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9:50 AM ET, January 26, 2018

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump ordered the firing last June of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, according to four people told of the matter …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump moved to fire special counsel Mueller in June, bringing the White House's top lawyer to the brink of quitting  —  President Trump sought the firing of Robert S. Mueller III last June, shortly after the special counsel took over the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election …
Ed Henry / Fox News:
Trump was talked out of firing Mueller last June, source says  —  President Trump told top officials this past June that he wanted to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, but was talked out of doing so by White House counsel Don McGahn and other aides, a source close to the White House told Fox News late Thursday.
Renato Mariotti / Politico:
It's Now Likely Mueller Thinks Trump Obstructed Justice  —  Thursday's explosive New York Times story that President Donald Trump ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller last June renewed the public's focus on the obstruction of justice investigation against Trump, which will soon culminate in Trump's interview by Mueller.
Rick Klein / ABC News:
The Note: Mueller controls the clock as revelations come at a dizzying pace  —  The war on and over Robert Mueller just got very real.  And Mueller has tools to fight with, too.  —  The revelation, as reported by The New York Times, that President Donald Trump tried to fire the special counsel …
SHennessey / Lawfare:
Trump's Effort to Fire Mueller: Reactions to the New York Times Report  —  The New York Times reported Thursday evening that President Trump ordered the firing of Special Counsel Robert Mueller in June and was only dissuaded when White House Counsel Don McGahn threatened to resign rather …
Mike Allen / Axios:
Trump's ultimate unforced error keeps coming back to bite him
Discussion: USA Today and Washington Post
CNN:
8 times since June the White House denied Trump was considering firing Mueller
Discussion: Business Insider
Kaili Joy Gray / Shareblue Media:
White House doesn't deny it: Trump tried to fire Mueller and failed
Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:
Mueller Wasn't Interested in Bannon Until ‘Fire and Fury,’ Source Says
Discussion: RedState
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
The White House's immigration proposal is dead on arrival  —  The White House framework on immigration reform that leaked yesterday — then was released early — is a non-starter those on the left, having spoken to progressive immigration leaders in close touch with top Democrats.
RELATED:
Lorraine Woellert / Politico:
White House jumps back into Dreamer battle with citizenship offer
Mark Krikorian / National Review:
The Art of the Choke  —  The White House immigration outline …
Discussion: Power Line, Daily Wire and Mother Jones
BostonGlobe.com:
Joe Kennedy to deliver Democratic response to State of the Union address  —  WASHINGTON - Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III, one of the Democratic Party's rising political stars, has been tapped by top party leaders to deliver the official Democratic response to President Trump's State of the Union address next week.
Discussion: Roll Call
RELATED:
Politico:
Rep. Kennedy to deliver Democrats' State of the Union response  —  Rep. Joe Kennedy, a rising star in the Democratic Party, will deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union on Tuesday, POLITICO has learned exclusively.  —  Kennedy (D-Mass.) …
Jonathan Tamari / Philly.com:
Rep. Pat Meehan will not seek reelection after sexual harassment furor  —  Rep. Pat Meehan will not seek reelection amid a furor over his use of taxpayer dollars to settle a sexual harassment claim against an aide, and the national response to his describing the woman as his “soul mate.”
Huib Modderkolk / De Volkskrant:
Dutch agencies provide crucial intel about Russia's interference in US-elections  —  Hackers from the Dutch intelligence service AIVD have provided the FBI with crucial information about Russian interference with the American elections.  For years, AIVD had access to the infamous Russian hacker group Cozy Bear.
RELATED:
NOS.nl:
Dutch intelligence first to alert U.S. about Russian hack of Democratic Party
Discussion: CANNONFIRE
The ITV Hub:
Donald Trump says sorry to Britain  —  Piers Morgan has frequently spoken about his friendship with Donald Trump - and now Piers has finally interviewed the US President in what was his first international interview since taking office.  —  This unmissable interview took place in Davos …
RELATED:
BBC:   Donald Trump prepared to apologise for Britain First retweets
Louis Nelson / Politico:
Trump at Davos: ‘America is open for business’  —  President Donald Trump on Friday touted America's economic successes in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, offering an assurance that the United States will remain engaged in the world.
Discussion: ABC News
RELATED:
Sharyl Attkisson / The Hill:
As walls close in on FBI, the bureau lashes out at its antagonists  —  BY SHARYL ATTKISSON, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 01/25/18 01:50 PM EST THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL  —  What happens when federal agencies accused of possible wrongdoing — also control the alleged evidence against them?
RELATED:
Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:
Operation Sabotage the Memo
Discussion: Power Line
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
An affair with Trump?  Nikki Haley on ‘disgusting’ rumors and her rise to a top foreign policy role  —  NEW YORK — Nikki Haley became a trusted member of Donald Trump's inner circle over the past year, but she's recently re-familiarized herself with a downside of professional success …
Paul Schwartzman / Washington Post:
The Trumps asked to borrow a Van Gogh for the White House.  The Guggenheim offered an 18K gold toilet instead.  —  The emailed response from the Guggenheim's chief curator to the White House was polite but firm: the museum could not accommodate a request to “borrow” a painting by Vincent Van Gogh …
Washington Post:
U.S. economic growth slowed in 2017's fourth quarter, missing Trump's targets  —  The U.S. gross domestic product, a broad measure of the economy, increased by 2.3 percent in 2017.  GDP growth slowed in the year's fourth quarter to an annualized rate of 2.6, breaking a two-quarter streak of growth of more than 3 percent.
Discussion: New York Times
Dell Cameron / Gizmodo:
Kris Kobach's Office Leaks Last 4 Social Security Digits of Nearly Every Kansas Lawmaker and Thousands of State Employees, Including Kris Kobach  —  This is starting to just get sad.  —  Prior to receiving notice from Gizmodo this morning, Kris Kobach's office was leaking sensitive information belonging …
Discussion: Mother Jones and New York Magazine
CNN:
Sen. Johnson backs off ‘secret society’ claim  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  Washington (CNN)The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee acknowledged Thursday that a reference made between two FBI employees of a “secret society” could have been said in jest as opposed to evidence of an anti-Donald Trump plot.
RELATED:
The Times of Israel:
Trump: No more aid unless Palestinians talk peace; Jerusalem is ‘off the table’  —  Sitting next to Netanyahu in Davos, US president says Israel ‘wants to make peace,’ Palestinians ‘disrespected’ US in refusing to meet Pence  —  DAVOS, Switzerland — In unscripted remarks to the press on Thursday …
RELATED:
usun.state.gov:
Ambassador Nikki Haley
Discussion: Front Page Magazine and RedState
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
CNN reinstates Ryan Lizza  —  CNN is reinstating Ryan Lizza, the Washington political reporter who was fired from the New Yorker for alleged sexual misconduct.  “Upon learning of The New Yorker's decision to sever ties with Ryan Lizza in December, CNN pulled him from future on-air appearances …
Johnny Manziel / ESPN:
Vince McMahon: XFL to return in 2020 without gimmicks  —  WWE founder and chairman Vince McMahon announced Thursday he is giving a professional football league another go.  —  It will be called the XFL, the same name of the league McMahon and NBC tried for one season in 2001 …
Richard Deitsch / SI.com:
Jemele Hill is Leaving SC6 for The Undefeated  —  ESPN's SportsCenter will need a new co-host as Jemele Hill is expected to leave the show for a position with The Undefeated.  —  ESPN SportsCenter anchor Jemele Hill is leaving the 6:00 p.m. SC6 edition of SportsCenter to join the staff of The Undefeated …
Page Six:
NBC stunned by how far Megyn Kelly went with Fonda attack  —  Megyn Kelly got approval from higher-ups at NBC before launching her hair-raising attack on Jane Fonda, Page Six has learned — but we're told that prominent members of the organization were then stunned by how far the broadside went.
Discussion: Breitbart, Hullabaloo, Splinter and thecut
 
