memeorandum: A Proclamation on Honoring the Victims of the Tragedy in Lewiston, Maine (The White House)

12:00 PM ET, October 26, 2023

Top Items:

Adam Wren / Politico:

Can the GOP ever come to grips with the lies of 2020? — Mike Johnson's election, and the process getting there, showed a party not willing to address the fundamental question facing it. — Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) was hours away from winning the speakership when a reporter asked …

Discussion: The Dean's Report, WITF, Raw Story, Florida Politics and Rolling Stone

Aaron Rupar / Public Notice:

The inmates elect their new asylum leader — Also: Bellingcat's Eliot Higgins on the golden age of Twitter disinformation. — ∙ Paid … The latter part of this newsletter features a Q&A with Bellingcat's Eliot Higgins. But before we get to that, I want to share some quick thoughts on the new House speaker.

Discussion: The Guardian, emptywheel, Los Angeles Times, Election Law Blog and The Hill

Charlie Sykes / The Bulwark:

And the Winner Is... ... the most hated man in Congress. — “If you don't think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power in the Republican Party truly lies, then you're not paying attention,” — Matt Gaetz to Steve Bannon Wednesday morning.

Discussion: The Messenger, HuffPost, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times and The Daily Beast

Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
ACLU sides with Trump, argues Jan. 6 case gag order is unconstitutional

Discussion: Mediaite, ACLU, The Guardian, Althouse, American Greatness, CNBC, Washington Examiner, IJR, CBS News, Twitchy, BizPac Review, Political Wire, Politico and WUSA

NBC News:
Judge orders Trump to take the stand in N.Y. fraud trial, fines him $10,000 for violating gag order again

Politico:
Special counsel urges judge to reimpose Trump's federal gag order

Discussion: The Hill, Law & Crime, USA Today, Raw Story, CBS News, The Messenger, Associated Press and Washington Post

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
A fifth-string speaker suits up for House Republicans

Discussion: NOLA.com, CBS News, The American Conservative, Business Insider and Daily Kos

Washington Post:
Mike Johnson played a central role in trying to overturn the 2020 vote

John Fund / New York Post:
Mike Johnson lucked into speaker job — but he has talent to pull it off

Discussion: New York Times and Power Line

Politico:
'I've prayed for each of you': How Mike Johnson led a campaign of election denial

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Forbes, The Guardian, The Hill, Mediaite, Breitbart, Raw Story, The Daily Beast and New York Times

CNN:
Exclusive: Fulton County DA has discussed plea deals with at least 6 more Trump co-defendants

Discussion: Raw Story, Insider and The Messenger

S.V. Date / HuffPost:
The One Simple Trick For Avoiding Prison Could Be Slipping Out Of Reach For Trump

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Bloomberg and The Messenger

Dan Pfeiffer / The Message Box:
The New Speaker is Everything Voters Hate about the GOP

Discussion: HuffPost, Sacramento Bee, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Orange County Register, Politico, ABC News, Mother Jones, Washington Post, The Hill, The Guardian, The Nation, Semafor and RedState

Politico:
How Mike Johnson's main strength will become his biggest liability

Discussion: Letters from an American, The Messenger, New York Daily News, The Dispatch, Washington Times, New Yorker, The Hill, New York Post, New Republic and RedState

Washington Examiner:
House elects Mike Johnson as speaker after three weeks at an impasse

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Political Wire, Washington Times, Wall Street Journal, The American Spectator, GovExec.com, HuffPost, NBC News and Axios

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
The Far Right Gets Its Man of the House

Discussion: Washington Post

Brendan Buck / Politico:
The Terrifying Learning Curve Facing Mike Johnson

Discussion: Punchbowl News, The Messenger, USA Today, The Hill and NBC News

Erik Wasson / Bloomberg:

Republican Speaker Nominee Mike Johnson Has a Plan to Avoid a November Shutdown — House Republican speaker nominee Mike Johnson is working to convince ultraconservatives to avert a Nov. 18 government shutdown, a signal that even hardliners in the GOP may be willing to compromise on a short-term spending deal.

Discussion: CBS News, Politico, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Washington Monthly, RedState, Washington Post, New York Post, Washington Times, Raw Story and Roll Call

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

What everyone should know about the new House Speaker, Mike Johnson — Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, and Rebecca Crosby — On Wednesday, after weeks of chaos, House Republicans unanimously selected Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the new Speaker. Compared to the previous Republican candidates …

Discussion: Insider, Wisconsin Examiner, Bloomberg and Washington Post

Politico:

Playbook: What's in store for Speaker Johnson — Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross — DRIVING THE DAY — LATEST IN MAINE — Lewiston Sun Journal: “At least 16 people were killed and dozens more injured in multiple shootings here Wednesday night, in what is likely the deadliest shooting in Maine's history.”

