memeorandum: History Repeats: A Nixonian Cover-up in the Home Stretch of the Campaign (John Fund/National Review)

9:00 AM ET, October 31, 2016

Top Items:

James Comey is a good man, but he made a serious mistake — Eric Holder was U.S. attorney general from 2009 to 2015. — I began my career in the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section 40 years ago, investigating cases of official corruption. In the years since …

Discussion: Hillary Clinton 2016, CNN, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, NBC News, The Week, Law News, Politico, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and The Moderate Voice

Devlin Barrett / Wall Street Journal:

FBI in Internal Feud Over Hillary Clinton Probe — Laptop may contain thousands of messages sent to or from private server — Federal agents are preparing to scour roughly 650,000 emails contained on the laptop of former Rep. Anthony Weiner to see how many relate to a prior probe …

Jake Sherman / Politico:

Poll: Comey's bombshell changes few votes — The race for the White House is tight, but it has not been radically changed by the FBI director's bombshell announcement last week. — Hillary Clinton has a slim three-point lead over Donald Trump one week before Election Day …

Discussion: Bloomberg, NBC News, Political Wire, The New Civil Rights Movement, Guardian and Washington Post

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Deeply Disturbing — James Comey's decision to send his letter to Capitol Hill seemed like a bad one from the start. But it did not seem as egregious as it does now because many assumed he was faced with a tough balancing act between informing Congress of significant new evidence …

Discussion: CNN, Guardian, The New Civil Rights Movement, New York Magazine, Occupy Democrats, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, Mediaite, NBC News and Politicus USA

Philip B. Heymann / USA Today:

Ex-Justice official: FBI now Trump's political football — There is no justification for announcing wholly unsubstantiated suspicions without evidence. — FBI Director James Comey has told congressional leaders that in an unrelated investigation, his agents found emails that might somehow …

Discussion: Blue Mass Group

Ed Klein / Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Resignation letters piling up from disaffected FBI agents, his wife urging him to admit he was wrong: Why Director Comey jumped at the chance to reopen Hillary investigation — James Comey revived the investigation of Clinton's email server as he could no longer resist mounting pressure by mutinous agents, sources say

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Vox Popoli

NBC News:

FBI Obtains Warrant for Newly Discovered Emails in Clinton Probe — as Reid Accuses Comey of Hatch Act Violation — The FBI obtained a warrant to search emails related to the Hillary Clinton private server probe that were discovered on ex-congressman Anthony Weiner's laptop, law enforcement officials confirmed Sunday.

Discussion: Washington Post, American Prospect, CNBC, BizPac Review, NBC News, Independent Journal Review, Althouse, The Week, Washington Free Beacon and Hot Air

Senator Harry Reid:

IN LETTER, REID SAYS COMEY “MAY HAVE BROKEN THE LAW” — Reid says Comey's clear “double standard” on publicizing sensitive information violates Hatch Act prohibition against using official authority to influence elections. — Las Vegas, NV - Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid sent …

Discussion: RealClearPolitics, CANNONFIRE, Occupy Democrats, Patterico's Pontifications, Balloon Juice and Mother Jones

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Abedin tells colleagues she's in dark about new email trove

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Political Wire, The Week, TalkLeft, New York Times and Political Insider blog

CBS News:
Harry Reid accuses Comey of sitting on proof of Trump-Russia ties, possible Hatch Act violation

Discussion: CANNONFIRE

Caroline Kenny / CNN:
Harry Reid: Comey may have violated the Hatch Act

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Federalist, Washington Free Beacon and New York Times

Pierre Thomas / ABC News:
Former Attorney General Holder and Other Former DOJ Officials Pen Letter Criticizing Comey

Discussion: Associated Press and Washington Times

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:
FBI agents waited weeks to tell Comey about emails possibly relevant to Clinton probe

Associated Press:
If Elected, Clinton Faces Awkward Coexistence With Comey

Discussion: alan.com, Joe.My.God. and ABC News

David Edwards / Raw Story:
NBC's Pete Williams: Trump's bogus ‘rigged’ talk pushed Comey to break DOJ rules on elections

Discussion: The First Street Journal

The Hill:
Holder, ex-Justice officials question Comey's ‘breach of protocol’

Discussion: Raw Story

Mike Levine / ABC News:
FBI Obtains Warrant Needed to Start Reviewing Emails Found on Laptop Used by Clinton Aide

Discussion: Guardian, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Independent Journal Review, Politico, Raw Story, Mediaite, RedState and The Hill

New York Times:
Justice Department Obtains Warrant to Review Clinton Aide's Emails

Discussion: The Week and The Daily Caller

Michael C. Bender / Wall Street Journal:
Harry Reid: FBI Director's ‘Partisan Actions’ May Violate Federal Law

Discussion: Raw Story, BizPac Review, Jezebel, Washington Post, Political Wire and twitchy.com

Orin Kerr / Washington Post:
Was it legal for the FBI to expand the Weiner email search to target Hillary Clinton's emails?

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, RedState, NPR, Yahoo, Raw Story, Townhall.com, Business Insider and Towleroad

CNN:

Trump stokes skepticism of Colorado voting system — Greeley, Colorado (CNN)Donald Trump for the second day in a row questioned the validity of this swing state's largely mail-in voting system, the latest instance of the Republican nominee expressing skepticism about the legitimacy of the electoral process.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Little Green Footballs, Jezebel, Raw Story and Guardian

Justin Baragona / Mediaite: CNN Stealth Edits Article That Originally Made False Claim Trump Told Supporters To Vote Multiple Times

Gary Langer / ABC News:

Deep Unfavorability for Clinton, Trump Marks the Election's Sharp Divisions (POLL) — Likely voters see Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump equally unfavorably, with a nearly complete partisan split in views of the two — testament both to the unprecedented unpopularity of the candidates …

Discussion: Political Wire

Scott Clement / Washington Post: Clinton loses popularity edge in tight race with Trump, new Post-ABC Tracking Poll finds

John Fund / National Review:

History Repeats: A Nixonian Cover-up in the Home Stretch of the Campaign — Someday, we might learn the truth, but not if Hillary can help it. — Richard Nixon's 1972 campaign for president involved trying to conceal the truth about Watergate until after voters went to the polls.

Discussion: BizPac Review

Heather Caygle / Politico:

Embattled Issa: I'd advise Clinton if she asked — CARDIFF-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. — For most of Barack Obama's presidency, Rep. Darrell Issa has relished his role as White House enemy No. 1, taunting the president as “corrupt” and even floating the idea of impeachment.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Kurt Eichenwald / Newsweek:

DONALD TRUMP'S COMPANIES DESTROYED EMAILS IN DEFIANCE OF COURT ORDERS — U.S. DONALD TRUMP 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION HILLARY EMAILS — Over the course of decades, Donald Trump's companies have systematically destroyed or hidden thousands of emails, digital records and paper documents demanded …

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Raw Story and CANNONFIRE

Charles S. Faddis / The Hill:

Hillary's emails matter: A retired CIA officer explains why — The 2016 presidential election, already one of the wildest in American history, has been rocked by the announcement that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reopening its investigation into Hillary Clinton

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

Trump rally speaker fantasizes about death of Hillary Clinton — LAS VEGAS — A speaker warming up the crowd for Donald Trump at a campaign rally Sunday morning fantasized about the deaths of Hillary Clinton and a senior aide. — Conservative commentator Wayne Allyn Root …

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Balloon Juice