memeorandum: Kayleigh McEnany tests positive for COVID-19 (Sarah K. Burris/Raw Story)

6:20 PM ET, October 5, 2020

Top Items:

White House Is Not Contact Tracing ‘Super-Spreader’ Rose Garden Event — Since President Trump's Covid diagnosis, numerous associates have tested positive, but the White House has not aggressively investigated the outbreak. — Despite almost daily disclosures of new coronavirus infections …

Discussion: Washington Post and The Atlantic, more at Mediagazer »

Elaine Godfrey / The Atlantic:

The People Trump Is Coming Home To — On any given morning, the White House is a blur of activity. A chef may be whipping up breakfast for the first couple in the second-floor kitchen. A valet might be shining the president's shoes, while the head butler lingers in the West Sitting Hall, awaiting any urgent presidential requests.

Discussion: Politico, Mother Jones, Washington Monthly, ABC News and The Federalist

Axios:

West Wing melts down as aides point fingers at Mark Meadows — White House crises of competence and credibility grew during a botched weekend that left even White House aides dismayed and befuddled. — Many complained bitterly about the leadership of chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Discussion: Fox News, Reuters, The Guardian, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, The Week, New Republic, New York Times, Politico and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

ABC News:

White House aides anxious as coronavirus cases rise in Trump's orbit: Sources — Multiple sources said there is “a full-blown freak-out” in the administration. — Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. — Fear and anxiety among White House staffers hit a new level Monday …

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story, Washington Post, The Daily Beast and Breitbart

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
‘That should never have happened’: Inside Trump's Walter Reed parade

Discussion: The Hill, The National Interest, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Root, Daily Kos, Vanity Fair, Towleroad Gay News and NBC News

Shane Savitsky / Axios:
Kayleigh McEnany tests positive for coronavirus

Discussion: CNBC, Fox News, The Daily Dot, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, Politico, Bangor Daily News, Daily Kos, The Hill, KSLTV.com, Conservative News Today, 77 WABC Radio and TheBlaze, more at Mediagazer »

Jada Yuan / Washington Post:
Concern rises for White House residence staffers as their workplace emerges as a virus hot spot

Discussion: Raw Story

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Trump says he will be discharged from Walter Reed, return to White House Monday evening

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Times, Twin Cities, IJR, WCDC-TV, New York Post, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze and Variety

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:
Kayleigh McEnany tests positive for COVID-19

Discussion: National Review, Townhall, New York Post and The Hill

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Biden Holds Steady Lead Over Trump in Arizona, Latest Poll Finds — The Democratic nominee leads 49 percent to 41 percent in Arizona, a state that hasn't voted for a Democrat for president since 1996. In the Senate race, Mark Kelly, a Democrat, leads the incumbent, Martha McSally.

Discussion: Fox News, FiveThirtyEight, Breitbart, The Hill, HillReporter.com, Axios and Political Wire

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
Factors That McSally's Campaign Cited for Her 2018 Loss in Arizona Are Exacerbated This Year, Strategists Say

Discussion: TheBlaze and Fox News

Washington Post:
Republicans face major head winds in final stretch to maintain Senate majority

Discussion: Washington Monthly, NBC News, Slate, Washington Times, WSPA-TV, Roll Call, Talking Points Memo and Jacobin

Politico:

Plexiglass to separate Harris and Pence at VP debate — Pence's campaign opposed the move. — The Commission on Presidential Debates has approved plans for plexiglass to be used in Wednesday's vice presidential debate amid mounting concerns about coronavirus transmission, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

Discussion: Axios, CNN, Vox, Political Wire, Slate, The Hill, IJR, Raw Story, Deadline, POLITICUSUSA, Vanity Fair, Outside the Beltway and Washington Post

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“Don Jr. Thinks Trump Is Acting Crazy”: The President's COVID Joyride Has the Family Divided — The president's recklessness at Walter Reed has Don Jr. pushing for an intervention, but Ivanka and Jared “keep telling Trump how great he's doing,” a source says.

Discussion: Redstate, Breitbart, The Mahablog, CNN, UPI, CBS Baltimore, HillReporter.com, Politico, The Guardian, National Review, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, POLITICUSUSA and The Slot

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
True to form, Trump wants to move on from his coronavirus infection despite looming dangers

Discussion: BuzzFeed News and Breitbart

New York Times:
Covid-19 Live Updates: Unclear If Trump Might Leave Hospital as Doctors Expected to Provide Update

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Root, Washington Post, Twin Cities, The American Independent and CNN

Washington Post:

Trump administration revokes the visa of a Ukrainian political fixer tied to Giuliani — The State Department last month revoked the visa of a Ukrainian political fixer who aided President Trump's personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, in his gambit last year to dig up information from Ukraine …

Discussion: Raw Story

Public Policy Polling:

North Carolina Senate Race Unaffected By Recent Developments — PPP's new North Carolina poll finds Cal Cunningham leading Thom Tillis 48-42. That represents a slight improvement for Cunningham from PPP's last public poll of the race in late July when Cunningham's advantage was 48-44.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Hill

Evie Fordham / Fox News:
Cal Cunningham backs out of town hall as new cheating allegation surfaces

Discussion: Townhall and National File

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
A Sexting Scandal Puts a Politician in the Hot Seat

Discussion: WRAL-TV and National File

Justice News:

United States Attorney John F. Bash Announces Resignation — SAN ANTONIO, Tex. - U.S. Attorney John F. Bash announced today that he will resign from the Department of Justice on Friday, October 9, 2020, at 11:59pm. U.S. Attorney Bash issued the following statement:

Discussion: Law & Crime

U.S. Department of Justice: John McAfee Indicted for Tax Evasion

Benjamin Wermund / Houston Chronicle:

Sen. John Cornyn says Trump ‘let his guard down’ on COVID — WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said Monday that President Donald Trump “let his guard down” on the coronavirus and that his rhetoric has created “confusion” as the country has struggled to get the pandemic under control.

