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

8:20 PM ET, February 6, 2024

Top Items:

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.

New York Times:

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: MeidasTouch, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller and Joe.My.God.

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, USA Today, New Republic, Associated Press, New York Post and New York Times

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: Vanity Fair, New York Times, The Hill and The Gateway Pundit

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, Washington Post, Default and Los Angeles Times

Associated Press:

Trump is not immune from prosecution in his 2020 election interference case, US appeals court says — 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, sharply rejecting the former president's claims …

Discussion: Axios, NBC News, ABC News, Bloomberg, Washington Post, New York Times, Steady, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, WWLP-TV, Law & Crime and The Daily Caller

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

4 takeaways from Trump's loss in his immunity case — Donald Trump suffered a significant setback Tuesday in his quest to escape criminal conviction, with a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruling that he is not immune from charges for his acts as president.

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

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

Discussion: CNN, The American Conservative, Reason, Political Wire, The Daily Caller, WAVY.com, WDTN-TV, Media Matters for America, Al Jazeera, Raw Story and Rolling Stone

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

Discussion: ABC News, PolitiFact, One America News Network, New York Post, Jezebel, Rolling Stone, UPI and New York Daily News

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Trump fraud trial judge demands details about possible perjury by Allen Weisselberg

Discussion: CBS News, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Guardian, Civil Discourse …, New York Daily News, Business Insider and The Gateway Pundit

Politico:
Trump is not immune from prosecution for bid to subvert the 2020 election, appeals court rules

Discussion: New York Times and Raw Story

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

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: Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, USA Today, NBC News, CNN, New York Post, Rolling Stone, Deadline, The Daily Signal, Washington Post, CBS News, Media Matters for America and WTOP News

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 …

Karoun Demirjian / New York Times:
Mayorkas Impeachment Vote

Discussion: MeidasTouch, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Axios, Washington Post, Fox News, Breitbart, The Texas Tribune, One America News Network, Punchbowl News, The Daily Caller, DNyuz, Political Wire, Politico, Twitchy and NewsNation

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

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Axios, Associated Press, Fox News, Bloomberg, New York Times, Mother Jones, PolitiFact, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God. and CNBC

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

Discussion: The Mahablog

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

Discussion: Fox News, New Republic, MeidasTouch, UPI, Vanity Fair, NPR, Political Wire, El País, Washington Times, Plain Dealer, HuffPost, Tangle and The Guardian

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: The Verge, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, The Hill, WHDH-TV, New York Post, Wired, Forbes, Pluribus News and Fox News

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

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

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

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

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

As a compromise border plan collapses, the GOP is in disarray — There can be little doubt that one of the major American political parties is in disarray, but it's not the Democratic Party. — For those familiar with online political commentary, the phrase “Dems in disarray” …

Discussion: NBC News

Wall Street Journal:
A Border Security Bill Worth Passing

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, Associated Press, The Hill, Politico, Slate, PBS NewsHour and Washington Examiner

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

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

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

No criminal charges expected in Biden classified documents probe: NBC — Neither President Joe Biden nor anyone else is expected to be criminally charged in an investigation into how classified documents ended up in locations associated with Biden, NBC News reported

Discussion: Bloomberg, NBC News, New York Times, Raw Story and New York Post

Washington Post:
DOJ report on Biden classified documents coming soon; no criminal charges

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Political Wire

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: Breitbart, 6abc, BGR, Billboard and The Verge

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 and NBC News

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 …

Nadine El-Bawab / ABC News:

Jury finds Jennifer Crumbley guilty of manslaughter in son's school shooting — Ethan Crumbley killed four students at his high school in November 2021. — LIVE — Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of accused Oxford High School gunman Ethan Crumbley, listens on the stand in the courtroom …

Discussion: NBC News, CBS News, Mercury News, New York Times, Fox News, The Guardian, The Gateway Pundit, WTTG-TV, RedState, Al Jazeera, Mother Jones, TMZ.com, Axios, UPI, Associated Press, The Hill, DNyuz and Pennsylvania Capital-Star

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, CBS News, Us Weekly and TMZ.com

Politico:

Tucker Carlson confirms he's interviewing Vladimir Putin — Controversial ex-Fox News host is in Moscow to talk to the Russian leader. — American pundit Tucker Carlson, who is currently on a visit to Moscow, has announced he is interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

US Department of Justice:

70 Current And Former NYCHA Employees Charged With Bribery And Extortion Offenses — For Immediate Release — U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York — In the Largest Number of Federal Bribery Charges on a Single Day in DOJ History, 70 Current and Former Employees …

Discussion: NBC New York, NBC News, The Daily Beast, New York Post, The City, BizPac Review, DNyuz, UPI, Fox Business and One America News Network

Seamus Hughes / Court Watch:

Exclusive: FBI Arrests Would-Be Border Militia Member — As elected officials hotly debate new border security legislation, the FBI has arrested a Tennessee man they say was planning to join a militia border group, set off explosives, and act as a sniper at the Mexico/U.S. border.

Discussion: VICE, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

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.

Brooke Leigh Howard / The Daily Beast:

South Florida School Demands Parent Consent for Black History Month Events — Parents of students at the IPrep Academy in South Florida were shocked after being asked to sign permission slips to allow their children to participate in Black History Month. — Black History Month has now become an educational target in Florida schools.

Discussion: WPLG-TV and Joe.My.God.