memeorandum @ 1:00 PM ET, August 30, 2019

1:00 PM 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.

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: CNN, The Root, 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: Talking Points Memo, Reuters and The Week

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

A Fox host's tirade against Trump exposes depths of the president's corruption — The impunity is the point. — For days now, President Trump has been embroiled in a public feud of sorts with Fox News, because he's angry that the network isn't functioning dutifully enough as his 24/7 propaganda channel.

Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story, Deadline and The Hill

Allyson Chiu / Washington Post:

'We don't work for you': Fox News's Neil Cavuto rebukes Trump for slamming network — Fox News host Neil Cavuto delivered a scorching rebuke on Thursday to President Trump's recent criticism that the cable network “isn't working for us anymore,” and called out his tenuous relationship with the media.

Discussion: The Wrap, The Week, Splinter, BizPac Review and Kennebec Journal …

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Fox News's commendable — and necessary — rebuke of Trump's demand for sycophancy

Discussion: HuffPost, Washington Press and ThinkProgress

Joe Concha / The Hill:
Fox's Cavuto roasts Trump over criticism of network

Discussion: Washington Times, Splinter 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: New Republic, Mother Jones, CNN, New York Times, NB Blog, BizPac Review, Front Page Magazine, Law & Crime, RedState, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Slate, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and Daily Wire

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Comey IG report exposes the hypocrisy of the ‘Russia hoax’ crowd — To hear the Trump team tell it, the media's biggest sin was reporting on potential collusion and obstruction of justice. When special counsel Robert S. Mueller III concluded there was no criminal conspiracy and punted on obstruction …

Discussion: Right Wing Watch

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 …

Discussion: Power Line, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Examiner

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

Discussion: Townhall, Politico, Fox News, PJ Media Home and New York Times

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: Just Security, CNN, UPI, Daily Kos and Splinter

Associated Press:
DNC to recommend scrapping Iowa, Nevada virtual caucus plans

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Axios and The Week

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

Discussion: Vox, CNN, Politico, Balloon Juice and Slate

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: The Intellectualist, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and Washington Press

Natasha Korecki / Politico:

Warren lovefest ending as 2020 competitors fear her rise — The Elizabeth Warren honeymoon may be coming to an end. — Warren's weak fundraising and Native American controversy out of the gate gave her the look of a second-rate candidate, and her rivals have treated her as such, even as she's rebounded from those early troubles.

Discussion: Post and Courier, The Daily Caller, Washington Post and The Hill

Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report: The 2020 Democratic Candidates and Their Coalitions

Ryan Teague Beckwith / Bloomberg:
Elizabeth Warren Once Wrote a Book on How to Get Rich

Discussion: The Week

David Harrison / Wall Street Journal:

Historic Asset Boom Passes by Half of Families — Scant wealth leaves families vulnerable if recession hits, economists say — The decadelong economic expansion has showered the U.S. with staggering new wealth driven by a booming stock market and rising house prices. — But that windfall has passed by many Americans.

Discussion: The Intellectualist

Carol Rosenberg / New York Times:

Trial for Men Charged With Plotting Sept. 11 Attacks Is Set for 2021 — WASHINGTON — This article was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. — A military judge on Friday set Jan. 11, 2021, as the start of the joint death-penalty trial at Guantánamo Bay …

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Women voters spell trouble for Trump in 2020 — Polls show President Trump losing women voters by huge margins, presenting his reelection campaign with a massive hurdle to overcome as he seeks a second term in office. — Perhaps most alarmingly for Trump, the president is losing support …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

New York Times:

Pete Buttigieg Was Rising. Then Came South Bend's Policing Crisis. — SOUTH BEND, Ind. — On a Tuesday in March, just after Pete Buttigieg began to catch fire with Democrats nationally, he flew home for his final State of the City address. — Mr. Buttigieg, the two-term mayor …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and BuzzFeed News

Jack Jenkins / Religion News Service:
Pete Buttigieg: Religious left is ‘stirring’

Discussion: National Review and Breitbart

Brad McElhinny / WV MetroNews:

West Virginia Poll: If Manchin gets in, right now he would beat Justice — CHARLESTON, W.Va. — If Senator Joe Manchin were to enter the race for governor, right now he would beat incumbent Gov. Jim Justice, according to the latest version of the MetroNews Dominion Post West Virginia Poll.