 
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 More Items: 
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Trump's Impromptu News Conference: An Unplanned Drop-By or a Deliberate Dig?
Shane Savitsky / Axios:
Trump takes a shot at Democrats during Davos meeting
Asbury Park Press:
Next Slide  —  Pangemanan narrowly escaped the same fate.
Discussion: Splinter and WNYC News
Ashley Kirzinger / The Henry J. Kaiser Family …:
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll - January 2018: The Public's Priorities and Next Steps for the Affordable Care Act
Discussion: Reuters and CNBC
Washington Post:
Trump wins over global elites at Davos. All it took was a $1.5 trillion tax cut.
CNBC:
The America First president comes to Davos: Read Trump's full interview with CNBC
Discussion: New York Times
Pew Research Center:
Economic Issues Decline Among Public's Policy Priorities
Discussion: Breitbart and Real Clear Politics
 Earlier Items: 
Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Ellison exploring Minnesota AG run
Discussion: Political Wire
Washington Post:
Russians got tens of thousands of Americans to RSVP for their phony political events on Facebook
Discussion: The Week and Political Wire
Wall Street Journal:
Iran's Fast Boats Stop Harassing U.S. Navy, Baffling Military
Discussion: RedState and The Daily Beast
John Nolte / Breitbart:
CNN's Climate of Hate Comes Home to Roost
Discussion: Mediaite
Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:
The Photo That Never Saw The Light of Day: Obama With Farrakhan In 2005
 

 
From Techmeme:

Scott Stein / CNET:
Meta opens its VR OS, now called Horizon OS, to third parties, and says Asus and Lenovo plan Horizon OS-compatible headsets; Meta plans an Xbox branded Quest

Emilia David / The Verge:
Microsoft launches Phi-3 Mini, a 3.8B-parameter model that competes with GPT-3.5, and plans to release Phi-3 Small and Phi-3 Medium with 7B and 14B parameters

James Rundle / Wall Street Journal:
Source: UnitedHealth's Change Healthcare was compromised on February 12, nine days before the ransomware attack; the company paid a ransom to the hackers

 
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