memeorandum: Horror on Capitol Hill (Hugo Gurdon/Washington Examiner)

10:30 AM ET, January 8, 2021

Top Items:

Capitol Attack Leads Democrats to Demand That Trump Leave Office — The White House was propelled deeper into crisis as officials resigned in protest and prominent Republicans broke with the president after he incited a mob that assaulted Congress. — WASHINGTON — President Trump's …

Wall Street Journal:

Donald Trump's Final Days — The best outcome would be for him to resign to spare the U.S. another impeachment fight. — By The Editorial Board — The lodestar of these columns is the U.S. Constitution. The document is the durable foundation protecting liberty, and this week it showed its virtue again.

New York Times:

The Capitol Hill Building Rioters Included White Supremacists and Conspiracy Theorists — The mob that rampaged the halls of Congress included infamous white supremacists and conspiracy theorists. — WASHINGTON — There were infamous white nationalists and noted conspiracy theorists …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, Fox News, The Hill and Associated Press

CNN:

US Capitol Police officer has died following pro-Trump riot — (CNN)A US Capitol Police officer has died from events stemming from Wednesday's riot at the Capitol, three sources confirm to CNN, in which a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the building to stop the counting …

Discussion: United States Capitol Police, The Sun, The Wrap, The Texas Tribune, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, WBEZ Chicago, DNyuz, The Copper Courier, KDFX-TV, Raw Story, Washington Times, HotAir, Snopes.com and KVIA-TV

Washington Post:

Pentagon put significant restrictions on D.C. Guard ahead of pro-Trump protests — The Pentagon placed significant restrictions on the D.C. Guard ahead of pro-Trump protests this week, putting the District's military force in a back-seat role ahead of events that resulted in an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, CBS News, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE and Bloomberg

Gustaf Kilander / The Independent:

Six Republican lawmakers among rioters as police release photos of wanted — Suspects include Holocaust deniers, White supremacists, and conspiracy theorists — At least six Republican state legislators took part in events surrounding the storming of the US Capitol.

Discussion: New York Post, Protocol, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, VICE and The Guardian

Kayla Tausche / CNBC:

Pompeo, Mnuchin among Cabinet secretaries who discussed 25th Amendment with staff, sources say — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were among the Cabinet secretaries who discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump, three sources told CNBC.

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, The Cut, TheGrio, Washington Examiner, Sputnik News, National Geographic, Fox News and Breitbart

Washington Post:

After inciting mob attack, Trump retreats in rage. Then, grudgingly, he admits his loss. — President Trump spent more than 24 hours after he instigated a mob to violently storm the Capitol trying to escape reality. — Cloistered in the White House, Trump raged uncontrollably about perceived acts of betrayal.

Discussion: Business Insider, Politico, Forbes, The Daily Caller, Fox News, DNyuz, UPI, Slate, Raw Story, NPR, Deadline, New York Times, CNBC, HuffPost, Snopes.com, Conservative News Today, Associated Press, Mother Jones and Los Angeles Times, more at Techmeme »

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

Trump staffers are worrying about their next job — As the U.S. Capitol was ransacked Wednesday, Trump administration officials watched in horror, fearful not only of the rioting their boss had inspired but of the residual damage that would fall on their careers.

Discussion: Townhall, NewsNation Now, Raw Story and Axios

Jonah Goldberg / The Dispatch:

What Trump Meant By ‘Make Your Voices Heard’ — Convincing people they need to prevent a coup when no such coup exists is a recipe for violence. — 1 hr ago — The president of the United States incited a mob. It was a disgraceful, inexcusable, impeachable act.

Discussion: KDFX-TV

Tom LoBianco / Business Insider:
SCOOP: Pence opposes 25th Amendment efforts to remove Trump following Capitol riot, VP advisors tell Insider

Garrett M. Graff / Politico:
Behind the Strategic Failure of the Capitol Police

Discussion: The Hill, Business Insider, bellingcat and Japan Times

Lara Seligman / Politico:
Tarnished by Trump: National security officials struggle to find new jobs

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:
‘Senate Being Locked Down’: Inside a Harrowing Day at the Capitol

Discussion: CNN, The Bulwark, Business Insider, Daily Kos, Mediaite, DNyuz, The Guardian and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

Natasha Bertrand / Politico:
Justice Department warns of national security fallout from Capitol Hill insurrection

Discussion: Protocol, Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, Yahoo, Conservative News Today, Business Insider, Sputnik News, DNyuz, KTLA, Washington Examiner, TechCrunch and The National Interest, more at Techmeme »

Jeff Mason / Reuters:
Trump's political future in peril after Capitol attack, advisers say

Discussion: Raw Story

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Top Trump advisers discuss need to resist dangerous, unlawful orders

Discussion: Business Insider, Raw Story, Washington Post, The Last Refuge, Crooked Media, Sara A. Carter, DNyuz, Fox News and Disrn

Wall Street Journal:
Under Pressure, Trump Condemns Violence at Capitol and Acknowledges Election Loss

Discussion: Business Insider, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA and New York Post

New York Times:
A Capitol Police officer who was seriously injured Wednesday remains on life support.

Discussion: Townhall, CBS Baltimore and The Hill

USA Today:
Invoke the 25th Amendment: Donald Trump forfeited his moral authority to stay in office

Discussion: HuffPost, The American Conservative, Mercury News, Breitbart, BBC, New Yorker, Washington Post, KTLA and The Week

Rudi Keller / Missouri Independent:

Major Josh Hawley donor calls for him to be censured by the U.S. Senate — A Joplin businessman who helped bankroll Sen. Josh Hawley's first campaign denounced him on Thursday as a “political opportunist” who used “irresponsible, inflammatory, and dangerous tactics” to incite the rioting that took over the U.S. Capitol Building.

