memeorandum: Amid ‘bloodbath’ fears, US warns Assad against using chemical weapons (France 24)

6:35 AM ET, September 5, 2018

Top Items:

Mueller Will Accept Some Written Answers From Trump — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, will accept written answers from President Trump on questions about whether his campaign conspired with Russia's election interference, Mr. Mueller's office told Mr. Trump's lawyers in a letter, two people briefed on it said on Tuesday.

Discussion: emptywheel, NPR, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, CNBC, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Times, The Guardian and Mediaite

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

Trump Unleashes on Woodward, Accuses Him of Making Up Quotes and Being a ‘Dem Operative’ — President Donald Trump is accusing veteran journalist Bob Woodward of running a “con” and being a “Dem operative.” — Earlier tonight, Trump tweeted out the statements from the White House …

Discussion: The Guardian, RedState, Politico and Deadline

Saagar Enjeti / The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Says Bob Woodward Has ‘A Lot Of Credibility Problems’ — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump addressed newly released excerpts from Bob Woodward's book on his administration, denying some specific allegations and accusing the author of credibility issues, in an exclusive Oval Office interview with The Daily Caller.

Discussion: Politico, CNBC, Washington Post, New York Times, Vox, The Hill, CNN, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Axios, Raw Story, HuffPost, Breitbart, Mother Jones, Daily Kos and Roll Call

Washington Post:

Bob Woodward's new book reveals a ‘nervous breakdown’ of Trump's presidency — John Dowd was convinced that President Trump would commit perjury if he talked to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. So, on Jan. 27, the president's then-personal attorney staged a practice session to try to make his point.

Gabriel Pogrund / Washington Post:

Southern Republican senators reject Trump's criticism of Sessions — Southern Republican senators defended Jeff Sessions after an explosive new book by Bob Woodward recounted how President Trump called his attorney general a “dumb Southerner” and mocked his accent.

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Transcript: Phone call between President Trump and journalist Bob Woodward — Bob Woodward, an associate editor at The Washington Post, sought an interview with President Trump as he was writing “Fear,” a book about Trump's presidency. Trump called Woodward in early August …

Discussion: HuffPost, CNN, CNBC, CBS Miami, Raw Story, Politico, Bloomberg, New Republic, AOL, The Atlantic, The Root, The Daily Caller, BloombergQuint, Mediaite, Breitbart and Talking Points Memo

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Report: Everybody in the White House Considers Trump an Idiot

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Wall Street Journal, CNBC and Raw Story

CNN:
Bob Woodward: Trump's aides stole his papers ‘to protect the country’

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Axios, Washington Post, Florida Politics, CBS Boston, Vox, CBS San Francisco, Raw Story, IJR, Mediaite, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Rudy Giuliani to Trump advisors ripping the president in Bob Woodward's new book: Find another job

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, Hullabaloo, Raw Story, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

CNN:
Mueller responds to Trump team; discussions focus more on written questions

Discussion: Washington Post

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post: Mueller tells Trump's legal team that he will accept written answers on campaign questions

Steven Nelson / Washington Examiner:
Ex-Trump lawyer John Dowd disputes details in Bob Woodward book

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, CNN, Raw Story, Sputnik International, The Daily Caller and Townhall

Kalhan Rosenblatt / NBC News:

Parkland victim's father and Kavanaugh: The handshake that wasn't — “I guess he did not want to deal with the reality of gun violence,” Fred Guttenberg, father of slain Parkland student Jaime Guttenberg, wrote on Twitter. — The father of a student killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas …

Discussion: CBS News, SCOTUSblog and Mother Jones

Paul Farrell / Heavy.com:

Zina Bash Is the Woman Sitting Behind Brett Kavanaugh — The woman sitting behind Judge Brett Kavanaugh has emerged as a Twitter star as she has been accused of smirking when Democrats are speaking and looking “smug” during the hearing. The woman has been identified as Zina Bash, 36.

Discussion: News One, National Review, The Root, Politico, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hollywood Life, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart and Daily Wire

Politico:
Schumer, Democrats wrestled over staging mass Kavanaugh walkout

Discussion: Power Line, Breitbart, HuffPost, The Daily Beast, Shareblue Media, ABC News, Political Wire and MSNBC

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
The Democrats Are Crazy — I was working today and couldn't watch …

Discussion: TIME, CNN, Althouse and The American Spectator

Elizabeth Price Foley / The Hill:
Dems can't ‘Bork’ Kavanaugh, and have only themselves to blame

Discussion: The New Neo, Politico, Axios and The Daily Beast

David French / National Review:
Ben Sasse Conducts a Two-Minute Master Class in American Civics

Discussion: RedState and Breitbart

Hot Air:
Today's “Controversy”: Kavanaugh Declines Handshake From Father Of Murdered Parkland Student

Discussion: ABC News, twitchy.com, New York Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Townhall

Michael Kranish / Washington Post:
The story behind the withheld documents of the Kavanaugh hearing

Discussion: Associated Press, Politico, The Atlantic and Vox

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:

Ayanna Pressley Upsets Capuano in Massachusetts House Race — BOSTON — Ayanna Pressley upended the Massachusetts political order on Tuesday, scoring a stunning upset of 10-term Representative Michael Capuano and positioning herself to become the first African-American woman to represent the state in Congress.

