memeorandum: Gaps and Forms: Hunter Biden's Defense (emptywheel)

11:20 AM ET, June 5, 2024

Top Items:

Behind the Curtain: MAGA's jail plan … Nowhere would that be truer than at the Justice Department, which Trump wants to make his fief and retribution arm. — Bannon told us Bragg could be targeted using the 14th Amendment (equal protection) and Fourth Amendment (outlawing unreasonable searches …

Discussion: The Guardian, New Republic and Raw Story

New York Times:

The G.O.P. Push for Post-Verdict Payback: ‘Fight Fire With Fire’ — Republican leaders in and out of government are publicly pushing to prosecute Democrats as legal retribution for Donald Trump's felony conviction. — Republican allies of Donald J. Trump are calling for revenge prosecutions …

Discussion: Raw Story and New Jersey Online

Axios:

Scoop: Trump's protectors push Johnson for House vote … - Conservatives want a floor vote on a bill that would allow current or former presidents to move any state case brought against them — such as the one in New York that resulted in Trump's conviction — to federal court, according to multiple House Republican sources.

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:
GOP plans aggressive ‘weaponization’ investigations in wake of Trump conviction

Discussion: HuffPost

Taylor Orth / YouGov:
After the Trump verdict, most Republicans say they're OK with having a criminal as president

Discussion: New Jersey Online and Mock Paper Scissors

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

The facts about Biden's new immigration policy — On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced executive actions that would impose sweeping changes to how the nation treats asylum seekers. Anyone who attempts to cross the border outside of a designated port of entry will be considered presumptively ineligible …

Discussion: Newsweek, Breitbart, New Republic, WHNT-TV, The Daily Signal, UPI, Mediaite and The White House

The White House:
A Proclamation on Securing the Border

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Free Beacon, Reason, Department of Homeland …, The Hill, WOLA, OutsideTheBeltway, Power Line, New York Times, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, CBS News, National Review, Defense One, South Dakota Searchlight, Los Angeles Times and RedState

Elliot Spagat / Associated Press:
How Biden's new order to halt asylum at the US border is supposed to work

Discussion: Fox News, Florida Phoenix, Reuters, Reason and Semafor

Associated Press:
Biden rolls out migration order that aims to shut down asylum requests, after months of anticipation

Spencer Brown / Townhall:
Sen. John Kennedy Sums Up Biden's Border Executive Order As Only He Can

Discussion: RedState, Committee on Homeland Security, Washington Examiner and The Daily Caller

NOTUS:

It's Not an Accident That So Many GOP Senate Candidates Are Rich … Tim Sheehy's victory in Montana's GOP primary Tuesday means national Republicans are dependent on a candidate with little political experience but a lot of money to win a key race for majority control of the Senate.

Discussion: NPR, Politico, New York Times and Washington Examiner

Wall Street Journal:

Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping — Participants in meetings said the 81-year-old president performed poorly at times. The White House said Biden is sharp and his critics are playing partisan politics. — WASHINGTON—When President Biden met with congressional leaders …

Discussion: KTVX-TV, Talking Points Memo, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, New Jersey Online, National Review, RedState, New York Post, Mediaite, Fox News, CBS News, Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, Politico and Daily Kos

Sheera Frenkel / New York Times:

Israel Secretly Targets U.S. Lawmakers With Influence Campaign on Gaza War — Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs ordered the operation, which used fake social media accounts urging U.S. lawmakers to fund Israel's military, according to officials and documents about the effort.

Discussion: USA Today, Haaretz, The Times of Israel, Working Class Solidarity and Middle East Monitor

emptywheel:

Gaps and Forms: Hunter Biden's Defense — The first day of the Hunter Biden trial revealed a lot about gaps in the prosecution's case and Abbe Lowell's plan to mount a defense. — As this post will show, it will be easier for prosecutors to prove Count 3, Possession of a Firearm by a Drug User …

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY, Newsweek, USA Today, Washington Free Beacon, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Politico, Washington Times, Associated Press and Townhall

Brendan Cole / Newsweek:

Russia's Gas Giant Reports Costly Impact of Putin's War — The gas giant Gazprom, which has been an engine of Russia's economy, will pay a decadelong price for Russian leader — 's invasion of Ukraine. — The U.K. newspaper Financial Times reported Wednesday that it had seen research commissioned …

Discussion: Twin Cities

NBC News:

'It's very possible': Trump floats imprisoning his political opponents — Discussing his guilty verdict, Trump said his opponents were going down a “terrible path.” — Fresh off last week's historic guilty verdict, former President Donald Trump had a warning for his political opponents on Tuesday.

