memeorandum: The Slut-Shaming of Nikki Haley (Bari Weiss/New York Times)

8:40 AM ET, January 30, 2018

Top Items:

Carol E. Lee / NBC News:

Trump's gripes against McCabe included wife's politics, Comey's ride home — WASHINGTON — The day after President Donald Trump fired James Comey, he became so furious watching television footage of the ousted FBI director boarding a government-funded plane from Los Angeles back to Washington …

Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:

On Flight to Davos, Trump Erupted Over DOJ Role in Russia Probe — President is said to be angered by Justice Department warning — Kelly reproached officials in meetings, calls last week — President Donald Trump's frustrations with the Russia investigation boiled over on Air Force …

Discussion: Axios, Talking Points Memo, CNN, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Raw Story, Politico, New York Magazine, RedState, Business Insider, Hullabaloo, Breitbart, The Week, Mediaite and CNBC

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:

House Republicans Vote to Release Secret Memo on Russia Inquiry — WASHINGTON — Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, disregarding Justice Department warnings that their actions would be “extraordinarily reckless,” voted Monday evening to release a contentious secret memorandum …

Discussion: The Week, Shareblue Media, Washington Monthly, Vox, Joe.My.God., Axios, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, CNN, Althouse, Hullabaloo, Breitbart, The Hill and Raw Story

New York Times:

Taunted by Trump and Pressured From Above, McCabe Steps Down as F.B.I. Deputy — WASHINGTON — Andrew G. McCabe abruptly stepped down on Monday as the F.B.I.'s deputy director after months of withering criticism from President Trump, telling friends he felt pressure from the head of the bureau to leave …

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Memo war: GOP to release memo aimed at Justice Department, while Dems push memo aimed at GOP — Yes, House Intelligence Committee Republicans voted Monday evening to release their so-called “FISA abuse” memo to the public, which will happen any day now, after President Trump gives the OK.

Discussion: Power Line

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:
Trump told McCabe to ask his wife how it felt to be a loser: report

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, The Root, IJR, Mediaite, The Week and The Atlantic

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
The Real State of the Union Is Awfully Precarious

Discussion: Daily Kos, Business Insider, NBC News and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:
Republicans vote to release memo alleging FBI missteps in surveillance of Trump campaign operative

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Weekly Standard, Talking Points Memo, New York Post and Breitbart

Matt Viser / BostonGlobe.com:
Republicans give voice to audacious effort to discredit FBI, Mueller

Discussion: Conservative Review and Washington Examiner

Julian Sanchez / Just Security:
On “Releasing The Memo” — In the rapidly escalating war between …

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Shareblue Media, NPR, The Week, IJR and ThinkProgress

Byron Tau / Wall Street Journal: House Panel Votes to Release GOP Memo on Russia Probe

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Names of campaign donors to be flashed during live stream of Trump's State of the Union speech — President Trump is seeking to parlay his first State of the Union address on Tuesday into cash for his reelection campaign by offering supporters a chance to see their name flashed on the screen during a broadcast of the speech.

Discussion: New York Magazine, New York Times, AOL, Raw Story, The Week, Balloon Juice and Shareblue Media

Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:

Please Don't Call Him Presidential — After a tumultuous and divisive year in office, Donald Trump has the opportunity for a fresh start with his first State of the Union address on Tuesday. The president can surprise those who think the worst of him, and prove that he's been underestimated.

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, AOL, Axios and Business Insider

Emily Goodin / ABC News:
5 things to watch for in President Trump's State of the Union Address

Discussion: Politico and Associated Press

ABC News:
Trump to herald economic progress in State of the Union

Discussion: Axios and Associated Press

Nancy Cook / Politico: 5 things to watch at Trump's first State of the Union

Ben Collins / The Daily Beast:

Julian Assange Thought He Was Messaging Sean Hannity When He Offered ‘News’ on Democrat Investigating Trump-Russia … At about 4 a.m. on Saturday morning, a couple hours after she started pretending to be Sean Hannity, Dell Gilliam says she got a direct message back from the head of Wikileaks, Julian Assange.

Discussion: TheBlaze, Joe.My.God., RedState, Raw Story, Little Green Footballs, Mediaite, IJR and The Daily Caller

Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:
Trump Turns GOP into a Conspiracy of Dunces

Discussion: Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money

CNN:

Trump admin declines to impose new Russia sanctions — US-Russia relations after Trump's first year — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)The Trump administration has declined to impose sanctions against companies and foreign countries doing business with blacklisted Russian defense and intelligence entities.

