memeorandum: Trump May Skip Some G.O.P. Debates, but Advisers See a Biden Face-Off as Key (New York Times)

7:25 PM ET, August 20, 2023

Top Items:

Meadows told special counsel he could not recall Trump ever declassifying Mar-a-Lago docs: Sources — Trump has insisted that he declassified all the materials before he left office. — Appearing to contradict former President Donald Trump's primary public defense in the classified documents case …

Discussion: New York Times, Axios, NBC News, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Raw Story, The Messenger, The Hill, USA Today, Washington Examiner and Political Wire

Shawna Mizelle / CNN:

GOP senator says Trump should drop out and calls classified documents case ‘almost a slam dunk’ — Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy described the case against former President Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents as “almost a slam dunk” and said he thinks Trump should drop out of the 2024 presidential race.

Discussion: NBC News, Rolling Stone, The Messenger, Washington Times, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Reuters, USA Today, Politico, Crooks and Liars and Breitbart

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:

Mark Meadows asks federal court for Georgia charges to be dismissed — Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows has asked a federal court to order all charges against him brought by Fulton County, Georgia, prosecutors last week to be dismissed, since he says the charges relate to his then-role in the federal government.

Discussion: Reuters and Raw Story

CBS News:

CBS News poll finds Trump's big lead grows, as GOP voters dismiss indictments — Well, there's no debate about this: Right now, the Republican Party would easily re-nominate Donald Trump for 2024. And it's not close. — The former president now holds his largest lead over his rivals in our polling amid his recent legal troubles.

Discussion: The Hill, Rolling Stone, HuffPost, The Messenger, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Washington Times, Florida Politics, Breitbart, RedState, Mediaite, TheBlaze, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Times, Associated Press and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Miranda Nazzaro / The Hill:

Hogan says No Labels likely to launch third-party ‘alternative’ if Trump, Biden win nominations — Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) said Sunday No Labels will “very likely” launch a third-party “alternative” if former President Trump and President Biden win the nominations for their parties.

Discussion: TheBlaze and Political Wire

New York Times:

Trump May Skip Some G.O.P. Debates, but Advisers See a Biden Face-Off as Key — The strong desire of Mr. Trump's advisers to see him debate Mr. Biden in the event of a rematch could lead to a clash with the Republican National Committee. — On July 17, the head of the Republican Party traveled …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner, Financial Times, Rolling Stone, PoliticusUSA, ABC News, Digby's Hullabaloo, Raw Story, RedState, Fox News and HuffPost

Francesca Chambers / USA Today:

With one day to spare, Asa Hutchinson says he'll make the GOP's first primary debate — WASHINGTON — Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he has met the donor threshold to participate in the first GOP primary debate after a swell of contributions that followed GOP frontrunner Donald Trump's indictments …

Discussion: Boston Herald, Fox News, Bloomberg, CNN, Washington Examiner, NBC News, New York Times, ArkansasTimes, ABC News and The Hill

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
How G.O.P. Views of Biden Are Helping Trump in the Republican Primary

Discussion: USA Today, New York Post and Florida Politics

Arlette Saenz / CNN:
First on CNN: Biden wades into GOP primary with $25 million ad blitz, starting with economy focus

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Messenger, Florida Politics and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

New York Times:

Russia's Luna-25 Moon Lander Is Lost in a Crash — The robotic Luna-25 spacecraft appeared to have “ceased its existence” after a failed orbital adjustment, the space agency Roscosmos said. — A Russian robotic spacecraft that was headed to the lunar surface has crashed into the moon …

Discussion: CNN, HotAir, Reuters, CBS News, Mother Jones, UPI, Fox News, Washington Post, Ars Technica, Bloomberg, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Political Wire, RedState, NPR and The Gateway Pundit

Reuters:
Factbox: Russia's Luna-25 moon mission fails: what you need to know

Discussion: The Messenger, New York Daily News, The Verge, Human Events, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, RedState, Popular Science, One America News Network, Washington Post, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Al Jazeera and TASS

Will Witt / The Florida Standard:

WATCH: DeSantis Plans to Do What Trump Couldn't | Full Interview With Will Witt — Ron DeSantis told Will Witt in an exclusive interview that those making RINO claims about him are kissing Trump's rear end. Meanwhile, the swamp still needs to be drained.

Discussion: The Hill, The Guardian, HotAir, Boston Herald, HuffPost, New York Post, Mediaite, Vanity Fair, Washington Examiner, Fox News, USA Today, Insider, RedState, Florida Politics, Orlando Sentinel and The Messenger

Nicholas Nehamas / New York Times:

DeSantis Tweaks His Messaging and Tactics After a Tough Campaign Stretch — The Florida governor, who has been losing ground in polls and dealing with staffing, spending and messaging issues, looks to right his campaign in New Hampshire. — On a weekend tour through New Hampshire …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Axios, The Hill, Las Vegas Review-Journal and Political Wire

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:
The Education of Ron DeSantis: 5 Takeaways

Discussion: Insider and Althouse

New York Times:

Inside the Collapse of Hunter Biden's Plea Deal — An examination of confidential correspondence and interviews with those close to Mr. Biden and lawyers involved in the case show how the deal ultimately fell apart amid schisms and withering external pressures.

Discussion: Power Line, PoliticusUSA, The Gateway Pundit, The Messenger, Breitbart, HotAir, New York Post and CNN

Michael Kranish / Washington Post:
Before investigating Hunter Biden, prosecutor worked with brother Beau

Discussion: Washington Examiner, RedState and The Messenger

Betsy Woodruff Swan / Politico:
In talks with prosecutors, Hunter Biden's lawyers vowed to put the president on the stand

Discussion: TheBlaze, Mediaite, The Messenger, The Daily Caller, Power Line, Fox News, National Review, RedState, emptywheel, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, Reuters and Political Wire

Washington Post:

‘I could sell golf’: How DeSantis and aides courted lobbyists for campaign cash — The efforts to effectively auction off leisure time to those seeking to influence state policy created a special pathway of access for big donors that is striking in the way that it was documented in writing, ethics experts said

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo, Florida Politics and Raw Story

Miranda Nazzaro / The Hill:

Minnesota Democrat pans ‘weird group of folks’ on GOP debate stage — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) on Sunday called the GOP presidential candidates heading to the debate stage a “weird group of folks.” — When asked by NBC's “Meet The Press” moderator Chuck Todd about his working relationship …

Discussion: USA Today, NBC News, Politico and KTSM-TV

People:

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter's Grandson Offers Update on Their Health: 'We're in the Final Chapter' (Exclusive) — Josh Carter tells PEOPLE that while it's “different” visiting his grandparents' home now that they've grown a bit quieter, “they are still here, they are still holding hands and still very much together”