memeorandum: Rob Porter Is a National Security Scandal, Too (William J. Antholis/Politico)

11:30 PM ET, February 10, 2018

Top Items:

‘No Fire, No Fury?’ Trump Is on Board With a Jeanine Pirro Book to Rebut Michael Wolff — Jeanine Pirro, the Fox News personality and longtime friend and champion of President Trump, has discussed with him the possibility of a book project to counter the damning portrayal of his presidency …

Discussion: Business Insider and Mediaite

Fox News:

John Kelly faces pressure over handling of Rob Porter allegations — White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is facing continued scrutiny over his handling of domestic abuse accusations against a former senior aide. — A GOP source told Fox News that President Trump spoke to former chief …

Discussion: New York Times

William J. Antholis / Politico:

Rob Porter Is a National Security Scandal, Too — The allegations against Rob Porter, the recently departed White House staff secretary, are morally disturbing. Multiple ex-wives have accused him of abusive behavior, and while he disputes those accusations, the FBI found them credible enough …

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:

Gillibrand: If Trump wants due process, we'll have hearings on allegations against him — on Saturday for his tweet questioning a lack of “due process” in abuse claims, saying that Congress could hold hearings about sexual misconduct allegations against him if he wanted due process.

Discussion: twitchy.com, New York Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, Polipace Insider …, AOL, Axios and Mediaite

New York Times:

G.O.P. Squirms as Trump Veers Off Script With Abuse Remarks — WASHINGTON — President Trump's approval ratings have been nudging upward and his party's political standing is improving, but the president's unceasing habit of making inflammatory and insensitive remarks is galvanizing opposition against him …

Caroline Orr / Shareblue Media:

America shames Trump for smearing domestic violence victims — Americans from all walks of life had a message for Trump: You don't speak for us. — Trump used his Twitter platform on Saturday morning to broadcast his support for alleged abusers and cast doubt on the credibility of their accusers …

Discussion: Dan Rather, Chicago Tribune, Raw Story, ThinkProgress and Outside the Beltway

Michael A. Cohen / BostonGlobe.com: John Kelly was supposed to be ‘the adult in the room.’ He's anything but

Michael Levenson / BostonGlobe.com:
Rob Porter was ‘quintessential golden boy’ from Belmont now accused of abuse

Discussion: CNN and The Federalist

Mary Jordan / Washington Post:
Hope Hicks: The quiet one in Trump's White House suddenly feels the glare

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Guardian, Business Insider, TheBlaze, Outside the Beltway, thecut, Daily Kos, bizpacreview.com, Politico, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
White House under John Kelly is not so calm and competent after all

Discussion: Page 2 News, The Mahablog, Breitbart, Raw Story and Axios

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
White House lurches into crisis mode, again

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Wall Street Journal

Haley Britzky / Axios:
Trump's history of defending the accused

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, CBS New York, Breitbart, Bangor Daily News and Mashable

CNN:
Dozens of Trump officials still lack full security clearance

Discussion: New York Magazine, Washington Times and Washington Post

CNN:

Kim Jong Un's sister is stealing the show at the Winter Olympics — (CNN)If “diplomatic dance” were an event at the Winter Olympics, Kim Jong Un's younger sister would be favored to win gold. — With a smile, a handshake and a warm message in South Korea's presidential guest book …

Discussion: RedState, NewsBusters, Mediaite, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit, Sarah Palin, TheBlaze, Jezebel, New York Times, AOL and The Diplomat

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:
Fred Warmbier criticizes North Korean Olympic spirit

Discussion: Breitbart, One America News Network and Jezebel

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Nunes: ‘No surprise’ Dem memo wasn't released — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes — (R-Calif.) said Friday he was not surprised that the Justice Department and FBI advised against the release of a memo authored by the panel's Democratic members.

Discussion: CNN, Vox, Mediaite and bizpacreview.com

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The White House's broken promise on the Democratic memo

Discussion: New York Magazine, ThinkProgress and The Week

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
Grassley-Graham Memo Affirms Nunes Memo — Media Yawns

Discussion: NewsBusters, Power Line and Politico

The Hill:
Trump declines to approve release of Dem counter-memo

Discussion: Politico, Mother Jones, Splinter and Joe.My.God.

Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:

President Trump, How Is This Man a Danger? — President Trump suggests that the aim of his crackdown on immigrants is to “defend Americans” from “savage,” “worst of the worst” intruders who kill Americans or at least are “dangerous criminals.” — What does Trump's crackdown look like in real life?

Discussion: CNN

Dean Baker / cepr.net:

NYT Misleads Readers: “Ballooning Deficits” Do Not Add Urgency to Republican Efforts to Cut Medicaid and Other Programs — The NYT should have its presses washed out with soap. In an article about plans to impose work requirements for Medicaid it told readers:

Abby Goodnough / New York Times: Kentucky Rushes to Remake Medicaid as Other States Prepare to Follow

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Sinclair Broadcast Group solicits its news directors for its political fundraising efforts … The nation's largest TV station owner is gearing up to fight for deregulation, and it wants some of its own newsroom managers to join the effort. — Sinclair Broadcast Group is asking its executives …

Discussion: Axios, more at Mediagazer »

Sarah Ruiz-Grossman / HuffPost:

ICE Set To Deport Undocumented Father Whose 5-Year-Old Son Is Battling Cancer — The agency chose not to grant the Arizonan another stay despite his child's leukemia. — Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to deport an undocumented man from Mexico whose child is battling cancer.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, ThinkProgress and Hullabaloo

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Fired Official Was Exploring Resolution to 9/11 Case Precluding Death Penalty — WASHINGTON — Before his sudden firing last week, the Pentagon official who oversaw military commission trials at Guantánamo Bay was exploring potential plea deals to end the long-delayed prosecution …

Kimberly Leonard / Washington Examiner:

Sen. Ron Wyden calls for investigation into Trump's mansion sale to Russian — Sen. Ron Wyden, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, is calling on the Treasury Department to disclose banking and real estate records associated with President Trump's sale of a Palm Beach, Fla., mansion to a Russian billionaire.

Discussion: RedState

Lauren Gardner / Politico:

Top official departs ‘rudderless’ railroad safety agency — A top official charged with overseeing the safety of the nation's railroads has resigned “effective immediately,” the Department of Transportation said Saturday after POLITICO raised questions about whether he was simultaneously working …

Discussion: Axios, NPR, Shareblue Media and Washington Monthly

Yaniv Kubovich / Haaretz:

Israel Downs Iranian Drone, Strikes Syria; Israeli F-16 Shot Down — One pilot in serious condition Israel attacks Syrian, Iranian targets in fresh strike Rocket sirens sound throughout northern Israel — An Israeli F-16 was downed Saturday morning after Israel intercepted an Iranian drone launched from Syria into Israeli territory.

Discussion: RedState