memeorandum: He's a Nazi, Republicans Warn, but He's Their Likely Nominee for Congress (Liam Stack/New York Times)

5:45 PM ET, February 8, 2018

Top Items:

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“He Was F—ing Pissed”: With Rob Porter Gone, the Heat on John Kelly Is Increasing — Trump is not happy with the chaos; Jared and Ivanka are trying to right the ship; and even Hope Hicks, one of the president's closest confidants, is in trouble. — A day after White House Staff Secretary …

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider, Vox, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Week, Mediaite, Politicus USA and Little Green Footballs

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

The ‘family values’ crowd is mute on Rob Porter … Appearing on CNN's “New Day,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) was blunt about the Rob Porter issue. “I have no use for anybody who beats their spouse,” he said. “I tell you, the guy should have been shipped out the door months ago, as soon as they found out about it.”

Discussion: The Daily Beast, CNN, The Nation and No More Mister Nice Blog

Tom Kludt / CNNMoney:

Rob Porter scandal: Everywhere but Fox News — Rob Porter resigns after abuse allegations — The Trump administration is reeling over domestic violence allegations against a top White House aide, Rob Porter. But you might not know it if you watch Fox News, where the disturbing story has been largely, and conspicuously, absent.

Discussion: Mediaite and The Moderate Voice

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Hope Hicks, elusive Trump aide, in the spotlight amid Rob Porter scandal — Hope Hicks is the enigma of the Trump administration. — Hicks is the White House communications director and one of President Trump's closest aides. Yet she has never given a TV interview. She is rarely quoted at all.

Discussion: Business Insider

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
John Kelly's credibility is at risk after defending aide accused of domestic violence

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Week, VICE News, Politico, Common Dreams, AOL, Business Insider, Roll Call, Splinter, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine and Weekly Standard

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
White House faces huge questions on Rob Porter exit

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress, The Root, New York Times, Washington Post, Shareblue Media and No More Mister Nice Blog

YouTube:

Omarosa Opens Up About Her Time Inside The White House On Tonight's Celebrity Big Brother — Omarosa opens up to Ross Mathews about her time inside the White House, on BIG BROTHER: CELEBRITY EDITION airing tonight, Thursday, Feb. 8 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/...

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider, AOL, Hullabaloo and twitchy.com

Adam Gabbatt / The Guardian:
Tearful Omarosa fears US 'won't be OK' under Trump

Discussion: Washington Post

CBS News:

House Intel Republicans plan to wall off their aides from Democratic staffers — In a sign of increasing partisan hostilities, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee plan to construct a wall - a physical partition - separating Republican and Democratic staff members in the committee's secure spaces …

Discussion: The Hill, Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, RedState, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Axios and The Week

David Ovalle / miamiherald:

Bad info from Spirit Air led me to flush pet hamster down airport toilet, student says — Before Belen Aldecosea flew home from from college to South Florida, she twice called Spirit Airlines to ensure she could bring along a special guest: Pebbles, her pet dwarf hamster. No problem, the airline told her.

Discussion: The Guardian, KXAN-TV, The Daily Caller, KTLA, KFOR-TV, KRON4.com, AOL, The Stranger …, Gizmodo, twitchy.com and VICE

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:

Democrats expand battleground, target 101 GOP seats — WASHINGTON — House Democrats are stepping on the gas, with plans to target over 100 Republican-held congressional districts in the November midterm elections. — At House Democrats' annual conference Thursday, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, CNBC, Daily Kos, Axios and Washington Post

David Wasserman / The Cook Political Report:

Ratings Changes in 21 Districts — The first two months of 2018 have given both parties reasons for optimism. Republicans have cut Democrats' lead in the FiveThirtyEight average of generic congressional ballot polls in half, from roughly 12 points in December to about six points today.

