memeorandum: THE MORNING PLUM: — The Sunday shows confirmed an alarming … (Greg Sargent/Washington Post)

2:20 PM ET, January 29, 2018

Top Items:

Secret Memo Hints at a New Republican Target: Rod Rosenstein — WASHINGTON — A secret, highly contentious Republican memo reveals that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein approved an application to extend surveillance of a former Trump campaign associate shortly after taking office last spring …

Susan B. Glasser / Politico:

Mark Warner: 'We've Had New Information That Raises More Questions' — Congress late last year received “extraordinarily important new documents” in its investigation of President Donald Trump and his campaign's possible collusion with the 2016 Russian election hacking …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, IJR, The Daily Caller, Hullabaloo, Raw Story and Political Wire

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

THE MORNING PLUM: — The Sunday shows confirmed an alarming development: Republicans in Congress do not feel any urgency to protect special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation, even though it has now been confirmed that Trump tried to fire Mueller — and that the possibility …

Discussion: Raw Story, Daily Kos, The Week and The Daily Caller

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

An Article of Impeachment Against Donald J. Trump — There are good reasons to be wary of impeachment talk. Congressional Republicans show zero interest, and they're the ones in charge. Democrats, for their part, need to focus on retaking Congress, and railing about impeachment probably won't help them win votes.

Discussion: The Week

Nicole Lafond / Talking Points Memo:
NYT: GOP Memo Reveals Rosenstein Approved Surveillance Of Carter Page

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Shakesville, Balloon Juice and Politico

Jeremy Herb / CNN:
House Intel committee could vote on Nunes memo as soon as Monday

Discussion: TheBlaze

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Memo claims Rosenstein approved application to extend surveillance of Carter Page: report

Discussion: RedState

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
House Intel meets Monday and could vote on memo release — is Jeff Sessions softening his stance?

Discussion: Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit and The Last Refuge

NBC News:

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe stepping down — WASHINGTON — FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe stepped down Monday, multiple sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. — McCabe will remain on the FBI payroll until he is eligible to retire with full benefits in mid-March, the sources said.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Weekly Standard, Mother Jones, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, bizpacreview.com, The Gateway Pundit, AOL, IJR, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, Joe.My.God., WFLA-TV, New York Times, TheBlaze and Balloon Juice

CBS News:

Andrew McCabe steps down as deputy FBI director amid pressure — FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is retiring from the FBI, CBS News' Pat Milton has confirmed. According to Milton, a source familiar with the matter confirms that McCabe was urged to step down. He is currently on leave and will official retire in March.

Discussion: Mother Jones and Shakesville

CNN:
FBI Deputy Director McCabe stepping down

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Political Wire and Florida Politics

Fox News:
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe ‘removed’ from the bureau

Discussion: Business Insider and twitchy.com

Alayna Treene / Axios:
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is stepping down, effective today …

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Raw Story and THE WARREN (HENRY) REPORT

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

CNN's Jeffrey Toobin: ‘I regret my role’ in Hillary Clinton false equivalence … So long as President Trump continues disgracing the Oval Office, thoughtful people will probe their own role in helping him get there. — Such appeared to be the motivation behind a mea culpa issued …

Discussion: Political Wire and Mediaite

Herb Jackson / NorthJersey.com:

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen announces retirement from House — (June 2017) Mitsu Yasukawa/NorthJersey.com — Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen announced Monday he will retire rather than seek another term in November, when he was expected to face the toughest campaign of his career in New Jersey's 11th District.

Discussion: RedState and IJR

Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen:

Statement of Representative Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (NJ-11) — “Today as I announce my retirement at the end of this session of Congress, I want to use the opportunity to strongly encourage the many young people I meet to consider public service. Public service is an incredible way to turn …

Discussion: Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Kos and Shareblue Media

Cristina Marcos / The Hill:
House GOP chairman in competitive district announces retirement

Discussion: Political Wire and Joe.My.God.

