memeorandum: Embracing Conspiracy Theory, Trump Escalates Attack on Bruce Ohr (New York Times)

8:20 AM ET, August 18, 2018

Top Items:

Quinta Jurecic / Lawfare:

Document: George Papadopoulos Sentencing Memo — The government has filed a sentencing memorandum in the case of George Papadopoulos, recommending a sentence of between zero to six months. The document is available in full below.

Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:

Mueller prosecutors seek up to six months in prison for George Papadopoulos in Russia probe — Prosecutors on Friday said a sentence of up to six months in prison would be appropriate for George Papadopoulos, a former adviser to President Trump's 2016 campaign and the first charged defendant …

Discussion: Raw Story

David Alexander / Reuters:
U.S. special counsel recommends six months in prison for Papadopoulos

Discussion: Axios and Political Wire

Matthew Mosk / ABC News:
Special counsel says up to 6 months jail ‘warranted’ for Trump aide-turned cooperating witness

Discussion: Politico

Power Line:

Democrats Frighten Manafort Jurors [Updated] — The case that Bob Mueller has brought against Paul Manafort has nothing to do with Donald Trump or the 2016 election. It is irrelevant to any significant political issue. But Democrats worry that Mueller's prosecution of Manafort …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, CANNONFIRE, Politico and PJ Media Home

Politico:

Manafort trial Day 14: Jury ‘scared’ as it heads home without a verdict — Manafort's attorney Kevin Downing said the ongoing deliberations favor his client. — Paul Manafort's trial will stretch into a fourth week, as jurors headed home Friday without reaching a verdict for the second straight …

Discussion: RedState, Populist Media, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, The Atlantic and Politico

Fox News:
Judge in Manafort trial says he's been threatened over case

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, 100PercentFedUp.com and Daily Wire

CNN:
Manafort's attorney says he appreciates Trump's support

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and ABC News

Darlene Superville / Associated Press:

AP source: It's not just audio, Manigault Newman has video — WASHINGTON (AP) — It's not just audiotapes. — Omarosa Manigault Newman has a stash of video, emails, text messages and other documentation supporting the claims in her tell-all book about her time in the Trump White House …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Populist Media

New York Times:
Melania Trump, a Mysterious First Lady, Weathers a Chaotic White House

Discussion: Contemptor, Liberty Unyielding, AOL, Splinter, The Daily Beast and Politico

New York Times:

Embracing Conspiracy Theory, Trump Escalates Attack on Bruce Ohr — WASHINGTON — President Trump threatened on Friday to quickly revoke the security clearance of Bruce Ohr, a little-known Justice Department official, for the first time seeking to apply his power to cut access to sensitive information …

Discussion: Raw Story, CNBC, JustOneMinute and The Hill

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
How Trump's security-clearance gambit could actually get him in deeper trouble with Mueller

Discussion: HuffPost, RAPPLER, The Guardian, Raw Story and Political Wire

Fox News:
DOJ's Bruce Ohr wrote Christopher Steele was 'very concerned about Comey's firing — afraid they will be exposed'

Discussion: The Western Journal, The Gateway Pundit, Conservative News Today, Sara A. Carter, RedState, Breitbart, LifeZette and Wall Street Journal

Gabby Morrongiello / Washington Examiner: Bruce Ohr could be out of a job if Trump strips his security clearance

Alan Cowell / New York Times:

Kofi Annan, Diplomat Who Redefined the U.N., Dies at 80 — Kofi Annan, a soft-spoken and patrician diplomat from Ghana, who became the seventh secretary general of the United Nations, projecting himself and his organization as the world's conscience and moral arbiter despite bloody debacles …

Joshua Posaner / Politico:

Kofi Annan dies aged 80 — Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has died aged 80 after a short illness, it was announced Saturday. — The Ghanaian led the U.N. from 1997 to 2006 and was chair of the Elders, a group of former heads of state and human rights advocates set up by Nelson Mandela.

Discussion: Latest from the Office …, The Elders and One America News Network

Michael Pyskaty / ABC News:

Ocasio-Cortez defends banning press from campaign event — Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday defended banning the press from a public town hall held last Sunday. — Replying to a reporter who questioned why the event was closed, she tweeted, “Our community is 50% immigrant.

Discussion: The Intercept, RedState and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be facing really intense scrutiny

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, Louder With Crowder, Breitbart, TheBlaze, The Week and Hit & Run

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:

Bill Nelson wasn't making things up when he said Russians hacked Florida election systems — Sen. Bill Nelson, who is in a tough reelection fight, was blasted for saying 10 days ago that Russians had penetrated his state's election systems. — WASHINGTON — Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat …

Discussion: Naked Politics, Daily Wire, Daily Kos, CANNONFIRE, Hullabaloo, Washington Post, Tampa Bay Times, FLA News Online, RedState, Washington Free Beacon and twitchy.com

Kelly Weill / The Daily Beast:

Website Promised Free Anti-Antifa Shirts. Alt-Right Signed Up. It Was a Trap. … A website that offered free anti-anti-fascist t-shirts for a real far-right march appears to have been a trap by anti-fascists. — On August 18, Trump supporters will host the “National March Against Far-Left Violence” …

Discussion: Breitbart

Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:

Alex Jones of Infowars Destroyed Evidence Related to Sandy Hook Suits, Motion Says — WASHINGTON — Lawyers for the families of two Sandy Hook shooting victims are accusing the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars media business of intentionally destroying evidence relevant …

Discussion: HuffPost, New Republic and Joe.My.God., more at Mediagazer »

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:

GOP fundraiser Broidy under investigation for alleged effort to sell government influence, people familiar with probe say — The Justice Department is investigating whether longtime Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy sought to sell his influence with the Trump administration by offering …

Discussion: HuffPost, Joe.My.God., The National Memo and Political Wire

Reuters:

Exclusive: U.S. government seeks Facebook help to wiretap Messenger - sources — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. government is trying to force Facebook Inc (FB.O) to break the encryption in its popular Messenger app so law enforcement may listen to a suspect's voice conversations in a criminal probe …

Discussion: The Verge, NewsWars, Boing Boing, Engadget, Gizmodo and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:
Exclusive: FBI probing cyber attack on congressional campaign in California - sources

Discussion: CNN, fox5sandiego.com, KTLA, Boing Boing and Axios

Washington Post:

The un-celebrity president — Jimmy Carter shuns riches, lives modestly in his Georgia hometown — Jimmy Carter finishes his Saturday night dinner, salmon and broccoli casserole on a paper plate, flashes his famous toothy grin and calls playfully to his wife of 72 years, Rosalynn: “C'mon, kid.”

Discussion: Althouse

CNN:

Bomb that killed 40 children in Yemen was supplied by the US — (CNN)The bomb used by the Saudi-led coalition in a devastating attack on a school bus in Yemen was sold as part of a US State Department-sanctioned arms deal with Saudi Arabia, munitions experts told CNN.

Discussion: LewRockwell

Brett McMurphy / Stadium:

Zach Smith Ordered Sex Toys to Ohio State Offices, Had Sex With Staffer, Took Nude Photos at White House — Documents and receipts Stadium has obtained show Zach Smith ordered more than $2,200 in sex toys, male apparel and photography equipment and had the items delivered to him at Ohio State's Woody Hayes Athletic Center in 2015.

Discussion: twitchy.com, fox8.com and TMZ.com

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Judge Bars Statements Made by Guantánamo Detainees During F.B.I. Interrogations — In a potentially major setback for the effort to prosecute five Guantánamo Bay detainees accused of aiding the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a military commission judge ruled on Friday that prosecutors …

Pascale Mueller / BuzzFeed News:

She Is The World's Most Renowned Empathy Researcher — And Is Alleged To Have Been Harassing Employees For Years — Screamed at, grabbed, pressured — 11 scientists leveled serious accusations against Tania Singer, director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany.

Discussion: Breitbart

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:

Netflix's ‘Classless’ Cancellation of Michelle Wolf's ‘The Break’ … Well, that was fast. On Friday, Netflix quietly pulled the plug on The Break with Michelle Wolf, one of the only “late-night” shows on “television” hosted by a female comedian, just three months after it premiered.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Is Making the Department of Justice Into His Own Private Goon Squad — One morning earlier this week during executive time, President Trump tweeted out his assessment of the Russia investigation. “The Rigged Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on as the 'originators and founders …

NBC News:

Officials worry Trump may back Erik Prince plan to privatize war in Afghanistan — “I know he's frustrated,” Blackwater founder Prince said of the president. “He gave the Pentagon what they wanted. And they haven't delivered.” — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump …