Top Items:
Axios:
Episode 1: A premeditated lie lit the fire — Beginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term.
Discussion:
Associated Press
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Scoop: Gina Haspel threatened to resign over plan to install Kash Patel as CIA deputy — CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy …
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The Daily Beast:
MyPillow Guy Presents Trump With ‘China’ Election-Fraud Theory, Lawyers Send Him Packing — Following a roughly two hour wait, according to Lindell, he finally met with White House attorneys who dismissed his claims but said they would “look into it.” — In the final week of his presidency …
Discussion:
Politico, more at Techmeme »
Carly Roman / Washington Examiner:
MyPillow CEO spotted at White House with notes after posting Trump will serve four more years
Discussion:
RedState, New York Magazine, Conservative News Today and The Guardian
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
A pillow salesman apparently has some ideas about declaring martial law
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Photos capture notes from Trump ally leaving the White House on Friday.
Discussion:
The Hill, CANNONFIRE, The Gateway Pundit, Rolling Stone, Raw Story, Washington Times and Political Flare
New York Times:
‘Hell, Yes,’ Republicans Are Headed for a Bitter Internal Showdown — G.O.P. leadership would like to blunt President Trump's influence over the party. Mr. Trump and his allies want to punish those who have crossed him. A series of clashes looms. — As President Trump prepares …
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Burgess Everett / Politico:
Senate Republicans adrift ahead of Trump trial — Senate Republicans talk as a party as many as three times a week during normal times. But these times are anything but normal. — The Senate GOP has not spoken as a conference for more than two weeks now, since Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asked …
Discussion:
The Hugh Hewitt Show, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, TheBlaze and Washington Post
Politico:
Trump blows up the Arizona GOP on his way out — “The craziness from the state Republican Party ... it's pretty embarrassing,” said a former top Republican official. — The hard-right pull of the Arizona GOP was evident long before the rise of Kelli Ward, the state party's current chairwoman and fierce Trump ally.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Wall Street Journal
New York Times:
Atlanta Prosecutor Appears to Move Closer to Trump Inquiry — The Fulton County district attorney is weighing an inquiry into possible election interference and is said to be considering hiring an outside counsel. — ATLANTA — Prosecutors in Georgia appear increasingly likely to open …
Discussion:
Business Insider and Althouse
David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
We're Just Finding Out How Bad the Riot Really Was — As terrifying as it was to watch the attempted coup unfold on January 6, the news that afternoon offered some cause for relief. Although the U.S. Capitol was overrun, few injuries were initially reported. At first, it appeared that only one woman died in the melee.
Discussion:
Forbes, CNN, TheBlaze and The Daily Caller
Lachlan Markay / Axios:
John Weaver, former McCain aide, acknowledges “inappropriate” messages — John Weaver, a veteran Republican operative who co-founded the Lincoln Project, declared in a statement to Axios on Friday that he sent “inappropriate,” sexually charged messages to multiple men.
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Andrew Stiles / Washington Free Beacon:
John Weaver Out at Lincoln Project After Admitting ‘Inappropriate’ Convos with Young Men
Discussion:
Big League Politics, Mediaite and TheBlaze
Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
Biden fills out State Department team with Obama veterans — WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is filling out his State Department team with a group of former career diplomats and veterans of the Obama administration, signaling his desire to return to a more traditional foreign policy …
Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:
Alex Azar resigns as Health and Human Services Secretary, citing Capitol mob — Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services Secretary, resigned earlier this week, citing the violent Capitol riot inflamed by President Donald Trump in his resignation letter obtained by NBC News.
Discussion:
National Review, The Guardian, Business Insider and Axios
Martyn McLaughlin / Scotsman:
Leading QC says Scottish ministers can seek ‘McMafia’ order into Donald Trump's finances — One of Scotland's leading QCs has directly contradicted First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's claims that the Scottish Government is not responsible for the decision on whether to seek an Unexplained Wealth Order …
CBS Dallas / Fort Worth:
North Texan Jenna Ryan Tells CBS 11 She Deserves Pardon After Arrest For Alleged Role In Capitol Riot — CARROLLTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - North Texas realtor Jenna Ryan, who was seen in photos and video at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, arrived home Friday, Jan. 15 after turning herself in to authorities earlier in the day.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Outside the Beltway and The Daily Beast
Washington Examiner:
Biden's stimulus plan will harm those who need the most help — If you thought help for the coronavirus was on the way, think again. President-elect Joe Biden's plan to provide economic relief is going to cause a lot of pain and waste a lot of money on people who do not need it.