Discussion: Political Wire

bellingcat:

Suspected Assassin In The Berlin Killing Used Fake Identity Documents — What we know so far … A joint investigation between Bellingcat, the German newspaper Der Spiegel, and The Insider (Russia), has established that the assassin travelled to Berlin via France under a validly issued …

Tom Hamburger / Washington Post:

Longtime lobbyist and former congressman Vin Weber resigns from consulting firm — Vin Weber, the former Minnesota congressman who has provided guidance to Republican presidential candidates and corporate executives, resigned his position Friday as a partner in a prominent consulting firm …

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:

Here Are 7 ‘Left Wing’ Ideas (Almost) All Americans Can Get Behind — The Democrats' 2020 primary fight has featured many pitched battles over policy questions. But every debate over Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, tuition-free college, or any other intraparty wedge issue has been colored …

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Man Trump Wishes He Were — Jim Mattis and the formation of character. — In the first few months of his presidency, Donald Trump surrounded himself with a certain sort of ramrod military man: John Kelly, Michael Flynn, H.R. McMaster and Jim Mattis. These men had or appeared …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Penguin Random House and Breitbart

Anna Merlan / Jezebel:

Emily Yoffe Back on Her Bullshit—Here's What an Alleged Victim Says She Left Out in Her Latest Contested MeToo Story — Emily Yoffe, a current contributing editor at the Atlantic and Slate's former advice columnist, has a specialty, of sorts: as I wrote in the prehistoric days of 2015 …

Gerry Shih / Washington Post:

China expels Wall Street Journal reporter over coverage of Xi's family — BEIJING — China effectively expelled a Wall Street Journal reporter from the country, one month after the newspaper published a report detailing allegations that a cousin of Chinese leader Xi Jinping was involved …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, RAPPLER and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

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: The Daily Beast, CNN, Hullabaloo and Hot Air

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 …

Discussion: Raw Story

Nebraska Corn Board:

Nebraska corn farmers outraged by Trump's broken promises — As harvest approaches after an extremely difficult year for agriculture, many Nebraska corn farmers are outraged by the Trump administration's lack of support for the American farmer. The Nebraska Corn Board and the Nebraska Corn …

Discussion: Axios and Political Wire

William Davis / The Daily Caller:

‘Error’ Page On Trump's Website Shows Hillary Clinton As President — President Donald Trump's campaign is trolling vanquished Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton with an ‘error’ page that shows Clinton holding a microphone behind the presidential seal. — The website's ‘error’ page gloats …

Hong Kong Free Press HKFP:

Hong Kong lawmakers Jeremy Tam and Au Nok-hin arrested, as police continue round-up of democrats — Pro-democracy lawmakers Jeremy Tam and Au Nok-hin were arrested on Friday evening - the latest of the high-profile pro-democracy activists to be rounded up by Hong Kong police.

Discussion: Breitbart, The Guardian and UPI

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: Associated Press, New York Times, The Diplomat, Bloomberg, VICE, Fox News and Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

Kate Irby / Sacramento Bee:

Judge wants real name of fake cow before acting on Devin Nunes' Twitter lawsuit — A Virginia judge has asked Twitter to provide more information about the authors of two anonymous parody accounts that heckle California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes before deciding whether to dismiss …

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, Jezebel, New York Post and Gothamist

Yaron Steinbuch / New York Post:

Former Canadian prime minister roots for Dorian to hit Trump's Mar-a-Lago — Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell said she is hoping for a bull's-eye hit by Hurricane Dorian on Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's prized Florida resort and so-called Winter White House. — “I'm rooting for a direct hit on Mar a Lago!”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Hot Air, IJR, The Daily Caller, Fox News and Daily Wire

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: Essence and Raw Story

Kevin Freking / Associated Press:

Trump eyes mental institutions as answer to gun violence — WASHINGTON (AP) — When shots rang out last year at a high school in Parkland, Florida, leaving 17 people dead, President Donald Trump quickly turned his thoughts to creating more mental institutions.

Discussion: Daily Kos