memeorandum: A STATEMENT BY FORMER REPUBLICAN NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIALS (Adm. Steve Abbot/Defending Democracy Together)

7:35 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

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 — Stephen K. Bannon, former top advisor to President Donald Trump, was arrested while on a yacht off Westbrook early Thursday, law enforcement sources said.

Discussion: Reuters, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller, Vox, New York Post and Wall Street Journal, more at Mediagazer »

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: National Review, Politico, The American Independent, Washington Post, CNBC, Daily Kos, Law & Crime, The Daily Signal, The US Sun, Spectator USA, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Task & Purpose, IJR, The Week and The Daily Caller

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:

The “Narcissism and Ego” That Led to Steve Bannon's Arrest — On Thursday, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged Steve Bannon—a top strategist on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, and one of his key White House advisers before being fired, in 2017—with fraud.

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story and The American Independent

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:

Trump directed Homeland Security to give $400 million to firm tied to Bannon's We Build the Wall scheme: report — President Donald Trump was caught in a precarious position when one of his top former aides and former campaign CEO was indicted for fraud after running a fake effort to build the wall on the southern American border.

Discussion: HillReporter.com

NBC News:
Who is Guo Wengui, the Chinese billionaire who owns the boat Steve Bannon was arrested on?

Discussion: The Cain Gang

CNN:
Fact check: Trump knows most people involved in private border wall project, despite claiming not to

Discussion: Axios, NBC News and Raw Story

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:
Bannon's indictment confirms that the American right is made up of con artists

Discussion: Raw Story, The Mahablog and Mother Jones

NBC New York:
Former Trump Campaign Boss Steve Bannon Indicted for Fraud in NY

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, JONATHAN TURLEY, The Week, Breitbart, Raw Story, NBC Connecticut and The Post Millennial

Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:
The ‘We Build The Wall’ Huckster Is Accused of Duping Donors. Turns Out He Planned To Sell Their Data Too.

Discussion: Fox News and Reuters

Morgan Phillips / Fox News:
Steve Bannon pleads not guilty after indictment in ‘We Build the Wall’ case

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:
Steve Bannon charged with defrauding donors in private effort to raise money for Trump's border wall

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, BuzzFeed News, New York Times, Political Flare, Axios, Politico, Mother Jones, Mediaite, Forbes, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story and The Week

Los Angeles Times:

‘Like Armageddon’: Rotting food, dead animals and chaos at postal facilities amid cutbacks — Six weeks ago, U.S. Postal Service workers in the high desert town of Tehachapi, Calif., began to notice crates of mail sitting in the post office in the early morning that should have been shipped out for delivery the night before.

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: Snopes.com, The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Post Millennial and TheGrio

Aaron Gordon / VICE:

USPS Warns Employees Not to Speak to Press — Memos obtained by Motherboard warn USPS employees that nosy customers could be sneaky reporters. — Aaron Gordon — Memos are trickling down the United States Postal Service bureaucracy warning employees that they should not speak to the press …

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:
Postmaster general eyes aggressive changes at Postal Service after election

Discussion: American Prospect, Raw Story and WisconsinWatch.org

Politico:
Dems say evidence shows DeJoy was picked to lead Postal Service after ‘highly irregular’ process

Discussion: New York Times and The Hill

Adm. Steve Abbot / Defending Democracy Together:

A STATEMENT BY FORMER REPUBLICAN NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIALS — We are former national security officials who served during the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and/or Donald Trump, or as Republican Members of Congress.

Discussion: ABC News, Axios, Foreign Policy, POLITICUSUSA and The Hill

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Top Republican National Security Officials Say They Will Vote for Biden

Discussion: The Week

Tim Reid / Reuters:
Former Republican CIA, FBI heads and national security officials to back Biden

Discussion: Raw Story

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
GOP foreign policy defectors form an alliance with Biden — for now

Discussion: USA Today

New York Times:

The Republican Embrace of QAnon Goes Far Beyond Trump — As the president all but endorses the internet-driven conspiracy theory, it is shifting from the fringes of the internet to become an offline political movement. — Late last month, as the Texas Republican Party was shifting into campaign mode …

Discussion: Raw Story, National Review, The Daily Caller, Forbes and Axios

Jared Holt / Right Wing Watch:

Texas QAnon Supporter Used Car to Attack Strangers She Believed Were ‘Pedophiles’ — A Waco, Texas, woman arrested last week and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and driving while intoxicated appears to have been motivated by the QAnon conspiracy theory President …

