memeorandum: The Story Behind TIME's ‘The New American Revolution’ Cover (Olivia B. Waxman/TIME)

1:40 PM ET, August 20, 2020

Top Items:

Leaders Of ‘We Build The Wall’ Online Fundraising Campaign Charged With Defrauding Hundreds Of Thousands Of Donors — Brian Kolfage, Stephen Bannon, and Two Others Alleged to Have Funneled Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars From the Organization to Kolfage; All Four Defendants Allegedly Profited From Their Roles in the Scheme

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon arrested on charges of defrauding donors in fundraising scheme — Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has been arrested after being charged with defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors through their campaign “We Build the Wall.”

Discussion: TheBlaze

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

Stephen Bannon, three others charged with defrauding donors to online fundraising campaign for border wall — Federal prosecutors in New York on Thursday unsealed criminal charges against Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump's former chief strategist, and three other men they alleged defrauded hundreds …

Discussion: Politico

NBC New York:

Former Trump Campaign Boss Steve Bannon Indicted for Fraud in NY — What to Know — Former Trump campaign CEO and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is among four people indicted for fraud in New York — Federal prosecutors allege key figures behind the “We Build the Wall” …

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY, Raw Story and The Post Millennial

Shane Savitsky / Axios:

Steve Bannon arrested and charged with fraud — Former Trump administration chief strategist Steve Bannon was charged on Thursday with fraud by federal prosecutors in New York and taken into custody. — The state of play: Bannon, along with three others, allegedly defrauded donors …

Discussion: Redstate, National Review, The American Independent, NPR and UPI

New York Times:

Steve Bannon Is Charged With Fraud in ‘We Build the Wall’ Campaign — Mr. Bannon and three others are accused in a scheme to use funds raised for construction to pay for personal expenses. — Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump's former top adviser, was charged on Thursday in New York …

Discussion: Spectator USA, IJR, Task & Purpose, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Mediaite

Fox News:

Steve Bannon, ‘We Build The Wall’ organizers arrested, charged with defrauding donors — Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President Trump, was among four suspects arrested Thursday and indicted in connection with an online fundraising campaign that allegedly defrauded investors of hundreds …

Discussion: The Hill, Reuters, The Daily Beast, One America News Network, The Gateway Pundit and The US Sun

Edmund H. Mahony / Hartford Courant:
Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon was on billionaire's yacht off Connecticut shore when federal agents arrested him early Thursday

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, more at Mediagazer »

Corinne Ramey / Wall Street Journal:
Steve Bannon Charged in Alleged Border Wall Fundraising Scheme

Discussion: Townhall

NBC News:
Ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon arrested on charges of defrauding donors to ‘Build the Wall’ campaign

Discussion: Rolling Stone and The Cain Gang

Philip Bump / Washington Post: Each of the three people who led Trump's 2016 campaign has now faced criminal charges

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:
Bannon Grifter Indictment: More Steel Bracelets for Team Trump

Discussion: Eschaton

CNN:
Steve Bannon, three others charged with fraud in border wall fundraising campaign

Discussion: The US Sun

Ryan Lizza / Politico:

Obama torches Trump like American democracy depends on it — Barack Obama went high. — On the third night of the Democratic convention — a word that seems increasingly absurd to describe what is really just two hours of nightly programming from the DNC — the former president delivered …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, New York Times, The Atlantic, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Politico, Political Wire, NBC News, Reuters, Axios, MSNBC and NBC News

Richard Wolffe / The Guardian:
Obama returned to torment Trump in ways that only a member of the Oval Office club can

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, NBC News, Reason and The Hill

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner: What will NeverTrumpers do if Biden and Harris win?

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Obama's Convention Speech Is the First Time I Have Seen Him Scared

Discussion: Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, Fox News, NPR and Axios

Andrew Stiles / Washington Free Beacon: In Dark and Divisive Speech, Obama Seeks to Turn Back Clock on America

Kyle Sammin / The Federalist:
Kamala Harris Nod Tells Blue-Collar Workers Democrats Are Done With Them

Discussion: The Salmon of Knowledge and Breitbart

Roger Kimball / Spectator USA:
For the Democrats' sake, I hope the DNC viewership is low

Discussion: American Greatness

Julie Pace / Associated Press:
Obama, in scathing Trump rebuke, warns democracy on the line

Discussion: TheGrio and Associated Press

Ann Coulter:
The Jared Kushner Achievement Award Goes to ... Kamala!

