TL;DR

Trump isn't going to read the Democratic response to the Nunes memo

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-memo-10-pages-too-lengthy-080ac6ad93b6/
Asked today if Trump had read the Democratic memo, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly suggested it was “too lengthy” for Trump to read and he will instead be briefed later.
 
I expect the Dem response to the Nunes memo to be pretty devastating. But there is no way it will get the buildup and anticipation the original did -- partly because the Dems don't have a Fox News, partly because they don't bully and intimidate the mainstream media the way the right does

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/02/the-media-couldnt-get-enough-of-the-nunes-memo/

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-gop-and-big-lie-politics

https://thinkprogress.org/fox-news-memo-alternate-reality-668559066bfb
Fox News keeps talking about “the memo.” But instead of the actual “dud” of a memo that House Republicans released last week, they’ve invented a non-existent memo out of some conspiracy theory fever dream to spread lies about . . .

Is the WH laying the groundwork to edit the Democratic memo?

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kelly-democratic-memo-is-a-lot-less-clean-lengthier-than-nunes

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/06/memo-trump-adam-schiff-393059
 
Looks like they are -- but they're blaming the Dems! http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/gowdy-dems-may-be-tricking-trump-into-hiding-their-memo.html
Trey Gowdy: Democrats May Be Tricking Trump Into Hiding Parts of Their Memo
 
The Nunes memo, and the damage done (thanks to RR for the link)

https://lawfareblog.com/nunes-memo-and-law-unintended-consequences  

How much does Paul Ryan not want to talk about the fraud of the Nunes memo (which he helped enable)? This much

https://thinkprogress.org/paul-ryan-nunes-memo-trump-disaster-cbe1027b279b

Trump seems to find it very easy to call for the investigation and prosecution of all his enemies -- but CAN'T BELIEVE that he is being investigated himself. So unfair! 

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/06/lock-them-all-up-trumps-desperate-new-strategy-investigate-everybody/ 

Trump said this during the "Democratic shutdown" 

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/951798415301718017
"Sadly, Democrats want to stop paying our troops and government workers in order to give a sweetheart deal, not a fair deal, for DACA. Take care of our Military, and our Country, FIRST!"

Now he says: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/trump-endorses-shutdown-just-as-deal-seems-imminent.html
“If we don’t get rid of these loopholes … let’s have a shutdown, we’ll do a shutdown, and it’s worth it for our country. I’d love to see a shutdown if we don’t get this stuff taken care of.”

Roll out Colonel Sanders to control the damage (again)

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/white-house-trump-not-advocating-shutdown
WH Claims Trump Doesn’t Actually Want A Shutdown, Despite Him Saying So
 
What they really think 

https://politicalwire.com/2018/02/06/say-off-record/
“Spend a day on Capitol Hill and you’ll hear Republican elected officials who publicly say they adore Trump spit unthinkable invective off the record.”

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/raj-shah-trump-deplorable
Before he joined the communications staff in President Donald Trump’s White House, Raj Shah made statements critical of Trump, calling him a “deplorable” about one month before Trump secured the presidency . . . 

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1739219
Inside the Trump White House: 'Plenty of people in the West Wing hate him right now.'
 
So, the man Trump identified as one of his main foreign policy advisors now says he has never spoken to him. Who's lying?

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/05/carter-page-nunes-memo-393054

[NB: It's a trick question: Both!] 

In other news . . . 

The child in the White House wants a military parade, with soldiers and tanks and guns and missiles and horns and flags and cheers and . . . 

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/forget-the-sotu-address-trump-wants-a-military-parade.html

[NB: "Just like they had in France"] 

Promises, promises

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/06/in-trumps-first-year-americas-trade-deficit-actually-got-worse/
In Trump’s first year, America’s trade deficit actually got worse

Trump: remember when I called the Dems "treasonous" because they "hate America"? I was just kidding!

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/wh-trump-calling-dems-treasonous-was-just-tongue-in-cheek 

[NB: Lighten up guys! When I call you traitors, can't you take a joke?]

Chief of Staff Kelly was supposed to be a moderating influence on Trump, right?

