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1:15 PM ET, July 17, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Politico:
Maurene Comey warns her former colleagues: ‘Fear is the tool of the tyrant’ … NEW YORK — One day after being fired by the Justice Department, Maurene Comey told her former colleagues that “fear is the tool of a tyrant,” appearing to take aim at the upper ranks of DOJ and perhaps the president …
Discussion: New York Post
RELATED:
Erica Orden / Politico:
Maurene Comey, daughter of James Comey and prosecutor of Jeffrey Epstein, is fired … In recent weeks, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have faced a firestorm of criticism over their decision not to release additional files related to Epstein, the disgraced financier …
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
A Crisis of MAGA Faith  —  How's this for a vibe check: A Quinnipiac University poll yesterday found that a whopping 63 percent of voters disapprove of how the Trump administration is handling the Epstein-files controversy, with a scant 17 percent approving.  Happy Thursday.  —  What Would William of Ockham Say?
Avery Lotz / Axios:
Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell's family attempts appeal to Trump
Discussion: GB News
emptywheel:   Pam Bondi Fired the Avenger of Sex Trafficking Victims on Donald Trump's Personal Authority
New York Times:
Manhattan Prosecutor Who Handled Epstein Cases Is Fired
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Senate Approves Trump's Bid to Cancel Foreign Aid and Public Broadcast Funds  —  The bill to claw back $9 billion in congressionally approved spending passed over the objections of Republicans who said it abdicated the legislative branch's power of the purse.
RELATED:
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Republicans on Senate Panel Vote to Advance Bove's Nomination After Democrats Storm Out  —  An even more intense battle is expected on the Senate floor over the nomination of a Trump immigration policy enforcer to a lifetime judicial post.  —  A Senate committee voted on Thursday to advance …
Discussion: Associated Press and Raw Story
NPR:
Senate approves cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid programs
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Senate Dems protest committee vote to advance Trump's judicial pick
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Republicans shrug off laundry list of scandals, advance Emil Bove's judicial nomination
Politico:
Senate votes to cut $9 billion from public broadcasting and foreign aid
Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
Trump Scores DOGE Win in Senate; Clock's Ticking in House
Ursula Perano / NOTUS:
Senate Passes Rescission Bill Less Than 48 Hours Before Deadline
Discussion: GovExec.com and Raw Story
Politico:
Behind Trump's move to back off Powell: Lawyers warned against it. … The conversations were a backdrop to the latest drama this week over whether Trump might attempt to oust Powell, whom he appointed as chair in 2017 but now regularly blasts for keeping interest rates elevated.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Don't Fire Jerome Powell, Mr. President
Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:
Elon Musk Blows Major Hole in Trump's Epstein ‘Hoax’ Theory  —  ‘WOW’  —  Trump's former right-hand man is defiantly refusing to let the Jeffrey Epstein story go away.  —  Elon Musk went on a posting spree Wednesday afternoon to slam President Donald Trump's claim that the so-called “Epstein Files” are a lefty-created hoax.
RELATED:
Will Sommer / The Bulwark:
Trump's Right-Wing Media Machine Turns on Him  —  Here's why the Jeffrey Epstein story has fractured MAGA.  —  ∙ Paid  —  FOR A SECOND THERE, Donald Trump looked like he might just succeed at reining in his right-wing media allies over the end of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Matthew Goldstein / New York Times:
This Democrat Won't Let Go of the Jeffrey Epstein Case, Either  —  Senator Ron Wyden has found that four banks waited until Mr. Epstein's arrest on federal charges to flag $1.5 billion in suspicious transactions.  Mr. Wyden wants the documents made public.  —  President Trump and his administration …
Politico:
‘Crazy hill to die on’: Newsom jolts California with bid to throw out House maps … But it's also a longshot.  And to many Democrats in Newsom's home state, it's a new obsession bordering on bizarre — or even anti-democratic.  —  “Trying to save democracy by destroying democracy is dangerous and foolish …
RELATED:
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
When institutions crumble, strongmen step in  —  Trump wants to be the sole authority.  With trust in institutions cratering, he sees his opportunity.  —  What would it take to put the swirling conspiracy theories about Jeffrey Epstein to bed?  Nothing complicated; just an authoritative …
Perry Stein / Washington Post:
DOJ seeks one-day sentence for officer in raid that killed Breonna Taylor  —  In November, a federal jury found officer Brett Hankison guilty of violating Taylor's civil rights during a March 2020 police raid in which she was fatally shot.  —  Summary25  —  The Justice Department requested …
Discussion: Reuters, New York Times, Axios and NBC News
RELATED:
CNN:   Justice Department says former officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid should get one day in jail
NBC News:
New U.S. assessment finds American strikes destroyed only one of three Iranian nuclear sites  —  President Donald Trump rejected a military plan for more comprehensive strikes on Iran's nuclear program that would have lasted weeks, NBC News has also learned.
