Top Items:
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Meandering Performance by Defense Lawyers Enrages Trump — The former president was particularly angry at Bruce L. Castor Jr., one of his lawyers, for acknowledging the effectiveness of the House Democrats' presentation. — On the first day of his second impeachment trial …
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Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
McConnell Signals to GOP Trump Conviction Is a Conscience Vote — Minority leader suggests he hasn't decided on Trump guilt — Kentucky Republican voted to declare trial unconstitutional — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is signaling to fellow Republicans that the final vote …
Discussion:
NBC News, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, National Review, Florida Politics, The Week, The Guardian, Mediaite, Proof, Raw Story and Political Wire
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Trump is furious, and McConnell might vote to convict — DRIVING THE DAY — ANOTHER ANTI-TRUMP LEAK FROM MCCONNELL WORLD — “McConnell Signals to GOP Trump Impeachment Is a Conscience Vote,” Bloomberg: “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is signaling to fellow Republicans …
Discussion:
CBS News, NPR, CNN, The Hill, Real Clear Politics, Raw Story, Florida Politics and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »
Politico:
Trump was quite displeased with his impeachment defense team — For former President Donald Trump, the opening day of his second impeachment trial did not go as planned or to his liking. — Cocooned at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump watched as his defense attorneys responded …
The Philadelphia Inquirer:
More Philly lawyers are on Trump's impeachment defense team and one sued the president last year — As Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial began Tuesday in Washington, his lawyer, former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, had two other big-name Philadelphia attorneys backing him up.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Insider, Raw Story and The American Independent
David Frum / The Atlantic:
Trump's Lawyers Lost the Day
Trump's Lawyers Lost the Day
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Michael-In-Norfolk, Raw Story and The American Spectator
Axios:
House managers look to shift public opinion during Trump impeachment trial
House managers look to shift public opinion during Trump impeachment trial
Discussion:
Politico, The Philadelphia Inquirer, CNN, Crooks and Liars, Louisiana Illuminator, HuffPost, The Week and Washington Post
Politico:
GOP castigates ‘terrible job’ by Trump legal team
GOP castigates ‘terrible job’ by Trump legal team
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Sun, The Intellectualist and The Week
Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
Greene Gains Popularity With Republican Voters Following Committee Fight — Georgia freshman is now as prominent nationwide as House GOP leaders — 30% of GOP voters view Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene favorably, up 11 points since last week. — Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney …
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Steve Neavling / News & Views, Detroit Metro Times:
Sen. Shirkey baselessly claims U.S. Capitol riot was ‘staged’ by Trump haters, recording shows — Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey. — Michigan state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey suggested the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was a “hoax” perpetuated by opponents of former President Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Michigan Advance, Senate Majority Leader …, Talking Points Memo, MLive.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, NPR, Forbes, Insider, Mediaite, Big League Politics, Washington Times, Associated Press, Detroit Metro Times, The Intellectualist, POLITICUSUSA, The Root, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The American Independent and Raw Story
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
GOP Image Slides Giving Democrats Strong Advantage — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' opinions of the Republican Party have worsened in recent months, with 37% now saying they have a favorable view of the party, down from 43% in November. This decline, along with a slight increase …
Daniel Victor / New York Times:
'I'm Not a Cat,' Says Lawyer Having Zoom Difficulties — The video was immediately shared widely and brought joy to many. The lawyer, Rod Ponton, said he was happy people got a much-needed laugh. — It was a civil forfeiture case hearing like any other hearing, except for the lawyer cat.
Discussion:
The Philadelphia Inquirer, CNN, Slate, Dallas Morning News, The Sun, New York Post, Common Dreams, Japan Times, RedState, Washington Examiner, Insider, The Daily Caller, Mashable, The Verge, UPI and Fox News
Scott Fontana / New York Post:
Mark Cuban's Mavericks won't play national anthem anymore — Haven't heard about any national anthem protests at Dallas Mavericks games? There's a good reason for that: The team isn't and won't be playing it anymore. — Mark Cuban told The Athletic it was his decision to eliminate …
Discussion:
The Athletic, ESPN, Twitchy, New York Times, Forbes, HuffPost, HotAir and Townhall
New York Times:
'There's Nothing Left': Why Thousands of Republicans Are Leaving the Party — Voting registration data indicates a stronger-than-usual flight from the G.O.P. since the Capitol riot, with an intensely fluid period in American politics now underway. — In the days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol …
Discussion:
Raw Story
David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
Why Jamie Raskin's Speech Resonated — The emotional high point of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial probably came in its first hours. — Closing out the opening presentation from the Democratic House managers, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland offered a powerful speech …
Discussion:
New York Daily News, New York Times, Washington Post, MyNorthwest.com, The Stranger, IJR and Insider
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Politico:
Trump hid his calls with Putin. Now, Biden has access to them. — Few Trump-era mysteries are as intriguing as what the 45th president said to Vladimir Putin in at least a dozen rambling, off-the-cuff calls and meetings over four years. Understanding what was said between …
Simon Shuster / TIME:
Exclusive: Ukraine Releases ‘Shock’ Call With Giuliani As Trump's Second Impeachment Trial Begins — “Let these investigations go forward,” Rudy Giuliani told the presidential headquarters in Kyiv, Ukraine, his voice turning impatient. “Get someone to investigate this.”
