memeorandum: McConnell says he'll vote to acquit Trump (Jordain Carney/The Hill)

4:01 PM ET, February 13, 2021

Top Items:

Burgess Everett / Politico:

McConnell reveals he will vote to acquit Trump — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told GOP colleagues in a letter that he will vote to acquit Donald Trump in the former president's impeachment trial, according to sources familiar with the communication.

Politico:

Inside Democrats' witness fiasco — When Senate Democrats stepped onto the floor on Saturday morning, they had no idea the House impeachment managers were about to drop a political grenade in their laps. — But after a brief schism that threatened to throw Donald Trump's trial into chaos …

Discussion: RedState, Slate, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times and UPI

CNN:

New details about Trump-McCarthy shouting match show Trump refused to call off the rioters — Washington (CNN)In an expletive-laced phone call with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy while the Capitol was under attack, then-President Donald Trump said the rioters cared more about the election results than McCarthy did.

Washington Post:

Live updates: House managers say Trump ‘willfully betrayed us’ in final arguments ahead of verdict — In their final arguments, House managers on Saturday accused Donald Trump of having “willfully betrayed us” as the historic second Senate impeachment trial of the former president neared its end on a day punctuated by surprises.

Discussion: CNN, The Moderate Voice, Bloomberg, KCLO-TV, New York Post, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Denver Post, Balloon Juice, The Daily Signal and Political Wire

New York Times:

Trial Nears Conclusion After Delay Over Calling Witnesses — Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, informed colleagues Saturday morning that it was a “close call,” but he would vote to acquit former President Donald J. Trump on the charge of “incitement of insurrection” …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Reuters, Mother Jones, Fox News, KRON4, The Times of Israel, Althouse, The Wrap, Outside the Beltway, Forbes and WTOP

Rachael Bade / Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: A big curveball on impeachment — DRIVING THE DAY — PLOT TWIST: SENATE VOTES TO CALL WITNESSES — After days of predicting the trial would be speedy and finish as early as today, senators agreed on a bipartisan basis to depose witnesses.

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press, UPI, New York Post and Daily Kos

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

New Evidence Shows Trump Used Riot To Pressure Congress to Steal Election — There has always been one small hole in the prosecution's case for Donald Trump's second impeachment. Trump encouraged a public demonstration, promised in advance it would be “wild,” instructed his supporters …

Discussion: Axios, CNN, Mediaite, The Week and justoneminute.typepad.com

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

McConnell says he'll vote to acquit Trump — Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said Saturday that he will vote to acquit former President Trump, ending weeks of speculation about what he would do. — McConnell's decision, confirmed to The Hill by a GOP senator …

Discussion: CNN, IJR and Washington Times

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler:
Herrera Beutler Again Confirms Conversation with McCarthy Regarding January 6 U.S. Capitol Attack

Discussion: Axios, VICE, USA Today, Roll Call, Associated Press, Raw Story, Townhall, The Hill, Rolling Stone, Deadline and justoneminute.typepad.com

Politico:
Verdict imminent after closing arguments wrap up

Discussion: Variety, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams, Twitchy, Denver Post, Liberty Unyielding, KTLA, New York Times, Bloomberg and Los Angeles Times

National Review:
Acquittal, but Not Vindication — The impeachment trial is hurtling toward a conclusion …

Discussion: NPR

New York Times:
Trump Is Guilty — There's no doubt who must be held responsible for attacking the Capitol …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Times, Associated Press, The Times of Israel and Washington Post

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Trump sided with the Capitol mob, Herrera Beutler says McCarthy told her.

Discussion: CNN, Discourse Blog, CNBC, The Wrap, UPI, Fox News, IJR, Mock Paper Scissors, Axios, Roll Call, HuffPost, Common Dreams, Raw Story, The Times of Israel, Forbes, KCLO-TV, Political Wire and Bloomberg

Axios:
Senate votes to call witnesses in Trump impeachment trial

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY, The Hill, Politico, New York Post, NPR, CNN, Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed News and The Guardian

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:
GOP super-lawyer Ted Olson cuts off donations to Republicans who refuse to convict Trump

Discussion: Sun-Sentinel, Axios and LAW.com

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
House Republican pleads for Pence, Trump aides to speak out on Jan. 6 insurrection

