memeorandum: Joe Biden mistakenly says he met with Parkland victims while he was vice president (CNN)

6:20 AM ET, August 12, 2019

Top Items:

‘It was inevitable’: Officers watching Epstein were on overtime due to jail staffing shortage, union president says — The two correctional officers assigned to watch the special unit in the detention center where financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was being housed …

Discussion: Fox News, Miami Herald, ABC News, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian and The Week

New York Post:

There's no video of Jeffrey Epstein's apparent suicide: sources — There's no surveillance video of the incident during which Jeffrey Epstein apparently hanged himself in a federal lockup in Lower Manhattan, law-enforcement officials told The Post on Sunday.

Discussion: Big League Politics and Fox News

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Behind the scenes of Trump's Epstein-Clinton conspiracy tweet — On Saturday, the president of the United States retweeted a conspiracy theory video claiming Bill and Hillary Clinton had a hand in the death of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. — The big picture: The news media did not treat …

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today and Los Angeles Times

Abby Ohlheiser / Washington Post:

The dangerous cycle that keeps conspiracy theories in the news — and Trump's tweets — Conspiracy theories aren't fueled by facts; they are fueled by attention. On Saturday, a baseless conspiracy theory about the death of Jeffrey Epstein gorged itself on a feast of the stuff …

Discussion: The Week, Splinter, Politico, Vox, Townhall, BizPac Review and Axios

Tom Winter / NBC News:

After autopsy, cause of Jeffrey Epstein's death awaits ‘further information’ — The financier was found unresponsive Saturday in his jail cell in Manhattan, where he was being held on federal sex trafficking charges. — The New York City medical examiner's office said Sunday that it had completed …

Discussion: The Week

Lindsay M. Hayes / The Atlantic:

Epstein's Death Has a Simpler Explanation — Until the end, their lives were different in countless ways. Jeffrey Epstein, 66, a wealthy white financier with many powerful friends and clients, was a previously convicted sex offender who was facing a new indictment on sex-trafficking charges …

New York Times:
Why the Jeffrey Epstein Investigation Is Not Over

Discussion: The Daily Caller, RedState, KTLA, Law & Crime, FOX2now.com, JustOneMinute and Washington Press

New York Times:
Before Jail Suicide, Jeffrey Epstein Was Left Alone and Not Closely Monitored

New York Post:
Former MCC inmate: There's ‘no way’ Jeffrey Epstein killed himself

Discussion: Front Page Magazine, The Gateway Pundit, Big League Politics, TheBlaze, BizPac Review, RedState and Politico

New York Times: Jeffrey Epstein's Opaque Finances Could Become Focal Point for Investigators

Michael Crowley / New York Times:
Trump Shares Unfounded Fringe Theory About Epstein and Clintons

Discussion: Tampa Bay Times, CNN, Inquirer.com, Vanity Fair, Politico, Washington Post, The Root and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:

How the El Paso Killer Echoed the Incendiary Words of Conservative Media Stars — Tucker Carlson went on his prime-time Fox News show in April last year and told his viewers not to be fooled. The thousands of Central Americans on their way to the United States were “border jumpers,” not refugees, he said.

Discussion: The Resurgent

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Exclusive: Anthony Scaramucci says Trump may need to be replaced for 2020 — Anthony Scaramucci, who famously served as President Trump's communications director for 11 days, says Republicans may need to pick a different candidate in 2020. — Driving the news: In a phone interview on Sunday afternoon …

Discussion: The Week, Fox News, Breitbart, The Hill, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com, Slate, Mediaite and Towleroad Gay News

Washington Post:

The brand label that stokes Trump's fury: ‘Racist, racist, racist.’ — President Trump considers himself a branding wizard, but he is vexed by a branding crisis of his own: how to shed the label of “racist.” — As the campaign takes shape about 15 months before voters render a verdict on his presidency …

Discussion: Mother Jones and POLITICUSUSA

Rachel Frazin / The Hill: Steve Bannon: ‘President Trump is not a racist’

Devan Cole / CNN:
Scaramucci says Trump will turn on everyone ‘eventually,’ then ‘entire country’

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Press and Axios

Cameron Cawthorne / Washington Free Beacon:
O'Rourke: It's ‘Really Hard’ to See People Voting for Trump If They Aren't Racist

Discussion: Front Page Magazine, PJ Media Home, TheBlaze and Mediaite

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Inside Trump's strange pen-pal diplomacy with Justin Trudeau — President Trump has sent highly unusual, Sharpie-written notes to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at least twice, Axios has learned. — One missive was so odd, the Canadian ambassador double-checked with the White House to be sure it wasn't a prank.

Discussion: The Week, The Last Refuge and Political Wire

MSNBC:

Republican family switches support to Democrats at Iowa State Fair — MSNBC's Vaughn Hillyard speaks with a family at the Iowa State Fair who supported Sen. Ted Cruz for president in 2016 that are now planning on voting for Democrats.

Joseph Simonson / Washington Examiner:

Bernie Sanders staffers manhandle press at Iowa State Fair — DES MOINES, Iowa — A campaign staffer for Bernie Sanders was screamed at by a local photojournalist who was repeatedly shoved following the Vermont senator's remarks at the Iowa State Fair. — The confrontation erupted …

Discussion: Breitbart and TheBlaze

Elaine Godfrey / The Atlantic:
Marianne Williamson Goes for the Gut

Discussion: CNN

Rebecca Tan / Washington Post:

In D.C., New York and beyond, Jews mark annual day of mourning by protesting Trump immigration policies — Members of the Jewish community typically observe Tisha B'Av, the annual day of mourning, by fasting, reading from the book of lamentations and going to temple.

Discussion: Common Dreams and KTLA

Kanishka Singh / Reuters:

Goldman Sachs economists say fears rise that U.S.-China trade war leading to recession — (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) said on Sunday that fears of the U.S.-China trade war leading to a recession are increasing and that Goldman no longer expects a trade deal between the world's …

Rebecca Falconer / Axios:

Guatemala elects conservative Alejandro Giammattei president — Guatemala's electoral tribunal declared conservative Alejandro Giammattei the presidential election winner in a landslide victor on Sunday, Reuters reports. — Why it matters: Giammattei inherits an unpopular deal reached …

Discussion: One America News Network, UPI, Washington Post and Reuters

Joe Biden / New York Times:

Banning Assault Weapons Works — That's why, as president, I will push to ban them again. — Mr. Biden, a former senator and vice president, is a Democratic candidate for president. — Each time a mass shooting strikes one of our communities we grieve. We gather our loved ones.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Splinter