General
How the El Paso Killer Echoed the Incendiary Words of Conservative Media Stars
Jeremy W. Peters et al., The New York Times
Tucker Carlson went on his prime-time Fox News show in April last year and told his viewers not to be fooled. The thousands of Central Americans on their way to the United States were “border jumpers,” not refugees, he said.
The FBI Told Congress Domestic Terror Investigations Led to 90 Recent Arrests. It Wouldn’t Show Us Records of Even One.
Fritz Zimmermann, ProPublica
On July 23, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee that federal investigations of domestic terrorism had led to some 100 arrests in the last nine months. While the FBI quickly announced that the number was 90, not 100, the basic message appeared unchanged: The FBI was actively investigating and prosecuting domestic terrorists.
Accused Sex Trafficker Steered $100K Payday to Bannon
Betsy Woodruff, The Daily Beast
An accused pedophile helped Steve Bannon secure a $100,000 speaking gig from a prestigious Washington think tank, according to emails reviewed by The Daily Beast. The emails—between Republican fundraiser and investor Elliott Broidy and Lebanese-American political operative George Nader—shed light on the relationship between Trump’s ex-adviser and a man now in jail awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges.
The UAE’s ambitions backfire as it finds itself on the front line of U.S.-Iran tensions
Liz Sly, The Washington Post
One of America’s staunchest allies in the Middle East and a driving force behind President Trump’s hard-line approach to Iran is breaking ranks with Washington, calling into question how reliable an ally it would be in the event of a war between the United States and Iran. In the weeks since the United States dispatched naval reinforcements to the Persian Gulf to deter Iranian threats to shipping, the government of the United Arab Emirates has sent a coast guard delegation to Tehran to discuss maritime security, putting it at odds with Washington’s goal of isolating Iran.
Did a Far-Right Star Recruit Jacob Wohl to Terrorize Women?
Will Sommer, The Daily Beast
A perennial House candidate’s alleged harassment of his ex-girlfriend has gone so far that he apparently hired notorious conservative operative Jacob Wohl to pressure her and a former campaign worker, according to text messages and a recording reviewed by The Daily Beast. Wohl is best known for his blundering, often comical attempts at political trickery, including failed schemes to concoct bogus sexual assault allegations against former Special Counsel Robert Mueller and presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg.
White House & Administration
Acting Border Patrol chief on Mississippi ICE raids: ‘These aren’t raids’
Felicia Sonmez, The Washington Post
Acting customs and border protection commissioner Mark Morgan said Sunday that the mass immigration raids at Mississippi workplaces last week were not “raids,” disputing the terminology that has been widely used to describe the operation. “I think words matter. These aren’t raids. These are targeted law enforcement operations,” Morgan said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
As clemency from President Trump remains a possibility, disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich goes for a jog
Gregory Pratt and Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune
As President Donald Trump left open the possibility he might release Rod Blagojevich from his federal prison sentence, the disgraced former Illinois governor this weekend set off for a solitary run underneath the setting sun. Wearing black New Balance sneakers and rocking his now-silver mane, Blagojevich bounded down the porch steps at the boomerang-shaped camp building where he’s held and ran past a group of fellow inmates.
Behind the scenes of Trump’s Epstein-Clinton conspiracy tweet
Jonathan Swan, Axios
On Saturday, the president of the United States retweeted a conspiracy theory video claiming Bill and Hillary Clinton had a hand in the death of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The big picture: The news media did not treat this as a major story; the Sunday New York Times editors found a few inches for it on page 21.
The brand label that stokes Trump’s fury: ‘Racist, racist, racist.’
Philip Rucker and Ashley Parker, The Washington Post
President Trump considers himself a branding wizard, but he is vexed by a branding crisis of his own: how to shed the label of “racist.” As the campaign takes shape about 15 months before voters render a verdict on his presidency, Trump’s Democratic challengers are marking him a racist, and a few have gone so far as to designate him a white supremacist.
