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12:30 PM ET, April 16, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
Law Firms Made Deals With Trump.  Now He Wants More From Them.  —  To avoid retribution, big firms agreed to provide free legal services for uncontroversial causes.  To the White House, that could mean negotiating trade deals — or even defending the president and his allies.
Discussion: Axios, Above the Law, The Hill and The Trace
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Wall Street Journal:
Trump, Abrego Garcia and the Courts  —  The President may win this showdown, but by taunting the Supreme Court he is tempting fate later on cases of far greater consequence.  —  Does President Trump want to force a showdown at the Supreme Court over executive power and the judiciary?
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:   America, This Is an Old and Brutal Tyranny
Politico:
Judge launches inquiry into Trump administration's refusal to seek return of wrongly deported man
Washington Post:
Trump's D.C. U.S. attorney pick appeared on Russian state media over 150 times  —  Trump nominee Ed Martin's 100-plus appearances on Russian state-directed media RT and Sputnik from 2016 to 2024 alarm some former national security officials.
Discussion: Raw Story
Senator Chris Van Hollen / YouTube:
Just landed in El Salvador to discuss release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia  —  I just landed in San Salvador a little while ago, and I look forward to meeting with the team at the U.S. embassy to discuss the release of Mr. Abrego Garcia...
Discussion: Grabien
RELATED:
Megan Lebowitz / NBC News:
Sen. Chris Van Hollen travels to El Salvador to advocate for Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release  —  The Maryland senator previously said he would travel to El Salvador if the Abrego Garcia was not released by midweek.  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Van Hollen is flying to El Salvador on Wednesday …
Wall Street Journal:
Donald Trump Tries to Run Harvard  —  Many of his demands on the school exceed his power under the Constitution.  —  Click for Sound  —  The Trump Administration on Monday froze $2.2 billion in funds to Harvard after the university refused to surrender to its sweeping demands.
RELATED:
Thomas Chatterton Williams / The Atlantic:
Trump's Harvard Whiplash
Courtenay Brown / Axios:
1 big thing: Trump tariffs are on trial  —  U.S. courts have the potential to be the biggest threat yet to the central tenet of President Trump's economic agenda.  —  Why it matters: Legal groups representing Main Street businesses want judges to block some tariffs as lawsuits against the levies …
RELATED:
Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
California sues the Trump administration over the president's sweeping tariffs
Discussion: CNBC and East Bay Times
Tyler Katzenberger / Politico:
California is first state to sue Trump on tariffs
Paul Krugman:
Why Trump Will Lose His Trade War  —  Scenes from the trade war:  — In response to Donald Trump's huge tariffs on Chinese exports, China's government has suspended exports of rare earth minerals and magnets, both critical to many modern industries and the military
RELATED:
Maya C. Miller / New York Times:
2 Protesters at Marjorie Taylor Greene Town Hall Are Subdued With Stun Guns  —  Three people, including the two who were subdued with stun guns, were arrested.  —  A town hall for Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia outside of Atlanta on Tuesday quickly deteriorated into chaos …
RELATED:
CNN:
Tempers flare as few Republicans hold in-person town halls
ABC News:
Protesters tased, arrested at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Georgia town hall
Dana Mattioli / Wall Street Journal:
The Tactics Elon Musk Uses to Manage His ‘Legion’ of Babies—and Their Mothers  —  The world's richest man juggles more than a dozen children and ‘harem drama’ along with running his companies and advising Trump.  He recently took a paternity test in a battle with one woman over money and privacy.
Bryan Anderson / Anderson Alerts:
Riggs on track to win NC Supreme Court race  —  Based on a court filing from the North Carolina State Board of Elections, Democratic Supreme Court Justice will defeat Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs …
Discussion: Alternet.org
RELATED:
Marc Caputo / Axios:
Trump dashed Musk's secret Pentagon briefing on China  —  Beyond tariffs and court battles over Trump policies, two pieces of White House palace intrigue emerged Tuesday:  — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suspended two top Pentagon officials, Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick …
RELATED:
Politico:
Two top Pentagon officials placed on leave in leak probe
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Inside Democrats' scramble to travel to El Salvador  —  Democrats are rushing to organize trips to El Salvador as President Trump refuses to comply with a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of a Maryland resident who was erroneously deported to the country.
