memeorandum: Scott jets around on secrecy-heavy ‘bus tour’ (Marc Caputo/Politico)

10:05 PM ET, September 11, 2018

Top Items:

Scoop: Gary Cohn takes on Bob Woodward — Gary Cohn, former White House economic adviser to President Trump, is taking on Bob Woodward's “Fear” with a statement calling it inaccurate — but is declining to say what specifically Woodward has gotten wrong. — What he's saying …

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart, New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, AOL, Hullabaloo, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo and Washington Times

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

What a baby — Only a man who is deeply worried about his own strength would talk as much as Donald Trump does about the danger of appearing weak. — That's my biggest takeaway from reading “Fear,” Bob Woodward's new book about the Trump presidency. The scoops were mostly revealed last week.

Greg Sargent / Washington Post: Another big Woodward reveal: Trump's bottomless bad faith and nonstop lying

Tara Palmeri / ABC News:
Trump only trusts ‘much smaller’ group of aides in White House after op-ed, Donald Trump Jr. says

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, The Daily Caller, Bustle, Raw Story, Law & Crime, Washington Times, Politico, Breitbart, ThinkProgress, Splinter and The Slot

John W. Schoen / CNBC:
Trump told Gary Cohn to ‘print money’ to lower the national debt, according to Bob Woodward's book

Discussion: Raw Story

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Trump wins dismissal of ‘inciting to riot’ claim over 2016 rally

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Mike Allen / Axios:
Scoop: Rob Porter claims Woodward book is “misleading”

Discussion: The Atlantic, Breitbart, CNN, Washington Post, Washington Times, Vox and Mediaite

Emily Bohatch / The State:

SC officials won't evacuate prison despite mandatory order ahead of hurricane — As nearly a million people hit the road before Hurricane Florence nears the coast, 934 inmates and as many as 119 prison staff will be staying behind despite a mandatory evacuation.

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Charlotte Observer, Online NewsHour, Virginian-Pilot, CNN, Navy Times and Union of Concerned Scientists

Nidhi Prakash / BuzzFeed News:
More Than 2,000 Puerto Ricans Applied For Funeral Assistance After Hurricane Maria. FEMA Approved Just 75.

Discussion: Raw Story, Deadline, Common Dreams and Mediaite

Matthew Choi / Politico:
Trump claims his Hurricane Maria response was an ‘incredible unsung success’

Discussion: Axios, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, One America News Network, Political Wire and AccuWeather.com

Max Golembo / ABC News:
Hurricane Florence could knock out power for weeks, FEMA warns

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CNN, HuffPost, Mashable, Hullabaloo, IJR, Common Dreams, Bustle and AccuWeather.com

NHC Webmaster / NHC Atlantic Wallet 1: Summary for Hurricane Florence (AT1/AL062018)

NBC News:
Trump says feds are ‘totally prepared’ for Hurricane Florence

Discussion: NPR, CNBC, ThinkProgress and Bustle

Abbie Bennett / The Charlotte Observer:
What happens to NC's wild horses when a major hurricane like Florence hits?

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Real Clear Politics and Corolla Wild Horse Fund

Tom Hamburger / Washington Post:

Manafort in talks with prosecutors about possible plea, according to people familiar with the discussions — Days before in-person jury selection is set to begin in his second trial, President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is in talks with the special counsel's office …

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Post:

Email from Cuomo aide casts doubt on claims over anti-Semitic mailer — Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was blindsided by an “inappropriate” political mailer tying Cynthia Nixon to anti-Semitism — but just a day before the inflammatory literature surfaced, one of his top campaign aides pitched …

Discussion: Gothamist, CNBC and Fox News

Jesse McKinley / New York Times: Cuomo Campaign Shifts Blame for Inflammatory Flier about Cynthia Nixon to ‘Constituency Representative’

Lisa Lerer / New York Times:
On Politics With Lisa Lerer: Cynthia Nixon Talks Bagels, Polls and Cuomo

Discussion: Eater, Rochester Democrat … and Washington Post

Burgess Everett / Politico:

McConnell screws Dems ahead of election with October session — The majority leader wants to deprive Democrats up for reelection the chance to campaign. — Traditionally the Senate hits the road for October of an election year. But the Senate is throwing tradition out the window this year.

Discussion: The Hill and POLITICUSUSA

Sean Sullivan / Washington Post: ‘Shipwreck’: GOP grows fearful about losing Senate as candidates struggle, Trump support tumbles

NBC News:
McConnell says close Senate midterm races like ‘a knife fight in an alley’

Discussion: BloombergQuint, Bloomberg, Splinter and Mediaite

Joe Scarborough / Washington Post:

Trump is harming the dream of America more than any foreign adversary ever could — Cataclysmic events often bring with them violent and abrupt endings to settled ages and long-established norms. Those absorbing the impact of these historical aftershocks rarely grasp the epochal changes in real time.

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

Scarborough: Trump A ‘Far Graver Threat to the Idea of America’ Than 9/11 Attack — 9/11 is always a somber day for reflection, especially for those in New York on that fateful day, and on this tough day Joe Scarborough penned a column for the Washington Post in which the former GOP congressman …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com, RedState, Sara A. Carter, Daily Wire, Breitbart and Washington Times

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
Trump's long history of lying about 9/11 and exploiting it for personal gain

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, HuffPost, Hullabaloo, CNBC and Shakesville

Garance Franke Ruta / New York Magazine:

This Week in Julia Salazar She had a trust fund, her ancestors were Catholic elites, and she has a new version of her conversion story. — A state senate race that was once hailed as a test of the rising strength and power of insurgent socialists has devolved into a full-fledged New York City tabloid circus …

Discussion: Spectator USA

Tana Ganeva / Rolling Stone:

This Is the Story of How a Campaign Goes Off the Rails — What Julia Salazar's topsy-turvy summer may mean for future insurgent candidates on the far left — Exactly one week before the New York state primary, 27-year-old Julia Salazar faced a political candidate's worst nightmare.

