memeorandum: Rand Paul super PAC head indicted over alleged 2012 campaign finance violations (Washington Post)

5:55 PM ET, August 5, 2015

Top Items:

Former president Bill Clinton had a private telephone conversation in late spring with Donald Trump at the same time that the billionaire investor and reality-television star was nearing a decision to run for the White House, according to associates of both men.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Times, The Daily Caller, OnPolitics, Business Insider, Hot Air, Mediaite and Political Wire

Washington Post:

FBI looking into the security of Hillary Clinton's private e-mail setup — Hillary Rodham Clinton has said that the private e-mail server she used as secretary of state “had numerous safeguards. It was on property guarded by the Secret Service. And there were no security breaches.”

Paulette Cohn / Fox News:

‘Last Man Standing’ star Tim Allen: 'We're going to drill Hillary' — LOS ANGELES - Season 5 of “Last Man Standing” is going to get political with the presidential race upon us, and neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump is going to be safe from the wisecracking Mike Baxter, played by Tim Allen.

Discussion: BizPac Review, Wall Street Journal, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

There is No Pro-Life Case For Planned Parenthood — I'm hoping to do something broader about the abortion issue in this space soon, given the prominence that the debate over Planned Parenthood funding has suddenly assumed. But for this week a word (well, a few words) on the argument …

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Fox News, WTVR-TV, LifeNews.com, RH Reality Check and The Last Refuge

Valerie Richardson / Washington Times:
New Hampshire defunds Planned Parenthood facilities

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Katha Pollitt / New York Times:
How to Really Defend Planned Parenthood

Discussion: NPR, The Atlantic, Mashable and The Week

John Kass / Chicago Tribune:
What's the cost of avoiding the Planned Parenthood videos?

Discussion: LifeNews.com, The Moderate Voice, The Federalist, CBS Dallas and Trial of the Century

Kathy Frankovic / YouGov US Opinion Center News:
After video releases, opinion of Planned Parenthood little changed

Discussion: The Federalist and LifeNews.com

Joshua Green / Bloomberg Business:

The GOP Is About to Become the Party of Trump — When Donald Trump takes center stage at Thursday's Fox News debate in Cleveland, it will be a critical moment for the Republican Party. Until recently, Americans mentally categorized Trump as a celebrity entertainer and interpreted …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, Mock Paper Scissors and Hot Air

Norm Ornstein / The Atlantic:

The Republican Road Block Ahead — We head into the first presidential debate in Cleveland with Donald Trump leading the field and confounding the confident predictions of a slew of pundits that his collapse was at hand—whether after the Mexican-rapists comment, the slam at John McCain as no hero …

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
My Question for the Republican Presidential Debate

Discussion: RedState

Chuck Morris / WSMV-TV:

Police: Active shooter reported dead at Nashville area theater — Metro Police report the shooter at the Carmike 8 Cinema is dead. — The Nashville Fire Department confirmed that shots were being fired at the Carmike 8 Cinemas on Bell Road at 1:55 p.m. — Police responded to a shots fired call about 1:15.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and KFOR-TV

Jimmy Carter / Tennessean.com:

Police: Suspect in Antioch theater shooting dead … (Photo: John Partipilo / The Tennessean) — Metro police say a suspect who opened fire in a Antioch theater this afternoon also had a hatchet and may have injured one person with the hatchet. — Police said about 2:20 p.m. they were examining …

Discussion: Washington Post, Jezebel, New York's PIX11 and The Week

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Jeb Bush: Not Ready for Prime Time [Updated] — It's not my biggest problem with Jeb Bush, but one of the issues with his candidacy is that he is badly out of shape as a candidate. He last ran a campaign in 2002, thirteen years ago. As a result, he isn't sharp, and keeps making mistakes.

Jackie Kucinich / The Daily Beast:
Hillary Clinton's Mega-Donors Are Also Funding Jeb Bush

Discussion: RedState and Capital New York

Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: The Debate Stage Is Set

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire and The Hill

U.S. Department of Justice:

THREE MEMBERS OF 2012 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN STAFF CHARGED WITH CONCEALING PAYMENTS MADE TO STATE SENATOR — Three members of a 2012 presidential campaign committee were charged with offenses relating to the concealment of payments made to a former Iowa State Senator.

