memeorandum: Nunes memo aims at Russia probe, backfires on Trump and GOP (Noah Bookbinder/USA Today)

3:00 PM ET, February 3, 2018

Top Items:

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:

Justice Dept. told court of source's political influence in request to wiretap ex-Trump campaign aide, officials say … The court that approved surveillance of a former campaign adviser to President Trump was aware that some of the information underpinning the warrant request was paid …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, RedState, The Mahablog, KTLA, Splinter, NPR, 89.3 KPCC, Althouse and Business Insider

Josh Campbell / New York Times:

Why I Am Leaving the F.B.I. — One of the greatest honors of my life was walking across the stage at the F.B.I. Academy and receiving my special agent badge from the director at the time, Robert Mueller. After 21 weeks of intensive training, my class swore an oath and became federal agents entrusted …

Discussion: Axios, Raw Story, Shareblue Media and Mediaite

Noah Bookbinder / USA Today:

Nunes memo aims at Russia probe, backfires on Trump and GOP — The controversial Nunes memo is out. It claims the FBI and the Justice Department abused their surveillance authority on Trump's 2016 Presidential campaign. Democrats say the memo is misleading.

Discussion: The Hill, The Guardian, New York Times, Politicus USA and NBC News

QJurecic / Lawfare:

Thoughts on the Nunes Memo: We Need to Talk About Devin — After more than two weeks of mounting anticipation and hype, the memo on alleged surveillance abuses prepared by Rep. Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has finally been #released.

Asha Rangappa / New York Times:

Thank Progressives for the Nunes Memo — House Republicans released a secret memo on Friday that alleges that F.B.I. and Justice Department officials misused their authority in conducting surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page. It also claims the officials abused …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, National Review, bizpacreview.com, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Florida Politics

Tim Arango / New York Times:

Washington Is Abuzz Over the Nunes Memo. His California District, Not So Much. — VISALIA, Calif. — As Washington was abuzz Friday over the release of a classified memo, Democrats and Republicans were up in arms over its allegations. And right in the middle was Devin Nunes …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times

Phillip Carter / Slate:

Survival at All Costs — On its face, the so-called Nunes memo regarding government surveillance of Trump campaign aide Carter Page in 2016 does little to undermine the case against President Trump and his confederates. It does not contradict the indictments against Paul Manafort …

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Times, Booman Tribune, Mashable, Mediaite, Townhall.com, The Moderate Voice and Washington Post

Wall Street Journal:
GOP Memo Escalates Clash Over Russia Probe

Discussion: Lawfare, Senator Susan Collins and ThinkProgress

Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
The Memo Is Neither ‘Treasonous’ Nor ‘Worse Than Watergate’

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Max Greenwood / The Hill:
Officials disclosed source's political funding in FISA application: report

Discussion: RedState, Liberty Unyielding and Business Insider

Bret Stephens / New York Times:
Devin Nunes's Nothingburger

Discussion: Business Insider, Los Angeles Times, IJR, The Week and Vox

Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
How Trump's Allies Fanned an Ember of Controversy Into Flames of Outrage

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Guardian, NBC News, israpundit.org and NPR

Wall Street Journal:
A Reckoning for the FBI — The House memo reveals disturbing facts …

Discussion: Breitbart

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
Trump's Saturday Night Massacre Is Already Happening

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Don Surber, Sputnik International, New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, Raw Story and twitchy.com

Chris Buskirk / American Greatness: Worse than Watergate — The FISA Abuse Memo is out and now …

Alexi McCammond / Axios:
Nunes didn't read the FISA applications mentioned in memo

Discussion: Fox News, Vox and Joe.My.God.

