memeorandum: Meryl Streep rips Melania and Ivanka Trump over ‘silence’ on sexual harassment (Max Greenwood/The Hill)

5:10 PM ET, January 4, 2018

Top Items:

“You Can't Make This S— Up”: My Year Inside Trump's Insane White House — Author and columnist Michael Wolff was given extraordinary access to the Trump administration and now details the feuds, the fights and the alarming chaos he witnessed while reporting what turned into a new book.

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Demands That Publisher Halt Release of Critical Book — WASHINGTON — President Trump escalated his attack on a new book portraying him as a volatile and ill-equipped chief executive on Thursday as his legal team demanded that the author and publisher halt the release of the account scheduled …

Discussion: The Times & The Sunday Times, Little Green Footballs, USA Today, Media Matters for America, Breitbart, Fox News, The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, US Macmillan, Daily Wire, Politico, bizpacreview.com, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, NBC News and thecut, more at Mediagazer »

Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:

Forget Treason. Money Laundering Is Serious. — Steve Bannon's charge against Trump's son isn't the worst thing he's saying about the president's inner circle. — Trump watchers have been treated to a world-class cage match over the last couple of days between President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Axios, ABC News, Right Wing Watch, USA Today, The Guardian, bizpacreview.com, Talking Points Memo and 1A, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: Wolff taped interviews with Bannon, top officials — Michael Wolff has tapes to back up quotes in his incendiary book — dozens of hours of them. — Among the sources he taped, I'm told, are Steve Bannon and former White House deputy chief of staff Katie Walsh.

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Hill, Washington Post, Breitbart, Shareblue Media, Mediaite, IJR, Vox, Media Matters for America, Washington Press, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Wall Street Journal:

Breitbart Owners Debate Ousting Bannon Amid Trump Feud — Former White House strategist's longtime benefactors, billionaires Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah, are distancing themselves from him — President Donald Trump's growing feud with Steve Bannon is threatening …

Discussion: Raw Story

James Fallows / The Atlantic:

It's Been an Open Secret All Along — Three months ago, when Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey of The New York Times unloaded their first big report about Harvey Weinstein's pattern of sexual aggressiveness and abuse, the depth of detail made the story unforgettable—and as it turned out, historic.

CNNMoney:

Wolff's Trump book going on sale four days early amid furor — The publisher of Michael Wolff's new book about President Trump is rushing it onto bookshelves. — “Due to unprecedented demand, we are moving the on-sale date for all formats of ‘Fire and Fury,’ by Michael Wolff, to Friday …

Discussion: IJR and Lawyers, Guns & Money, more at Mediagazer »

Michael Wolff / British GQ:

How Donald Trump's White House team handles his giant ego — Soon after the inauguration of Donald Trump on 20 January 2017, GQ columnist Michael Wolff was granted special access to the White House. Over seven months, in more than 200 interviews with the president and his staff …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Allen / Axios:

Axios AM — Jeffrey Smith / New York Magazine (Used by permission) — Amid the firestorm over Michael Wolff's forthcoming book “Fire and Fury,” a lawyer for President Trump says legal action against Steve Bannon is “imminent,” accusing the former White House aide of breaking a confidentiality …

Discussion: Althouse, Washington Post, Splinter, CANNONFIRE, New Republic and Raw Story

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: White House officials discuss removing Katie Walsh from outside group

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Breitbart

John Santucci / ABC News:
Trump attorney sends Bannon cease and desist letter over ‘disparaging’ comments

Discussion: Politico, Washington Free Beacon, Axios, The Daily Beast, RedState, The Atlantic, ThinkProgress, Washington Press, Raw Story, bizpacreview.com, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Techdirt, Daily Wire and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
New book: Hannity was open to giving Trump questions before interview

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, RedState, Business Insider, Shareblue Media and Raw Story

John Santucci / ABC News:
Trump legal team blasts explosive Michael Wolff book in cease-and-desist letter

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Intercept, Business Insider, Mediaite, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire, AOL and Washington Post

John Harwood / CNBC: Questions about Trump's fitness raised by bombshell new book pose growing threat for Republicans in 2018 elections

Joe Concha / The Hill:
Hannity rejects claims in Wolff book: ‘I never provided questions ahead of time to any candidate’

Discussion: The Daily Caller

John Bowden / The Hill:
Bannon loses support of pro-Trump billionaire backer over media fights

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Axios, Fox News Insider, MarketWatch, CNBC, Business Insider and IJR

Madison Park / CNN:
Despite blast by Trump, Bannon reiterates support for President

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, thecut, TheBlaze, The Hill, Politico, bizpacreview.com, The Root and IJR

Sadie Gurman / Associated Press:

AP NewsBreak: US to end policy that let legal pot flourish — WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rescinding the Obama-era policy that had paved the way for legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the country, two people with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.

Washington Examiner:

Reps. Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan: It's time for Jeff Sessions to go, as shown by the latest FBI leak … As the first year of the Trump administration comes to a close, one can't help but look back on how allegations of “Russian collusion” dominated the headlines of almost every news agency.

