memeorandum: Wisconsin fake elector tells ‘60 Minutes’ he was afraid of Trump supporters (Molly Beck/Journal Sentinel)

11:35 PM ET, February 16, 2024

Top Items:

Trump Ordered to Pay $355 Million and Barred From New York Business — The ruling in Donald J. Trump's civil fraud case could cost him all his available cash. The judge said that the former president's “complete lack of contrition” bordered on pathological.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Guardian, Trending Politics Conservative, DNyuz, Joe.My.God., LGBTQ Nation, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Slate, The Moderate Voice, The Mahablog and Washington Post

Abdallah Fayyad / Vox:

Trump is suddenly in need of a lot of cash. That's everyone's problem. — The former president was just ordered to pay $355 million in his New York fraud case, bringing the tally this year to nearly half a billion dollars in civil damages. — Two recent verdicts have now left Donald Trump …

Discussion: DNyuz, Raw Story and The Guardian

New York Times:

Trump Privately Expresses Support for a 16-Week Abortion Ban — In supporting a 16-week ban with exceptions, Donald Trump appears to be trying to satisfy social conservatives who want to further restrict abortion access and voters who want more modest limits.

Discussion: Rolling Stone, The Guardian, The Hill, Associated Press, DNyuz, Mother Jones, Democrats, Politico, ABC News, New Republic, Forbes, Mediaite and Bloomberg

Lauren Aratani / The Guardian:

Donald Trump ordered to pay over $350m in New York financial fraud case — Trump also banned from running any New York corporation or entity for three years in devastating blow for ex-president — Donald Trump, his eldest sons and associates have been ordered to pay over $350m by a New York judge …

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Post, The Nation, DNyuz, PoliticusUSA, MeidasTouch, New York Daily News, The Federalist, New York Magazine, NPR, Washington Times and The Atlantic

Associated Press:

Trump's legal debts top a half-billion dollars. Will he have to pay? — NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's legal debts might now exceed a half-billion dollars. — A New York judge ordered Trump and his companies Friday to pay $355 million in fines, plus interest, after ruling that he had manipulated …

Discussion: Raw Story, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, CBS News, Forbes, DNyuz and Slate

Slate:

Trump and His Family Are Fined $355 Million for Fraud—and a Lack of Remorse That “Borders on Pathological” — The ruling, if upheld, marks the end of the Trump Organization as we know it. — New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered Donald Trump to pay $355 million in fines …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New York Times, Fox News, New York Post, BizPac Review, Raw Story, One America News Network, DNyuz, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill and New Republic

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Judge: Trump Org defendants' ‘complete’ lack of contrition ‘borders on pathological’ — A New York judge called out former President Trump and other Trump Organization executives Friday for their lack of remorse in a civil fraud case over the company's business dealings.

Discussion: Arizona Mirror, National Review, Digby's Hullabaloo, DNyuz, Raw Story, USA Today and Joe.My.God.

Molly Beck / Journal Sentinel:

Wisconsin fake elector tells ‘60 Minutes’ he was afraid of Trump supporters — MADISON - The former chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party in a new interview claims he sent Congress paperwork he signed posing as an elector for Donald Trump following the former president's 2020 election loss …

Discussion: Raw Story

Fox News:
Trump barred from operating business, ordered to pay over $350 million in NY civil fraud case

Discussion: Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Associated Press, DNyuz, El País, Semafor, The Post Millennial and Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

Filip Timotija / The Hill:
Trump attorneys blasts $355 million verdict against him

Discussion: Associated Press, DNyuz, NewsNation and RedState

NBC News:
Trump campaign scrambles over abortion ban report as Democrats seize the moment

Discussion: New York Post, The Hill, Raw Story and New Republic

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Romney rules out voting for Trump, citing court's sexual abuse finding in Carroll case

Discussion: Deseret News

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Trump opts against Supreme Court appeal on civil immunity claim over Jan. 6 lawsuits

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, UPI, Raw Story and Law & Crime

Associated Press:
Verdict in Donald Trump's civil fraud trial expected Friday, capping busy week of court action

Reuters:
Trump hit with $354.9 million penalty, 3-year ban in NY civil fraud case

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Post, Raw Story, NBC News, DNyuz, TMZ.com, Trending Politics Conservative, The Daily Caller, New Republic, Honolulu Star-Advertiser and The Hill, more at Techmeme »

NBC News:
Judge fines Donald Trump more than $360 million, bars him from running businesses in N.Y. for three years

Steve Benen / MSNBC:
In civil fraud case, judge fines Trump more than $350 million

Discussion: Raw Story

NBC News:
Judge fines Donald Trump more than $350 million, bars him from running businesses in N.Y. for three years

Discussion: Bloomberg, Politico, New York Daily News, Deadline, HotAir, DNyuz, The Hill, Above the Law, Mock Paper Scissors, RedState, New York Times and Business Insider

Politico:

U.S. outrage at Navalny's death turns into a rallying cry — From Washington to Munich, the world reacted to news of Navalny's death at a precarious time for transatlantic relations. — The shock waves of Alexei Navalny's death rippled across the Atlantic.