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/02/gen-kelly-says-some-immigrants-too-lazy
Gen. Kelly Says Some Immigrants 'Too Lazy To Get Off Asses' And Apply For DACA

Senate may pass a two-year budget; House founders; Trump is invisible

https://politicalwire.com/2018/02/07/senate-near-two-year-budget-deal/  

The Cesspool

https://thinkprogress.org/interior-official-purchases-shares-b9d286d427f9/
Trump Interior appointee caught buying stock in company that contracts with the agency

We've never had a more anti-science administration

https://politicalwire.com/2018/02/06/trump-adviser-says-dont-need-flu-shot/
Trump Adviser Says You Don’t Need a Flu Shot 

https://politicalwire.com/2018/02/06/white-house-opioids-effort-sidelines-drug-experts/
White House Opioids Effort Sidelines Drug Experts 

https://thinkprogress.org/sessions-lott-immigrant-crime-data-error-6d12280aa707/
Junk science . . .

More evidence that the Trump admin just doesn't take the opioid crisis seriously

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/06/trump-administration-gives-up-on-being-serious-about-the-opioid-crisis/

More: https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/02/opioid-crisis-what-opioid-crisis/

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/trump-has-given-victims-of-opioids-nothing-but-contempt.html

Clap for me, people. CLAP, dammit! (thanks to JT for the link)

https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/donald-trumps-very-soviet-fixation-on-applause

in Fox World, the FISA judges are part of the anti-Trump conspiracy too

https://thinkprogress.org/fox-friends-fisa-court-corrupt-0fb75644f4e1

Sean Hannity tells us who is really to blame for the stock market crash

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/06/youll-never-guess-who-sean-hannity-is-blaming-for-stock-market-plunge/

Bonus item: Trevor Noah on when Trump is "just joking"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trevor-noah-exposes-donald-trumps-insidious-jokes-for-what-they-really-are

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

TAKING THE PLUNGE

Trump has consistently bragged about the stock market going up. Now that it's gone down, I'm sure it is someone else's fault

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/960614513224667136
"Thanks to the historic TAX CUTS that I signed into law, your paychecks are going way UP, your taxes are going way DOWN, and America is once again OPEN FOR BUSINESS!"

https://www.politico.com/video/2018/02/05/dow-jones-earases-its-gains-for-the-year-in-the-largest-single-day-point-drop-064906
Dow Jones erases its gains for the year in the largest single-day point drop 

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/05/trump-stock-market-fall-white-house-391976
Aides quickly coordinated statements and TV appearances after stock swings overtook the president's speech.  

Meanwhile: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/5/16973924/congress-government-shutdown-spending-daca
Congress has another government shutdown deadline this weekend

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stancollender/2018/02/05/this-is-the-real-reason-the-gop-doesnt-want-to-do-a-budget-this-year/#735fec2f5e08

The Real Reason The GOP Doesn't Want To Do A Budget This Year

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/05/trump-ran-on-reducing-the-debt-now-hes-sending-it-through-the-roof/
Trump ran on reducing the debt — now he’s sending it through the roof

Well, it's official. I hope you're not surprised

https://politicalwire.com/2018/02/05/trumps-lawyers-want-refuse-mueller-interview/
Lawyers for President Trump have advised him against sitting down for a wide-ranging interview with the special counsel, Robert Mueller, according to four people briefed on the matter, raising the specter of a monthslong court battle over whether the president must answer questions under oath,” the New York Times reports. “His lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of making false statements and contradicting himself, could be charged with lying to investigators. Their stance puts them at odds with Mr. Trump, who has said publicly and privately that he is eager to speak with Mr. Mueller as part of the investigation into possible ties between his associates and Russia’s election interference, and whether he obstructed justice.”

[NB: Given everything we have seen from Trump, who believes that if he truly wanted to testify (and "clear himself") he wouldn't just insist on it? The most interesting aspect of this story is the implicit worry by his lawyers that OF COURSE Trump is going to lie. . . .

We'll be learning more about this, but it appears that Mueller refused to give Trump the accommodations that would help him testify safely (like written responses). Next up -- does Mueller go the route of a subpoena compelling Trump to testify?]
  
More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-to-plead-the-de-facto-5th
Let’s be candid about what this means. The President is pleading the 5th while trying to avoid saying that’s what he’s doing. Let’s call it the de facto 5th. The constitutional law is clear cut. It’s not at all hypothetical. A sitting President has no blanket right to refuse to cooperate with a criminal investigation. Different dimensions of this question were litigated under Presidents Nixon and Clinton. The Courts were clear each time. The President has to comply with the law and with criminal investigations just like everyone else, though there may be certain areas of privilege. Presidents have been interviewed by special prosecutors, special counsels and independent counsels in numerous cases. The President is obviously guilty of obstruction of justice. He’s likely guilty of criminal conspiracy with a foreign power, though what if any statutes this would implicate is not clear to me. It makes perfect sense to refuse to talk. Perps do that all the time. It’s their right. [read on]

