memeorandum: Trump wants to slash food stamps and replace them with a ‘Blue Apron-type program’ (Caitlin Dewey/Washington Post)

3:40 PM ET, February 13, 2018

Top Items:

Eliana Johnson / Politico:

Kelly increasingly isolated as Porter scandal rages on — Turbulence in this West Wing is typically generated by President Donald Trump, but for the past week, it's been chief of staff John Kelly — the man brought in to be a steadying hand — who's inspiring what one White House official described as a crisis of confidence.

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:

White House Was Warned of Aide's Background Months Earlier Than Acknowledged — WASHINGTON — Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, contradicted on Tuesday the White House timeline about the domestic abuse scandal involving Rob Porter, the president's former staff secretary.

Discussion: Raw Story, Political Wire, Mediaite and Fox News Insider

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

White House official: “Kelly cover-up is unraveling” — Chief of Staff John Kelly's White House enemies are ready to use FBI Director Chris Wray's testimony as a weapon: “Wray's FBI timeline makes one thing clear: the Kelly coverup is unraveling right before our eyes,” a White House official says.

Discussion: Vox, ThinkProgress, Political Wire, Fox News Insider and Raw Story

Wall Street Journal:

FBI Director's Timeline of Porter Probe Contradicts White House — Christopher Wray tells Senate committee that agency ‘administratively closed’ file on Rob Porter, contradicting White House claim that probe was ongoing — The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said his agency …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNN, Axios and Mediaite

Piers Morgan / Daily Mail:

The wife-beater, the witch and the White House: Why the hell did Trump ever tell Rob Porter and Omarosa 'you're hired'? — ‘Shut the f**k up, a**hole,’ snarled Omarosa Manigault-Newman at me. 'How are your kids going to feel when they wake up and discover their dad's a f**king f*gg*t?'

Discussion: AOL, Raw Story, Mediaite and twitchy.com

CNN:

Porter was up for promotion despite abuse allegations — (CNN)Rob Porter was involved in serious discussions to be promoted when he abruptly resigned from the White House last week amid allegations that he abused his two ex-wives, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

Discussion: Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Root, Daily Kos, The Week, CNBC and AOL

Colbie Holderness / Washington Post:

Rob Porter is my ex-husband. Here's what you should know about abuse. — Colbie Holderness was the first wife of former White House staff secretary Rob Porter. — White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Sunday that she has no reason not to believe statements that Jennifer Willoughby …

Discussion: Politico, Vox, Women in the World, Washington Press, New York Times, Business Insider, thecut, CNN, Jezebel, Daily Kos, AOL, Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Splinter, The Week, VICE News, ABC News, Breitbart, Mediaite and BuzzFeed

Peter Baker / New York Times:
A Whirlwind Envelops the White House, and the Revolving Door Spins

Discussion: The Hill, National Review, CNN, Vox, RedState, Daily Kos, Jezebel, Weekly Standard, Axios, Raw Story and The Week

Adam Edelman / NBC News:
Ex-wife of accused WH aide rips Trump for suggesting he didn't get ‘due process’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, IJR, theGrio, Raw Story and Washington Press

Eli Watkins / CNN:
John Kelly stands by handling of Porter scandal: ‘All done right’

Discussion: ThinkProgress, NPR and Business Insider

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
US intelligence boss to AP: Security clearances are ‘broken’

Discussion: Axios

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
People are leaving the Trump White House in record numbers

Discussion: Vox, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com

Reuters:
FBI's Wray contradicts White House on Porter background check

Discussion: TheBlaze, Towleroad and Politico

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The White House defense of its handling of Rob Porter just fell apart

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Politico, ThinkProgress and Talking Points Memo

Carrie Battan / ELLE:

Louise Linton Is Super-Duper Sorry — Louise Linton has accomplished the near-impossible task of locating an ordinary meeting place in the most moneyed stretch of the Upper East Side, where she and her husband, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, own an apartment.

Discussion: Political Wire, Jezebel, The Week and thecut

Sean Hannity:

PORTRAIT PERVERSION: Obama Portrait Features ‘SECRET SPERM,’ Artist Joked About ‘Killing Whitey’ — The widening scandal surrounding former President Barack Obama's official portrait continued to swirl on Tuesday, with shocking allegations the artist included ‘secret sperm cells’ within …

Lawrence Bonk / Mediaite:
Hannity's Blog Posts, Then Deletes Story That Obama Portrait Has Hidden ‘Secret Sperm’ (UPDATED)

Discussion: Breitbart

Helena Bottemiller Evich / Politico:

Trump pitches plan to replace food stamps with food boxes — The Trump administration is proposing to save billions in the coming years by giving low-income families a box of government-picked, nonperishable foods every month instead of food stamps. — White House OMB Director Mick Mulvaney …

Discussion: New York Magazine, CNBC, Washington Post, Townhall.com, The Guardian, FOX6Now.com, CNNMoney, Talk Poverty, Joe.My.God., Eater, Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller and IJR

Erica Hunzinger / NPR:
Trump Administration Wants To Decide What Food SNAP Recipients Will Get

Discussion: WFLA-TV, Bloomberg, AOL, grubstreet, The Root, KQED News and Common Dreams

John Cassidy / New Yorker:
A White House Budget Fit for the King of Debt

Discussion: Washington Post, Center on Budget …, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Reuters, Common Dreams, VICE News, VICE, Dispatches From the …, Daily Kos, New York Times and Splinter

