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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, MSNBC, electionlawblog.org, Common Dreams, The Week, Glamour and CNBC
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‘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, Washington Post, AOL, VICE News, The Week, Raw Story, KTLA, CNN and Mediaite


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 and Raw Story


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


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, The Week, HuffPost, The Daily Banter, CNN, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, VICE News, CNBC, Roll Call and Washington Times, more at Mediagazer »


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


'He's Unraveling': Why Cohen's Betrayal Terrifies Trump
Discussion:
Commentary Magazine, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Daily Wire

Trump Tries to Deny His Crime With Cohen, Confesses by Mistake
Discussion:
Shareblue Media, Joe.My.God. and TheBlaze

Cohen's lawyer on Trump Tower meeting: Cohen was ‘present at a discussion with’ Trump and Trump Jr.
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Washington Post

Trump campaign, tabloid publisher hatched plan to bury damaging stories, Cohen prosecutors allege
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA, CANNONFIRE, emptywheel and Reuters, more at Mediagazer »

The Note: Words matter, even in the age of Trump
Discussion:
Joe.My.God. and Politico

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

After fast turn against Trump, Michael Cohen threatens to leverage secrets against the president
Discussion:
Politico and Washington Free Beacon

Trump is an illegitimate president whose election is tainted by fraud
Discussion:
New York Times, The Week, Hot Air, Salon, The Intercept and Raw Story


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:
Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God., Breitbart, The Week and VICE News
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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, Shareblue Media, New York Times, JONATHAN TURLEY and BloombergQuint


Lone holdout on Manafort jury blocked conviction on all counts, juror says — A juror in the trial of Paul Manafort said Wednesday that all but one of the jurors wanted to convict President Trump's former campaign chairman on every charge he faced — though she criticized special counsel prosecutors …
Discussion:
Political Wire, The Week and Fox 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:
CNN, The National Memo, MSNBC, Raw Story and ThinkProgress


Trump says he's considering pardon for Manafort: Fox News reporter
Discussion:
Political Wire


Trump Considering Pardon For Paul Manafort, Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt Says
Discussion:
Deadline, Fox News Insider and twitchy.com


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
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‘It is what it is’: Republicans shrug off Trump's legal meltdown
Discussion:
ABC News, Breitbart, USA Today, Washington Free Beacon, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Axios and The Hill

With House majority at stake, Dems don't want to talk about impeaching Trump
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Contemptor

When Is an Offense Impeachable? Look to the Framers for the Answer
Discussion:
BloombergQuint, The Week, VTDigger, Common Dreams and AOL

Let the American People Decide Donald Trump's Fate
Discussion:
American Greatness


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:
Raw Story, Joe.My.God., The Week, New Republic, Jezebel and Chalkbeat


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
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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

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


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 …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, Vox, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Hill Reporter, HuffPost, Fox News, Law & Crime, Spectator USA, USA Today, New York Post, Townhall, Politico, New Republic, TheBlaze, twitchy.com, Balloon Juice, Althouse, The Gazette, CBS Baltimore, No More Mister Nice Blog, Splinter, East Bay Times, Washington Post and Benny Arthur Johnson
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Killing of Mollie Tibbetts in Iowa Inflames Immigration Debate
Discussion:
Townhall, BuzzFeed News, LifeZette, The Daily Beast and twitchy.com

Aunt of Mollie Tibbetts makes statement
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, The National Memo, Media Matters for America, Splinter, Law & Crime, Vox, New York Times and AOL


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:
Joe.My.God., The Daily Beast, Raw Story, TVNewser, Contemptor and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »


‘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
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A new poll shows 5 big challenges facing the Republicans in November
Discussion:
Political Wire and FiveThirtyEight

Despite Comey Assurances, Vast Bulk of Weiner Laptop Emails Were Never Examined — When then-FBI Director James Comey announced he was closing the Hillary Clinton email investigation for a second time just days before the 2016 election, he certified to Congress that his agency had …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics and Instapundit


China slaps back at latest United States tariffs in trade war escalation — This story is being published for Pros as part of a content partnership with the South China Morning Post. It originally appeared on scmp.com on Aug. 23, 2018. — China slapped 25 percent tariffs …
Discussion:
One America News Network
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U.S.-China trade war escalates as new tariffs kick in
Discussion:
Washington Post, New York Times and Bloomberg

‘Thanks Mr Trump’: Chinese state media mocks the president
Discussion:
Breitbart, One America News Network, SupChina, Japan Times, South China Morning Post and Raw Story


Trump tweets the word ‘Africa’ for first time as president — in defense of whites in South Africa — President Trump on Wednesday night said he was directing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures,” as well as the “killing of farmers.”
Discussion:
New York Times, Vox, ABC News, CNN and Althouse


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
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The con man in the cardinal's cap
Discussion:
The American Conservative, The Atlantic, Washington Blade and The Week