Fox News Insider:
Fitton: FISA Memo Is ‘Devastating Blow’ to Mueller's Russia Investigation

Discussion: The Rush Limbaugh Show, TheBlaze, Geller Report, The Gateway Pundit and IJR

David French / National Review:
The Big Flaw in the Memo

Discussion: Vox, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Outside the Beltway, The Guardian, New York Times, Washington Post, VICE, Politico, neo-neocon, Shareblue Media, WGN-TV and ThinkProgress

Jeremy Herb / CNN:
The Nunes memo: 5 takeaways

Discussion: KTLA, IJR, PolitiFact, The Daily Beast, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and RedState

acast:
Skullduggery, Episode 4: The spy, the reporter and the memo — the inside story

Discussion: bizpacreview.com, Liberty Unyielding and The Daily Caller

Paul Rosenzweig / Politico:
Even If You Take the Nunes Memo Seriously, It Makes No Sense

Discussion: Lawfare, The Intercept, New York Times, VICE, Breitbart and ABC News

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

This Is Why Uma Thurman Is Angry — The actress is finally ready to talk about Harvey Weinstein. — Yes, Uma Thurman is mad. — She has been raped. She has been sexually assaulted. She has been mangled in hot steel. She has been betrayed and gaslighted by those she trusted.

Discussion: RedState, Hollywood Life, IndieWire, Vox, The Guardian, Mashable, Washington Post, CBS Los Angeles, Deadline, Refinery29, Glamour, Mediaite, thecut, WPIX 11 New York, AOL, Decider and The Blast

Axios:

Exclusive poll: GOP turns on FBI — President Trump's hammering on the FBI — and green-lighting yesterday of the Russia memo's release over Bureau objections — is having a profound effect: — A SurveyMonkey poll for Axios finds that not even 40% of Republicans approve …

New York Times:

Trump's Unparalleled War on a Pillar of Society: Law Enforcement — WASHINGTON — In the days before the 2016 election, Donald J. Trump expressed “great respect” for the “courage” of the F.B.I. and Justice Department for reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server.

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News, FOX6Now.com, Fox News Insider, Business Insider, CBS New York, Sputnik International and Joe.My.God.

Wayne Drash / CNN:

Cuts to CDC epidemic programs will endanger Americans, former chief says — Frieden: CDC essential to safety of Americans — (CNN)The former chief of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the decision to cut 80% of its epidemic prevention activities overseas could pose …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Raw Story, Business Insider and The Atlantic

Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:

YoMemoJokes trends nationwide, adding to Trump's humiliation over memo failure — As Donald Trump took to Twitter to try to convince Americans that the GOP's overhyped memo was not as much of a failure as it appeared to be, Twitter users were busy elsewhere — tweeting jokes about the memo under the hashtag #YoMemoJokes.

Discussion: CNN, NBC News, Politico and Breitbart

New York Times:

As F.B.I. Took a Year to Pursue the Nassar Case, Dozens Say They Were Molested — For more than a year, an F.B.I. inquiry into allegations that Lawrence G. Nassar, a respected sports doctor, had molested three elite teenage gymnasts followed a plodding pace as it moved back and forth among agents in three cities.

Discussion: Axios and thecut

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

Secret Alliance: Israel Carries Out Airstrikes in Egypt, With Cairo's O.K. — The jihadists in Egypt's Northern Sinai had killed hundreds of soldiers and police officers, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, briefly seized a major town and begun setting up armed checkpoints to claim territory.

Maria Panaritis / Philly.com:

Bucks County Judge Clyde W. Waite was nearly arrested at his own home for being black. That's not OK. | Maria Panaritis — Judge Clyde W. Waite won't do it. Won't get angry. The low-key jurist decided long ago that even simmering rage is often counterproductive.

CNN:

Ammo seller to Las Vegas killer arrested on federal charge — Ammo vendor: No way to see into Paddock's mind — (CNN)Douglas Haig, an Arizona man who says he sold tracer ammunition to the gunman in October's Las Vegas massacre, was arrested Friday on a charge of manufacturing …

Discussion: The Root, FOX6Now.com, TheBlaze, The Week and New York Times