memeorandum: Brian Ross is returning to ABC News, but with a different job (Brian Stelter/CNNMoney)

11:50 AM ET, January 5, 2018

Top Items:

Mike Allen / Axios:

The Wolff lines on Trump that ring unambiguously true — There are definitely parts of Michael Wolff's “Fire and Fury” that are wrong, sloppy, or betray off-the-record confidence. But there are two things he gets absolutely right, even in the eyes of White House officials …

Discussion: RedState, Shareblue Media, Politicus USA, New York Times, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon, Taylor Marsh and Eschaton, more at Mediagazer »

Sarah Rumpf / RedState:

Furious Trump Fires Off Tweet With New Nickname for Bannon — President Donald Trump seems absolutely furious about the upcoming Michael Wolff book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, and he's making sure everyone knows it, firing off another tweet not only attacking the book …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New Republic, IJR, Fox News Insider, bizpacreview.com, Washington Post, TVNewser, Washington Times, Breitbart, ABC News, Raw Story, Washington Press, Mashable, The Daily Caller, The Week, Mediaite, Althouse and NBC News

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:

Mercer issues rare public rebuke of former ally Bannon — Stephen K. Bannon's main financial backer is formally cutting ties with the former Trump adviser. — In a new statement Thursday, billionaire conservative donor Rebekah Mercer said that she has not spoken to Bannon …

Discussion: Washington Times, Business Insider, Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast, bizpacreview.com, The Atlantic, The Daily Caller, The Week, Mediaite, RedState, New York Post, BuzzFeed, Breitbart, Splinter, Hot Air and The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »

Joe Scarborough / Washington Post:

I asked Trump a blunt question: Do you read? — Michael Wolff's tantalizing takedown of President Trump's White House is so tightly packed with tales of political convulsion and personal betrayal that official Washington will be buzzing off its sugar high for weeks.

Discussion: The Mahablog, Hullabaloo and The Atlantic

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:

Everyone in Trumpworld Knows He's an Idiot — One of the more alarming anecdotes in “Fire and Fury,” Michael Wolff's incendiary new book about Donald Trump's White House, involves the firing of James Comey, former director of the F.B.I. It's not Trump's motives that are scary …

Kimberly Leonard / Washington Examiner:

Michael Wolff: Trump had little interest in repealing Obamacare, floated ‘Medicare for All’ — A book detailing the first year of President Trump's time in office claims he floated the idea of covering all Americans through Medicare and had little interest in repealing Obamacare.

Discussion: Common Dreams

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Bannon allies say statement praising Trump Jr. was spiked after Trump went nuclear

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, TODAY.com, The Week, CANNONFIRE and The Gateway Pundit

Patterico / RedState:
Report: Sloppy Steve Was JUST ABOUT to Dispute Those Quotes...

Discussion: Politico

Ben Terris / Washington Post:
Forget ‘Harry Potter.’ In D.C., people lined up at midnight for Michael Wolff's Trump exposé.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ABC News and BBC, more at Mediagazer »

John Cassidy / New Yorker:
Michael Wolff's Withering Portrait of President Donald Trump

Discussion: Daily Kos

Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:
Bannon Banished for Telling Truths About Trump as MAGA Monsters Turn on Each Other

Discussion: Washington Post, bizpacreview.com, RedState, Mediaite and Raw Story

Margaret Carlson / The Daily Beast:
The Worst Thing Donald Trump Says in Michael Wolff's Book

Discussion: Politico

Eun Kyung Kim / TODAY.com:
Michael Wolff says he ‘absolutely’ spoke to President Trump for his tell-all book

Discussion: Axios, Politico, NPR, Breitbart, IJR, RedState, AOL and bizpacreview.com

Mike Allen / Axios:
Trump's legal threats backfire as Wolff book surges

Discussion: RedState, Politico and The Week

Adam Edelman / NBC News:
‘Fire and Fury’ author Wolff calls Trump least credible person who has ever walked on earth

Discussion: Washington Post, Weekly Standard, The Hill, Fox News Insider, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, Breitbart, USA Today, CBS Philly, IJR, The Daily Caller and The Guardian

New York Times:
Led by the Mercers, Bannon's Allies Abandon Him

Discussion: New York Magazine and Raw Story

Jack Shafer / Politico:
Trump Got Wolffed

Discussion: grubstreet, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Beast and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
Michael Wolff, fabulist

Discussion: Washington Post

Wall Street Journal:
Breitbart Owners Debate Ousting Bannon Amid Trump Feud

Discussion: RedState, Daily Mail, Patterico's Pontifications, Hot Air, The Guardian, Occidental Dissent, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, The Root, Daily Wire, IJR, CNNMoney, Mediaite, The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan S. Tobin / National Review: Judge Trump by His Record, Not Gossip

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

Obstruction Inquiry Shows Trump's Struggle to Keep Grip on Russia Investigation — WASHINGTON — President Trump gave firm instructions in March to the White House's top lawyer: stop the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, from recusing himself in the Justice Department's investigation into whether …

John Solomon / The Hill:

FBI launches new Clinton Foundation investigation — The Justice Department has launched a new inquiry into whether the Clinton Foundation engaged in any pay-to-play politics or other illegal activities while Hillary Clinton — served as Secretary of State, law enforcement officials and a witness tells The Hill.

