memeorandum: Senate votes to call witnesses in Trump impeachment trial (Axios)

4:35 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: Insider, Washington Post, RedState, The Reactionary, Florida Politics, Wall Street Journal, Slate, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times and UPI

Washington Post:

Live updates: Trump acquitted by minority of Senate on charge of inciting Jan. 6 riot at Capitol — The Senate voted Saturday to acquit Donald Trump of a charge of inciting the deadly attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, bringing the historic second impeachment trial of the former president to a close.

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, The Daily Beast, CNN, Associated Press, Bloomberg, New York Post, NBC Chicago, WHYY, Denver Post, Balloon Juice and Political Wire

New York Times:

Acquittal Comes After Delay Over Calling Witnesses — Even as members of both parties voted to find him guilty, yielding the most bipartisan vote for conviction in history, Republicans banded together to oppose the incitement charge. — RIGHT NOW 7 Senate Republicans vote 'guilty …

Discussion: NBC News, Reuters, KXAN-TV, Fox News, Mother Jones, Law & Crime, NewsHounds blog, Indian Country Today, Althouse, The Wrap, Forbes, Outside the Beltway and WTOP

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, UPI, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Week and justoneminute.typepad.com

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler:

Herrera Beutler Again Confirms Conversation with McCarthy Regarding January 6 U.S. Capitol Attack — f t # e — Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03) today released the following statement confirming again a conversation with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy regarding the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack:

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

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

Politico:
Senate acquits Trump of inciting deadly Capitol attack

Discussion: NBC News, BuzzFeed News, The Hill, USA Today, Bloomberg, Breitbart, Forbes, Boston Herald, Fox News, The Wrap, NPR, Townhall, Mediaite, UPROXX, CBS Philly, Common Dreams, Twitchy, Daily Kos, CNN, Liberty Unyielding, Al Jazeera, WTOP, Los Angeles Times and The Guardian

Axios:
Senate votes to call witnesses in Trump impeachment trial

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

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

Discussion: NPR and New York Times

CNN:
New details about Trump-McCarthy shouting match show Trump refused to call off the rioters

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

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

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

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

Discussion: CNN, IJR and Washington Times

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, The Moderate Voice, Political Wire, NPR, The Times of Israel, The Daily Caller, ABC News, CANNONFIRE, Cyprus Mail, Twitchy, Talking Points Memo, 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: The Mary Sue, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, Slate, USA Today, Denver Post, Associated Press, New York Post, Common Dreams, The Hill, New York Times, CNN, The New Neo, 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, Forbes and Raw Story

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

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

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 and Balloon Juice, 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

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

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, Common Dreams 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: Washington Examiner, CNN, Crooks and Liars, New York Daily News, NBC News, New York Times, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

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

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

Keith L. Alexander / Washington Post:

Proud Boys leader ordered to appear in D.C. Superior Court after pretrial monitoring agency says he failed to report in — A D.C. Superior Court judge on Friday ordered Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio to appear in court, after a federal agency that monitors defendants on pretrial release reported Tarrio as a “loss of contact.”

Discussion: CNN and UPI

Lachlan Markay / Axios:

Scoop: Lincoln Project co-founder resigns — Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt is resigning from the group's board amid a series of scandals that has rocked the high-dollar anti-Trump super PAC, Axios has learned. — Why it matters: Schmidt, a veteran Republican operative …