Discussion:
CNN, The Intellectualist and Raw Story
Todd Frankel / Washington Post:
A majority of the people arrested for Capitol riot had a history of financial trouble — Trail of bankruptcies, tax problems and bad debts raises questions for researchers trying to understand motivations for attack — Jenna Ryan seemed like an unlikely participant in the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Political Wire
Just Security:
StopTheSteal: Timeline of Social Media and Extremist Activities Leading to 1/6 Insurrection — Introduction — The insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was not spontaneous. — The assault that unfolded as Congress convened a joint session to certify the victory of Joe Biden …
Michael Gartland / New York Daily News:
Yang holds commanding lead in mayor's race: new poll — Andrew Yang commands a double-digit lead in the Democrat primary for mayor, with his closest rivals, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Comptroller Scott Stringer, trailing by more than 10 percentage points each, a new poll released early Wednesday morning revealed.
Nikole Hannah-Jones / Rod Dreher:
At Times, Don McNeil Scandal Deepens — This business over The New York Times pushing out veteran science journalist Donald G. McNeil, Jr., is shaping up to be deeply symbolic of the way wokeness has corrupted a major American institution. Seriously, the rot goes all the way to the top.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, Power Line and RedState
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Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
What happened with New York Times reporter Donald McNeil?
What happened with New York Times reporter Donald McNeil?
Discussion:
Fox News, Instapundit, New York Post, Breitbart, Poynter and New Republic, more at Mediagazer »
Mary Louise Kelly / NPR:
8-Year-Old Calls Out NPR For Lack Of Dinosaur Stories — Toggle more options — An 8-year-old from Minneapolis recently pointed out a big problem with NPR's oldest news show, All Things Considered. Leo Shidla wrote to his local NPR station: … Leo has a point. All Things Considered is about to turn 50 years old.
Discussion:
Twitchy
Dexter Thomas / VICE:
Is This Beverly Hills Cop Playing Sublime's ‘Santeria’ to Avoid Being Live-streamed? — Police officers in Beverly Hills have been playing music while being filmed, seemingly in an effort to trigger Instagram's copyright filters. — DT — Last Friday, a man entered the Beverly Hills police department …
Discussion:
CBS Los Angeles, Boing Boing and Los Angeles Times, more at Mediagazer »
Seth A. Richardson / Plain Dealer:
Former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel announces Senate bid — CLEVELAND, Ohio - Former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican, on Wednesday announced he was entering the race to succeed outgoing GOP Sen. Rob Portman. — Mandel's entry is the first for what is expected to be a high-profile contest …
Discussion:
Politico and Political Wire
Tobias Hoonhout / National Review:
Newsom Faces Recall Danger as Frustrated Parents Reach Breaking Point — Outraged parents, many of whom voted for Newsom, might push the recall effort over the top. — For parents like Clarissa Falen, California governor Gavin Newsom has been a letdown. — Falen, a Bay Area native …
Wall Street Journal:
TikTok Sale to Oracle, Walmart Is Shelved as Biden Reviews Security — Trump-driven deal had languished as video-sharing app's Chinese owner mounted successful legal challenges — WASHINGTON—A U.S. plan to force the sale of TikTok's American operations to a group including Oracle Corp …
Discussion:
Bloomberg and New York Post, more at Techmeme »
Mike Luckovich / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
2/10 Mike Luckovich: Where they came from — ByeDonThis was after Super Tuesday, and after Biden won South Carolina. It seemed at that point that he was gonna be the nominee. I woke up around 330 a.m. the next morning and started thinking, and something just hit me — “ByeDon.”
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The Jan. 6 images were already disturbing. The impeachment-trial video makes them terrifying. — The pounding on the Capitol doors, the shouts of the mob, police officers screaming in pain, barricades toppled, windows shattered, the deadly gunshot. — Captured in fragments on cellphone videos …
Discussion:
Politico, CNN and Occupy Democrats
Axios:
Dozens of states see new voter suppression proposals — There are at least 165 proposals under consideration in 33 states so far this year to restrict future voting access by limiting mail-in ballots, implementing new voter ID requirements and slashing registration options.
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, The American Independent and Popular Information
PepsiCo:
Aunt Jemima Rebrands As Pearl Milling Company — PepsiCo, Inc., today announced the debut of Pearl Milling Company, the new name of the pancake mix and syrup varieties previously found under the Aunt Jemima brand. — Pearl Milling Company-branded pancake mixes, syrups, cornmeal, flour …
Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
In impeachment trial, a clarifying moment for the GOP — WASHINGTON — The second impeachment trial of Donald Trump offers a clarifying moment for the GOP. — As the trial began Tuesday, Republican senators remained deeply — though not evenly — divided over whether to convict the party's …
Discussion:
Roll Call, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Townhall, Associated Press, Fox News and UPI
Erin Banco / The Daily Beast:
Biden Team Fears: No COVID Herd Immunity Until Thanksgiving — Dr. Fauci is still “cautiously optimistic” that life can return to normal by the beginning of the fall. But others worry that we may not get there until the early winter. — Top members of Biden's COVID response team …
Discussion:
Washington Post, HotAir and The Guardian
Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:
How Long Can Democracy Survive QAnon and Its Allies? — Politicians and political scientists wonder if there are electoral reforms that might blunt the lunacy. — Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics and inequality.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce:
U.S. Chamber Letter on the Nomination of Neera Tanden to be OMB Director — TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS: — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports the nomination of Neera Tanden to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Why Trump's Second Impeachment Is a Visceral Reckoning — At issue will be many aspects that defined Donald Trump's presidency: his relentless assaults on truth, his fomenting of divisions, his shattering of norms and his undermining of an election. — This was no phone call transcript, no dry words on a page open to interpretation.