Top Items:
Washington Post:
Senate Democrats privately mull witness trade in impeachment trial: A Biden for Bolton — Several Senate Democrats are privately discussing the possibility of calling Republicans' bluff on witnesses, weighing an unusual trade in President Trump's impeachment trial: the testimony of Hunter Biden …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump's impeachment defense is designed to destroy guardrails on presidential power — SENATE REPUBLICANS on Tuesday were laying the groundwork for a truncated trial of President Trump that would be a perversion of justice. Proposals by Democrats to obtain critical evidence were voted down.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Hill, HuffPost, The Root and Vanity Fair
Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
McConnell said in 1999 he would have voted for whatever the House managers wanted
McConnell said in 1999 he would have voted for whatever the House managers wanted
Discussion:
FOX2now.com, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, Daily Kos and HuffPost
Katherine Tully-McManus / Roll Call:
Senators bend the rules by wearing Apple Watches to Trump trial
Senators bend the rules by wearing Apple Watches to Trump trial
James Crowley / Newsweek:
71% of Republicans want Mitch McConnell to call witnesses at Trump impeachment trial, new poll shows
71% of Republicans want Mitch McConnell to call witnesses at Trump impeachment trial, new poll shows
Discussion:
Vox
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Democrats already have these four victories in the impeachment trial
Democrats already have these four victories in the impeachment trial
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill and Breitbart
Washington Post:
Senate adopts ground rules for impeachment trial, delaying a decision on witnesses until after much of the proceedings
Senate adopts ground rules for impeachment trial, delaying a decision on witnesses until after much of the proceedings
Discussion:
Axios and New York Times
courthousenews.com:
McConnell Maps Late-Night, Evidence-Free Impeachment Trial
McConnell Maps Late-Night, Evidence-Free Impeachment Trial
Discussion:
The Hill, The American Conservative and Politico
Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:
Democrats are hoping John Bolton will bring down Trump. Good luck with that.
Michael Warren / CNN:
McConnell tried to rush Trump's impeachment trial, but Republican senators said not so fast
McConnell tried to rush Trump's impeachment trial, but Republican senators said not so fast
Discussion:
Slate and Mother Jones
David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
Mitch McConnell's Potemkin Trial
Mitch McConnell's Potemkin Trial
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, NPR, Vanity Fair and Raw Story
Stephanie Kirchgaessner / The Guardian:
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos's phone ‘hacked by Saudi crown prince’ — Exclusive: investigation suggests Washington Post owner was targeted five months before murder of Jamal Khashoggi — The Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos had his mobile phone “hacked” in 2018 after receiving a WhatsApp message …
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Washington Post:
Saudi crown prince implicated in hack of Jeff Bezos's phone, U.N. report will say — A United Nations investigation to be released Wednesday will report that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's cellphone was hacked in 2018 after he got a WhatsApp message that came from an account purportedly belonging …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Week, Axios and Raw Story
Mehul Srivastava / Financial Times:
Saudi's MBS implicated in hacking of Jeff Bezos's phone — Forensic experts hired by Jeff Bezos have concluded with “medium to high confidence” that a WhatsApp account used by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was directly involved in a 2018 hack of the Amazon founder's phone.
Discussion:
Slate and New York Times
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Why Democrats and Republicans are winning on impeachment
POLITICO Playbook: Why Democrats and Republicans are winning on impeachment
Discussion:
The Week
Stephanie Kirchgaessner / The Guardian:
Revealed: the Saudi heir and the alleged plot to undermine Jeff Bezos
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
An embarrassing moment for Trump's legal team — President Trump's impeachment managers made little secret Tuesday that they'd rather put House Democrats on trial than Trump. They repeatedly alleged mistreatment of Trump in his impeachment, rather than dwelling upon the evidence against him.
Discussion:
The Dispatch and The Week
RELATED:
Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
Trump's defense looks shaky on first day of impeachment trial — Analysis: Using the president's convoluted logic with none of his outsized passion, his defense team wasn't very persuasive. — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's defense failed him at the opening of his Senate impeachment trial Tuesday.
