memeorandum: As White Nationalist in Charlottesville Fired, Police ‘Never Moved’ (Frances Robles/New York Times)

4:25 AM ET, August 27, 2017

Top Items:

Trump asked Sessions about closing case against Arpaio, an ally since ‘birtherism’ … As Joseph Arpaio's federal case headed toward trial this past spring, President Trump wanted to act to help the former Arizona county sheriff who had become a campaign-trail companion and a partner in their crusade against illegal immigration.

Discussion: The Guardian, Mother Jones, Business Insider, Raw Story, New York's PIX11, The Atlantic, Joe.My.God., Axios, Refinery29, Mediaite, Political Wire, Weekly Standard, CBS San Francisco and Infowars

Peter Nicholas / Wall Street Journal:

House Speaker Paul Ryan Criticizes Donald Trump's Pardon for Joe Arpaio — Republican joins two GOP senators from Arizona in opposing the move — House Speaker Paul Ryan on Saturday criticized President Donald Trump for pardoning a former Arizona sheriff, Joe Arpaio, becoming the highest-ranking Republican to object to the move.

Discussion: The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Axios and Mediaite

Francisco Chairez / Washington Post:

The year I spent in Joe Arpaio's tent jail was hell. He should never walk free. — I was born in Mexico, grew up in Tijuana, and moved to Arizona when I was 14. I went to high school in a small town called Holbrook, then went to Phoenix to go to Arizona State University.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Bbauer / Lawfare:

The Arpaio Pardon — Joe Arpaio speaks at a campaign rally in Arizona in October 2016. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) — President Trump issued his pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio apparently without a Justice Department recommendation or even consultation, according to various outlets citing unnamed officials.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, New York Times, New York Magazine, The Guardian, NBC News, BuzzFeed, WREG-TV, NPR, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway

Julia Manchester / The Hill:

Schiff: Trump pardon sends message to Russia investigation witnesses — (D-Calif.) warned on Saturday that President Trump's decision to pardon former Sheriff Joe Arpaio could send a signal to those under investigation in the probe into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russian election interference.

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:

Obama adviser: Trump asking to drop case against Arpaio could get him impeached — President Obama's former communications director Dan Pfeiffer blasted President Trump over a report that he had asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions — to drop the federal criminal case against Sheriff Joe Arpaio …

Discussion: Raw Story

mccain.senate.gov:
STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PARDON OF JOE ARPAIO

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, IJR, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Congressman Andy Biggs, Joe.My.God., Mediaite, ACLU, mailchi.mp, Deadline, Washington Times, twitchy.com, Raw Story, The Hill, Talking Points Memo and CNN

David Frum / The Atlantic:
Trump Won't Back Down — At 11:46 a.m. on Friday, August 25 …

Discussion: The Independent, The Guardian, Outside the Beltway, The Root, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Mediaite and Business Insider

Charles Kaiser / BillMoyers.com:
Arpaio Pardon May Be Opening Act of a Constitutional Crisis

Discussion: Raw Story, emptywheel and The Guardian

Dan Desai Martin / Shareblue:
Top Intel Dem says Trump's pardon sends message to targets of Russia probe: “I have your back”

Discussion: Washington Post

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Washington lobbying firms receive subpoenas as part of Russia probe

Discussion: Business Insider

Joe Arpaio / Arizona Republic:
Our View: Donald Trump just resurrected Joe Arpaio from irrelevance

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Hit & Run, Daily Kos and Joe.My.God.

YouGov US Opinion Center News:
The Politics of Pardoning Sheriff Joe

Discussion: Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight, The Hill, Los Angeles Times and The Mahablog

Margaret Talbot / New Yorker:
Why Donald Trump Pardoned Joe Arpaio

Discussion: New York Times, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
McCain blasts Trump over Arpaio pardon

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, IJR and RedState

Jayme Fraser / Billings Gazette:

Zinke's veteran daughter excoriates Trump in response to transgender military ban — The daughter of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, like her father a Navy veteran, appears, in the rawest of terms, to have excoriated President Donald Trump in a social media post after the announcement …

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story and Political Wire

Matthew Boyle / Breitbart:

Exclusive — Low Level White House Staffer Inflates Credentials to Lie About Dr. Sebastian Gorka's Resignation to Press — Kelly Sadler, a low-level staffer in the White House, lied about her credentials to push inaccurate leaked information to the press about the resignation of Dr. Sebastian Gorka from the administration.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Raw Story

Cristiano Lima / Politico:

Gorka says he's heading back to Breitbart — Former White House aide Sebastian Gorka said Saturday he will return to Breitbart News, reuniting him with longtime ally and ex-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. — Gorka left his post on Friday as a national security adviser under …

Discussion: The Hill and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:

At least one dead, buildings destroyed as Hurricane Harvey drenches central Texas coast … ROCKPORT, Tex. — Hurricane Harvey flattened buildings in the small city of Rockport and slowed to a crawl Saturday, losing hurricane status but remaining strong, with torrential rains that could linger for days and cause catastrophic flooding.

Discussion: Slate, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic and Grist

Fox News:
Hurricane Harvey downgraded to tropical storm as devastation continues in Texas

Discussion: CityLab, CNBC, Latest News Releases and IJR

Houston Chronicle:
Hurricane Harvey downgraded further, spawns tornadoes

Discussion: Grist, NPR and Mother Jones

CNN:
Latest developments — Harvey's impact will be devastating …

David Caplan / ABC News:
Hurricane Harvey bashes Texas coast, leaving thousands without power, homes damaged, residents injured

Discussion: Gizmodo, NBC News, NPR, IJR, Associated Press, Refinery29, The Guardian, FOX2now.com and KTLA

Meghan Keneally / ABC News:
Mayor tells those not evacuating for hurricane to put Social Security numbers on arms

Discussion: Althouse and The Hill

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Sarah Huckabee Sanders says she'll get back to you on that. Chances are she won't. — It's a stock response of every White House press secretary who's either caught off guard or is trying to dodge a sticky question. When a reporter asks a tough question during a briefing …

New York Times:

Mayweather vs. McGregor: Highlights From Every Round — Floyd Mayweather Jr., the face of boxing for more than a decade, punctuated a stellar yet controversial career with a technical knockout over U.F.C. champ and first-time boxer Conor McGregor on Saturday night.

Discussion: Gizmodo

Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:

The Media Is the Villain - for Creating a World Dumb Enough for Trump — Yet another TV executive says Trump is “good for business.” Is sudden good fortune of news media by accident or design? — The craziest part of Donald Trump's 77-minute loon-a-thon in Phoenix earlier this week came …

Discussion: Raw Story

Frances Robles / New York Times:

As White Nationalist in Charlottesville Fired, Police ‘Never Moved’ — CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — As demonstrators clashed near a downtown park here two weeks ago, a white nationalist protester in a bulletproof vest turned, pointed a pistol toward the crowd and fired a single shot at the ground …

Discussion: Daily Progress, Daily Kos, Gizmodo, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo

Julianne Herrera / KRON4.com:

KRON4 speaks to Patriot Prayer organizer — SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco Police Department is gating off Alamo Square Saturday morning, hours before a nationalist group was to hold a controversial press conference. — Organizers of the “Patriot Rally” cancelled their original event scheduled …