memeorandum: Once Trump leaves office, the Senate can't hold an impeachment trial (J. Michael Luttig/Washington Post)

12:55 AM ET, January 13, 2021

Top Items:

Pence Reached His Limit With Trump. It Wasn't Pretty. — After four years of tongue-biting silence that critics say enabled the president's worst instincts, the vice president would not yield to the pressure and name-calling from his boss. — WASHINGTON — For Vice President Mike Pence, the moment of truth had arrived.

Discussion: Business Insider, The Hill, New York Magazine, Denver Post, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Sputnik News, Raw Story, HotAir, Defense One and UPROXX

New York Times:

McConnell is said to be pleased about impeachment, believing it will be easier to purge Trump from the G.O.P. — Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, has told associates that he believes President Trump committed impeachable offenses and that he is pleased that Democrats are moving to impeach him …

Mike Allen / Axios:

Scoop: McConnell leans toward convicting Trump — There's a better than 50-50 chance that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would vote to convict President Trump in an impeachment trial, sources tell Axios. — What they're saying: “The Senate institutional loyalists are fomenting a counterrevolution” …

Mark Weiner / Syracuse Post-Standard:

Rep. John Katko becomes first House Republican to back Trump impeachment — Washington - U.S. Rep. John Katko said today he will vote to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting a riot last week at the U.S. Capitol. — Katko, R-Camillus, is the first House Republican to acknowledge …

Gabby Orr / Politico:

Mike Pence is done with Trump's ‘bulls—t’ — After four-and-a-half years of unbending loyalty, Vice President Mike Pence is ready to move on from Donald Trump. All it took was the president inciting a riot that, quite literally, put Pence's life in danger. — “Pence is done with Trump's bulls—t,” said a former Pence adviser.

Discussion: Bloomberg, HuffPost, CANNONFIRE, Al Jazeera and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

CNN:

McConnell believes impeachment push will help rid Trump from the GOP, but has not said if he will vote to convict — Washington (CNN)Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that he believes that impeaching President Donald Trump will make it easier to get rid of the President …

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, Vox, Forbes, National Review, Business Insider and Townhall

Ian Millhiser / Vox:
McConnell is already sabotaging Biden's presidency

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Townhall and Hamodia

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
McConnell believes Trump committed impeachable offenses, supports Democrats' impeachment efforts: Report

Discussion: Mediaite, The Hill, Orange County Register, Bangor Daily News, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, The Daily Caller and Instapundit

Melissa Nann Burke / Detroit News:
GOP Rep. Upton says he will vote to impeach Trump

Discussion: The Hill, HuffPost, Fox News, New York Times, NBC News, Breitbart, Washington Times and KVIA-TV

New York Times:
Pence's Rejection All but Ensures Impeachment Vote

Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:
Republicans protest, circumvent security checkpoint at Capitol

Discussion: Occupy Democrats, TheBlaze, Forbes, The Guardian and Sputnik News

Associated Press:
Fury at the shaken Capitol over the attack, security, virus

Discussion: Roll Call, Washington Post, CNN, New York Times, Bangor Daily News, HuffPost, Tennessee Lookout, Sputnik News, Digital Chosunilbo, spiked, Washington Times, Business Insider, Florida Politics, NBC10 Philadelphia and Washington Examiner

Nicholas Katzban / NorthJersey.com:

Mikie Sherrill claims Congress members gave ‘reconnaissance’ tours day before Capitol raid — In a live webcast Tuesday evening, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11, made a startling claim that other members of Congress led groups of people through the Capitol Building on a “reconnaissance” …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Political Wire

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Mikie Sherrill says unidentified lawmakers led ‘reconnaissance’ tours ahead of Capitol attack

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Raw Story

Sarah Mimms / BuzzFeed News:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Said She Thought She “Was Going To Die” During A “Very Close Encounter” When The Capitol Was Stormed — WASHINGTON — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in an Instagram Live on Tuesday night that she had a “very close encounter” on Jan. 6, the day of the violent insurrection …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Bloomberg

NBC News:
Republicans protest, circumvent new metal detectors inside Capitol after riot

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, The Wrap, The Week, UPROXX, Political Wire and The Daily Poster

Stephen Sorace / Fox News:
Lawyer for Florida man seen at Capitol riot with Pelosi's lectern says photo a problem: 'I'm not a magician'

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Vox and New York Post

Washington Post:

FBI report warned of ‘war’ at Capitol, contradicting claims there was no indication of looming violence — A day before rioters stormed Congress, an FBI office in Virginia issued an explicit internal warning that extremists were preparing to travel to Washington to commit violence and “war …

Yeganeh Torbati / Washington Post:
Audio of outgoing Trump appointee describes Capitol riot as largely peaceful, led by ‘a few violent people’

Discussion: New York Times and IJR

Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

Pelosi Names Impeachment Managers — Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi today named Impeachment Managers. — “Tonight, I have the solemn privilege of naming the Managers of the impeachment trial of Donald Trump,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “It is their constitutional and patriotic duty …

Discussion: Axios, Daily Kos, New York Post, Townhall, Denver Post and Twitchy

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Grieving Son's Death, Maryland Lawmaker Fights to Impeach Trump

Discussion: Washington Post and Twin Cities

ABC News:

Video shows retired Navy SEAL boasting of ‘breaching the Capitol’ — The Navy veteran said he wanted lawmakers to be left “shaking in their shoes.” — Retired Navy SEAL boasts of ‘breaching the Capitol’ — A video posted to Facebook by Adam Newbold following the Jan. 6 attack …

Washington Post:

Secret Service launches massive security operation to protect Biden inauguration — The Secret Service and federal law enforcement agencies are spending the final days of the Trump administration bracing for a possible violent assault against the Jan. 20 inauguration, launching a security mobilization …

Discussion: Twin Cities, Washingtonian and Slate

New York Times: Pentagon to Arm National Guard Troops Deploying to Capitol for Inauguration

Bess Levin / Vanity Fair:

Ivanka Trump Apparently Thinks She's Going to Ride This Insurrection Out and Be President One Day — The first daughter seems to believe she can emerge from all this unscathed. — When Donald Trump was improbably elected president in 2016, his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, and his son-in-law …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Sputnik News

Congressman Mo Brooks:

Congressman Mo Brooks Rebuts Vicious & Scurrilous Fake News Media and Socialist Democrat Attacks — Washington, DC— Tuesday,Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) issued the below statement in response to scurrilous Fake News Media and Socialist Democrat attacks related to his January 6th “Save America” rally speech:

Discussion: New York Magazine, WHNT-TV, Washington Examiner, Occupy Democrats, Poynter, IJR and The Hill

J. Michael Luttig / Washington Post:

Once Trump leaves office, the Senate can't hold an impeachment trial — J. Michael Luttig served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit from 1991 to 2006. — It appears that even if the House of Representatives impeaches President Trump this week …

Discussion: Fox News, TIME, HotAir, Washington Examiner and Constitution Daily

Cortney O'Brien / Townhall:

FBI: People are Going to Be ‘Shocked’ to Learn What Happened Inside the Capitol — At a press conference from the Justice Department on Tuesday, the FBI addressed last Wednesday's violence on Capitol Hill, and the steps they're taking to identify and bring the culprits to justice.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, RedState and Politico

Jonathan Franklin / wusa9.com:
PHOTO: This man is wanted in connection to the Capitol riots

Discussion: Breitbart, Raw Story, PT News Network and New York Post

Francesca Bacardi / Page Six:

Bruce Willis asked to leave store for ‘refusing’ to wear a mask — He'd rather live free. — Bruce Willis was asked to leave a Los Angeles Rite Aid on Monday after he refused to wear a mask, a spy tells Page Six. — The spy says people inside the store became upset that Willis, 65 …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Mercury News and WayneDupree.com

Reuters:

Exclusive: Luxembourg, EU snub Pompeo in final Europe trip, diplomats say — BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cancelled his Europe trip at the last minute on Tuesday after Luxembourg's foreign minister and top European Union officials declined to meet him …

Discussion: Business Insider, Sputnik News, Washington Examiner, CNN, Raw Story, CNBC and The Intellectualist

New York Times:

Olympic Gold Medalist Was Part of Crowd That Invaded Capitol — Klete Keller, who won swimming medals in three Summer Games, was captured on video inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda during last week's violent election protest. — Klete Keller, a champion swimmer who won two Olympic gold medals …

Discussion: HuffPost, The Hill, KTLA, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, SwimSwam, Raw Story, UPROXX, The Daily Caller, Denver Post, TMZ.com, WHNT-TV, New York Post, Fox News and Sports Illustrated

Molly Jong-Fast / The Daily Beast:

Fox Runs the GOP. And Fox Wants War. — SICK PEOPLE … Republicans have a truly remarkable capacity to see themselves as victims even at the moment when they are beating people to death with flagpoles and fire extinguishers. — On Wednesday, Jan. 6, Donald Trump told the group gathered …

Wall Street Journal:

Lawmakers Were Feet and Seconds Away From Confrontation With the Mob in the Capitol — The rioters shouted they were searching for lawmakers; some made a narrow escape — With rioters ransacking the Capitol, Rep. Jim Himes hunkered in the visitors' gallery overlooking the House chamber.

