memeorandum: 🗞️ Axios AM: Washington Post scoop (Mike Allen/Axios)

10:50 AM ET, December 17, 2024

Top Items:

Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:

Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster — President-elect Trump sued the Des Moines Register and pollster J. Ann Selzer on Monday over a poll released just before Election Day indicating Vice President Harris had a sizable lead in Iowa. — The poll found Harris leading Trump in Iowa …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Breitbart and HuffPost

William Kristol / The Bulwark:

The Real Scandal of Our Media Tycoons — Quote of the year so far, from Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago yesterday: “In the first term, everyone was fighting me. This time, everybody wants to be my friend.” — Amazing how many friends you can make with just a few well-chosen threats of vengeance against your remaining enemies!

Discussion: New York Times

Fox News:

Trump sues Des Moines Register, top pollster for ‘brazen election interference,’ fraud over Harris poll — FIRST ON FOX: President-elect Donald Trump is suing the Des Moines Register and its top pollster J. Ann Selzer for “brazen election interference” and fraud over its final 2024 presidential …

Discussion: CNN, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, Election Law Blog and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Tara Palmeri / Puck:
Trump's Retribution Tour Begins

Discussion: NBC News, Rolling Stone, Deadline, Mediaite, American Greatness, Louder With Crowder, The Daily Beast, Breitbart, HuffPost and Twitchy

Hadas Gold / CNN:
Emboldened by ABC settlement, Trump threatens more lawsuits against the press

Discussion: Robert Reich, Reuters, HuffPost, Joe.My.God., Fox News, WTTG-TV, CBS News, Daily Mail, Business Insider, PoliticusUSA, Alternet.org, New York Magazine, New Republic, Deadline, Vanity Fair, Raw Story and Politico

Brian Stelter / CNN:
Why ABC News settled with Donald Trump for $15 million

Axios:

Scoop: Top editors stiff the Washington Post … - One person involved in the search told us Lewis' pitch was foggy and uninspiring. … Other candidates include current interim executive editor Matt Murray. But it's hard to imagine this monthslong process unfolding so publicly — only to end with the same guy in charge.

more at Mediagazer »

Mike Allen / Axios:

🗞️ Axios AM: Washington Post scoop — All topics — ☀️ Good Tuesday morning! … 🦾 Our Axios AI+ Summit in San Francisco today runs from 2 to 5:20 p.m. PT. Guests include OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon, Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger …

Marshall Cohen / CNN:

Thirteen 2020 fake electors will cast real Electoral College votes for Trump on Tuesday — Thirteen Republicans who participated in the 2020 fake electors plot, including some who are facing criminal charges, will cast real Electoral College votes Tuesday for President-elect Donald Trump, as electors in the states finalize his victory.

Discussion: NPR

Charles Homans / New York Times: After Trump's Victory, Republicans Trust the Election System Again

Jane Onyanga-Omara / USA Today:

Tragedy in Wisconsin — A teacher and student were killed by a 15-year old girl in the latest school shooting to rock the nation. Bitcoin has hit a new high after Trump's plan to create a U.S. bitcoin strategic reserve stoked enthusiasm. What are the odds of seeing a white Christmas?

Discussion: RedState, CNN, CBS News, TMZ.com, Blaze Media, Washington Post, Associated Press, WSVN-TV, Joe.My.God., ABC7, New York Times, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, WTTG-TV, Breitbart, WHDH-TV, Daily Kos, One America News Network, abc7NY, NewsNation, The Hill and Metro.co.uk

New York Times:

Here's the latest on the shooting. — A teenage student opened fire at a Christian school in Madison, Wis., on Monday, killing another student and a teacher, the authorities said. At least six other people were injured in the shooting at the school, Abundant Life, where the youngest students fled …

Discussion: New York Post, Reuters, NewsNation, Catholic World Report, The Daily Caller, abc7NY, The Sun, HotAir and WTTG-TV

Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:

Trump's Time interview provides a sobering reminder — He's staggeringly unfit. Always has been. Always will be. … 📰 — In conjunction with naming him “Person of the Year,” Time Magazine last week published a lengthy interview with Donald Trump.

Associated Press:

A bomb killed a Russian general in Moscow. A Ukrainian official says secret service was behind it — Live from Moscow after an explosive device planted close to a residential apartment block killed the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defence Forces, Lt. General Igor Kirillov, Russia's Investigative Committee said.

Gallup:

Americans Pass Judgment on Their Courts — Sharp decline in confidence in judiciary is among the largest Gallup has ever measured — LONDON — Americans' confidence in their nation's judicial system and courts dropped to a record-low 35% in 2024. — The result further sets the U.S. apart …

Discussion: New York Times, Axios, The Guardian and Associated Press

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:

The Great Capitulation — At a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, Donald Trump described recent visits from Tim Cook, C.E.O. of Apple, Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google, and other tech barons. “In the first term, everyone was fighting me,” he said. “In this term, everyone wants to be my friend.”

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, The Message Box, Raw Story and Alternet.org

Politico:
From big tech to the media, the rush to kiss Trump's ring is on

Discussion: New York Times

Paul Krugman / Krugman wonks out:

Masayoshi Son and the Art of the Fake Deal — The investment Trump is touting is fake on multiple levels — Just a quick note about the latest fake news, economic policy edition. (I have a doctor's appointment, and probably won't get my planned post, about health care, out until the middle of the day.)

