memeorandum: Scoop: DNC covered Biden legal bills in special counsel probe (Alex Thompson/Axios)

2:20 PM ET, April 12, 2024

Top Items:

Ryan Lizza / Politico:

Michael Cohen on the Trump Trial: Prepare To Be Surprised — Trump's former attorney on the hush money trial, how he's preparing for life as the key witness and who he expects Trump will choose as a 2024 running mate. — Michael Cohen may be the only person standing between Donald Trump and jail.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, MeidasTouch, Raw Story, Forbes, The Daily Caller, PoliticusUSA, Associated Press and PolitiFact

James Romoser / Politico:

How Donald Trump Gets Special Treatment in the Legal System — The former president rails against a “two-tiered system of justice.” But he's the one benefiting from it. — A firebrand politician named Donald is about to stand trial. Just a few days before jury selection, he goes on TV to slam the charges as baseless and biased.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Raw Story, Digby's Hullabaloo and New York Times

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
Trump attorney who became a crucial witness against him has departed legal team

Discussion: Washington Examiner, New Republic, Raw Story, Mediaite and Law & Crime

Lauren Irwin / The Hill:
Tight security planned for Trump hush money trial

Discussion: USA Today

Mychael Schnell / The Hill:

House advances revised FISA bill after floor revolt, teeing up final vote — The House advanced a bill Friday to reauthorize the U.S.'s warrantless surveillance authority, opening the measure up for debate two days after a band of conservatives blocked a previous version of the legislation from moving forward.

Discussion: The Guardian, New Republic, RedState, Forbes and Axios

NBC News:

House votes to renew FISA spying tool after earlier Republican revolt — Prior to passage, the House failed to adopt a bipartisan amendment to curtail warrantless surveillance of Americans. Section 702 of the law expires on April 19 unless it's renewed. — WASHINGTON — The House voted …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Marianna Sotomayor / Washington Post:
House GOP bridges divide to reauthorize controversial surveillance bill

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, The Guardian, ABC News, American Prospect, Truthout, Fox News, Washington Times and NOTUS

New York Times:
House Passes 2-Year Surveillance Law Extension Without Warrant Requirement

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Signal, Rolling Stone and Breitbart

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate Republicans furious over Trump trying to derail FISA bill

Discussion: HuffPost, Axios, USA Today, CNN, RedState, New York Post, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, Raw Story, The Federalist, The Daily Signal, Washington Examiner and CBS News

Lauren Peller / ABC News:
House passes FISA reauthorization bill after previous GOP setback

Discussion: CBS News, Washington Examiner, Axios, The Post Millennial, NewsNation, BizPac Review, Semafor, Washington Times, The Hill, Roll Call and UPI

Wall Street Journal:

Iranian Attack Expected on Israel in Next Two Days — Israel is preparing for an imminent direct attack from Iran; Tehran yet to decide, says person briefed on the matter — TEL AVIV—Israel is preparing for a direct attack from Iran on southern or northern Israel as soon as Friday or Saturday …

Ruxandra Iordache / CNBC:

The West urges China to intervene with Iran amid fears of a direct attack on Israel … Iranians attend a funeral procession in Tehran, held for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria. — Western diplomats have mounted pressure on China to prevent Iran …

Discussion: United States Department …, New York Times, ABC News and RedState

Barak Ravid / Axios:

Scoop: Iran warns U.S. to stay out of fight with Israel or face attack on troops … - The Iranian supreme leader has threatened “punishment” for Israel but through private channels Iran has signaled it would be limited. — Israel and the U.S. think an Iranian attack would include …

Discussion: USA Today, U.S. Department of Defense, The Guardian, Associated Press, IJR, Washington Post, The Times of Israel, CBS News, Politico, The Hill, israelhayom.com and Israpundit

CBS News:
U.S. issues travel warning for Israel with Iran expected to attack any moment and fear Gaza war could spread

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Reuters, New York Times, inews.co.uk, One America News Network, New York Post, The Sun, FDD, Mediaite, israelhayom.com, Fox News, UPI, Al Jazeera, The Daily Caller and The Guardian

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

Trump Media shares drop below $30, company sheds more than half of market cap since trading debut … The price of Trump Media shares fell below $30 in early trading Friday morning, which is more than $40 lower than what its shares first sold for when the social media company began public trading on March 26.

Discussion: Quartz and Raw Story

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Marjorie Taylor Greene won't say what happened to her Trump Media stock … US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) speaks alongside former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump at a campaign event in Rome, Georgia, on March 9, 2024. — A media company with ties …

Discussion: NBC News, Raw Story and Quartz

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Trump tries to boost support for Truth Social as DJT stock tanks

Discussion: The Guardian and New Republic

Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:

Trump Bond's Cayman Connection ‘Stinks to High Heaven’ — ISLAND TIME — The company that saved Donald Trump with a $175 million bank fraud bond is playing an insurance game that has experts questioning whether New York will ever see the money. … When the questionably leveraged company …

Discussion: New Republic and Raw Story

Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:

Republicans remain terrible at picking Senate candidates — PN is a reader-supported publication made possible by paid subscribers. If you aren't one, please click the button to support our independent journalism. — 🐘 Subscribe to Public Notice 🐘

Discussion: Montana Free Press

Washington Post:
GOP Senate candidate in Montana builds campaign on once-secret Navy exploits

Discussion: Mediaite and Raw Story

Washington Post:

What Donald Trump wants in his next vice president — and who he's considering — Donald Trump's perfect vice president looks the part: attractive and telegenic. They are ideally Black or a woman, though that's not required. And they are most certainly not taller than Trump himself.

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Alex Thompson / Axios:

Scoop: DNC covered Biden legal bills in special counsel probe … - In January 2023, special counsel Robert Hur began investigating Biden's handling of classified documents after papers from Biden's vice presidency were found at his office and home. — From July 2023 to February 2024 …

Discussion: The Hill, HotAir, CBS News, Washington Free Beacon, Bloomberg, Fox News, RedState, New York Post, WTOP News, New York Times, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, New Jersey Online, NewsNation, The Post Millennial, Washington Examiner and IJR

Alex Finley / New Republic:

Russia Is Buying Politicians in Europe. Is It Happening Here Too? — Democrats for years have warned about Russian influence in the Republican Party under Donald Trump. But now even some prominent GOP members of Congress are sounding the alarm. — “I think Russian propaganda …

Discussion: The Guardian and Politico

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel / Washington Post:

Biden administration cancels another $7.4 billion in student loans — The president is wiping away the loan balances of 277,000 Americans through a mix of existing forgiveness programs — Days after heralding its latest student debt forgiveness plan, the Biden administration …

William Kristol / The Bulwark:

Republicans Flee D.C., Responsibility — The commander of Central Command is in Israel amid fears of an Iranian attack. As American aid to Ukraine stalls, Russian strikes are targeting Ukraine's power plants. And the head of European Command testified to Congress that the Russian military …

Jeremy Duda / Axios:

How Arizona's court ruling will impact abortion access … - An attempt to do so fell flat the day after the ruling, but supporters vowed to keep trying and will get another shot next Wednesday. — Rep. Matt Gress (R-Phoenix), the lone House Republican to publicly support repeal …

Discussion: NBC News, CNN, Daily Kos, The Center Square, Cronkite News and Media Matters for America

Zac Anderson / USA Today:

‘Unprecedented’ and ‘stunning’ number of Trump administration alums oppose his reelection — A minimum of 16 Trump administration veterans have sharply criticized the ex-president, with terms such as “threat to democracy,” “erratic,” “delusional” and “narcissistic.”

Discussion: Rolling Stone, New York Times and Resolute Square

Tobi Raji / Washington Post:

Leo rejects Senate subpoena from panel probing gifts to Supreme Court justices — The conservative judicial activist called the move ‘politically motivated,’ and the committee chair said Leo had left them ‘no other choice’ but to move forward with the compulsory process

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Breitbart, Raw Story, Reuters, CBS News, Washington Times, CNN, The Hill, BizPac Review, Rolling Stone and Fox News

Molly Beck / Journal Sentinel:

Michael Gableman, the onetime prober of the 2020 election, says Robin Vos recall was ‘sabotaged’ — MADISON - A former state Supreme Court justice who spent more than $2 million in taxpayer dollars to review the 2020 election is now representing a group of supporters of former President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Wisconsin Watch, Raw Story, WisPolitics and Washington Examiner