memeorandum: Aides Admit Trump Was Faking Those “Phone Calls” With China (Tina Nguyen/Vanity Fair)

8:10 AM ET, August 30, 2019

Top Items:

Trump's Personal Assistant, Madeleine Westerhout, Steps Down — President Trump's personal assistant, Madeleine Westerhout, whose office sits in front of the Oval Office and who has served as the president's gatekeeper since Day 1 of his administration, resigned on Thursday, two people familiar with her exit said.

Discussion: Axios, Raw Story, CNN, Breitbart, KTLA, The Sun, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, MARK HALPERIN'S WIDE WORLD …, Mediaite, New York Post and Washington Times

Nancy Cook / Politico:

Trump's executive assistant resigns from White House — President Donald Trump's longtime executive assistant, Madeleine Westerhout, abruptly resigned from the White House on Thursday, after coming under scrutiny for sharing intimate details about the president's family with reporters, according to two sources familiar with the move.

Discussion: Fox News and The Daily Caller

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: Trump heads into buzzsaw in North Carolina — DRIVING THE DAY — SIREN ... NEW PARTY POLLING ... NEXT MONTH'S special election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District is truly a squeaker. Internal Republican polling has shown GOP candidate DAN BISHOP anywhere …

Discussion: Reuters, The Week and Raw Story

Benjamin Wittes / Lawfare:

What That Comey Email Report Really Says — The inspector general of the Justice Department has determined that it is misconduct for a law enforcement officer to publicly disclose an effort to shut down his investigation. — Michael Horowitz would probably not describe his findings that way.

Discussion: Front Page Magazine, The Daily Caller, Breitbart and Slate

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

Sneaky, Leaky James Comey — The inspector general takes apart the former FBI director's excuses for his actions. — Of all the tall tales James Comey has told, none compare to the line he fed President Trump at their infamous January 2017 dinner. As recounted in the former Federal Bureau …

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

New report details Comey plan to ambush Trump with Moscow sex allegation — A just-released Justice Department inspector general's report provides new details on a January 2017 plan by then-FBI Director James Comey, top bureau officials, and the nation's intelligence chiefs to spring …

Discussion: Power Line, Fox News, RedState and twitchy.com

Jonathan Turley / The Hill:
James Comey wants an apology? This is myth becoming madness

Discussion: PJ Media Home

Wall Street Journal: Jim Comey's Higher Virtue

Adam Goldman / New York Times:
Comey Is Criticized by Justice Dept. Watchdog for Violating F.B.I. Rules

Discussion: Washington Post, American Greatness, Daily Wire, NBC News, The Hill and The New Civil Rights Movement

Fox News:
Comey's violations: Read DOJ watchdog's list of all the times ex-FBI boss broke the rules

Discussion: RedState, Daily Wire, Axios, American Military News, The New Neo, Politico and One America News Network

David Harsanyi / New York Post:
James Comey is proof the ‘deep state’ is something to fear

Discussion: Breitbart

Brianne Pfannenstiel / Des Moines Register:

DNC will reject Iowa's virtual caucus plan, sources say, throwing the state's first-in-the-nation status into question — The Iowa caucuses are not first because they're important, they're important because they're first. Register opinion editor Kathie Obradovich gives a brief history lesson on the Iowa caucus.

Discussion: Splinter

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Fearing Hackers, D.N.C. Plans to Block Iowa's ‘Virtual’ Caucuses

Discussion: Just Security, Politico and Slate

Tina Nguyen / Vanity Fair:

Aides Admit Trump Was Faking Those “Phone Calls” With China — The president was reportedly “eager to project optimism that might boost markets,” which should hearten the Chinese. — At last week's G7 summit in Biarritz, Donald Trump gave an entire network of world leaders whiplash when he declared …

Discussion: CNN, Hullabaloo and Hot Air

Sonam Sheth / Business Insider:

US spies say Trump's G7 performance suggests he's either a ‘Russian asset’ or a ‘useful idiot’ for Putin — Current and former spies are floored by President Donald Trump's fervent defense of Russia at this year's G7 summit in Biarritz, France. — “It's hard to see the bar anymore since it's …

Discussion: Washington Press

Jamie Lovegrove / Post and Courier:

‘All in for Joe’: Biden looks to create firewall in SC as he maintains 2020 lead — GAFFNEY — Even with so many other candidates to choose from, Sheran Littlejohn knew who she was going to vote for in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary before the race even really began.

Natasha Korecki / Politico: Warren lovefest ending as 2020 competitors fear her rise

Tess Bonn / The Hill:
Top Sanders adviser: Warren isn't competing for ‘same pool of voters’

Discussion: Washington Post

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

Trump cancels trip to Poland, says he is staying in the U.S. to monitor Hurricane Dorian — President Trump announced Thursday that he is canceling a planned trip to Poland and will remain in the United States to monitor Hurricane Dorian, which is headed toward a potential landfall in Florida …

Discussion: One America News Network, Politico, The Week, Townhall and VICE

Steve Contorno / Tampa Bay Times:
Trump's Mar-a-Lago is in the projected path of Hurricane Dorian

Discussion: UPI, Fox News and Florida Politics

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis:
Governor Ron DeSantis Receives Hurricane Dorian Briefing at National Hurricane Center, Issues Updates on Preparedness

