Three Days in January

Events are moving so rapidly that commentary becomes dated almost immediately. So I want to step back a bit to see the events of the last week from a more distant perspective, particularly the interrelationship between three critical events. It is how I think history will likely eventually see them.

President Trump’s coup plot reached a high water mark at the end of last week when Republicans in Congress rushed to join efforts to contest the lawful electoral college vote which made Joe Biden the next President of the United States. It was at this point when first Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and then Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) rushed forward to become the leaders of the coup on Capitol Hill as a way to burnish their Trumpite presidential resumes.

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Hold All the Trump Enablers To Account

TPM Reader AM on the WSJ op-ed:

Longtime subscriber, religious listener to your podcast. I’m writing because I just can’t get over that WSJ op-ed. You acknowledged that it was influential and has a pernicious role in the society, but I can’t get over the latter adjective describing it. I don’t think enough time was spent on it.

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Ex-WH Spox, After More Than 3 Years In Admin, Now Joins Calls For Trump To Go

Former White House communications director Alyssa Farah, who has repeatedly defended and propped up President Donald Trump’s efforts to intentionally mislead Americans, is finally willing to say that the President lied about claims of massive fraud in the Nov. 3 election and should “seriously consider” stepping down.

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Domestic Terrorism: A More Urgent Threat, But Weaker Laws

This article originally appeared in ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

In the days leading up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, the FBI received intelligence that extremists were planning violence as lawmakers gathered in Washington to certify the electoral victory of President-elect Joe Biden.
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Trump Announces He Won’t Attend Biden Inauguration In First Since 1869

For the first time since 1869, a sitting American president will not attend the inauguration of his successor.

A day after he pledged to work toward a smooth transition of power — a moot effort after five people died during a violent insurrection on the Capitol this week — President Trump announced Friday that he will not attend Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

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Former GOP Candidate Saccone Cheered From Outside As Rioters Broke Down Capitol Gates

Former Republican congressional candidate and prominent Trump ally Rick Saccone lost an adjunct teaching job at a private Catholic college Wednesday after video surfaced of him standing on the Capitol grounds and cheering on the attack on the nation’s legislature. 

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‘Anti-Democracy Populist’: Major Donor Calls For Hawley’s Censure By Senate

A major donor to Missouri Republicans who funneled millions into supporting the first election campaign for Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) condemned the lawmaker on Thursday for inciting a violent pro-Trump mob to lay siege at the U.S. Capitol earlier this week.

In a statement to the Missouri Independent, David Humphreys, the CEO of Tamko Building Products, who in recent years provided millions to various groups supporting Hawley, condemned the GOP lawmaker for showing “his true colors as an anti-democracy populist by supporting Trump’s false claim of a ‘stolen election.’”

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Report: Pompeo And Mnuchin Had Discussions On Invoking 25th Amendment

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reportedly held informal discussions with staffers on having President Donald Trump removed from office through the 25th Amendment after he instigated a violent insurrection by his supporters at the Capitol on Wednesday, according to CNBC.

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DeVos Jumps Ship After Trump Foments Riot, Cites ‘Moral Obligation’ Without Any Irony

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos became the second cabinet member to submit her resignation in a letter to President Donald Trump on Thursday night, joining a wave of Trump officials who have opted to jump ship after Trump incited his supporters to descend on the Capitol in what became a violent mob effort to overturn the results of the presidential election.

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Report: Trump Agreed To Condemn Insurrection Only After Being Warned Of Potential Criminal Probe

After inciting a mob of his angry supporters to attack the Capitol, President Donald Trump attempted to backtrack on Thursday night by posting a video of him woodenly acknowledging his electoral defeat and denouncing the violent insurrection-but he reportedly only did so in an attempt to avoid potentially being held legally accountable for the riot.

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