memeorandum: Memo war: GOP to release memo aimed at Justice Department, while Dems push memo aimed at GOP (Byron York/Washington Examiner)

9:05 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: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, CNN, Axios, Raw Story, New York Magazine, RedState, Business Insider, Hullabaloo, 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 and The Hill

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

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

Katie Bo Williams / The Hill:
House Intel votes to make Nunes memo public

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, RedState, HuffPost, IJR, Breitbart, Politicus USA and The Stream

Mike Allen / Axios:
The great disorientation machine

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Politico, Breitbart, ABC News and Raw Story

New York Times:
Taunted by Trump and Pressured From Above, McCabe Steps Down as F.B.I. Deputy

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

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

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

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, #MarchForTruth, The Last Refuge, Washington Monthly and Patterico's Pontifications

Alex Pappas / Fox News:
House Intel votes to release controversial surveillance memo to the public

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, IJR, Power Line, TheBlaze, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Shareblue Media, Conservative Review and Business Insider

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 … Secret societies, government agents of dubious loyalties, dark cabals who work from shadowy bureaucracies seeking to overthrow the president of the United States, sinister masterminds exercising fell powers to serve a diabolical conspiracy …

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

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

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Shareblue Media, Daily Kos and The Week

Associated Press:
The Latest: Putin says US list of Russians is ‘hostile step’

Discussion: Axios and Political Wire

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

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

FiveThirtyEight:
Why We Hate The State Of The Union. And A Rebuttal.

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today, The Atlantic and twitchy.com

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.

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

Emily Goodin / ABC News:

5 things to watch for in President Trump's State of the Union Address — President Donald Trump has made headlines on everything from immigration reform to the NFL, from Russia to the border wall. — But which of these topics will come up when he gives his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night?

Discussion: Politico and Associated Press

Nancy Cook / Politico: 5 things to watch at Trump's 2018 State of the Union

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

Discussion: Axios, Breitbart and Associated Press

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.

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

Ken Meyer / Mediaite:

Carl Bernstein Bashes ‘Enablers’ Putting Trump Over Country: McCabe Departure is ‘Monday Night Slaughter’ — The way Carl Bernstein sees it, it's only a matter of time before people look back at Andrew McCabe's departure from the FBI and compare it to Richard Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre.

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Makes Afghan War Data Secret as Military Effort Intensifies — Indicators being kept secret include size of Afghan army and police force and number of civilian airstrike casualties — The U.S. Department of Defense has classified a sweeping range of data used to measure its progress in Afghanistan …

Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Attacks Reveal What U.S. Won't: Victory Remains Elusive in Afghanistan

Discussion: Washington Post and BBC

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

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

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.