memeorandum: Republican lawmakers distance themselves from Trump on memo (Elise Viebeck/Washington Post)

6:10 PM ET, February 4, 2018

Top Items:

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

House GOP: More memos to come — “The memo” — which pitted the Justice Department against the White House and brought ugly partisan sniping into stark relief — is only the beginning. Republican sources close to Devin Nunes tell me he's assured them there's much more to come.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and RealClearPolitics

Elise Viebeck / Washington Post:

Republican lawmakers distance themselves from Trump on memo … Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee dissented Sunday from President Trump's view that corruption has poisoned the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Discussion: Vox, Mother Jones, Axios and CBS News

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.

Discussion: Power Line

Fox News Insider:

Trump Jr.: Memo Is a ‘Little Bit of Sweet Revenge’ for Me and My Family — Donald Trump Jr. joined Jesse Watters on “Watters' World” Saturday night to react to the Republican memo on alleged government surveillance abuses. — Trump Jr. said the memo — which was declassified by the White House …

Discussion: Splinter, AOL and IJR

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

Discussion: Fox News, Breitbart, Politico, Business Insider, AOL, ThinkProgress and NBC News

Quinn Scanlan / ABC News:
‘Very possible’ GOP congressman ‘coordinated with the White House’ on Russia memo: Democratic rep

Discussion: CNN, RealClearPolitics, Politico and Breitbart

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

Discussion: RedState and Breitbart

Shane Harris / Washington Post:
Nunes ‘abused’ his power on intelligence committee, former CIA director says

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Political Wire

Jonathan Landay / Reuters:
House intelligence panel takes up Democrats' memo on Monday: sources

Discussion: Axios and IJR

Chicago Sun Times:

Holocaust denier poised to claim GOP nomination in Illinois race for Congress — Sign-Up for our Newsletter — Arthur Jones — an outspoken Holocaust denier, activist anti-Semite and white supremacist — is poised to become the Republican nominee for an Illinois congressional seat representing parts of Chicago and nearby suburbs.

Discussion: The Guardian, Raw Story and Political Wire

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: bizpacreview.com, AOL and IJR

Dave Lawler / Axios:

Gowdy: Memo has no impact on Russia probe — Rep. Trey Gowdy, who was involved in the drafting of the controversial FISA memo, told CBS' “Face the Nation” it has no effect on the Russia investigation: — There is a Russia investigation without a dossier... the dossier has nothing to do with the meeting at Trump Tower.

Discussion: RedState, Fox News, CNN, ABC News, The Week, Raw Story, Common Dreams, NBC News, New York Post, bizpacreview.com, Washington Post and TIME

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Gowdy: Memo has no impact on Russia probe

Discussion: ABC News

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

Discussion: Breitbart

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: Axios and ThinkProgress

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.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, New York Magazine and CNN

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: Axios, IJR, Patterico's Pontifications and Balloon Juice

Cory Turner / NPR:

Why Schools Fail To Teach Slavery's ‘Hard History’ — “In the ways that we teach and learn about the history of American slavery,” write the authors of a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), “the nation needs an intervention.” — This new report, titled Teaching Hard History …

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

Ivanka, Rubio find a new project: Paid family leave — Marco Rubio is starting to strategize with Ivanka Trump to win over skeptical Republicans on a traditionally Democratic issue: paid family leave. — Capitalizing on President Donald Trump's endorsement of the idea in his State of the Union address …

Discussion: RedState and Raw Story

Niraj Warikoo / Detroit Free Press:

In a strange land: Deported from Michigan, Jorge Garcia feels lost in Mexico — Jorge Garcia was torn away from his Lincoln Park family in January. Brought to the United States at 10, Garcia was not eligible for the DACA program. He has two teenagers and a wife and is now waiting to see what his future will be.

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

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

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, Washington Post, NPR and WPRI-TV