🇺🇸 Breaking the Seal

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Good morning and happy Monday! NASA astronauts are going back to the moon: what they’re looking for could make a long-term lunar settlement possible…

Plus, here's how to develop tremendous mental toughness: A Navy SEAL Explains the 40 Percent Rule...

Also, this Flag Find says sometimes the best solution is a little noisy...

FLAG POLLS

📉 President Biden Job Approval: Approve 44, Disapprove 54 (Rasmussen Reports)

🐘 Generic Congressional Vote: Democrats 41, Republicans 46 (Politico/Morning Con.)

🐴 Michigan Governor - Dixon vs. Whitmer: Whitmer 51, Dixon 46 (Fabrizio/Anzalone)

TRENDING

Right: McConnell makes grim prediction about Republicans in Senate races, references 'candidate quality' (Fox News)

Right: Top Ohio Democrat breaks with Biden in new campaign ad (Washington Examiner)

Right: Bank of America CEO points out the problem with Biden admin playing games over 'recession' definition (The Blaze)

Left: Democrats Are Using An Old Playbook To Attack The Supreme Court And Fracture The Conservative Coalition (Huffington Post)

Left: The Never Trump wing of the GOP never had a chance (Vox)

Left: Why we shouldn't tiptoe around who is at highest risk for monkeypox infection (CNN Politics)

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QUICK CLICKS

Moscow Car Bomb, Columbus Teacher Strike, Rodman Goes to Russia

World: Car bomb kills daughter of 'spiritual guide' to Putin's Ukraine invasion (CNBC)

US: Senator Graham wins temporary reprieve from testifying in Trump Georgia probe (Reuters)

US: Teachers at Ohio's largest school district vote to strike just before start of school year (CNN)

World: Pakistani police file terrorism charges against former Prime Minister Imran Khan (Fox News)

US: 8 things at stake in Florida’s primary elections Tuesday (Tampa Bay Times) + Trump endorses Gaetz ahead of Florida primary (The Hill)

World: Singapore Set to Decriminalize Sex Between Men (Daily Beast)

World: US buying Ukraine grain shipments for African regions on brink of starvation, UN says (Fox News)

Sports: Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson set to become first trans woman to win LPGA Tour card (Washington Examiner)

Sports: Dennis Rodman says he’s going to Russia to seek release of Brittney Griner (CNBC)

Business: Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that the price of its Full Self-Driving system, known as FSD, will increase to $15,000 on September 5 (CNBC)

Business: Major retailers report earnings this week, including Macy's, Nordstroms, and Gap (Fox Business)

POLITICS

Breaking the Seal

Last week the federal judge who approved the search at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home said he was open to releasing some parts of the affidavit that would shed further light on the legal backing of such an action.

News Coverage from the Left: Why the Mar-a-Lago affidavit could become one of the most scrutinized documents in American politics (CNN)

News Coverage from the Right: Federal Judge Orders DOJ To Release Portions Of Search Warrant Affidavit (Daily Wire)

From The Flag: The DOJ maintains it can’t release the affidavit due to it being part of an ongoing investigation, while members of the media have petitioned for its release given the stakes involved. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Holding a Black Cloud Over Trump Isn’t Justice

• If the affidavit isn’t released former President Trump is susceptible to potentially baseless allegations, all while he may still run for office.

• It’s vital the DOJ operate with transparency given the highly sensitive nature of these proceedings and the need to preserve the public’s trust.

• The Biden administration launched a clear political attack because they fear Trump and what could happen during the midterms.

“Unseal the Mar-a-Lago Search Affidavit” Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal: “Judge Reinhart released the warrant for the search after Attorney General Merrick Garland and Mr. Trump urged its release. The public gleaned some general information from the warrant and what was gathered but not enough to conclude if the unprecedented search of a former President’s home was justified. The affidavit almost certainly includes more detail about the legal and factual basis for the search. The rub this time is that the Justice Department wants to keep the affidavit secret lest its release compromise the criminal investigation. But that’s what Justice and the FBI always say. Mr. Trump has called for the affidavit’s release, so the judge can’t claim any risks to the former President’s privacy. This is an extraordinary case, and the public interest is enormous. Mr. Trump may run for President again, yet he is vulnerable to leaks from the government that damage his reputation but may have little factual basis.”

