memeorandum: Reframing Jan. 6: After the Pardons, the Purge (New York Times)

6:10 PM ET, August 24, 2025

Top Items:

Matt Friedman / Politico:

One party has a New Jersey recruitment bonanza. The other... not so much. … “Democrats in New Jersey feel like the stakes are existential — literally existential — in these midterm elections,” said Hunterdon County Democratic Chair Tom Malinowski, a former 7th District representative whom Kean ousted in 2022.

Discussion: RedState

David Morgan / Reuters:

Trump's redistricting push could bring decades of Republican rule to the US House — President Donald Trump's push for Republican-led states to redraw their U.S. House of Representatives districts to protect their majority in next year's midterm elections could set the stage for Republicans …

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation

Andrea Castillo / Los Angeles Times:
Most California voters disapprove of Trump's immigration enforcement policies, poll shows

Discussion: USA Today

Jared Gans / The Hill:
Republicans shift focus to states beyond Texas in redistricting fight

Discussion: The Post Millennial, Politico and Washington Post

CBS News:
Transcript: Rep. Mike Lawler on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Aug. 24, 2025

Discussion: NewsMax.com

Avery Lotz / Axios:
Vance says redistricting push is a way to make representation “a little bit more fair”

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Times, The Hill, The Independent, NewsMax.com and Associated Press

Devlin Barrett / New York Times:

In Washington Crackdown, Making a Federal Case Out of Low-Level Arrests — A single afternoon in court illustrated the new ways in which laws are being enforced after President Trump's takeover of the city's police. — As President Trump posed triumphantly for photos with police officers …

Discussion: NewsMax.com

New York Times:

Reframing Jan. 6: After the Pardons, the Purge — In its campaign of “uprooting the foot soldiers,” the Trump Justice Department has fired or demoted more than two dozen Jan. 6 prosecutors, even as those they sent to prison walk free. — The lawyer took the elevator 32 floors …

CNN:

Officials have been planning for weeks to send National Guard to Chicago as Trump seeks to expand crime crackdown — The Trump administration has been planning for weeks to send the National Guard to Chicago, two officials told CNN, as President Donald Trump looks to expand his anti-crime agenda …

Discussion: ABC News, One America News Network, Notes From The Circus, Breitbart and Raw Story

Avery Lotz / Axios:
“No authority”: Dems flame Trump's proposed Chicago crackdown

Discussion: Breitbart, NewsMax.com and Grabien

Alyce McFadden / New York Times:
After Trump's Threat to Send National Guard to Chicago, Democrats Push Back

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Times, Fox News, Politico, Townhall and Washington Examiner

Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:
Pentagon plans military deployment in Chicago as Trump eyes crackdown

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

Exclusive: Ghislaine Maxwell was honored at a prestigious Clinton event years after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced — Years after she was publicly accused in civil lawsuits and the press of helping Jeffrey Epstein groom and sexually abuse minors, Ghislaine Maxwell was an honored guest …

Discussion: New York Post, NewsMax.com and Mediaite

Hillel Italie / Associated Press:

Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre wrote a memoir. Months after her death, it's coming out — A posthumous and “unsparing” memoir by one of Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, will be published this fall, publishing house Alfred A. Knopf said Sunday.

NBC News:

JD Vance says Putin ‘not at all’ misleading Trump in Ukraine talks: Full interview — In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, Vice President JD Vance says “sanctions aren't off the table” as President Trump tries to get Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy together for peace talks.

Discussion: New York Post, The Daily Signal, One America News Network, The Guardian, Mediaite, Townhall, Salon and NewsMax.com

Amanda Hurley / WTTG-TV:

Trump slams ‘crime-ridden’ Baltimore in response to Maryland governor's invitation — President Donald Trump is slamming Baltimore, along with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in a recent social media post. — The post is in response to an invitation by the governor for the president to visit Maryland.

Discussion: CBS News and Raw Story

Tara Lynch / CBS News:
Gov. Moore invites President Trump to Maryland for public safety walk after National Guard Deployment in D.C.

Philippe Ricard / Le Monde:

Paris summons US ambassador after his ‘lack of sufficient action’ on antisemitism accusations — Charles Kusher, the new United States ambassador to France, sent a letter to President Emmanuel Macron criticizing France's plan to recognize the State of Palestine, days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a similar move.

Discussion: Reuters, The Forward, NewsMax.com and The Gateway Pundit

Peter Wade / Rolling Stone:

Jim Jordan Says He Believes Ghislaine Maxwell. He Thinks You Should Too — The congressman seems to think Epstein's partner, who could be angling for a pardon and who has been accused of lying to federal officials, is a credible witness — Rep. Jim Jordan, the congressman accused …

Discussion: Al Jazeera, Raw Story, Mediaite and Townhall

NBC News:
Justice Department gave Ghislaine Maxwell ‘a platform to rewrite history,’ family of Epstein abuse survivor says

Discussion: The Independent, Raw Story and USA Today

Natalia Jaramillo / Sun-Sentinel:

DOT repaints Pulse crosswalk for a second time. FHP and OPD watching site — A Florida Department of Transportation crew early Sunday painted the Pulse crosswalk back to black and white for a second time as supporters continued to try to restore the rainbow-colored crossing.

Discussion: New York Times and NPR

New York Times:

Trump Is Defunding Medical Research. It Could Cost You Your Life. — They hoped to make tomorrow's medicines. Then came Trump.By Francesca Trianni, Adam Westbrook and Jan Kobal — In the Opinion video above, meet the scientists who are trying to save your life — and the lives of your children and grandchildren.

Washington Post:

Countries are suspending postal deliveries to the U.S. Here's why. — Postal companies across Europe, Asia and the Pacific plan to suspend package deliveries to the U.S. because of President Donald Trump's order ending tariff exemptions. — Postal operators around the world have announced …

Discussion: The Independent, Associated Press, NPR, Fox Business, UPI, Washington Examiner and BBC

Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:

Alina Habba slams Sens. Chuck Grassley, Thom Tillis over Senate's blue slips … “This tradition that Senator Grassley is upholding effectively prevents anybody in a blue state from going through into Senate to then be voted on,” Habba said on “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.”

Discussion: Raw Story, Rolling Stone, Fox News and The Gateway Pundit

Aaron Krolik / New York Times:

Why Haven't Sanctions on Russia Stopped the War? The Money Is Still Flowing. — For decades, companies feared being on the wrong side of U.S. sanctions. That's not always true anymore. — What kind of power can the United States exert to punish other countries for their misdeeds?

Emell Derra Adolphus / The Daily Beast:

MAGA Mainstay Nancy Mace Cancels Speech After Just Eight People Show Up — PITY PARTY — The South Carolina gubernatorial candidate is known for her theatrics but reportedly struggled to find an audience—any audience. — GOP Rep. Nancy Mace—who is currently running …

Discussion: MyHorryNews.com, The Independent, Crooks and Liars and HuffPost