memeorandum: Trump skips Illinois loyalty oath promising not to overthrow government (Cate Cadell/Washington Post)

8:10 AM ET, January 7, 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 and New York Times

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

Cate Cadell / Washington Post:

Trump skips Illinois loyalty oath promising not to overthrow government — Republican polling leader Donald Trump did not sign a loyalty oath requested of candidates for election in Illinois that asks, among other things, to swear that they won't support overthrowing the government …

Washington Post:

Trump mocks Biden over stutter — Making fun of Biden's childhood speech impediment marks the latest crass form of politics that Trump has exhibited throughout his career — Donald Trump ridiculed President Biden over the economy, immigration and foreign policy before turning to personal mockery during an Iowa event on Friday night.

Discussion: Raw Story and Metro.co.uk

Washington Post:

Trump tries reappropriating ‘insurrection’ on Jan. 6 anniversary — In campaign speeches surrounding the third anniversary of the attack, the former president defended people charged in the riot and repeated baseless claims that left-wing or government interlopers caused the breach

Discussion: USA Today, The Hill, The Nation, Axios, Political Wire, The Messenger and Bloomberg

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: Why Evolution Is True, inews.co.uk, RedState, Washington Examiner, USA Today, The Messenger, Outside the Beltway, Israpundit and New York Magazine

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

Discussion: emptywheel, Iowa Capital Dispatch, New York Magazine, The Messenger, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Politico, Washington Examiner, Vanity Fair, Mother Jones, Associated Press, Media Matters for America, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and Althouse

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

Discussion: Las Vegas Review-Journal, New York Post, Business Insider, RedState, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Fox Business and Breitbart

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

Discussion: Chicago Tribune and Raw Story

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

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo

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

Discussion: Hartford Courant, The European Conservative and Missouri Independent

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 Atlantic, Al Jazeera, ABC News, NPR, Bloomberg, Fox News, The Daily Caller, CBS News, Associated Press, The Messenger, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, RedState 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.

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Post, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, USA Today, Task & Purpose, RedState, Fox News, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Must Read Alaska, East Bay Times, Bloomberg and ABC 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: HotAir, UPI, The Messenger, National Review, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, USA Today, Breitbart, The Hill, Fox News, The Japan Times, CBS News, Houston Style Magazine, The Daily Caller, abc7NY and New York Times

Wall Street Journal:
Hospitalized Pentagon Chief Was in Intensive Care Unit

Discussion: Politico, USA Today, Associated Press, Political Wire and Washington Examiner

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, Raw Story, The Messenger and Mediaite

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: Mediaite, New York Daily News, RedState, Twitchy, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, TMZ.com and Politico

Steff Danielle Thomas / The Hill:
FBI in Florida captures 3 people linked to Jan. 6 on third anniversary of riot

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, NBC News, WKMG, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Al Jazeera, UPI, The Daily Beast, The Messenger, Orlando Sentinel and WFLA-TV

Michael Schaffer / Politico:
What Did Josh Hawley's Jan. 6 Fist Pump Really Mean? We Asked the Photographer Who Got the Shot.

Discussion: Raw Story and Daily Kos

US Department of Justice:

Three Years Since the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol — Saturday, January 6, 2024, marks three years - or 36 months - since the attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming the presidential election results.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Reason, NewsNation, The Hill, The Messenger, New Jersey Online and Politico

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: New York Times, CNN, The American Spectator, Breitbart, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Mediaite and Press Herald

Joe Schoffstall / Fox News:

Ex-AOC aide lined pockets with nearly $140K from his PAC while spending little on its mission — Corbin Trent founded the No Excuses PAC, which has funneled nearly $140,000 back to him in consulting payments — A former top aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y. …

Discussion: Breitbart and RedState