Tipsheet: Firestorm over Russia probe intensifies

View in your browser     The Memo: Firestorm over Russia probe intensifies By Niall Stanage   The release of a Republican memo that alleges misconduct at the FBI and Department of Justice has thrown fresh gasoline on the firestorm over the Russia probe. Read the full story here     Listen: Top Armed Services Dem worried about race to war By Alexis Simendinger   In The Hill's Power Politics podcast this week, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee says President Trump’s posture toward North Korea could “bluster” the United States into a nuclear war, calling it “the biggest thing we need to avoid.” Listen to The Hill's podcast here     Five takeaways from the Nunes surveillance memo By Jonathan Easley Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee released a controversial memo on Friday alleging that senior officials at the FBI and Department of Justice abused their powers to spy on members of President Trump’s campaign. Here are five takeaways from the memo. Read the full story here     Nunes: House panel looking at State Dept. involvement in Russia probe By Max Greenwood Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) revealed Friday that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee would examine other agencies, including the State Department, after releasing a controversial memo alleging surveillance abuses. Read the full story here       Trump spokesman: No plans to fire Rosenstein By Max Greenwood President Trump has no plans to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and remains confident in his ability to do his job, a spokesman for the White House said Friday. Read the full story here     Democrats step up demands for release of their own memo By Katie Bo Williams House Intelligence Committee Democrats are pushing for a vote as soon as Monday to release their own classified memo countering a four-page Republican document that was released Friday afternoon. Read the full story here     Wray tells FBI agents ‘talk is cheap’ after memo release By Brandon Carter FBI Director Christopher Wray sent a message to agency employees following the release of a previously classified memo alleging abuse of government surveillance powers by the Justice Department, calling on employees to “keep calm and tackle hard.” Read the full story here     Pentagon unveils policy focused on deterring Russia with smaller nukes By Ellen Mitchell The Defense Department unveiled a new policy Friday that calls for expanding U.S. nuclear capabilities, with an eye on countering Russia’s growing nuclear power. Read the full story here     Top Dem on Russia: Trump doesn't like people 'questioning his greatness' By Alexis Simendinger The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee says in an interview for The Hill's Power Politics podcast that President Trump feels threatened by the federal probe into his campaign's ties to Russia, given what he says is mounting evidence of collusion. Read the full story here     K.T. McFarland withdraws as nominee for ambassador By Jordan Fabian President Trump said Friday he is withdrawing former top adviser K.T. McFarland’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to Singapore, which ran aground over her involvement in the Russia investigation. Read the full story here     The Nunes memo: Republican 'truth' and Democratic 'truth' By Alan Dershowitz OPINION | The Republicans have now released the memo containing their version of what is in the controversial FSIA application. Not surprisingly, the Democrats have a different version. It should be easy to decide whose “truth” is more credible: Let the American public see the application itself — instead of second-hand, partisan accounts — and let us decide for ourselves. Read the full story here     Memo revelations prove the FBI makes up its own rules By Kenneth R. Timmerman OPINION | It’s no coincidence that Democrats have gone apoplectic about the memo. It clearly shows that the FBI, under the direction of then-Director James Comey and Deputy Director Andy McCabe, presented paid political dirt to the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Court in order to obtain warrants to spy on American citizens. These are effectively Gestapo-like tactics. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Not all details in GOP memo help undercut Mueller probe By Eric Tucker, Mary Clare Jalonick and Chad Day President Donald Trump and his supporters are using a congressional memo alleging FBI surveillance abuse to raise questions about the origins of a federal investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia. But the four-page document includes revelations that might complicate the effort to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Justice Department, FBI Officials Frustrated By Memo Release By Del Quentin Wilber and  Aruna Viswanatha Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation officials expressed a mix of frustration and resignation Friday following the release of a Republican-authored memo alleging abuses in the surveillance of a onetime adviser to Donald Trump. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Carter Page, Ex-Trump Aide Once Shunned by Right, Is Back at the Center of the Russia Case By Ali Watkins For months, Carter Page, the former Trump campaign adviser who was under government surveillance as part of the Russia investigation, has been shunned by Republicans and dismissed by the White House, which portrayed his campaign stint as inconsequential. Read the full story here     NBC News: Experts warn: Dangerous politicizing of U.S. intelligence By Jonathan Allen   The House Intelligence Committee's release of a memo declassified Friday by President Donald Trump alleging a government cover-up creates a dangerous precedent of partisans politicizing the government's secrets, according to veterans of the intelligence world. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Release of disputed GOP memo on FBI surveillance unleashes waves of recrimination By Devlin Barrett, Karoun Demirjian and Philip Rucker   A GOP memo declassified on Friday accused senior law enforcement officials of misleading a court in order to conduct surveillance on a former Trump campaign adviser, fueling a growing distrust between the White House and Republicans on one side and the Justice Department and FBI on the other. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet     You might like         Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.