memeorandum: With five weeks left, Trump plays defense in states he won in 2016 (Washington Post)

11:35 PM ET, September 27, 2020

Top Items:

LONG-CONCEALED RECORDS SHOW TRUMP'S CHRONIC LOSSES AND YEARS OF TAX AVOIDANCE — The Times obtained Donald Trump's tax information extending over more than two decades, revealing struggling properties, vast write-offs, an audit battle and hundreds of millions in debt coming due.

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

18 Revelations From a Trove of Trump Tax Records — Times reporters have obtained decades of tax information the president has hidden from public view. Here are some of the key findings. — The New York Times has obtained tax-return data for President Trump and his companies that covers more than two decades.

Discussion: The Hill, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Balloon Juice, The Gateway Pundit, The Guardian and Mediaite

Dean Baquet / New York Times:

An Editor's Note on the Trump Tax Investigation — The New York Times has examined decades of President Trump's financial records, assembling the most comprehensive picture yet of his business dealings. — Today we are publishing the results of an examination of decades of personal …

Discussion: Breitbart, The Hill, The Guardian and Raw Story

New York Times:
Charting an Empire: A Timeline of Trump's Finances

Discussion: The Week and Raw Story

Jason Easley / POLITICUSUSA:
Ivanka Trump Could Be Going Down Thanks To Her Dad's Tax Fraud

Discussion: Reuters, The Hill and The Guardian

Washington Post:
Trump avoided paying taxes for years, largely because his business empire reported losing more money than it made, report says

Discussion: Raw Story, Breitbart, Mother Jones and Redstate

Jennifer Starks / AOL.com:
NY Times: Trump paid $750 in U.S. income taxes in 2016, 2017

Discussion: Bloomberg

Sydney Ember / New York Times:
Republicans clear the way for a rapid confirmation, while Democrats make their case to voters.

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Times, Axios, OpsLens, POLITICUSUSA, Conservative News Today, Newsbusters, The Hill, Morning Consult, Politico, Wall Street Journal and The Mahablog

Brett Clarkson / Sun-Sentinel:

Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale hospitalized after he was armed and threatening to harm himself, Fort Lauderdale police say — FORT LAUDERDALE — A tense situation unfolded at a home owned by Brad Parscale, the former campaign manager for President Donald Trump's reelection campaign …

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, Axios, Political Wire, The Guardian, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast, NBC 6 South Florida, Mediaite, New York Post and CBS Miami

Michelle Solomon / WPLG-TV:

Former Trump campaign manager, Brad Parscale, armed, barricades self in Fort Lauderdale home, police called — FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Former campaign manager for Donald Trump, Brad Parscale, who was replaced by the President less than four month until November's vote was reportedly armed …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA

New York Times:

Brad Parscale, Ex-Campaign Manager for Trump, Is Hospitalized in Florida — The Fort Lauderdale police said that Mr. Parscale's wife called the authorities to their home because he was armed and threatening to hurt himself. — MIAMI — President Trump's former campaign manager, Brad Parscale …

Discussion: Bloomberg

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:

Former Trump campaign manager taken to hospital after report of suicide threat, police say — A former campaign manager of President Trump's was taken to a hospital on Sunday after authorities received a call that he was threatening suicide at his Florida home, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department said in a statement.

Discussion: Reuters, Associated Press, ABC News and Deadline

Brooke Seipel / The Hill: Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale hospitalized after threatening self-harm: report

Marc Caputo / Politico:

Biden camp clapback: Trump's best debate case ‘made in urine’ — The 2020 campaign for the White House has reached the bizarre stage where the president wants his opponent drug tested before they debate — and his rival's campaign responds with a potty joke.

Discussion: Fox News, The Guardian, Forbes, Raw Story, The Week, Redstate, IJR, The Hill, ABC News and OpsLens

Washington Post:
With five weeks left, Trump plays defense in states he won in 2016

Discussion: Redstate, Political Wire, Associated Press, Newsbusters, WTOP, IJR, Washington Free Beacon, ABC News, Mediaite and NBC Boston

Danielle Wallace / Fox News:
Trump calls for Biden to take a drug test before upcoming presidential debate

Discussion: Axios, Mediaite, Bloomberg, Breitbart, CANNONFIRE, OpsLens, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, The Hill, New York Post, Balloon Juice and Politico

New York Times:
By Lowering the Debate Bar for Biden, Has Trump Set a Trap for Himself?