Elena Schneider / Politico:
Frelinghuysen won't seek reelection

Discussion: New York Times, Axios and NPR

David Waldstein / New York Times:

Indians Will Abandon Chief Wahoo Logo Next Year — The Cleveland Indians will stop using the Chief Wahoo logo on their uniforms beginning in 2019, according to Major League Baseball, which said the popular symbol was no longer appropriate for use on the field.

Discussion: ProFootballTalk, Vox, NESN.com, Mashable, AOL, Mediaite, myfox8.com and The Week

Daniel Hoffman / Wall Street Journal:

The Steele Dossier Fits the Kremlin Playbook — The likely objective was to undermine Republicans, Democrats—and American democracy. — When the “Steele dossier” was first published a year ago, it looked like a bombshell. The document, drawn up by the British ex-spy Christopher Steele …

Discussion: Power Line

Reuters:
Kremlin calls U.S. sanctions move attempt to influence Russian elections

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire and The Week

Leonid Ragozin / Bloomberg: When Russian Officials ‘Nightmare’ Your Business, You Can Lose Everything—Even Your Life

Wall Street Journal:

Melania Trump's Military Flights Before Her Move to Washington Cost More Than $675,000 — First lady flew 21 flights in three-month period while living in New York after President Donald Trump's inauguration — First lady Melania Trump took 21 flights in a three-month period on Air Force jets …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, AOL, Raw Story, The Week and Politicus USA

Brian Porreca / Hollywood Reporter:

Omarosa Goes From White House to Cast of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ — The former ‘Apprentice’ star, and adviser to President Trump, was the shock addition to the new season of CBS' reality show. — Omarosa Manigault, who left the White House under dramatic circumstances at the tail end of last year …

Discussion: bizpacreview.com, Raw Story and twitchy.com

Travis M. Andrews / Washington Post:
Omarosa Manigault Newman: From the White House to the ‘Big Brother’ house

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and CBS Los Angeles

Michael O'Connell / Hollywood Reporter:

TV Ratings: 2018 Grammys Tumble From Recent Years — The CBS telecast is down a steep 21 percent from 2017 in early numbers, potentially spelling an all-time low. — Sunday's Bruno Mars-loving Grammy Awards took a steep ratings spill by the first-available metrics.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, NewsBusters and Mediaite

Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Grammy Ratings Hit All-Time Demo Low; Draws 19.8M Viewers - Update

Discussion: bizpacreview.com, Breitbart and Hit & Run

Washington Post:

'He's not God': In the wake of porn-star allegations, most evangelicals stand by Trump … When news first broke this month about President Trump's alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, it seemed the kind of story that would devastate a group of voters once known as “The Moral Majority.”

Discussion: Raw Story

Katie Leslie / Dallas Morning News:

Beto O'Rourke outraises Cruz again, taking in $2.4M in latest quarter — Updated at 10:50 p.m. to include the latest fundraising figures from Sen. Ted Cruz. — WASHINGTON — The Texas Democrat hoping to oust Sen. Ted Cruz is posting his largest campaign fundraising haul yet: $2.4 million.

Discussion: IJR and Weekly Standard

Callum Borchers / Washington Post:

‘Fox & Friends’ host says the media's Trump coverage is ‘anti-American’ … “Fox & Friends” suggested without evidence Monday the New York Times sat for six months on last week's report that President Trump tried to fire special counsel Robert S. Mueller III in June 2017.

Discussion: Salon, the daily howler, The Week and USA Today

USA Today:

Trump abuses show we must turn traditions into laws: Bharara and Whitman — It's not enough to fret. We're launching a bipartisan project to mend the gaps in our system and make sure our government is competent and trustworthy. — One year into the Trump presidency …

Todd Starnes / Fox News:

If Pelosi brings ‘Dreamers’ to the State of the Union, Trump should bring ICE agents — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a number of other Democrats plan to fill the House gallery with illegal aliens when President Trump delivers his first State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo