memeorandum: Michael Avenatti says he's talking to Trump's legal team — and would testify for the ex-prez (Jon Levine/New York Post)

10:40 PM ET, April 20, 2024

Top Items:

David Frum / The Atlantic:

Trump Deflates — It wasn't just Putin who lost in the House vote on Ukraine aid. — Ukraine won. Trump lost. — The House vote to aid Ukraine renews hope that Ukraine can still win its war. It also showed how and why Donald Trump should lose the 2024 election.

Discussion: Raw Story, MeidasTouch, Joe.My.God., Al Jazeera, HuffPost, Associated Press, Reuters and The Hill, more at Techmeme »

Associated Press:

The House votes for possible TikTok ban in the US, but don't expect the app to go away anytime soon — The House passed legislation Saturday that would ban TikTok in the United States if the popular social media platform's China-based owner doesn't sell its stake within a year, but don't expect the app to go away anytime soon.

Politico:

Playbook: How the push to unseat Johnson could unfold — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — WHAT UNION JOE IS READING — “Tennessee workers at VW plant vote to unionize with UAW,” by The Tennessean's Todd Price and Gary Estwick …

The Guardian:

US House approves $61bn in military aid for Ukraine after months of stalling — Ukrainian president thanks America after Speaker Mike Johnson secures bipartisan support for funding Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan — After months of stalling, the US House of Representatives finally approved …

Barbara Sprunt / NPR:

House passes foreign aid bills to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan — The House of Representatives has voted to pass roughly a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. — Democratic support outweighed Republican opposition from those who had various frustrations …

Discussion: Agence France-Presse, New York Times, CBS News, Washington Examiner, The Moderate Voice, Bloomberg, One America News Network, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Forbes and New York Post

Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
House Approves $95 Billion Aid Bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

Discussion: El País, RedState, abc7NY, UPI, ABC7, Axios, Associated Press, Washington Free Beacon, Voice of America, HuffPost, Bangor Daily News, Fox News, KSNT-TV, Reuters, PBS NewsHour, WTOP News, Euractiv, Arizona Mirror and WGN-TV

Politico:
Johnson careens toward uncharted speaker territory

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Breitbart, Digby's Hullabaloo, CNN and Axios

Tara Suter / The Hill: Rep. Don Bacon: ‘Ukraine will likely fall’ if US doesn't pass foreign aid bill

Washington Post:
House to vote on Ukraine, Israel aid bills

Isaac Arnsdorf / Washington Post:

Proud Boys appear at Trump rally, drawing condemnation from Biden — Members of the violent extremist group were calling for the release of everyone charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump has pledged to pardon rioters. — WILMINGTON, N.C. — At least 10 men wearing …

Michael Gold / New York Times:

Trump Rally, a Return to the Campaign Trail, Is Called Off Because of Storms — After a week stuck in a courtroom, Donald Trump was planning to speak to hundreds of supporters in North Carolina, until the weather turned dangerous. — After former President Donald J. Trump sat in a courtroom …

Discussion: Politico, NBC News, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and Associated Press

Jill Colvin / Associated Press:

Trump forced to listen silently to people insulting him as he trades a cocoon of adulation for court — He seems “selfish and self-serving,” said one woman. The way he carries himself in public “leaves something to be desired,” said another. — His “negative rhetoric and bias,” said another man, is what is “most harmful.”

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Metro.co.uk, Associated Press, The Guardian, Bloomberg.com and Political Wire

Rolling Stone:

Trump Privately Rages About His Sketch Artist, Courtroom Nap Reports — The former president's anger during the first week of his New York hush money trial was “maxed out, even for him,” a source tells Rolling Stone — Donald Trump, if you take it from him, is cherishing the opportunity …

Discussion: Alternet.org, Raw Story, Mediaite, Washington Post, Metro.co.uk and CNN

Jon Levine / New York Post:

Michael Avenatti says he's talking to Trump's legal team — and would testify for the ex-prez — Disgraced Stormy Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti has been in contact with former President Trump's legal defense team and is ready and willing to testify against his former client, he told The Post in an interview from jail.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Breitbart, RedState, The Daily Caller, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and Twitchy

Allison Quinn / The Daily Beast:

‘Yes, I Did It’: Politician Confesses to Murdering Wife on Social Media — ‘I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT’ — “The lying wretch got what she deserved,” he wrote, among other disturbing things. — A politician in Russia's Tver region has sent shockwaves through the country after apparently confessing …

Washington Post:

Volkswagen workers in Tennessee pass historic vote to unionize — Victory marks the first win in the United Auto Workers campaign to organize the Southern factories of a dozen automakers — Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., passed a historic vote to join the United Auto Workers on Friday …

Discussion: NPR, Associated Press, The Tennessean, The Guardian, Payday Report, New York Times, Truthout, Politico, Daily Caller News Foundation, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Twin Cities, Electrek, CBS News, The Hill, Orange County Register and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Theresa Maher / The Hill:
Biden celebrates Tennessee Volkswagen plant's vote to join UAW

Discussion: The White House, UPI, Michigan Advance, RedState, PBS NewsHour, Washington Examiner, Rolling Stone, CNBC, WTOP News, Payday Report, Associated Press and Reuters

Politico:

US weighs sending additional military advisers to Ukraine as Russia gains momentum — The troops would be serving in a non-combat role, officials said. — The U.S. is considering sending additional military advisers to the embassy in Kyiv, the latest show of American commitment to Ukraine …

Discussion: RedState

Washington Post:

Trump's legal bills drain millions more from his political committees — The former president's legal bills account for more than a quarter of the spending by his political committees in March, new campaign finance filings show — Donald Trump is picking up his fundraising pace …

Discussion: New York Times and Politico

Chris Pandolfo / Fox News:

Hillary Clinton: ‘What Trump really wants’ is to ‘kill his opposition’ — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that former President Trump aspires to be like Russian President Vladimir Putin — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested on a podcast Friday that her old rival …

Discussion: Breitbart, RedState, Twitchy, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit

Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives:

Roll Call 151 Roll Call 151, Bill Number: H. R. 8035, 118th Congress, 2nd Session — VOTE QUESTION: On Passage, DESCRIPTION: Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, VOTE TYPE: Yea-And-Nay, STATUS: Passed

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Caller and CBO Publications