memeorandum: John Kelly faces pressure over handling of Rob Porter allegations (Fox News)

12:45 AM ET, February 11, 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, 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

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

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

CNN:
Dozens of Trump officials still lack full security clearance

Discussion: New York Magazine, Washington Times and Washington Post

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

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

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Wall Street Journal

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: Power Line, RedState, NewsBusters, Mediaite, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit, Sarah Palin, TheBlaze and The Diplomat

Anna Fifield / Washington Post:

The ‘Ivanka Trump of North Korea’ captivates people in the South at the Olympics … GANGNEUNG, South Korea — They marveled at her barely-there makeup and her lack of bling. They commented on her plain black outfits and simple purse. They noted the flower-shaped clip that kept her hair back in a no-nonsense style.

Discussion: Jezebel, New York Times and AOL

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

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?

Brian Bennett / Los Angeles Times:

White House floats an offer to keep legal immigration at 1 million per year instead of cutting it … As the Senate prepares to begin a free-wheeling debate over immigration next week, White House officials have begun floating a possible compromise idea — a pledge to maintain legal immigration …

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

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

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

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 …