“Donald Trump is leaving the White House with the lowest job approval of his presidency (29%) and increasingly negative ratings for his post-election conduct. The share of voters who rate Trump’s conduct since the election as only fair or poor has risen from 68% in November to 76%, with virtually all of the increase coming in his ‘poor’ ratings (62% now, 54% then)” – Pew Research.

Politico: “Lawmakers who interacted with the pro-Trump protesters who rioted at the Capitol last week could face criminal charges and will almost certainly come under close scrutiny in the burgeoning federal investigation into the assault, former prosecutors said. ‘This is incredibly serious,’ said Ron Machen, a former U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. ‘Although you would need compelling evidence before charging a member of Congress with anything related to the breach of the Capitol that day, this has to be investigated.’ Unlike with the president, there’s no Justice Department policy shielding members of Congress from legal accountability while in office.”

“‘I’d say those are potentially viable prosecutions,’ added Peter Zeidenberg, another former federal prosecutor in Washington. ‘I’d say those guys should be worried.’ The role members of Congress may have played in facilitating the deadly attack drew intense attention this week after Democratic lawmakers alleged that some of their Republican colleagues facilitated tours of the Capitol on January 5 – one day before demonstrators engaged in the assault that terrorized lawmakers, ransacked congressional offices and left as many as five people dead. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) sent a letter Wednesday formally asking the Capitol Police and congressional officials to investigate the tours, which she said were unusual. In a Facebook video, she said the visits amounted to ‘a reconnaissance of the next day.’ ‘The tours being conducted on Tuesday, January 5, were a noticeable and concerning departure from the procedures in place as of March 2020 that limited the number of visitors to the Capitol,’ Sherrill and 33 colleagues wrote. ‘The visitors encountered by some of the Members of Congress on this letter appeared to be associated with the rally at the White House the following day.’ Sherrill suggested that access raised the possibility that the visitors were casing the building for the assault that unfolded the next day.”

As the legacy of #BeBest comes to a close at the @WhiteHouse, we must continue to give a voice to our Nation's children & the issues that impact their lives. It's the values & spirit of the American people that inspired Be Best & it's those values that will carry on its mission. pic.twitter.com/fRBTWphmlj

— Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) January 15, 2021

The Atlantic: “Most Americans have a sense of what a protest is – supporters of a cause gather near an important landmark to give speeches, wave signs, and march. Such events, which are generally expected to be nonviolent, are often the most grassroots way of seeking social change. In reality, not all protests are peaceful. If they get out of control, police form a line to counter the protesters, sometimes with piercing brutality.”

“The recent history of MAGA events, culminating in the ‘Stop the Steal’ campaign to overturn the 2020 election, is an extreme aberration. Far from a grassroots movement to right an evident injustice, Stop the Steal is a coordinated disinformation campaign that brings together an all-star cast of Trump’s most loyal supporters. Far from giving voice to the powerless, it is a last-ditch effort to disenfranchise millions for the sake of illegally reinstalling a defeated president of the United States. And disinformation was only the first step. Having lost at the polls, in the courts, and in state legislative chambers, the MAGA movement is trying to get its way through more and more brazen violence and intimidation.”

“Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) has apologized to Black Oklahomans for challenging Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, saying he did not realize his actions would be seen as ‘casting doubt on the validity of votes’ in predominantly Black cities like Atlanta, Philadelphia and Detroit.”

“Lankford was part of a group of 11 senators, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who planned to object to the Electoral College certification unless Congress launched a commission to audit the election results. He later withdrew his objection after the pro-Trump siege of the Capitol” – Axios.

Washington Post: “Democrats this week demanded a full investigation into whether Republican House members assisted rioters in the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, fueled in part by claims that at least one GOP lawmaker gave ‘reconnaissance’ tours to groups the day before the attack. On Thursday, one Republican lawmaker came out swinging to deny any involvement in that incident, although no Democrats have publicly named her. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a gun rights advocate with links to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, said the allegations have been falsely linked to her, leading to ‘death threats and hundreds of vile phone calls and emails.'”

‘You said that you could ‘confirm’ a Member of Congress gave Capitol tours to ‘insurrectionists’ and implied I was that Member of Congress,’ Boebert wrote in a letter to Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), referencing an interview he gave MSNBC earlier this week. ‘Your comments are extremely offensive, shameful and dangerous.’ Maloney, though, quickly noted that he did not name the member of Congress who allegedly led rioters on a tour last week. ‘Um, I’ve never said your name in public, @RepBoebert. Never. Not once,’ Maloney said in a tweet late Thursday night. “(If you’re going to be a gun nut, you probably shouldn’t go off half cocked.) I’ll tweet the transcript so you can see … but that might be like ‘a fact’, so might not help you.”

