memeorandum: After Harvey, Threat Of ‘Dramatic Flooding’ Could Mean The Worst Is Still To Come (HuffPost)

7:55 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: Business Insider, The Guardian, Raw Story, New York's PIX11, Mother Jones, The Atlantic, Joe.My.God., Axios, Mediaite, Refinery29, Political Wire, Weekly Standard and CBS San Francisco

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

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: Infowars and Raw Story

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

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, Mediaite, WREG-TV, NPR and twitchy.com

Dan Balz / Washington Post: Trump's pardon of Arpaio fits a pattern: A divider, not a uniter

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, 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HuffPost:

After Harvey, Threat Of ‘Dramatic Flooding’ Could Mean The Worst Is Still To Come — One meteorologist estimated 20 trillion gallons of water could fall on Texas in the next week. — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said “dramatic flooding” became his primary concern after Harvey was downgraded to a tropical storm Saturday.

Discussion: Houston Chronicle, NBC News, Grist and Infowars

Washington Post:
At least one dead, buildings destroyed as Hurricane Harvey drenches central Texas coast

Discussion: Slate, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic and CNN

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

Discussion: CNBC, CityLab, Latest News Releases and IJR

Houston Chronicle:
Hurricane Harvey downgraded further, spawns tornadoes

Discussion: NPR, Mother Jones and ABC News

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

Joe Biden / The Atlantic:

‘We Are Living Through a Battle for the Soul of This Nation’ — In January of 2009, I stood waiting in Wilmington, Delaware, for a train carrying the first African American elected president of the United States. I was there to join him as vice president on the way to a historic Inauguration.

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:

BUSTED: Oklahoma police chief outed as owner of racist website and white supremacist record label — A Texas television station investigating white supremacist hate in their region was startled to discover a website linked to the newly-appointed Colbert, Oklahoma police chief.

Discussion: BBC

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 …