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, New York Magazine, Mother Jones, NPR, The Daily Caller, ABC News, New York Post, CANNONFIRE, Cyprus Mail, Talking Points Memo, Twitchy, WTOP and littlegreenfootballs.com

Marcia Coyle / LAW.com: Ted Olson Backs Case for Trump Conviction at Impeachment Trial

CBS News:
Trump Impeachment Live Updates: Senate draws closer to vote on whether to convict or acquit

Discussion: Slate, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, The Hill, USA Today, TheBlaze, Common Dreams, New York Times, The New Neo, CNN, Townhall and The Intellectualist

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Trump's Taste for Blood

Discussion: Insider, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Raw Story

Wall Street Journal:

New York Prosecutors Investigating Trump's Manhattan Properties — Officials are investigating loans the former president took on four buildings, including his flagship Trump Tower — New York prosecutors are investigating financial dealings around some of Donald Trump's signature Manhattan properties …

Discussion: Insider and Raw Story

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic:

How to Beat the Pandemic by Summer — After nearly a year of social isolation and sacrifice in the long war on COVID-19, the end stage of the pandemic is finally in sight. Millions of Americans are being vaccinated each week, and the number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations …

Discussion: New York Magazine and Quartz

Axios:

Historians say impact of expected Trump acquittal will be felt for years — It's not lost on historians that Donald Trump's impeachment trial acquittal will fall on Presidents' Day weekend, a holiday celebrating the examples set by America's first president, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Washington Post:
Graham's post-election call with Raffensperger will be scrutinized in Georgia probe, person familiar with inquiry says

Discussion: HuffPost, Insider, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CNN, The Hill and Raw Story

Marianne LeVine / Politico:
Graham to meet with Trump to talk future of GOP

Discussion: Insider and The Hill

CNN:

Pence's former chief of staff has been contacted about providing information in impeachment trial — 'That's a lie': Borger calls out Trump team's denial about Pence's safety — (CNN)Marc Short, former Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, has been contacted about providing information …

Discussion: HuffPost and The Times of Israel

Cade Metz / New York Times:

Silicon Valley's Safe Space — Slate Star Codex was a window into the psyche of many tech leaders building our collective future. Then it disappeared. — The website had a homely, almost slapdash design with a light blue banner and a strange name: Slate Star Codex.

Discussion: The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:

‘Embarrassed’ Trump Supporter Begs Judge For Son's Freedom After Capitol Riot Arrest — As Trump was on trial for inciting violence, Joseph Cua said he “should've known better” than to believe the bogus claims that brought him and his son to D.C. in January.

Discussion: Raw Story

Alex Pareene / New Republic:

Call Kyrsten Sinema's Bluff — As perhaps the second-most conservative member of a Democratic Senate caucus that can't afford to lose a single vote to pass its agenda, Arizona's Kyrsten Sinema has a great deal of leverage. Despite her power within the caucus, and despite her record …

Discussion: Iowa Capital Dispatch, Daily Kos and Zandar Versus The Stupid

David Frum / The Atlantic:

The Trump Crew's Incompetence Lasted to the End — If future generations of law professors want to teach a class in what never to do, the belligerent and self-indulgent performance of Michael van der Veen, one of Donald Trump's impeachment lawyers, could provide a lot of the video content.

Discussion: Raw Story

Benjamin Parker / The Bulwark:
The 10 Worst Moments from Trump's “Defense”

Discussion: CNN, Crooks and Liars, New York Daily News, NBC News, New York Times and Talking Points Memo

New York Times:
For the Defense: Twisted Facts and Other Staples of the Trump Playbook

Discussion: Breitbart, The Intellectualist, CNN, Associated Press, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Raw Story and Political Wire

Marlow Stern / The Daily Beast:

Bill Maher Grills The Lincoln Project Co-Founder Steve Schmidt: ‘Where Did the Other Money Go?’ — MONEY PIT — The “Real Time” host questioned the former Republican operative on his show, who announced his resignation from the #NeverTrump group earlier in the day amid an ongoing scandal.

Discussion: Breitbart, HotAir, BizPac Review, Power Line, Washington Examiner and Los Angeles Times