The Democrats' rebuttal to Rep. Devin Nunes' memo was released on Saturday, and states that the FBI and DOJ "did not 'abuse' the [FISA] process, omit material information, or subvert this vital tool to spy on the Trump campaign," contrary to what the Nunes memo claims.
Why it matters: These memos have taken on a role in the inter-party battle over Russia that is in some ways disproportionate to what they actually contain. Sean Hannity, for example, claimed the Nunes memo revealed something "far worse than Watergate" and Trump claimed he was "totally vindicated" by it. Democrats countered that the Nunes memo was a piece of propaganda maliciously designed to undermine the Russia probe. We're seeing similar reactions now — but in reverse.
President Trump reiterated support for arming teachers in U.S. schools on Saturday, saying school shootings "will not happen again."
Why it matters: Trump's making clear that the controversial policy, which he first proposed during the White House listening session earlier this week, was not just a fleeting suggestion. He said on Thursday that armed teachers could "immediately fire back if a savage sicko came to a school with bad intentions." A new CBS News poll found that Americans are split on the idea.
Democrats aren't in a hurry to help Republicans fix significant glitches the tax law that was written without their input, Politico reports.
Why it matters: There are more hiccups in the bill than is normal even for complex legislation, Politico reports, which some experts have blamed on "the breakneck pace at which the legislation was pushed through Congress." One blocks retailers and restaurants from using tax write-offs for remodeling; another "prevents people making various types of improvements to non-residential real estate from immediately deducting their entire cost, as lawmakers intended," with a typo exacerbating that error.
Politico reports that National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster wrote in an unclassified memo to Defense Secretary James Mattis that President Trump wants his military parade to take place on Veteran's Day. Per McMaster's memo, the parade would start at the White House and move to the Capitol.
The backdrop: Trump's inspiration for the military parade came from attending France's Bastille Day celebration. The plan has drawn criticism for its likely cost and the signal it sends to the world.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein warned the White House two weeks ago that "significant information requiring additional investigation" would create an additional setback in the security clearance process of senior advisor Jared Kushner, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: The situation surrounding former White House aide Rob Porter and his security clearance has called into question other officials who are operating on an interim clearance, Kushner among them. According to the Post, Rosenstein "did not provide any details to the White House" about the information that needs further scrutiny.
Last week, GOP senators demanded that former National Security Advisor Susan Rice explain an email she sent herself in the waning hours of the Obama presidency. In her response, obtained by Axios, Rice denied having ever been briefed about the so-called Steele dossier or FISA applications to surveil Trump personnel.
Why it matters: When Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) sent Rice questions about the email, which documented a meeting between top officials in the Justice Department, FBI and President Obama, right wing outlets took it as a bombshell. Grassley and Graham focused on whether the meeting discussed the Steele dossier and why it took Rice two weeks after the meeting to send the email.
With buzz that Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) may seek reelection after all, several sources from the GOP grassroots tell Axios he should keep his retirement plans:
"Our supporters do not want to see Corker get back in this race. They think Corker is out of touch with what people in Tennessee want.
— Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots
Why it matters: Corker has backed off his attacks on President Trump, but conservatives haven't forgotten. One GOP strategist told Axios that running would "not only be a risky move with Tennessee voters, but also a risky move with the conservative movement."
President Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull delivered a joint press conference Friday, addressing gun control, North Korea, immigration and more.
Why it matters: This was the first time in over a month that the president took questions from the press in a formal setting. The most recent conference before this was with Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg in early January. Trump's last individual press conference was over a year ago, on February 16, 2017.
Paul Manafort issued a statement after Rick Gates plead guilty to lying to the FBI and the Special Counsel and conspiring to defraud the United States.
“Notwithstanding that Rick Gates pled today, I continue to maintain my innocence. I had hoped and expected my business colleague would have had the strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence. For reasons yet to surface he chose to do otherwise. This does not alter my commitment to defend myself against the untrue piled up charges contained in the indictments against me.”
Former Trump campaign aide, Rick Gates, shared a letter this morning with family and close friends, ahead of his plea hearing. The letter says that he plans to plead guilty following recent charges, brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, including lying to the FBI and conspiracy to defraud the Unites States, ABC News reports.
Excerpt from the letter: “The reality of how long this legal process will likely take, the cost, and the circus-like atmosphere of an anticipated trial are too much. I will better serve my family moving forward by exiting this process.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued guidance late Thursday night that would allow their officials to demand extra, detailed information — including worker contracts and itineraries — from companies who send H1-B workers to third-party worksites.
Why it matters: While this isn't a policy change, the memo specifically targets outsourcing firms, which account for the most H-1B labor filings, for potentially tougher scrutiny. These firms have been the focus of Homeland Security memos, proposed policy changes, and congressional bills introduced over the past year by the Trump administration, as they are often portrayed as taking advantage of the H-1B program at the expense of American workers.
President Trump took full advantage of a boisterous, supportive crowd during his morning speech at CPAC. He chose to return to his campaign trail rhetoric — including a full reading of his favorite immigration allegory, "The Snake" — and prompted the room to break into familiar chants of "lock her up!" and "build the wall!" He clearly relished the environment, asking the crowd at one point if he could "go off script a bit" because the text in his teleprompter was "boring."
Why it matters: The 77-minute speech was pure fuel for Trump's base, even if it likely came off as overlong and overstuffed to anyone else listening. But that almost certainly doesn't matter to Trump — who clearly was having a great deal of fun — as he tried to fire up his GOP crowd to vote in the 2018 midterms, warning of the dangers of complacency.
During his speech at CPAC on Friday, President Trump slammed Sen. John McCain — without using his name — for voting no on the GOP's "skinny" healthcare bill in July:
"Remember, one person walked into a room when he was supposed to go this way (Trump enthusiastically gives a thumbs up) and he said he was going this way, and he walked in and he went this way (Trump throws his thumb down) and everyone said what happened? What was that all about? ... I don't want to be controversial so I won't use his name. What a mess!"
President Trump tweeted Friday morning: "For those of you who are still interested, the Democrats have totally forgotten about DACA. Not a lot of interest on this subject from them!"
Why it matters: Last week's DACA debates resulted in four dead bills, and Congress has been on recess this week. Expect to see more efforts from Democrats in the upcoming weeks to reach some sort of a deal to protect Dreamers from deportation, but you can also expect hardline Republicans not to budge when it comes to including President Trump's four pillars — Dreamer protection, border security, ending the visa lottery and cutting family migration.
When it comes to President Trump — and his trickle-down moods that drive the West Wing, his party, the nation — February 2018 is no different than February 2017: he’s still stuck on the exact same internal fights about trade, the same complaints about top staff, the same obsessive gripes about media coverage.
The big picture: The episodic drama is almost impossible to cover accurately, because the views reflected in the press often depend partly on which characters in the drama are most aggrieved at the moment, and which faction they belong to. Remember that President Trump thinks of each day as a new episode in a reality show, with him as the star, writer, producer and critic.
In the wake of mass shootings, lawmakers almost always talk about a focus on mental health as part of the solution. But existing policy proposals would only partially address the loopholes that can end up allowing dangerous people to obtain powerful weapons.
Don't forget: The politics surrounding mass shootings can reinforce unfounded stigmas about mental health: Research suggests that most people with a mental illness are not violent, and that most gun crimes are not committed by people with serious mental illnesses. Even so, there's a broad agreement in Congress that some individuals' mental illnesses should make it harder for them to obtain a gun.