Inside Trump’s strange pen-pal diplomacy with Justin Trudeau
Jonathan Swan, Axios
President Trump has sent highly unusual, Sharpie-written notes to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at least twice, Axios has learned. One missive was so odd, the Canadian ambassador double-checked with the White House to be sure it wasn’t a prank.
Senate
GOP Waits to See if Trump Will Protect It From the NRA Before Moving on Gun Laws
Sam Brodey et al., The Daily Beast
Just over a week since mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, Senate Republicans are waiting to see if President Trump walks away from the issue again or forces their hand before trying to do anything about potentially expanding background checks for gun purchases. He’s walked away before.
Schumer wants FBI to sign off on body armor sales
Shari Logan and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, New York Post
Sen. Chuck Schumer on Sunday proposed new legislation to require the FBI to sign off on body armor sales to civilians. The announcement comes one week after mass killer Connor Betts — clad in body armor — opened fire in a trendy Dayton, Ohio, neighborhood and killed nine people before he was gunned down by police.
House
Pelosi’s Litigation-First Impeachment Strategy Has Its Own Risks
Billy House, Bloomberg
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s strategy of slow-walking moves to impeach President Donald Trump depends on fighting first in the courts to see how much more evidence Democrats can get. The reality, though, is that litigation may take months or even years to play out, and pressure to act is building as time goes on.
Texodus: Why are Texas Republicans in Congress bolting for the exits, and what does it mean for 2020?
Tom Benning, The Dallas Morning News
Four rapid-fire retirement announcements by Texas Republicans in Congress have prompted fresh soul-searching for a political party that’s seeing its decades-long dominance in the Lone Star State start to teeter. While it’s not that unusual for some lawmakers to hit the exits in any given election cycle, the “Texodus” label proffered these days by opportunistic Democrats may have some warrant.
An ‘interesting comparison’: Elijah Cummings’ district and Mick Mulvaney’s former district, side by side
Christine Zhang, The Baltimore Sun
In U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings’ first major speech since Republican President Donald Trump’s dayslong series of tweets disparaging his congressional district as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess,” the Baltimore Democrat called on reporters to check out the former South Carolina district of acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Cummings said Wednesday that looking at Maryland’s 7th District, which includes much of Baltimore, versus South Carolina’s 5th District, which Mulvaney represented in the House from 2011 to 2017, would make for an “interesting comparison.”
2020
Warren wows in Iowa as candidates’ sprint to caucuses begins
Thomas Beaumont and Alexandra Jaffe, The Associated Press
The chant — “2 cents, 2 cents, 2 cents” — started in the back of a crowd that packed sidewalks at the Iowa State Fair. Elizabeth Warren, basking in the spontaneous adulation of her proposed wealth tax, prompted roars with her call for the ultra-wealthy to “pitch in 2 cents so everybody gets a chance to make it.”
Biden’s Gaffes Fuel Questions About His Potency Against Trump
John McCormick and Jesse Naranjo, The Wall Street Journal
Joe Biden has made a series of gaffes in recent days that reinforced his reputation as an inconsistent campaigner and raised questions among some in the party about whether he is the strongest Democratic challenger to President Trump. The former vice president’s bumpy ride has played out in national media and at events across Iowa, which hosts the first Democratic presidential primary balloting in less than six months.
Bloomberg holds off on 2020 endorsement and says Biden is “not a lock for the nomination”
CBS News
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, once considered a possible Democratic candidate for president, said he is holding off on endorsing any of the current candidates. Bloomberg told “Face the Nation” he believes the way to judge a candidate is by what he or she has done in the past.
After El Paso Shooting, Will Voters Revisit Beto O’Rourke?
Katie Glueck, The New York Times
As Beto O’Rourke waded through a crowd that had gathered Thursday night to honor victims of the mass shooting in El Paso, the struggling presidential candidate was welcomed as a hometown hero. “Beto!” someone shouted, addressing this city’s former congressman.
