Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Why Michael Cohen Agreed to Plead Guilty—And Implicate the President — Prosecutors had reams of evidence and a long list of counts, which also could have included the lawyer's wife — Michael Cohen had many reasons to play ball last weekend when his legal team sat down to talk to federal prosecutors.
Discussion:
electionlawblog.org and Glamour, more at Mediagazer »
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New York Times:
‘How Did We End Up Here?’ Trump Wonders as the White House Soldiers On — In the hours after two of President Trump's former advisers delivered his administration potentially grave legal setbacks, the mood inside the White House was grim, a return to a trench-warfare mentality borne out of muscle memory.
Christina Wilkie / CNBC:
Michael Cohen paid a mysterious tech company $50,000 ‘in connection with’ Trump's campaign — President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made a previously unreported payment of $50,000 to a tech company in connection with Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Discussion:
USA Today, Raw Story, New York Post, Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Not just misleading. Not merely false. A lie. — The first denial that Donald Trump knew about hush-money payments to silence women came four days before he was elected president, when his spokeswoman Hope Hicks said, without hedging, “we have no knowledge of any of this.”
Discussion:
CNNMoney, The Western Journal, HuffPost, CNN, Daily Kos, Law & Crime, Roll Call and The Week, more at Mediagazer »
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Lanny Davis: Michael Cohen Never Went To Prague As Steele Dossier Claims — Michael Cohen's lawyer dropped a bombshell on Wednesday, saying that Cohen has not been to Prague — The Steele dossier alleges that Cohen traveled to Prague during the campaign to collude with Russians
Discussion:
ABC News, The Gateway Pundit and Vox
John Podhoretz / Commentary Magazine:
10 Things I Hate About What's Just Happened — After “the information” regarding Michael Cohen's guilty pleas stated flatly that Cohen had been directed to violate campaign finance law by Donald Trump, you can put the Russia probe aside for a moment and consider the many possible meanings of what Cohen has done:
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Politico, Fox News Insider, 1A, WORLD, BloombergQuint, Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune
David Klepper / Associated Press:
New York state subpoenas Cohen in Trump Foundation probe — ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Investigators in New York state have issued a subpoena to Michael Cohen as part of their criminal probe into the Trump Foundation. — A spokesman for Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's tax department confirmed …
Discussion:
CNBC, The Week, Hill Reporter, CNN, CBS Baltimore, TheBlaze, Axios and Political Wire
Politico:
‘It is what it is’: Republicans shrug off Trump's legal meltdown — GOP senators are tuning out the legal crisis enveloping the White House and are instead focusing on legislating. — Twenty-four hours after one of the most damaging days for Donald Trump's presidency …
Discussion:
USA Today, The Hill, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway and Washington Free Beacon
Michael Burke / The Hill:
Cohen's lawyer on Trump Tower meeting: Cohen was ‘present at a discussion with’ Trump and Trump Jr. — Michael Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis on Wednesday claimed Cohen witnessed a discussion between President Trump — and Donald Trump, Jr., that was apparently related to the 2016 Trump …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Caleb Howe / Mediaite:
MSNBC Trounces Fox News in Ratings on Manafort-Cohen Day, Knocking Hannity to Third — On Tuesday's big news day, following a plea deal for former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and a conviction for former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, the ratings crown went to MSNBC during prime time.
Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
In Fox interview, Trump seems to confess a campaign finance violation while trying to deny it — He doesn't get what the illegal part was. — A brief segment of a Fox & Friends interview released this afternoon by Fox News features President Donald Trump repeatedly emphasizing …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Weekly Standard, Toronto Star, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Big Think, Right Wing Watch and The Week
NBC News:
The party of ‘Lock her up!’ faces a choice: Defend Trump or investigate?
