memeorandum: Trump asked the acting FBI director whom he voted for during Oval Office meeting (Washington Post)

12:05 AM ET, January 24, 2018

Top Items:

Trump asked the acting FBI director whom he voted for during Oval Office meeting … Shortly after President Trump fired his FBI director in May, he summoned to the Oval Office the bureau's acting director for a get-to-know-you meeting. — The two men exchanged pleasantries, but before long …

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Vox, Business Insider, IJR, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Boing Boing, Palmer Report, Washington Press, Political Wire and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Mueller seeks to question Trump about Flynn and Comey departures … Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is seeking to question President Trump in the coming weeks about his decisions to oust national security adviser Michael Flynn and FBI Director James B. Comey, according to two people familiar with his plans.

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Business Insider, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart, The Week, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, Talking Points Memo, Common Dreams, emptywheel, CNBC, TheBlaze, Axios, 444 and Mediaite

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

Sessions Is Interviewed in Mueller's Russia Investigation — WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions was questioned for several hours last week by the special counsel's office as part of the investigation into Russia's meddling in the election and whether the president obstructed justice …

Washington Post:

FBI director, under pressure to make changes, is replacing Comey aides … FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, who has been under political pressure to remove top officials at the bureau, is filling two senior positions previously held by people who served under former director James B. Comey.

Discussion: Palmer Report, Raw Story and WTVR-TV

Brian Beutler / Crooked Media:

Impeach Jeff Sessions — In the past 48 hours we've learned two important things about Attorney General Jeff Sessions that we didn't know before. — First, we learned from Axios that inappropriate political pressure Sessions has brought to bear on the FBI, at President Trump's behest …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, IJR, KTLA, Politico and Axios

David Shortell / CNN:
Sessions: Justice Dept. will get to the bottom of missing employee text messages

New York Times: In Looking for Loyalty, Trump Asked F.B.I. Official How He Voted

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Republicans launch extraordinary new tactics to protect Trump on Russia

Discussion: Lawfare, Fox News, Shareblue Media, RedState and Raw Story

Brandon Carter / The Hill:
Trump asked acting FBI chief whom he voted for during WH meeting: report

Discussion: RedState

Fox News:
FBI Director Chris Wray replaces James Rybicki, Comey-era chief of staff

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, RedState, IJR, Truth Uncensored and Business Insider

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
GOP escalates law enforcement probes as Russia inquiry heats up

Discussion: CNN

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:

Exclusive: New signs Gates may be negotiating with Mueller's team — Who is Rick Gates? — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — At this stage, with Gates' charges filed and bail set, talks could concern the charges and Gates' plea — Washington (CNN)Former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates has quietly added …

Discussion: Raw Story, Palmer Report, Political Wire and Balloon Juice

Dan Merica / CNN: White House: Trump hasn't fired Mueller in part because of how the press would react

Tom Schoenberg / Bloomberg:
Missing From Mueller's Interview of Sessions: A Criminal Lawyer

Discussion: Palmer Report

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

Schumer withdraws offer on Trump's wall — Chuck Schumer is taking his big spending boost for Donald Trump's border wall off the table. — The Senate minority leader, through an aide, informed the White House that he was retracting the offer he made last week to give Trump well north …

Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:
Democrats just got rolled. They can blame Barack Obama.

Discussion: New York Post and Power Line

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Immigration talks quickly hit a wall

Discussion: Viking Pundit and Daily Wire

The Hill:
Emboldened conservatives press Ryan to bring hard-right immigration bill to floor

Discussion: IJR

Jonathan Tamari / Philly.com:

Pat Meehan says he saw younger aide as ‘a soul mate’ but denies harassment — U.S. Rep Pat Meehan said Tuesday he had developed a deep “affection” for a younger aide and told her that he saw her as “a soul mate” as they talked over ice cream one night last year, but in an interview …

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, Washington Post, Business Insider, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Washington Press, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, Splinter, thecut, Delaware County Times, Axios, ACA Signups, Roll Call, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Lynn Sweet / Chicago Sun Times:

EXCLUSIVE: Tammy Duckworth is pregnant; will be 1st senator to give birth — Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is pregnant and will become the first sitting U.S. senator to give birth. Duckworth is holding her daughter, Abigail, during a ceremonial swearing in by Vice President Joe Biden on Jan. 3, 2017.

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Manchin Will Seek Re-Election but Sends Democrats a Stern Warning — WASHINGTON — Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia told colleagues on Tuesday that he intended to run for re-election this year after all, ending an anxiety-making flirtation with retirement and easing Democratic fears …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and New York Magazine

mprnews.org:

Investigation: For some who lived in it, Keillor's world wasn't funny … When Minnesota Public Radio abruptly severed ties with Garrison Keillor in November, the sole explanation offered by the company was “inappropriate behavior” with a female colleague. — For his part, the creator …

Discussion: thecut and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:
MPR: Allegations against Keillor far beyond single touch

Discussion: Power Line

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

Biden: McConnell stopped Obama from calling out Russians — Joe Biden said Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stopped the Obama administration from speaking out about Russian interference in the 2016 campaign by refusing to sign on to a bipartisan statement of condemnation.

