memeorandum: A top Putin critic on how to oppose Trump: “making him look like a loser is crucial” (Alexander Bisley/Vox)

1:55 AM ET, February 13, 2017

Top Items:

Turmoil at the National Security Council, From the Top Down — WASHINGTON — These are chaotic and anxious days inside the National Security Council, the traditional center of management for a president's dealings with an uncertain world. — Three weeks into the Trump administration …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Gizmodo, Hullabaloo, ThinkProgress, Fox News and Talking Points Memo

Wall Street Journal:

Mike Flynn's Position Grows Tenuous in White House — The White House is reviewing whether to retain National Security Adviser Mike Flynn amid a furor over his contacts with Russian officials before President Donald Trump took office.

Discussion: The Week

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump reviews top White House staff after tumultuous start — President Donald Trump, frustrated over his administration's rocky start, is complaining to friends and allies about some of his most senior aides — leading to questions about whether he is mulling an early staff shakeup.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Washington Post:

As Flynn falls under growing pressure over Russia contacts, Trump remains silent — White House national security adviser Michael Flynn is under increasing political pressure and risks losing the confidence of some colleagues following reports that he misled senior administration officials …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Daily Wire and The Hill

John R. Schindler / The New York Observer:

The Spy Revolt Against Trump Begins — Intelligence Community pushes back against a White House it considers leaky, untruthful and penetrated by the Kremlin — In a recent column, I explained how the still-forming Trump administration is already doing serious harm to America's longstanding global intelligence partnerships.

Discussion: Instapundit, Raw Story, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Booman Tribune

CNN:

At Mar-a-Lago, Trump tackles crisis diplomacy at close range — Trump, Abe respond to N. Korea missile test — (CNN)The iceberg wedge salads, dripping with blue cheese dressing, had just been served on the terrace of Mar-a-Lago Saturday when the call to President Donald Trump came in …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, Political Wire and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:

Trump: Media won't report on ‘enthusiastic supporters’ at Mar-a-Lago — President Trump on Sunday again slammed the media, this time claiming that there were “enthusiastic supporters lining the roads” as he left his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. — “Just leaving Florida.

Discussion: Raw Story

John Wagner / Washington Post:
A hastily called news conference caps a surreal day for Trump in South Florida

Discussion: New York Magazine and CNN

Ryan Sabalow / Sacramento Bee:

BREAKING: Oroville under immediate evacuation as spillway collapse feared — “It's uncontrolled. It's uncontrolled.” — Fearing a gush from Lake Oroville if the emergency spillway collapses, officials are releasing as much as 100,000 cubic feet per second from the main …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Raw Story, RedState, Associated Press and Gizmodo

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Stephen Miller's bushels of Pinocchios for false voter-fraud claims — White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller appeared on ABC's “The Week” on Sunday, spouting a bunch of false talking points on alleged voter fraud. (He also repeated similar claims on other Sunday talk shows.)

Discussion: Power Line, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Vox and Mediaite

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:
Top White House Advisor Claims Trump's Wall ‘Will Pay For Itself’

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 2-12-17: Stephen Miller, Bob Ferguson, and Rep. Elijah Cummings

Discussion: Fox News, NBC News, Washington Post, Daily Wire, NPR, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
White House adviser: We have provided ‘enormous’ evidence of voter fraud

Discussion: RedState

David Edwards / Raw Story:
‘Talking bag of pus’: Twitter rips Stephen Miller for ‘clearly reading from script’ on Sunday shows

Discussion: LAist, ThinkProgress, BizPac Review, ABC News, twitchy.com and Politico

Hollywood Reporter:

Grammy Awards: A Pro-Trump Statement on the Red Carpet — Singer Joyce Villa wore a “Make America Great Again” gown. — Scandalous dresses on the Grammys red carpet aren't what they used to be. It wasn't deep cleavage or a thigh-high leg slit that had tongues wagging about singer Joyce Villa on Sunday night.

Discussion: IJR and AOL

Joy Villa / Breitbart: Photos: Joy Villa Unveils Donald Trump Dress at Grammys

Brian Chappatta / Bloomberg:

America's Biggest Creditors Dump Treasuries in Warning to Trump — Japanese investors cull U.S. government debt by most since '13 — Currency-hedged returns were worst on record last quarter — In the age of Trump, America's biggest foreign creditors are suddenly having second thoughts about financing the U.S. government.

Discussion: Mother Jones

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Trump friend says Priebus is ‘in way over his head’ — One of President Trump's longtime friends made a striking move on Sunday: After talking privately with the president over drinks late Friday, Christopher Ruddy publicly argued that Trump should replace his White House chief of staff.

Discussion: The Hill, Mother Jones, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, twitchy.com, Mediaite and Outside the Beltway

Jennifer Calfas / The Hill:

Trump's official inauguration poster has glaring typo — President Trump's official inauguration portrait offered by the Library of Congress had a glaring typo on it, social media users pointed out Sunday evening. — The print of Trump, which was sold on the Library of Congress's website …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and Raw Story

Loren Grush / The Verge:

A US-born NASA scientist was detained at the border until he unlocked his phone — Two weeks ago, Sidd Bikkannavar flew back into the United States after spending a few weeks abroad in South America. An employee of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Bikkannavar had been on a personal trip …

Discussion: Mashable

Rhett Jones / Gizmodo:
Border Agent Demands NASA Scientist Unlock Phone Before Entering the Country

Discussion: Balloon Juice

New York Times:

G.O.P. Lawmakers Like What They See in Trump. They Just Have to Squint. — WASHINGTON — Republican congressional aides have set their iPhones to flutter every time President Trump hurls a thunderbolt on Twitter. Senators nod politely at his false claims of mass voter fraud during private White House meetings.

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:

Franken: GOP colleagues question Trump's mental health — (D-Minn.) said early Sunday that Republican colleagues have expressed concern to him about President Trump's mental health. — “A few, yeah,” he said on CNN's “State of the Union.” — “We all have this suspicion that, you know, he lies a lot.

Discussion: The Talking Dog, Raw Story and alan.com

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story: Sen. Al Franken confirms to CNN's Tapper that GOP senators are concerned about Trump's mental health

Erin McCann / New York Times:

Trump Criticized Obama for Golfing. Now He Spends Weekends on the Links. — As a private citizen, Donald J. Trump was repeatedly critical of President Obama's fondness for relaxing with a round of golf. — “Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf.”

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

UN Watch:

Walk of shame: Sweden's “first feminist government” don hijabs in Iran — Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+Share on LinkedinShare on PinterestShare on Xing — Trade minister Ann Linde and other members of Sweden's “first feminist government in the world” …

Discussion: presstv.ir, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, RedState and The Geller Report

New York Post:

$325K wedding nixed after brawl erupts at rehearsal dinner, suit says — Till death do us punch. — A ritzy Manhattan wedding-rehearsal dinner descended into a brawl after the groom's parents objected to a toast on the eve of the couple's $325,000 nuptials at The Pierre hotel, according to a lawsuit between warring would-be in-laws.

Alexander Bisley / Vox:

A top Putin critic on how to oppose Trump: “making him look like a loser is crucial” — A conversation with chess champion Garry Kasparov. — Garry Kasparov knows what it is to oppose an authoritarian ruler. The longtime world chess champion was arrested twice in his native Russia for opposing Vladimir Putin.

CBS News:

Face the Nation transcript February 12, 2017: Schumer, Flake, Miller — JOHN DICKERSON, CBS HOST: Today on FACE THE NATION: President Trump feels the limitations of the office and faces a foreign policy challenge from North Korea. — A North Korean ballistic missile test interrupted President …

Discussion: Mother Jones