Discussion:
Politico, Daily Kos, Associated Press and The Hill
Politico:
Trump impeachment team undercuts DOJ position in McGahn case — Donald Trump's lawyers made an impeachment U-turn on Tuesday — one that could have immediate consequences for the president's ongoing legal fight against the House's oversight investigations. — After arguing in court …
Discussion:
NBC News
Marianne LeVine / Politico:
Chief Justice John Roberts admonishes House managers and White House counsel
Chief Justice John Roberts admonishes House managers and White House counsel
Discussion:
New Yorker, NBC News and The Hill
NBC News:
McConnell makes last-minute, handwritten changes to Trump impeachment trial rules
McConnell makes last-minute, handwritten changes to Trump impeachment trial rules
Discussion:
The Hill, Axios, Washington Post, Althouse, Politico, Reason, POLITICUSUSA, CNN and The Week
Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Collins breaks with GOP on attempt to change impeachment rules resolution
Collins breaks with GOP on attempt to change impeachment rules resolution
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and NBC News
Amanda Teuscher / American Oversight:
OMB Releases 192 Pages of Ukraine Records to American Oversight — At 11:58 p.m. on Jan. 21, just two minutes before the deadline, the Office of Management and Budget released 192 pages of Ukraine-related documents, including records that have not been produced to Congress in its impeachment investigation.
Discussion:
NBC News and New York Post
RELATED:
American Oversight:
OMB Records Related to Ukraine Assistance Funding - American Oversight — Records from the Office of Management and Budget in response to American Oversight's request for directives and communications that may relate to any effort to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate …
Jonathan Turley / Washington Post:
Where the Trump defense goes too far — Jonathan Turley is the chair of public interest law at George Washington University and served as the last lead counsel in an impeachment trial before the Senate in defense of Judge Thomas Porteous. He also serves as a legal analyst for both CBS and BBC.
Melanie Zanona / Politico:
Schiff may have mischaracterized Parnas evidence, documents show — House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff appears to have mischaracterized a text message exchange between two players in the Ukraine saga, according to documents obtained by POLITICO — a possible error the GOP will likely criticize …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:
Vulnerable House Democrats unite to try to flip more House seats in Trump country — A handful of House Democrats who helped recapture the majority in 2018 are uniting to fundraise for a slate of candidates running to capture Republican-leaning House districts in November.
RELATED:
CNN:
CNN poll: Bernie Sanders surges to join Biden atop Democratic presidential pack — (CNN)Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has improved his standing in the national Democratic race for president, joining former Vice President Joe Biden in a two-person top tier above the rest of the field, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
Discussion:
Washington Times
Dan Lamothe / Washington Post:
More U.S. troops leave Iraq for medical treatment after Iranian missile attack, Pentagon says — More U.S. service members have been transported out of Iraq for medical treatment and evaluations following Iran's missile attack, the Pentagon said Tuesday, nearly two weeks after President Trump and defense officials said no one was hurt.
Discussion:
The Week and Task & Purpose
Elizabeth Cohen / CNN:
First US case of Wuhan coronavirus confirmed by CDC — (CNN)The United States has its first confirmed case of a new virus that appeared in Wuhan, China, last month, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday. The coronavirus has already sickened hundreds and killed six people in Asia.
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Barr Once Contradicted Trump's Claim That Abuse of Power Is Not Impeachable — In a memo for the Trump team during the Russia investigation, the attorney general wrote that presidents who misuse their authority are subject to impeachment. — WASHINGTON — Scholars have roundly rejected …
www.eacourier.com:
Profiles in cowardice — On this page, a few weeks before he announced it, we endorsed the idea of Gov. Ducey appointing Martha McSally to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of John McCain. — McSally, we argued, seemed to be a politician that focused on common-sense solutions during her time in the U.S. House.
The Information:
Quibi's CEO Meg Whitman Compared Reporters to Sexual Predators — Quibi CEO Meg Whitman lashed out against the media at an “all-hands” staff meeting last Thursday, drawing an analogy between reporters who cultivate sources and sexual predators who prey on underage victims, according to two people who heard her comments.
The Boston Globe:
Northeastern student from Iran removed from US before court hearing, won't be returned — An Iranian student planning to attend Northeastern University was removed from the country overnight Monday in defiance of a court order, his lawyer said, and a federal judge said Tuesday there was nothing …
Discussion:
WBUR, Redstate and Lawyers, Guns & Money
RELATED:
Associated Press:
White supremacist group wanted Richmond rally to start a civil war, prosecutors say — COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A hidden camera captured members of a white supremacist group expressing hope that violence at Monday's gun-rights rally in Richmond could start a civil war, federal prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday.
Dom Calicchio / Fox News:
Trump, in Davos, appears confident of Senate impeachment trial outcome: ‘We have a great case’ — President Trump voiced optimism regarding the Senate impeachment trial as he arrived for a breakfast meeting with American CEOs and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday morning.
Discussion:
Politico, One America News Network, Breitbart, PJ Media Home and The Hill
David French / The Dispatch:
Here's the Legitimate Question that Should Dominate the Impeachment Trial — Some abuses of presidential power are more easily remedied than others. — 6 hr — Today is the first day of the impeachment trial, and I expect that we'll spend far too little time talking about the actual central question of the case.