Discussion: New York Times, Hit & Run and Washington Free Beacon

Politico:
Head of pro-Rand Paul super PAC indicted in payment scheme

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Reason and Washington Post

Washington Post:
Rand Paul super PAC head indicted over alleged 2012 campaign finance violations

Discussion: Yahoo Politics, Business Insider, Mediaite, Mashable and Outside the Beltway

Julie Fancher / The Scoop Blog:

George W. Bush causes a stir at George Allen courthouse when called for jury duty — Being summoned for jury duty at the George L Allen Sr Courts Building in downtown Dallas was anything but dull for Sheri Coleman. — In fact, Coleman and other jurors were in for quite the surprise Wednesday morning …

Discussion: Mashable, KSNG-TV and Washington Free Beacon

Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:

John Kerry on the Risk of Congress ‘Screwing’ the Ayatollah — When I met with Secretary of State John Kerry in his office this past Friday, it was apparent that he was in an exceedingly feisty mood, and it's not easy to display feistiness when you're trapped, as he was, in a recliner.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Federalist, The Jawa Report, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, The PJ Tatler and Twitchy

John Cheves / Lexington Herald-Leader:

Rowan County clerk sues Ky. governor; claims same-sex marriage order violates religious freedom — Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, who is being sued for refusing to issue marriage licenses because of her religious opposition to same-sex marriage, is now suing Gov. Steve Beshear for infringing on her religious freedom.

Discussion: AMERICAblog News, Joe. My. God. and Towleroad

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:
Poll: Americans, 4 to 1, choose religious freedom over gay rights

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Dany Mitzman / BBC:

The day I ordered pizza that 'doesn't exist' — One of my favourite things about living in Italy is the pizza, and it's recently given me an insight into how our brains are wired differently. — Pizza has taught me that logic can be subjective and that subjective logic can be cultural.

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Why is Marco Rubio sliding in the polls? — Share Tweet Reddit Digg Mail Print SMS More — The verdict was clear when Marco Rubio announced his presidential run with a well-received speech in Miami last April: There was a new member of the top tier in the Republican race.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Associated Press

DeAnn Smith / KCTV:

Police: Plea for help with rent payment saves woman from captivity, rape — A 34-year-old Lenexa man is accused of holding a woman captive for four months and raping her at least twice during the ordeal. — Tuesday afternoon, Anthony Darryl Allen appeared before a Johnson County judge who set Allen's bond at $500,000.

Discussion: Raw Story

Dylan Byers / Politico:

The Fox News ‘Nerve Factor’ — Baier, Kelly and Wallace talk of sleepless nights prepping for the first GOP debate. — Baier, center, Kelly, right, and Wallace, left, represent the hard news side of a network better known for its outspoken conservative pundits. Getty

Discussion: Bloomberg View, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Mediaite, Shakesville and Raw Story

Jon Herskovitz / New York Times:

Appeals Court Strikes Down ‘Discriminatory’ Texas Voter ID Law — AUSTIN, Texas — A U.S. appeals court struck down a Texas law on Wednesday requiring voters to show authorized identification before casting ballots, saying the measure violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act through its “discriminatory effects.”

Discussion: Election Law Blog and Daily Kos

ABC News:

MH370: Part Found On Reunion Island Is From Missing Plane — The plane part that was found on a beach in the Indian Ocean was determined to be part of MH370, the Malaysia Airlines flight that vanished more than a year ago, Malaysia's prime minister said. — The debris is the first piece …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and The Week

BBC:

Anjem Choudary faces UK terrorism charges over Islamic State — Radical preacher Anjem Choudary has appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with inviting support for the so-called Islamic State. — He and another man Mohammed Rahman, indicated they would plead not guilty.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times and The Daily Caller

Pat Rynard / Iowa Starting Line:

Steve King Says It's Legal, So I Tried To Marry My Lawnmower — “You could marry your lawnmower with this decision,” Iowa Congressman Steve King said last week about the recent Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage. — Something about that statement didn't seem very... accurate.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Political Wire and Raw Story

Katie Kindelan / ABC News:

Donald Trump on GOP Debate: 'I'd Like It to Be Very Civil' — When the top 10 Republican candidates for president take the stage Thursday night in Cleveland for the first debate of this election cycle, all eyes will be on Donald Trump, the candidate who is leading the polls and appears to be winning the media war.

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh and The Week