Discussion: Raw Story, Today's Edition Newsletter and The Messenger

CNN:
New speaker of the House Mike Johnson once wrote in support of the criminalization of gay sex

Discussion: Mediaite, Axios, The 19th, No More Mister Nice Blog, Insider, LGBTQ Nation, Los Angeles Times, NPR, TIME, HuffPost, New Republic, Bloomberg, Politico, Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo, Iowa Starting Line and Media Matters for America

Will Steakin / ABC News:
How new House Speaker Mike Johnson spent years fighting against gay rights

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Messenger, Mock Paper Scissors and Media Matters for America

John Knefel / Media Matters for America:
Mainstream media ignores new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's history of anti-LGBTQ extremism

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, Twitchy and LGBTQ Nation

Lewiston Sun Journal:

At least 16 dead, dozens wounded in Lewiston shootings; police give few details on overnight search for gunman — A commercial man lift falls off trailer and blocks Route 4 in Rangeley — Hundreds of new laws take effect in Maine Wednesday. Here's what you need to know

Reuters:

Maine mass shootings: Police scour Lewiston for suspect — Hundreds of police fanned out across the state of Maine hunting for a man wanted in connection with mass shootings at a bar and a bowling alley in the town of Lewiston, as news outlets reported a death toll ranging from 16 to 22, with dozens more wounded.

Bloomberg.com:
At Least 16 Killed in Maine Shootings With Suspect at Large

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill, The Daily Beast, The Messenger, The Guardian, Reuters, CBS News, WUSA, TMZ.com, New York Post, Fox News, Breitbart, USA Today, Bloomberg, abc7NY, The Sun, WISH-TV, Rolling Stone, FOX 11 Los Angeles, UPI, Insider, One America News Network, Heavy.com and Variety

The White House:

Statement from President Joe Biden on the Shooting in Lewiston, Maine — Once again, our nation is in mourning after yet another senseless and tragic mass shooting. Today, Jill and I are praying for the Americans who've lost their lives, for those still in critical care, and for the families …

Discussion: The Messenger and abc7NY

The White House:
Statement from President Joe Biden on the Election of Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House

Discussion: Insider, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News, Axios, Washington Times, The Hill, Washington Examiner, PBS NewsHour and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Summer Concepcion / NBC News:

Colo. judge rejects Trump's bid to toss lawsuit aimed at keeping him off 2024 ballot — The lawsuit seeks to bar the former president from the state's 2024 ballot over his connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. — A Colorado judge on Wednesday denied the latest attempt …

Discussion: CNN and Raw Story

Abha Bhattarai / Washington Post:

U.S. economy grows at blockbuster pace in third quarter — GDP grew at an annual rate of 4.9 percent from July to September, the highest reading since 2021 — The U.S. economy grew by an annual rate of 4.9 percent in the third quarter, the strongest pace since 2021, as spending …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The White House, NBC News, New York Times, Outside the Beltway, Breitbart, NPR, UPI, PoliticusUSA and The Daily Caller

The United States Senate Committee on Finance:

Justice Thomas Did Not Repay Substantial Portion of $267,230 Loan, Finance Committee Investigation Reveals; Failed to Report Forgiven Debt on Ethics Filings, Raising Questions About Tax Compliance — Documents Show Businessman Forgave the Loan, which Thomas used to Purchase a Luxury RV

Discussion: The Guardian, UPI, Forbes, HuffPost, Daily Kos, Insider and Raw Story

Jo Becker / New York Times:
Justice Thomas's R.V. Loan Was Forgiven, Senate Inquiry Finds

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, PoliticusUSA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CBS News, WSPA-TV, Boston Herald and NPR

The Economist:

Mitt Romney is the fixed point revealing the Republicans' slide — A new biography shows how far that slide has gone — So a politician in the evening of his career, with a vast family, a rich spiritual life and great wealth to fall back upon, summoned the nerve to declare …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and USA Today

The White House:

A Proclamation on Honoring the Victims of the Tragedy in Lewiston, Maine — As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on October 25, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution …

Frank S. Zhou / The Harvard Crimson:

Harvard Creates Task Force for Doxxed Students Amid Backlash Over Israel Statement — Harvard will establish a task force to support students experiencing doxxing, harassment, and online security issues following backlash against students allegedly affiliated with a statement that held Israel …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Twitchy, BizPac Review, IJR and National Review

Brady Leonard / Washington Examiner:

DeSantis is right about terrorist sympathizers — Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) took a hard stance against foreign nationals in the United States promoting terrorism. Since the brutal Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that left over 1,400 civilians dead, people have been protesting in major American cities in favor of Hamas.