memeorandum: Gov. Andrew Cuomo book on COVID-19 response out in October (Hillel Italie/Associated Press)

1:35 PM ET, August 18, 2020

Top Items:

Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:

Trump's 2016 campaign chair was a ‘grave counterintelligence threat,’ had contact with Russian intelligence, Senate panel finds — The Trump campaign chairman's contacts with Kremlin-linked officials posed a “grave counterintelligence threat,” according to the final volume …

Discussion: Forbes

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:

Bipartisan Senate report describes 2016 Trump campaign eager to accept help from foreign power — WASHINGTON — In a thousand-page bipartisan report released Tuesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee said the Trump administration obstructed its investigation with “novel claims” of executive privilege.

Discussion: Reuters and The Week

New York Times:

G.O.P.-Led Senate Panel Details Ties Between 2016 Trump Campaign and Russia — A nearly 1,000-page report confirmed the special counsel's findings at a moment when President Trump's allies have sought to undermine that inquiry. — WASHINGTON — A sprawling report released Tuesday …

CNN: Bipartisan Senate report details Trump campaign contacts with Russia in 2016, adding to Mueller findings

republicanleader.senate.gov: McConnell on Intelligence Committee's Investigation: Our Adversaries Want to Undermine Our System of Government

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Senate Intel says FBI gave ‘unjustified credence’ to Steele dossier, Russia ‘took advantage’ of Trump transition team

Discussion: National Review and Politico

Zachary Basu / Axios:
Senate report finds Manafort passed sensitive campaign data to Russian intelligence officer

Discussion: The Guardian

Associated Press:
Senate panel finds Russia interfered in the 2016 US election

Discussion: Reuters

Politico:
Manafort was ‘grave counterintelligence threat’ due to Russian contacts, Senate panel says

Discussion: New York Post

Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg: Putin Ordered 2016 Democratic Hack, GOP-Led Panel Concludes

Lee Moran / HuffPost:

St. Louis Couple Who Pointed Guns At Black Lives Matter Protesters To Speak At RNC — Lawyers Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who face felony gun charges, will reportedly endorse Donald Trump in their convention address. — A white couple from St. Louis facing felony weapons charges …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Times and The Daily Caller

CNN:
Transcript: Michelle Obama's DNC speech

Discussion: New York Post, The Daily Beast, Daily Kos, Reason, TheBlaze, Washington Post, NPR and Althouse

Quint Forgey / Politico:
Trump to Michelle Obama: I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Barack

Discussion: Reuters, Breitbart, Fox News and Associated Press

Hillel Italie / Associated Press:
Gov. Andrew Cuomo book on COVID-19 response out in October

Discussion: Townhall, Axios, IJR, The Week, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Deadline and Spectator USA

Matthew Boyle / Breitbart:
Exclusive — GOP Convention Speakers to Include Nick Sandmann, Gov. Kristi Noem

Discussion: The Guardian, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog, Sean Hannity, The Gateway Pundit, The Week and Washington Times

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump's unhinged Twitter meltdown shows Michelle Obama drew blood

Discussion: NBC News, Vanity Fair, CBS News and Raw Story

Robin Givhan / Washington Post:
Michelle Obama's speech was like an empathetic neighbor expressing sorrow for what our country has become

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Week

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump campaign ad attacks Biden's mental faculties

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, The Hill and Washington Times

Ronn Blitzer / Fox News:
5 key moments from the Democratic National Convention's first night

Discussion: Reuters

Christopher Bedford / The Federalist:
Day 1 Of The Digital DNC: A Night Of GOP, Moderate Outreach Falls Flat

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, Slate and Vanity Fair, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:
On Democratic convention's first night, speakers blame Trump for America's woes

New York Times:
No Applause, No Crowds: Democrats Begin a Most Unusual Convention

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post and Althouse

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

GOP and Trump ties run deep on the U.S. Postal Service's board of governors — Most members of the U.S. Postal Service's board of governors have numerous ties to the Republican Party as well as President Donald Trump's associates and administration. — The Postal Service's leadership …

Discussion: BuzzFeed News

Washington Post:

At least 20 states plan to sue the U.S. Postal Service over service delays, threat to election — At least 20 states plan to file lawsuits this week against the U.S. Postal Service and its new postmaster, Louis DeJoy, seeking to reverse service changes that have prompted widespread reports …

Jacob Bogage / Washington Post:

Senate will hold Postal Service hearing with DeJoy on Friday, as mail delay fears grow — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will testify at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Friday about the U.S. Postal Service's vote-by-mail financial requirements, according to two people familiar with the decision.

