memeorandum: Survival at All Costs — On its face, the so-called Nunes … (Phillip Carter/Slate)

10:35 AM ET, February 3, 2018

Top Items:

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: NPR, Althouse and Business Insider

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.

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: New York Times, Raw Story, Booman Tribune, NewsBusters, Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, ThinkProgress and Vox

Wall Street Journal:

GOP Memo Escalates Clash Over Russia Probe — Release comes after the FBI expressed ‘grave concerns’ over the accuracy of the document — WASHINGTON—A Republican memo released Friday by the House of Representatives alleges abuses in how top law-enforcement officials sought the surveillance …

Discussion: Senator Susan Collins

Alexi McCammond / Axios:

Nunes didn't read the FISA applications mentioned in memo — Rep. Devin Nunes, who led the release of the memo, admitted to Fox News' Bret Baier that he hadn't read the FISA documents that made up the basis of the memo. — Why it matters: The memo is largely based on the argument …

Discussion: Fox News and Joe.My.God.

Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:

How Trump's Allies Fanned an Ember of Controversy Into Flames of Outrage — WASHINGTON — The release of the memo mattered less than #releasethememo. — After weeks of buildup, the three-and-a-half-page document about alleged F.B.I. abuses during the 2016 presidential campaign made public …

Discussion: The Guardian and ThinkProgress

David French / National Review:

The Big Flaw in the Memo — It may have just confirmed a key New York Times scoop. — From the moment that the so-called Steele dossier burst onto the public scene, thoughtful observers have wondered what role its “salacious and unverified” accusations played in the opening …

Discussion: Washington Post, WGN-TV, neo-neocon, ThinkProgress, Shareblue Media, Politico, NBC News, Vox, NPR and Just Security

Chris Buskirk / American Greatness:

Worse than Watergate — The FISA Abuse Memo is out and now we know why the Democrats were desperate to keep its contents hidden from the public: it confirms the worst fears not just of President Trump's supporters but of everyone concerned about the abuse of police power, government corruption, and the sanctity of our elections.

Del Quentin Wilber / Wall Street Journal:

Inside the FBI Life of Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, as Told in Their Text Messages — Exchanges between agent and lawyer show dedication to bureau—but no hesitation to criticize colleagues and Trump — WASHINGTON—In the summer of 2016, FBI Agent Peter Strzok had just wrapped up the investigation …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Axios, Business Insider and Talking Points Memo

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

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Breitbart

Jenna Lifhits / Weekly Standard: Nunes: More Memos Are Coming

Bryan Logan / Business Insider:
Devin Nunes admits he didn't view the underlying intelligence his memo was based on

Discussion: twitchy.com

Jeremy Herb / CNN:
The Nunes memo: 5 takeaways

Discussion: The Guardian, New York Times, IJR, KTLA, The Daily Beast, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress and The Atlantic

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

Discussion: Don Surber, New York Times and Washington Post

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Trump escalates his war with U.S. law enforcement after memo release

Discussion: Althouse, Breitbart, ABC News, The Stream and Patterico's Pontifications

John Harwood / CNBC: Trump and the House GOP face an uphill battle against the FBI and the Justice Department

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Sentence buried in GOP memo may undercut Trump efforts to discredit Russia probe

Andrew Kirell / The Daily Beast:
Snowden Bashes Nunes: I Was More Careful With Gov't Secrets Than You Are

Discussion: Liberty Unyielding and Raw Story

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

Discussion: Liberty Unyielding and The Daily Caller

Cristiano Lima / Politico:
GOP lawmaker calls for FBI, DOJ officials to face ‘treason’ charges

Discussion: Axios, Shareblue Media, The Daily Beast and bizpacreview.com

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:
Conservative media receives key points from Nunes memo before other news outlets

Discussion: Business Insider, Politico, Shareblue Media, Splinter, The Daily Beast and Hullabaloo

Matt Ford / New Republic:
Trump Just Shot Himself in the Foot

Discussion: Shareblue Media, National Review, Washington Post, Newsweek, Reuters, israpundit.org, Breitbart, Just Security, Splinter, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, NBC News, Balloon Juice, Talking Points Memo, CBS San Francisco, KTLA and Mother Jones

Spencer Ackerman / The Daily Beast:
Sources: Devin Nunes Memo Is ‘100%’ Wrong About Andrew McCabe and Steele Dossier

Discussion: New York Times, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, Politico, NPR, CBS News, ABC News, Axios and Fox News Insider

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The Backwards Logic of the Nunes Memo

Discussion: National Review, NBC News, Media Matters for America and Washington Post

Patterico / RedState:
A Significant Inaccuracy in #TheMemo Calls Its Credibility Into Question

Discussion: Politico, Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast, Right Wing Watch, Washington Post, Vox, Hit & Run and The Mahablog

U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Selection …:
House Intelligence Committee Minority Response to Release of Chairman Nunes' Misleading Memo

Discussion: Bloomberg, PolitiFact, New York Times, Lawfare, Breitbart, Townhall.com, Washington Post, National Review, NPR, IJR, repubHub, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, Vox, NBC News, Washington Monthly, Axios, twitchy.com, Althouse and The Atlantic

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: Raw Story, Mediaite and Florida Politics

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.

Joseph A. Wulfsohn / Mediaite:

Hannity on Memo: ‘If We Care About The Constitution,’ Mueller Probe ‘Must Be Disbanded Immediately’ — On Friday night, Sean Hannity sounded the alarms after the controversial GOP memo was made public. — The Fox News host began by touting his own coverage of the scandal for being “ahead of the curve” for months.

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 …

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.

Karin Brulliard / Washington Post:

Nigel, the world's loneliest bird, dies next to the concrete decoy he loved … Nigel, a handsome gannet bird who lived on a desolate island off the coast of New Zealand, died suddenly this week. Wherever his soul has landed, the singles scene surely cannot be worse.

Discussion: Althouse, The Guardian, twitchy.com, Mashable and Gizmodo

Ryan Mac / BuzzFeed:

Peter Thiel Bid For Gawker.com. Now He May Want To Turn It Into A Conservative Investigative News Site. — Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist and Facebook board member who secretly bankrolled lawsuits to undermine Gawker Media, said he might turn the now-defunct news …

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