Kamala Harris, in a Pivot, Makes Her Play for Iowa
Shane Goldmacher, The New York Times
Senator Kamala Harris ordered tacos at a Mexican joint in Storm Lake (two chicken, one pork). She mingled with the masses at a New York-themed bar in Sioux City.
Democrat Nicole Galloway says she’ll ditch ‘old way’ in video announcing Missouri governor run
Jack Suntrup, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Auditor Nicole Galloway launched her campaign for governor on Monday, casting herself as an independent watchdog who would look out for Missourians’ economic interests and fix a “broken system” if elected in November 2020. In a two-minute announcement video, the Democrat accused Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, of doing the bidding of corporations and lobbyists as footage of two men exchanging an envelope plays on screen.
States
California Fostered America’s Tech Industry. It Is Becoming a Great Adversary.
Sebastian Herrera and Abigail Summerville, The Wall Street Journal
California, the birthplace of the American tech industry, is emerging as a great foe. On Monday, the state legislature resumes and will consider a bill that, if passed, could classify drivers for ride-hailing companies like Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. as employees, entitled to better wages and benefits.
How a State Plans to Turn Coal Country Into Coding Country
Dana Goldstein, The New York Times
The soldiers were about to storm the fortress when they suddenly went still. James Smith, 17, and his teacher, Shirley Coulter, squinted at the desktop monitor.
Advocacy
Mueller-Fueled FARA Fear Grips Washington as Craig Goes to Trial
Jacob Rund and Andrew M. Harris, Bloomberg
Gregory Craig has been a top White House lawyer, a partner in two prestigious Washington law firms, and a graduate of both Harvard University and Yale Law School. Just six years ago he was called one of America’s most influential lawyers.
Lobbyist for U.S. Soccer reached out to Democratic presidential candidates
Theodoric Meyer and Elena Schneider, Politico
A lobbyist for the U.S. Soccer Federation reached out to at least five Democratic presidential campaigns ahead of their primary debate last month to argue that the women’s national team isn’t paid less than the men’s team. The soccer organization has been fighting a highly publicized lawsuit brought by the World Cup-winning women’s team, and the federation apparently believed the players’ claims of being underpaid might become an issue in the Democratic debate, emails obtained by POLITICO show.
Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives
To Persuade or to Turn Out Voters — Is That the Question?
Jesse Ferguson, Morning Consult
There is a great debate raging in the Democratic Party between two competing schools of thought: what I’ll call the persuasionists and the turnouters. The persuasionists wax nostalgic about changing the hearts and minds of voters who are already going to vote in 2020.
Banning Assault Weapons Works
Joe Biden, The New York Times
Each time a mass shooting strikes one of our communities we grieve. We gather our loved ones.
The Trade War Hits China Where It Hurts
Andy Puzder and Jim Talent, The Wall Street Journal
President Trump’s tariffs and other sanctions are hitting China at a vulnerable moment. The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics reported July 15 that gross domestic product grew by 6.2% in the second quarter, China’s slowest growth since 1992.
Epstein death brings birth of mainstream conspiracy theories
John F. Harris, Politico
Jeffrey Epstein — his perversions, and the perversions of justice swirling around his case — has lived for years on the margins of politics because of his association with two presidents, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, among others in a long roster of people with respectable titles who spent time in his disreputable orbit. Epstein’s death by what authorities called suicide in a Manhattan jail cell Saturday morning moved his case to the center of American politics.
Research Reports and Polling
Republicans Now Are More Open to the Idea of Expanding Presidential Power
Pew Research Center
Most Americans continue to say that it would be “too risky” to give the nation’s presidents more power, but the share expressing this opinion has declined since last year, with most of the change coming among Republicans. Currently, 66% of the public says “it would be too risky to give U.S. presidents more power to deal directly with many of the country’s problems.”
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