memeorandum: On the Border, Republicans Set a Trap, Then Fell Into It (Carl Hulse/New York Times)

10:45 PM ET, February 6, 2024

Top Items:

Ronna McDaniel, R.N.C. Chairwoman, Plans to Step Down — Donald Trump is likely to back an election denier, Michael Whatley, the head of the North Carolina G.O.P., to replace her. — The chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, has told former President Donald J. Trump …

Discussion: USA Today, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, The Hill, MeidasTouch, Fox News, CNN, Semafor, Breitbart, Rolling Stone, National Review, WTOP News, UPROXX, Democrats, Mediaite, Raw Story, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Gateway Pundit and Joe.My.God.

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:

Trump has no immunity from Jan. 6 prosecution, appeals court rules — A federal appeals court has unanimously ruled that Donald Trump can be put on trial for trying to stay in power after losing the 2020 election, rejecting Trump's sweeping claim of presidential immunity and moving the case one step closer to a jury.

Associated Press:

Trump is not immune from prosecution in his 2020 election interference case, US appeals court says — WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals panel ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump can face trial on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election, rejecting the former president's claims …

Discussion: Salon, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, RedState, New York Times, CNN, ABC News, Sputnik News, NBC News, The Japan News, WWLP-TV, Law & Crime, Raw Story and DNyuz

Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:

Accountant's Apparent Lies Further Dooms Trump's Bank Fraud Defense — Trump accountant Allen Weisselberg is apparently working out a deal addressing lies he told on the stand in the New York bank fraud trial. Now Trump is in even more trouble. — Donald Trump's expected massive loss …

Discussion: Salon, New Republic, USA Today, New York Times, Associated Press and New York Post

Chris Geidner / Law Dork:

D.C. Circuit panel unanimously rejects Trump's criminal immunity claim — On Tuesday morning, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously rejected Donald Trump's claims that he is immune from criminal prosecution for life for acts he took while president.

Discussion: Just Security, Default, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

The RNC's chief of staff is stepping down — The departure comes amid growing speculation that Donald Trump will push for changes at the committee. — Republican National Committee chief of staff Mike Reed is set to step down from his role later this month. — Reed had served as chief of staff at the committee since Jan. 2022.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, ABC News, One America News Network, New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Hill and The Gateway Pundit

Mychael Schnell / The Hill:
Gaetz, Stefanik offer resolution declaring Trump ‘did not engage in insurrection’

Discussion: One America News Network, PolitiFact, New York Post, ABC News, New York Daily News, Rolling Stone, Joe.My.God., UPI and HuffPost

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
4 takeaways from Trump's loss in his immunity case

Discussion: The Guardian, Twitchy, NBC News, PBS NewsHour, Nevada Current, The Atlantic, MeidasTouch, Raw Story, The Times of Israel and New Republic

NBC News:
Trump campaign plans for its takeover of the Republican National Committee

Discussion: Associated Press, Raw Story and Fox News

Adam Wren / Politico:
‘Literally off his rocker’: Why Trump is fixated on Indiana

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:
Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump's Claim of Absolute Immunity

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Raw Story, Reason, Media Matters for America, Al Jazeera, The Hill and DNyuz

Washington Post:
Republicans fear they will be targets in Trump's ‘retribution’ campaign

Discussion: The Texas Tribune

Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:

In stunner, House GOP bid to impeach Mayorkas fails — A House GOP effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed in embarrassing fashion Tuesday as three Republicans joined Democrats in voting against what would have been the second-ever impeachment of a Cabinet official.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, Outside the Beltway and Deadline

Karoun Demirjian / New York Times:

Mayorkas Impeachment Vote — House to Vote on Impeaching Mayorkas Over Border Crisis — Republicans in the slim majority say the homeland security secretary has willfully refused to enforce border laws and breached the public trust. — Here's the latest on the impeachment vote.

CNN:

GOP-led standalone Israel aid bill fails in the House — The House on Tuesday failed to pass a standalone package for $17.6 billion in Israel aid amid opposition from both Republicans and Democratic leaders. — Because of resistance among members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus …

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
On the Border, Republicans Set a Trap, Then Fell Into It

Discussion: plus.thebulwark.com, The Hill, Gizmodo and The Federalist

Igor Bobic / HuffPost: ‘They Are A Disaster’: Democrats ‘Disgusted’ By GOP Reversal On Securing Border

Hans Nichols / Axios:
Biden pledges to campaign “every day” on Trump's border meddling

Discussion: ABC News, Breitbart and The White House

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
House Republicans Fail To Impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Axios, MeidasTouch, The Hill, Fox News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Roll Call, Mother Jones, DNyuz, Semafor, PolitiFact, New York Times and CNBC

