memeorandum: The US sees a drop in illegal border crossings after Mexico increases enforcement (Associated Press)

9:00 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

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 …

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

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 and The Messenger

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

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 and TMZ.com

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, Media Matters for America, Associated Press, 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: Raw Story and Chicago Tribune

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

Discussion: Salon and 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: The Guardian, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, Axios, Power Line, ABC News, NPR, Bloomberg, Fox News, The Daily Caller, CBS News, Associated Press, The Messenger, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, The Daily Beast, RedState and New York Times

Politico:

The Lloyd Austin fallout is growing: 'Someone's head has to roll' — The defense chief is facing criticism for keeping his bosses in the dark. — At a White House meeting last week, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, noticed that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was absent.

Discussion: CBS News

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: PJ Media, HotAir, UPI, National Review, The Messenger, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, The Hill, USA Today, Breitbart, The Japan Times, Fox News, CBS News, Houston Style Magazine, New York Times, The Daily Caller and abc7NY

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

Discussion: USA Today, Associated Press and Political Wire

Associated Press:

The US sees a drop in illegal border crossings after Mexico increases enforcement — Daniel Bermudez's family had fled Venezuela and was headed to the U.S. to seek asylum when the freight train they were riding through Mexico was stopped by immigration officials.

Discussion: HotAir and Washington Examiner

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.