“Mr. Trump, who often complains about legal fees and sometimes refuses to pay them, has also wondered aloud why his lawyers cost so much, according to the people, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic.” — Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan

I loved working for John Avlon and I loved this piece about his congressional campaign by Shawn McCreesh. John is a truly good person and a great American and we need more people like him in government. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

RIP Cricket 💔

I hate to imagine the fate of the penguin that bit Newt if it had bit Noem instead.

In 2012, Newt Gingrich released an attack ad that criticized Mitt Romney for putting his dog on the roof of his car. Asked what he thinks of Kristi Noem shooting her puppy dead, he tells me it’s, “Totally crazy and appalling.”

Some trial-related news on this non-trial day: OAN has retracted a salacious story about Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels: oann.com/newsroom/oan-r…

One-liter bottle of water has 240,000 plastic fragments, far more than previously thought

Health concerns of plastic are dramatically underestimated and under-researched

Big corporate polluters must be subject to extended producer responsibility; instead they lobby, obfuscate

Message from the Trump campaign as the candidate spends the day in Manhattan criminal court, where Melania Trump has not appeared to support her husband.

“Perturbed disposition” lol

“Forget the myths the media's created about the White House. The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.”

“Even now, ‘President Donald Trump,’ is still a phrase that requires conceptual gymnastics — a leap from the tabloid depths to the heights of power. Consider a pair of scenes, in a pair of courtrooms, Thursday morning.” — Andrew Rice for New York Magazine nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Rahm Emanuel, call your office.

Relatedly, over the last six months or so at Right Wing political events, I have noticed that assassination comes up more and more. Conservative influencers are telling their audience to expect and prepare for violence in 2024.