Discussion: Associated Press, Joe.My.God. and The Week

Andrew Desiderio / The Daily Beast: Trump Administration Baffles and Enrages Lawmakers With Latest Punt on Russia Sanctions

Elana Schor / Politico:
White House to Congress: Russia sanctions not needed now

Discussion: Weekly Standard and The Week

Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:
Trump gives in to Putin, refuses to impose America's sanctions on Russia

Discussion: Politico and Daily Kos

Reuters: Trump Administration Signals It Is Not Imposing New Sanctions On Russia

New York Times:

Melania Trump, Out of Sight Since Report of Husband's Infidelity, to Attend State of the Union — WASHINGTON — Over the past week, Melania Trump, a notoriously private first lady, made three very public decisions: She canceled a trip abroad with the president, made an impromptu visit …

Discussion: Joe.My.God., AOL, Business Insider, Raw Story, thecut and Mediaite

Bari Weiss / New York Times:

The Slut-Shaming of Nikki Haley — Imagine this: The author of the most popular book in the country goes on Bill Maher's show and says the following about President Barack Obama: “There is something in the book that I was absolutely sure of but it was so incendiary that I just didn't have the ultimate proof,” he says.

Danielle Paquette / Washington Post:

Humane Society CEO is subject of sexual harassment complaints from three women, according to internal investigation … An internal investigation by a law firm hired by the Humane Society of the United States has identified three complaints of sexual harassment by chief executive Wayne Pacelle …

Discussion: The Week and HumaneWatch

Chuck Schumer / Washington Post:

What I'm listening for in Trump's State of the Union — Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, is minority leader of the U.S. Senate. — When President Trump addresses the nation in his first official State of the Union on Tuesday night, he should urge Congress to deliver a substantial investment in our nation's infrastructure.

Discussion: Politico

Sen. Mitch McConnell / Courier-Journal:
Trump and Republican Congress have plenty to brag about after first year | Mitch McConnell

Discussion: The Week

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:

Rod Rosenstein Is Shirking His Duty to Supervise Robert Mueller — A self-absorbed, unrestrained prosecutor can do a lot of harm. — Let's say I'm an assistant United States attorney in, oh I don't know, Montana. I get to work one morning and I say to myself, “Self, you know what would be really interesting?

Bwittes / Lawfare:
Big Lies, Law Enforcement, and the Defense of Rod Rosenstein

Discussion: The Atlantic, American Thinker, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, The Guardian, Townhall.com, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, #MarchForTruth, The Last Refuge and Washington Monthly

Gordon Corera / BBC:

Russia ‘will target US mid-term elections’ says CIA chief — The director of the CIA expects that Russia will target the US mid-term elections later this year. — Mike Pompeo told the BBC there had been no significant diminishing of Russian attempts at subversion in Europe and the US.

Discussion: Political Wire, New York Times, The Week and Business Insider

Hadley Freeman / The Guardian:

What does Hollywood's reverence for child rapist Roman Polanski tell us? — It's 40 years this week since the director and convicted sex offender went on the run. What does his continued success reveal about the film world's true attitude towards sexual assault?

Discussion: Mashable and Decider

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:

Top DNC official out after less than a year on the job — WASHINGTON — The CEO of the Democratic National Committee is leaving after less than a year on the job, NBC News has learned. — Veteran Democrat operative Jess O'Connell took the helm of the DNC last May with a mandate …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Washington Times and BuzzFeed

New Jersey Online:

Chris Christie joins ABC News as a contributor — Chris Christie: Thanks for the Memories — Former Gov. Chris Christie has landed a TV gig, NJ Advance Media has learned. — Christie has been hired as an occasional contributor to ABC News, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story, RedState, AOL, Mediaite and Washington Times

Adrian Florido / NPR:

FEMA To End Food And Water Aid For Puerto Rico — In the days after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, residents of some of the hardest hit rural areas found themselves stranded — cut off from more populated areas by mudslides, crumbled roads and bridges, and toppled trees and power lines.

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

Trump's Approval Highest in West Virginia, Lowest in Vermont — WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump's job approval rating averaged 38% throughout the U.S. in 2017, but at the state level it ranged from a high of 61% in West Virginia to a low of 26% in Vermont.