Makena Kelly / Wired:
DOGE Put Free Tax Filing Tool on Chopping Block After One Meeting With Lobbyists  —  A key operative from DOGE initiated plans to potentially kill Direct File, the free tax filing tool developed by the IRS, after offering assurances it would be spared from cuts.
Katherine Tully-McManus / Politico:
Russ Vought: Appropriations process ‘has to be less bipartisan’  —  Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought isn't interested in giving assurances to lawmakers on Capitol Hill that the White House will abide by any bipartisan spending agreements made this year.
Discussion: NOTUS and Washington Times
Associated Press:
Trump administration hands over Medicaid recipients' personal data, including addresses, to ICE  —  Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of the nation's 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities …
Paul Walsh / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Watch: Senior Trump adviser dumps on Minneapolis, prompting retort from Mary Moriarty  —  Stephen Miller's comments are the latest in a recent string from Trump loyalists targeting Minneapolis. … White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called Minneapolis an unsafe and violent city during …
Charlie Nash / Mediaite:
Ex-Trump Casino President Tells CNN He Reprimanded Trump for Showing Up With ‘Best Friend’ Epstein and 19-Year-Old Girl  —  Jack O'Donnell, the former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, told CNN on Wednesday that he once reprimanded President Donald Trump in the 80s …
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
Goodbye, separation of church and state  —  🗣️ Paid subscribers make Public Notice possible.  If you appreciate our fiercely independent coverage of American politics, please sign up and support us.  👇  —  The Trump administration last week handed a huge win …
Discussion: Deseret News
Becky Morton / BBC:
Voting age to be lowered to 16 by next general election  —  Sixteen and 17-year-olds would be able to vote at the next general election, under government plans to lower the voting age.  —  The pledge is part of a raft of measures being introduced through a new Elections Bill.
Rümeysa Öztürk / Vanity Fair:
“Even God Cannot Hear Us Here”: What I Witnessed Inside an ICE Women's Prison  —  Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk opens up for the first time about her shocking arrest and 45 days in a South Louisiana processing facility.  She recalls the generous …
Discussion: ACLU
404 Media:
Flight Manifests Reveal Dozens of Previously Unknown People on Three Deportation Flights to El Salvador  —  Hacked data obtained by 404 Media reveals dozens more people on deportation flights to El Salvador who are unaccounted for.  “We have not heard from these people's families …
Discussion: Just Security
Aziz Huq / The Atlantic:
The Court's Liberals Are Trying to Tell Americans Something  —  Justices Kagan, Jackson, and Sotomayor aren't merely disagreeing with the majority's technical readings of the law.  —  in recent Supreme Court terms, Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson …
Tessa Stuart / Rolling Stone:
Democratic Voters Who Skipped 2024 Election Want Candidates Like Bernie, AOC  —  “The conventional wisdom is really wrong on these voters,” says pollster Celinda Lake.  “They want leaders who will fight for everyone” … But new research suggests the prevailing wisdom that has guided those efforts …
Discussion: Semafor
Popular Information:
A massive Trump scandal.  Minuscule media attention.  —  Historically, financial entanglements with foreign nationals has been covered as a scandal.  Times have changed.  —  For decades, any suggestion of financial entanglements between a U.S. president or presidential candidate and foreign nationals has been considered a scandal.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Chris Mirasola / Lawfare:
How Appropriations Are Transforming the Defense Department's Domestic Operations
Lauren Egan / The Bulwark:
Do They Have Your Attention Now?  —  THERE IS AN OLD SAYING, likely apocryphal …
Discussion: Washington Post and Raw Story
Maureen Tkacik / American Prospect:
Meet the Disaster Capitalists Behind Alligator Alcatraz
Nina Lakhani / The Guardian:
Trump's $1tn for Pentagon to add huge planet-heating emissions, study shows
Laya Neelakandan / CNBC:
Trump administration pulls $4 billion from California high-speed rail project
 Earlier Items: 
Jennifer Frey / New York Times:
Students Want the Liberal Arts. Administrators, Not So Much.
Discussion: Daily Nous
Patricia Callahan / ProPublica:
RFK Jr. Wants to Revolutionize a Program That Supports Childhood Immunizations. The Results Could Be Catastrophic.
Discussion: WUSA
Jake Traylor / Politico:
White House has private discussions about Collins backup in Maine
New York Times:
African Nation Says It Will Repatriate Migrants Deported by U.S.
New York Times:
Spurned U.S. Attorney Clings to Job by Being Appointed His Own Assistant
 

 
From Techmeme:

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta is considering deep budget cuts to its metaverse efforts in 2026, potentially as high as 30% and most likely including layoffs as early as January

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Apple says general counsel Kate Adams and policy chief Lisa Jackson will retire, and Jennifer Newstead, Meta's former chief legal officer, will replace Adams

Will Oremus / Washington Post:
Two studies suggest AI chatbots can shift political views more effectively than TV campaign ads, especially by presenting many claims, regardless of accuracy
 
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