Discussion: Axios, Washington Post, Newsmax and Raw Story

Politico:

Playbook: Inside Dems' Bibi breach — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — IN MEMORIAM — Ben White, a longtime POLITICO reporter and Morning Money author who also worked for CNBC, the NYT, the FT, WaPo and The Messenger, died Saturday at 52 …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Amanda Marcotte / Salon:

Alito's the tip of the iceberg: More Republicans wave Christian nationalist flag despite MAGA threat — Nothing innocent about the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, especially when Trump calls for the right's “breaking point” — When news broke late last month that Justice Samuel Alito had an …

Jessica Glenza / The Guardian:

US maternal mortality rate far higher than in peer nations, report finds — Alarming disparities persist, particularly between white and Black mothers, according to new report by Commonwealth Fund — The US has a far higher rate of maternal mortality than other peer wealthy nations …

Discussion: CBS News, Singal-Minded and UPI

Ron Dicker / HuffPost:

MSNBC Host Chris Hayes Guffaws At Matt Gaetz's ‘Law’ Defense Of Trump — The cable news channel has been yukking it up lately at Republican antics. — LOADING — MSNBC's Chris Hayes on Tuesday nearly busted a gut laughing at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for his declaration that he loves the law and has given his life for it.

Discussion: Mediaite, Above the Law and IJR

Chris Geidner / Law Dork:

Alabama federal judges forced LGBTQ advocates into a long, secretive “inquiry” — Part 1: An April 2022 order questioning if LGBTQ civil rights lawyers engaged in “judge shopping” in challenging an anti-transgender law prompted a two-year investigation.

Stef W. Kight / Axios:

Scoop: Dem groups to pour millions into downballot races in battleground states … - Money is already pouring into the same swing states, which will be critical to President Biden's re-election. … - The National Democratic Redistricting Committee and the States Project …

Politico:

Ethics panel probes Rep. Spartz over staff abuse claims — The Indiana Republican has drastically cut staff pay and communicated ‘with complete and total rage,’ according to complaints. — The House Ethics Committee has made preliminary inquiries into Rep. Victoria Spartz's treatment …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Kyiv Independent, Washington Examiner and Mediaite

Kyle Clark / KUSA-TV:

Colorado Republican Party issues call to burn all Pride flags — The party's shift toward extremism continued with a nod to an infamous anti-gay slur and an invitation to burn Pride flags. — COLORADO, USA — The Colorado Republican Party marked the start of Pride Month with a mass email attacking …

Discussion: The Colorado Sun, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story, Mediaite and New Republic

Kyler Alvord / People:

Donald Trump Is Banned from 37 Countries as Convicted Felon, Including Major Allies Like Canada and U.K. — If elected president again, Trump would need special permission to enter several key countries for maintaining foreign relations — Donald Trump may face travel restrictions …

Discussion: OutsideTheBeltway, HuffPost, Daily Kos and National Review

Hans Nichols / Axios:

Scoop: Group that aided climate plan is lukewarm on Biden … - But Biden's position on college protests and the Israel-Hamas war, as well as his approval of some fossil fuel projects, is leaving some folks decidedly apathetic about supporting him in 2024. … - For now, the group is taking a wait-and-see approach.

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

The Supreme Court remains the linchpin of Trumpworld's push for power — Trump's response to his New York conviction and a new indictment of his allies in Wisconsin are the latest examples. — Three of the nine justices on the Supreme Court were nominated by Donald Trump.

Discussion: Raw Story