Discussion: Meduza.io, Politico, DNyuz, Foreign Policy, Plain Dealer, nationalinterest.org, Breaking Defense and Raw Story

Politico:
Biden, lawmakers hammer Ukraine aid holdouts after Navalny death

Discussion: The Guardian, Business Insider, Associated Press, DNyuz, The Hill, Axios, Raw Story, RedState, The Daily Caller, Washington Times and Washington Examiner

Yuliya Talmazan / NBC News:
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies in prison

Anton Troianovski / Associated Press:
A day ago, in his last public appearance, Navalny seemed in good spirits.

Discussion: New York Times, Vox, NPR, The American Conservative, PBS NewsHour, DNyuz, Washington Examiner, Forbes, New Republic, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, NBC News, Reuters, The Hill and Mediaite

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
No, Donald Trump is not America's Navalny

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, CNN, Al Jazeera, The Hill, New Yorker, DNyuz, El País, PoliticusUSA, IJR, New York Times, HotAir, The Bulwark, Media Matters for America, Human Events and Twitchy

Reuters:
Jailed Russian opposition leader Navalny is dead -prison service

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
Fani Willis Endures Disrespect, Racist Tropes, And Public Humiliation

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Raw Story and Mediaite

Steve Holland / Reuters:
Biden to speak at noon on Navalny's death, White House says

The Guardian:
Russian activist and Putin critic Alexei Navalny dies in prison

Discussion: NPR, Wall Street Journal, Mediaite, DNyuz, ABC News, Caitlin Johnstone, The Hill, Reuters, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg, emptywheel, TASS, Semafor and ABC13

Matt Binder / Mashable:

The majority of traffic from Elon Musk's X may have been fake during the Super Bowl, report suggests — These numbers are legitimately shocking. … Also riding high from the big game? Elon Musk's X. The company formerly known as Twitter published its own press release …

Darragh Roche / Newsweek:

James Comer Faces Potential Investigation Over Lying FBI Source — Republican Representative James Comer is facing calls for an investigation of his efforts to impeach President Joe Biden after a key witness in the probe was charged with lying to the FBI. — Special counsel David Weiss …

Discussion: emptywheel, US Department of Justice, Above the Law, New Republic, Washington Times, The Mahablog and Mock Paper Scissors

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

GOP suffers ‘most spectacular embarrassment imaginable’ in anti-Biden case — The GOP's impeachment crusade against Joe Biden will continue, even after their star witness was charged with lying to the FBI, but it really shouldn't. — It's not exactly a secret that the impeachment crusade …

Elie Honig / New York Magazine:
The Real Biden Documents Scandal (It's Not the Old-Man Stuff)

Discussion: Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Lawrence K. Altman / STAT:

I've reported on the health of every president since Reagan. Here's what I think about Trump and Biden — When I interviewed Ronald Reagan about his health in 1980, he was 69 and poised to become the oldest person to be elected president. During our conversation, Reagan was mentally sharp.

Laura Kelly / The Hill:

GOP House chair: Johnson has no way out of Ukraine floor vote — The GOP chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee was bullish Friday on the chamber delivering U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, despite the “brainwashing” of some within his caucus who oppose foreign spending …

Discussion: RedState, Washington Examiner and Reuters

The Conversation:

Students lose out as cities and states give billions in property tax breaks to businesses − draining school budgets and especially hurting the poorest students — Built in 1910, James Elementary is a three-story brick school in Kansas City, Missouri's historic Northeast neighborhood …

Kevin Freking / Associated Press:

A chaotic US House is losing three Republican committee chairs to retirement in the span of a week — In a single week, the Republican chairs of three House committees announced they would not be seeking reelection, raising questions about whether the chaos that has reigned this Congress is driving out some of the GOP's top talent.

Discussion: Raw Story

Andrew Solender / Axios:

House bipartisan group unveils $66 billion foreign aid bill … - The bill also blocks the use of federal funds to transfer migrants between detention centers or other locations unless it is for adjudicating their immigration case. — It would also implement a Trump-era policy …

Discussion: Washington Times, New York Post, New Jersey Globe, Roll Call, The Hill and Sputnik News