| | | | | President Donald Trump during a roundtable discussion Tuesday about school safety in the White House Roosevelt Room. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images | | | Wait, He Did Sign a Letter: Trump's signature is on a letter of intent to build a Trump Tower in Moscow
Marla Maples Speaks ... or Doesn't: It's clear she's the Trump ex-wife who doesn't want to stir the pot
I'm Not Crying. There's Just Something in My Eye: Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw and Pete Davidson are my favorite relationship of 2018 | | | What the White House Is Talking About:
President Donald Trump has no public events on his schedule today, but he later hosts two holiday receptions at the White House with first lady Melania Trump.
What the White House Press Corps Is Talking About:
The President's plan to withdraw US troops from Syria.
"Full" and "Rapid" Withdrawal:
On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted, "we have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency." With that decision, about 2,000 troops could be affected, and so possibly would the balance of power for any ISIS members in the region; the US troops were primarily training local forces to combat the terrorist regime.
Trump's tweet also appeared to catch the Pentagon off guard. Spokesman Col. Rob Manning told CNN that "at this time, we continue to work by, with and through our partners in the region." The US-led coalition recently denied any change to the US presence in Syria.
Shortly after Trump's tweet (and Pentagon confusion), press secretary Sarah Sanders released this statement: "Five years ago, ISIS was a very powerful and dangerous force in the Middle East, and now the United States has defeated the territorial caliphate. These victories over ISIS in Syria do not signal the end of the Global Coalition or its campaign. We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign. The United States and our allies stand ready to re-engage at all levels to defend American interests whenever necessary, and we will continue to work together to deny radical Islamist terrorists territory, funding, support, and any means of infiltrating our borders."
Wait, He Did Sign a Letter:
Because CNN got a copy. Remember when Rudy Giuliani said Trump didn't sign anything implying intent to build a Trump Tower in Russia? Well, he did. Chris Cuomo got a copy of it. When asked Sunday about the letter, Giuliani incorrectly told CNN's Dana Bash that it had not been signed. "It was a real estate project. There was a letter of intent to go forward, but no one signed it." Merp.
Following Rebuke from Judge, Michael Flynn Sentencing Postponed:
Judge Emmet Sullivan didn't hold back on his feelings about Michael Flynn at what was to be the ex-national security adviser's sentencing Tuesday in federal court in Washington. "I want to be frank with you, this crime is very serious. Not only did you lie to the FBI, you lied to senior officials in the incoming administration." Sullivan also said Flynn sold out his country. Then, after about two hours of testimony, Sullivan postponed Flynn's sentencing for several more months.
Kim Kardashian West Makes News That's Actual News:
The bipartisan bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday night, making sweeping reforms to criminal justice sentencing and prison regulation, probably wouldn't have happened without the work of Kim Kardashian West (and CNN political commentator Van Jones.) "We just kind of circled back, Van and I, in talking to the President to explain: But you have Alice now, and Alice is your legacy," said Kardashian West, who helped convince Trump last spring to commute Alice Johnson's sentence. "She really opened up his heart and his eyes." Johnson, of course, was the woman freed from her life sentence after Trump granted her clemency in June. The bill was also the handiwork of Jared Kushner, whose own personal experience with the prison system -- his father was once jailed for illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering -- opened his eyes to the need for reform. On Tuesday night, Ivanka Trump posted this on her Instagram: | | Credit: @ivankatrump/Instagram
Marla Maples Speaks ... or Doesn't:
Marla Maples did some press this week, and it's clear she is the Trump ex-wife who doesn't want to stir the pot -- ahem, Ivana Trump. Maples was on the "Today' show Tuesday, and the hosts asked her what she thought of her ex-husband's presidency and she just said she wanted to focus on positive things. On Paula Faris' podcast about faith today, Maples said this about her time with Trump: "It was two people that came together that truly loved each other in a period of time. I wanted him to see how loved he could be for his soul, not for his money." Now some people believe her post-nuptial financial agreement precludes her from speaking publicly about him, and she has been quiet for 20 years or so, but here's how Maples says she handled Trump being in the White House: "I believe silence was really important for a while. To allow people to know that I'm not out there trying to get publicity because my ex-husband is President." Fair.
"Bye Felicia":
Michelle Obama told Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday night that those were her parting thoughts as she and Barack Obama left Washington. "That was a day," she said about the inauguration.
The former first lady took another apparent swipe at Melania Trump for bringing a Tiffany & Co. boxed gift when the Trumps arrived at the White House to greet the Obamas for the traditional meeting as the incoming first couple. On "The Tonight Show," she made a face when Fallon showed her a picture of that moment -- she previously told Ellen DeGeneres she didn't know what to do with the gift because it wasn't part of the protocol, and "thankfully" her husband was there to save the day and hand it off to a military aide. It was sort of a rude thing to say, I thought; Melania Trump was just trying to be nice; she didn't need to make fun of her for it. But whatever. And ... well, here's Michelle Obama arriving for the same event in 2009, the exact same scenario, when the Obamas greeted the Bushes. Note what she's carrying. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ | | Credit: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images, Jim Watson/Getty Images
Bye Facebook:
After all the news of the breaches and information sharing, I'm out. Now can someone just tell me the best way to save all of my photos? (kate.bennett@cnn.com) That's the only thing I care about on there. | | What Washington Is Talking About:
The bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation, the First Step Act, passed 87-12 in the Senate and will head to the House and then Trump's desk; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a short-term spending bill to fund the government through February 8; and House Speaker Paul Ryan is giving his farewell address today at the Library of Congress.