Discussion: Shareblue Media and New York Magazine

John Solomon / The Hill:

Uranium One informant makes Clinton allegations in testimony — An FBI informant connected to the Uranium One controversy told three congressional committees in written testimony that Moscow routed millions of dollars to America with the expectation it would be used to benefit Bill Clinton

Discussion: Fox News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Sarah Palin, Breitbart, bizpacreview.com, Fox News Insider, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit and Front Page Magazine

Sara Carter / Sara A. Carter:
FBI informant on Uranium One Breaks Silence

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and The Gateway Pundit

Lindsey McPherson / Roll Call:

Pelosi to Vote ‘No’ on Budget, But Won't Whip Caucus — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she will vote against the budget deal needed to keep the government open past midnight but will not whip her caucus to vote the same way. — Pelosi's decision means there's a better chance …

Discussion: Vox, New York Times, The Hill, Splinter, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, Breitbart, Daily Kos, NRCC and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Stan Collender / Forbes: This Budget Deal May Be The End Of The House Freedom Caucus

Paul Kane / Washington Post: In the shadow of Nancy Pelosi, Joseph Crowley campaigns — but for what?

Maggie Severns / Politico:

Former Cato employees describe years of harassment — Three former employees of the famed Cato Institute say they were sexually harassed by Ed Crane, the 73-year-old co-founder and president emeritus of the think tank and one of the most recognizable figures in the libertarian movement.

Alec Luhn / Telegraph:

Oligarch met with top Russian official after Trump aide ‘offered briefings’ — A Russian deputy prime minister secretly met with oligarch Oleg Deripaska to discuss US relations after Paul Manafort reportedly offered Mr Deripaska briefings on the Trump campaign, according to videos discovered by a Russian opposition activist.

Alexey Navalny / Meduza.io: An escort girl may be the latest ‘Russia Gate’ link

Jon Gambrell / Associated Press:

George W. Bush says Russia meddled in 2016 US election — ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Former President George W. Bush said on Thursday that “there's pretty clear evidence that the Russians meddled” in the 2016 American presidential election, forcefully rebutting fellow Republican …

Discussion: Breitbart, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit and Shakesville

CNN:

‘Pillar of the community’ deported from US after 39 years to a land he barely knows — Palestinian deported after 39 years in the US — Amman, Jordan (CNN)With nothing but the clothes on his back and less than $300 in his pocket, Amer Adi was put on a plane and deported to Jordan …

Taffy Brodesser-Akner / New York Times:

Jimmy Buffett Does Not Live the Jimmy Buffett Lifestyle — Jimmy Buffett awoke one morning last year in one of his many homes — he can't remember which one, there are a lot of them — and a panic gripped him in his throat. His new Broadway musical, “Escape to Margaritaville,” was coming along nicely, but something was off.

Discussion: Longreads

John Ziegler / Mediaite:

The Real Reason that Most Trump Fans Can't Stand ‘Never Trump’ Conservatives — One of the most interesting political divides of the Trump era is that between long-time Republicans who strongly support Donald Trump, and those who have been in the group of so-called “Never Trump” conservatives.

Albuquerque Journal:

Journal editorial cartoon sparks controversy — SANTA FE - An editorial cartoon published in the Journal came under fire Wednesday from elected officials - including both of New Mexico's U.S. senators - and others for being “misguided” and “bigoted.” — The syndicated cartoon showed …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Raw Story and Splinter

Washington Post:

Republicans are completely reversing themselves on the deficit … Republican lawmakers in 2011 brought the U.S. government to the brink of default, refused to raise the debt ceiling, demanded huge spending cuts, and insisted on a constitutional amendment to balance the budget.

