memeorandum: U.S. Plans to Send Weapons to Israel Amid Biden Push for Cease-Fire Deal (Wall Street Journal)

12:15 AM ET, February 17, 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, Democrats, Politico, ABC News, New Republic, Forbes, Mediaite, Mother Jones 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: The News Beyond Detroit, 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

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

Associated Press:

Verdict in Donald Trump's civil fraud trial expected Friday, capping busy week of court action — NEW YORK (AP) — A verdict is expected Friday in Donald Trump's New York civil fraud trial, adding to a consequential week on the former president's legal calendar.

Jake Offenhartz / Associated Press:

Trump's legal debts top a half-billion dollars. Will he have to pay? — A New York judge has ordered Donald Trump and his companies to pay $355 million. The judge found they engaged in a years-long scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated his wealth. (Feb. 16)

Discussion: Raw Story, The Japan Times, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, Bloomberg, The Guardian, CNBC, Associated Press, DNyuz, Forbes, Slate, NewsNation and The Daily Caller

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, New York Post, Associated Press, DNyuz, The Daily Caller, 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 and RedState

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

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

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

Discussion: Deseret News

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

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

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

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

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, Raw Story, 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, Plain Dealer, Foreign Policy, nationalinterest.org and Breaking Defense

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

Discussion: The Guardian, Business Insider, KSLTV.com, DNyuz, The Hill, Axios, Raw Story, RedState, Washington Times, Washington Examiner and The Daily Caller

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

Discussion: New York Times, NPR, Vox, PBS NewsHour, DNyuz, Washington Examiner, The American Conservative, 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, ABC News, CNN, Al Jazeera, New Yorker, The Hill, DNyuz, PoliticusUSA, IJR, New York Times, HotAir, The Bulwark, Media Matters for America, Human Events, Twitchy, El País and HuffPost

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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 …

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Plans to Send Weapons to Israel Amid Biden Push for Cease-Fire Deal — Delivery would include bombs, precision-guidance kits and bomb fuses — ISTANBUL—The Biden administration is preparing to send bombs and other weapons to Israel that would add to its military arsenal …

Discussion: Reuters

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