memeorandum: Canada, Leading the Free World (Nicholas Kristof/New York Times)

5:45 PM ET, February 5, 2017

Top Items:

Rebecca Morin / Politico:

Sanders on Trump: ‘This guy is a fraud’ — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Sunday that President Donald Trump is “a fraud” and is working with Wall Street as he looks to roll back some banking regulations. — “It is hard not to laugh, to see President Trump alongside these Wall Street guys.

Discussion: Political Wire

Eric Bradner / CNN:

Sanders on Trump: ‘This guy is a fraud’ — Washington (CNN)Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders accused President Donald Trump of falling short of commitments to middle-class voters, pointing to his Cabinet and senior advisers' ties to Wall Street. — “This guy is a fraud,” Sanders told CNN's Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday.

Discussion: Washington Times, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and TheBlaze

Isaac Arnsdorf / Politico:

McConnell rebukes Trump's judge attack — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday distanced himself from President Donald Trump's positions on Russia, voter fraud and the travel ban, while criticizing the president for attacking a federal judge. — “It is best not to single out judges …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and WCCO | CBS Minnesota

Ned Resnikoff / ThinkProgress:
Mike Pence defends Trump's attacks on the legitimacy of the judicial branch

Discussion: ThinkProgress, New York Times, The Hill, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Gothamist, AOL, IJR and Washington Post

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 2-5-17: VP Mike Pence, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Sen. Ben Sasse

Discussion: The Week and Associated Press

Nicki Rossoll / ABC News:
VP Mike Pence Did Not Ask Supreme Court Nominee About Roe V. Wade

Discussion: Associated Press, Hot Air, Mediaite and Politico

Isaac Arnsdorf / Politico:
Pence leaves door open to easing Russia sanctions

Discussion: Mediaite and ABC News

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

9th Circuit Court declines to quickly reinstate travel ban — A federal appeals court early Sunday denied an initial bid by the Trump administration to restore its controversial immigration order that had barred refugees and those from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

Discussion: Slate, Hit & Run, The Guardian, NPR, Booman Tribune, New York Times, RedState, Mediaite, CBS San Francisco, NBC News, Hot Air, IJR, CBS Los Angeles, Business Insider, CBS Boston and 6

Rebecca Morin / Politico:

Trump resumes Twitter attacks on judge — President Donald Trump on Sunday resumed tweeting against the judge who blocked his executive order on immigration, blaming the court system “if something happens” that could put the U.S. in “peril.” — “Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril.

Discussion: Washington Post and Political Wire

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:
Appeals court rejects Trump administration's request to restore travel ban

Discussion: Scripting News and RedState

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
Pence: Judge ‘certainly’ has right to halt travel ban

Discussion: AOL, Mashable, Liberty Unyielding and Politicus USA

Laura Jarrett / CNN:
DOJ appealing travel ban ruling

Discussion: Reuters, New York Times, Common Dreams, MichelleMalkin.com and The Gateway Pundit

Alberto Luperon / LawNewz:

Judge Wears Anti-Trump Pussy Hat to Court — Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt has been rocking headgear with strong anti-Trump symbolism: The Pussy hat. To say it's politically charged is like saying third-rails are shocking: These hats are pointed symbols in opposition to President Donald Trump …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Robert Barnes / LawNewz:
On Trial: Why Trump's Immigration Ban Will Win Over Seattle Judge's Nationwide Order

Discussion: Hot Air, Liberty Unyielding, The Last Refuge and The Gateway Pundit

Gregory Locke / Facebook:

I got on the subway in Manhattan tonight and found a Swastika on every advertisement and every window. The train was silent as everyone stared at each other, uncomfortable and unsure what to do. — One guy got up and said, “Hand sanitizer gets rid of Sharpie. We need alcohol.”

Discussion: New York Times, NBC News, Business Insider, IJR, Mashable and Joe.My.God.

Wall Street Journal:

Russian Arrests Spur Questions Over Links to U.S. Hacking — A series of high-profile arrests in Russia has intelligence officials on both sides of the Atlantic trying to unravel a mystery they suspect may be connected to Russian hacking in the U.S.

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Free Melania - From Our Expectations — WASHINGTON — Now, stacked on the Trump tower of petrifying things we have to worry about — war with Iran, war with China, war with Mexico, war with Islam, war with koala bears — there is yet another looming disaster.

Discussion: New Yorker

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

The Democrats face up to their Trump problem — Democrats don't know how long they'll be able to keep up the pace of protests against President Donald Trump — and they're worried Trump and his team are counting on them to run out of energy before the White House does.

Discussion: twitchy.com and Balloon Juice

Adam Gopnik / New Yorker:

Trump's Radical Anti-Americanism — As the President rejects our foundational principles, all we can turn to is our instinct for shared defiance. — Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, the couple who did so much to bear witness to the terrible truths of the Second World War, came to town last week …

Julie Westfall / Los Angeles Times:

Hundreds of people showed up for a town hall with California's Rep. Tom McClintock, and things got intense — The scene inside and outside Rep. Tom McClintock's town hall meeting Saturday morning was at times raucous, and the California congressman ultimately was escorted out by police.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Axios, Sacramento Bee, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Politico

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Democrats aim to make Steve Bannon a scarier Karl Rove — Democrats spent years turning George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove into a boogeyman whose mere mention sent liberals' blood boiling. Now, members of Congress are doing the same to top Trump hand Steve Bannon — but in much darker terms.

Discussion: Political Wire

David Cohen / Politico: Albright on Trump: Bannon ‘pulling the strings’

Tom Jackman / Washington Post:

How far can protesters go before the government steps in? — The protests of 2016, against pipelines and police shootings and a presidential candidate, have sparked lawmakers in eight states to consider bills boosting penalties for unlawful demonstrations. They include one that would protect drivers …

Discussion: Hot Air

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

McConnell: No federal money for voter fraud probe — (R-Ky.) on Sunday said he doesn't want to spend federal funds to investigate what President Trump claimed was massive voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election. — While McConnell says there is voter fraud, he doesn't believe it's …

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Tampa Bay Times:

A Bilirakis gathering turns out to be strongly pro-Obamacare — PALM HARBOR — Rep. Gus Bilirakis issued the call to residents of his conservative district on Facebook: Come share your thoughts on the future of health care. — More than 200 people took the Republican congressman up on it …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Joe Concha / The Hill:

Columnist to CNN's Stelter: You're becoming ‘quite a ridiculous figure’ — USA Today and Hollywood Reporter columnist Michael Wolff slammed CNN's Brian Stelter on his media affairs program Sunday, telling the host he was becoming “quite a ridiculous figure.”

Discussion: Raw Story

John Daniel Davidson / The Guardian:

Trump is no fascist. He is a champion for the forgotten millions — Obama promised solutions but let the people down. Is it any surprise that they voted for real change? — mid the ongoing protests against President Trump, calls for “resistance” among Democratic politicians and activists …