Discussion: Matt Karp, The Slot, Gothamist and Law & Crime

Jillian Jorgensen / New York Daily News:
Citizens Union drops endorsement of Julia Salazar, citing ‘not correct’ information about her academic credentials

Discussion: Hot Air and twitchy.com

Stef W. Kight / Axios:

U.S. expects to hit $1 trillion deficit earlier than planned — The U.S. deficit grew by $222 billion from this time last year — reaching a total of $895 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. — Why it matters: This increase was due mostly to the new Republican tax law …

Discussion: The Hill, CBO Publications, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Daily Caller

Washington Post: Government borrowing soars despite robust economy

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:
House GOP is pushing a new round of tax cuts that could cost $2 trillion over 10 years

Discussion: Vox, ThinkProgress, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Common Dreams, RedState and Ways and Means

CBS San Francisco:

Castro Valley Man Accused Of Switchblade Assault On GOP Congressional Candidate — CASTRO VALLEY (CBS SF) - A man was arrested on suspicion of felony assault and other charges after allegedly attempting to stab a Republican congressional candidate with a switchblade over the weekend at in Castro Valley …

Discussion: Mercury News, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, twitchy.com and Daily Wire

Megan Cassidy / San Francisco Chronicle:
Cops: Castro Valley man tried to stab congressional candidate Rudy Peters with switchblade after ‘disparaging’ GOP

Discussion: CBS Los Angeles and The Gateway Pundit

Paul Blumenthal / HuffPost:

Sheldon Whitehouse Asks Brett Kavanaugh If He Has A Gambling Problem — No senator has asked the Supreme Court nominee about his debts until now. — Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wants to know if Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, has a gambling problem.

Eli Rosenberg / Washington Post:
Activists raised $1 million to defeat Susan Collins if she votes for Kavanaugh. She says it's bribery.

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times and RedState

Joe Lawlor / Press Herald:
Crowdfunding campaign tied to Collins' vote on Kavanaugh surpasses $1 million

Discussion: Kennebec Journal … and Mother Jones

Sara Carter / Sara A. Carter:

BREAKING: Page and Strzok Texts Reveal They Discussed Writing a “Folksy” Op-ed on Russia — Strzok and Page discussed writing an oped on Russia about two months before the 2016 presidential election — The pair also discuss how a September 2016 article on Russian election meddling was “100 percent authorized” and “well sourced”

Discussion: ABC News, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post and ThinkProgress

emptywheel:
The Frothy Right Is Furious that Peter Strzok Pursued the Guy Leaking about Carter Page

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, Mother Jones, Washington Examiner, New York Post, The Daily Signal and Hullabaloo

NBC News:

U.S. officials suspect Russia in mystery ‘attacks’ on diplomats in Cuba, China — The strong suspicion that Russia was behind the alleged attacks is backed by signals intelligence, meaning intercepted communications, say U.S. officials. — WASHINGTON — Intelligence agencies investigating mysterious …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, New Republic, Shakesville, The Moderate Voice, Babalú Blog, Fox News Insider, Roll Call and Political Wire

Marc Caputo / Politico:

Scott jets around on secrecy-heavy ‘bus tour’ — Gov. Rick Scott used his private jet Tuesday to commute to a Senate campaign stop for his “bus tour,” marking his second stumble since announcing he was traveling the Florida highways this week to “Make Washington Work.”

Discussion: Political Wire and Raw Story

Erica Orden / CNN:

New York tax investigators to meet with Cohen's attorney, at odds with federal prosecutors' request — Cohen seeks to tear up Stormy Daniels deal — (CNN)New York state tax department investigators are scheduled to meet Tuesday with an attorney for President Donald Trump's former personal …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Raw Story and Daily Kos

Reuters:

Exclusive: Trump to target foreign meddling in U.S. elections with sanctions order - sources — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order as soon as Wednesday that will slap sanctions on any foreign companies or people who interfere in U.S. elections …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Axios and Washington Times

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Facebook's idea of ‘fact-checking’: Censoring ThinkProgress because conservative site told them to — Last year, Facebook announced that it would partner with The Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine, to “fact check” news articles that are shared on Facebook. At the time, ThinkProgress expressed alarm at this decision.

Discussion: New Republic, RedState, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com, Daily Kos and Weekly Standard, more at Mediagazer »

Hunter Woodall / Kansas City Star:

Kansas GOP lawmakers' silence on whether they support Kobach angers some within party — TOPEKA — Kris Kobach may be the chosen standard-bearer for the Kansas Republican Party, but elected GOP officials are less than unified behind him in his run for governor.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and Political Wire

Washington Post:

The GOP finds yet another way to suppress the vote — IT WAS 5 p.m. on a Friday, just as Labor Day weekend was starting, when, without warning, faxes arrived at North Carolina's state board of elections and 44 county election boards. The faxes contained a demand so outlandish …

Discussion: WRAL-TV

Kevin Doyle / Independent.ie:

US President Donald Trump cancels controversial planned visit to Ireland — US President Donald Trump has cancelled his visit to Ireland planned for later this year, Independent.ie understands. — Sources say the controversial trip, planned for November 12, will not now go ahead.

Discussion: The Hill, The Irish Times, IJR, Splinter, Washington Press and Talking Points Memo

David French / National Review:

The Worst Police Shooting Yet — Amber Guyger's killing of Botham Shem Jean is an unspeakable tragedy. It also highlights the need for officers like Guyger to face impartial justice. — It is hard to think of a more tragic, more senseless shooting in America than the killing last week …

Discussion: Bustle, Hit & Run and CTVNews