Top Items:
Phil Helsel / NBC News:
Secret recording shows GOP's Nunes saying Rosenstein impeachment would delay Supreme Court pick — “Do you want them [the Senate] to drop everything and not confirm the Supreme Court justice?” Rep. Devin Nunes said at a recent fundraiser. — Hard-line conservative Republicans …
Discussion:
New Republic, HuffPost and MSNBC
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MSNBC:
TRMS Exclusive: Devin Nunes speaks candidly at fundraiser — The Rachel Maddow Show has obtained exclusive audio of Rep. Devin Nunes speaking candidly to donors at a private fundraiser. — Below are the transcripts of the portions aired on the August 8, 2018 episode of The Rachel Maddow Show:
Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
Devin Nunes, in secretly recorded tape, tells donors GOP majority is necessary to protect Trump: 'We're the only ones' — Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, appears to have moved from criticizing the investigation into Russian interference …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, CNBC and MSNBC
Rachel Maddow / MSNBC:
TRMS Exclusive: Devin Nunes at fundraiser audio clip 1
Jessie Balmert / USA Today:
Ohio race just got closer after county finds hundreds of uncounted votes — A special election in Ohio's 12th Congressional District was too close to call early Tuesday. It could produce an automatic recount for Democrat Danny O'Connor and Republican Troy Balderson, who was backed by President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
The Hill, Townhall, POLITICUSUSA, HuffPost, Daily Wire and Splinter
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New York Times:
Republicans Gird for House Battle as Ohio and Kansas Races Remain Close — Alarmed by the tight race for a congressional seat in Ohio, Republicans are steeling for a 90-day campaign of trench warfare as they fight to keep control of the House, pinning their hopes on well-funded outside groups …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Politico, CNN, The Atlantic, Political Wire, Rewire.News, Splinter and The Daily Beast
Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Democrats are losing this race. And they're thrilled about it.
Democrats are losing this race. And they're thrilled about it.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Shareblue Media, The Seattle Times and Washington Post
Washington Post:
‘Nothing bodes well’: Lackluster election results spark debate over Trump's midterm role
‘Nothing bodes well’: Lackluster election results spark debate over Trump's midterm role
Discussion:
Associated Press, Detroit Free Press and Hullabaloo
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Trump Claims Election Night Credit. It's Not That Simple.
The Daily Beast:
Omarosa Secretly Recorded Trump and Played the Audio to Others, Sources Say … Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, isn't the only one with secretly recorded audio of the president. — Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell The Daily Beast …
New York Times:
Trump's Lawyers Counter Mueller's Interview Offer, Seeking Narrower Scope — WASHINGTON — President Trump's lawyers rejected the special counsel's latest terms for an interview in the Russia investigation, countering on Wednesday with an offer that suggested a narrow path for answering questions, people familiar with the matter said.
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Guardian, Mediaite, Raw Story, Common Dreams, CNN, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, Balloon Juice, POLITICUSUSA, Talking Points Memo and Chicago Sun-Times
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Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Rudy Giuliani's expectations game — With his constant commentating and public negotiating, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani is setting up unmeetable expectations for special counsel Robert Mueller — a kind of insurance policy with the president's base. — What he's saying: The former …
Discussion:
Politico and POLITICUSUSA
Associated Press:
Like father, like son: Trump Jr. defiant about Russia probe — WASHINGTON (AP) — If Donald Trump Jr. is worried, he sure doesn't show it. — His father, the president, is reported to be fretting about his eldest son's entanglement in the Russia investigation.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Tribune Terminates $3.9 Billion Sinclair Merger, Sues Broadcast Rival — FCC Chairman Ajit Pai had concerns about Sinclair's submissions and sent it to an administrative-law judge, a blow to the merger's approval chances — Tribune Media Co. TRCO .99% terminated its merger agreement …
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Washington Post:
Tribune withdraws from Sinclair merger, saying it will sue for ‘breach of contract’ — Tribune Media said Thursday that it would withdraw from its $3.9 billion merger with Sinclair Broadcast Group, adding it would sue Sinclair for “breach of contract” over its failed negotiations with regulators over the deal.