Discussion: NPR, Raw Story, CBS News, France 24 and Breitbart

Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Trump Cancels Poland Trip as Hurricane Bears Down on Florida

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Tampa Bay Times, The Daily Caller, Florida Politics and Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:

As he campaigns for president, Joe Biden tells a moving but false war story — HANOVER, N.H. — Joe Biden painted a vivid scene for the 400 people packed into a college meeting hall. A four-star general had asked the then-vice president to travel to Kunar province in Afghanistan …

Katie Glueck / New York Times:
Joe Biden Dismisses Report That He Told False War Story

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and Fox News

Jamie Lovegrove / Post and Courier:
Biden says in SC that ‘essence’ of war story is accurate despite report of false details

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Fox News, Hot Air, Small Dead Animals, CNN, Politico, The Guardian, The Week, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo and Splinter

Brian Niemietz / New York Daily News:

Mugshots show White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham after drunk driving arrests in 2013 and 2015 — Being Donald Trump's spokeswoman can drive a person to drink, but Stephanie Grisham had a record of drunk driving long before she got the job in June.

Discussion: The Big Lead

Mike Cason / al.com:

Gov. Kay Ivey apologizes for racist skit from time at Auburn — Gov. Kay Ivey is contacting state legislators, and apologizing for her role in a racist student skit from her time as an Auburn student. — Ivey was president of her Alpha Gamma Delta pledge class at Auburn.

Discussion: The Montgomery Advertiser, New York Post, NPR, Politico, The Auburn Plainsman, CNN, Fox News, The Root, Alabama Political Reporter, VICE, Slate, ThinkProgress and Splinter

Reis Thebault / Washington Post:
Alabama's Republican governor apologizes for wearing blackface in college, refuses to resign

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Rebecca Liebson / New York Times:

Uproar Over Anti-Semitic Video Produced by Republicans in N.Y. County — The video became a flash point in the fight over real-estate development by the ultra-Orthodox Jewish population. — Dark clouds roll in while ominous orchestral music swells in a video posted on Wednesday night by the Rockland County Republican Party.

Discussion: CNN, electionlawblog.org and The Forward

Eli Steinberg / The Forward:
No One Cares About Attacks Against The Orthodox Because You've Been Dehumanizing Us For Decades

Discussion: twitchy.com

New York Times:

Sick Migrants Undergoing Lifesaving Care Can Now Be Deported — LOS ANGELES — Maria Isabel Bueso was 7 years old when she came to the United States from Guatemala at the invitation of doctors who were conducting a clinical trial for the treatment of her rare, disfiguring genetic disease.

Discussion: Axios

Suzanne Gamboa / NBC News:
Trump administration seeks to deport children with life-threatening illnesses

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, The Verge and Political Wire

Will Wright / Lexington Herald-Leader:

Donald Trump Jr. touts Bevin to a mostly-empty arena in Kentucky coal country — Donald Trump Jr. spoke to a mostly-empty arena in Pikeville Thursday afternoon, hoping to muster support within a historically Democratic county for the reelection of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.

Michael Gerson / Washington Post:

Why white evangelicals should panic — Much white evangelical support for President Trump is based on a bargain or transaction: political loyalty (and political cover for the president's moral flaws) in return for protection from a hostile culture. Many evangelicals are fearful that courts …

Hannah Gais / Splinter:

Leaked Emails Show How White Nationalists Have Infiltrated Conservative Media — Conservative institutions in the Donald Trump era have often sought to portray themselves as shocked and appalled by the so-called “alt-right.” White nationalists have also engaged in their own efforts …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

How a Ring of Women Allegedly Recruited Girls for Jeffrey Epstein — After Mr. Epstein's suicide, his inner circle of girlfriends, employees and other associates is now under scrutiny by prosecutors. — Haley Robson was a 16-year-old South Florida high school student when an acquaintance …

Discussion: The Sun, New York Post and Gothamist

Justin Fox / Bloomberg:

Most Canadians Are Now Better Off Than Most Americans — Middle-class people in the U.S. are losing ground to their peers in other rich countries. — Everybody knows that the U.S. version of capitalism is rougher and tougher than is the norm in other affluent countries.

Reuters:

Exclusive: Amid crisis, China rejected Hong Kong plan to appease protesters - sources — HONG KONG (Reuters) - Earlier this summer, Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong, submitted a report to Beijing that assessed protesters' five key demands and found that withdrawing …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Associated Press, VICE, Fox News and Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

ESPN:

No distractions: An NFL veteran opens up on his sexuality — Ryan Russell is a three-year NFL veteran. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2015 after a successful college career at Purdue. He played one season with the Cowboys and two for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He started seven games for the Bucs in 2017.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Blade, Fox News, Outsports, Chicago Sun-Times, The New Civil Rights Movement, The Source, The FADER and TMZ.com

Ray Sanchez / CNN:

A top federal prosecutor in Ohio just sent a harsh message to white supremacists — US attorney delivers harsh message to white supremacists — (CNN)A federal prosecutor used a routine press conference announcing criminal charges on Thursday to deliver a harsh message to those who advocate white supremacy and white nationalism.

Discussion: Raw Story