“There’s an under-the-radar perk being offered to staffers in President Trump’s administration — discounts on Trump-branded merchandise sold at his Bedminster golf club,” Politico reports.

“White House staffers who have a Secret Service hard pin identifying them as administration officials can flash it at the pro shop — where Trump-branded driver headcovers retail for $40 and a Trump golf polo tee sells for $90, according to the online Trump store — and receive the same discount available to club members, who pay a reported $350,000 to join the club.”

Ken Vogel: “This would seem to potentially run afoul of federal ethics rules prohibiting executive branch employees from accepting gifts from outside the government if the gifts are given either because of their official positions or by prohibited sources.”

Josh Marshall has an interesting look back at a series of videos Donald Trump made from 2011 to 2014 which were “a sort of dry run” for the Trump we now know today.

“Trump is a cretin and a racist and a buffoon. But we fool ourselves if we don’t recognize that he is a sort of savant, a con man but an instinctive political animal who has a deep hold on a big chunk of the country. Language, tone and voice are at the heart of that. Understanding how this happened is well worth our time.”

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— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) August 13, 2018

The FBI has fired Agent Peter Strzok, “who helped lead the bureau’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election until officials discovered he had been sending anti-Trump texts,” the Washington Post reports.

“The termination marks a remarkable downfall for Strzok, a 22-year veteran of the bureau who investigated Russian spies, defense officials accused of selling secrets to China and myriad other important cases. In the twilight of his career, Strzok was integral to two of the bureau’s most high-profile investigations: the Russia case, and the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state.”

New York Times: “Mr. Strzok became emblematic of Mr. Trump’s unfounded assertions that a so-called deep state of bureaucrats opposed to him was undermining his presidency.”