Discussion:
CBS Chicago
Hollywood Reporter:
Tribune Media Terminates $3.9B Sinclair Deal, Files Lawsuit for Breach of Contract — The mega-deal would have created a local TV giant reaching nearly two-thirds of U.S. TV households. — Sinclair Broadcast Group's $3.9 billion takeover of Tribune Media, which would have created …
CBS News:
Chris Collins, a timeline — including video of that phone call at the White House picnic — Rep. Chris Collins' indictment on insider trading charges sent ripples through Washington on Wednesday. Collins, the first member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump for president, was key in supporting Mr. Trump early on.
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Post and CNN
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Associated Press:
Prosecutor: Man at N.M. compound trained kids for school shooting — AMALIA, N.M. (AP) — The father of a missing Georgia boy was training children at a New Mexico compound to commit school shootings, prosecutors said in court documents obtained Wednesday, as authorities waited to learn …
Discussion:
CNN, Front Page Magazine, Instapundit, National Review, Liberty Unyielding and The Gateway Pundit
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Tampa Bay Times:
Bill Nelson: The Russians have penetrated some Florida voter registration systems — Nelson amplified concerns about the 2018 midterms. — Russian operatives have “penetrated” some of Florida's election systems ahead of the 2018 midterms, Sen. Bill Nelson said Wednesday, adding new urgency about hacking.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Politico, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Engadget, ThinkProgress, RedState and Political Wire
Khorri Atkinson / Axios:
Kobach refuses to recuse himself from election recount — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who holds a razor-thin lead over incumbent Jeff Colyer in Kansas' Republican gubernatorial primary dubbed too close to call, said Wednesday that he will not recuse himself from a recount process.
Discussion:
Breitbart, Kansas City Star and Daily Kos
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Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The Whole Republican Party Seems to Be Going to Jail Now — The entire Trump era has been a festering pit of barely disguised ongoing corruption. But the whole sordid era has not had a 24-hour period quite like the orgy of criminality which we have just experienced. The events of the last day alone include:
Discussion:
CNN, ProPublica, Bloomberg Government, The Atlantic and Washington Post
Jonathan V. Last / Weekly Standard:
The Case for Banning Alex Jones — There's no reason for conservatives to be defending this guy. — One of the downstream effects of Trumpism is that the fact of having a President Trump has given conservatives a hair-trigger on defending every marginal figure, no matter how stupid or malicious.
Discussion:
infowars.com and The Federalist
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David Harsanyi / The Federalist:
Social Media Giants Shouldn't Be Arbiters Of Appropriate Speech
Social Media Giants Shouldn't Be Arbiters Of Appropriate Speech
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Post and The Atlantic, more at Techmeme »
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Emails show 2016 links among Steele, Ohr, Simpson — with Russian oligarch in background — Emails in 2016 between former British spy Christopher Steele and Justice Department official Bruce Ohr suggest Steele was deeply concerned about the legal status of a Putin-linked Russian oligarch …
Discussion:
emptywheel, Scared Monkeys, Power Line and The Hill
Josh Barro / Business Insider:
Indicted Rep. Chris Collins shows why members of Congress should not trade stocks — Rep. Chris Collins, a prominent backer of President Donald Trump in Congress, has been indicted for insider trading , along with his son and his son's fiancée's father.
Discussion:
ProfessorBainbridge.com, New Republic, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Common Dreams, ThinkProgress and National Review
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Jason Schwartz / Politico:
Media boost security as Trump ramps up ‘enemy’ rhetoric — TV networks are employing security guards at the president's high-octane rallies. — Notebooks, mics, cameras, hairspray — those are all things TV reporters are used to having with them at political rallies.
Donie O'Sullivan / CNNMoney:
Democrats want Facebook to tell them who has seen disinformation — Here's why it's so hard to spot deepfakes — The Democratic party's top technologist wants Facebook to identify American audiences who see Russian propaganda and disinformation about political candidates.
Emma G. Fitzsimmons / New York Times:
Uber Hit With Cap as New York City Takes Lead in Crackdown — Even as Uber has become one of Silicon Valley's biggest success stories and changed the way people across the globe get around, the company has faced increased scrutiny from government regulators and struggled to overcome its image …
Discussion:
CityLab, Gizmodo and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Shmuel Rosner / New York Times:
Does Sacha Baron Cohen Understand Israel? — The comedian's new show makes a mockery of Israeli machismo. But he doesn't know who we really are. — TEL AVIV — I first met Col. Erran Morad 25 years ago. Well, sort of. — Morad is the fictional brainchild of Sacha Baron Cohen …
Discussion:
Althouse