memeorandum: Manafort juror: One juror prevented jury from convicting Manafort on all 18 counts (Tal Axelrod/The Hill)

8:00 AM ET, August 23, 2018

Top Items:

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: Just Security, Politico, electionlawblog.org, Common Dreams, The Week, Glamour and CNBC

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.

Discussion: Business Insider, AOL, The Week, Raw Story, KTLA, CNN and Mediaite

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, New York Post, Raw Story, Mediaite, Law & Crime and Talking Points Memo

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 Ringer, The Western Journal, HuffPost, The Daily Banter, The Week, The Daily Caller, CNN, Daily Kos, VICE News, CNBC and Roll Call, 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: The Last Refuge, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News and Vox

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: Breitbart, USA Today, Washington Free Beacon, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Axios and The Hill

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Exclusive: Michael Cohen told Congress he doesn't know if Trump knew about Russia meeting — Michael Cohen told lawmakers last year, in sworn testimony, that he didn't know whether then-candidate Donald Trump had foreknowledge of the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians, three sources with knowledge of Cohen's testimony tell Axios.

Discussion: Political Wire

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Tries to Deny His Crime With Cohen, Confesses by Mistake — Yesterday, President Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, confessed in open court to committing a crime at Trump's direction. The crime is violating campaign finance law, by using Trump's personal funds for a campaign-related expense …

Discussion: TheBlaze, Joe.My.God. and Deadline

David Klepper / Associated Press:
New York state subpoenas Cohen in Trump Foundation probe

Discussion: Conservative News Today, The Week, CNBC, TheBlaze, CBS Baltimore, CNN, Hill Reporter, Axios, France 24, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Michael Burke / The Hill:
Cohen's lawyer on Trump Tower meeting: Cohen was ‘present at a discussion with’ Trump and Trump Jr.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Washington Post

Rick Klein / ABC News:
The Note: Words matter, even in the age of Trump

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Politico

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
After fast turn against Trump, Michael Cohen threatens to leverage secrets against the president

Discussion: Politico and Washington Free Beacon

Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:
Trump campaign, tabloid publisher hatched plan to bury damaging stories, Cohen prosecutors allege

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and emptywheel, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Kruse / Politico:
'He's Unraveling': Why Cohen's Betrayal Terrifies Trump

Discussion: New York Times, NPR and BloombergQuint

John Podhoretz / Commentary Magazine:
10 Things I Hate About What's Just Happened

Discussion: CNN, The Globe Post, Sputnik International, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Daily Wire, Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune

Daniel McCarthy / Test Feed Using Fields:
Let the American People Decide Donald Trump's Fate

Discussion: American Greatness

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
In Fox interview, Trump seems to confess a campaign finance violation while trying to deny it

Discussion: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Big Think, Toronto Star, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mother Jones and Weekly Standard

Max Boot / Washington Post:
Trump is an illegitimate president whose election is tainted by fraud

Discussion: New York Times, The Week, Hot Air, The Intercept, Salon and Raw Story

Shannon Pettypiece / Bloomberg:
Trump Didn't Consult McGahn About Hush-Money Payments, Source Says

Discussion: Political Wire

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
‘How do you spin a fact?’: White House grapples with response to Cohen, Manafort convictions

Discussion: The Daily Banter, Right Wing Watch and The Week

Fox News:

Manafort juror reveals lone holdout prevented Mueller team from convicting on all counts — NORTHERN VIRGINIA - Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team was one holdout juror away from convicting Paul Manafort on all 18 counts of bank and tax fraud, juror Paula Duncan told Fox News in an exclusive interview Wednesday.

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and The Week

Tal Axelrod / The Hill:

Manafort juror: One juror prevented jury from convicting Manafort on all 18 counts — A juror who sat on former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort — 's case said on Fox News Wednesday night that only one juror prevented a ruling on all 18 counts against Manafort

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, Shareblue Media, JONATHAN TURLEY and BloombergQuint

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:

The nightmare is just beginning for Paul Manafort — Analysis: The next trial for Trump's former campaign chair will have more evidence, a longer possible sentence, and a less sympathetic judge. — WASHINGTON — Paul Manafort woke up Wednesday in a jail cell, just as he has each morning since …

Discussion: MSNBC, The National Memo, Raw Story, ThinkProgress and HuffPost

Eric Beech / Reuters:

Trump says he's considering pardon for Manafort: Fox News reporter — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he would consider pardoning his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was convicted on Tuesday of bank and tax fraud, according to a Fox News reporter who interviewed Trump.

