memeorandum: Inside the Supreme Court Inquiry: Seized Phones, Affidavits and Distrust (Jodi Kantor/New York Times)

7:15 PM ET, January 21, 2023

Top Items:

Ron Klain Expected to Step Down as Biden's White House Chief of Staff — Mr. Klain's departure would mark a rare moment of high-level turnover in an administration that has been remarkably stable through two years of crises and political battles. — WASHINGTON — Ron Klain …

Washington Post:

Biden aides want to force GOP to abandon debt limit threats — White House officials see enormous downsides to either negotiating with Republicans on spending limit or trying to resolve impasse unilaterally — Shortly after last year's midterm elections, a senior congressional Democrat …

Discussion: Autistic Politico, PoliticusUSA, Outside the Beltway, Wide World of News, Bangor Daily News, THE UPSTATE AMERICAN, NPR, National Review, Washington Examiner, Media Matters for America, Los Angeles Times and New York Times

NBC News:

Ron Klain is expected to step down as White House chief of staff in the coming weeks — WASHINGTON — White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain is expected to depart the Biden administration in the coming weeks, according to two sources familiar with the decision.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Times, Fox News and New York Times

Tyler Pager / Washington Post:

Ron Klain, White House chief of staff, plans to step down — Top Biden aide has not set a date for departure, colleagues say — Ron Klain, President Biden's chief of staff, plans to step down in the coming weeks after playing a central role in steering the administration through its first two years …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

CNN:
White House chief of staff Ron Klain expected to step down in the weeks after State of the Union

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, USA Today, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Balloon Juice, Washington Times and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:

School downplayed warnings about 6-year-old before teacher's shooting, staffers say — The Virginia teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student repeatedly asked administrators for help with the boy but officials downplayed educators' warnings about his behavior, including dismissing his threat …

Discussion: New York Post, The Hill, Raw Story, The Post Millennial, KOLR, Hampton Roads Daily Press, Law & Crime and Washington Examiner

Benjamin Lee / The Guardian:

‘I hope this triggers outrage’: surprise Brett Kavanaugh documentary premieres at Sundance — Covertly-made Justice, from director Doug Liman, shows to sold-out audience and shines new light on allegations of sexual assault — A secretly made documentary expanding on allegations …

Discussion: HuffPost, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Rolling Stone, PoliticusUSA, Jezebel, IndieWire, Washingtonian and Bloomberg

Mia Galuppo / The Hollywood Reporter:
How Doug Liman Directed a Brett Kavanaugh FBI Investigation Doc in Secret

Discussion: Bipartisan Report, Variety, Yahoo News, The Wrap, IndieWire, Insider, Deadline, Mediaite and Fox News

Jodi Kantor / New York Times:

Inside the Supreme Court Inquiry: Seized Phones, Affidavits and Distrust — An investigation of the abortion opinion leak was meant to right the institution amid a slide in public confidence. Instead, employees say, it deepened suspicions and caused disillusionment.

Discussion: Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, Steady, NewsNation, Bloomberg, Vanity Fair, Breitbart, New York Magazine and CNN

New York Post:

Nancy Pelosi reportedly summons priests to exorcise home of evil spirits — The power of Nancy compels you! — Former House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi summoned priests to rid her luxe San Francisco home of evil spirits after a man allegedly attacked her hubby there with a hammer.

Discussion: Fox News

Maureen Dowd / New York Times: Nancy Pelosi, Liberated and Loving It

Washington Post:

Ukraine live briefing: Baltic states urge Germany to provide tanks ‘now’ after no deal reached — Germany faced continued pressure Saturday after a key meeting of Western allies did not come up with a deal to supply Ukraine with the battle tanks that Kyiv says are a crucial part of its bid to take on entrenched Russian forces.

Discussion: New York Times, BBC, New York Post, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Slate, Bruce's Contradicciones … and Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Jeremy Cliffe / New Statesman:
Germany has become the roadblock at the heart of Europe

Discussion: CNN, Shahzada's Substack, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Washington Examiner and Bloomberg

Wall Street Journal:

Adam Schiff, Disinformation Man — The latest Twitter documents show how he deceived the public and has earned his ouster from the Intelligence Committee. — By The Editorial Board — House Republicans are preparing to strip Adam Schiff of his Intelligence Committee seat …

Ron Lieber / New York Times:

JPMorgan Paid $175 Million for a Business It Now Says Was a Scam — Charlie Javice promised to simplify the college financial aid process. It was a compelling pitch. Especially, as now seems likely, to those with little firsthand knowledge of financial aid.

Discussion: The Times of Israel

Brad Lendon / CNN:

US pilot shot down four Soviet MiGs in 30 minutes - and kept it a secret for 50 years — Royce Williams was a real-life “Top Gun” 10 years before Tom Cruise was even born. — On a cold November day in 1952, Williams shot down four Soviet fighter jets - and became a legend no one would hear about for more than 50 years.

Discussion: One America News Network

Julia Ainsley / NBC News:

A top Border Patrol official resigned after allegedly pressuring female employees for sex, officials say — A top official at the U.S. Border Patrol abruptly resigned in October after allegations came to light that he pressured a subordinate employee to perform sexual favors …

Cami Mondeaux / Washington Examiner:

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs says she'll continue transporting migrants out of state — Arizona will continue its practice of transporting migrants who cross the southern border to other destinations in the United States, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs announced Friday.

Discussion: USA Today, NewsBreak Original and Twitchy

Shira Stein / San Francisco Chronicle:

The San Francisco Inquirer looks like local news. Here's why politicians are furious with the site — WASHINGTON — A New York consultant who reportedly published false news articles about political figures has created a website called the San Francisco Inquirer, which is designed …

Washington Post:

How a Hunter Biden conspiracy theory grew, from lone tweet to a big megaphone — It started with a tweet on Jan. 12 by an anonymous account — a photo of a rental application by Hunter Biden, plucked from the hard drive of his laptop left behind for repair in a Delaware shop in April 2019.