Discussion: Associated Press, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Washington Post, Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Nation, NPR, HotAir, The Hill, Crooks and Liars, Conservative News Today, Mediaite, DNyuz, Politico, Sputnik News, Techdirt, The Week and Raw Story

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Hawley should resign. Silent enablers must now publicly condemn Trumpism.

Discussion: The Week and Vanity Fair

Marianne LeVine / Politico:
Coons calls on Cruz and Hawley to resign

Discussion: Crooked Timber and Business Insider

Tom Abrahams / ABC13:
Sen. Ted Cruz tells why he still opposed Biden's electoral win in ABC13 exclusive

Discussion: CNN and NBC News

New York Times:
Simon & Schuster Cancels Plans for Senator Hawley's Book

Erik Larson / Bloomberg:

Sidney Powell Sued by Dominion for $1.3 Billion Over Vote-Fraud Claims — Former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell was sued for defamation by the voting-machine company she repeatedly placed at the center of a vast and unfounded election conspiracy that she claimed switched votes to favor President-elect Joe Biden.

Emma Brown / Washington Post:

Dominion sues pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, seeking more than $1.3 billion — Dominion Voting Systems on Friday filed a defamation lawsuit against lawyer Sidney Powell, demanding more than $1.3 billion in damages for havoc it says Powell has caused by spreading “wild” and “demonstrably false” …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Towleroad Gay News, Law & Crime, NBC News and Political Wire

Axios:
Dominion sues Sidney Powell for defamation, seeking $1.3 billion in damages

Discussion: Business Insider, Associated Press and Forbes

Charlie De Mar / CBS Chicago:

Brad Rukstales Of Inverness, Arrested At U.S. Capitol Riot, Apologizes And Expresses Embarrassment — INVERNESS, Ill. (CBS) — Bradley Rukstales was deep in protest at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday afternoon - and then riots broke out, and he ended up getting arrested.

Discussion: Washington Post, CBS News and The Daily Caller

Elizabeth Rosner / New York Post:
Texas woman flew on private jet to Washington, DC to ‘storm the Capitol’

Discussion: DNyuz

Dan Mihalopoulos / WBEZ Chicago:
Two Trump Supporters From Chicago Suburbs Arrested in D.C.

Discussion: USA Today, New York Post and United States Capitol Police

Katelyn Fossett / Politico:

‘I Stepped Down Because I Saw Where This Was Heading’ — Alyssa Farah resigned in early December as White House communications director, a position she landed after a series of roles working under some of the most conservative figures in national politics: Vice President Mike Pence …

Discussion: The Week and Raw Story

Veronica Stracqualursi / CNN:
Former Trump communications director says President lied about 2020 election and should consider resigning

Discussion: The Hill and Verfassungsblog

Josh Mitchell / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Lost 140,000 Jobs in December — Seven months of job growth end; unemployment rate at 6.7% — The U.S. shed 140,000 jobs in December as a resurgence of the virus hit restaurants, ending seven months of job growth and weakening the economy. — The Labor Department report Friday showed …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Daily Kos and New York Times

Tyler Van Dyke / Washington Examiner:
Economy lost 140K jobs in December as pandemic worsened

Discussion: Associated Press, Economic Policy Institute, Bloomberg, National Review and New York Times

Janny Scott / New York Times:

Now It Can Be Told: How Neil Sheehan Got the Pentagon Papers — It was a story he had chosen not to tell — until 2015, when he sat for a four-hour interview, promised that this account would not be published while he was alive. — There was one story Neil Sheehan chose not to tell.

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, UPI, Deadline, The Wrap and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Catalini / Associated Press:

‘What else could I do?’ NJ Rep. Kim helps clean up Capitol — Water bottles, clothing, Trump flags, even a U.S. flag littered the ground inside the U.S. Capitol after a mob backing President Donald Trump ransacked the building. — New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim walked amid the mess shortly …

Discussion: Business Insider, CBS Philly, The Daily Caller and Conservative News Today

Chris Brennan / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is eyeing a run for Senate in 2022 — Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman says he is taking “a serious look” at another run for the U.S. Senate in 2022, an ambition he plans to share with supporters on Friday. — “The 2022 cycle in Pennsylvania …

Discussion: CBS Pittsburgh

Dennis Romboy / Deseret News:

How President Trump misdialed Utah Sen. Mike Lee while the Capitol was under siege — Utah congressmen recount the chaos in the Capitol — With a mob of election protesters laying siege to the U.S. Capitol, Sen. Mike Lee had just ended a prayer with some of his colleagues in the Senate chamber when his cellphone rang.

Discussion: Business Insider and emptywheel

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

Trump Erases His Legacy — He also destroyed any chance of a political future, all on a single Wednesday afternoon. — A politician has to work hard to destroy a legacy and a future in a single day. President Donald J. Trump managed it. — By this Wednesday afternoon …

Discussion: American Greatness, Forbes and The Atlanta Voice

Ishena Robinson / Yahoo News:

'I'm Just Getting Cornered by 30, 40 People': A Trump Mob in Los Angeles Attacked a Black Woman on Same Day as U.S. Capitol Terror — Yesterday's wild storming of the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump insurgents wasn't the only violence perpetrated by the president's followers that day.

Discussion: NBC Los Angeles

Hugo Gurdon / Washington Examiner:

Horror on Capitol Hill — Watching President Trump's mob smashing its way into the U.S. Congress on Jan. 6 triggered emotional and intellectual horror similar to that of seeing Notre Dame Cathedral engulfed in flames in April 2019. Because what was being destroyed in each case was not merely …