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12:30 REPORT
It’s Monday. Happy Presidents' Day! It's a relatively quiet day, but the news cycle is still focused on Russia. Here are a few highlights today:
- Former President Trump made his first comments on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, comparing the situation to his own ongoing legal problems.
- The situation surrounding Navalny’s death — and the aftermath — is raising questions about Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
- A recent survey of presidential experts ranked President Biden as the 14th-best president, while former President Trump came in last.
I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.
🔍 In Russia
Our collective eyebrows are raised:
All eyes are on Russia following the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Mourners have been detained: At least 366 people were detained in Russia over the weekend for mourning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death, according to The New York Times. The AP photo above shows a man detained while laying flowers at a Navalny memorial in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Navalny’s wife pledged to fight against Putin: Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, said that she would continue her late husband’s work and fight Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Excerpt: “By killing Alexei, Putin killed half of me, half of my heart and my soul. But I still have the other half, and it tells me that I have no right to give up,” she said in a video posted on her husband’s YouTube channel. 💻 Watch the video / More of the video translation
Russian authorities are investigating : An investigation into Navalny’s death has been extended amid accusations of a cover-up.
➤ A NOTABLE GAP IN THE NAVALNY STATEMENTS:
Former President Trump hadn’t made a public comment about Navalny’s death until today when he posted on his social platform , comparing the situation to his own ongoing legal problems.
Trump posted on Truth Social : “The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country. It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction. Open Borders, Rigged Elections, and Grossly Unfair Courtroom Decisions are DESTROYING AMERICA. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE, A FAILING NATION!”
More from The Hill: Haley calls Trump ‘weak in the knees’ on Putin after Navalny death
➤ ALEXEI NAVALNY’S FINAL LETTERS:
The New York Times obtained excerpts of letters that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny wrote in his final months.
The gist: “Trump. Indian food. Matthew Perry. And books, books, books. Excerpts from letters obtained by The Times show Mr. Navalny’s active mind, even amid brutal prison conditions.”
Navalny wrote to an acquaintance in August: “If they’re told to feed you caviar tomorrow, they’ll feed you caviar. If they’re told to strangle you in your cell, they’ll strangle you.”
Navalny had a sense of humor about it: “[Navalny] wrote in July that no one could understand Russian prison life ‘without having been here,’ adding in his deadpan humor: ‘But there’s no need to be here.’” 📝 More excerpts and a photo of a Navalny letter
➤ READS ON THE NAVALNY SITUATION:
‘Most of Russia’s opposition is either dead, in exile abroad or in prison at home. What happens now?’: AP
‘The gravity of President Vladimir Putin’s threats is now dawning on Europe.’: The New York Times
‘The Documentary Aleksei Navalny Knew We’d Watch After His Death’: “The Oscar-winning film followed the dissident after an attempt on his life. It played like a thriller at the time; today it feels even more chilling.” The New York Times
‘Why Alexei Navalny’s legacy after news of his death is ‘one of tragedy’ for Russians’: PBS
‘Navalny’s ominous warnings for US investors’: Op-ed in The Hill
💰 In Congress
Lindsey Graham has upset some of his colleagues:
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that “Republican and Democratic senators who have worked for years with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are fuming over his decision to oppose a $95 billion defense and foreign aid package.”
Why? : “Senators who thought Graham was on their side feel like he pulled the rug out from under them, especially after last year, when he railed on the Senate floor about a budget deal including ‘not a penny’ for the war in Ukraine.”
Why Graham matters in this debate : “Architects of the bill saw Graham’s support as crucial to mustering a majority of Republican senators to vote for it and apply as much pressure as possible on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to bring it up on the House floor. With Graham voting no, the bill fell short of that goal even with 22 GOP votes in favor, and now it is considered unlikely to pass the House.”
A theory: Some see Graham’s move as a way to get on former President Trump’s good side.
A Democratic senator told The Hill: “He got sucked into the Trump orbit, and he is so zealously about his own self-preservation in South Carolina that he literally would push his mother in front of a train to get to where he needs to be. I hate to say it because I actually like him.”’
A Republican senator told The Hill: “Lindsey gets a pass on so many things because the answer is, ‘That’s just Lindsey.’ But that doesn’t seem like that’s a sufficient answer. He’s so mercurial … It’s annoying. It’s tiresome. Generally when a person gets to a place, you expect him to stay there.”
More of what senators are privately saying about Graham, via The Hill
🎤 On The Campaign Trail
‘Seeing Haley’s attacks on Trump, some claim her as a member of the resistance’: The Washington Post
‘What happens if Trump or Biden can no longer run for president?’: Op-ed from Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty
‘With the South Carolina primary nearing, Donald Trump took a side trip to promote $400 Trump-branded sneakers.’: The New York Times
‘Biden vs. Trump: Do young climate voters care?’: Politico
🐝 Internet Buzz
🍫 Celebrate: Today is National Chocolate Mint Day!
📊 Getting traction: A recent survey of presidential experts rank President Biden as the 14th-best president, while former President Trump ranked last. (The Hill)
The top five:
No. 1: Abraham Lincoln
No. 2 : Franklin D. Roosevelt
No. 3: George Washington
No. 4: Theodore Roosevelt
No. 5: Thomas Jefferson (Here’s the full list)
♻️ This won’t make you feel great about your recycling efforts: A new report shows that hardly any plastics can be truly recycled. Producers have known this for decades, according to the report from the Center for Climate Integrity. (The Hill)
🎭 ‘Jon Stewart is as funny as ever. But the world has changed around him.’: Here’s a Vox review of Jon Stewart’s return to Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
🔪 Kitchen gadgets are my downfall: The Washington Post’s Becky Krystal gives a list of “9 reader-favorite cheap kitchen tools for faster, easier cooking.” (The Washington Post)
💳 There’s a GoFundMe for Trump’s legal fees: “The wife of an investor has launched a GoFundMe to help fund former President Trump ’s mounting legal expenses in the wake of Friday’s verdict in the New York fraud case.” So far, it has raised more than $469,000. Details
🗓 On The Agenda
The House and Senate are out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C., with no public events. (all times Eastern)
Feb 21–24: An “anti-CPAC” summit in Washington, D.C. Details
Feb. 24: The Republican presidential primary in South Carolina.
👋 And Finally …
To keep you in the holiday weekend spirit, watch Tucker the dog gently eat a carrot.
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