“The son of the disgraced former Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) avoided his father’s fate, receiving a sentence of five years’ probation, including six months of home confinement, instead of federal prison for his role in an insider trading scheme,” the Buffalo News reports.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“Who’s the other one?”
— Michael Bloomberg, quoted by the AP, when asked if the country wanted a race between two New York billionaires.
Trump and Bloomberg Collide In Pricey Knife Fight
“They are circling each other like wary boxers, with taunts on Twitter, snarky asides and belittling descriptions. They rose to prominence in Manhattan on parallel tracks, amassed wealth real and perceived and displayed a penchant for putting their names on things,” the AP reports.
“That’s where the similarities end. President Trump and Michael Bloomberg could hardly be more different as people, but now they both want the same job: Trump’s.”
Trump’s Privilege Threat Rallies GOP Senators
“A growing number of Republicans are pointing to President Trump’s threat to invoke executive privilege in order to make their case against subpoenas sought by Democrats for key witnesses and documents, a development that could bolster Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s goal of a swift end to the impeachment trial,” CNN reports.
“GOP senators are privately and publicly raising concerns that issuing subpoenas — to top officials like acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton and for documents blocked by the White House — will only serve to drag out the proceedings. Plus, many say there’s little appetite for such a time-consuming fight.”
GOP Senators Complain About Lack of Anything New
“As Democratic impeachment managers made the case against President Trump on Wednesday and Thursday, Republican senators rolled out a rationale for their future vote to acquit: that the trial is a waste of time because Democrats aren’t presenting new evidence,” Vox reports.
“But on Tuesday night, every Republican senator took vote after vote to block impeachment managers from gathering new documents and compelling witness testimony. So Republicans are complaining about Democrats not doing something they’re preventing them from doing.”
Fox Legal Analyst Says Trump Should Be Removed
Fox News senior legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano:
“What is required for removal of the president? A demonstration of presidential commission of high crimes and misdemeanors, of which in Trump’s case the evidence is ample and uncontradicted.”
Upton Still Undecided About 2020 Plans
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) told WKZO radio that he would make a decision about running for re-election “in the next couple of weeks, for sure.”
Pelosi Keeps a Tight Grip on Impeachment
New York Times: “Ms. Pelosi’s role in the impeachment of Mr. Trump may be formally over, but by her own design, the matter is not out of her hands. Even in her absence from the Capitol this week, as the speaker traveled through Poland and Israel in remembrance of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, she had her hand firmly on the tiller of the prosecution of the president.”
“In many ways, Ms. Pelosi is the eighth, largely unseen manager of the Democrats’ case.”
Trump Finalizing Medicaid Block Grant Plan
Politico: “The Trump administration is finalizing a plan to let states convert a chunk of Medicaid funding to block grants, even as officials remain divided over how to sell the controversial change to the safety net health program.”
“Capping Medicaid spending, even among just Obamacare’s expansion population, would be a major transformation of how the federal government finances the safety net health care program that has grown to cover about 1 in 5 Americans. The plan is guaranteed to enrage critics and invite attacks from Democrats in an election year.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Everyday Americans know what a fair trial is. And that includes witnesses, it includes testimony, it includes both sides having a fair shot at presenting their case. And if they don’t see that, then they’ll say, ‘Well, yeah, he got off, but it’s because it was rigged.'”
— House manager Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), quoted by The Hill.
Fox Business: Obama Thinks Sanders Is Unfit
“Former President Barack Obama has remained mostly silent through the early stages of the Democratic race to unseat Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election but that may soon change, friends and associates tell Fox Business, as avowed socialist Bernie Sanders gains in national polls and seems poised to obtain front-runner status.”
Sam Stein: “Not surprising but I guess worth reporting: actual sources in Obama world are giving a collective LOL to the idea that he is considering putting out a statement warning against Bernie.“
Gaetz Says Trump Defense Like ‘8th Grade Book Report’
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), one of President Trump’s most vocal allies, praised House Democrats for the way they presented the case against Trump in his impeachment trial, Business Insider reports.
Gaetz said they presented their case to the public as if it were “cable news,” and he praised their use of multimedia.
However, he noted the president’s defense looked like “an eighth-grade book report. Actually, no, I take that back,” he said, adding that an eighth-grader would know how to use PowerPoint and iPads.
Trump Walks Back Comment on Entitlement Cuts
After suggesting to CNBC that he would consider cuts to entitlement programs later this year, President Trump tweeted that Democrats were actually a bigger threat to Social Security and Medicare.
Said Trump: “Democrats are going to destroy your Social Security. I have totally left it alone, as promised, and will save it!”
‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closer to Midnight
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved the “Doomsday Clock” to 100 seconds before midnight, the closest it’s ever been to the metaphorical point of the Earth’s destruction.
From the statement: “Humanity continues to face two simultaneous existential dangers—nuclear war and climate change—that are compounded by a threat multiplier, cyber-enabled information warfare, that undercuts society’s ability to respond. The international security situation is dire, not just because these threats exist, but because world leaders have allowed the international political infrastructure for managing them to erode.”
Sanders Hits Back at Bank CEO Over Socialism Comments
Sen. Bernie Sanders hit back at Jamie Dimon after the JPMorgan Chase CEO derided socialism as something that leads to “eroding society,” The Hill reports.
Said Sanders: “That’s funny. Jamie Dimon seemed fine with corporate socialism when his bank got a $416 billion bailout from American taxpayers.”
CNN Cancels Town Halls Because of Impeachment Trial
CNN has canceled the Democratic presidential town halls scheduled to take place next week ahead of the Iowa caucuses because of the ongoing impeachment trial, CNN reports.
“The cancellation shows how the impeachment trial is upending the 2020 campaign schedule just days before the Iowa caucuses. Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are absent from the trail as they serve as the jurors in the trial.”
Final Iowa Poll
The Des Moines Register and CNN will release an Iowa Poll on the Democratic presidential candidates on February 1 at 9 p.m. ET, two days before the Iowa caucuses.
Quote of the Day
“The Constitution is not a suicide pact. It does not leave us stuck with presidents who abuse their power in unforeseen ways that threaten our security and democracy.”
— House manager Jerry Nadler, arguing it’s impossible to limit impeachment to acts that already written into law.
