1. John McCain wrote in his new book that he was the one who gave the Steele dossier to then-FBI director James Comey. "I agreed to receive a copy of what is now referred to as 'the dossier,'" McCain writes. "I reviewed its contents. The allegations were disturbing, but I had no idea which if any were true. I could not independently verify any of it, and so I did what any American who cares about our nation’s security should have done." (The Daily Beast)

  2. National security adviser John Bolton is leading an effort to eliminate the top White House cybersecurity job. Bolton and his team want to abolish the role of special assistant to the president and cybersecurity coordinator. The coordinator leads a team of National Security Council staffers who deal with federal cyber strategy on everything encryption policies, to election security, to digital warfare. Bolton's deputy Mira Ricardel also supports the idea of removing the coordinator position: "She’s thinking about whether to simply pick up the [cyber] function on her own,” said one former U.S. official who believes the chances are "60-40" that the position will be eliminated. (Politico)

  3. Trump's pick to lead the CIA, Gina Haspel, claimed during her Senate confirmation hearing that the CIA "never did" interrogations "historically." The claim is demonstrably false, but CIA spokesman Dean Boyd came to Haspel's defense. Boyd said that what Haspel meant was that the CIA "did not have…a detention and interrogation program" before 9/11. Senators at the hearing were visibly frustrated with Haspel's refusal to answer questions about whether she believes torture is immoral. “My parents raised me right,” she insisted. “I know the difference between right and wrong.” (Newsweek)