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times, Weekly Standard, Daily Kos and MSNBC
Shannon Pettypiece / Bloomberg:
Trump Didn't Consult McGahn About Hush-Money Payments, Source Says
Discussion:
Political Wire
Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
After fast turn against Trump, Michael Cohen threatens to leverage secrets against the president
Discussion:
Politico, Axios and Washington Free Beacon
Max Boot / Washington Post:
Trump is an illegitimate president whose election is tainted by fraud
Discussion:
New York Times, Salon, Hot Air, The Guardian and Raw Story
Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump says hush money ‘not a campaign violation’
Discussion:
The Hill, Chicago Sun-Times, Breitbart, The Western Journal, National Review, Politico and The Daily Caller
Tamar Auber / Mediaite:
Trump Considering Pardon For Paul Manafort, Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt Says
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Western Journal and BloombergQuint
Robert Costa / Washington Post:
‘How do you spin a fact?’: White House grapples with response to Cohen, Manafort convictions
Discussion:
The Daily Banter and IJR
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
The nightmare is just beginning for Paul Manafort
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, MSNBC and Conservative News Today
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
This is the moment all of Trump's anti-media rhetoric has been working toward
Discussion:
The Federalist, more at Mediagazer »
Garrett M. Graff / Wired:
Six Big Questions After the Cohen and Manafort Bombshells
Discussion:
National Review, Conservative News Today, The Daily Banter, VICE News, The Western Journal and DCReport.org
Kenneth Lovett / New York Daily News:
Cuomo tax department subpoenas Michael Cohen as part of probe into Trump foundation …
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Denies Directing Cohen to Break Campaign-Finance Laws
Discussion:
Politico, The Globe Post, The Intercept, Daily Wire, Axios, Mediaite, Washington Post and NY State of Politics
Lanny Davis / gofundme.com:
Michael Cohen Truth Fund
Discussion:
NPR, LAW.com, Fox News Insider, Common Dreams, Conservative News Today, The Western Journal, The Guardian, Hot Air, twitchy.com, IJR, Weekly Standard, The Root, Wall Street Journal, TVNewser, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Front Page Magazine, CNBC, Washington Post, BloombergQuint, MSNBC, Joe.My.God., TheBlaze, AOL, Splinter and Washington Times
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trump Tries to Deny His Crime With Cohen, Confesses by Mistake
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News, Deadline and TheBlaze
Jason Clayworth / Des Moines Register:
Mollie Tibbetts' accused killer is in Iowa legally, his lawyer says, calling Trump ‘sad and sorry’ for weighing in — A court document filed Wednesday morning states that the man accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts was working legally in Iowa. — Cristhian Bahena Rivera was charged Tuesday …
Discussion:
Vox, Axios, Reuters, Fox News, Associated Press, USA Today, Splinter, HuffPost, Hill Reporter, Law & Crime, Balloon Juice, Politico, Spectator USA, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, twitchy.com, CBS Baltimore, New York Post, TheBlaze, NewsWars, The Gazette and East Bay Times
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Jalyn Souchek / KWWL-TV:
Aunt of Mollie Tibbetts makes statement — One of the aunts of Mollie Tibbetts has made a statement per her Facebook page following the news of her death and the arrest of a murder suspect in the case. — On Tuesday, authorities arrested Christhian Bahena Rivera for the murder of Tibbetts.
