memeorandum: The Metastasizing Crisis: Executive Authority and the Crumbling of the Separation of Powers (Jacob T. Levy/Niskanen Center)

3:50 PM ET, August 9, 2019

Top Items:

Edward Helmore / The Guardian:

Anger as grinning Trump gives thumbs-up while Melania holds El Paso orphan — A backlash is building over a picture posted by Melania Trump on Twitter that showed her and Donald Trump smiling broadly while holding a baby who was orphaned in the mass shooting in El Paso.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Mother Jones, Law & Crime, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Kelly Tyko / USA Today:

Walmart removing violent video game displays, signs from stores but still selling guns — Following two shootings inside its stores, Walmart is removing violent video game displays and signs from stores, the retailer confirmed Thursday. — Stores were sent a memo that called for …

Discussion: Reason, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, NPR, Shareblue Media, CNN, New York Post, The Wrap, The Week, Polygon, Rolling Stone, TheBlaze and VICE

Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:

The Denialists — It takes a lot of work to try to exonerate the president's fomenting of racist violence, but Trump fans are giving it their all. — “This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” —The El Paso killer's manifesto — Byron York wants to make sure …

Discussion: Power Line, MinnPost and Big League Politics

Colin Drury / The Independent:

Grinning Trump gives thumbs-up with baby whose parents were shot dead in El Paso terror attack — Infant was brought for photo op at hospital where patients refused to meet president — It is the sort of photo politicians have long been known to favour: adorable baby, thumbs up, big smiles.

Discussion: The Guardian, Daily Kos, Jezebel and Breitbart

Brandy Zadrozny / NBC News:

Armed Trump supporter detained and released at El Paso immigrant center — People at the community center are still “terrified” and “frustrated,” a center employee told NBC News. — An armed Trump supporter was detained and released by police Wednesday outside a community space for immigrants in El Paso …

Discussion: KTSM-TV

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
Trump's Photo-Op With the Orphaned El Paso Baby Was the Smallest Moment of His Presidency

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Fox News and The Guardian

Associated Press:
Police: El Paso shooting suspect said he targeted Mexicans

Discussion: Washington Post, The Week and Splinter

Wall Street Journal: Lost in Life, El Paso Suspect Found a Dark World Online

Lulu Garcia-Navarro / The Atlantic:
The Media Erased Latinos From the Story

Discussion: New York Times

Reed Richardson / Mediaite: Trump and First Lady Smiling With Baby Orphaned in El Paso Massacre Draws Criticism: ‘Act Like a Human Being’

Claudia Koerner / BuzzFeed News:
Injured Victims At An El Paso Hospital Refused To Meet Trump During His Visit

Discussion: Coffee House, Dan Froomkin's White … and Washington Examiner

KYTV-TV:

Former firefighter stops man armed with 100 rounds of ammunition at south Springfield Walmart — SPRINGFIELD, Mo. The Springfield Police Department says it responded to a call of an active shooter at the Walmart Neighborhood Market at Republic Rd., near Golden Ave., Thursday evening.

KOLR:
Springfield Police arrest armed person at Walmart on Republic

Discussion: Louder With Crowder, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, TheBlaze, Daily Wire, New York Post and FOX2now.com

Darren Reynolds / ABC News:
Man arrested after walking into Missouri Walmart armed with a rifle and wearing body armor

Discussion: Daily Mail

New York Times:

Trump's Opponents Want to Name His Big Donors. His Supporters Say It's Harassment. — WASHINGTON — For many businesses, a sudden deluge of phone calls might signal an influx of new customers. But most of the 25 calls Justin Herricks received before noon on Thursday were from people …

Discussion: Michael Berry, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, BizPac Review, Patterico's Pontifications, Daily Kos, Advocate, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Slate

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Stephen Ross expressed qualms about Trump bash after liberal backlash — Billionaire New York real estate developer Stephen Ross privately expressed qualms about going ahead with his Hamptons fundraiser for President Trump today. — The state of play: Liberal customers had threatened …

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, New York Times, The Week, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Associated Press and CNBC

Don Gonyea / NPR:
SoulCycle Owner, Trump Donors Face Public Shaming

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, New York Times and Pirate's Cove

The Daily Beast:

Jeffrey Epstein Accuser Names Powerful Men in Alleged Sex Ring — In newly unsealed documents, Virginia Giuffre claims that Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to politicians, princes, and a high-flying financier, among others. — A young woman who says financier Jeffrey Epstein …

Discussion: New York Post, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Washington Post:

'If you're a good worker, papers don't matter': How a Trump construction crew has relied on immigrants without legal status — OSSINING, N.Y. — For nearly two decades, the Trump Organization has relied on a roving crew of Latin American employees to build fountains and waterfalls …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Splinter, Daily Kos and Mediaite

Axios:
Report: Trump Organization employed undocumented construction workers

Discussion: Washington Post and Associated Press

Jonathan Shieber / TechCrunch:

