memeorandum: The Predator in the Lincoln Project John Weaver used his power to get jobs for young men he allegedly harassed. His colleagues were warned. (Miranda Green/New York Magazine)

7:55 AM ET, February 12, 2021

Top Items:

Trump Was Sicker Than Acknowledged With Covid-19 — When hospitalized with the coronavirus in October, his blood oxygen levels had plunged and officials feared he was on the verge of being placed on a ventilator. — WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump was sicker with Covid-19 in October …

Discussion: TheGrio, HuffPost, RedState, Rolling Stone, HotAir, UPROXX, The Week, Forbes, Mediaite, Insider, CNBC, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, The Hill and The Gateway Pundit

New York Post:

Cuomo aide admits they hid nursing home data so feds wouldn't find out — Governor Cuomo's top aide privately apologized to Democratic lawmakers for withholding the state's nursing-home death toll from COVID-19 — telling them “we froze” out of fear the true numbers would “be used against us” …

Discussion: Fox News, HotAir, Politico, WABC, Insider, American Lookout, NOQ Report, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, Raw Story, Breitbart, Big League Politics, Washington Examiner, Gothamist, Twitchy, TheBlaze, The Last Refuge and Liberty Unyielding

Associated Press:
AP: Over 9,000 virus patients sent into NY nursing homes

Discussion: The Federalist, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Forbes, TheBlaze, Twitchy, Washington Examiner and Chicago Sun-Times

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

“We Lost the Line”: Trump Is on the Brink of Yet Another Senate Acquittal — Republican senators ran for their lives, but they will not run from the former President. — A few hours into the presentation of the House managers' case against Donald Trump, for inciting the mob that stormed …

Discussion: Salon, Breitbart, Deadline, POLITICUSUSA, Informed Comment, Roll Call, Washington Post, American Prospect, TheGrio, Raw Story and Power Line

CNN:

Three GOP senators meet with Trump's lawyers on eve of impeachment defense presentation — (CNN)A trio of Republican senators allied with former President Donald Trump met with his defense team Thursday evening, in the middle of an impeachment trial in which they will vote on whether …

Discussion: New York Times, Fox News, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, ABC News, Associated Press, The Guardian, National Review, The Hill, Insider and Michael-In-Norfolk

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
GOP senators praise impeachment managers but say Trump will be acquitted

Discussion: NBC News, Outside the Beltway, Breitbart, New York Post, Washington Post and New York Times

Andrew Solender / Forbes:
GOP Senators Increasingly Absent From Impeachment Trial As Weariness Grows

Discussion: NBC News, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, The Intellectualist, The Independent, Axios and Politico

Washington Post:

Mounting evidence suggests Trump knew of danger to Pence when he attacked him as lacking ‘courage’ amid Capitol siege — Mounting evidence emerging as former president Donald Trump's impeachment trial unfolds in the Senate this week indicates Trump may have been personally informed …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Insider, Washington Examiner, JONATHAN TURLEY, USA Today, Raw Story, The Independent, Fox News, The Week, Deseret News, The Root, Mediaite and HuffPost

CNN:

Military officials were unaware of potential danger to Pence's ‘nuclear football’ during Capitol riot — Chilling new security footage shows Pence and family rushed to safety — (CNN)Military officials overseeing the authorization process to launch nuclear weapons were unaware on January 6 …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Week, HuffPost, Slate, Insider and TheBlaze

Marc Thiessen / Washington Post:

Biden owes the Capitol Police an apology — Watching never-before-seen video of the mob assaulting the U.S. Capitol presented by the House impeachment managers was infuriating. For the first time, Americans saw surveillance footage that showed just how close the rioters got to senators, congressmen and Vice President Mike Pence.

