“The material was so sensitive that CIA Director John Brennan kept it out of the President’s Daily Brief, concerned that even that restricted report’s distribution was too broad. The CIA package came with instructions that it be returned immediately after it was read. To guard against leaks, subsequent meetings in the Situation Room followed the same protocols as planning sessions for the Osama bin Laden raid.” From WaPo, a very interesting look at Obama’s secret struggle to punish Russia for Putin’s election assault (and why some top aides feel like the administration sort of choked.)

+ Lots of interesting data in this NBC Poll, including this: “Just 26 percent of Republicans believe Russian interfered with the 2016 election.”

+ “When he found out that I, you know, that there may be tapes out there, whether it’s governmental tapes or anything else, and who knows, I think his story may have changed. I mean you’ll have to take a look at that, because then he has to tell what actually took place at the events.” Trump comments on his decision to make up the story about taping James Comey.

+ “I don’t pursue every attacker, just the ones that piss me off. This pissed me off and, more importantly, it pissed my wife off, which is the real litmus test.” The NYT’s Nicole Perlroth talks to a top corporate chief information officer about the Cyberattack the World Isn’t Ready For.

+ “But those inspections also provide the Russians an opportunity to find vulnerabilities in the products’ source code.” Reuters: Under pressure, Western tech firms bow to Russian demands to share cyber secrets.