memeorandum: Baldwin returns as Trump in ‘SNL’ parody of ‘Fox & Friends’ (Brooke Seipel/The Hill)

1:05 PM ET, February 4, 2018

Top Items:

TIME:

Carter Page Touted Kremlin Contacts in 2013 Letter — Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page bragged that he was an adviser to the Kremlin in a letter obtained by TIME that raises new questions about the extent of Page's contacts with the Russian government over the years.

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Axios, Splinter, Common Dreams, Politico, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, RedState and Raw Story

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Answering 3 key questions about the House memo — It's fair to say that much of the media reaction to the House Intelligence Committee “FISA abuse” memo has been a mixture of scorn and ridicule. Many commentators have called the memo wrong, worthless, or worse. — House Republicans expected as much, from the usual suspects.

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:

‘Very possible’ GOP congressman ‘coordinated with the White House’ on Russia memo: Democratic rep — The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said he thinks “it's very possible” that staff of GOP Committee Chair Devin Nunes “worked with the White House and coordinated the whole effort” …

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart and Associated Press

CBS News:

Transcript: Rep. Trey Gowdy on “Face the Nation,” Feb. 4, 2018 — Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina, was one of the key authors of the House Intelligence Committee's now-declassified memo about the application under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to surveil former Trump official Carter Page.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Daily Caller

Fox News Insider:
Trump Jr.: Memo Is a ‘Little Bit of Sweet Revenge’ for Me and My Family

Discussion: AOL

Rebecca Morin / Politico:
Gowdy: 'I don't' think Rosenstein should be fired

Discussion: Breitbart

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 2-4-18: Rep. Will Hurd and Rep. Adam Schiff

Discussion: Politico, Business Insider and The Week

National Review: The Nunes Memo Should Be Just the Start

Mike Memoli / NBC News:
Democratic rebuttal calls Nunes memo ‘deliberately misleading’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, AOL, RealClearPolitics, NBC News, Business Insider, The Hill, Raw Story, Daily Kos, CNN and LewRockwell

The State:

2 dead, more than 100 hurt in Amtrak crash in Cayce — A Sunday morning crash involving an Amtrak passenger train and a freight train in Cayce, South Carolina, killed at least two people and injured more than 100. — Here are the major developments of the morning.

Discussion: New York Times and WPRI-TV

Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:
South Carolina train crash leaves at least 2 dead, 70 hurt

Discussion: Vox and Politico

CNN:
Two killed in crash involving Amtrak train, freight train

Discussion: Business Insider, CBS Denver, Fox News, CBS New York, KTLA, Fox17, The Week, Al Jazeera English and Mediaite

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

Baldwin returns as Trump in ‘SNL’ parody of ‘Fox & Friends’ — “Saturday Night Live” this week parodied one of the president's favorite Fox News shows — “Fox & Friends.” — Actor Alec Baldwin returned to “SNL” as President Trump — calling into the show from the White House to get his …

Discussion: RedState and Breitbart

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
Judge responds to Justice Department over Nunes memo

Discussion: RedState

John Kass / Chicago Tribune: Column: Democrats melt down over Nunes memo and enter the Upside Down

Washington Post:

Trump nominee for U.N. migration post called Muslims violent, Christians top priority … The Trump administration's nominee to coordinate billions of dollars in assistance to migrants around the world has suggested in social-media posts that Islam is an inherently violent religion …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Sofi Sinozich / ABC News:

Strength in party strongholds: A key to midterm outcomes (POLL) — The wide Democratic advantage in congressional vote preference comes entirely in districts the party already holds, raising questions about the extent of its possible gains in November. Yet the closeness of the contests …

Scott Clement / Washington Post: Early gauge of 2018 turnout shows good signs for Democrats

David Caplan / ABC News:

Trump Jr. suggests Russia investigation akin to ‘McCarthyism,’ says Dems are ‘left of commie’ — President Donald Trump's oldest son suggested on Saturday that claims by Democrats of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia are ironic, since such accusations resemble McCarthyism.

Emily Cochrane / New York Times:

Paul Ryan Deletes Tweet Lauding a $1.50 Benefit From the New Tax Law — WASHINGTON — Speaker Paul D. Ryan faced a backlash on Saturday after he pointed to a secretary's $1.50 weekly increase in take-home pay as a sign of the Republican tax plan's success. — “A secretary at a public high school …

Discussion: CNN, ACA Signups, The Hill, Common Dreams, Business Insider, ThinkProgress, Splinter, Political Wire, New York Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Politicus USA and Vox

Oliver Willis / Shareblue Media:
Paul Ryan: It's ok I gave billionaires tax breaks because a secretary got $1.50

Discussion: Mediaite

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
This is the week that the GOP truly became the party of Trump

Discussion: The Guardian, NBC News, Business Insider and Politico

Heather Long / Washington Post:

The U.S. government is set to borrow nearly $1 trillion this year, an 84 percent jump from last year … It was another crazy news week, so it's understandable if you missed a small but important announcement from the Treasury Department: The federal government is on track to borrow nearly $1 trillion …

Discussion: RedState and Balloon Juice

Molly K. McKew / Politico:

How Twitter Bots and Trump Fans Made #ReleaseTheMemo Go Viral — On Tuesday morning — the day after the House Intelligence Committee voted along partisan lines to send Rep. Devin Nunes' memo, alleging abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, to President Trump for declassification …

Derek Hunter / Townhall.com:

Journalism is Dead — This week we saw a perfect example of how corrupt journalism has become. There was an opportunity to report the news and journalists and their fellow travelers in the pundit class balked. While that wasn't unusual, what was is how they did it in the lead up to the news …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit

National Journal:

The GOP's Deep Fundraising Funk — Congressional Republicans are struggling to raise money for their campaigns. If they don't turn things around, they won't be able to fully capitalize on the improving political mood. — Republicans badly need the tax bill to raise their financial fortunes …