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/02/one-way-or-another-donald-trump-will-have-to-testify-about-russia/
One Way or Another, Donald Trump Will Have to Testify About Russia

Mueller's case has at least FIVE separate lines of investigation

https://politicalwire.com/2018/02/05/muellers-investigation-bigger-think/

How the FBI reacted when Trump fired Comey

https://thinkprogress.org/internal-fbi-documents-show-white-house-lied-about-comey-firing-610c0c780dda/

More: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1738881
FBI memos show that agents were shocked by Comey's firing—and that Sarah Sanders is a huge liar

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2018/02/some-fbi-agents-probably-just-lost.html
Some FBI agents probably just lost their careers 

Oooh, ouch! 

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/05/fbi-footnote-carter-page-warrant-390795
Republican leaders are acknowledging that the FBI disclosed the political origins of a private dossier the bureau cited in an application to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, undermining a controversial GOP memo released Friday . . .

Nunes; http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/nunes-fine-the-fbi-didnt-lie-but-its-font-was-too-small.html
As Ellen Nakashima reported, the application to wiretap Page did disclose that one of the sources of intelligence to generate suspicion that Page might be acting illegally came from a political source. It was mentioned in a footnote on the FISA application. Nunes was asked about this on Fox & Friends. He did not deny the point. Instead he insisted that it wasn’t good enough because the disclosure was merely a footnote. “A footnote saying something may be political is a far cry from letting the American people know that the Democrats and the Hillary campaign paid for dirt that the FBI then used to get a warrant on an American citizen to spy on another campaign,” the distinguished Republican explained . . . [read on]

It looks as if Devin Nunes WAS coordinating his memo strategy with the White House. This is wrong in so many ways, but it also buttresses the case for obstruction

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/we-know-devin-nunes-probable-collaborator-at-the-white-house-michael-ellis

Devin Nunes, liar

https://www.vox.com/world/2018/2/5/16973936/nunes-memo-trump-george-papadopoulos

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/fallout-nunes-memo-strengthens-mueller-russia-investigation
Is The Nunes Memo Backfiring? 

House Intel Committee votes to release the Dem rebuttal to the Nunes memo. Now it's in Trump's hands. Would he dare try to delay, block, or redact it, after how he dealt with the GOP version?

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/dems-release-memo-house-intel-vote

Trump picks a fight with "Little Adam Schiff" (looks like he's running out of snarky nicknames). In this case, he's taking on someone who is more than a match for him

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/trump-goes-after-adam-schiff-for-lying-leaking.html

Schiff: https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1738866 

Good luck with that

https://politicalwire.com/2018/02/05/trump-lawyers-want-second-special-counsel-2/
Trump Lawyers Want a Second Special Counsel  

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/graham-grassley-christopher-steele-dossier-criminal-investigation-letter.html
Sens. Graham and Grassley Release Letter Calling for a Criminal Investigation of Christopher Steele

Donald "L'état, C'est Moi" Trump suggests that by refusing to stand up and applaud TO HIM, the Democrats are traitors to the NATION  

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-democrats-treasonous-a8518482fd96/ 

[NB: The most striking thing about this video is the casualness with which he throws off the accusation of treason: Treasonous? Maybe. Sure, yeah. . . treason!.

And this of course after a speech in which he said "Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve". No, he didn't mean a word of it, of course not. We've never had a more hateful and constantly divisive president.] 

The postmodern president?

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/02/notes-toward-a-postmodern-trump/  

In other news. . . 

Senators ignore Trump's "conditions" on immigration 

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1738863
McCain joins bipartisan proposal for Dreamers' path to citizenship ... and no wall funding

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/trump-has-lost-the-upper-hand-in-the-immigration-fight.html
Trump Has Lost the Upper Hand in the Immigration Fight 

Trump keeps making friends in the UK 

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/05/donald-trump-proves-he-knows-nothing-about-britains-health-care-system/
Donald Trump proves he knows nothing about Britain’s health care system 

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-britains-health-care-5919a582cf6b/
Trump couldn’t be more wrong in his tweet on Britain’s health care protests

More: https://www.thedailybeast.com/britain-claps-back-at-trump-for-bashing-its-health-service
Britain Claps Back at Trump: Our Health System Is Better Than Yours 