CNN:

Ryan backed Nunes in spat with Justice Dept. over Russia documents, sources say — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — (CNN)House Speaker Paul Ryan backed his fellow congressional Republican, House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, during a meeting over the Russia investigation Wednesday …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Week and Shareblue Media

CNN:

Feds actively investigating Clinton Foundation — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — The investigation, led by the FBI field office in Little Rock, Arkansas, is being overseen by the US attorney's office in the state — (CNN)Federal authorities are actively investigating allegations of corruption related …

Discussion: bizpacreview.com and Daily Wire

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Why Trump and Sessions are now in a heap of legal trouble — Michael S. Schmidt's report in the New York Times contains so many blockbusters that it's hard to know where to begin. Here are the most critical claims: — Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has evidence …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Washington Examiner, Media Matters for America, Washington Press, Raw Story, RedState, Vox, Mediaite and Politicus USA

Sara Carter / Sara A. Carter:
Mueller's “Pit Bull” Andrew Weissmann under scrutiny as Rosenstein agrees to turn over documents to Nunes

Discussion: Front Page Magazine

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Schiff: The case that Trump obstructed justice just got stronger

Discussion: Politico, Washington Press, Shareblue Media and Mediaite

Eric Tucker / Associated Press:
AP Source: Trump had lawyer urge AG against Russia recusal

Discussion: New York Magazine

Natalie Kitroeff / New York Times:

U.S. Added 148,000 Jobs in December; Unemployment at 4.1% — The Labor Department released the latest figures on hiring and unemployment, with another gain capping a year of increasing opportunities for American workers. — The Numbers — • 148,000 jobs were added last month …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Press, Outside the Beltway, The Stream, Althouse and Wall Street Journal

Akin Oyedele / Business Insider: Jobs report misses expectations, unemployment rate holds at 17-year low

Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Job growth slows to a six-year low in Trump's first year

Discussion: Mother Jones, New Republic, The Atlantic and Breitbart

Matthew Gertz / Politico:

I've Studied the Trump-Fox Feedback Loop for Months. It's Crazier Than You Think. — On Tuesday night, I, along with many Americans, was shocked when President Donald Trump tweeted that his “Nuclear Button” is “much bigger & more powerful” than North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's.

Discussion: Media Matters for America and Raw Story

Apple Support:

About speculative execution vulnerabilities in ARM-based and Intel CPUs — Security researchers have recently uncovered security issues known by two names, Meltdown and Spectre. These issues apply to all modern processors and affect nearly all computing devices and operating systems.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CNBC, Breitbart, Mashable, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Axios, BGR, The Week, NBC News, NPR, KTLA, MacRumors, The Verge, Gizmodo, 9to5Mac and Vox, more at Techmeme »

Lori Pilger / Lincoln Journal Star:

FBI accuses white supremacist of terror attack on Amtrak train in rural Nebraska — The FBI says an armed 26-year-old Missouri man who breached a secured area to stop an Amtrak train in southwest Nebraska in October has links to a white supremacist group and expressed an interest in …

Discussion: The Root, Shakesville, FOX2now.com, Splinter and Raw Story

Andrew J. Nelson / Omaha World-Herald:
FBI: Man with white supremacist ties stopped train in rural Nebraska with intent to harm passengers

Discussion: New Republic

Daphne Merkin / New York Times:

Publicly, We Say #MeToo. Privately, We Have Misgivings. — You can be sure that this weekend at the Golden Globes, Hollywood celebrities, not exactly known for their independent thinking, will turn the red carpet into a #MeToo moment replete with designer duds.

Discussion: Notes

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Brian Ross is returning to ABC News, but with a different job — ABC News boss excoriates staff over Ross' error — Brian Ross's four-week unpaid suspension is over. He is coming back to ABC News — but not to his old job. — His title will still be “chief investigative correspondent.”

Discussion: IJR, Mediaite and TVNewser

ESPN:

For Kraft, Brady and Belichick, is this the beginning of the end? — THE PROBLEM WITH living your life under the spotlight is that the camera captures only the public eruption, not the months of silent anger. On Dec. 3, when the New England Patriots played the Buffalo Bills …

Discussion: AOL, USA Today and The Daily Caller

Pamela McClintock / Hollywood Reporter:

Trump White House Asks to Screen Steven Spielberg's ‘The Post’ (Exclusive) — The period drama about ‘The Washington Post’ stars two of Trump's Hollywood critics, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. — This weekend, filmmaker Steven Spielberg's The Post expands into additional theaters — including the White House.

Discussion: The Guardian