Lisa Mascaro / Associated Press:
House vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas fails, thwarted by Republican defections

Cleve R. Wootson Jr / Washington Post:
Biden vows to make collapse of border bill a major campaign issue

Discussion: New Republic, Forbes, UPI, Fox News, Vanity Fair, Plain Dealer, MeidasTouch, Washington Times, Slate, El País, HuffPost, Tangle, The Guardian, NPR, Deadline and CBS News

David Frum / The Atlantic:
The GOP's True Priority

Discussion: Washington Post

Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Second GOP rep says he'll vote against Mayorkas impeachment

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Beast, Congressman Tom Mcclintock, Daily Mail, HuffPost, Politico, Axios and The Gateway Pundit

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:

N.H. attorney general says he found source of fake Biden robocalls — New Hampshire's top law enforcement official said, “We have never seen...such a blatant attempt to mislead voters.” — New Hampshire's Attorney General on Tuesday named a Texas telecom company as the source …

Discussion: Axios, The Verge, Washington Post, Associated Press, New York Post, Forbes, The Hill, Pluribus News, Fox News and Wired

Maggie Astor / New York Times:
Texas Company Was Behind Voter Robocalls That Impersonated Biden, N.H. Says

Discussion: NH Department of Justice, Gizmodo and Talking Points Memo

CNN:
Fake Biden robocall linked to Texas-based companies, New Hampshire attorney general announces

Discussion: Politico and Joe.My.God., more at Techmeme »

David Zipper / Slate:

A 7,000-Pound Car Smashed Through a Guardrail. That's Bad News for All of Us. — It's a nightmare situation on a highway: Your car hits a patch of ice and starts to skid. Unable to regain control, you panic as you veer toward the roadway's edge. — In emergencies like this, guardrails provide a failsafe.

Sareen Habeshian / Axios:

Former State Department security officer arrested on Jan. 6 charges — A former U.S. State Department security officer was arrested Tuesday after being identified as having been at the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. … - Investigators identified him using Google location data …

Discussion: ABC News

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
State Department diplomatic security officer arrested on Jan. 6 charges

Discussion: DNyuz, UPI, The Daily Beast and The Hill

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory:

JPL Workforce Update — Workforce statement and memo to employees. … - I am directing most employees to work from home tomorrow, Wednesday, February 7, so everyone can be in a safe, comfortable environment on a stressful day. … - Tomorrow, leadership (mostly at the Division and Directorate level) …

Discussion: Politico, Los Angeles Times and KTLA

Washington Post:

DOJ report on Biden classified documents coming soon; no criminal charges — The special counsel report criticizes how Biden and aides handled sensitive material after his vice presidency but says those actions don't amount to crimes — The Justice Department is preparing to release …

Discussion: NBC News, New York Times and Wall Street Journal

Mike Catalini / ABC News:

Not wearing a mask during COVID-19 health emergency isn't a free speech right, appeals court says — A federal appeals court has shot down claims that there's a First Amendment right not to wear face masks during the COVID-19 outbreak — TRENTON, N.J. — A federal appeals court shot …

Lauren Irwin / The Hill:

Project Veritas, James O'Keefe settle suit over false claims of 2020 voter fraud in Pennsylvania — Project Veritas and conservative activist James O'Keefe have settled a lawsuit in Pennsylvania over false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election that were initially …

Discussion: The Guardian, Washington Post and NBC News

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

Taylor Swift threatens legal action against student who tracks her jet — The superstar's effort to keep the tracker accounts from posting her plane's takeoffs and landings recalls Elon Musk's banning of a similar account. — Taylor Swift's attorneys have threatened legal action …

Discussion: Orlando Sentinel, Breitbart, BGR, New York Post and Gizmodo

NBC News:

Rigger falls to death during production of Marvel's ‘Wonder Man’ — The incident occurred Tuesday at the Radford Studio Center in Studio City, California. — LOS ANGELES — A rigger died after falling from rafters Tuesday during the production of Marvel Studios' “Wonder Man” in California, an official confirmed.

Discussion: Deadline, Los Angeles Times, DNyuz, Associated Press and Us Weekly

Jacob Shamsian / Business Insider:

Donald Trump paid more than $2.3 million in donor money to law firms helping Ivanka Trump with her legal problems last year — A PAC controlled by Donald Trump paid millions of dollars to a law firm representing Ivanka Trump. — Firms representing Ivanka in the NY Attorney General's lawsuit …

Discussion: Raw Story

Alexander Tin / CBS News:

FDA says hands tied after suspect named in applesauce lead poisonings — Authorities in Ecuador have named a suspect in their investigation of now-recalled lead-tainted applesauce, which has been linked to poisonings of more than 400 Americans across 43 states, the Food and Drug Administration …