Discussion: Business Insider, Washington Press, Raw Story and Front Page Magazine

Jonathan Capehart / Washington Post: Republicans claim to be saving children's health insurance. They're actually hypocrites.

MaryAlice Parks / ABC News:
Analysis: Shutdown winners and losers

Discussion: Politico, IJR and Associated Press

Jacques Billeaud / KPNX:

Border Patrol arrests ASU instructor who gave food, water to immigrants — The arrest came hours after the group released videos showing some Border Patrol agents kicking over water bottles left for immigrants. — PHOENIX (AP) - A volunteer for group that offers aid to immigrants crossing …

Discussion: Arizona Republic, Hit & Run, IJR, Splinter and Associated Press

Gerald Jonas / New York Times:

Ursula K. Le Guin, Acclaimed for Her Fantasy Fiction, Is Dead at 88 — Ursula K. Le Guin, the immensely popular author who brought literary depth and a tough-minded feminist sensibility to science fiction and fantasy with books like “The Left Hand of Darkness” and the Earthsea series …

Discussion: New Republic, The Verge, Mashable, Boing Boing, Vox and Jezebel

Madison Marriage / Financial Times:

Men Only: Inside the charity fundraiser where hostesses are put on show — At 10pm last Thursday night, Jonny Gould took to the stage in the ballroom at London's Dorchester Hotel. “Welcome to the most un-PC event of the year,” he roared. — The sports broadcaster was there to host a charity auction …

Discussion: Business Insider and thecut

Avery Anapol / The Hill:

Drudge: Trump loves his job, can't wait to run for reelection in 2020 — Drudge Report's Matt Drudge said in a rare tweet Tuesday that President Trump — loves his job and is “already talking about his 2020 re-election run.” — Drudge's tweet linked to a story on The Hill detailing comments …

Discussion: Towleroad and Joe.My.God.

Rebecca Savransky / The Hill:
Michael Wolff: Trump does not want to be president

Discussion: ABC, No More Mister Nice Blog, twitchy.com, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

Hannity Goes Off on DOJ/FBI: People Must Be Investigated, Indicted, and Probably ‘Thrown in Jail!’ — Sean Hannity concluded yet another fiery monologue on corruption at the FBI and DOJ by saying that high-ranking people should probably be “thrown in jail.”

Tierney McAfee / People.com:

Where Were the Cutesy Tweets from Melania and Donald Trump on Their 13th Wedding Anniversary? — Past presidents and first ladies have often taken to social media to celebrate their birthdays and wedding anniversaries, giving the American people rare glimpses into their private lives and marriages.

Discussion: Washington Press, New York Post, Washington Post, Addicting Info and Women in the World

Washington Post:

Michigan man accused of threatening to attack CNN identified with Hitler, former classmate says … NOVI, Mich. — The man who federal authorities say threatened to kill CNN employees had declared in high school that he identified with Adolf Hitler and suggested “the Holocaust was exaggerated,” according to a former classmate.

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart and Heavy.com, more at Mediagazer »

Shaun King / The Intercept:
The Bigot Threatening CNN Got Out of Jail in Time for Dinner

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Raw Story, IJR, Deadline, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon

Brian McManus / VICE:

The Guy Who Played Barney the Dinosaur Now Runs a Tantric Sex Business — He started his current practice in 2004, and finds clients any number of ways, from word of mouth to converting women he's met on Tinder into believers. — Photo of Barney the purple dinosaur via Getty Images

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Daily Wire

Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed:

This Is Facebook's News Survey — Last week, Facebook said its News Feed would prioritize links from publications its users deemed “trustworthy” in an upcoming survey. Turns out that survey isn't a particularly lengthy or nuanced one. In fact, it's just two questions.

Discussion: Business Insider, The Verge, Mashable and Engadget, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News:

Poll: Democrats, Trump to blame for government shutdown — Americans blame President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats about equally for the three-day government shutdown that ended Monday with another stopgap spending measure, according to a new NBC News| SurveyMonkey poll.

Discussion: NBC News, Vox, IJR, New York Magazine, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, NTK Network and Front Page Magazine

Hadas Gold / CNNMoney:

Howard Kurtz's new book on Trump White House offers scathing critique of the media — The media's negative coverage of President Trump is actually helping the White House, Fox News anchor Howard Kurtz argues in his new book, “Media Madness: Donald Trump, the Press, and the War over the Truth.”

Discussion: Mediaite, Politico, The Week and Political Wire

Kit Daniels / Infowars:

EXCLUSIVE: Infowars Releases Secret FISA Memo — Here's the reported memo leaked to Infowars — Update: Despite media claims to the contrary, our congressional sources confirmed that the below memo documenting NSA spying on US citizens serves as a primary source of information for the Nunes summary memo:

Discussion: alicublog, Weekly Standard, twitchy.com and Mediaite