Discussion: The Register, Raw Story, Washington Post and Associated Press

New York Times:
Trump and SoftBank CEO Announce $100 Billion Investment in US Projects

Fox News:

Dems push drastic move that Mike Lee calls ‘a phenomenally bad idea’ — Several Senate Democrats are pushing a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with a presidential election system where the winner of the popular vote wins the White House contest.

Discussion: IJR

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate Democrats push plan to abolish Electoral College

Discussion: U.S. Senator Dick Durbin …, Frontpage Mag, Joe.My.God., Washington Times, New Republic, Townhall, Alternet.org, Blaze Media, The Gateway Pundit and Sun-Sentinel

Politico:

Congress strikes deal on $100B in disaster aid and punting funding into March, House GOP leaders say — Congressional leaders have struck a bipartisan deal to push the government funding deadline to March 14 and deliver more than $100 billion in emergency aid for disaster relief …

Discussion: The Hill and CBS News

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

A low, low point for ABC News — ABC News not only settled a defamation suit with Trump. It paid out $15 million. What?

Discussion: The DSR Network, Twitchy, Raw Story, PBS NewsHour, Newsbusters and Fox News, more at Mediagazer »

CNN:

KFile: Pete Hegseth spread baseless conspiracy theories that January 6 attack was carried out by leftist groups — President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, justified the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack and spread baseless conspiracy theories claiming …

Discussion: Raw Story

The White House:

Statement from President Joe Biden on Shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin — Today, families in Madison, Wisconsin, are grieving the loss of those who were killed and wounded at Abundant Life Christian School. It's shocking and unconscionable. — We need Congress to act.

New York Times:

Judge Denies Trump's Bid to Throw Out Conviction Over Immunity Ruling — Justice Juan M. Merchan thwarted one of several attempts by Donald J. Trump to clear his record of 34 felonies before returning to the White House. — A judge on Monday rejected Donald J. Trump's argument …

Discussion: Reuters, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Raw Story, CBS News, Townhall, HuffPost, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, The Independent, Semafor and Deadline

Michael Scherer / Washington Post:

Elizabeth Warren asks Trump to set conflict-of-interest rules for Musk — The letter from the Massachusetts senator comes as the tech tycoon has taken a prominent role inside Trump's orbit — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) wrote a letter to President-elect Donald Trump on Monday …

Discussion: Business Insider, Mediaite, Alternet.org and Joe.My.God.

Andrew Solender / Axios:

AOC loses key vote in House Oversight race to Gerry Connolly … - The House Democratic caucus still has to vote on whether to accept the recommendation - though that ratification is rarely denied.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Digby's Hullabaloo, NBC News, Townhall, Good Politics/Bad Politics, Rolling Stone, Semafor, Balloon Juice and Blaze Media

CNN:

Freed prisoner who said he was a victim of the Assad regime was an intelligence officer, locals say — A man who was filmed by CNN being released by rebels from a Damascus jail was a former intelligence officer with the deposed Syrian regime, according to local residents …

Discussion: Fox News, Blaze Media, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Townhall, Washington Examiner, RedState, Deadline, The Grayzone, New York Post, The Desk, Mediaite, Instapundit, New Republic, Twitchy and freebeacon.com, more at Mediagazer »

Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:

The Battle Against Trump 2.0 Begins in the States — Democratic governors are talking a tough game against the incoming administration — and activists are determined to hold them to their promises — D … Or, at least, the microphones. — In the days following the 2024 election …

Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:

Former Harris campaign official: ‘No value’ in speaking to mainstream newspapers — A former top aide to Vice President Harris's presidential campaign says her team found little to gain from granting interviews to mainstream media organizations. — “There's just no value …

Discussion: Mediaite, Townhall, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Fox News, Washington Examiner and Semafor

Chris Hamby / New York Times:

Drugmakers Paid PBMs Not to Restrict Opioid Prescriptions … In 2017, the drug industry middleman Express Scripts announced that it was taking decisive steps to curb abuse of the prescription painkillers that had fueled America's overdose crisis. The company said it was …

Lexi Lonas Cochran / The Hill:

Jill Biden says she's taught final class at Virginia community college — First lady Jill Biden announced on Monday that she has taught her final class at Northern Virginia Community College after 15 years at the school. — At a virtual “thank you” event for educators …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Associated Press

Punchbowl News:

12/17/24 ☀️ AM: — Tick-tock: The CR is still under wraps, as a House vote slips to Thursday — The Vault: Brown's nomination gambit looks shaky — RFK Jr. wades slowly into confirmation fight — Trump allies start making impoundment moves

Discussion: Politico

Chris Geidner / Law Dork:

Adeel Mangi's letter to America — Biden's stalled Third Circuit nominee, Mangi spoke out in a fiery — and needed — four-page letter. Also: The clock is ticking on TikTok. (Sorry.) — On Monday, 13 months after President Joe Biden announced that Adeel Mangi would be his nominee …

Discussion: New York Times and Washington Examiner