Discussion: National Review, Axios, IJR, Mediaite, Forbes, The Hill, Raw Story and Political Wire

Wall Street Journal:

IRS Investigating NRA's Wayne LaPierre for Possible Tax Fraud — New York attorney general previously sued gun-rights organization over alleged expense abuses — The Internal Revenue Service is investigating longtime National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre for possible criminal tax fraud related …

Discussion: National Review, Talking Points Memo, Law & Crime and POLITICUSUSA

CNN:

Most Americans say Trump acted irresponsibly and distrust White House on his health — (CNN)Two-thirds of Americans say President Donald Trump handled the risk of coronavirus infection to others around him irresponsibly, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS in the days following …

Discussion: Political Wire, Patterico's Pontifications and The Hill

Tim Stickings / Daily Mail:

Two Secret Service agents face 14 days of isolation after joining Trump on motorcade stunt: ‘Outrage’ in the agency despite White House claim that medics cleared the photo-op — CDC and Maryland state rules say the USSS bodyguards will have to quarantine — Secret Service agents wore …

Discussion: Mediaite, Vanity Fair and UPI

Washington Post:
Secret Service agents, doctors aghast at Trump's drive outside hospital

Discussion: Reuters, Associated Press, New York Times, Vox, The Atlantic, Redstate, The Hill, Vanity Fair, UPI, Forbes, Politico, Mediaite, GovExec.com, Occupy Democrats, The American Independent and NBC News

Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:
Biden on debating Trump next week: 'I'll do whatever the experts say'

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire, MyNorthwest.com, The 19th, Florida Politics, Bulwark+ and The Gateway Pundit

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Supreme Court will not hear Kim Davis same-sex marriage case — The Supreme Court on Monday said it will not hear a case from a Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples, but two conservative dissenters in the court's landmark 2015 decision repeated their criticism of the …

Discussion: The Daily Dot, The Daily Beast, Associated Press, Forbes, Washington Times and CNN

Pete Williams / NBC News:
Supreme Court rejects appeal from county clerk who wouldn't issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples

Discussion: Daily Kos

Bloomberg:

Exxon's Plan for Surging Carbon Emissions Revealed in Leaked Documents — Internal projections from one of world's largest oil producers show an increase in its enormous contribution to global warming — Exxon Mobil Corp. has been planning to increase annual carbon-dioxide emissions …

Discussion: Politico and Raw Story

AUM:

AUM Poll: Tommy Tuberville leads Doug Jones by 12 points in closing weeks of Alabama Senate race — AUM Poll: Tommy Tuberville leads Doug Jones by 12 points in closing weeks of Alabama Senate race — News Releases — A newly released AUM Poll from Auburn University at Montgomery's Department …

Politico:

Republicans gripped by dread as multiple crises swirl — On Sunday evening, Sen. Lindsey Graham, like many Republicans in Washington, was simultaneously monitoring three political crises, all of which were made worse by the spread of coronavirus infections through the upper echelons of the Republican Party.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, Reuters, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA, ABC News, Breitbart, KSLTV.com, Raw Story, The 19th, New York Post and Fox News

Emily Holden / The Guardian:

Leader of non-profit labeled ‘hate group’ attended White House Amy Coney Barrett event — Michael Farris leads Alliance Defending Freedom, designated an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center — The head of a conservative Christian non-profit organization that has been designated …

Discussion: The 19th

Sean Davis / The Federalist:

Intel Sources: CIA Director Gina Haspel Banking On Trump Loss To Keep Russiagate Documents Hidden — Haspel is hoping Trump loses his re-election bid so she can run out the clock on Russiagate document declassifications, multiple intelligence community officials told The Federalist.

Discussion: Townhall, The Daily Caller and The American Spectator

Robert Donachie / Representative Chip Roy:

Rep. Chip Roy Released The Following Statement On Texas AG Ken Paxton — Rep. Chip Roy released the following statement Monday: — For the good of the people of Texas and the extraordinary public servants who serve at the Office of the Attorney General, Attorney General Ken Paxton must resign.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, National Review, KXAN-TV, The Hill and Political Wire

Seema Mehta / Los Angeles Times:

Trump's touting of ‘racehorse theory’ tied to eugenics and Nazis alarms Jewish leaders — President Trump has alarmed Jewish leaders and others with remarks that appeared to endorse “racehorse theory” — the idea that selective breeding can improve a country's performance …

Caitlin O'Kane / CBS News:

102-year-old woman who never missed a vote casts her mail-in ballot in full PPE — Since the elderly are at a higher risk of severe illness from the coronavirus, seniors are being advised to stay home during the pandemic and only go out for essentials. For a 102-year-old woman in Chicago, voting is essential.

Richard L. Hasen / New York Magazine:

Trump's New Supreme Court Is Coming for the Next Dozen Elections — When Judge Amy Coney Barrett sits for questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee in mid-October, no doubt Democrats will pepper her with questions about whether she would recuse herself in any Trump v. Biden election lawsuit to come before the Supreme Court.

Discussion: Slate and The Federalist

Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:

‘GLOW’ Canceled By Netflix; Won't Proceed With Fourth & Final Season Due To COVID-19 — EXCLUSIVE: GLOW, Netflix's female wrestling dramedy, will not be returning to the ring for a fourth and final season. The streamer has reversed its renewal decision, made more than a year ago, in August 2019.