Discussion: Axios, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Defense One, The Daily Caller, National Review, Raw Story, Mashable, Forbes, Politico, VTDigger and FactCheck.org

Roger Sollenberger / Salon:
DeJoy donated big to GOP senators up for re-election; they're still silent on USPS

Discussion: DSCC

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Roger Stone drops appeals of felony convictions — Longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone has unexpectedly dropped the appeal of his seven federal felony convictions for seeking to thwart a House investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. — Stone's lawyers submitted …

Discussion: Reuters, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire

Roger Stone / Stone Cold Truth:

WHY I DECIDED TO WITHDRAW THE APPEAL OF MY UNJUST CONVICTION IN THE MUELLER WITCH HUNT — On the strong advice of my attorneys and after giving the decision considerable thought, I have reluctantly decided to dismiss the appeal of what I believe to be a wrongful conviction in a trial tainted …

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, Just The News and The Hill

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

On Centennial of 19th Amendment, Trump Pardons Susan B. Anthony — President Trump's pardon of the famed suffragist Susan B. Anthony comes as women celebrate the 100th anniversary of their right to vote, and Joseph R. Biden Jr. benefits from a yawning gender gap.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Twitchy, POLITICUSUSA, The Week, The Daily Caller, Sean Hannity and Law & Crime

Associated Press:
Trump to pardon women's suffrage leader Susan Anthony

Discussion: Vox, Axios, Balloon Juice and WOOD-TV

Donald Trump / Fox News:
Susan B. Anthony to get posthumous pardon

Discussion: The Hill, Politico and Reuters

David Rothkopf / NBC News:

Trump's USPS defunding efforts prove 2020 fix is already in. Democrats need to act like it. … These are times unlike any other we have faced in our lives. A pandemic is ravaging our population, 1 in 5 households in the U.S. are food -insecure, and tens of millions of our neighbors worry that they will not be able to pay the rent.

Discussion: Mother Jones

Joshua Nelson / Fox News:
Jim Jordan says universal mail-in ballots will cause ‘chaos and confusion’: If you can protest, you can vote in person

Discussion: Reuters and Breitbart

Wall Street Journal:
Nancy Pelosi Goes Politically Postal

Discussion: Commentary Magazine, Daily Record, The Daily Caller, NPR, Washington Post, emptywheel and Daily Kos

Tim Elfrink / Washington Post:

Trump warns of a ‘big surge’ of coronavirus in New Zealand, which had just recorded nine new cases — While the novel coronavirus continues to surge through the United States, President Trump noted on Monday that other countries have also seen recent rises. Case in point, he told supporters at a Minnesota airport: New Zealand.

Discussion: Bloomberg and Political Wire

Bill Chappell / NPR:
Trump's Claim Of A New Zealand Surge Is ‘Patently Wrong,’ Ardern Says

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Cheyenne Roundtree / Daily Mail:

The President and the Epstein victim: Bill Clinton leans back and smiles while receiving neck massage from Chauntae Davis, 22, in never-before-seen photos during trip on pedophile's plane to Africa in 2002 — Bill Clinton is seen enjoying a neck massage from a Jeffrey Epstein victim in never …

Discussion: Twitchy

Mark Niesse / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Georgia voters to be made ‘inactive’ after absentee mail undeliverable — Tens of thousands of Georgia voter registrations are on track to be changed to inactive status because absentee ballot applications mailed to them last spring were undeliverable. — These voters will still be able …

Jeff Hampton / Virginian-Pilot:

‘The mystery is over’: Researchers say they know what happened to ‘Lost Colony’ — BUXTON, N.C. — The English colonists who settled the so-called Lost Colony before disappearing from history simply went to live with their native friends — the Croatoans of Hatteras, according to a new book.

Discussion: Raw Story and The Moderate Voice

Marshall Allen / ProPublica:

Cellphone Data Shows How Las Vegas Is “Gambling With Lives” Across the Country — Las Vegas casinos, open for months now, are a likely hotbed for the spread of COVID-19. For many reasons, contact tracing has proved next to impossible as tourists return to homes across the U.S.

Kelly Weill / The Daily Beast:

What Happens When Ex-Navy SEALS Go Full QAnon? — BETTER ASK NOW — Former special forces soldiers are flirting with a wide array of conspiracy theories, including QAnon. They also seem to be uniquely suited to pivoting to IRL violence. — A man filmed leaving the area …

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Guardian and Raw Story

Matt Vespa / Townhall:

Is This Real? Why Some Are Calling the DNC Outro Monday Night ‘The Moment Trump Won Re-Election’ — This cannot be real. Did two hours of watching the Democratic National Convention cause me to lose my mind. President Trump was blamed by one woman for causing her father's death from COVID.