Reports say White House has drafted an order putting the FCC in charge of monitoring social media — The White House is contemplating issuing an executive order that would widen its attack on the operations of social media companies. — The White House has prepared an executive order called …

Brian Fung / CNN:
White House proposal would have FCC and FTC police alleged social media censorship

Discussion: American Enterprise Institute, The Verge and Washington Post, more at Techmeme »

Jonathan Lemire / Associated Press:

Trump heads for golf club holiday - but summer storms loom — NEW YORK (AP) — Now is the summer (vacation) of the president's discontent. — As Donald Trump prepares to leave Friday for his annual August holiday at his lush New Jersey golf club, he's confronting a storm of crises …

Discussion: The Week and Mediaite

Peter Weber / The Week:
Trump's aides reportedly expect his August vacation will center around ‘golf, cable news, and Twitter’

Discussion: Political Wire and Washington Post

Yahoo News:

Here's the data on white supremacist terrorism the Trump administration has been ‘unable or unwilling’ to give to Congress — WASHINGTON — Alleged white supremacists were responsible for all race-based domestic terrorism incidents in 2018, according to a government document distributed earlier …

Discussion: Politico and NBC News

Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report:

The Iowa Caucus Is a Frontrunners' Nightmare — This week was the start of the Iowa State Fair. Besides being one of the few places in America where you can eat fried Oreos AND watch a baby pig being born, the Iowa State Fair is also the unofficial kick-off to campaign season in the state.

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Post and Opinion Today

Stephen Gruber-Miller / Des Moines Register:
Joe Biden says ‘poor kids’ are ‘just as talented as white kids’

Discussion: NBC News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Splinter, UPI and Mediaite

Caitlin Byrd / Post and Courier:

Sen. Tim Scott says his 2022 SC reelection bid will be his last political race — In three years time, Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott will be facing reelection in South Carolina, but he will also be facing something else: His last political run. — In a wide-ranging interview Thursday …

Timothy Bella / Washington Post:

A black man was about to buy a cop's house. Then, he found a KKK application in a bedroom. — The Confederate flag place mat on the dining room table was Rob Mathis's first hint that something was off inside the home he was thinking of buying. — “I thought to myself …

Discussion: VICE and New York Post

Joyce White Vance / Washington Post:

Prosecutors pick their battles. I chose not to pursue an ICE raid in Alabama. — U.S. attorneys don't have the resources to charge all crimes. Shouldn't they focus on people who present the greatest threat? — Federal prosecutors have broad discretion to choose what cases they will bring.

Discussion: Salon

Associated Press: Immigration raids to have long-term effects on poultry towns

Kevin Poulsen / The Daily Beast:

8Chan Refugees Blow Their Anonymity — An unofficial new version of the hate-filled forum isn't as anonymous as its users might hope. — Refugees from the anonymous 8chan forum are flooding into a new censorship-resistant home on the dark web, and inadvertently giving up their anonymity along the way.

Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:

Egypt jails American traveler, saying she criticized the government on Facebook — CAIRO — When Reem Mohamed Desouky arrived from Washington last month with her 13-year-old son, Egyptian authorities detained them at the airport, he said. They confiscated their phones and interrogated Desouky, holding the two for hours.

Discussion: National Review

Benjamin Fearnow / Newsweek:

FBI Ranks ‘Black Identity Extremists’ Bigger Threat Than Al Qaeda, White Supremacists: Leaked Documents — Leaked FBI documents indicate “black identity extremists” and animal rights activists are among the agency's top counterterrorism priorities under President Donald Trump.

Discussion: TYT Network

Sara Boboltz / HuffPost:

Suspected White Nationalist Leader Suspended From State Department: Reports — The employee, Matthew Q. Gebert, allegedly oversaw a chapter of a white nationalist group and hosted white nationalists at his home. — The State Department has placed one of its employees on leave following …

Discussion: WhoWhatWhy

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

Bruce Ohr Documents Undercut FBI Claims In Carter Page FISAs — Justice Department official Bruce Ohr told the FBI in November 2016 about meetings between dossier author Christopher Steele and a reporter who published a story about the former British spy's allegations against Carter Page.

Discussion: Daily Wire, emptywheel and New York Post

Jacob T. Levy / Niskanen Center:

The Metastasizing Crisis: Executive Authority and the Crumbling of the Separation of Powers — Headnote: The news cycle inspires twin effects: being overwhelmed by the noise and the sheer volume of terrible things to keep track of or letting it all fade to background noise and getting used to it …

David Byler / Washington Post:

Blue Texas is a Democratic dream. Shifting left is a reality. — For three years now, Texas Republicans have been taking on water. In 2016, Donald Trump won the state by nine points — a seven-point decline from Mitt Romney's 16-point margin four years earlier.

Robert Costa / Washington Post:

'They're afraid': Suburban voters in red states threaten GOP's grip on power — BROOKHAVEN, Ga. — Republicans face a reckoning in the red-state suburbs that have long been a bedrock for the party, propelled by the stormy confluence of President Trump's searing racial attacks …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo