memeorandum: How Ukraine aid views are shaped by Cold War memories, partisanship...and Donald Trump

12:25 PM ET, April 15, 2024

Top Items:

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:

I Was a Skeptic of the Stormy Daniels Prosecution. I Was Wrong. — The prosecution of Donald Trump starting in New York this week is on firm legal ground. — When Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought criminal charges against Donald Trump in 2023, I was highly skeptical of his decision.

Discussion: Public Notice, The Hill, Power Line, Digby's Hullabaloo, New Yorker, Deadline, Washington Post, Israpundit, Axios, AM New York, The Independent, Press Herald, The Post Millennial and Voice of America

The Bulwark:

It's Time to Play to Win — Pushing the advantage against Iran and a new poll that shows the new normal. — BUCKLE UP—Donald Trump's first criminal trial starts today. The jury—when they manage to seat one—will consider whether Trump falsified business records to cover up hush-money payments …

Discussion: Telegraph, Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic

Nick Robertson / The Hill:

Trump rages at judge hours before hush money case begins — Former President Trump railed against the judge in his criminal hush money case early Monday, just hours before the first criminal trial against a former president is set to begin. — Recalling complaints he has made for months …

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Examiner, New Republic, The Guardian, Fox Business, WHTM-TV, Mediaite, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, UPI and New York Post

New York Times:

Live Updates: Trump Trial Poised to Begin, a Criminal Case Without Precedent — Jury selection is set to start as Donald J. Trump faces charges he faked business records to cover up a sex scandal before winning the presidency. The judge declined Mr. Trump's request to recuse himself.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, MeidasTouch, The Hill, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and New York Daily News

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

How to pick a jury that can judge Donald Trump — Tailoring questions to probe prospective jurors' political biases and opinions of the former president is more art than science. — Former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York begins Monday with an immediate and fundamental challenge …

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, Associated Press, NewsNation, New York Magazine, Metro.co.uk, New York Post, New York Times, Raw Story, KTAR.com, Civil Discourse …, The Daily Beast, Axios and USA Today

Riley Rogerson / The Daily Beast:

GOP Lawmakers Are All-In on Trump—a Conviction Be Damned — FIFTH AVENUE FAITHFUL — We asked more than 20 Republicans in Congress whether they were comfortable with the GOP nominee potentially being a convicted felon. Only one expressed any issue with it.

Discussion: New Jersey Online, USA Today, Reuters, The Guardian, Bloomberg, NBC News and NPR

New York Times:
Trump's Criminal Trial to Begin in Manhattan With Jury Selection

Erica Orden / Politico:
How a hush money scandal turned into a criminal case: The whirlwind history of People v. Trump

Discussion: Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Vox, Al Jazeera, USA Today, Axios and New York Daily News

Michael Tomasky / New Republic:
We May Finally Get to Write: “Convicted Felon Donald Trump”

Discussion: The Guardian and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »

Nick Robertson / The Hill:
Trump attorney calls hush money case a ‘6-week-long media extravaganza’

Discussion: HuffPost

Washington Post:
COULD YOU JUDGE TRUMP IMPARTIALLY?

Discussion: NPR, Althouse and Associated Press

Washington Post:

Federal criminal investigation opened into Key Bridge crash — The FBI has opened a criminal investigation focusing on the massive container ship that brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last month — a probe that will look at least in part at whether the crew left …

Associated Press:
FBI opens criminal investigation into Baltimore bridge collapse, AP source says

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, New York Post, CBS News, Baltimore Sun, IJR, One America News Network, New York Daily News and ABC7

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:

Trump Media shares plunge more than 15% after company files to issue additional DJT stock … This photo illustration shows an image of former President Donald Trump reflected in a phone screen that is displaying the Truth Social app, in Washington, DC, on February 21, 2022.

Discussion: New York Post, Gizmodo, Raw Story, Quartz, Mediaite, Mock Paper Scissors and Washington Post

Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:

Israel Repelled Iran's Huge Attack. But Only With Help From U.S. and Arab Partners. — Working with partners, it fended off worst of Iranian strikes; what comes next will test powers in the Middle East and beyond — Saturday's Iranian strike on Israel was huge by any standard.

Evan McMorris-Santoro / NOTUS:
Iran's Attack on Israel Has U.S. Politicians Scrambling

Discussion: Townhall, The Guardian, NBC News, UPI, The Hill, USA Today, Washington Post, The Atlantic, New York Times, Politico, Washington Examiner, Blue Virginia, Axios, NPR and U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell

Politico:
US to Israel: Don't do something you'll regret

Discussion: Semafor, Washington Post, NBC News, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Diplomatic,, RedState, PBS NewsHour, Washington Examiner, CNN, israelhayom.com, Twitchy, Breitbart, Power Line and Reuters

Olivia Reingold / The Free Press:
American Anti-War Activists Cheer for Iran's War

Discussion: HotAir, Fox News, New York Post, RedState, New York Daily News, CNN, FRSO, The Post Millennial, Atlantic Council, Instapundit, Reuters, The Gateway Pundit and Althouse

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:

Justice Clarence Thomas misses Supreme Court arguments — The conservative justice was not present for oral arguments on Monday, but the court did not provide a reason why. — WASHINGTON — Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was not present at the court for oral arguments on Monday …

Associated Press:
Justice Thomas misses Supreme Court session Monday with no explanation

Discussion: Axios, USA Today and Washington Examiner

Ian Millhiser / Vox:

The Supreme Court effectively abolishes the right to mass protest in three US states — It is no longer safe to organize a protest in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas. — The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will not hear Mckesson v. Doe. The decision not to hear Mckesson leaves …

Discussion: SCOTUSblog

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Supreme Court rejects BLM activist's bid to evade police officer's lawsuit

Discussion: USA Today, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, CBS News, The Hill and Reuters

Associated Press:

Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern — Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern: The presidential candidates have conflicting ideas about how much to reveal about their own finances and the best ways to boost the economy through tax policy.

Discussion: Robert Reich, The White House and Americans For Tax Fairness

Kwan Wei Kevin Tan / Business Insider:
Mark Cuban says he's proud to pay $288 million in taxes this year, unlike a certain former president

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Fortune and New Jersey Online

Gavin Bade / Politico:

Trump trade advisers plot dollar devaluation — Advisers close to the former president — particularly his former trade chief Robert Lighthizer — are considering policies that would weaken the dollar relative to other currencies, which could juice U.S. exports but also fuel inflation.

Erika Solomon / New York Times:

Far Right's Ties to Russia Sow Rising Alarm in Germany — As cases proliferate, opponents fear the Alternative for Germany party is becoming a tool of Russian influence operations to undermine support for Ukraine. — To enter a secret session of Germany's Parliament, lawmakers must lock their phones and leave them outside.