memeorandum: UPDATED: Barton recovering; declines to discuss alleged sex tape (Chris Norwood/Anniston Star)

5:10 AM ET, August 12, 2015

Top Items:

How Roger Ailes Picked Trump, and Fox News' Audience, Over Megyn Kelly — Ailes had to mute his defense of his star anchor after the GOP debate. — Shares — In the fallout since the first GOP debate, Fox News chairman Roger Ailes has found himself caught between Donald Trump …

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

Michigan gets full Trump show — He appears undaunted by the tumult surrounding his campaign over the last week. — Getty — BIRCH RUN, Mich. — It was not a typical Lincoln Day dinner when Donald Trump came to town. — The Trump show drew thousands of screaming supporters …

Rasmussen Reports:

Has ‘The Donald’ Peaked? — Donald Trump remains the leader in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but his support has fallen by a third over the past week-and-a-half. Carly Fiorina is now near the front of the pack. — The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Trump …

Discussion: Political Wire, Political Insider blog, Weekly Standard, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Hot Air, National Review and Guardian

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Fox Issues Unconditional Surrender — We were told it was a fight Trump could never win - a picked battle with the most trust institution in conservative America: Fox News. The numbers made it clear. Trump was done. It was only a matter of time. — And yet here we have it: Fox's unconditional surrender.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNNMoney, Business Insider and Mediaite

Eliza Collins / Politico:

Donald Trump backs off Planned Parenthood defunding push — Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to back off his demands to defund Planned Parenthood. — After saying last week it's worth having Congress shut down the federal government unless Planned Parenthood is stripped of its $528 million …

Discussion: National Review and No More Mister Nice Blog

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

‘Top Secret’ emails found as Clinton probe expands to key aides — Four former aides have turned over personal emails — Senior senator skeptical of the extent of the review — Intelligence investigators say they have yet to see aides' emails … WASHINGTON

Discussion: Washington Times, Business Insider, Townhall.com, Power Line, Hot Air and Viking Pundit

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:

Clinton will turn over email server to Justice Department — Hillary Clinton will turn over her private email server and a backup thumb drive to the Justice Department, her spokesman confirmed Tuesday. — The news comes just hours after the Intelligence Community Inspector General told Congress …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Joe Battenfeld / Boston Herald:

Bernie Sanders surges ahead of Hillary Clinton in N.H., 44-37 — N.H. Democrats lukewarm to her tough image — Photo by: — Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has rocketed past longtime front-runner Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, a stunning turn in a race once considered …

Discussion: Power Line, Guardian, Fox News and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Black Lives Matter protesters try to disrupt Hillary Clinton event — KEENE, N.H. — Five demonstrators with the Black Lives Matter movement who had planned to disrupt Hillary Clinton's campaign event here were barred from entering after they arrived too late to make it past the Secret Service screening.

Discussion: Oliver Willis

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Donald Trump Is Winning The Polls — And Losing The Nomination — Twelve years ago, in August 2003, Joe Lieberman led in most polls of the Democratic primary. Eight years ago, in August 2007, Rudy Giuliani maintained a clear lead in polls of Republicans, while Hillary Clinton led in polls of the Democratic nomination contest.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Medium, Mediaite, Hot Air, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, Political Wire and Politico

Jamil Smith / The New Republic:
BlackLivesMatter Activists Plan to Disrupt Hillary Clinton Event

Discussion: CNN, Vox, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller and Guardian

Wall Street Journal:

Donald Trump Is Frugal With His Cash in Republican Presidential Race — Front-runner won't pay for TV ads or efforts to get on ballot, say people familiar with his campaign — Donald Trump never skips a chance to remind audiences of his wealth, but he is proving reluctant to spend …

Discussion: Washington Post

Suffolk University:
Poll: Trump Leads Iowa GOP Field but Shows Less Strength among Debate Viewers

Discussion: Des Moines Register, Washington Post, PoliticusUSA and Guardian

Susan Page / USA Today:
Iowa poll: Trump leads the field, but his standing in GOP dented by debate

Discussion: The Hugh Hewitt Show, National Review and Washington Monthly

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:

How Obama Misled Us about the Concessions He Was Making to Iran — If what senior Iranian officials are saying is true, the Obama administration's duplicity in explaining its nuclear negotiations with Iran is even more staggering than we realized. — In a new report, MEMRI …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, MEMRI and Power Line

Abbas Milani / The Atlantic:
What the Iran-Deal Debate Is Like in Iran

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Julian Hattem / The Hill:
Schumer: Go back and get better Iran deal

Discussion: CNN and Washington Free Beacon

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Lawrence Lessig wants to run for president — in a most unconventional way — Presidential candidates usually don't run on promises to vacate the White House once they get in office, but that's what Lawrence Lessig said he might do as he begins exploring a protest bid for the 2016 Democratic nomination.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Bloomberg Business, The National Memo, Liberal Values, Bloomberg View, Common Dreams and The College Fix

Nancy Scola / Politico:
Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig exploring White House bid

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, The Week and Election Law Blog

John Bresnahan / Politico:

Chuck Schumer working the phones on Iran — He calls colleagues to explain his decision and assure them he will not be whipping opposition. — With liberal groups furious over his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, Sen. Chuck Schumer has been quietly reaching out to dozens of his colleagues …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Rick Perlstein / Talking Points Memo:

The Forgotten Story of America's Other Racist Flag — You know that racist flag? The one that supposedly honors history but actually spreads a pernicious myth? And is useful only to venal right-wing politicians who wish to exploit hatred by calling it heritage? It's past time to pull it down.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Federalist, The Daily Caller, National Review, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Bloomberg Business:

Scott Walker's $400 Million Arena Subsidy Belies His Tightfisted Image — Governor Scott Walker's fiscal conservatism will collide with the reality of sports-team subsidies when he commits Wisconsin taxpayers to pay $400 million for a new basketball arena. — At Wednesday's signing …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Hit & Run

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Donald Trump is Planned Parenthood's Favorite Republican — Donald Trump said in an interview Tuesday that he supported the status quo when it comes to Planned Parenthood. The group couldn't be more pleased. — Planned Parenthood gained an unlikely new booster on Tuesday morning: Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.

Discussion: RedState, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Mediaite, The PJ Tatler, Erick on the Radio, Weekly Standard and CNN

Matthewjbuettner / CBS Denver:

FBI Visits Denver Company Regarding Hillary Clinton Emails — DENVER (CBS4) - A Colorado company is now a part of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email system. The FBI is looking into the security of the server she used while she was secretary of state.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The PJ Tatler

Sen. Claire McCaskill / Politico:

How I Helped Todd Akin Win ? So I Could Beat Him Later — It was August 7, 2012, and I was standing in my hotel room in Kansas City about to shotgun a beer for the first time in my life. I had just made the biggest gamble of my political career—a $1.7 million gamble—and it had paid off.

Tom Kludt / CNNMoney:

Brian Williams' suspension is over — It's been six months since Williams was suspended without pay by NBC News for telling an exaggerated story about a helicopter mission during the Iraq War. The network confirmed to CNNMoney that the suspension is over.

Discussion: Daily Mail and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »