memeorandum: Speechwriter who attended conference with white nationalists in 2016 leaves White House (Andrew Kaczynski/CNN)

2:20 PM ET, August 19, 2018

Top Items:

Giuliani: 'Truth isn't truth' — President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Sunday claimed “truth isn't truth” when trying to explain why the president should not testify for special counsel Robert Mueller for fear of being trapped into a lie that could lead to a perjury charge.

Discussion: Vox, Politico, Political Wire, No More Mister Nice Blog, Joe.My.God., Breitbart, The Mahablog and emptywheel

Axios:

Trump's epic Mueller gamble — Several top White House officials thought then and think now that President Trump made an epic error in rolling over to cooperate with Robert Mueller in the early stages of the special counsel investigation. — Why it matters: Trump himself thought then and thinks …

Discussion: Raw Story, Vox and New York Times

Isaac Chotiner / Slate:

What John Dean Has to Say About the NYT's Blockbuster Don McGahn Story — On Saturday, New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt broke a blockbuster story explaining that the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, “cooperated extensively” with Robert Mueller's investigation.

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Guardian, NPR, AOL, NY State of Politics, Raw Story, HuffPost, New York Times, emptywheel and ThinkProgress

NBC News:
Meet the Press - August 19, 2018

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and The Week

Bob Bauer / Lawfare:
The President's Lawyer and His Cooperation in the Russia Investigation

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Talking Points Memo, AOL and Daily Wire

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

Speechwriter who attended conference with white nationalists in 2016 leaves White House — (CNN)A speechwriter for President Donald Trump who attended a conference frequented by white nationalists has left the White House. — CNN's KFile reached out to the White House last week about Darren Beattie …

Discussion: Political Wire

Megan Keller / The Hill:

Clapper: Brennan's rhetoric is becoming an issue — Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper — said Sunday that he thinks former CIA Director John Brennan — 's rhetoric is becoming an issue “in and of itself.” — “John and his rhetoric have become an issue in and of itself …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Guardian and The Daily Caller

Julie Kelly / American Greatness:

The Untouchables vs. The Deplorables — One reason Donald Trump won the presidency is that Americans are tired of being ignored by the ruling political class. — A poll taken several months before the election revealed that neglected voters overwhelmingly favored Donald Trump above any other candidate …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

Max Boot / Washington Post:
What will finally turn Trump's supporters against him?

Discussion: HuffPost

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:

Trump adviser John Bolton floats formal review of security clearances for former officials — President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton floated the possibility of reviewing longstanding policy allowing former government officials to keep their security clearances.

Discussion: Politico, AOL and Breitbart

Rebecca Morin / Politico:
Johnson: Brennan didn't misuse security clearance, but abused privilege

Discussion: Breitbart

Roey Hadar / ABC News:
Trump adviser: Besides Russia, ‘national security concern’ on, China, North Korea and Iran election meddling

Discussion: twitchy.com, Washington Post, The Week, POLITICUSUSA and Breitbart

Anne Helen Petersen / BuzzFeed:

Beto O'Rourke Could Be The Democrat Texas Has Been Waiting For — Beto O'Rourke's grassroots campaign to unseat Senator Ted Cruz is blazing across Texas. But can it convert energy into actual votes? — Beto O'Rourke is a prolific, prodigious sweater. We're talking shirt-soaking …

Susan Ferriss / Washington Post:

In horrifying detail, women accuse U.S. customs officers of invasive body searches — Tameika Lovell was retrieving luggage at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport when Customs and Border Protection officers detained her for a random search. It was Nov. 27, 2016 …

CBS News:

Democrats in stronger position to take the House: CBS News Battleground Tracker — Democrats have improved their standing in the fight for control of the House of Representatives. Our House model now shows the party poised to win 222 seats if the election were today, up from our estimate of 219 earlier this summer.

Discussion: Bloomberg

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

Blake Farenthold Blames ‘F-Tards,’ Me Too Campaign For His Downfall — Months after quitting Congress in disgrace, the Texas Republican insists his sexual harassment scandal was everyone's fault but his own. — WASHINGTON Four months after abruptly quitting Congress amid a sexual harassment scandal …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Alex Horton / Washington Post:

ICE arrested a man driving his pregnant wife to give birth. She drove herself to the hospital. — Maria del Carmen Venegas was on her way to deliver a baby boy, her fifth child, by Caesarean section in a planned operation Wednesday afternoon. Her husband, Joel Arrona-Lara, was driving her car to the hospital.

Discussion: CBS Los Angeles, Washington Monthly, BuzzFeed News, twitchy.com, The Guardian, Mother Jones, AOL, Talking Points Memo and The Stream

Dennis Romero / NBC News:
ICE arrests murder suspect as he takes pregnant wife to hospital

Discussion: ABC News, CNN, IJR, The Week, Front Page Magazine, Daily Wire and Don Surber

Angel Jennings / Los Angeles Times:
ICE says man detained driving his pregnant wife to hospital had outstanding warrant for his arrest …

Discussion: Breitbart, Conservative News Today, CBS New York and YouTube

Rebecca Morin / Politico:

Mulvaney on canceled military parade: It wasn't just the money — Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney said he believes President Donald Trump's plans for a military parade were canceled for other reasons besides the cost of the event, but would not specify other “contributing factors.”

Discussion: Political Wire and Breitbart

Farah Master / Reuters:

Empty hotels, idle boats: What happens when a Pacific island upsets China — KOROR, Palau (Reuters) - Empty hotel rooms, idle tour boats and shuttered travel agencies reveal widening fissures in the tiny Pacific nation of Palau, which is caught in an escalating diplomatic tug-of-war between China and Taiwan.

Fox News:

Rudy Giuliani on McGahn's testimony, origins of Russia probe — Rudy Giuliani, attorney for President Trump, speaks out about the Russia investigation on ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’ … MARIA BARTIROMO, HOST: Good Sunday morning. Thanks for joining us. — President Trump responding …

New York Times:

Trump Won Pennsylvania. Democrats Want the State (and His Voters) Back. — CONWAY, Pa. — The rules are workable enough in the right hands, in the right corner of a right-leaning region of a state like this one. — Avoid the jacket-and-tie look, so voters — wary enough of Democrats …

Paul Crookston / Washington Free Beacon:

Al Sharpton Messes Up Spelling of Legendary Aretha Franklin Song: ‘R-E-S-P-I-C-T’ — MSNBC's “PoliticsNation” host Rev. Al Sharpton called on President Donald Trump to be respectful in his rhetoric toward women but inadvertently misquoted legendary singer Aretha Franklin's most famous lyric.

Discussion: Conservative News Today, 100PercentFedUp.com, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com

Ellen Knickmeyer / Associated Press:

U.S. says conserving oil is no longer an economic imperative — FILE- In this April 23, 2018, file photo a car is filled with gasoline at a station in Windham, N.H. Conserving oil is no longer an economic imperative for the U.S., the Trump administration declares in a major new policy statement …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Benjy Sarlin / NBC News:

The growing split between progressives and party leaders on deficit spending could define the party's future. — WASHINGTON — All across the country, Democratic candidates are sending a message: We're the party that isn't afraid to think big. Elect us, they say, and we'll pursue transformative policies …

Discussion: Political Wire

Bruce Haring / Deadline:

Midterm Elections Blue Wave Looking Doubtful, Says CBS News Head Pollster — The CBS News head pollster has some information for Democrats expecting a Blue Wave to take over the House and more in November's midterm elections: It's not looking good. — In Where Did You Get That Number? …

Discussion: twitchy.com