Discussion: Power Line, HotAir, Insider, The Dickinson Press, The Bulwark, BuzzFeed News and CNBC

Andrew Roth / Michigan Advance:
Impeachment managers: Armed Michigan rally was a ‘state-level dress rehearsal’ for Jan. 6 insurrection

Discussion: The Nation, Fox News and NPR

New York Times:

Officers' Injuries, Including Concussions, Show Scope of Violence at Capitol Riot — The impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump has heightened attention on the rioters' attacks on officers, some of which resulted in serious damage. — One officer lost the tip of his right index finger.

Discussion: Slate, The Independent, Fox News, BizPac Review, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Insider and CNN

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
What Happened to Officer Sicknick?

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, HotAir, POLITICUSUSA and alicublog

New York Times:
Videos Turn Eugene Goodman into a Reluctant Hero in the Capitol Attack

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN and Slate

Miranda Green / New York Magazine:

The Predator in the Lincoln Project John Weaver used his power to get jobs for young men he allegedly harassed. His colleagues were warned. — Alex Johnson was a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, pursuing a career in politics, when he first heard from John Weaver, the legendary Republican operative living nearby.

Discussion: Washington Post, JONATHAN TURLEY, RedState, Fox News, Mediaite, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and National Review

New York Times:
Former Lincoln Project Staff Ask to Be Released From Nondisclosure Agreements

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Big League Politics and Washington Examiner

Sabrina Rodriguez / Politico:

Biden to begin admitting migrants forced by Trump to wait in Mexico — The Biden administration will soon begin allowing migrants into the U.S. who, because of a Trump-era policy, have been forced to remain in Mexico while their asylum cases are processed. — As part of the new administration's …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, Axios, Mother Jones, NPR, NBC 6 South Florida, BuzzFeed News, Los Angeles Times and The Hill

Washington Post:
Biden administration to move Friday to rescind Medicaid work requirements

Discussion: Insider, Politico, Common Dreams and Wall Street Journal

Arelis Hernández / Washington Post:
Asylum seekers stuck in Mexico are frustrated, angry over Biden administration's release of some migrants into U.S.

Discussion: NBC News, MyRGV.com and Breitbart

Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
ICE ‘Deep State’ is blocking Biden's quest for justice for refugees

Discussion: Our Prism and New York Times

Bret Stephens / New York Post:

Read the column the New York Times didn't want you to read — Last weekend, New York Times columnist Bret Stephens wrote a piece criticizing the rationale behind the forced ouster of Times reporter Donald J. McNeil, but it was never published. Stephens told colleagues the column was killed by publisher A.G. Sulzberger.

Discussion: The Wrap and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

Martin Gould / Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Embattled QAnon congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘openly cheated’ on her husband of 25 years with a polyamorous tantric sex guru and then moved on to another affair with the manager at her gym — Marjorie Taylor Greene had affairs with tantric sex guru Craig Ivey …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Mediaite, Political Flare, UPROXX, The Intellectualist, Occupy Democrats and Boing Boing

Dallas Morning News:

Lawsuit: Texas AG Ken Paxton swapped political favors for home remodel, job for alleged ‘mistress’ — The new allegations offer up the most detailed theory to date about why Paxton helped Austin real estate developer Nate Paul even as his top aides balked at his behavior.

The Texas Tribune:
Former top aides say Attorney General Ken Paxton received assistance with home remodel, job for alleged girlfriend in return for helping political donor

Discussion: Off the Kuff

Politico:

Nikki Haley's Choice — The 2024 hopeful can't decide who she wants to be—the leader of the post-Trump GOP or a “friend” to the president who tried to sabotage democracy.

Samantha Melamed / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Nation's oldest juvenile lifer, Joe Ligon, leaves Pa. prison after 68 years — Leaving the State Correctional Institution Phoenix in Montgomery County on Thursday morning, his white hair peeking out below a prison-issue hat, Joe Ligon was accompanied by a dozen large file boxes.

Washington Examiner:

With Biden, teachers unions are getting what they paid for — President Biden has made abundantly clear that he cares more about the teachers unions than he does about the parents and students they're hurting. For an explanation, all you have to do is follow the money.

Erica L. Green / New York Times:
Biden Trims Ambitions on School Reopening Pledge

Discussion: CNN, FactCheck.org, New York Post, Associated Press, The Independent, Fox News, Washington Post and HotAir

Kate Klonick / New Yorker:

Inside the Making of Facebook's Supreme Court — The company has created a board that can overrule even Mark Zuckerberg. Soon, it will decide whether to allow Trump back on Facebook. — On a morning in May, 2019, forty-three lawyers, academics, and media experts gathered in the windowless basement …

ABC News:

Consequences of both impeachment and acquittal loom over Trump defense: The Note — As Jan. 6 made clear, there are more than political consequences to consider. — Breaking down day 3 of impeachment arguments — ABC News' and Cardozo Law School professor Kate Shaw discusses whether GOP senators …

Discussion: The Hill, Defense One, CNN, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and KXAN-TV

Washington Post:
‘We have to move on’: Why Democrats decided to fast-track Trump's second impeachment trial

Discussion: CNN, ABC News, Chicago Sun-Times, The Texas Tribune, Associated Press, The Guardian, New York Times, WTOP, Vox and Bloomberg

Burgess Everett / Politico:

The most influential Democrat you never hear from — Kyrsten Sinema doesn't often make big policy pronouncements. But when she does, Democrats had better listen. — Take the $15 hourly minimum wage that Democratic leaders want to add to a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

Washington Post:

Former FBI official, a Navy veteran, is ‘key figure’ in Jan. 6 riot, prosecutors allege — A former U.S. Navy intelligence officer and FBI official from Virginia has emerged as a key figure in the federal investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, as U.S. prosecutors alleged Thursday …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Washington Examiner and Axios

Alan Feuer / New York Times:
Oath Keepers Plotting Before Capitol Riot Awaited ‘Direction’ From Trump, Prosecutors Say

Discussion: The Daily Caller, HuffPost, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Associated Press

Salvador Hernandez / BuzzFeed News:

Charges Were Dropped Against The Buffalo Police Officers Who Violently Shoved A 75-Year-Old Protester — Felony charges were dropped Thursday against two police officers in Buffalo, New York, who violently shoved a 75-year-old protester, causing him to fall, hit his head on the sidewalk, and bleed from his ear, officials said.

Discussion: ABC News and The Hill

Ben Feuerherd / New York Post:
Charges dismissed against Buffalo cops who shoved elderly protester

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

Stacey Abrams and Lauren Groh-Wargo: How to Turn Your Red State Blue — It may take 10 years. Do it anyway. — Ms. Abrams was the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia in 2018. Ms. Groh-Wargo was her campaign manager. They opened Fair Fight Action in late 2018. — Feb. 11, 2021

Discussion: wabe.org

CNN:

North Carolina man charged with threatening to kill President Biden — (CNN)A North Carolina man has been charged with making threats to kill President Joe Biden, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed in court Thursday. — David Kyle Reeves, 27, of Gastonia, North Carolina …

Discussion: Washington Post, U.S. Department of Justice, New York Times, Insider and WTOP

Josh Hammer / Newsweek:

Overwrought Nazi Analogies for Me, but Not for Thee? — Earlier this week, Lucasfilm severed ties with “The Mandalorian” actress Gina Carano after a hyperbolic social media post in which she compared current political imperiousness and cancel culture in the United States—and the treatment of …

Discussion: The Daily Signal, The Federalist and NPR

Politico:

The Chamber embraces Biden. And Republicans are livid. — Washington's most powerful trade group is having a political identity crisis. — Over the past month, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has taken a series of steps that have enraged its traditional Republican allies.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Real Clear Politics, Raw Story and CNBC

Catharine Smith / The Guardian:

'If white people were still here, this wouldn't happen': the majority-Black town flooded with sewage … Supported by — About this content — Sharon Smith has to plunge her toilet to get it to flush. On rainy days, wastewater spills into her yard from nearby drainage ditches.