Discussion:
New York Times, Splinter, Vox, Media Matters for America, Law & Crime and New Republic
Taylor Telford / Washington Post:
‘Stop being a ... snake’: Distant cousin of Mollie Tibbetts tells partisans not to politicize her death
Katie Mettler / Washington Post:
Mollie Tibbetts's suspected killer, in the U.S. illegally, told investigators about her final moments
Discussion:
The Right Scoop, American Greatness, LifeZette, Des Moines Register, Breitbart, IJR, Conservative Review, National Review and Shakesville
Des Moines Register:
Cristhian Rivera, charged in Mollie Tibbetts' death, worked at a farm owned by a prominent Iowa Republican family
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News, Benny Arthur Johnson, The Atlantic, Chuck Grassley, Fox News, The Guardian, The Western Journal, Hullabaloo, LifeZette, Breitbart, Fox News Insider, IJR, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, New York Post, Daily Wire, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, No More Mister Nice Blog and Law & Crime
Carrie Dann / NBC News:
Poll: Democrat O'Rourke trails Ted Cruz by just four percentage points in Texas — O'Rourke has 45 percent support among registered voters compared with Cruz's 49 percent; Abbott leads governors' contest by 19 — WASHINGTON — As Texas Democrats attempt to win a major statewide contest …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Splinter, POLITICUSUSA, Axios and Political Wire
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Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Democrats maintain lead in race for House — Democrats are in a strong position for the midterms, according to the latest Fox News poll. — Several findings point to the potential for a blue map in November: — President Trump's job rating remains underwater.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire
Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: Trump trails several Democratic prospects in 2020 match-up
Discussion:
Morning Consult, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, The Week, AOL, twitchy.com and Political Wire
Aaron C. Davis / Washington Post:
Trump called this White House defender ‘wonderful.’ He was fired from his previous job for alleged sexual harassment. — A conservative commentator who was lauded by President Trump this week as “wonderful” and who has argued that past sexual indiscretions should have no bearing on Trump's presidency …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Contemptor and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:
Kimberly Guilfoyle was once half of a liberal power couple. Now she's basically a Trump. — In the summer of 2004, the new mayor and first lady of San Francisco were photographed for an eight-page spread in Harper's Bazaar. Gavin Newsom wore a thousand-dollar tuxedo …
Discussion:
East Bay Times
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
As Bad News Piles Up, Republicans Hardly Flinch — WASHINGTON — For those wondering if the latest disclosures from the Trump legal file are finally weighty enough to cause top congressional Republicans to break from the president, the answer is no. — Twenty-four hours after President Trump …
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Shirley Halperin / Variety:
Steven Tyler Demands Trump Stop Playing Aerosmith Songs at Rallies — Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler is demanding President Donald Trump stop using the band's songs at rallies, like the one held at the Charleston Civic Center in West Virginia on Tuesday (August 21).
Discussion:
HuffPost, Fox News, Daily Kos, Breitbart, twitchy.com, IJR, The Daily Caller, CNN, Mediaite, Daily Wire and CBS Philly, more at Mediagazer »
John Ziegler / Mediaite:
The Top 10 Reasons Why Most Trump Supporters Will Never Care About the Russia Investigation — For the past three years, I have been engaged in an informal, involuntary, and extremely painful study of Donald Trump supporters, with a special focus on those which I have come to describe as “Cult 45.”
Jermaine Ong / KGTV-TV:
San Diego Congressman Duncan Hunter addresses federal indictment in 10News interview — SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) told 10News that he's innocent of accusations of campaign funding misuse one day after he and his wife Margaret were indicted by a federal grand jury.
Alex Stamos / Lawfare:
It's Too Late to Protect the 2018 Elections. But Here's How the U.S. Can Prepare for 2020. — In the swirl of news this week, it would be easy to miss recent announcements from two of America's largest and most influential technology companies that have implications for our democracy as a whole.
Discussion:
The Verge, New York Times and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »
TMZ.com:
Asia Argento and 17-Year-Old Boy in Bed in Sexual Encounter — Asia Argento says she did not have sex with then 17-year-old Jimmy Bennett, but a photo and various text messages between Argento and a friend tell a very different story ... she flat-out says she had sex with him.
Discussion:
Hot Air, smokeroom.com, Hollywood Reporter, AOL, TheBlaze, New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, CNN, Daily Wire, Breitbart, Vox, Jezebel, Page Six, The Western Journal and The Daily Beast
Sam Levine / HuffPost:
Georgia County Can't Support Claim It Must Close Polling Places Over Access Issues — Officials in majority-black Randolph County lack the data to back a proposal to shutter most voting spots. — Officials in a majority-black Georgia county accused of trying to close almost all polling places …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Common Dreams, Washington Post, Splinter and Shakesville
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
When Is an Offense Impeachable? Look to the Framers for the Answer — WASHINGTON — There are more serious crimes than violating campaign finance laws. Some offenders face jail time, while others catch a break. — But the campaign finance violation President Trump's former lawyer accused …
Discussion:
VTDigger, PRI and Common Dreams
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