Memo That Shook Washington: The Republican majority on the House Intelligence Committee yesterday released its secret memo that claims the FBI used a politically-motivated anti-Trump research document to obtain a surveillance warrant on the President’s campaign adviser, Carter Page.

The memo says, “Our findings, which are detailed below, 1) raise concerns with the legitimacy and legality of certain DOJ and FBI interactions with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), and 2) represent a troubling breakdown of legal processes established to protect the American people from abuses related to the FISA process.”

The memo claims that the application for the Page warrant relied on the “Steele Dossier” compiled by former British intelligence against Christopher Steele without telling the FISA court what it was. It says, “While the FISA application relied on Steele’s past record of credible reporting on other unrelated matters, it ignored or concealed his anti-Trump financial and ideological motivations.”

Trump said, “It’s a disgrace what’s happening in our country. A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves, and much worse than that.” Trump is claiming that the Russian election-influencing investigation he has repeatedly called a “hoax” is the result of political corruption within the FBI.

He tweeted early yesterday morning, “The top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans – something which would have been unthinkable just a short time ago.”

Arizona’s senior Republican Sen. John McCain kicked back at Trump saying, “Our nation’s elected officials, including the president, must stop looking at this investigation through the lens of politics and manufacturing political sideshows. If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin’s job for him.”

What the memo does not reveal is the full body of evidence presented to the FISA court to obtain the Page warrant, or how heavily investigators relied on the Steele dossier, rather information developed on their own. Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes, who signed the Republican memo, admits he never personally saw the underlying information for the warrant.

Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee say the majority memo strategically eliminates crucial information and is intentionally misleading. The Republican majority has prevented the Democrats from issuing their own counter-memo.

The FISA application was signed off by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a Trump appointee whose job may now be in danger.  Asked by reporters whether he plans to fire Rosenstein he said, “You figure that one out.”

Econ 101: The Dow Jones took a 666-point dive yesterday, partly on fears of rising interest rates. Stocks have risen 21 percent since President Trump was elected, spurred by economic growth, tax cuts, low interest rates, and the resulting corporate profits. It couldn’t go on forever.

The economy added 200,000 jobs in January and wages are beginning to rise as the labor market tightens. That’s good, but it can cause inflation, and therefore, raising interest rates to slow it all down.

Five Minutes Alone: During a sentencing hearing in Michigan yesterday, the father of three girls molested by former sports doctor Larry Nassar tried to attack the defendant and was tackled by courtroom guards. After being denied a request to spend five minutes alone in a locked room with Nassar, Randall Margrave suddenly lunged at the convicted molester. Margrave was held for several hours and released. Judge Janice Cunningham said there was no way she would charge him.

Wag the Dog: Despite a vote by the board of directors to keep him after accusations of sexual misbehavior, Wayne Pacelle, the chief and public face of the Humane Society of the United States, resigned yesterday after support among his staff and donors began to crumble.

Pacelle was considered a charismatic leader who expanded the organization’s focus beyond the protection of cats and dogs to efforts like fighting puppy mills, dogfighting, and abuse of seals.

He denied the accusations against him and said they were part of “this coordinated campaign against the Humane Society.”

The Obit Page: Dennis Edwards, the lead singer for the great Motown group The Temptations, has died at age 74 in Chicago. Edwards had a powerful voice trained in gospel music. With Edwards up front, The Temptations churned out evergreen hits, among them, “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” “Cloud Nine,” “Just My Imagination,” and “My Girl.”

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