Discussion: Mother Jones and Outside the Beltway

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:

How The Media Buried Two Huge FBI Stories Yesterday — For more than a year and a half, the media have gone all-in on reporting every possible angle of President Donald Trump's alleged collusion with Russia. No story update has been too small, no encounter with a Russian too inconsequential …

Discussion: Sarah Palin, Fox News, Townhall.com, Business Insider, Media Matters for America, Breitbart, Daily Wire, Don Surber, NewsBusters, Weekly Standard and HuffPost

Anne Thompson / IndieWire:

Quentin Tarantino Apologizes to Roman Polanski Victim Samantha Geimer For Howard Stern Comments [EXCLUSIVE] — Tarantino keeps finding himself behind the eight-ball on revelations about “Kill Bill” and his views on Roman Polanski's rape case. — Writer-director Quentin Tarantino has lived something of a charmed life.

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, The Guardian, Mashable, TMZ.com, Mediaite, Jezebel and thecut

Yochi Dreazen / Vox:

Here's what war with North Korea would look like — A full-blown war with North Korea wouldn't be as bad as you think. It would be much, much worse. — Late last September, I moderated a discussion about North Korea with retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, whose 37-year military career included …

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Republicans Stopped Sabotaging the Economy Because They Have the White House Now — During the Obama era, Democrats frequently believed, but only rarely uttered aloud in official forums, that the Republican Party was engaged in economic sabotage. Not a coldly conscious plot, exactly.

John Koblin / New York Times:

‘Pod Save America’ Is Coming to HBO — HBO is getting into podcasts. — The premium cable network has signed a deal with the hosts of the popular “Pod Save America” podcast to broadcast a series of hourlong TV specials later this year. — The move comes just a week after HBO debuted …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

Tim Mak / NPR:

Tracking Shows Russian Meddling Efforts Evolving Ahead Of 2018 Midterms — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sounded an alarm this week: The Russians are already meddling in the 2018 midterm elections. — “The point is that if their intention is to interfere, they're going to find ways to do that,” Tillerson told Fox News.

Discussion: NBC News, RedState, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, USA Today, Axios and Political Wire

Washington Post:

Trump's favorite general: Can Mattis check an impulsive president and still retain his trust? … Throughout his 40-year career as a Marine, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis built a reputation as an aggressive warrior, leading a blitz on Baghdad and pushing a reluctant Obama administration to hit back against Iran.

Discussion: Business Insider, Defense One, ABC News and Raw Story

Paulina Neuding / Spectator:

Violent crime in Sweden is soaring. When will politicians act? … January was a particularly violent month in Sweden. A 63-year-old man was killed in Stockholm by a hand grenade lying in the street. A Dutch exchange student was hit by a stray bullet during an execution-style killing at a pizza restaurant in Uppsala.

Donie O'Sullivan / CNNMoney:

Twitter failed to remove hundreds of Russian propaganda videos aimed at Americans — Senate committee grills tech giants over online terrorism — Twitter left hundreds of Russian propaganda videos, with millions of views, on its video platform Vine for months after it should have known …

Discussion: BloombergQuint

Bloomberg:

Stocks Hit Two-Month Low as Rate-Hike Fears Return: Markets Wrap — Gains for year vanish; Treasuries rebound as equities plunge — Pound rises on BOE forecasts; euro drops, dollar holds steady — The dread that gripped equity markets earlier in the week re-emerged Thursday …

Discussion: BloombergQuint and Washington Post

John Bresnahan / Politico:

From Fallujah to FBI investigation: The undoing of Duncan Hunter — The criminal investigation into Rep. Duncan Hunter is intensifying as a grand jury in San Diego questions multiple former aides about whether the California Republican improperly diverted political funds for personal use.

Discussion: thecut

Yeganeh Torbati / Reuters:

Exclusive: Trump administration may target immigrants who use food aid, other benefits — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration is considering making it harder for foreigners living in the United States to get permanent residency if they have received certain public benefits …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Splinter

Committee to Investigate Russia:

Investigate Russia: Get The Truth — Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Former CIA Director John Brennan sit down with Director/Actor/Activist Rob Reiner for a candid conversation about what Russia did during the 2016 election and why they are concerned by what they are seeing now.