Discussion: Politico, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Signal, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Vox, Raw Story, IJR and Axios

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Justice Department ‘Looking Into’ Hillary Clinton's Emails— Again … Justice Department officials are taking a fresh look at Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state, The Daily Beast has learned. — An ally of Attorney General Jeff Sessions who is familiar …

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, RedState, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze, Splinter, Talking Points Memo, Washington Press, Shareblue Media, Daily Wire, Front Page Magazine, Shakesville, The Week, Law.com, Raw Story and Associated Press

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Cory Gardner just showed how Senate Republicans could check Trump if they wanted to

Discussion: IJR, Breitbart, Washington Press, Raw Story and FOX31 Denver

CNN:
Trump Organization gave Russia-related documents to Mueller, Capitol Hill

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Press and Front Page Magazine

Laura Jarrett / CNN:
Sessions to rescind Obama-era rules on non-interference with states where pot is legal

Discussion: Popehat, Washington Press, IJR, The Daily Caller, theGrio and The Root

Olivier Knox / Yahoo:
Republican Sen. Gardner torches Sessions over pot reversal

Discussion: New York Magazine, Gizmodo, Mediaite, TheBlaze and IJR

Clio Chang / Splinter:
Jeff Sessions Plans to Declare War on Legal Weed

Discussion: Power Line, The Cannabist, ThinkProgress and Hit & Run

HuffPost:
Jeff Sessions Unleashes Federal Prosecutors On Legal Marijuana

Discussion: National Review, Vox, Fox News, NPR, Splinter, naked capitalism, Business Insider and NBC News

Darryl Fears / Washington Post:

Trump administration to expand drilling off U.S. continental waters — The Trump administration unveiled a controversial plan Thursday to permit drilling in most U.S. continental shelf waters, including protected areas of the Arctic and the Atlantic, where oil and gas exploration is opposed …

Discussion: ABC News, TheBlaze, CNBC, The Week, Political Wire, Raw Story, Tampa Bay Times and Daily Wire

Lisa Friedman / New York Times:
Trump Moves to Open Nearly All Offshore Waters to Drilling

Discussion: New Republic, Bloomberg, Motherboard and Pacific Standard

Associated Press:
Trump moves to vastly expand offshore drilling off US coasts

Discussion: Bloomberg, Axios, Washington Press and Politico

U.S. Department of the Interior:
Secretary Zinke Announces Plan For Unleashing America's Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

Discussion: Townhall.com, ThinkProgress and Watts Up With That?

Richard Morgan / Washington Post:

I read decades of Woody Allen's private notes. He's obsessed with teenage girls. — His 56-box archive is filled with misogynist and lecherous musings. — Woody Allen is making a new movie. Just kidding: He doesn't make new movies. What he's editing now, “A Rainy Day in New York,” …

Discussion: AOL and Shakesville

Kira Lerner / ThinkProgress:

Democrat on defunct voting commission says Kobach lied about why it dissolved — Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap (D) had strong words for Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) on Thursday after Kobach tried to lay blame for the failure of President Trump's Election Integrity Commission …

Discussion: Splinter, Daily Kos and Talking Points Memo

Charles Stewart III / Washington Post:
Trump's controversial election integrity commission is gone. Here's what comes next.

Discussion: Mother Jones, The White House, Hit & Run, Election Academy and Right Wing Watch

Sydney Ember / New York Times:

Los Angeles Times Newsroom Voting on Whether to Unionize — Newsroom employees at The Los Angeles Times will cast ballots Thursday on whether to form a union, in what they believe is the first time journalists have held a union vote in the newspaper's 136-year history.

Discussion: L.A. Times Guild

New York Times:

U.S. Will Withhold Security Aid From Pakistan — WASHINGTON — The United States will suspend nearly all security aid to Pakistan, the Trump administration announced on Thursday, in a sign of its frustration with the country's refusal to confront terrorist networks operating there.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Axios, NPR and The Week

New York Daily News:

Socialite Jacqueline Kent Cooke accused of smacking lawyer with her glass purse in anti-Semitic attack — Millionaire NFL heiress Jacqueline Kent Cooke allegedly got blitzed on New Year's Eve, spewed anti-Semitic remarks in a Manhattan restaurant and then bashed a man bloody with her glass purse …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Tablet Magazine

Mark Zuckerberg:

Every year I take on a personal challenge to learn something new. I've visited every US state, run 365 miles, built an AI for my home, read 25 books, and learned Mandarin. — I started doing these challenges in 2009. That first year the economy was in a deep recession and Facebook was not yet profitable.

Discussion: Gizmodo, BuzzFeed and New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »

U.S. Department of the Treasury:

Treasury Sanctions Iranian Entities — Action Illustrates Iranian Regime's Prioritization of Destabilizing Weapons Systems at the Expense of its People — Washington - Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned five Iran-based entities subordinate …

Discussion: Axios and Washington Free Beacon

Page Six:

Matt Lauer still trying to have a hand in ‘Today’ — Matt Lauer just can't let it go. — We're told the disgraced “Today” show host has been firing off notes to producers from his sofa giving unsolicited feedback on the latest episodes. — Sources say Lauer — who was swiftly canned …

Discussion: Fox News, The Daily Caller and bizpacreview.com

Lisa Rapaport / Reuters:

Heart benefit of moderate drinking greater in wealthy people — (Reuters Health) - - People who enjoy a few cocktails each week may be less likely to die from heart disease than people who rarely or never drink, especially if they're rich, a Norwegian study suggests.