Discussion: New York Times

Ben Kesslen / NBC News:
Trump's QAnon embrace draws GOP backlash

Discussion: Washington Post, The Bulwark and HillReporter.com

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
How to talk — and ask — about QAnon

Discussion: The Indian Express and Mashable

Matthew Choi / Politico:

Hunter Biden to talk at Democratic convention — Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and a favorite punching bag of Republicans, plans to speak on Thursday during the last night of the Democratic National Convention. — Hunter Biden has been a common focal point …

Discussion: Reuters, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, The Hill, Breitbart, Fox News and Daily Kos

Adam Carlson / People.com:
Stephen and Ayesha Curry Say 'We're Voting for Joe Biden' and Will Appear with Their Kids at DNC

Discussion: Mercury News

Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call: Schumer: Ditching filibuster not ‘off the table’ if Biden, Democrats win

Ryan Lizza / Politico:
Obama torches Trump like American democracy depends on it

Discussion: Fox News, Reuters, Washington Post, New York Times, New York Magazine, CBS News, The Atlantic, The Daily Caller, CNN, The Moderate Voice, Breitbart, Political Wire and Axios

Washington Post:
Trump says Biden, who was a child when his family left Pennsylvania, ‘abandoned’ the state

Discussion: Fox News, TheBlaze and The Hill

Orion Rummler / Axios:
Hunter Biden slated to speak at final night of DNC

Discussion: Politico, The Hill and Twitchy

NBC News:

Trump cabinet officials voted in 2018 White House meeting to separate migrant children, say officials — WASHINGTON — In early May 2018, after weeks of phone calls and private meetings, 11 of the president's most senior advisers were called to the White House Situation Room where they were asked …

Discussion: The Week and Mediaite

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: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Forbes, Axios, The Hill, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, Sean Hannity, Roll Call, New York Post and Twitchy

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Pelosi endorses Kennedy over Markey in tight Massachusetts Senate primary

Discussion: Reuters, Fox News and Associated Press

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: Redstate, Political Flare, HillReporter.com, Raw Story and The Week

Chicago Tribune:

Citing threats, Mayor Lori Lightfoot defends ban on protesters on her block: ‘I have a right to make sure that my home is secure’ — Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended the Chicago Police Department's ban on protesters being able to demonstrate on the block where she lives, telling reporters Thursday …

Discussion: Redstate, The Daily Caller and NBC Chicago

Politico:

Falwell's use of yacht comes under scrutiny — Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. has repeatedly used a 164-foot yacht owned by NASCAR mogul Rick Hendrick for family vacations after the university committed to a lucrative sponsorship deal with Hendrick Motorsports …

Discussion: Raw Story

Marisa Fernandez / Axios:

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy tests positive for coronavirus — Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said Thursday that he tested positive for the coronavirus, and is “strictly following the direction of our medical experts” by quarantining, local ABC affiliate WBRZ reports. — The big picture …

Discussion: WBRZ, The Week, Associated Press, Politico, The Daily Caller and One America News Network

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

Looks like Trump just validated a key Stormy Daniels affair allegation — by complaining about sharks — Since normal political rallies are out of the question for the moment, President Trump has been re-creating the experience by flying to battleground states and giving speeches to supportive audiences …

Discussion: Raw Story

Anita Kumar / Politico:

Democrats question whether Trump is breaking the law with RNC speech — A House committee is questioning whether President Donald Trump might be breaking the law next week if he orders government employees to assist in his Republican National Convention speech.

Discussion: Raw Story

CNN:
Trump in overdrive to produce a blockbuster RNC that outshines Dems

Discussion: New York Post

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: Talking Points Memo, Vanity Fair, DCReport.org, TheGrio, Mother Jones and POLITICUSUSA

Richard Salame / The Intercept:

Trump Comes Up Empty When Pressed for Evidence of Election Fraud in Court — President Donald Trump's campaign, ordered by a federal court judge in Pennsylvania to back up its claims of fraud in the state's vote-by-mail system, has documented only a handful of cases of election fraud in recent years …

Discussion: Raw Story

David Slotnick / Business Insider:

Navy SEAL who killed Osama Bin Laden was banned by Delta for refusing to wear a mask on a flight — James O'Neill, the former Navy SEAL famous for his role in the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, was banned by Delta Air Lines on Thursday for refusing to wear a mask on a flight the day before.