memeorandum: 5 Takeaways From the Release of the Democratic Memo (Charlie Savage/New York Times)

9:50 AM ET, February 25, 2018

Top Items:

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

5 Takeaways From the Release of the Democratic Memo — WASHINGTON — An application to wiretap a former associate of President Trump's campaign in fall 2016 “made only narrow use” of information provided by a former British spy who compiled a notorious dossier about Mr. Trump and Russia …

Discussion: The Week

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Assessing the new Democratic intel memo — It took a while, owing to delays over classified information, but Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have finally released their rebuttal to the “FISA abuse” memo put forth earlier this month by committee Republicans.

Discussion: Power Line and Fox News

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:

Trump urges national unity, investigation of ‘the other side’ amid Russia probe — Saying there were “no phone calls, no meetings, no collusion,” President Donald Trump on Saturday pushed for an investigation of “the other side” amid the FBI probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, Breitbart, Political Wire and Axios

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

The Nunes Memo Is Fake and the Russia Scandal Is Very Real — More than a month ago, conservatives rose up in coordinated demands to “release the memo.” The memo, supposedly, contained breathtaking evidence of corruption in the Justice Department. The agents of the Deep State had allegedly used …

Discussion: The Atlantic and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Adam Shaw / Fox News:

Dems' rebuttal to GOP FISA memo is released; Trump deems it a ‘bust’ — President Trump on Saturday dismissed a Democratic rebuttal to the GOP memo outlining government surveillance abuses in the 2016 campaign as a “total political and legal bust,” claiming that it only confirms the …

Discussion: USA Today, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Press, Hit & Run, twitchy.com, BuzzFeed, CBS Baltimore, Fox News Insider and Mediaite

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
The Democratic rebuttal to the Nunes memo tears it apart

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
2 Weeks After Trump Blocked It, Democrats' Rebuttal of G.O.P. Memo Is Released

Discussion: The Daily Signal, Daily Kos, Althouse and The Daily Caller

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Democratic memo: FBI was investigating Trump campaign associates weeks before receiving dossier

Discussion: Breitbart, ABC News, Axios, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, Joe.My.God. and Washington Monthly

Lawfare:
Takeaways From the House Intelligence Democrats' Memo

Discussion: Joe.My.God., USA Today, US News, New York Magazine and The Gateway Pundit

U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Selection …:
Intel Committee Ranking Member Schiff Releases Democratic Response Memo

Discussion: Business Insider, Politicus USA and The Guardian

David Weigel / Washington Post:
Nunes gets conservative award for pushback on Russia probe

Discussion: Washington Press and The Daily Caller

Daniel Chaitin / Washington Examiner:
Democratic rebuttal to GOP House Intelligence memo released

Discussion: RedState and CBS News

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:

Russian spies hacked the Olympics and tried to make it look like North Korea did it, U.S. officials say … Russian military spies hacked several hundred computers used by authorities at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea, according to U.S. intelligence.

Discussion: Political Wire, more at Techmeme »

Anna Fifield / Washington Post:

North Korea has expressed willingness to talk to the United States, South Korean presidential office says … PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — The North Korean delegation to the Closing Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics said that Pyongyang was “willing to have talks” with the United States …

Discussion: Axios, Political Wire, Digital Chosunilbo, The Week, The Atlantic and NK News

Washington Post:

After testy call with Trump over border wall, Mexico's president shelves plan to visit White House … Tentative plans for Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to make his first visit to the White House to meet with President Trump were scuttled this week after a testy call between …

Discussion: CNN, ImmigrationProf Blog, Breitbart, One America News Network, KTLA, Business Insider, Washington Press and Political Wire

Gabby Morrongiello / Washington Examiner:

CPAC speaker Mona Charen stuns with fiery rebuke of Trump, Le Pen — A conservative columnist was escorted out of the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday after slamming President Trump and conservatives for behaving like “hypocrites” when it comes to women's issues.

Discussion: RedState and The Gateway Pundit

Tim Alberta / Politico: Trump's Takeover of Conservatism Is Complete and Total

Alice B. Lloyd / Weekly Standard:
Mona Charen Slams Sexist Hypocrisy, Racism at CPAC: ‘You cannot claim that you stand for women’

Discussion: New York Magazine, twitchy.com, Vox, Breitbart, RedState, ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, Mother Jones, Shareblue Media, Mediaite and Balloon Juice

Casey Tolan / Mercury News:

California Democratic Party declines to endorse Dianne Feinstein in re-election bid — SAN DIEGO — The California Democratic Party declined to make an endorsement in this year's U.S. Senate race early Sunday morning, snubbing Sen. Dianne Feinstein in her bid for a fifth full term.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Politico:
California Democrats decline to endorse Feinstein

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Kurt Erickson / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Prepping for impeachment: Here's what Greitens and lawmakers face in the coming days — The Missouri Capitol stands at dusk on the final day of the 97th Legislature at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City on Friday, May 16, 2014. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

Discussion: Political Wire

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Corey Lewandowski returns to the Oval Office — Two days before President Trump gave his unchained, campaign-style speech at CPAC, he had a secret visitor in the Oval Office. — You didn't see it on the president's schedule, and the news hasn't leaked out until now …

Chris York / HuffPost UK:
Michael Wolff Says Donald Trump And Jared Kushner ‘Will Throw Each Other Under The Bus’

Discussion: Raw Story

Ana Cerrud / Washington Post:

Police, yelling, power turned off: Confrontation over Trump's Panama hotel escalates … PANAMA CITY — The majority owner of President Trump's only hotel in Latin America abruptly ordered Trump employees out of the property on Thursday, triggering a confrontation in which Trump employees refused …

Caitlin Emma / Politico:

Supreme Court could cripple public unions in run-up to 2018 midterms — The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday in a case that could shrink government unions and their campaign war chests by as much as two thirds, with potentially devastating consequences for the Democratic Party in a competitive election cycle.

Discussion: Political Wire and The Guardian

The Guardian:

Colombia extradites ‘Pablo Escobar of Ecuador’ to US — Washington Edison Prado is accused of shipping hundreds of tonnes of cocaine to US … A suspected drug chief known as the “Pablo Escobar of Ecuador” was extradited to the US on Saturday, Colombia's chief prosecutor's office has announced.

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

‘I do not know if the president is having an affair’: Michael Wolff squirms on Dutch TV … After several minutes of interrogation about a central drama surrounding his new book, Michael Wolff said this: “I will just clean this up. . . . I do not know if the president is having an affair.”

Dana Schuster / Page Six:

Inside the toxic atmosphere at ‘Megyn Kelly Today’ — Megyn Kelly has fashioned herself as a champion of the #MeToo movement, filling her NBC talk show, “Megyn Kelly Today,” with brave women fighting injustice. — But a former colleague says it's all an act.

Discussion: Mediaite