Monday, Aug. 13

· FBI agent Peter Strzok was fired over anti-Trump text messages even though the director of the FBI office that normally handles employee discipline had decided Strzok should face only a demotion and 60-day suspension. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-agent-peter-strzok-fired-over-anti-trump-texts/2018/08/13/be98f84c-8e8b-11e8-b769-e3fff17f0689_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.405a7190f729

· Judge Dabny Freidrich, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, ruled Monday that special counsel Robert Mueller's probe is constitutional and legitimate. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/13/mueller-legitimate-court-ruling-774888?nname=playbook-pm&nid=0000015a-dd3e-d536-a37b-dd7fd8af0000&nrid=00000158-890d-dfd4-ad7b-c96fadf30001&nlid=964328

· Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, a Jordanian prince and diplomat, is stepping down this month as UN high commissioner for human rights said Donald Trump’s anti-press rhetoric is “very close to incitement to violence.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/13/united-nations-human-rights-nearly-impossible-to-defend-zeid-raad-al-hussein

· McClatchy reported that political spending at Trump properties is $3.5 million since January 2017, up from $35K in 2014. https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article216249755.html.

Tuesday, Aug. 14

· The defense rested in the trial of ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s trial on 18 bank and tax fraud charges. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2018/08/14/paul-manafort-trial-day-11-live-coverage/?utm_term=.8106489d4dfd

· Voice of America reported that after four years of bombings, the elimination of key ISIS leaders, and other U.S. and coalition backed efforts, there are still anywhere from 28,600 to 31,600 ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria, according to information from the Defense Department. https://www.voanews.com/a/far-from-dead-tens-of-thousands-of-is-fighters-linger-in-iraq-syria/4527452.html

· White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders apologized late Tuesday for wrongly stating that President Trump has created three times as many jobs for black workers as President Barack Obama did. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/08/15/white-house-economists-apologize-after-huckabee-sanders-false-statement-about-black-employment-under-trump/?utm_term=.997efd76dd34

Wednesday, Aug. 15

· Turkey raised tariffs on a number of U.S. products, including rice, vehicles, alcohol, coal and cosmetics, in response to U.S. sanctions. https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkey-to-raise-tariffs-on-a-number-of-u-s-products-1534307758

· Trump revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, who has been a leading critic of the president. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-revokes-security-clearance-of-former-cia-director-john-brennan/2018/08/15/043b6fc4-a0bb-11e8-8e87-c869fe70a721_story.html?utm_term=.1b1b9287a033

Thursday, Aug. 16

· The Pentagon announced that Trump’s military parade, originally set for November 10, is cancelled when cost estimates came in at $92 million, $80 million more than the original estimate. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/17/pentagon-says-its-postponing-trumps-military-parade.html

· In an op-ed in the New York Times, Brennan said Trump was trying to silence those who challenge him, and that the president’s assertions that there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia were “hogwash.” https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/opinion/john-brennan-trump-russia-collusion-security-clearance.html?emc=edit_nn_20180816&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=8162136620180816&te=1

Friday, Aug. 17

· the administration notified Congress on Friday that it would not spend some $200 million that had been planned for Syria programs and would instead shift that money to other areas. https://apnews.com/31eaa3ca51ed480f90ef6363156b710e?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter

· The Washington Post reported that The White House has drafted documents revoking the security clearances of current and former officials whom Trump has demanded be punished for criticizing him or for participating in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/former-intelligence-officials-rebuke-trump-for-pulling-brennans-security-clearance/2018/08/17/ea8382f2-a20d-11e8-8e87-c869fe70a721_story.html?utm_term=.fce78ef36a63&wpisrc=al_politics__alert-politics&wpmk=1

· The Washington Post reported that the Justice Department is investigating whether longtime Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy sought to sell his influence with the Trump administration by offering to deliver U.S. government actions for foreign officials in exchange for tens of millions of dollars. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-fundraiser-broidy-under-investigation-for-alleged-effort-to-sell-government-influence-people-familiar-with-probe-say/2018/08/17/c9e55792-a185-11e8-8e87-c869fe70a721_story.html?utm_term=.ed862b357b62&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1

Saturday, Aug. 18

· The New York Times reported that White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, has cooperated extensively in Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation, sharing detailed accounts about the episodes at the heart of the inquiry into whether President Trump obstructed justice. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/us/politics/don-mcgahn-mueller-investigation.html

· In a tweet, Trump pointed at China, without offering any evidence, as having possibly interfered in the 2016 election: “All of the fools that are so focused on looking only at Russia should start also looking in another direction, China.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-detente-with-north-korea-trump-increasingly-takes-aim-at-a-new-foe--china/2018/08/18/077ca942-a2ef-11e8-83d2-70203b8d7b44_story.html?utm_term=.e4e09cb574d2

Sunday, Aug. 19

· John Brennan said on NBS’s Meet the Press said he is considering legal action to prevent Trump from stripping security clearances from others: “If my clearances and my reputation as I'm being pulled through the mud now, if that's the price we're going to pay to prevent Donald Trump from doing this against other people, to me it's a small price to pay. So I am going to do whatever I can personally to try to prevent these abuses in the future. And if it means going to court, I will do that.”

· Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani said on Meet the Press, on the topic of potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, that "Truth isn't truth."