memeorandum: U.S. Eyes Michael Flynn's Links to Russia (Wall Street Journal)

2:10 AM ET, January 23, 2017

Top Items:

Rocky First Weekend for Trump Troubles Even His Top Aides — WASHINGTON — President Trump's first weekend in office unfolded much the way things often did during his campaign: with angry Twitter messages, a familiar obsession with slights and a series of meandering and at times untrue statements …

Discussion: USA Today, Gizmodo, Raw Story, Politicus USA, CBS New York, New Urban Legends, Hot Air, Business Insider, Eschaton, The Guardian, Scripting News and TheBlaze, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

Trump struggles to shake his erratic campaign habits — That Donald Trump chose to spend the first 48 hours of his presidency feuding with the news media over crowd sizes, crowing about his win in front of a wall of killed CIA agents, spreading inaccurate information and firing off tweets didn't shock his supporters or critics.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Vox

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:
Conway: 'We're going to have to rethink our relationship' with press

Discussion: RedState

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Eyes Michael Flynn's Links to Russia — U.S. counterintelligence agents have investigated communications that President Donald Trump's national security adviser had with Russian officials. Michael Flynn is the first person inside the White House whose links are known to have faced scrutiny …

Discussion: alan.com, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, The Week, Political Wire and Instapundit

New York Times:

Foreign Payments to Trump Firms Violate Constitution, Suit Will Claim — WASHINGTON — A team of prominent constitutional scholars, Supreme Court litigators and former White House ethics lawyers intends to file a lawsuit Monday morning alleging that President Trump is violating the Constitution …

Discussion: Althouse, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, BuzzFeed, The Week and Political Wire

Karoun Demirjian / Washington Post:

Will Marco Rubio defy President Trump on his pick for secretary of state? — Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey O. Graham said Sunday that they will back the nomination of Rex Tillerson, clearing the way for the oil executive to become secretary of state and leaving just one drama unresolved: What will Marco Rubio do?

Discussion: Political Wire

YouTube:

McCain: ‘I Do Not Know’ If I Have Confidence In Trump … Sunday on ABC's “This Week,” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said he did not know when asked if he has “confidence” in President Donald Trump. — McCain said, “I do not know George. I do not know because has made so many comments that are contradictory.

Discussion: Political Wire

Nicki Rossoll / ABC News:
McCain Will Vote Yes on Trump's Secretary of State Nominee Rex Tillerson

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

Associated Press:
The Latest: Trump Changes Course After Denouncing Protesters

Discussion: Politico

Burgess Everett / Politico:
McCain and Graham back Tillerson

Discussion: Power Line, Axios and ThinkProgress

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

Discussion: ABC News

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

CIA officers give mixed reviews of Trump's strange visit — President Trump's visit to the CIA on his first day in office shocked some agency veterans because of its combative, political tone. But several said they were glad that Trump seemed to have stopped demonizing the intelligence community …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Politico

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:

Trump at the CIA — On his first full day in office, President Trump visited the CIA at its Langley, Virginia headquarters. Trump told CIA employees he is “behind” them. He said, “I know maybe sometimes you haven't gotten the backing that you've wanted, and you're going to get so much backing.”

Discussion: ABC News, Politico and Washington Post

NBC News:
Ex-CIA Boss Brennan, Others Rip Trump Speech in Front of Memorial

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Hill and Hullabaloo

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

Discussion: New York Times, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, New Urban Legends, Mashable, Politicus USA, Balloon Juice, IJR, Raw Story, TheBlaze, The Daily Caller and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Alexandra Jaffe / NBC News:
Kellyanne Conway: WH Spokesman Gave ‘Alternative Facts’ on Inauguration Crowd

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Liberal Values, The Guardian, Washington Monthly, DCist, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, The Atlantic, The Slot, Talking Points Memo, Shareblue, The Week and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:
Conway: WH Spox Wasn't Lying, He Was Just Offering ‘Alternative Facts’

Discussion: Daily Kos and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Kyle Olson / The American Mirror:

VIDEO: Passengers cheer as woman berating Trump supporter is kicked off plane — An elderly woman demanded a Donald Trump supporter seated next to her be moved, but she quickly found out that's not how the world works. — Scott Koteskey, in a window seat, posted video on Saturday showing …

Discussion: The Geller Report

Nicholas Fondacaro / NewsBusters:

CNN: Is Dictator Trump Making You ‘Doubt Your Own Eyes’ to Truth? — “Do citizens in dictatorships recognize what's happening right here right now,” he sneered, “Are they looking at the first two days of the Trump administration and saying, 'Oh, that's what my leader does?'”

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Trump's Health Plan Would Convert Medicaid to Block Grants, Aide Says — WASHINGTON — President Trump's plan to replace the Affordable Care Act will propose giving each state a fixed amount of federal money in the form of a block grant to provide health care to low-income people on Medicaid …

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Breitbart writer expected to join White House staff — Julia Hahn, a staff writer at Breitbart News, is expected to join the White House - a move that further underscores Breitbart's influence in the new administration. — According to two sources briefed on the move …

Discussion: Axios and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

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.