Discussion: CBS News, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Axios, Breitbart, New Republic, Vox and ThinkProgress

Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:

Ayanna Pressley Ousts 20-Year Incumbent Michael Capuano in Massachusetts Primary Shocker — She is the second progressive woman of color to defeat a long-term male white incumbent this cycle. — Another major upset of a Democratic congressman took place in Massachusetts on Tuesday night.

Discussion: Washington Post, HuffPost and Politico

Stephanie Akin / Roll Call:
Ayanna Pressley Upsets Rep. Capuano in Massachusetts Democratic Primary

Discussion: CQ.com

The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Critical, But Says Nike's Kaepernick Deal ‘Is What This Country Is All About’ — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Nike sent a “terrible message” this week by making former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick one of the faces representing the 30th anniversary of the company's “Just Do It” campaign.

Josh Barro / Business Insider:
Here's why more brands, like Nike with Colin Kaepernick, are openly liberal

Discussion: Yahoo Sports and AOL

Salena Zito / New York Post:

The Twitter trolls attacking my work are all wrong — “Dad, it's not true,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady through tears. — My 81-year-old father had just seen a Huffington Post headline — “Take Salena Zito Neither Seriously Nor Literally On Trump Voters” — with a picture of me next to it.

Discussion: twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »

Bret Stephens / New York Times:

Now Twitter Edits The New Yorker — The venerable magazine hands the reins to the digital mob. — A common complaint of liberal journalists about conservative politicians is that the latter lack for courage. As in: Paul Ryan knows that Donald Trump is a bigot and a danger …

Discussion: Politico, The American Conservative, No More Mister Nice Blog, NBC News, The Hill, Economist, Pitchfork, Vox and POLITICUSUSA, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:

FBI Director Christopher Wray becomes the latest target for Trump's ire — Wray is the latest in a growing list of Justice Department officials who have angered the president, NBC News has learned. — WASHINGTON — In recent conversations with confidants, President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Raw Story, MSNBC and Talking Points Memo

Byron York / Washington Examiner: On Trump-Russia, too much secrecy keeps public in dark

Todd J. Gillman / Dallas Morning News:

Heavily spliced Ted Cruz video falsely depicts Beto O'Rourke saying he's ‘grateful’ for flag burning — WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz's latest effort to inflame conservatives — a video in which Rep. Beto O'Rourke appears to express enthusiasm for flag burning — hinges on heavy splicing …

John Carreyrou / Wall Street Journal:

Blood-Testing Firm Theranos to Dissolve — Firm, tarred by scandal, will pay creditors its remaining cash — Theranos Inc., the blood-testing company accused of perpetrating Silicon Valley's biggest fraud, will soon cease to exist. — In the wake of a high-profile scandal …

Discussion: Engadget, more at Techmeme »

France 24:

Amid ‘bloodbath’ fears, US warns Assad against using chemical weapons — With the United Nations warning of a potential “bloodbath” in Syria's Idlib province, the United States warned President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday it would respond “swiftly and appropriately” if he uses chemical weapons against his own people.

David Ignatius / Washington Post: Working with Russia on cybercrime is like hiring a burglar to protect the family jewels

Jennifer Calfas / TIME:

‘Every Job is Worthwhile.’ Former Cosby Show Actor Speaks Out After Job-Shaming Photo Goes Viral — A former Cosby Show actor is speaking out after a photograph surfaced showing him working at a grocery store in what many perceived as an attempt to shame him for his job.

Discussion: NorthJersey.com and USA Today

Saagar Enjeti / The Daily Caller:

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Prepped Lawsuit Against NBC Over ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump attacked NBC's journalistic credibility and called into question the authenticity and legality of the “Access Hollywood” tape leaked during the 2016 election …

Discussion: Mediaite, Reuters, Vox, Observer, illegal immigration …, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Raw Story, Washington Times, Deadline and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Christopher Cadelago / Politico:

Trump allies delight in video of Schumer appearing to endorse impeachment — Republicans close to President Donald Trump have been looking for ways to make the case to midterm voters that Democrats are hellbent on pushing for impeachment if they win control of Congress.

Paul Crookston / Washington Free Beacon:
Chuck Schumer on Impeaching Trump: ‘The Sooner the Better’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Gregory S. Schneider / Washington Post:

A Republican congressman helped a rival collect signatures to get on the ballot. Some of those signatures were fake. — VIRGINIA BEACH — Rep. Scott W. Taylor (R-Va.) sat in the backroom of his campaign office in a strip mall. Mini-blinds closed, a modest “Scott Taylor U.S. Congress” …