Discussion: Townhall

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Obama issues a dire warning about American democracy in stunning rebuke of Trump

Discussion: CBS News, Daily Kos, American Greatness and Mashable

Marisa Schultz / Fox News:
Obama to say Trump ‘never’ took presidency seriously, Clinton to call president ‘dangerous’ in DNC speeches

Discussion: Vox, Vanity Fair, Breitbart and The Daily Beast

Matt Stevens / New York Times:
Kamala Harris Accepts Vice-Presidential Nomination: Full Transcript

Discussion: New Republic, National Review, The Daily Caller, Althouse and Breitbart

Aaron Gordon / VICE:

USPS Headquarters Tells Managers Not to Reconnect Mail Sorting Machines, Emails Show — “We are not to reconnect any machines that have previously been disconnected.” — Aaron Gordon — Shortly after USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy issued a public statement saying he wanted to …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Post Millennial, WisconsinWatch.org, TheGrio, The Daily Caller and The Hill

Mila Mimica / KGW-TV:
Seven USPS mail sorting machines dismantled in Portland

Discussion: WOOD-TV

Zachary Basu / Axios:

Judge throws out Trump's effort to block subpoena for financial records — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit from President Trump that sought to block Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance's subpoena for his financial records. — Why it matters: The Supreme Court ruled …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Reuters, Associated Press, Bloomberg Law, One America News Network and Raw Story

New York Times:

Trump Must Turn Over Tax Returns to D.A., Judge Rules — A federal judge rejected the president's argument that a subpoena seeking eight years of his tax returns was ‘wildly overbroad.’ — A federal judge on Thursday rejected President Trump's latest effort to block the Manhattan district attorney …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Judge tosses Trump's attempt to block subpoena from Manhattan prosecutors for financial docs

Discussion: Associated Press and Reuters

Christopher J. Sprigman / New Republic:
A Constitutional Weapon for Biden to Vanquish Trump's Army of Judges

Discussion: Raw Story

The Daily Beast:

Putin Critic Alexey Navalny Allegedly Poisoned by Toxin in His Tea — The Russian anti-corruption activist was rushed to the hospital in an unconscious state on Thursday morning, according to his press secretary. — MOSCOW—Vladimir Putin's nemesis, corruption fighter Aleksey Navalny …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, New York Post and One America News Network

New York Times:
Aleksei Navalny Hospitalized in Russia in Suspected Poisoning

Discussion: NBC News, Breitbart, Associated Press, CNN and Foreign Policy

Brian Stelter / Vanity Fair:

“Hannity Has Said to Me More Than Once, 'He's Crazy'”: Fox News Staffers Feel Trapped in the Trump Cult — Inside the network staffers are cringing, and even Trump's “shadow chief of staff” has his doubts. “If you were hearing what I'm hearing, you'd be vaping too,” Sean Hannity told a colleague during Trump's early days.

Discussion: The Week, Raw Story and Political Wire

Victoria McGrane Globe / The Boston Globe:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorses Joe Kennedy in race against Ed Markey — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is endorsing Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III in his primary challenge to incumbent Senator Edward J. Markey, a boost for the challenger in what polls suggest is a neck-and-neck race.

Discussion: Axios

Courier-Journal:

US Senate report says Russian investor in Braidy Industries' mill is a proxy for the Kremlin — A Russian company that has invested in Braidy Industries' planned aluminum rolling mill in Eastern Kentucky was identified as a proxy of the Kremlin in a new report the Senate Intelligence Committee released this week.

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:
The Trump Campaign Accepted Russian Help to Win in 2016. Case Closed.

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story and Sputnik News

Nana-Séntuo Bonsu / WTKR-TV:

Portsmouth community leaders asking for Police Chief Angela Greene to resign immediately after felony charges against Sen. Louise Lucas, 13 others — PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Community members in Portsmouth have some questions. “Why is it that they are attacking our leaders?”

Ganesh Setty / CNN: Virginia state senator turns herself in to face charges in connection with the dismantling of a Confederate monument

Lee Moran / Yahoo News:

Susan B. Anthony Museum Rejects Trump Pardon, Tells How He Can Really Honor Her — Susan B. Anthony has on her behalf declined President — Donald Trump's pardon of the late women's suffrage leader. — The — National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in Rochester, New York …

Olivia B. Waxman / TIME:

The Story Behind TIME's ‘The New American Revolution’ Cover — Olivia is a Staff Writer. An honors graduate of Columbia Journalism School and Hamilton College, she grew up in New York City. — At a time when many Americans are asking whether the United States is living …

Discussion: The Root