memeorandum: That time I caught Sean Spicer making a blatantly false claim (Aaron Blake/Washington Post)

6:50 PM ET, January 22, 2017

Top Items:

Crowd Scientists Say Women's March in Washington Had 3 Times as Many People as Trump's Inauguration — Composite image by Joe Ward based on video from Urdu Voice of America — The women's march in Washington was roughly three times the size of the audience at President Trump's inauguration, crowd counting experts said Saturday.

Jennifer Calfas / The Hill:

Dan Rather on Trump: ‘These are not normal times’ — Dan Rather warned Americans about the Trump administration in a Facebook post on Sunday, saying these are not “normal times.” — The former CBS Evening news anchor targeted President Trump, adviser Kellyanne Conway and press secretary Sean Spicer for comments in the last 24 hours.

Discussion: RedState

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

That time I caught Sean Spicer making a blatantly false claim — White House press secretary Sean Spicer, in his first full day on the job, made a couple of easily disproved claims about the size of President Donald Trump's inauguration crowd, as The Fix's Philip Bump and Chris Cillizza noted on Saturday.

Discussion: Political Wire, Balloon Juice, Politicus USA, IJR, Mashable, Raw Story, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Media Matters for America and Talking Points Memo

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:

Conway: 'We're going to have to rethink our relationship' with press — A top aide to President Trump said on Sunday that the new administration is going to “rethink” its relationship with the press. — “Chuck, if we're going to keep referring to our press secretary in those types of terms …

Discussion: RedState

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:

Conway: WH Spox Wasn't Lying, He Was Just Offering ‘Alternative Facts’ — Senior Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway said in an interview Sunday morning that White House press secretary Sean Spicer wasn't lying about crowd size at the President's inauguration—he was just giving “alternative facts.”

Discussion: Daily Kos and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Alexandra Jaffe / NBC News:

Kellyanne Conway: WH Spokesman Gave ‘Alternative Facts’ on Inauguration Crowd — Conway: Press Secretary Gave ‘Alternative Facts’ 3:39 — Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, said the White House press secretary gave “alternative facts” when he inaccurately described …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Shareblue, The Week and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan V. Last / Weekly Standard:
Trumpism Corrupts: Spicer Edition

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, Scripting News, Politico and New York Times

Ezra Klein / Vox:
Trump's real war isn't with the media. It's with facts.

Discussion: Politico, Mother Jones and Nielsen

Associated Press:

The Latest: Trump Changes Course After Denouncing Protesters — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EST): — President Donald Trump is doing a quick about-face about the protests that swept through Washington and around the world on Saturday.

Discussion: Politico and The Republic

Nicki Rossoll / ABC News:

McCain Will Vote Yes on Trump's Secretary of State Nominee Rex Tillerson — Sen. John McCain praised President Donald Trump's cabinet picks and revealed he will vote in favor of Rex Tillerson, Trump's pick to lead the State Department, despite concerns about the nominee's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, mccain.senate.gov and Mediaite

Burgess Everett / Politico:
McCain and Graham back Tillerson

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Axios

Burgess Everett / Politico:
McCain and Schumer: Don't end Russian sanctions without Congress

Discussion: ABC News

Politico:

WikiLeaks calls out Trump for refusing to release tax returns — WikiLeaks on Sunday took President Donald Trump to task for refusing to release his tax returns and offered to post them online, after a senior adviser said definitively that Trump would not be publicly disclosing the documents.

Discussion: ABC News, CNN, RedState, RT, The Hill, IJR, twitchy.com and Mediaite

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 1-22-17: Kellyanne Conway, Sen. John McCain, and Sen. Chuck Schumer

Discussion: Business Insider, Fox News Insider, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, Politico, TheBlaze, IJR and ThinkProgress

John Wagner / Washington Post: Trump won't release his tax returns because people don't care, top adviser says

NBC News:

Ex-CIA Boss Brennan, Others Rip Trump Speech in Front of Memorial — President Trump Praises CIA, Attacks Media in Agency Visit 2:31 — Donald Trump traveled to CIA headquarters Saturday to offer reassurance to the workforce after he spent weeks criticizing American intelligence …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo and The Hill

Quinta Jurecic / Lawfare:
President Trump Speaks at CIA Headquarters

Discussion: IJR, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Week, Althouse and Balloon Juice

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Trump, in CIA visit, attacks media for coverage of his inaugural crowds

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Guardian, Mother Jones, New York Magazine and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Ryan Browne / CNN:
Trump to CIA: ‘I am with you 1,000%’

Discussion: RedState, Townhall.com, Washington Post and The Atlantic

CBS News:

Most protesters arrested on Inauguration Day will face felony rioting charges, federal prosecutors say — WASHINGTON — Most of the approximately 230 protesters arrested on Inauguration Day will be charged with felony rioting, federal prosecutors said. — The U.S. Attorney's Office …

Discussion: Daily Mail, Washingtonian and The American Mirror

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Booker walks 2020 tightrope — Leave it to Cory Booker to find a way to anger both liberals and conservatives within just a few hours. — The New Jersey senator's unprecedented decision to testify against attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions earlier this month infuriated the right.

Katie Hopkins / Daily Mail:

It's hard to argue with a million pussy-marchers - especially the really nasty ones like Madonna - but possessing a vagina is a matter of biology, not a political argument: KATIE HOPKINS joins the women in Washington — By , KATIE HOPKINS FOR MAILONLINE — Her sign said; ‘I am more than my vagina’.

Discussion: Mediaite, TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit, New Urban Legends, WTOP and Axios

Reuters:

UK PM May promises frank talk with Trump after women protest — British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday she would not be afraid to tell Donald Trump when she finds something he has said unacceptable, as she prepares to meet the new U.S. President in Washington this week.

Discussion: The Week