Washington Post

President Trump cries ‘fake news’ and the world follows

US presidents are held up as examples on the world stage. For the past several decades, they have aggressively pushed for human rights and free press, while critiquing countries that don’t share these values. Past presidents have pushed for free press — regardless of the type of coverage they receives. President Donald Trump shifted this rhetoric. His willingness to dismiss negative news coverage as “fake” appears to have opened the door for leaders of other countries to follow suit.

The White House has finally restored a petitions site that is critical of President Trump

In December 2017, the White House took down the popular “We the People” petitions website with the promise that it would be restored by “late January.” Now petitions.whitehouse.gov has relaunched. A number of petitions have signature totals that surpass the 100,000 threshold used during the Obama years to initiate a formal response, but the White House has not responded to a petition since President Donald Trump took office.

National Security Council official behind 5G memo leaves White House

Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding, the author of a memo arguing for a government takeover of development of the nation’s 5G mobile network, is no longer serving as National Security Council Senior Director for Strategic Planning. He was not fired; his detail ended and he was not renewed. His last day as a White House staffer was Jan. 31. Brig. Gen.

Rep Will Hurd: Why I voted to release the Nunes memo

[Commentary] I voted to release the Nunes memo because I believe that the duty to inform the American public is one of my biggest responsibilities as an elected representative in our democratic republic. This is in accordance with the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, which directed House and Senate committees to “exercise continuous watchfulness” over executive-branch programs.

Nunes memo centers on a 40-year-old law written to prevent surveillance abuses

At the center of the firestorm over a congressional memo that President Trump and his allies say reveals federal authorities’ missteps is a 40-year-old law passed in the wake of explosive domestic spying scandals. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) grew from congressional investigations into spy agencies’ eavesdropping on Americans, including civil rights activists and protesters against the Vietnam War, without warrants. The law created a warrant requirement for federal authorities to intercept the communications of anyone in the United States, including foreigners.