The Supreme Court won't let Pennsylvania's partisan gerrymander stand 

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/02/alito-denies-pennsylvania-republicans-request-to-preserve-partisan-gerrymander.html

How Republicans do "paid leave"

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/02/ivankarubio-paid-leave-plans-robs-social

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/05/ivanka-trump-and-marco-rubio-have-a-terrible-plan-for-paid-family-leave/

Bonus item: 11 year old cartoonist takes on Trump

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2018/02/sunday-funnies.html

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/05/11-year-olds-anti-trump-cartoons-are-taking-the-internet-by-storm/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR

Donald Jr says the release of the Nunes memo is "sweet revenge." Which raises the question of Trump's conflict of interest in declassifying it for release. If he believed in advance that it would undermine the Mueller investigation, that it might give him cover to fire the man overseeing that investigation, then isn't the release itself an act of obstruction? 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-jr-nunes-memo-release-is-a-little-bit-of-sweet-revenge 

More: https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2018/02/junior-is-schmaaht-as-whip.html 

Even House Republicans say the Nunes memo doesn't vindicate Trump 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/house-intel-republicans-reject-trumps-claim-that-nunes-memo-vindicates-him
“I actually don’t think it is has any impact on the Russia probe,” Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) began in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” aired Sunday. “And I was pretty integrally involved in the drafting of it,” he added, referring to his status as one of a small handful in Congress to have seen the underlying materials on which Nunes’ memo is based (Nunes himself didn’t). “There is a Russia investigation without a dossier. So to the extent the memo deals with the dossier and the FISA process, the dossier has nothing to do with the meeting at Trump Tower. The dossier has nothing to do with an email sent by Cambridge Analytica.” “The dossier really has nothing to do with George Papadopoulos’ meeting in Great Britain,” he continued. “It also doesn’t have anything to do with obstruction of justice. So there’s going to be a Russia probe, even without a dossier.” “I am on record as saying I support [Special Counsel Robert] Mueller one hundred percent,” Gowdy said . . . [read on]

More: https://www.salon.com/2018/02/04/adam-schiff-nunes-memo-does-not-at-all-vindicate-trump/ 

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/the-real-damage-of-the-nunes-memo.html
The Real Damage of the Nunes Memo 

More about how Russian bots helped promote #ReleaseTheMemo (thanks to RR for the link) 

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/04/trump-twitter-russians-release-the-memo-216935 

[NB: Here's a new word for your vocabulary: "Computational propaganda"] 

Some balance 

https://www.salon.com/2018/02/04/house-intelligence-committee-may-vote-to-release-democratic-rebuttal-of-nunes-memo-report/
House Intelligence Committee may vote to release Democratic rebuttal of Nunes memo

The Nunes memo has worked so well that he wants to issue five more

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/02/nunes-now-planning-to-shower-america-with-memos/

You know, I've always felt you can want a job too much. Jeff Sessions so desperately wanted to be Attorney General, and values the job so much, that Trump has learned he can bully and threaten him into compliance. You have to be prepared to say no, and walk away. Trump knows that Sessions won't do that. Shameful

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/04/us/politics/jeff-sessions-justice-department-trump.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Sessions Silent as Trump Attacks His Department, Risking Independence and Morale 

Only the best

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/04/climate/trump-climate-nominee-white-withdraw.html
Trump to Withdraw Nomination of Climate Skeptic as Top Environmental Adviser

More: https://thinkprogress.org/trump-to-withdraw-environmental-nominee-9266e4d11ab8/
'Overwhelmingly unqualified' 

Reince Priebus: still shoveling sh-t for the boss

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/priebus-trump-didnt-really-want-to-fire-mueller.html 

In other news . . . 

Military spending, Trump style

https://www.thedailybeast.com/feds-gave-nuclear-weapons-contractor-cost-savings-bonuses-after-going-over-budget
Feds Gave Nuclear Weapons Contractor ‘Cost Savings’ Bonuses After Going Over Budget

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/05/pentagon-logistics-agency-review-funds-322860
Massive Pentagon agency lost track of hundreds of millions of dollars 
 
When someone speaks truth to Fox World

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/02/watch-what-happens-when-writer-tells-laura

"Sean Hannity won, and the rest of America lost"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/cnns-brian-stelter-hannity-deserves-credit-for-memo-release

The midterm elections: it's all about turnout

https://politicalwire.com/2018/02/04/democrats-fare-well-early-gauge-2018-turnout/

Bonus item: Devin Nunes, caught on video

https://twitter.com/JanzforCongress/status/959869158753157120

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***