Trump Seized on Memo Before Reading It

Even before he’d read the memo, President Trump seized on what it could mean, the AP reports.

“Trump told confidants in recent days that he believed the memo would validate his concerns that the ‘deep state’ — an alleged shadowy network of powerful entrenched federal and military interests — had conspired to undermine the legitimacy of his presidency, according to one outside adviser.”

“Trump’s decision to authorize the memo’s public disclosure was extraordinary, yet part of a recent pattern. Like few of his predecessors, Trump has delivered repeated broadsides against intelligence and law enforcement agencies, working in tandem with some conservatives to lay the groundwork to either dismiss or discredit special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the Russia investigation.”