“Unseal the Mar-a-Lago search affidavit” Editorial Board, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “The Department of Justice, for its own sake and the good of the country, must be as transparent as possible about every aspect of this unprecedented move. … Handled poorly, it may go down as one of its worst disasters. … That document would include more information about the justification for the search and the underlying investigation. It would help the public to understand straight from the government, rather than from leaks and innuendo, why raiding an ex-president’s residence was necessary. The Justice Department should support this petition, and the court should unseal these documents without unnecessary delay. The Mar-a-Lago search has opened a new and dangerous phase in the Trump post-presidency. It’s impossible to overstate the distrust that many Americans feel toward their national institutions, and toward each other. Everyday people feel betrayed, rightly or wrongly, by institutions they have trusted, even revered, for most of their lives.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: What We Now Know About The Mar-a-Lago Raid Paul du Quenoy, American Greatness

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

A Constitutional Process Plays Out in Pursuit of Justice

• While the press is rightly protected by the Constitution, grand juries must also be able to investigate potential crimes in secrecy as well.

• Trump is setting himself up as a persecuted martyr and appears ready to paint the affidavit in that light.

• If key details of the case are released Trump could destroy evidence or attempt to tamper with witnesses.

“The Trump FBI search affidavit: Balancing the interests of the press and the government” Laurence H. Tribe, Jeffrey Abramson and Dennis Aftergut, New York Daily News Op-ed: “On one side of today’s legal battle is the press. Its protections are enshrined in the First Amendment. News organizations want to see the Justice Department’s justification for searching Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8 to retrieve the top secret documents it alleges were stolen from the government. In seeking the affidavit, the media is doing the job the Constitution gives it — to inform the people by keeping a watch on government. As important as transparency in government is, the law also creates an opposite interest: grand juries’ obligation to investigate crime in secrecy at least until charges are filed. The reasons are compelling. Many alleged criminals under investigation would like to know who might have spilled the beans, and affidavits may expose their identity. Such disclosure can silence key witnesses and chill future confidential informants from coming forward.”

“Trump’s bizarre threat to release Mar-a-Lago footage is revealing” Greg Sargent, Washington Post Opinion: “Key to his mystique among his supporters has long been the idea that he always has another trump card up his sleeve. … But this episode provides a glimpse into the absurdity and ultimate hollowness of this sort of politics-by-megalomaniacal-illusion. … The department opposes release of the affidavit … on grounds that it could jeopardize the investigation and the cooperation of witnesses. … Release of a redacted version could even shed a lot of light for the public on the reasons for the search. Trump himself is also pushing for the affidavit’s release. Here again, he appears convinced that he can use this to attack the FBI and cast himself as a persecuted martyr. … Trump apparently believes he can spin its release to his advantage no matter what’s in it, so formidable are his magical reality-bending powers.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: Why the DOJ won’t talk about its investigation of Donald Trump Ian Millhiser, Vox

FLAG THIS

A Search in South Florida, and a Partisan Divide

Last Thursday polling data showed 54% of adults supported the raid on Mar-a-Lago, while 36% disapproved. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 85% of Democrats approved of the search with just 9% in opposition, while 72% of Republicans disapproved with 21% in support (YouGov).

Meanwhile, an NBC News poll conducted Aug. 12-16 showed that 57% of registered voters say that the investigations into alleged wrongdoing by Trump should continue, while 40% say they should stop. (NBC News)

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Gibson's Glory, Get Out of Your Head, World's Longest Carrot

On this day in 1950, officials of the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) accept Althea Gibson into their annual championship at Forest Hills, New York, making her the first African American player to compete in a U.S. national tennis competition.

The Atlantic: To Get Out of Your Head, Get Out of Your House

The Telegraph: The Real Reason Why Most Plane Seats Are Blue—and Other Curious Facts About Plane Cabins

Eater: Why Do So Many Recipes Call for So Little Garlic?

Today I Learned the world's longest carrot ever grown was over 20 feet long.