Peter Weber / The Week:
Trump budget chief promises food stamp recipients a ‘Blue Apron-like’ replacement, is clearly unfamiliar with Blue Apron

Discussion: Washington Press

Caitlin Dewey / Washington Post:
Trump wants to slash food stamps and replace them with a ‘Blue Apron-type program’

Discussion: Gizmodo, New Republic, Common Dreams and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Alex Roarty / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Internal Dem polling shows Trump's standing on the rise — A leading Democratic group — Priorities USA — is warning party leaders they could squander a strong political climate in 2018 if they don't start to emphasize pocketbook issues over loose and unfocused critiques of Donald Trump.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New Republic and Political Wire

Matt Lopez / Priorities USA:

RE: New Poll & Messaging Guidance: Democrats Must Keep Focus on Economy and Health Care … For much of the past year Democrats have debated Republicans on tax reform and the Republican efforts to dismantle and sabotage the Affordable Care Act. When that debate was being waged, voters overwhelmingly sided with Democrats.

Bloomberg:

U.S. Strikes Killed Scores of Russian Fighters in Syria, Sources Say — More than 200 contract soldiers are said to have been killed — The casualties dwarf official Russian army death toll in Syria — U.S. forces killed scores of Russian contract soldiers in Syria last week …

Discussion: The Right Scoop, The Daily Beast, Common Dreams, Washington Post, The Week, twitchy.com and Political Wire

New York Times:
Dozens of Russians Are Believed Killed in U.S.-Led Syria Attack

Discussion: Power Line and Al Jazeera English

Lynette Rice / EW.com:

Celebrity Big Brother: Omarosa calls Vice President Mike Pence ‘scary’ — Omarosa may be on her way out but she still has plenty more to say about her time in the White House. — In this clip from tonight's episode of Celebrity Big Brother, Omarosa tells her fellow houseguests …

Discussion: The Hill, Althouse, LGBTQ Nation, Jezebel and RedState

Helena Andrews-Dyer / Chicago Tribune:
Omarosa on Mike Pence: ‘He thinks Jesus tells him to say things’

Discussion: Splinter

Daniel Lippman / Politico:
VETERAN REPUBLICAN pulls ISSA into his divorce case …

Discussion: Variety, Business Insider and The Week

New York Times:

Netanyahu Should Be Charged With Bribery and Fraud, Israeli Police Say — JERUSALEM — The Israeli police recommended on Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, casting a pall over the future of a tenacious leader who has become almost synonymous with his country.

Discussion: BBC, Political Wire and Mother Jones

Haaretz:
To really understand Israeli politics and the Netanyahu cases - subscribe to Haaretz

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Associated Press, Jerusalem Post, Axios, The Right Scoop and Joe.My.God., more at Mediagazer »

Matthew Rosenberg / New York Times:

Russia Sees Midterm Elections as Chance to Sow Fresh Discord, Intelligence Chiefs Warn — WASHINGTON — As the midterm elections approach, Russia is likely to throw more propaganda at Americans, using people sympathetic to their messages and fake personalities on social media …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway and The Guardian

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
U.S. intel agencies expect Russia to escalate election meddling efforts

Discussion: USA Today, Vox, Daily Kos and Mediaite

Washpostpr / Washington Post:

Megan McArdle named Washington Post Opinions columnist — The Washington Post today announced Megan McArdle will be a columnist for the Opinions section starting March 1. In this role, McArdle will write columns with a focus on the intersection of economics, business and public policy.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Jake Seiner / 2018 Winter Olympics:

Inside the halfpipe finals with Chloe Kim's Korean family — PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) _ Chloe Kim's father pointed to himself and said “American dream!” then let out a whoop. — Nearly a decade after the Korean immigrant quit his job in California to help his precocious daughter become a snowboarder …

Discussion: People.com, Reuters, HuffPost, Breitbart, IJR, twitchy.com, The Stream, New York Times, The Ringer, Women in the World, USA Today, The Week and thecut

Walter Russell Mead / Wall Street Journal:
Kim Yo Jong's Shattered Olympic Dream

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The American Conservative and alicublog

David Brooks / New York Times:

The End of the Two-Party System — In the first half of the 1990s, I worked in Europe for The Wall Street Journal. I covered nothing but good news: the reunification of Germany, the liberation of Central Europe, the fall of the Soviet Union, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the Oslo peace process in the Middle East.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune

Dan Savage / The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper:

Pennsylvania Pastor Caught in Parked Car with Bound Naked Man — “I have nothing to hide,” says Pastor George Gregory of Waterfront Christian Community Church, “I did nothing wrong.” But according to the police report, Pastor George Gregory of Munhall, PA, was sitting fully clothed …

Discussion: Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

Darwin Paz / Governor Tom Wolf:

Governor Tom Wolf Rejects Partisan Gerrymandered Map — Analyses, Non-Partisan Experts Say GOP Submission is Partisan, Gerrymandered — Harrisburg, PA - Governor Tom Wolf today told the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that he will not accept the proposed map Republican legislative leaders submitted because it …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Axios and Washington Post

Dan Alexander / Forbes:

Trump's Biggest Potential Conflict Of Interest Is Hiding In Plain Sight — The largest American office of China's largest bank sits on the 20th floor of Trump Tower, six levels below the desk where Donald Trump built an empire and wrested a presidency. It's hard to get a glimpse inside.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Real Deal New York and Political Wire