memeorandum: Michael Wolff Reflects on a Wild Week and Trump's Anger: “I Have No Side Here” (Q&A) (Seth Abramovitch/Hollywood Reporter)

1:25 AM ET, January 7, 2018

Top Items:

Michael Wolff Reflects on a Wild Week and Trump's Anger: “I Have No Side Here” (Q&A) — The Hollywood Reporter columnist and author of the sensational White House tell-all ‘Fire and Fury’ opens up about his new notoriety, that infamous Ailes-Bannon dinner party and the process …

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Press, IJR and Mediaite

Julia Manchester / The Hill:

Breitbart editor fires back at Trump over Bannon attack: ‘Outrageous’ — A Breitbart editor blasted a tweet from President Trump — attacking his former chief strategist and current Breitbart chairman Stephen Bannon, calling the post “outrageous.” — “This is outrageous even by POTUS standards …

Discussion: RedState and Washington Press

David Frum / The Atlantic:

Donald Trump Goes Full Fredo — “I can handle things. I'm smart! Not like everybody says, like dumb. I'm smart and I want respect!” — This morning's presidential Twitter outburst recalls those words of Fredo Corleone's in one of the most famous scenes from The Godfather series.

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Washington Press, Hullabaloo, Breitbart and Outside the Beltway

CNN:

Source: Bannon was going to defend Trump until Trump attacked him — Trump: Steve Bannon cried when he got fired — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)Steve Bannon was only minutes away from attacking “Fire and Fury” author Michael Wolff over quotes attributed to the former White House chief strategist …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Press, American Greatness, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Breitbart, Business Insider, The Week and The Daily Caller

David Nakamura / Washington Post:
Trump boasts that he's ‘like, really smart’ and a ‘very stable genius’ amid questions over his mental fitness

Discussion: BBC, Breitbart, CNN, San Bernardino Sun, Common Dreams, Washington Press, Deadline, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, bizpacreview.com, Vox, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Politicus USA, RedState, Fox News Insider, NPR, The Week, Mediaite, Mashable, IJR, abc7.com and archive.is

William Schomberg / Reuters:
Trump book author says his revelations will bring down U.S. president

Discussion: Raw Story, IJR, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill and RedState

Daniella Diaz / CNN:
Trump: I'm a ‘very stable genius’

Haley Byrd / Weekly Standard:

Did a Republican Senator Actually Meet with a Psychiatrist About Trump's Sanity? — The “meeting” isn't quite what Politico made it out to be. — On Wednesday night, before Washington was completely consumed by Michael Wolff's West Wing tell-all, Politico published a piece feeding into a different frenzy …

Discussion: RedState, twitchy.com and bizpacreview.com

Avi Selk / Washington Post:
Here are the people closest to Trump who might doubt his mental fitness

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story, Washington Press and New York Times

Mike Allen / Axios: Trump's state of mind

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress: GOP leaders happily stand by Trump as he becomes increasingly unhinged

Natasha Bertrand / Business Insider:

George Papadopoulos' fiancée opens up about her FBI interview, that mysterious London professor, and her wedding plans — Simona Mangiante, the fiancée of former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, described in an interview with Business Insider this week what her life …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Darryl Fears / Washington Post:

Official who improperly helped Redskins owner cut down trees picked as National Park Service deputy director — A former National Park Service official who improperly helped Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder cut down more than 130 trees to improve a river view at his Potomac, Md. …

Erica Orden / Wall Street Journal:

SEC Looks Into Kushner Cos. Over Use of EB-5 Program for Immigrant Investors — Probe is being conducted in collaboration with Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office, which issued similar subpoena — The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the real-estate company run by the family …

Discussion: Breitbart, TheBlaze, The Hill, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo and RedState

Issie Lapowsky / Wired:

Pro-Kremlin Twitter Trolls Take Aim at Robert Mueller — THE DENSE NETWORK of pro-Kremlin Twitter accounts tracked by the group Alliance for Securing Democracy has spent the last year spreading chaos and discord about topics as diverse as NFL players refusing to stand during the national anthem …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

The Times of Israel:

Report: Ex-Iranian president Ahmadinejad arrested for inciting unrest — According to Arab paper, former leader's comments against Rouhani government amid rallies have led authorities to seek to place him under house arrest — Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been arrested …

Discussion: TheBlaze, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller

TMZ.com:

Jerry Van Dyke — Dead at 86 — EXCLUSIVE — Jerry Van Dyke — the famed younger brother of Dick Van Dyke — has died ... TMZ has learned. — Jerry's wife, Shirley, tells us ... he died Friday afternoon at their Arkansas ranch with her by his side. She says they were involved …

Discussion: AOL, The Daily Caller, IJR and FOX6Now.com

Daniel E. Slotnik / New York Times: Jerry Van Dyke, ‘Coach’ Actor and Foil for His Brother, Dick, Dies at 86

Avery Anapol / The Hill:

More than $100K raised for Moore accuser whose home was destroyed in suspicious fire — In less than 24 hours, more than $120,000 was raised in a GoFundMe for the Roy Moore — accuser whose house burned down in a suspicious fire. — Former Obama staffer Katie Jacobs Stanton started …

Discussion: RedState, FOX6Now.com, abc7ny.com, Politicus USA and Vox

James Fallows / The Atlantic:

How Actual Smart People Talk About Themselves — I've never met or interviewed Donald Trump, though like most of the world I feel amply exposed to his outlooks and styles of expression. So I can't say whether, in person, he somehow conveys the edge, the sparkle, the ability to connect …

Jim Acosta / CNN:

Others involved in effort to pressure Sessions to not recuse — (CNN)More White House officials were involved in the effort to persuade Attorney General Jeff Sessions to not recuse himself in the Russia investigation beyond counsel Don McGahn, a senior administration official said Friday.

Daniella Diaz / CNN:
Trump: ‘Yes, I do’ stand with Sessions

Discussion: New York Times, New York Magazine, Hullabaloo, NPR, The Guardian, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Is President Trump Mentally Ill? It Doesn't Matter — We are now back on to the feverish debate about whether or not Donald Trump is mentally ill or suffering from the onset of dementia. The most important thing to know about this debate is that it simply doesn't matter.

Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:

After years of watching Fox, Trump is shocked to learn reporters check facts — It's no secret that Donald Trump loves Fox News. He loves the network so much, in fact, that he frequently live-tweets its coverage and uses his Twitter account to promote it.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

David S. Cloud / Los Angeles Times:

Mueller calls back at least one participant in key meeting with Russians at Trump Tower — Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin. (Yury Martyanov/AFP/Getty Images, Alex Wong/Getty Images) — Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has recalled for questioning …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, TheBlaze, bizpacreview.com, Raw Story and Politicus USA

Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:
Mueller's Russia investigation turns its attention to Ivanka Trump

Discussion: ImmigrationProf Blog and NPR

Laura Secor / New York Times:

Iran's Protesters Want One Thing: Accountability — Iranians complain about the economy. They always have. I heard these complaints every time I visited Iran between 2004 and 2012, and I heard them from both middle-class people and the working poor. That Iranians complain about the economy …