memeorandum: Playbook: A day Biden world wishes it could forget (Politico)

1:30 PM ET, February 9, 2024

Top Items:

Biden: “I am an elderly man ... I know what the hell I'm doing” … - Biden's hastily arranged nighttime remarks came after the special counsel's report said he wouldn't be charged for having classified documents, but blistered him as “an elderly man with a poor memory” …

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Thoughts On the Hur Report — Let me share a few thoughts on the Biden special counsel report. — First off, this is another example of the universal rule: Republican special counsels are chosen to investigate Democrats. And Republican special counsels are chosen to investigate Republicans.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, HuffPost, BizPac Review, The Hill, Eschaton, NewsNation, RedState, Diane Ravitch's blog, Washington Post, Breitbart, Mediaite, Raw Story, Off Message, The Guardian, Mother Jones, Law & Crime, Washington Examiner and Washington Times

Politico:

Playbook: A day Biden world wishes it could forget — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — TALK OF THIS TOWN — Michael Schaffer's latest column: “To See the Toxic Effect of Crime on Politics, Look at Local DC”

Discussion: HuffPost, RedState, The Guardian, Fox News, Twitchy, The Hill, PoliticusUSA and Balloon Juice

Kierra Frazier / Politico:

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough trashes special counsel's report — “So bizarre. So many people immediately heard these random conclusions, irrelevant conclusions, politically charged, Trump-like ramblings,” Scarborough said. — MSNBC's Joe Scarborough attacked Special Counsel Robert Hur on …

Discussion: The Message Box, Raw Story, The Guardian, The Federalist, IJR, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic, nationalinterest.org, Forbes, DNyuz, Vox, HuffPost, New York Post and al.com

Kierra Frazier / Politico:

Obama AG Eric Holder blasts special counsel's report — “Had this report been been subject to a normal DOJ review these remarks would undoubtedly have been excised,” Eric Holder said. — Former Attorney General Eric Holder slammed Special Counsel Robert Hur's report that contained observations on President Joe Biden's memory.

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story and The Daily Beast

Jeffrey Blehar / National Review:

I'm Finally Beginning to Believe It's Possible Joe Biden Steps Down — Did you just see that press briefing? The same one I did, where Joe Biden babbled nearly nonsensically for several minutes denying that he babbled nearly nonsensically for several minutes to the special counsel …

Discussion: HotAir, nationalinterest.org, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Telegraph, Power Line, The Guardian, USA Today and Must Read Alaska

Shan Wu / The Daily Beast:
Special Counsel Robert Hur's Report on Biden's Classified Documents Is Partisan and Unprofessional

Discussion: HuffPost, DNyuz and The Hill

Politico:
Age isn't just a number. It's a profound and growing problem for Biden.

Cami Mondeaux / Washington Examiner:
Biden investigation reveals event that nearly pushed Joe to resign as Obama's vice president

Discussion: The Hill, Twitchy, PoliticusUSA, The Guardian, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, Fargo | KFGO, Sputnik News, RedState and Fox News

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Legal Exoneration, Political Nightmare

Washington Post:
Biden responds angrily to special counsel report questioning his memory

New York Times:
Biden's Age and Memory Rise to Center of 2024 Presidential Campaign

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Mediaite, Slate, Fox News, Breitbart, NBC News, DNyuz, nationalinterest.org, RedState, Twitchy, Fargo | KFGO and Semafor

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:
More voters are rating Trump's presidency as ‘better than expected’ in hindsight

Discussion: The Hill, New York Post and Daily Caller News Foundation

Jim Tankersley / New York Times: Why the Cost of Biden's Climate Law Keeps Going Up

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
GOP Rep. Tenney calls to invoke 25th Amendment to remove Biden from office after ‘alarming’ Hur report

Discussion: USA Today, HotAir, The Gateway Pundit, The Federalist, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Daily Mail, New York Post, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, DNyuz, The Hill, Forbes and RedState

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Trump demands DOJ ‘immediately’ drop charges against him in classified docs case after Biden decision

Discussion: New York Times, Alpha News, Washington Examiner, NPR, Associated Press, Townhall, New York Post, Forbes, USA Today, Benzinga, ABC News, Raw Story, RedState, Fox Business, The Hill, Axios and Politico

Stuart Stevens / New Republic:
Just Say It, Democrats: Biden Has Been a Great President

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Mock Paper Scissors, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, DNyuz, Washington Times and Washington Examiner

Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Biden Cleared in Documents Case; Report Raises Concerns About His Memory

USA Today:
DOJ report digs into Biden's mishandling classified documents, ‘poor memory’: 5 takeaways

Politico:

'It's devastating': Trump seizes unmatched control over GOP — Trump's influence was felt across the country, from Nevada to Congress to the Republican National Committee. — RENO, Nevada — Donald Trump long ago bent the Republican Party to his will. But seldom has the sheer sweep …

Discussion: Raw Story and Las Vegas Review-Journal

Davidrlurie / Public Notice:

How Trump turned the GOP into the party of lawless disorder — Can Republicans win by promoting contempt for the rule of law? We're about to find out. … As the GOP prepares for the third general election with Donald Trump at the head of its ticket, it is becoming clear that the 2024 race …

Brandi Buchman / Law & Crime:
‘Relentless and misleading’: Jack Smith shreds new Trump motion as proof he will ‘stop at nothing’ to delay Mar-a-Lago documents case

Discussion: MeidasTouch, The Hill, New York Times, Raw Story, PoliticusUSA, New Republic and Newsweek

Ron Filipowski / The Daily Beast:
Evangelicals' Trump Worship Looks More Like QAnon Every Day

Discussion: Raw Story

David Brooks / New York Times:
Trump Came for Their Party but Took Over Their Souls

Discussion: The Virgin Islands Daily News and Raw Story

Politico:

Hogan running for Senate — Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is launching a Senate bid, according to a person familiar with the matter. The anti-Trump Republican is expected to file for the open Senate seat on Friday, the last day of the filing deadline. Hogan is popular in Maryland …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Joe.My.God.

The Hill:

Larry Hogan launches surprise Maryland Senate bid — Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced on Friday that he's launching a surprise bid for the open Maryland Senate seat, despite speculation that he was considering a third-party presidential bid. — “We desperately need leaders willing …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Free Beacon, New York Times, Axios, Fox News, CBS News, NBC News, USA Today, Politico, Bloomberg, NBC4 WCMH-TV, Associated Press, WHDH-TV and The Daily Caller

Associated Press:

Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu orders Gaza's crowded Rafah evacuated ahead of an expected ground invasion — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said he has ordered the military to prepare a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah ahead of an expected Israeli invasion of the densely populated southern Gaza city.

Discussion: NBC News, Washington Examiner, Reuters, The Hill, Politico, CBS News, El País, Al-Monitor, Associated Press, Euractiv, The Guardian, DNyuz, Forbes, Al Jazeera, UPI and Buenos Aires Times

Suman Naishadham / Associated Press:

Jury awards climate scientist Michael Mann $1 million in defamation lawsuit — A jury on Thursday awarded $1 million to climate scientist Michael Mann who sued a pair of conservative writers 12 years ago after they compared his depictions of global warming to a convicted child molester.

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, New York Times, WHDH-TV, Lawyers, Guns & Money, DeSmog, Reason, Forbes, The Gateway Pundit, The Pipeline, Joe.My.God., Axios, RedState, Power Line, BizPac Review, Associated Press and DNyuz

Dino Grandoni / Washington Post:
Famed climate scientist wins million-dollar verdict against right-wing bloggers

Discussion: UPI, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop — Forthcoming book on Jill Biden in 2022: “Why didn't anyone stop that? … President Biden and top aides were gathered in the Treaty Room, the president's study in the executive residence, after a press conference that ran nearly two hours. … - Suddenly, the group saw First Lady Jill Biden …

Discussion: New York Post, The Hill, New York Times and Fox News

The Guardian:

‘It would be devastating’: inside Trump's plan to destroy the EPA — Trump has made campaign promises to toss crucial environmental regulations - including dismantling the federal body with the most power to tackle the climate crisis — Donald Trump and his advisers have made campaign promises …

Discussion: GovExec.com

Rachel Leingang / The Guardian:

Revealed: rightwinger Leonard Leo linked to efforts to keep Trump on ballot — Federalist Society co-chair has ties to the groups arguing in the US supreme court case that Trump should stay on the Colorado ballot — The man behind the conservative effort to move the judiciary to the right …

Chris Geidner / Law Dork:

Supreme Court almost certain to allow Trump to remain on Colorado's primary ballot — The justices appeared to be more concerned about what removing Trump from the ballot would do rather than whether the Constitution says he is disqualified. — After a little more than two hours of arguments Thursday …