Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, which never received a cent from the former president, moved an estimated $2.8 million of donor money into the Trump Organization—including at least $81,000 since Trump lost the election, Forbes reports.
Fetterman to Run for Pennsylvania Senate
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) has officially filed the paperwork for a possible run for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2022, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Justices Lift California Worship Bans
“A splintered U.S. Supreme Court blocked California from enforcing coronavirus-related bans on indoor worship services, but declined to upset other state rules banning singing and chanting and limiting the number of worshipers,” Politico reports.
“The ruling issued just before 11 p.m. ET Friday produced four separate statements by the justices, as well as a convoluted description of what relief various justices would have granted to churches objecting to the limits.”
“However, a majority of the court was only willing to lift the ban California has applied on all indoor worship in Tier 1 counties — those most challenged by Covid-19. The other restrictions remain undisturbed, for now.”
Biden Says Trump Should Not Get Intel Briefings
President Biden said former president Donald Trump should not receive intelligence briefings, citing his “erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Biden: “I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings. What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?”
Fox News Cancels Lou Dobbs
Fox News has canceled “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” the program hosted by television’s staunchest supporter of Donald Trump and of his assertions of voter fraud in the 2020 election, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The cancellation comes a day after voting software company Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News and three of its hosts — Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro.
Tenney Recaptures Seat from Brindisi
A New York judge cleared the way Friday for former Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) to officially be declared the winner of the 22nd District seat in New York that she lost in 2018 to Anthony Brindisi (D-NY), Roll Call reports.
GOP Lawmakers Fined for Bypassing Detectors
Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Andrew Clyde (R-GA) were fined $5,000 for bypassing newly-installed metal detectors as they entered the House floor, NBC News reports.
Alabama Senator Tells Friends He’s Not Running Again
“Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the Senate’s fourth most senior member, has indicated to confidantes that he does not intend to run for reelection next year — prompting some Republicans to urge the powerful, establishment politician to reconsider, even as potential replacements prepare to run for his seat,” the AP reports.
“A titan of Alabama politics, the 86-year-old politician has spent 42 years in Washington, serving first in the House and the Senate. His stepping down would leave a power void for the region. It would also set off a free-for-all primary in a national party deeply divided between traditional Republicans like Shelby and those who model themselves on former President Donald Trump.”
What Does Roy Cooper Know That Democrats Don’t?
The Atlantic: “In 2016, North Carolina Democrats went into Election Day thinking they could sweep the competitive races for president, Senate, and governor. Only Roy Cooper won. In 2020, the dynamic was the same: three marquee races, and only Cooper pulled it off. … Figuring out why Cooper keeps winning could have potentially huge implications for determining whether he’s a fluke or a model for Democrats across the South and in other red states.
“Cooper’s races never became national Democratic causes. He has set no major fundraising records. He’s not an otherworldly political talent. And yet his success is already a source of chatter among some political obsessives gaming out the 2024 presidential ticket. Cooper, they told me, could offer a compelling balance to Vice President Kamala Harris as the white male Democratic governor of an important swing state.”
Trump Sought Stake In Parler Before He Would Join
“The Trump Organization negotiated on behalf of then-president Donald Trump to make Parler his primary social network, but it had a condition: an ownership stake in return for joining,” BuzzFeed News report.
“The deal was never finalized, but legal experts said the discussions alone, which occurred while Trump was still in office, raise legal concerns with regards to anti-bribery laws.”
Trump Hush Money Case Is Apparently ‘Dead’
“When Donald Trump lost the legal shield of the presidency last month, some pundits speculated federal prosecutors might revive an investigation that implicated him in possible campaign finance crimes during his 2016 run for office,” the AP reports.
“But several people involved in the case say the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan has made no move to restart the hush-money probe that once dogged Trump’s presidency and sent his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to prison.”
Eric Greitens Hints at Primary Challenge to Roy Blunt
Disgraced former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) hints to Newsmax that he may run against Sen. Roy Blunt (R) in next year’s primary.
Greitens says Blunt is “criticizing President Trump, criticizing his administration and embracing Joe Biden” and therefore doesn’t represent Missouri Republicans.
Boebert Paid Off State Tax Liens
Just days after it was reported that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) claimed more than $22,000 in mileage reimbursements on her campaign finance filings — which would require driving 38,712 miles — Colorado Newsline reports she recently paid off nearly $20,000 in state tax liens that had accumulated on her restaurant since 2016.
Video Shows Roger Stone Flanked by Oath Keepers
“A new video has surfaced showing former President Donald Trump’s longtime adviser Roger Stone in Washington, D.C., on the morning of Jan. 6, flanked by members of the Oath Keepers militia group just hours before the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building,” ABC News reports.
Muddled Intelligence Hampered Response to Capitol Riot
New York Times: “New details about what authorities anticipated on Jan. 6 highlight failures to grasp the degree of the threat from pro-Trump right-wing extremists.”
The Knives Come Out for Josh Hawley
The Atlantic: “The elite conservative world saw the Missouri senator as America’s next great statesman. Instead, he’s revealed uncomfortable truths about the movement.”
House Approves Budget Plan
“The House voted 219-209 to approve the budget plan, which the Senate had already passed early Friday morning, beginning the process of turning Biden’s stimulus proposal into legislation,” the Washington Post reports.
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Friday she aims to pass Biden’s stimulus plan within two weeks.”
Trump’s Tariffs Failed to Curb Trade Deficits
“The U.S. trade deficit over the four years of President Donald Trump’s presidency soared to its highest level since 2008, despite his tough tariff tactics intended to bring it down, a new Commerce Department report showed on Friday,” Politico reports.
“The combined U.S. goods and services trade deficit increased to $679 billion in 2020, compared to $481 billion in 2016, the year before Trump took office. The trade deficit in goods alone hit $916 billion, a record high and an increase of about 21 percent from 2016.”