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Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:
The Good, the Bad, and the Odd in Biden's Stimulus Plan
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Week, Financial Times and HuffPost
Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Capitol Police intelligence report warned three days before attack that ‘Congress itself’ could be targeted — Three days before thousands of rioters converged on the U.S. Capitol, an internal Capitol Police intelligence report warned of a violent scenario in which “Congress itself” …
Discussion:
New York Times, Fox News, Business Insider, Informed Comment, CNN, The Hill, HuffPost, Raw Story, Jacobin and The Root
Susan M. Gordon / Washington Post:
A former president Trump won't ‘need to know.’ Cut off his intelligence. — Susan M. Gordon was the principal deputy director of national intelligence from 2017 to 2019. — Every former president in the modern era has benefited from a unique national security perk after leaving the White House …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
‘Destroy Trump’: Breitbart Staffers Seethe After Capitol Riot — “This is banana republic shit,” wrote one editor at the staunchly pro-Trump outlet, in response to colleagues downplaying or excusing the violence during last week's MAGA mob. … Editors and reporters at the staunchly pro …
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Daily Beast
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
James Murdoch criticizes ‘media property owners’ who have ‘unleashed insidious’ forces with election denialism claims — New York (CNN Business)James Murdoch, the youngest son of billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, assailed “media property owners” and outlets that have promoted disinformation …
Discussion:
Deadline
RELATED:
Alex Barker / Financial Times:
James Murdoch blasts US media for unleashing ‘insidious forces’
Discussion:
Business Insider and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »
Politico:
Ivanka's political future comes into sharper focus — The president's daughter isn't making concrete moves. But Republicans say that moves are being made in anticipation of her running. — When Donald Trump incited a mob riot on Capitol Hill last week, he didn't just complicate …
Discussion:
Raw Story
New York Times:
Capitol Attack Could Fuel Extremist Recruitment For Years, Experts Warn — An ideological jumble of far-right extremists and hate groups flourished under President Trump and claimed new energy after the attack on the Capitol. Now they are debating their next moves. — Overthrowing the government.
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E. Jean Carroll / Vanity Fair:
“After Me, Baby, You're Gonna Be Ruined for Anyone Else”: Donald Trump Refused to Take ‘No’ From Women—And Then From America Itself — Donald Trump is leaving office with a reputation marred by two impeachments, multiple scandals, and a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Discussion:
Political Flare and The National Interest
Joanna Weiss / Politico:
What TV Can Tell Us About How the Trump Show Ends — For years, struggling with how to think about this crazy presidency, people have compared the Donald Trump administration to reality TV. The tropes showed up daily: the shameless overstatement, the manufactured conflict …
Democrat and Chronicle:
Aquinas Institute grad charged in US Capitol riot, faces more than 20 years if convicted — Justin Murphy Will ClevelandRochester Democrat and Chronicle — Federal prosecutors announced Friday that Dominic Pezzola, 43, of Rochester, has been charged with entering the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6.
Discussion:
New York Post and Law & Crime
Virginia Hume:
The Bobbsey Twins, The CIA, and Me — In first and second grade, I was OBSESSED with Bobbsey Twins books. It was not enough to read every book in the series. I wanted to BE a Bobbsey Twin. (It wasn't just the Bobbsey Twins. I did the same with Little House on the Prairie).
Washington Post:
Conspiracy theories and a call for patriots entice veterans at the Capitol — The day President Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol, Jeremy Michael Brown, a retired Special Forces soldier with multiple combat tours, was in Washington, D.C., dressed for battle in body armor, boots and a Kevlar helmet.
Washington Post:
Off-duty police were part of the Capitol mob. Now police are turning in their own. — During the chaos at the Capitol, overwhelmed police officers confronted and combated a frenzied sea of rioters who transformed the seat of democracy into a battlefield. Now police chiefs across the country …
Discussion:
Town of Rocky Mount, The Guardian and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Daniel Dale / CNN:
The 15 most notable lies of Donald Trump's presidency — Washington (CNN)Trying to pick the most notable lies from Donald Trump's presidency is like trying to pick the most notable pieces of junk from the town dump. — There's just so much ugly garbage to sift through before you can make a decision.
Discussion:
Mediaite
Bloomberg:
Selfie-Snapping Rioters Leave FBI a Trail of Over 140,000 Images — Citizens and police sift online trove to find Capitol mob — Facial recognition software used by one police department — The FBI arrested one man after a co-worker at a western Maryland restaurant reported seeing …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Associated Press:
Trump administration carries out 13th and final execution — TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — The Trump administration early Saturday carried out its 13th federal execution since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just five days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden — an opponent of the federal death penalty.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, CBS News, The Hill, HotAir, KFOR-TV, Raw Story, New York Times and Associated Press
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trump Is on the Verge of Losing Everything — President Trump's second impeachment, like the other repudiations he has suffered, feels provisional. He is never quite banished. He is impeached, but Senate Republicans refuse to convict or even allow evidence into his trial.
Discussion:
Washington Post, HotAir, TheGrio and DCReport.org
Jerry Barclay / al.com:
Dear Mo: An open letter to Alabama's controversial congressman — An open letter to Mo Brooks: — Mo, — You and I have known one another, personally and professionally, for four decades. When you were a prosecutor in Madison County, and I was (as I continue to be) …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Washington Post:
In Trump's last days, a spree of environmental rollbacks — Rules affect oil and gas drilling, mining and logging, along with energy efficiency standards and restrictions on toxic chemicals — The Trump administration has gone on a spree of environmental rollbacks in its final days …
Discussion:
The Mendocino Voice
New York Times:
Inside Twitter's Decision to Cut Off Trump — Jack Dorsey, the chief executive, had reservations about locking the president's account. But the calls for violence that his tweets provoked were too overwhelming. — SAN FRANCISCO — Jack Dorsey, Twitter's chief executive …
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
A hidden reason that Joe Biden is trying to go big — The sheer scale of the economic rescue package that Joe Biden has unveiled has surprised a lot of observers who were expecting the president-elect to offer something more in line with his centrist, incrementalist past.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Right Wing Watch and Fox News
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