memeorandum: Fact check: Trump lawyer closes impeachment defense with a barrage of dishonesty (CNN)

10:05 PM ET, February 13, 2021

Top Items:

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 — Donald Trump was acquitted in his second impeachment trial on Saturday. — What comes next for the 45th president is anybody's guess. — Uncertainty looms over nearly every aspect of the former president's post-impeachment political future …

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

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

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

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

Discussion: HuffPost, Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, Big League Politics, The Guardian, The Times of Israel, 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: Washington Post, The Hill, Daily Kos and The Western Journal

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

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

Discussion: Insider, Louisiana Illuminator, The Sun, New York Times, Grand Forks Herald, Washington Post, LGBTQ Nation and Los Angeles Times

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: 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 …

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

Discussion: The Times of Israel, NOQ Report and TheGrio

Washington Post:
Trump acquitted by minority of Senate on charge of inciting Jan. 6 riot at Capitol

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

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

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

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

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: HuffPost, ABC News and Roll Call

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 Ralph Nader

Paul Blumenthal / HuffPost:
A Broken Party Acquitted Donald Trump In His Second Impeachment

Discussion: Georgia Recorder, Washington Post, New York Times, National Review, Associated Press, Breitbart, Talk Business & Politics and CNN

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

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

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

Discussion: Mother Jones, Sun-Sentinel, Axios and LAW.com

U.S. Senator for Florida, Marco Rubio:

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, Vox, Associated Press, The Source, spectator.us, CNBC and The Wrap

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: HuffPost and The American Independent

New York Times:

Most Bipartisan Support for Conviction in History — After days of calling out former President Donald J. Trump actions, House Democrats summed up their case by accusing him of impeachable inaction — his unwillingness to stop the mob that killed, maimed and clawed at the heart of American democracy in his name.

Discussion: Washington Post, Liberty Unyielding, The Hill, Slate, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, NewsHounds blog, Breitbart, Insider, Althouse, Forbes, The Wrap, 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 and The Independent, more at Mediagazer »

Jennifer Epstein / Bloomberg:

Biden Aide Ducklo Resigns Over Report He Threatened Reporter — White House spokesman TJ Ducklo has resigned after a recent report that he threatened a reporter who was investigating his relationship with another journalist. — “We accepted the resignation of TJ Ducklo after a discussion …

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

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

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

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 …