What America Is Talking About:
Penny Marshall died at 75; women now make up a majority of the Nevada Legislature; and Chick-fil-A is on track to be the third-largest restaurant of 2018, up from No. 7 last year, and just behind McDonald's and Starbucks.
Poll of the Day:
Trump says a lot of things that aren't true, and a Washington Post poll found most Americans don't believe his false statements.
The false Trump claim believed by the smallest number of Americans is that in the past year, US Steel announced plans to build more than six steel plants in the United States, believed by 12% (the blue dot in the graphic below is for the 14% of Democrats who believe it, the red for the 17% of Republicans who believe it, and red circled outline for the 25% strong Trump approvers who believe it). | | Credit: The Washington Post
The next least-believed Trump falsehoods are that Russia didn't try to interfere in the 2016 election, and that Democrats signed on to an "open borders" immigration bill, believed by 15%. Read more from our Grace Sparks here.
Sinema Will Go First:
I've seen a lot of confusion online about which of Arizona's incoming US senators will be sworn in first, a distinction that will determine who the state's senior *and* first female senator will be.
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, who was elected, will be sworn in first, followed by Republican Martha McSally, whom he appointed. "I'm also going to respect the will of the voters. Senator-elect Sinema was elected to the office, and she's going to be sworn in first," Ducey said.
Facebook's Been Giving Your Personal Data to Other Companies Without Permission, Report Says:
New Facebook documents obtained by The New York Times paint the company as less a social network and more a massive data firm that uses a social network feature to obtain the personal information of billions of users without their permission and shares it with other third parties (and, of course, advertisers).
Facebook reportedly carved out privacy exceptions as part of its deals with third parties, which the company refers to as "integration partners," including giving Netflix and Spotify the ability to read, write and delete users' private messages, and allowing Sony, Microsoft, and Amazon access to users' email addresses. Another "integration partner" was Yandex, a Russian search engine accused last year of funneling Ukrainian data to the Kremlin.
D.C. Files Suit Against Facebook:
The attorney general for the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit today against Facebook over allegations it allowed Cambridge Analytica to gain access to millions of users' personal data without their permission.
Kim's Big Policy Win:
The First Step Act is a big win for Kim Kardashian West, who's made criminal justice reform her pet policy issue. (Listen, I can't say the only bipartisan victory for the Trump administration during the 115th Congress is due to Kris Jenner, but I also can't say it isn't.)
While on her Instagram Story, Kardashian West posted that she had Jennifer Lopez and Sia over to watch J-Lo's new film, "Second Act," a fitting film title to watch the night the Senate passed a criminal justice bill. | | Credit: @kimkardashian/Instagram story
What Michelle Obama Said When Asked What She Left Out of "Becoming":
When Jimmy Fallon asked Michelle Obama on "The Tonight Show" on Tuesday night what she left out of "Becoming," she didn't have a direct answer, but she did say, "I could have done a whole book on just the White House years," which would have made her memoir "800 pages." I, for one, would welcome a "Becoming II."
Obama also said Sasha's and Malia's friends had a sleepover their last night in the White House, which added to the stress of the transition. "My daughters' friends decided they needed a sleepover for the last day. I was like, 'Are you guys kidding me?' " Obama said. "We're leaving. We gotta take all your stuff, pick up the blankets, the bears. They're all crying and it was like, get out, we gotta go." | | Credit: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon/YouTube
I'm Not Crying, There's Just Something in My Eye:
My favorite relationship of 2018 is that of Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw and Pete Davidson. I don't know that it's exactly a friendship yet, and I wouldn't call it a "bromance." It's just two people linked through a controversy who've chosen to be nice to each other. The incoming Texas lawmaker told Houston's KPRC2 he reached out to Davidson on Sunday after the "Saturday Night Live" star's troubling Instagram post this weekend.
"I told him everyone had a purpose in this world," Crenshaw told the TV station. "God put you here for a reason. It's your job to find that purpose. And you should live that way." 💕 | | Credit: @KPRC2Khambrel/Twitter
Street Art Sighting:
An activist in the middle of writing a chalk message about Jakelin Maquin, the 7-year-old Guatemalan girl who died in US custody, was spotted outside the US Customs and Border Protection entrance in Washington by Vivianne Peckham: | | Credit: @vivpics/Instagram
If you spot political street art, tweet me @hunterschwarz, tag me on Instagram @hunterschwarz or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com with your sighting so I can feature it in COVER/LINE. | | | | | | |
