memeorandum: What went wrong with the protection of the U.S. Capitol (David Ignatius/Washington Post)

7:40 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 …

Discussion: Business Insider, USA Today, @realdonaldtrump, CNN, The American Independent, Bloomberg, @sethabramson, Fox News, IJR, The American Conservative, Common Dreams, DemCast, DNyuz, NBC News, The Verge and Jewish Telegraphic Agency, more at Techmeme »

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.

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: NewsNation Now, Raw Story and Axios

Tom LoBianco / Business Insider:

SCOOP: Pence opposes 25th Amendment efforts to remove Trump following Capitol riot, VP advisors tell Insider … - Vice President Mike Pence is not supporting calls to remove President Trump from office via the 25th Amendment, two Pence advisors told Insider. — “Not happening” said one of the Republicans close to Pence.

Jonah Goldberg / The Dispatch:
What Trump Meant By ‘Make Your Voices Heard’

Discussion: KDFX-TV and Mediaite

CNN:
House Democrats eye quick impeachment vote if Pence rebuffs attempt to remove Trump from office

Discussion: DNyuz, Bloomberg, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, The Rush Limbaugh Show, PT News Network, FiveThirtyEight, BuzzFeed News, Nevada Current, KSNG-TV, HotAir, Raw Story and Fortune

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

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

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

Discussion: Raw Story, Business Insider and POLITICUSUSA

Wall Street Journal:
Trump Agrees to Orderly Transfer of Power to Biden After Capitol Riots

The Daily Beast:
Trump Officials Rush to Keep Him From Sparking Another Conflict—at Home or Abroad

Discussion: The Sun, Axios, Mercury News and Washington Examiner, more at Mediagazer »

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, WBEZ Chicago, KSNG-TV, The Sun, The Texas Tribune, The Wrap, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, DNyuz, The Copper Courier, KDFX-TV, Raw Story, Washington Times, Snopes.com, KVIA-TV, HotAir and Vox

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

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: Raw Story, DNyuz, Fox News, UPI, Slate, NPR, Deadline, CNBC, HuffPost, Snopes.com, Associated Press, Conservative News Today, Los Angeles Times and NBC News

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 Cut, Sputnik News, BBC, Washington Examiner, National Geographic, Breitbart, Raw Story and DNyuz

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

Discussion: Townhall, The Hill and The Week

New York Times:
A Capitol Police officer who was seriously injured Wednesday has died, two law enforcement officials said.

Discussion: Mediaite

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

Discussion: Business Insider, The Guardian and CNN, more at Mediagazer »

Rudi Keller / Missouri Independent:

Major Josh Hawley donor calls for him to be censured by the U.S. Senate — David Humphreys called Hawley an ‘an anti-democracy populist’ who provoked the D.C. riots — A Joplin businessman who helped bankroll Sen. Josh Hawley's first campaign denounced him on Thursday as a “political opportunist” …

Discussion: Washington Post, Techdirt, The Hill, NPR, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, DNyuz, Snopes.com, POLITICUSUSA and The Week

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Hawley should resign. Silent enablers must now publicly condemn Trumpism. — Reassuring as condemnations might be from the likes of Gov. Mike Parson, Sen. Roy Blunt and Rep. Ann Wagner, they are much too little and come way too late. These Republican leaders, all having shared a spot …

Discussion: Vanity Fair

Tony Messenger / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Danforth calls his support of Hawley the ‘worst mistake’ of his life

Discussion: Sputnik News, Daily Kos, TheBlaze, DNyuz, The Week, The Hill, The Intellectualist and Missouri Independent

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

Discussion: Crooked Timber and Business Insider

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

Discussion: Breitbart, RedState, Washington Times, HuffPost, DNyuz, Daily Kos, Business Insider, Forbes, Washington Post, The Hill, Mercury News, POLITICUSUSA, TheGrio, Bloomberg, New York Post, CNN, The Week and Spectator USA, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:
‘Great damage’: Republicans recoil from Missouri Sen. Hawley

Discussion: Axios

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

Discussion: NBC News

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: Business Insider, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, CBS News and Bloomberg

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

What went wrong with the protection of the U.S. Capitol — The storming of the U.S. Capitol offers a reminder that the most devastating attacks often aren't the ones that take us by surprise but those we see coming and don't take adequate steps to avoid. — Officials who planned …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Off the Kuff, Metro.co.uk, KVIA-TV, DNyuz, Orange County Register and KDFX-TV

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

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

Associated Press:
Capitol Police rejected offers of federal help to quell mob

Discussion: Politico, NBC News, WTOP, New York Post, TheBlaze, The Hill, WGN-TV, Townhall, KRON4, abc7NY, POLITICUSUSA, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Variety, HotAir and KTLA

Masha Gessen / New Yorker:
The Capitol Invaders Enjoyed the Privilege of Not Being Taken Seriously

Discussion: New York Times, Business Insider and Axios

Washington Post:
How the U.S. Capitol Police were overrun in a ‘monumental’ security failure

Discussion: Conservative News Today, TheGrio, Japan Times, Bloomberg, DNyuz, The Week and NPR

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Haley criticizes Trump over Capitol riot, election claims in RNC speech — Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley sharply criticized President Donald Trump over the Capitol riot and his behavior since the election, telling Republican National Committee members in a closed-door speech Thursday evening …

Discussion: HuffPost, DNyuz, Political Wire and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Washington Post:
Trump's failures this week open rifts in a Republican Party he has controlled

Discussion: New York Magazine, Carnegie Endowment … and Mercury News, more at Mediagazer »

Benjy Sarlin / NBC News:
Republicans warned this day would come. Then they forgot

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, CNN, Mic and HuffPost

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: Raw Story

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: UPI, Deadline, The Wrap, Washington Post and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

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: emptywheel and Business Insider

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:

Bring the Insurrectionists to Justice — The politicians who egged them on should also be made to pay a heavy price. — How do we deal with all that has happened? — We remember who we are. We are a great nation and a strong one; we have, since our beginning, been a miracle in the political history of man.

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: CBS News

Emri Moore / Post Register:

Boise man who stormed U.S. Capitol building: ‘I got caught up in the moment’ — BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — A Boise man who stormed the U. S. Capitol building is speaking out about his actions. Photos from Wednesday's siege of the U. S. Capitol building appeared to show Josiah Colt climbing down the balcony onto the Senate floor.

Discussion: Fox News and Law & Crime

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Ron Johnson, Scott Fitzgerald and Tom Tiffany should resign or be expelled for siding with Trump against our republic — It was one of Scott Fitzgerald's first votes in Congress — and he voted to give aid and comfort to an insurrection. — This is what putting Donald Trump ahead of democracy …

Discussion: HuffPost, Vanity Fair and IJR

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

Bloomberg:

Trump Prepares Pardon List for Aides and Family, and Maybe Himself — White House staff, family members may get preemptive pardons — Legal power to pardon self isn't clear in Constitution — President Donald Trump has prepared a sweeping list of individuals he's hoping to pardon …

Discussion: Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, The Sun, TheGrio, Vanity Fair, Variety, Mediaite, Raw Story, KRON4, Political Wire and New York Times

Eddie Burkhalter / Alabama Political Reporter:

Alabama AG leads nonprofit that helped organize march at Capitol — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall speaking a COVID-19 press conference. (VIA GOVERNOR'S OFFICE/HAL YEAGER) … NEWSLETTER — Your daily email briefing on all things Alabama politics. … PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Discussion: Louisiana Illuminator