Eileen Guo / MIT Technology Review:
The US office that counters foreign disinformation is being eliminated, say officials  —  The only office within the US State Department that monitors foreign disinformation is about to be eliminated, two State Department officials have told MIT Technology Review.
Discussion: The Federalist
Severin Carrell / The Guardian:
Legal definition of woman is based on biological sex, UK supreme court rules  —  Judges say Equality Act definition excludes transgender women, after gender-critical campaigners' challenge  —  The UK supreme court has ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer …
RELATED:
BBC:
UK Supreme Court rules legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex
Discussion: PinkNews and Semafor
Punchbowl News:
4/16/25 ☀️ AM:  —  The red lines begin: A dozen House Republicans say no to big Medicaid cuts  —  The rise of the million-dollar House fundraising quarter  —  Sheehy finds his footing after bruising campaign  —  Jordan to headline Feenstra's Iowa event
Discussion: RedState and National Review
RELATED:
David Sirota / The Lever:
Trump IRS Pick Was Just Enriched By Tax Schemers  —  Keep reading for FREE.  This is not a paywall.  —  Just sign up below for a free subscription to The Lever to get access to this story and much more.  —  SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE  —  Already have an account?  Sign in
Juliette Rihl / PennLive:
Pa. Gov. Shapiro was targeted for ‘what he wants to do to Palestinian people’: warrant  —  The suspect in the arson attack at the Governor's Residence targeted Josh Shapiro due to his perceived stance on Palestine, according to a search warrant obtained by PennLive.
New York Post:
Trump administration refers NY AG Letitia James for potential prosecution over alleged mortgage fraud  —  WASHINGTON — New York Attorney General Letitia James — who infamously declared that “no one is above the law” when she was targeting Donald Trump — was hit with a federal criminal referral …
Perry Stein / Washington Post:
DOGE sought to assign a team to an independent nonprofit group  —  A representative of DOGE met with leaders of the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates for lower incarceration rates.  —  U.S. DOGE Service representatives told leaders of a nonprofit group Tuesday …
Discussion: Raw Story
Elaine Godfrey / The Atlantic:
Federal Workers Are Facing a New Reality  —  The problem for government employees isn't just low morale.  It's the manufactured chaos.  —  The employees who have so far survived the Trump administration's federal defenestration project are morose.  For some, the new workload is untenable.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Michael Phillis / Associated Press:
The EPA can't end grants from $20 billion Biden-era fund for climate-friendly projects, a judge says
Discussion: Washington Examiner and KDFX-TV
Jakub Krupa / The Guardian:
Hungary ‘rapidly going in wrong direction’, EU lawmakers warn after visit - as it happened
Camilo Montoya-Galvez / CBS News:
Memo shows U.S. can send migrants without criminal records to Guantanamo, despite Trump's promise to hold “the worst” there
Jonathan Cohn / The Bulwark:
Trump's Science Cuts Will Be Felt for Generations
Jill Lawrence / The Bulwark:
America's Shameful ‘No’ to the World
Rebecca Davis O'Brien / New York Times:
Unions Form Pro Bono Legal Network for Federal Workers Targeted by Trump
Jonathan J. Cooper / Associated Press:
Older Arizona voters are closely watching Trump's tariffs — and their retirement accounts
 Earlier Items: 
Charisma Madarang / Rolling Stone:
Trump Admin Deports Teen With No Criminal Record to El Salvador Prison: Report
Discussion: Mediaite
Nicole Narea / Vox:
3 signs the US might already be in a recession
Discussion: Washington Examiner
Wall Street Journal:
How Trump and His ‘Gold Guy’ Are Redecorating the White House
David Bauder / Associated Press:
The White House is starting a new media policy that restricts wire services' access to the president
Jon Keegan / Sherwood News:
Shop this look: Buy cheap, faux gold dupes of Oval Office decor