“Prosecutors in Georgia appear increasingly likely to open a criminal investigation of President Trump over his attempts to overturn the results of the state’s 2020 election, an inquiry into offenses that would be beyond his federal pardon power,” the New York Times reports.
Kudlow Criticizes Trump for Handling of Riot
“President Trump’s top economic adviser criticized his boss’s handling of the riot at the U.S. Capitol and said he was disappointed in the way Mr. Trump treated Vice President Mike Pence, while defending the administration’s policy legacy,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Larry Kudlow: “I was hoping that he would come out quickly and make statements calling everybody back and stopping the violence.”
Trump Considers Pardoning Steve Bannon
“President Trump is considering granting a pardon to Steve Bannon, his former White House chief strategist and top campaign aide, who was charged with swindling donors to a private crowdsourcing effort to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border,” Politico reports.
“The potential pardon would follow a wave of reprieves the president has recently granted to political allies who have been convicted, charged or reportedly under federal investigation. Two additional batches of pardons are expected — one on Friday night and one Wednesday morning before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office.”
Pelosi Holds Back Impeachment Resolution
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday that House impeachment managers were preparing to prosecute President Trump in the Senate, but she refused to offer a timeline for when they would move forward with a never-before-attempted trial of a former president,” the New York Times reports.
Biden Makes Science Adviser a Cabinet Position
President-elect Joe Biden announced Friday that he has chosen a pioneer in mapping the human genome to be his chief science adviser and is elevating the top science job to a Cabinet position, the AP reports.
Trump Wrote His Own Schedule Announcement
A senior administration official confirms to CBS News that the wording that has appeared on President Trump’s schedule lately — “President Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings.” — was written by Trump himself.
Ex-McCain Aide Admits ‘Inappropriate’ Messages
John Weaver, a veteran Republican operative who co-founded the Lincoln Project, declared in a statement to Axios that he sent “inappropriate,” sexually charged messages to multiple men.
Said Weaver: “To the men I made uncomfortable through my messages that I viewed as consensual mutual conversations at the time: I am truly sorry. They were inappropriate and it was because of my failings that this discomfort was brought on you.”
He added: “The truth is that I’m gay. And that I have a wife and two kids who I love. My inability to reconcile those two truths has led to this agonizing place.”
My Pillow Guy Urges Martial Law
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell went to a meeting at the White House today with notes suggesting “martial law if necessary,” the Independent reports.
“The notes, captured by a photographer as Mr Lindell entered the Oval Office on Friday, come after Mr Lindell tweeted then deleted calls for the president to ‘impost martial law’ in the seven battleground states that won the election for Joe Biden.”
Philip Bump: “It’s hard to characterize how bizarre and outrageous this is. From Lindell having a platform in any media to hype his allegations to his being invited into the inner sanctum of American power to apparently argue to the president or his team that there’s a path to rejecting the legitimate election of President-elect Joe Biden? There aren’t sufficient adjectives to explore how far from normal — or reality — this is.”
Pence Fills the Void as ‘Acting President’
“Frustrated by the loss of his Twitter account and forced to accept that he soon must leave office, President Trump has effectively stopped doing his job, delegating daily responsibilities to Vice President Mike Pence while hunkering down with a shrinking group of acquiescent aides and contemplating additional presidential pardons,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Trump had considered leaving the White House before his final day in office Wednesday, even as early as this weekend, but he has opted to depart on the morning of President-elect Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day, according to two people familiar with discussions who cautioned that, with Trump, plans are always subject to change.”
“Intrigued by the idea of upstaging Biden, the ever self-centered president has requested a major sendoff. It would begin with a throng of cheering, flag-waving staffers and supporters to see him off on the White House’s South Lawn, and continue to a more formal ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, featuring a red carpet, military band, color guard and 21-gun salute. He’ll make his final Air Force One flight to Florida, to take up residence at Mar-a-Lago, his West Palm Beach, Fla., estate.”
Trump Foreign Policy Moves ‘Feel Like Sabotage’
Days before the inauguration, President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team criticized recent Trump administration policy announcements, suggesting that a series of recent statements “begin to feel like sabotage,” the AP reports.
“In the last week, the State Department announced significant policies on Yemen, Cuba, Taiwan and Iran that senior Trump administration officials insist they have been pushing for months, if not years, but that critics label as motivated more by politics than policy.”
Trump’s Defense Chief Can’t Wait to Leave
Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, who will leave office in less than a week. told reporters that he ‘cannot wait to leave this job,” CNN reports.
NRA Files for Bankruptcy
“The National Rifle Association said Friday that it has filed for bankruptcy in U.S. court as part of a larger restructuring plan aimed at removing its footprint in New York for Texas,” CNBC reports.
“The gun-rights advocacy group said it would restructure as a Texas nonprofit to exit what it said was a ‘a corrupt political and regulatory environment in New York,’ where it is currently registered.”
Biden to Deploy National Guard to Distribute Vaccine
“President-elect Joe Biden plans to use FEMA and the National Guard to build coronavirus vaccine clinics across the United States,” CNBC reports.
“The Biden administration will also ‘quickly jumpstart’ efforts to make the vaccines available at local pharmacies across the U.S., which should ensure that Americans have access to doses at facilities only miles from their home.”
James Murdoch Blasts U.S. Media for ‘Insidious Forces’
James Murdoch has castigated the US media to the Financial Times for the “toxic politics” threatening American democracy, saying proprietors are as culpable as politicians who “know the truth but choose instead to propagate lies.”
Asked whether America’s dominant conservative news network Fox News had played a role in the riot that rocked Washington last week, James Murdoch said media groups had amplified election disinformation, leaving “a substantial portion” of the public believing “a falsehood.”
He added: “The damage is profound. The sacking of the Capitol is proof positive that what we thought was dangerous is indeed very, very much so. Those outlets that propagate lies to their audience have unleashed insidious and uncontrollable forces that will be with us for years.”
‘Warp Speed’ Waited Months to Approve Distribution Plan
“Operation Warp Speed leaders waited more than two months to approve a plan to distribute and administer Covid-19 vaccines proposed by U.S. health officials, leaving states with little time to implement a mass-vaccination campaign amid a coronavirus surge,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Trump and Aides Drove Family Separation at Border
“President Trump and top aides in the White House aggressively pushed the get-tough policy that led migrant children to be separated from adults at the border with Mexico, according to a top Justice Department official in a new report from the department’s inspector general and other internal documents,” the New York Times reports.
“In the report, formally released on Thursday, Gene Hamilton, a top official, said the policy was put in place after complaints by the president and others at the White House involved in carrying out his immigration agenda.”
McConnell Says Impeachment Is ‘Vote of Conscience’
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been emailing senators to tell them their decision on whether to convict President Trump during the upcoming impeachment trial will be a “vote of conscience,” Business Insider reports.
Ted Cruz Will Attend Biden’s Inauguration
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) will attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, sources tell KXAN.
“Calls for Cruz to resign mounted in the week since rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol after Cruz called on his colleagues to object to certifying the Electoral College vote.”
