memeorandum: What to Make of the Cohen Plea and Manafort Convictions (Andrew C. McCarthy/National Review)

3:05 PM ET, August 22, 2018

Top Items:

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:

In Trump's right-wing media universe, it was a day like any other — It's Tuesday afternoon. Imagine, for a moment, that President Trump logs on to Twitter. News is breaking that could prove existential for his presidency. But his social media feed hardly records the magnitude of the developments.

Discussion: New Republic, Deadline, Daily Kos, IJR, Raw Story, Contemptor, BuzzFeed News, Althouse, Joe.My.God., No More Mister Nice Blog, Spectator USA, The Right Scoop, Common Dreams and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Lanny Davis / gofundme.com:

Michael Cohen Truth Fund — $17,822 of $500,000 goal Raised by 377 people in 9 hours — On July 2, 2018, Michael Cohen declared his independence from Donald Trump and his commitment to tell the truth. — On August 21, Michael Cohen made the decision to take legal responsibility and to continue his commitment to tell the truth.

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: Shareblue Media, ABC News, CNN and The Guardian

Garrett M. Graff / Wired:

Six Big Questions After the Cohen and Manafort Bombshells — THE HOUR OF 4 pm Tuesday, potentially one of the most consequential hours in the history of the American presidency, made clear that history books will almost certainly note Donald Trump's surprise 2016 election win with an asterisk.

Discussion: Politico, NPR, New York Times, Hullabaloo and Vox

Axios:

GOP fears Cohen set road to impeachment — Impeachment proceedings against President Trump went from a theoretical danger to a vivid reality with yesterday's guilty plea by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, sources close to the White House tell Axios. — The big picture: Cohen's guilty plea …

Discussion: ABC News, Raw Story and One America News Network

Mark Penn / The Hill:

Cohen's plea deal is prosecutor's attempt to set up Trump — Here we go, from Russia with love to campaign finance with love. — Why was Michael Cohen investigated? Because the “Steele dossier” had him making secret trips to meet with Russians that never happened, so his business dealings got …

Discussion: Breitbart, LifeZette, CANNONFIRE, Daily Wire and Washington Post

Colin Dwyer / NPR:

Michael Cohen's Lawyer Says His Client Would Never Accept Pardon From ‘Corrupt’ Trump — Less than a day after Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts in a federal court — ranging from tax evasion to campaign finance violations — Trump's longtime attorney and fixer is downplaying the possibility of a pardon.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Shareblue Media, Washington Post, Roll Call, ThinkProgress, Joe.My.God., TheBlaze, Fox News, ABC News, CNN, The Guardian, National Review, Contemptor, Politico, The Root, Conservative News Today, Don Surber and Splinter

Shannon Pettypiece / Bloomberg:

Trump Didn't Consult McGahn About Hush-Money Payments, Source Says — President Donald Trump didn't consult his campaign finance lawyer Don McGahn about hush-money payments that were made days before the election and are now the center of a criminal case, a person familiar with the matter said.

Discussion: Political Wire

NBC News:

The party of ‘Lock her up!’ faces a choice: Defend Trump or investigate? — First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter. — WASHINGTON — For a candidate whose supporters cried, “Lock her up! …

Discussion: Washington Post, MSNBC, New York Times, Daily Kos, The Right Scoop, Raw Story, Joe.My.God. and The Gateway Pundit

NBC News:

In case of Mueller firing, break glass: Democrats prep an emergency plan — Congressional action and protest rallies are among the contingencies being planned if Trump tries to shut down the Russia probe. — WASHINGTON — It would start within minutes of special counsel Robert Mueller being fired …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post and Breitbart

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:
6 Takeaways About Paul Manafort And Michael Cohen's Legal Woes

Discussion: Vox, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Conservative Review, The Atlantic, RedState, Media Matters for America and Instapundit

Jack Goldsmith / Weekly Standard: Trump's Nuclear Option

Joe Tacopino / New York Post:
Cohen willing to tell Mueller about ‘conspiracy to collude’: lawyer

Discussion: Associated Press, Lawfare, New York Daily News, The Editorial Board, Salon, Hullabaloo, Joe.My.God. and Daily Wire

Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:
Trump Learns the Cost of One-Way Loyalty

Discussion: WORLD, BloombergQuint and CNN

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

Discussion: The Guardian, Raw Story, The Daily Banter and HuffPost

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump says hush money ‘not a campaign violation’

Discussion: National Review, The Hill and The Daily Caller

Emily Birnbaum / The Hill:
Cummings calls for Oversight hearing with Cohen

Discussion: National Review and The Daily Caller

New York Times:
A One-Two Punch Puts Trump Back on His Heels

Discussion: The Atlantic, Politico, Refinery29, Shareblue Media, The Intercept, Breitbart, AOL, Media Matters for America, The Western Journal, Common Dreams, Hot Air, Conservative News Today, Media Matters for America, Lawfare, Spectator USA, Wall Street Journal, Mediaite and Political Wire