Discussion: Political Wire

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:
Lone holdout on Manafort jury blocked conviction on all counts, juror says

Discussion: Political Wire and Fox News

Caleb Howe / Mediaite: MSNBC Trounces Fox News in Ratings on Manafort-Cohen Day, Knocking Hannity to Third

Tamar Auber / Mediaite:
Trump Considering Pardon For Paul Manafort, Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt Says

Discussion: CNBC, Fox News Insider and twitchy.com

Carrie Dann / NBC News:

Poll: Democrat O'Rourke trails Ted Cruz by just 4 percentage points in Texas — O'Rourke has 45 percent support among registered voters compared with Cruz's 49 percent; Abbott leads governor's contest by 19. — WASHINGTON — As Texas Democrats attempt to win a major statewide contest …

Discussion: Hot Air, POLITICUSUSA, Splinter, Talking Points Memo, Axios and Political Wire

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: Political Wire and POLITICUSUSA

Steven Shepard / Politico:
Poll: Trump trails several Democratic prospects in 2020 match-up

Discussion: Morning Consult, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams, twitchy.com, The Week, AOL and Political Wire

Jason Clayworth / Des Moines Register:

Lawyer: Suspect in Mollie Tibbetts' slaying worked in Iowa legally. Not true, says employer — Defense lawyer accuses ‘sad and sorry Trump’ of poisoning potential jurors — A court document filed Wednesday morning states that the man accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts was working legally in Iowa …

Jalyn Souchek / KWWL-TV:
Aunt of Mollie Tibbetts makes statement

Discussion: The National Memo, Media Matters for America, Splinter, Law & Crime, Vox, New York Times and AOL

Taylor Telford / Washington Post:
‘Stop being a ... snake’: Distant cousin of Mollie Tibbetts tells partisans not to politicize her death

Discussion: CNN and The Root

Katie Mettler / Washington Post:
Mollie Tibbetts's suspected killer, in the U.S. illegally, told investigators about her final moments

Discussion: LifeZette, The Right Scoop, New York Post, Breitbart, IJR, American Greatness, Law & Crime, Conservative Review, Shakesville and National Review

Erica L. Green / New York Times:

Betsy DeVos Is Said to Weigh Letting School Districts Use Federal Funds to Buy Guns — WASHINGTON — Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, is considering whether to allow states to use federal funding intended to increase academic and enrichment opportunities in the country's poorest schools …

Discussion: The Week, New Republic, Jezebel and Chalkbeat

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: The Daily Beast, Raw Story, TVNewser, Contemptor, Mediaite and American Greatness, more at Mediagazer »

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 …

Discussion: The Week and No More Mister Nice Blog

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.”

Michelle Boorstein / Washington Post:

Cardinal Donald Wuerl's name will be removed from Pa. high school amid allegations of sex abuse coverup — Catholic officials in Pittsburgh on Wednesday announced that a city high school would remove the words “Cardinal Wuerl” from its name amid criticism that the prominent cleric mishandled …

Discussion: CBS Pittsburgh, Breitbart, GetReligion and Daily Caller News Foundation

Hugh Hewitt / Washington Post:
The con man in the cardinal's cap

Discussion: The American Conservative, The Atlantic, Washington Blade and The Week

Politico:

‘A new cherry put on top’: Trump scandal fallout hangs over midterms — 'Payoffs and porn stars and affairs and indictments and all this stuff doesn't Make America Great Again in the suburbs,' said one Republican consultant. — As both parties seek to make sense of the fallout …

Discussion: Raw Story

Associated Press:

As electricity fails, desperate Venezuelans buy spoiled meat — MARACAIBO, Venezuela (AP) — In a city once called the Saudi Arabia of Venezuela for its vast oil wealth, residents of Maracaibo now line up to buy spoiled meat as refrigerators fail amid nine months of rolling power outages that recently got worse.