memeorandum @ 9:00 AM ET, February 11, 2018

9:00 AM ET, February 11, 2018

Top Items:

John Kelly faces pressure over handling of Rob Porter allegations — White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is facing continued scrutiny over his handling of domestic abuse accusations against a former senior aide. — A GOP source told Fox News that President Trump spoke to former chief …

Discussion: The Hill

William J. Antholis / Politico:

Rob Porter Is a National Security Scandal, Too — The allegations against Rob Porter, the recently departed White House staff secretary, are morally disturbing. Multiple ex-wives have accused him of abusive behavior, and while he disputes those accusations, the FBI found them credible enough …

Discussion: Washington Post

Michael A. Cohen / BostonGlobe.com: John Kelly was supposed to be ‘the adult in the room.’ He's anything but

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
White House under John Kelly is not so calm and competent after all

Discussion: The Guardian, VIDOL, The Mahablog, Business Insider and Raw Story

Michael Levenson / BostonGlobe.com: Rob Porter was ‘quintessential golden boy’ from Belmont now accused of abuse

New York Times:

G.O.P. Squirms as Trump Veers Off Script With Abuse Remarks — WASHINGTON — President Trump's approval ratings have been nudging upward and his party's political standing is improving, but the president's unceasing habit of making inflammatory and insensitive remarks is galvanizing opposition against him …

Discussion: Mediaite, Deadline, FOX40, ThinkProgress, Common Dreams, Shareblue Media, RedState, NPR, Business Insider and KTLA

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:

Gillibrand: If Trump wants due process, we'll have hearings on allegations against him — on Saturday for his tweet questioning a lack of “due process” in abuse claims, saying that Congress could hold hearings about sexual misconduct allegations against him if he wanted due process.

Discussion: CBS New York, twitchy.com, New York Times, Politicus USA and The Guardian

Haley Britzky / Axios:
Trump's history of defending the accused

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, Mashable, Bangor Daily News, ThinkProgress and Lawyers, Guns & Money

New York Times:

‘No Fire, No Fury?’ Trump Is on Board With a Jeanine Pirro Book to Rebut Michael Wolff — Jeanine Pirro, the Fox News personality and longtime friend and champion of President Trump, has discussed with him the possibility of a book project to counter the damning portrayal of his presidency …

Discussion: Business Insider and Mediaite

CNN:

Kim Jong Un's sister is stealing the show at the Winter Olympics — (CNN)If “diplomatic dance” were an event at the Winter Olympics, Kim Jong Un's younger sister would be favored to win gold. — With a smile, a handshake and a warm message in South Korea's presidential guest book …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, NewsBusters, Korea JoongAng Daily, Power Line, The Guardian, RedState, Mediaite, TheBlaze, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit and AOL

Anna Fifield / Washington Post:

The ‘Ivanka Trump of North Korea’ captivates people in the South at the Olympics … GANGNEUNG, South Korea — They marveled at her barely-there makeup and her lack of bling. They commented on her plain black outfits and simple purse. They noted the flower-shaped clip that kept her hair back in a no-nonsense style.

Discussion: Jezebel and New York Times

Brent D. Griffiths / Politico:
Fred Warmbier criticizes North Korean Olympic spirit

Discussion: One America News Network, CNN, Breitbart and Jezebel

Brian Bennett / Los Angeles Times:

White House floats an offer to keep legal immigration at 1 million per year instead of cutting it … As the Senate prepares to begin a free-wheeling debate over immigration next week, White House officials have begun floating a possible compromise idea — a pledge to maintain legal immigration …

Discussion: The Week and Mother Jones

Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:

President Trump, How Is This Man a Danger? — President Trump suggests that the aim of his crackdown on immigrants is to “defend Americans” from “savage,” “worst of the worst” intruders who kill Americans or at least are “dangerous criminals.” — What does Trump's crackdown look like in real life?

Dean Baker / cepr.net:

NYT Misleads Readers: “Ballooning Deficits” Do Not Add Urgency to Republican Efforts to Cut Medicaid and Other Programs — The NYT should have its presses washed out with soap. In an article about plans to impose work requirements for Medicaid it told readers:

Abby Goodnough / New York Times: Kentucky Rushes to Remake Medicaid as Other States Prepare to Follow

Matthew Dessem / Slate:

I Am the Very Model of a New York Times Contrarian — A tragic opera.

Jack Corrigan / GovExec.com:

State Department Lost 12% of its Foreign Affairs Specialists in Trump's First 8 Months — The State Department's civilian workforce shrunk more than 6 percent overall during the initial eight months of the Trump administration, but that figure masks significantly higher departure rates …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Kimberly Leonard / Washington Examiner:

Sen. Ron Wyden calls for investigation into Trump's mansion sale to Russian — Sen. Ron Wyden, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, is calling on the Treasury Department to disclose banking and real estate records associated with President Trump's sale of a Palm Beach, Fla., mansion to a Russian billionaire.

Discussion: RedState

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Nunes: ‘No surprise’ Dem memo wasn't released — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes — (R-Calif.) said Friday he was not surprised that the Justice Department and FBI advised against the release of a memo authored by the panel's Democratic members.

Discussion: Vox, CNN, Mediaite and twitchy.com