memeorandum: How Trump's Justice Dept. Derailed an Investigation of a Major Company (Jesse Drucker/New York Times)

6:55 PM ET, March 9, 2024

Top Items:

Alexandra Marquez / NBC News:

Biden says he regrets referring to ‘an illegal’ during his State of the Union address — The president used the term to describe Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan who crossed the border into the U.S. and has been charged with the murder of Laken Riley. — President Joe Biden on Saturday told MSNBC …

Dan Pfeiffer / The Message Box:

How Trump Fumbled his Attack on Biden's Age — Donald Trump and the Republicans smelled blood. President Biden had recently been on the defensive about his age. A series of polls released over the weekend heightened Democratic concerns. The Republicans knew the press would treat …

Discussion: DOWNWITHTYRANNY! and Mediaite

Mike Allen / Axios:

“Smokin' Joe Biden”: Campaign builds on SOTU buzz … - “Donald Trump believes the job of the president is to take care of Donald Trump,” Biden says. … - By the end of this month, the campaign expects to surge from 100 staff members in the seven battlegrounds to 350+, with 100+ field offices, per the AP.

Discussion: USA Today, Nielsen, RedState, HuffPost, HotAir, The Hill, Twitchy, Associated Press, Mediaite, New York Post, Washington Examiner, Los Angeles Times, Fox News and DNyuz

Lauren Irwin / The Hill:

Florida Democrat: Marginalized communities won't ‘survive’ a second Trump term — Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) argued that communities of color are “incredibly critical” in helping reelect President Biden in November and said he thinks marginalized communities “won't survive” another term with former President Trump.

Discussion: Washington Examiner

New York Times:

The Biden-Trump Rerun: A Nation Craving Change Gets More of the Same — Americans love a candidate who promises something new. But when a sitting president runs against a former one, can either claim the mantle of change? — The promise of change has been a powerful force in presidential campaigns …

Discussion: CNN and The Daily Caller

Tara Suter / The Hill:
UAW president doubles down on support for Biden after State of the Union shoutout

Discussion: MSNBC, Twitchy, MLive.com and Economic Hardship …

MSNBC:
EXCLUSIVE: Biden says he regrets calling migrant an ‘illegal’ during State of the Union speech

Discussion: HuffPost, Breitbart and PBS NewsHour

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Early polling of Biden's State of the Union doesn't quite match the hype

Discussion: RedState, The Gateway Pundit, DOWNWITHTYRANNY!, Mock Paper Scissors and The Hill

Ross Douthat / New York Times: Why It's Hard to Explain Joe Biden's Unpopularity

Filip Timotija / The Hill:
RFK Jr. slams Biden's State of the Union address as ‘hyper-partisan’

Discussion: Daily Kos and Erick Erickson's Show Notes

Jasmine Garsd / NPR:
Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born Americans, studies find

Discussion: Human Events, NBC News, DNyuz, Trending Politics Conservative and Fox News

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
Joe Biden Delivered a Knockout State of the Union Address

Discussion: The Register

The Hill:
Gingrich: Biden's most inspirational State of the Union moment was ‘when he left’

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Fox News

Nicholas Nehamas / New York Times:
New Biden Ad Pokes Fun at His Age: 'I'm Not a Young Guy. That's No Secret.'

Discussion: The Hill, Bloomberg, Digby's Hullabaloo, Florida Politics, New York Post, The Guardian, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, CBS News, Blue Virginia, NBC News, DNyuz, USA Today and Crooks and Liars

Dan Rather / Steady:
President Biden Upends the GOP Narrative

Discussion: RedState, BizPac Review, New York Magazine, nationalinterest.org, New York Times, The Bulwark, Jacobin, Deadline, CNN, Fox News, The Hill and New Republic

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Katie Britt's false linkage of a sex-trafficking case to Joe Biden — The Fact Checker … — Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (R-Ala.), in the Republican response to the State of the Union address, March 7 — If you were watching Britt's speech on Thursday night, you likely would have thought …

Discussion: Raw Story, Associated Press, HuffPost, al.com, Forbes, The Daily Beast, Political Wire and Roll Call

Rebecca Picciotto / CNBC:

Biden rebutter Sen. Britt blasted for recycling 20-year-old sex traffic story to attack border policy — In her rebuttal to Biden's State of the Union, Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama used what appears to be a sex trafficking victim's experience from the early 2000s to condemn President Joe Biden's current border policy.

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Magazine, The Guardian, DNyuz and Digby's Hullabaloo

Ken Bensinger / New York Times:

Questions Arise About Britt's State of the Union Response — The Alabama senator used a story about sex trafficking to criticize the Biden administration's border policies. But it wasn't fully accurate. — In her rebuttal to President Biden's State of the Union speech Thursday night …

Discussion: MeidasTouch, KVIA-TV, Mediaite, DNyuz and NPR

Kevin Manahan / New Jersey Online:

Was Trump supporter Katie Britt caught in whopping lie about graphic sex trafficking story? — During her widely panned Republican response to the State of the Union Address on Thursday night, Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama told a graphic sex-trafficking story about a woman who was sexually abused …

Discussion: Raw Story, DNyuz and Political Wire

Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
Biden said Republicans oppose women's rights — Katie Britt's “tradwife” response proved him right

Discussion: Slate, New York Magazine and Washington Post

Josh Kovensky / Talking Points Memo:

Inside A Secret Society Of Prominent Right-Wing Christian Men Prepping For A ‘National Divorce’ — A trove of documents obtained by TPM reveal the society's inner workings. — A secret, men-only right-wing society with members in influential positions around the country is on a crusade …

Philip Pullella / Reuters:

Pope says Ukraine should have ‘courage of the white flag’ of negotiations — Pope Francis has said in an interview that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the “white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion two years ago and that has killed tens of thousands.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Forbes, vaticannews.va and The Daily Caller

Bloomberg.com:
Pope Francis Says Ukraine Should Negotiate End of War With Russia

Discussion: New York Times and Associated Press

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:

Robert De Niro Goes Off on ‘Total Monster’ Trump and His Fans In Epic Rant on Bill Maher — Calls Him Every Name In The Book — Acting legend Robert De Niro went on a blistering rant about former President Donald Trump and his supporters, sounding the alarm on a new Trump term and calling him a string of derogatory names.

Discussion: Twitchy, al.com, The Hill, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, DNyuz, Fox News, RADAR and Deadline

Lori Rozsa / Washington Post:

DeSantis faces pushback in Florida as voters tire of war on woke — Conservative lawmakers rejected a host of new culture wars proposals in the legislature — The bill banning rainbow flags from public buildings in Florida sounded like a sure bet. — State Rep. David Borrero (R) …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Sun-Sentinel

Jesse Drucker / New York Times:

How Trump's Justice Dept. Derailed an Investigation of a Major Company — The industrial giant Caterpillar hired William Barr and other lawyers to defuse a federal criminal investigation of alleged tax dodges. — In December 2018, a team of federal law enforcement agents flew to Amsterdam …

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Post and Forbes

Sophia Cai / Axios:

Inside Trump's TikTok flip-flop … I don't want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!" Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday. — Hours earlier, a key House committee voted unanimously to advance a bill — backed by Biden …