liars, Axios, HuffPost, DNyuz, The Guardian, CBS News, The Hill, Twitchy, TASS and Political Wire

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:

Trump has no immunity from Jan. 6 prosecution, appeals court rules — A federal appeals court has unanimously ruled that Donald Trump can be put on trial for trying to stay in power after losing the 2020 election, rejecting Trump's sweeping claim of presidential immunity and moving the case one step closer to a jury.

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:

Appeals court rules against Trump presidential immunity in 2020 election interference case — Trump is likely to ask the Supreme Court to intervene after the ruling, which would allow the trial to go ahead in the criminal case in Washington, D.C. — WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court …

Discussion: ABC News, CBS News, The Guardian, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, 6abc, PBS NewsHour, The Hill and New Republic

Sam Cabral / BBC:

Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity, US court rules — Donald Trump does not have presidential immunity and can be prosecuted on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, a US court has ruled. — Mr Trump had claimed in the landmark legal case that he was immune …

Discussion: El País, Rolling Stone, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Guardian, Reuters and USA Today

Politico:

Trump is not immune from prosecution for bid to subvert the 2020 election, appeals court rules — The unanimous 57-page decision is a major win for special counsel Jack Smith. — Former President Donald Trump — and indeed any other former president — may be prosecuted for alleged crimes …

Discussion: Axios, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, WWLP-TV, DNyuz, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit and nationalinterest.org

Libby Cathey / ABC News:

Chris Christie predicts ‘huge personnel problem’ if Trump is reelected to ‘vendetta presidency’ — In an exclusive interview, the former governor warned of “absolute mayhem.” — Former New Jersey Governor and Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie speaks with George Stephanopoulos from ABC News, Feb. 5, 2024.

The Hill:

Appeals panel rules against Trump on presidential immunity — A three-judge panel upheld a lower court ruling that deemed former President Trump is not immune from criminal prosecution as a former executive, blocking his effort to toss his election interference federal case on those grounds.

Discussion: MeidasTouch

Bloomberg:
Trump Denied Immunity in DC Election Case by Appeals Court

Discussion: USA Today, NBC News, Michigan Advance, Raw Story, Mercury News, The Hill and Al Jazeera

Libby Cathey / ABC News:
Christie calls hot mic moment ‘a complete mistake’ in 1st interview since leaving race

Discussion: The Hill and Politico

Elizabeth Crisp / The Hill:
Christie says second Trump term will be ‘vendetta presidency’

Discussion: Raw Story and DNyuz

Washington Post:
Republicans fear they will be targets in Trump's ‘retribution’ campaign

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Wall Street Journal

NBC News:
Trump says he wants to debate Biden

Discussion: The Guardian, Fox News, CNBC, Althouse, Mediaite, Raw Story, Axios, HuffPost, One America News Network, New York Post, Fargo | KFGO, DNyuz, The Hill, Washington Times, Political Wire and Greensburg Tribune-Review

Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:

Second GOP rep says he'll vote against Mayorkas impeachment — Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) announced Tuesday that he would vote against a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, becoming the second Republican to buck the party and putting GOP plans in jeopardy.

Discussion: Axios, Congressman Tom Mcclintock, Vox, Sacramento Bee, Raw Story, Fargo | KFGO, New York Post, HuffPost and New York Times

Will Oremus / Washington Post:

Bluesky, a trendy rival to X, finally opens to the public — The upstart social network has been by invitation only since its launch last year — When Jack Dorsey, then Twitter's CEO, tweeted in 2019 that he planned to create a new, “decentralized” form of social media, most people scratched their heads.

Discussion: The Verge, Bloomberg and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Techmeme »

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez / Washington Post:

Kari Lake's leaked recording is causing trust issues in the Arizona GOP — The Senate candidate was booed by the party faithful after a secret tape forced out the party chair. Republican officials say they assume they are being recorded when speaking with her.

Discussion: Raw Story

Bradford Betz / Fox News:

Biden tells crowd he recently met with Mitterrand, former French president who died in 1996 — François Mitterrand was France's president between 1981 and 1995 — President Biden told a crowd in Las Vegas on Sunday that he recently met with Francois Mitterrand, the French president who has been dead for nearly 30 years.

Discussion: Breitbart, Politico, BizPac Review, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Washington Examiner, Mediaite and IJR

Dan Ladden-Hall / The Daily Beast:

House Dem Brutally Hits Back at Marjorie Taylor Greene's Gross Bathroom Claim — The MAGA lawmaker was seemingly upset about Rep. Jim McGovern likening her to a clown. — A House Democrat got into a wild war of words with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday involving mutual accusations …

Discussion: Business Insider, The Root, LGBTQ Nation, Raw Story, New Republic, The Hill and Political Wire

Paul Kiel / ProPublica:

Senate Investigation “Casts Fresh Doubt” About the Validity of Harlan Crow's Yacht Tax Deductions — In their extensive probe, Senate investigators found evidence to suggest Crow has made repeated misrepresentations to the U.S. government. ProPublica revealed the tax maneuvers in a previous story.

John McCormick / Wall Street Journal:

Nikki Haley Asks for Secret Service Protection After Increase in Threats — Former South Carolina governor is final hurdle between Trump and the Republican presidential nomination — AIKEN, S. C.—Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has applied for Secret Service protection …