Discussion: Forbes, Slate, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Axios, The National Interest, Bloomberg, Associated Press and ABC News

Ben Smith / New York Times:

Trump Wants to Discredit the Election. This Nerd Could Stop Him. — Fox News, the president's favored network, will face enormous pressure to call the election for Mr. Trump. The outcome rests on a little-known 65-year-old wonk who will declare the winner.

more at Mediagazer »

Andrew Solender / Forbes:

Polls Show Lindsey Graham In Deep Trouble Amid Supreme Court Battle — New polls released Sunday show Sen. Lindsey Graham's reelection bid deeply threatened by Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison as the former gears up for what promises to be a brutal partisan battle over the Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett.

Discussion: Raw Story and Axios

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Senate Dems ready tactics to muck up Supreme Court confirmation

Discussion: New York Magazine, Redstate, The Daily Caller, Vox, Bloomberg, Fox News, New York Times, TheBlaze, The Hill, The Week, Blue Virginia, POLITICUSUSA, Reuters, Axios, Althouse, Breitbart, Slate and Raw Story

USA Today: Amy Coney Barrett was our professor. She'll serve America as well as she served her students.

Hayley Miller / HuffPost:
Top Democrat: We Can ‘Slow’ Barrett's Confirmation Process But 'Can't Stop' It

Discussion: Vox, Talking Points Memo, IJR and ABC News

Erika Bachiochi / Politico:
Amy Coney Barrett: A New Feminist Icon

Discussion: Reason, Wall Street Journal, TheBlaze and Mirror of Justice

Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:
Thank God and Chuck Schumer for Amy Coney Barrett: The four Democratic overreaches that got us here

Discussion: NBC News and The Daily Signal

Project Veritas:

Ilhan Omar Connected Cash-For-Ballots Voter Fraud Scheme Corrupts Elections: 'There Here Are All Absentee Ballots...Look...My Car Is Full..." ‘Money Is The King Of Everything’ — Ballot Harvester Liban Mohamed: “Money is Everything. Money is the King in this World. If You Got No Money, You Should Not Be Here, Period.

Discussion: The National Pulse, Townhall, Power Line, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit

Miranda Devine / New York Post:

Project Veritas uncovers ‘ballot harvesting fraud’ in Minnesota — A ballot-harvesting racket in Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar's Minneapolis district — where paid workers illegally gather absentee ballots from elderly Somali immigrants — has been busted by undercover news organization Project Veritas.

Andrew Wolfson / Courier-Journal:

Ballistics don't support AG Cameron's claim Breonna Taylor's boyfriend shot officer — | Louisville Courier Journal Show Caption Hide Caption … LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky State Police ballistics report does not support Attorney General Daniel Cameron's assertion that Breonna Taylor's boyfriend …

Discussion: ABC News, New York Post and The Hill

CBS News:

Tight races in Georgia and North Carolina, while Supreme Court is another factor — Battleground Tracker — Voters say the Supreme Court vacancy has added to the already high stakes of the presidential election. — In the battlegrounds of Georgia and North Carolina, most say it makes …

Discussion: The Hill, NPR, Florida Politics, The Week and Mediaite

New York Times:
Voters Believe Winner of Election Should Fill Court Vacancy, Poll Shows

Discussion: Forbes, Washington Post, Axios, Fox News, Siena College Research …, CNN, Bloomberg, Mother Jones, ABC News, Politico, NPR, Raw Story, The Guardian, YouGov and NBC News

Mark Murray / NBC News:
Majorities in Michigan, Wisconsin say 2020 winner should get to fill Supreme Court seat

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Vanity Fair, The Hill, ABC News, Axios, Forbes, Politico and Washington Post

Michael Kranish / Washington Post:

Donald Trump, facing financial ruin, sought control of his elderly father's estate. The family fight was epic. … Donald Trump was facing financial disaster in 1990 when he came up with an audacious plan to exert control of his father's estate. — His creditors threatened to force …

Discussion: Raw Story

Politico:

Pelosi begins mustering Democrats for possible House decision on presidency — Speaker Nancy Pelosi has begun mobilizing Democrats for the possibility that neither Joe Biden nor President Donald Trump will win an outright Electoral College victory, a once-in-a-century phenomenon that would send …

Discussion: Washington Times, Breitbart and The Hill

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:

The Contempt of “Notorious ACB” — One thing Justice Ginsburg used to say is how much she hated making a suggestion only to have a man suggest the same thing 10 minutes later and get the credit. It was an act of erasure that affronted her. And as much as she minded being erased herself …

David Bauder / Associated Press:

Nearly a year after sudden exit, Shepard Smith returns to TV — NEW YORK (AP) — Two weeks shy of a year after abruptly quitting Fox News Channel with a declaration that “truth will always matter,” Shepard Smith returns to television this week at his unexpected new home.

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times: Shepard Smith, Fox News Apostate, Is Starting Over at CNBC