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9:05 AM ET, May 21, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Jeffrey Toobin / New York Times:
Trump Just Pardoned Himself and His Family Forever  —  For decades there have been disagreements among constitutional scholars about whether a president can pardon himself.  But Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, just gave President Trump something even better: pre-emptive exoneration …
RELATED:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump's Government Moves to Spare an Unhappy Taxpayer Named Trump  —  No president has ever used the federal government to advance his own personal interests and those of his family and allies as expansively and openly as Mr. Trump has.  —  It is hard to imagine that any previous president …
Noah Shachtman / New York Times:
Trump Just Took Us Somewhere the Country Has Never Been Before  —  Donald Trump has been thinking a lot about his place in history.  That's one of the reasons, according to recent reporting by The Atlantic and The Times, why he's paying so little attention to his plummeting popularity …
New York Times:
Trump's $1.8 Billion Slush Fund Will Benefit Criminals and the President Himself  —  Has there ever been an episode of presidential corruption so blatant and threatening to constitutional order?  Certainly not in modern times.  President Trump's Justice Department is using taxpayer money to create a $1.8 billion political slush fund.
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Trump's Fund Shows Blanche Choosing Loyalty Over Moderation  —  Once seen by some as the most conventional of President Trump's political appointees, Todd Blanche has taken off the gloves in his new role as acting attorney general.  —  Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general …
Discussion: CNN, Raw Story and Scripps News
Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff / Reuters:
'I'm not greedy': January 6 rioters and Trump allies eye $1.8 billion ‘weaponization’ fund
Devlin Barrett / New York Times:
How the $1.8 Billion Trump Fund May Violate Past Practice and Policy
Discussion: Raw Story, The Hill and Axios
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Ballroom won't be funded after Senate GOP drops $1 billion Trump security request … And several GOP senators aired public concerns about including any ballroom funding in a bill otherwise dedicated to immigration enforcement.  A larger swath of Republicans were privately opposed …
RELATED:
Politico:   Dems' midterm attack plan
Jack Healy / New York Times:
Colorado Governor Censured for Commuting Sentence of Election Denier  —  The Colorado State Democratic Party, reflecting the anger of rank-and-file Democratic voters, rebuked Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday over his decision to release Tina Peters from prison.
RELATED:
Casey Wooten / NBC News:
Colorado Democrats censure Gov. Jared Polis for commuting election denier's sentence  —  Polis reduced Tina Peters' nine-year sentence Friday, saying her term was disproportionate to the crime.  —  Colorado Democrats voted Wednesday to censure Gov. Jared Polis, a fellow Democrat …
New York Times:
Democrats' Midterm Strength Masks Fierce Divides and Frustration, Poll Shows  —  Democratic voters are in a combative, anti-establishment mood, unhappy with their party and disagreeing about its best path forward, a New York Times/Siena poll found.  —  The Democratic Party is entering …
RELATED:
Melody Schreiber / The Guardian:
US is ‘simply choosing not to stop’ Ebola outbreak after massive public health cuts, experts say  —  Hundreds of cases reported in the DRC after USAID has been dismantled and key scientific research canceled  —  A previously undetected outbreak of Ebola is coursing through parts of central Africa …
RELATED:
Politico:
What Ebola and hantavirus are revealing about America's public health system
Discussion: NPR and Gothamist
Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Trump officials say they can build 250-foot arch without Congress's okay  —  To build a triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery, the administration hopes to rely on a 100-year-old authorization for a different project in the area.  —  Summary  —  The Trump administration does not plan …
Discussion: Associated Press, WUSA and Raw Story
New York Times:
A $5 Million Donation From Big Tobacco Preceded F.D.A. Vape Decision  —  Reynolds American's contribution to MAGA Inc. came about one week before the Trump administration announced a new policy on e-cigarettes the company had sought.  —  The tobacco company Reynolds American donated $5 million …
Discussion: Raw Story
Ebony Davis / MS NOW:
Judge orders White House staff to comply with Presidential Records Act after DOJ calls it ‘unconstitutional’  —  President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are among several White House officials excluded from the ruling.  —  A federal judge on Wednesday ordered White House personnel …
Discussion: Washington Post and Roll Call
RELATED:
Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:
Bluesky Says Kremlin Is Hacking Its Platform to Spread Propaganda  —  The company said it was fighting Russian efforts to hijack real users' accounts to post fake content, an apparently novel tactic.  —  Ben Gilbert describes himself on Bluesky, the social media app, as an “economist …
CNN:
Iran rebuilding military industrial base faster than expected, already producing drones, according to US intel  —  Iran has already restarted some of its drone production during the six-week ceasefire that began in early April, one sign it is rapidly rebuilding certain military capabilities degraded …
BBC:
Empty rooms and Fifa cancellations - US hotels fear World Cup washout  —  The World Cup was supposed to provide a tourism boom for the US, but now the fear is it may never materialise.  —  A report  —  produced by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has found that bookings …
Discussion: WHYY, SFist and Raw Story
Steve Vladeck / One First:
Bonus 228: The $1.776B Political Question  —  President Trump's $1.776B “Anti-Weaponization” slush fund is just the latest (and gravest) move that underscores the limits of judicial remedies, and the need to reinvigorate political ones.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Every so often a story comes along …
Discussion: PBS NewsHour
Barak Ravid / Axios:
New Iran peace proposal triggers tense Trump-Netanyahu call  —  President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a new effort to reach a deal with Iran in a difficult call on Tuesday, three sources said, with one source saying Netanyahu's “hair was on fire” after the call.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Dave Levinthal / NOTUS:
The White House Gave an Anti-Fraud Leader a Conflict-of-Interest Waiver
Discussion: Raw Story
Jose Pagliery / NOTUS:
Tom Kean's Neighbors Haven't Seen Him Either
Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite
Washington Post:
Profanity is a hallmark of Trump's second term, a Post analysis finds
Discussion: Raw Story
Matthew Cooper / Washington Monthly:
Be Thankful Barney Frank Wasn't Pushed Out in 1989
Discussion: WCVB, UPI and Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
How Hennepin County unwound an ICE agent's web of lies
Discussion: BLCK Press and Chicago Sun Times
New York Post:
NAACP's moronic ‘voting rights’ boycott will only hurt black teen athletes
 Earlier Items: 
Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
Shame and the Supreme Court
Discussion: Reuters
The White House:
Presidential Message on Cuban Independence Day
Kelsey Brugger / Politico:
Senators consider taking legislative action on prediction markets
Adora Brown / NOTUS:
Kari Lake Earned Tens of Thousands of Dollars From Media Side Hustles
Amy Curtis / Townhall:
Jamie Raskin Continues to Lie About President Trump's Charlottesville Remarks
US Department of Justice:
Former DOJ Attorney Indicted for Concealment, Theft of Government Records
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Former federal prosecutor indicted for stealing copies of unreleased Jack Smith report
 

 
From Techmeme:

Reuters:
SpaceX agrees to acquire Cursor in a merger valuing the AI coding startup at $60B, set to close in Q3 2026, or pay a $4B to $10B termination fee

Ed Zitron / Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At:
Docs: audited financial figures show OpenAI spent $34B in 2025, up 172% YoY, including $19B on research and development and nearly $6B on sales and marketing

James Franey / New York Post:
Sources: the Trump administration won't allow G7 countries to regain access to Mythos 5 as doing so would be “completely illogical”; UK requested a “carve-out”
 
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