memeorandum: Trump rips John Lewis: Worry about your ‘crime infested’ district (Elliot Smilowitz/The Hill)

12:00 PM ET, January 14, 2017

Top Items:

Elliot Smilowitz / The Hill:

Trump rips John Lewis: Worry about your ‘crime infested’ district — on Saturday morning returned fire on a top Democrat who said he was not a “legitimate president.” — A day after Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) said Trump was not legitimate, the president-elect told him to worry about his own district instead.

Rebecca Morin / Politico:

Trump: John Lewis is ‘all talk,’ ‘no action or results’ — President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Rep. John Lewis of not doing enough for his district after the Georgia lawmaker and civil rights icon said he doesn't see the “president-elect as a legitimate president.”

Discussion: The Hill, NBC News, The Week, press.nbcnews.com, Business Insider and IJR

Matt Rivera / NBC News:
John Lewis: 'I Don't See Trump as a Legitimate President'

Discussion: CNBC, Common Dreams, AOL, The Daily Caller, Political Insider blog, The Ring of Fire Network, The Nation, The Week, NBC News, Infowars, Washington Post, twitchy.com, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast, RedState, BizPac Review, Balloon Juice and The Slot

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

Dukakis: Trump needs to apologize to Clinton — Former Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis said in an interview Friday that President-elect Donald Trump — needs to get off Twitter and apologize to Hillary Clinton — “I mean he ought to be ashamed of himself for this kind of stuff …

Discussion: alan.com

New York Times:

Democrats Confront F.B.I. Chief at Closed-Door Intelligence Briefing — WASHINGTON — America's intelligence chiefs sat down with members of Congress behind closed doors on Friday for what they thought would be a straightforward briefing on Russian cyberattacks.

Discussion: JustOneMinute and National Review

The Hill:
Wasserman Schultz confronted Comey about Russian hacking

Discussion: Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog, RedState, Business Insider, Politico, Hot Air, Mediaite, The Week, IJR and Raw Story

Spencer Ackerman / The Guardian:
Angering Congress, James Comey won't address Trump-Russia inquiry privately

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post, The Atlantic, New York Magazine, Daily Wire, Little Green Footballs, Political Wire and Raw Story

Wall Street Journal:
James Comey's Best Service

Discussion: Hot Air and Politico

Wall Street Journal:

Trump Open to Shift on Russia Sanctions, ‘One China’ Policy — President-elect Donald Trump suggested he would be open to lifting sanctions on Russia and wasn't committed to a long-standing agreement with China over Taiwan.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Politico, Infowars, The Times of Israel, Business Insider, NBC News, BizPac Review, Mediaite and The Week

Elliot Smilowitz / The Hill:

Trump open to removing Russia sanctions — on Friday said he would be open to lifting sanctions on Russia if he feels satisfied by the relations between the two countries. — “If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody's doing some really great things?”

Discussion: RedState and The Daily Caller

Elana Schor / Politico:

Intelligence Committee will investigate possible Russia-Trump links — Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said late Friday that his committee will investigate possible contacts between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia, reversing himself one day after telling reporters …

Discussion: TheBlaze, CANNONFIRE, RedState, Political Wire, The Moderate Voice, ThinkProgress and The Guardian

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

Democrats plot their D.C. departures for Trump inauguration — Many prominent Democrats and Republicans who opposed Donald Trump are fleeing Washington for the inauguration, heading far from the capital to plot anti-Trump strategy or simply avoid the pain of witnessing inauguration celebrations.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Political Wire and The Hill

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
WHIP LIST: Democrats boycotting Trump's inauguration

Discussion: Daily Wire

The Independent:

Ex-MI6 agent's frustration as FBI sat on Trump file for months — Christopher Steele, the former MI6 agent who investigated Donald Trump's alleged Kremlin links, was so worried by what he was discovering that at the end he was working without pay, The Independent has learned.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, emptywheel, Politicus USA and Talking Points Memo

Frank MacEachern / Westport Daily Voice:

Cops: Greenwich Republican Insulted Town Worker, Then Pinched Her Groin — GREENWICH, Conn. — A well-known Greenwich Republican called a town worker “nothing but a bloodsucking lazy union employee” and later reached in from behind to place his hand between her legs and pinch her in the groin area …

Discussion: Political Wire

Annie Karni / Politico:

The Man Who Became Donald Trump — The code name for the operation was “Royal Water,” English for the Latin-named “Aqua Regia” acid, which is powerful enough to dissolve gold. — That was how the small group of Hillary Clinton aides clued in to the top-secret identity of the man …

Armstrong Williams / The Hill:

Armstrong Williams op-ed: Dems, not Jeff Sessions, have the real race problem — It is an unfortunate truth that Democrats are not the examples of diversity and inclusion as much as they claim. — They portray themselves as the righteous warriors of truth and conviction, and they actually believe this “truth” to be self-evident.

Discussion: Politico and New York Post

Ralph Vartabedian / Los Angeles Times:

California's bullet train is hurtling toward a multibillion-dollar overrun, a confidential federal report warns — California's bullet train could cost taxpayers 50% more than estimated — as much as $3.6 billion more - according to a confidential federal report obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Discussion: Althouse, Mother Jones, East Bay Times, CBS Sacramento and KTLA

Page Six:

LuAnn de Lesseps and her new husband ‘gleaming’ on honeymoon — One proposal on dealing with the media that was pitched to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team calls for drug testing the White House press corps. — Trump's attacks on the mainstream media were a cornerstone …

Discussion: alan.com

Reuters:

Trump adviser had five calls with Russian envoy on day of sanctions: sources — Michael Flynn, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for national security adviser, held five phone calls with Russia's ambassador to Washington on the day the United States retaliated for Moscow's interference …

Discussion: Informed Comment, NPR and Morning Consult

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
First sign of enhanced U.S.-Russia relations under Trump: An invite to Syria talks

Discussion: NBC News, Shareblue, Infowars, NPR, ABC News, The Guardian, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite and Daily Kos

Julie Pace / Associated Press:
Top Trump aide in frequent contact with Russia's ambassador

Discussion: ABC News and Politicus USA

Chloe Melas / CNN:

Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down among acts announced for Trump inauguration concert — Donald Trump's Presidential Inaugural Committee announced more acts for their inauguration festivities on Friday — Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down, Jennifer Holliday and The Piano Guys are among those expected to perform