“House Democrats plan to move on a second impeachment of Donald J. Trump as early as Monday — and on Wednesday at the latest, depending on member travel,” Axios reports.
There’s just one article in the four-page draft: “Incitement of Insurrection.”
Murkowski Won’t Become a Democrat
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) responded “absolutely, unequivocally not” when asked by Alaska Public Radio if she was considering switching to the Democratic party.
West Virginia Lawmaker Resigns After U.S. Capitol Riot
West Virginia Delegate Derrick Evans (R), who was seen on video with rioters going inside of the Capitol Wednesday, has announced his resignation from the West Virginia House of Delegates, WSAZ reports.
Just yesterday, Evans’ lawyer told WVNS-TV that he would not step down and he “committed no criminal act that day.”
A Profile In Cravenness
Josh Kraushaar: “House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy hasn’t joined his fellow Republican leaders in condemning the president. Even after Trump fomented terror against the very legislative body McCarthy represents, more than half of House Republicans voted to perpetuate the president’s dangerous charade. There was no attempt to unite the caucus by belatedly rejecting Trump’s insidious election denialism. Instead, McCarthy continues to bet on Trump’s continued dominance of the Republican party.”
Rubio Waits Until After Capitol Attack to Speak Up
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said Friday in a video that the people who stormed the U.S. Capitol were “lied to by politicians who were telling them that the vice president had the power to change the election results,” the Miami Herald reports.
“But in the days before the attack that appalled the world and resulted in five deaths, Rubio made no public effort to counter what he now calls a lie pushed by politicians he didn’t name. Nor would he talk when asked this week about a last-ditch attempt by his fellow Senate Republicans to overturn the election by blocking President-elect Joe Biden’s formal certification, though he later voted against it.”
“And he said nothing when, hours before the riot, President Trump tweeted as riled-up caravans of his supporters headed to Washington that ‘if Vice President Mike Pence comes through for us, we will win the presidency.'”
Newspapers Call on Ted Cruz to Resign or Be Expelled
The Houston Chronicle called for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to resign from the Senate:
“We’re done with the drama. Done with the opportunism. Done with the cynical scheming that has now cost American lives. Resign, Mr. Cruz, and deliver Texas from the shame of calling you our senator.”
The San Antonio Express News calls for Cruz to be expelled from the Senate.
Trump Tells Advisers He Will Not Resign
“President Trump will not resign. Nor will he turn power over to Vice President Pence and ask him for a pardon, according to top White House advisers who have spoken with the highest ranking members of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet, including Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, Pence and chief of staff Mark Meadows,” CBS News reports.
Air Force Vet Admits He Breached Senate Chamber
A former member of the U.S. Air Force and combat veteran, Lieutenant Colonel Larry Rendall Brock Jr., told the New Yorker he was among the rioters who stormed the Capitol building earlier this week.
Brock was the man photographed near House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and in the Senate chamber wearing tactical gear and holding zip tie restraints. Brock claimed he merely picked the zip ties up off the floor.
Said Brock: “I know it looks menacing. That was not my intent.”
Trump Pressured Another Georgia Election Official Too
“President Trump urged Georgia’s lead elections investigator to “find the fraud” in a lengthy December phone call, saying the official would be a ‘national hero,'” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump placed the call to the investigations chief for the Georgia secretary of state’s office shortly before Christmas — while the individual was leading an inquiry into allegations of ballot fraud in Cobb County, in the suburbs of Atlanta.”
North Korea Leader Calls U.S. Its Biggest Enemy
“North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday called the United States his country’s ‘biggest enemy’ and pushed to continue expanding North Korea’s arsenal,” Axios reports.
Capitol Rioter Seen In Horned Hat Arrested
“A man photographed in the U.S. Capitol carrying a 6-foot spear and wearing a horned helmet as a pro-Trump mob breached the building Wednesday has been arrested and charged,” NBC Washington reports.
Meanwhile, Florida authorities tell ABC News they’ve arrested one of the alleged Capitol rioters Friday night who was seen in a viral photograph carrying Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern through the halls.
Election Gambit Blows Up on Hawley and Cruz
“Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz have positioned themselves as heirs to President Donald Trump’s base. But their decision to embrace Trump’s election challenge is fueling major blowback — even as they remain largely unrepentant after this week’s deadly riot,” Politico reports.
“Following the insurrection at the Capitol, the potential 2024 presidential candidates are facing Democratic calls to resign and charges from their own party that they incited violence in the name of political opportunism. Cruz said that such allegations were ‘ludicrous.'”
Pro-Trump Dark Money Groups Organized Rally
“A web of pro-Trump dark money groups helped organize the rally that led to a deadly riot on Capitol Hill,” CNBC reports.
Quote of the Day
“At this point, I won’t defend him anymore. I won’t defend him for stirring the pot that incited the mob. He’s on his own.”
— Former White House press Secretary Ari Fleischer, quoted by the Associated Press, on President Trump.
The GOP Has a Big Problem
Harry Enten: “The insurrection and the Electoral College objections to President-elect Joe Biden’s election that preceded and followed it were an ugly milestone in just how divisive the political arena has become in America.”
“But let’s be clear: This wasn’t a both sides issue. The events of the past week are a major point in support of the idea that Republicans are more responsible for the polarization in our country. Wednesday was the culmination of a multi-month effort by the President that was largely bolstered by a number of Republicans.”
Some Republicans Begin to Flee from Trump
“President Trump’s steadfast grip on Republicans in Washington is beginning to crumble, leaving him more politically isolated than at any other point in his turbulent administration,” the AP reports.
“After riling up a crowd that later staged a violent siege of the U.S. Capitol, Trump appears to have lost some of his strongest allies, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. Two Cabinet members and at least a half dozen aides have resigned. A handful of congressional Republicans are openly considering whether to join a renewed push for impeachment.”
Most Want Trump Immediately Removed
Fifty-seven percent of Americans want Republican President Trump to be immediately removed from office after he encouraged a protest this week that escalated into a deadly riot inside the U.S. Capitol, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Noem Says Georgia’s New Senators Are Communists
A day after calling for healing and peace as a country, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) is alleging “communists” have infiltrated the United States Senate, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports.
In an op-ed in The Federalist, Noem accused Senator-elects Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of being communists, calling one a “33-year-old with no accomplishments” and the other a “smooth-talking preacher.”
Wrote Noem: “The idea that Georgia, of all places, could elect two communists to the United States Senate was ridiculous.”
