memeorandum: ‘This Acquittal Sends Three Dangerous Messages to Future Presidents’ (Politico)

10:35 PM ET, February 13, 2021

Top Items:

Rubio Statement on Impeachment — Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released a statement after voting to acquit former President Donald Trump. — Rubio: Just minutes after the attack of January 6th began I said it was not only unpatriotic, it was un-American.

Discussion: USA Today, Associated Press, The Source, spectator.us, CNBC, Vox and The Wrap

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Up in '22, Murkowski readies to face impeachment vote fallout — Just one Republican senator that voted to convict President Donald Trump on Saturday has to face voters next year. But she does not seem to care about the political fallout. — “If I can't say what I believe that our president …

Discussion: Insider, HuffPost, ABC News and Roll Call

David Frum / The Atlantic:

It'll Do — Impeachment did not prevail, but Trump still lost. — Staff writer at The Atlantic — In 1955, a junior United States senator named John F. Kennedy published Profiles in Courage, a collection of short essays about eight of his predecessors who had risked their careers for their ideals over the previous 150 years.

Discussion: New York Times, Bloomberg, The Constitutionalist, Associated Press, Raw Story and The Guardian

Politico:

‘This Acquittal Sends Three Dangerous Messages to Future Presidents’ — For the first time in American history, a U.S. president has been impeached twice. — And for the second time, Donald Trump was acquitted of high crimes and misdemeanors as Republicans rallied around him, some even ignoring the proceedings before them.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Townhall and the way of improvement …

U.S. Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina:

Senator Burr Statement on Vote to Convict Former President Trump on Article of Impeachment — Today, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) voted in favor of convicting former President Donald J. Trump on the article of impeachment presented against him. After the Senate vote, Senator Burr released the following statement:

Discussion: The Hill, Power Line, Washington Post, The Lid, Raw Story, Eurasia Review, the way of improvement … and DCReport.org

Alexander Burns / New York Times:

Republican Acquittal of Trump Is a Pivotal Moment for the Party — The vote, signaling how thoroughly the party has come to be defined by the personality of one man, is likely to leave a blemish on the historical record. — During the first trial of Donald J. Trump, 13 months ago …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Breitbart, Kyodo News+ and Diane Ravitch's blog

Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:
Trump acquitted in impeachment trial; 7 GOP Senators vote with Democrats to convict

Discussion: Louisiana Illuminator, The Sun, Slate, New York Times, Washington Post, WCCO | CBS Minnesota, The Colorado Sun, LGBTQ Nation, Los Angeles Times, WTOP and The Daily Signal

Lauren Lantry / ABC News:
Former President Donald Trump acquitted again

Discussion: NPR, CNBC, FiveThirtyEight, Associated Press, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Other McCain, IJR, Townhall, Variety, Political Wire, Florida Politics, the way of improvement … and Bloomberg

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:

Trump has privately voiced concern about being charged related to January 6 riot — (CNN)Former President Donald Trump has privately voiced concern in the last two weeks about whether he could face charges as a result of the January 6 riot he's accused of inciting, according to multiple people.

Discussion: The Week and the way of improvement …

Politico:
Trump escapes conviction but even his allies say he's damaged

Discussion: Washington Post, Axios, The Hill, Maryland Matters, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Boston Herald, Political Wire and CBS Pittsburgh

Scott Wong / The Hill:
Pelosi rules out censure after Trump acquittal

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera, The Last Refuge, Vanity Fair, NPR, IJR, Raw Story, Axios, TheBlaze, CBS Boston and KRON4

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
4 final takeaways from Trump's impeachment trial

Discussion: New York Times, NBC News, The Hill, Fox News and TheGrio

CBS News:
McConnell says Trump was “practically and morally responsible” for riot after voting not guilty

Discussion: HuffPost, Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg, Big League Politics, The Guardian, Raw Story, Grand Forks Herald, Deseret News, Mediaite, Townhall, WTOP and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Politico:
Democrats wrestle with how to quit an acquitted Trump

Discussion: The Hill, Daily Kos and The Western Journal

Burgess Everett / Politico:
McConnell reveals he will vote to acquit Trump

Scott Alexander / Astral Codex Ten:

Statement on New York Times Article — There was recently a negative article about me and my blog in the New York Times. Most of you already know the history behind this, but for anyone referred here by NYT, this is where I give my side and defend myself.

Cade Metz / New York Times:
Silicon Valley's Safe Space

Discussion: Noahpinion, Instapundit, The Verge and Balloon Juice, more at Techmeme »

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 …

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Trump left them to die. 43 Senate Republicans still licked his boots. — In the end, the darkest truth of Donald Trump's crime came to light. — As his marauders sacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 in their bloody attempt to overturn the election, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy called …

Discussion: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, National Review, CBS Philly, The Daily Signal, Crooks and Liars and The Intercept

John Nichols / The Nation:
The Senate Has Failed America

Discussion: New York Times, Associated Press, Breitbart, Grand Forks Herald, POLITICUSUSA, Missoula Current, The Times of Israel, Twitchy, Raw Story and Ralph Nader

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Why Democrats blinked in the Senate impeachment trial

Discussion: The Times of Israel, NOQ Report and TheGrio

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Raskin defends no witnesses deal: ‘I made the call’

Discussion: New York Post, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, NOQ Report and Political Wire

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: Forbes, New York Post, VICE, TheGrio, The National Interest, The Gateway Pundit, Insider, Gothamist, Raw Story and Washington Times

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Republican Senators Are Asking the Courts to Take Care of Trump For Them — Donald Trump limped his way to acquittal in his second impeachment trial, with 57 Senators voting to convict him of inciting insurrection. But it is an ominous sign that not only did many of the Senators who did vote …

Discussion: New York Times

New York Times:
In Georgia, a New District Attorney Starts Circling Trump and His Allies

Discussion: Vox, Political Flare, Raw Story and New York Times

Jill Abramson / New York Post:

Ex-New York Times boss Jill Abramson responds to unrest at the paper — I have been called by many reporters about the controversial departure of reporter Donald McNeil from The New York Times. — “Do I think the Times treated McNeil unfairly?” “Is there a management meltdown at the Times?”

Discussion: The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »

Aymann Ismail / Slate:
An Exhausting Week at the New York Times

Discussion: Twitchy and Forbes

CNN:

Fact check: Trump lawyer closes impeachment defense with a barrage of dishonesty — Reporter: GOP sources telling me ‘this is not over’ — Washington (CNN)Former President Donald Trump's impeachment defense was dishonest from start to finish. — Prior to Trump's Senate acquittal …

Discussion: KARK-TV, HuffPost and The American Independent

New York Times:
Most Bipartisan Support for Conviction in History

Discussion: Washington Post, Liberty Unyielding, Slate, USA Today, Breitbart, NewsHounds blog, Los Angeles Times, Insider, The Hill, Althouse, The Wrap, Forbes, Politico, Mother Jones, TalkLeft, Outside the Beltway, Political Wire and The Babylon Bee

CNN:
Pence's former chief of staff has been contacted about providing information in impeachment trial

Discussion: The Mahablog, Washington Post, HuffPost and The Times of Israel

Washington Post:

Deputy White House press secretary resigns amid fallout from contentious phone call with reporter — Deputy White House press secretary Tyler Ducklo resigned Saturday amid fallout from a contentious phone call last month in which he berated and threatened a female reporter who was working …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Examiner, CNN, Associated Press, The Independent and The Sun, more at Mediagazer »

Jennifer Epstein / Bloomberg:
Biden Aide Ducklo Resigns Over Report He Threatened Reporter

Discussion: NPR, Insider, HuffPost, NBC News, CBS News, The Hill, Politico, Mediaite, Axios, The Daily Caller and New York Post, more at Mediagazer »

Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:

Ben Sasse's Conviction: Trump's Lies Caused This — In a series of interviews leading up to Saturday's impeachment vote, the GOP senator described the stakes as he sees them: nothing less than the integrity of the Constitution. — What happened on January 6 of this year …

Discussion: Senator Ben Sasse, Washington Examiner and Townhall

Paul Blumenthal / HuffPost:

A Broken Party Acquitted Donald Trump In His Second Impeachment — The ex-president's boast he could get away with murder proved true. — Back in January 2016, before Donald Trump won his first presidential primary, before he secured his position atop the Republican Party and before he won …