David Crook / DCReport.org:
New York Prosecutors Can Go After Trump Now, Even If Mueller Won't

Discussion: The Atlantic and Daily Kos

New York Sun:
The President in a Vise — From President Trump's point of view …

Discussion: Spectator USA and Power Line

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
What to Make of the Cohen Plea and Manafort Convictions

Discussion: Vox, NBC News, Politico, Axios and Daily Wire

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Trump's company approved $420,000 in payments to Cohen, relying on ‘sham’ invoices, prosecutors say

Discussion: USA Today, Politico, The Hill, One America News Network, Law & Crime, Just Security, Shakesville, Daily Wire, Political Wire, ABC News, The Atlantic and Breitbart

CNN:
The Cohen-Manafort fallout … GO DEEPER — How Trump World …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, The Western Journal and The Last Refuge

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
This is the moment all of Trump's anti-media rhetoric has been working toward

Discussion: The Week, Axios and Washington Post

Stephanie Murray / Politico:
Cohen won't accept pardon from Trump, attorney says

Discussion: Vox, Associated Press, Law & Crime, MARK-CM, Washington Post, Althouse, Politico and Breitbart

Curtis Houck / NewsBusters:
MSNBC Guest Dismisses Mollie Tibbetts as Some ‘Girl in Iowa’ ‘Fox News Is Talking About’

Discussion: Conservative Review, Daily Wire, 100PercentFedUp.com and Louder With Crowder

Alex Horton / Washington Post:
Michael Cohen's tweet about Hillary Clinton and prison came back to haunt him. Now it's gone.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Talking Points Memo and Townhall

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
All Eyes on the Presidency — Tuesday's conviction of Paul Manafort …

Discussion: PRI and Daily Kos

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.

Discussion: The Hill, Roll Call, Raw Story, Daily Kos and Political Wire

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: GOP frets as Trump world implodes

Discussion: New Republic, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and The Root

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:
10 of the ickiest allegations in the Duncan Hunter indictment

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New Republic, Weekly Standard, The Daily Caller, Shakesville, Roll Call, CNN, Hit & Run and Common Dreams

Alex Gangitano / Roll Call:
Here Are the D.C. Bars in Duncan Hunter Indictment

Discussion: Inside Elections, IJR, Outside the Beltway and CNN

Benny Arthur Johnson:

I promised myself I would stay off of politics while on vacation. I'll break that promise just once. — Mollie Tibbetts was an Iowan. She was raised not far from me. She went to the University of Iowa, just like me. Rooted for the Hawkeyes. She had hopes, dreams, a good upbringing & a loving family cheering for her future.

Des Moines Register:

Cristhian Rivera, charged in Mollie Tibbetts' death, worked at a farm owned by a prominent Iowa Republican family — Cristhian Rivera, the man accused in the death of Mollie Tibbetts, worked for a Brooklyn-area farm owned by the brother of a prominent Iowa Republican.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Chuck Grassley, Washington Post, Fox News, The Atlantic, Breitbart, New York Post, LifeZette, The Western Journal, IJR, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller and Law & Crime

Axios:
Republicans want to make Mollie Tibbetts a household name

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite and Law & Crime

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: Splinter and politics.myajc

Kira Lerner / ThinkProgress:
Republicans are using federal disability law to disenfranchise minority voters

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CNN, politics.myajc and Daily Kos

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, The Western Journal, Vox, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, Daily Wire, Breitbart, Sputnik International, New York Times and Mediaite

Donie O'Sullivan / CNN:

DNC calls FBI after detecting attempt to hack its voter database — (CNN)The Democratic National Committee contacted the FBI on Tuesday after it detected what it believes was the beginning of a sophisticated attempt to hack into its voter database, a Democratic source tells CNN.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, Political Wire, New York Times, POLITICUSUSA, Mashable, Booman Tribune, Engadget, Law & Crime, The Week, Hill Reporter, Raw Story and Balloon Juice

Nolan D. McCaskill / Politico:

Dems use ‘co-conspirator’ Trump line to attack Kavanaugh — Democrats launched a simultaneous attack against Donald Trump and Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday, casting the president as a “co-conspirator” and his Supreme Court nominee as a jurist whose nomination has been tainted.

Discussion: Political Wire

Emily Bazelon / New York Times:
When the Supreme Court Lurches Right

Discussion: Althouse

Christopher Hooks / GQ:

Beto O'Rourke vs. Ted Cruz and the Fight for America — Down in deep-red Texas, a fresh-faced liberal named Beto O'Rourke has a shot at beating Ted Cruz. But huge as that would be, the race has grander implications: It helps explain all the giddy hopes and secret fears of Democrats everywhere.

Tom DiChristopher / CNBC:

Saudi Arabia reportedly calls off Aramco IPO and disbands advisers — The initial public offering was expected to be the largest ever and underpinned an ambitious plan to overhaul the Saudi economy. — Saudi Arabia has scrapped its plans to list shares of its state-owned energy giant Aramco on stock exchanges, Reuters reports.