memeorandum: Republican secretary of state threatens to kick Biden off the ballot as Trump payback (NBC News)

9:20 PM ET, January 6, 2024

Top Items:

Donald Trump didn't sign loyalty oath for Illinois ballot that pledges not to ‘advocate the overthrow of the government’ — In 2016 and 2020, before the Jan. 6 insurrection, Trump did sign. President Joe Biden, who signed it, questioned why Trump “can't bring himself to sign a piece …

Discussion: Raw Story

Tyler Pager / Washington Post:

Obama, worried about Trump, urges Biden circle to bolster campaign — The former president shared his thoughts about the reelection campaign during a private lunch with Biden at the White House — Former president Barack Obama has raised questions about the structure of President Biden's …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, USA Today, American Thinker, The Messenger and KRDO

Dave McKinney / WBEZ Chicago:

Trump did not sign Illinois' loyalty oath that says he won't advocate for overthrowing the government — The pledge, a vestige of the McCarthy Red Scare era, is not mandatory, but has been signed by candidates for decades, including by Trump in 2020 and 2016.

Discussion: HuffPost and Political Wire

NBC News:

Republican secretary of state threatens to kick Biden off the ballot as Trump payback — Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said that while he didn't want to do it, he had to remind people of how “severe” the situation is. — A top Republican official in Missouri is threatening …

Discussion: Fox News, The Daily Caller, RedState, Business Insider, The Guardian, Political Wire, Bloomberg, Politico, Fox Business, Washington Examiner, Roll Call, Breitbart, PoliticusUSA, The Hill, Shaw Media Local, Associated Press and New York Times

The Hill:
A second Trump presidency is an existential national security threat to our democracy

Discussion: BizPac Review

Washington Post:
Trump's promotion of debunked election report reveals divisions in his circle

Discussion: Raw Story and Politico

Bloomberg:
Trump Eyes Keeping 21% Corporate Tax, Extending Individual Cuts

Discussion: Missouri Independent and Washington Post

Washington Post:
How the GOP's rewriting of Jan. 6 paved the way for Trump's comeback

Discussion: The Messenger, emptywheel, Media Matters for America and The Hill

New York Times:
Trump Signals an Election Year Full of Falsehoods on Jan. 6 and Democracy

Politico:

Pentagon didn't inform Biden, White House for days about Austin's hospitalization — The news came as a shock to top staff, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan. — The Pentagon did not tell President Joe Biden and other top officials about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization …

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, New York Times, The Daily Beast, NBC News, Associated Press, NPR, The Messenger, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, RedState and CBS News

U.S. Department of Defense:

Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder on Secretary of Defense Austin — Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following statement on Secretary of Defense Austin: — On the evening of January 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted …

Discussion: The Messenger, National Review, The Gateway Pundit, UPI, HotAir, USA Today, Associated Press, Fox News, CBS News and New York Times

NBC News:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hospitalized amid Middle East missions — Austin was hospitalized Jan. 1 after complications from an elective procedure. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks has picked up his duties in the meantime, a senior defense official said.

Wall Street Journal:

Hospitalized Pentagon Chief Was in Intensive Care Unit — Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin remains hospitalized, but has resumed his full duties, officials say — Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spent time in an intensive care unit after entering a military hospital on New Year's Day …

Discussion: Political Wire

Oren Liebermann / CNN:
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recovering after being admitted to hospital

Discussion: Fox News, CBS News, USA Today, Associated Press, Breitbart, Bloomberg, ABC News, The Messenger, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, abc7NY, The Japan Times and The Hill

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:

A tense new Jan. 6 video shows Republican congressmen admonishing rioters trying to enter House chamber — “You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” one Republican representative told rioters as they attempted to breach the House floor. “I've never had people act this way.”

Discussion: CBS News, Washington Times, Salon, Raw Story, The Messenger, The Bulwark, Crooks and Liars, Mediaite and American Journal News

Michael Schaffer / Politico:

What Did Josh Hawley's Jan. 6 Fist Pump Really Mean? We Asked the Photographer Who Got the Shot. — A Q&A with POLITICO photographer Francis Chung on capturing an iconic moment. — Sen. Josh Hawley gestures toward a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump gathered outside …

Discussion: Raw Story and Roll Call

Nick Robertson / The Hill:

Fanone says GOP lawmakers attempt to ‘whitewash’ Jan. 6 due to ‘politically inconvenient’ reality — Former D.C. police officer Michael Fanone lashed out against GOP lawmakers on Friday, blasting attempts to “whitewash” the Jan. 6 Capitol riots as something less than what they were as we reach …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Mediaite, RedState, The Daily Caller, TMZ.com, The Bulwark, Politico and USA Today

Politico:

Trump and his MAGA allies turn their fire on Haley — The Trump campaign and its allied super PAC are spending a combined $4.5 million on anti-Nikki Haley ads. — Donald Trump's political operation is seeking to bury Nikki Haley's presidential campaign just days before voting starts.

Discussion: CNN, Loomered, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, WHTM-TV, Mediaite and National Review

NBC News:
Nikki Haley says she would ‘maybe’ consider Ron DeSantis as her running mate

Discussion: HotAir, The Daily Caller, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, The Hill and Des Moines Register

Steff Danielle Thomas / The Hill:

FBI in Florida captures 3 people linked to Jan. 6 on third anniversary of riot — The FBI apprehended three people accused of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, at a ranch in Florida, the agency announced Saturday. — FBI's Tampa office identified the fugitives …

Discussion: CNN, NBC News, CBS News, The Daily Caller, Orlando Sentinel, Al Jazeera, The Gateway Pundit, UPI, WFLA-TV, The Messenger and Raw Story

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:

Trump Doesn't Actually Speak for the Silent Majority — I can't fit everything that I think into a single piece, especially when I'm writing on deadline. My column this week, for example, was on the effort to disqualify Trump from the 2024 ballot using Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

Discussion: The Mahablog