Discussion: HotAir

Gizmodo:

Parler Users Breached Deep Inside U.S. Capitol Building, GPS Data Shows — At least several users of the far-right social network Parler appear to be among the hoard of rioters that managed to penetrate deep inside the U.S. Capitol building and into areas normally restricted to the public …

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, The Verge, Wired and National File, more at Techmeme »

Jessica Toomer / UPROXX:

John Fetterman Is Not Mincing Words About MAGA Coup-Enabler Josh Hawley, Whose Soul He Says Is ‘Dipped In Dogsh*t’ — Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman is a verified Shakespeare when it comes to crafting articulate, downright eloquent takedowns of the worst GOP members.

Discussion: Raw Story

Bari Weiss / Common Sense with Bari Weiss:

The Great Unraveling — The old order is dead. What comes next? — 5 hr ago — Thought comes before action. Words come before deeds. Media that profits from polarization will stoke it. Lies — maybe harmless for the moment, maybe even noble — create a lying world. — I've known this for a while.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Lachlan Markay / Axios:

Scoop: Biden inaugural returns cash from ex-senator-turned-foreign agent — President-elect Joe Biden's inaugural committee will refund a donation from former Sen. Barbara Boxer after the California Democrat registered as a foreign agent for a Chinese surveillance firm accused of abetting …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, National Review, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Fox News, New York Post and The Hill

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

The President Deliberately Withheld Aid to Combat the Insurrection — There is a simple chain of events that even news outlets doing the best work are still tiptoeing around. After President Trump gave his speech to the insurrectionists on Wednesday he returned to the White House …

The Hill:

Four things Democrats should do in Biden's first 100 days — With the special election in Georgia concluded, Democrats completed their unlikely journey to total control of the government in Washington. Joe Biden soon will be sworn in as our next president, and Democrats have retained narrow control …

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, Washington Post, New York Times, KVIA-TV, InsideSources, The American Conservative, Washington Times, The Colorado Sun and HotAir

Bernard Condon / Associated Press:

Trump business backlash part of ‘cancel culture,’ son says — NEW YORK (AP) — The PGA canceled its tournament at his golf course. Banks say they won't lend to him anymore. New York City is looking to end his contract to operate the Central Park skating rink.

Discussion: Political Wire

Alayna Treene / Axios:

House freshman divided over Capitol siege — The freshmen class of House Republicans has been fighting since last Wednesday's Capitol assault, creating a clear split just over a week after being sworn in. — What we're hearing: On Tuesday, Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene …

Nathaniel Popper / New York Times:

Lost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin Fortunes — Bitcoin owners are getting rich because the cryptocurrency has soared. But what happens when you can't tap that wealth because you forgot the password to your digital wallet? — Stefan Thomas, a German-born programmer living …

Discussion: National Review, The Verge, The Daily Caller and FOX 5 San Diego, more at Techmeme »

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:

GOP aide resigns while lashing ‘congressional enablers of this mob’ — A top Republican congressional aide is resigning over his party's support for President Donald Trump's bid to overturn the 2020 election after it fueled deadly riots at the Capitol. — In a scathing resignation letter obtained …

Discussion: Washington Post, HotAir, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Chicago Sun-Times, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Week and Slate

Brian Fung / CNN:

YouTube is suspending President Donald Trump's channel — (CNN Business)YouTube is suspending President Donald Trump's channel for at least one week, and potentially longer, after his channel earned a strike under the platform's policies, the company said Tuesday evening.

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, The Guardian, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit and Variety, more at Techmeme »

Sam Kiley / CNN:

Israel isn't a democracy, it's an ‘apartheid regime,’ rights group says — Jerusalem (CNN)Israel is no longer a democracy but an “apartheid regime” devoted to cementing the supremacy of Jews over Palestinians, the country's best-known human rights group said in a report published Tuesday.

Discussion: Al Jazeera

Anna Schecter / NBC News:

Extremists move to secret on-line channels to plan for inauguration day in D.C. — Right-wing extremists are using encrypted channels to call for violence against government officials on Jan. 20, the day President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated, with some extremists sharing knowledge of how to make …

Discussion: Vox, HotAir and Daily Kos, more at Techmeme »

Kirk Siegler / NPR:

Roots Of U.S. Capitol Insurrectionists Run Through American West — Toggle more options — As the violent mob broke into the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, and livestreams showed pro-Trump insurrectionists defacing property and posing in the House Speaker's chair, here in the West, feelings of shock quickly faded to familiarity.