“Nine in 10 Americans oppose the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, seven in 10 say Donald Trump bears at least some responsibility for it and a majority in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll – 56% – favors efforts in Congress to bar him from holding elected office again. Fifty-four percent in the national survey also say Trump should be charged criminally with inciting a riot for having encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol. More, 66%, say he has behaved irresponsibly, more broadly, in his statements and actions since the election” – ABC News.

Daily Beast: “As Donald Trump entered his final week in office ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, and as several prominent members of Trump’s own party publicly turn on him, there’s one new area in which the outgoing president has found solace: polling. In recent days, some aides and close advisers to Trump have printed out and flagged for him a new set of surveys published by news organizations, polling groups, and one of Trump’s former top pollsters that show the president continues to maintain solid popularity among Republican voters and the base, according to two people familiar with the practice.”

“‘He’s asked for the numbers several times,’ one of the people said. ‘They’re still good and we believe they’ll go back up.’ This source said that Trump wanted the numbers promoted on Trump social media. The president himself can’t because he was banned from Twitter, his preferred Big Tech platform, late last week following wide condemnation over his role in inspiring his supporters to launch what became the bloody, anti-democratic riot on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Trump has said these demonstrate how his fans are still ‘with me’ and that elected Republicans and former top advisers who are backing away from him are wrong and ungrateful to do so, the sources said. In the days before the Jan. 6 riot, RealClear Politics and FiveThirtyEight averages of Trump’s approval rating showed disapproval of him hovering around a slim majority with his approval rating in the mid 40s. Since the riot, Trump’s overall approval rating has pushed disapproval rating above 60 percent in some polls. Morning Consult noted a ‘significant decline’ in support for Trump with a 60 percent overall disapproval rating and Marist found 51 percent of respondents now strongly disapproved of Trump’s handling of the country, the ‘first time a majority has held this view.'”

In an interview with WIAT in Alabama, Senator Tommy Tuberville “questioned the timing of the inauguration on January 20. ‘We probably could have had a swearing-in and inauguration later after we got this virus behind us a little bit. Again, we’re talking about Washington, D.C.,’ Tuberville said. However, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution requires that the inauguration and swearing-in of a new President take place on January 20th. It wasn’t clear if Tuberville was aware of that during the interview.”

Freshman Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado wrote a letter of complaint to New York Democratic Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, upset that Maloney mentioned her name in a television interview about potential assistance people in the House gave the January 6th insurrectionists.

In the letter, Boebert, an adherent of QAnon, said that she never participated in activities that would have assisted the insurrectionists such as giving them tours; the only tour she gave, she claims, was to her family.

“Rep. Sean Maloney made false and baseless conspiracy claims about me that led to death threats and hundreds of vile phone calls and emails,” Boebert tweeted, apparently unaware that getting hundreds of vile calls is a typical day in Washington. 

Officers of the DC Metropolitan Police aren’t often called to protect federal buildings.  But when they’re called because of an emergency–like a Capitol Police officer in trouble or a suspected intruder on the White House grounds–they respond quickly.

As the Washington Post reports, the Metro Police officers who responded to calls for emergency assistance at the Capitol didn’t know what they were going to face.  Michael Fanone was one of those officers.  He and a handful of Metro and Capitol Police worked to push back domestic terrorists attacking the seat of American democracy at the West Terrace doors, the area scene in some of the most-viewed footage of the coup attempt.

Fanone had already had his radio and badge taken from him.  As he tried to get into the building, he was sprayed with gas and bear repellant spray.  Still, the 40-year-old father of five daughters and his fellow officers tried to hold the line against the crowd trying to break into the hall that would lead to the Rotunda.

Then someone got a hold of his helmet and he got pulled down the steps into the mob.  People kicked and struck him.  Someone started beating him with a flag pole flying the American flag.  He heard people in the crowd yelling, “We got one! We got one!” Someone else shouted, “Kill him with his own gun!”  And the crowd started chanting, “USA!  USA!”

Folks — This will be the account for my official duties as President. At 12:01 PM on January 20th, it will become @POTUS. Until then, I'll be using @JoeBiden. And while you're here, follow @FLOTUSBiden @SenKamalaHarris @SecondGentleman and @Transition46.

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 15, 2021

“St. Louis attorney Albert Watkins is representing a man pictured in viral photos of the Capitol unrest and is making a direct plea for a pardon. Jake Angeli, whose legal name is Jacob Anthony Chansley, was taken into custody Saturday in Arizona. An indictment unsealed Tuesday in Washington charged the 33-year-old with civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, and demonstrating in a Capitol building. It’s unclear whether the new charges are felonies or misdemeanors. Chansley was previously charged with two misdemeanors stemming from the violent riot – entering a restricted building without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds” reports KMOV.

“Angeli is known as the ‘QAnon Shaman’ and for his painted face and horned hat. Angeli ‘accepted President Trump’s invitation to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol He took seriously the countless messages of President Trump. He believed in President Trump. Like tens of millions of other Americans, Chansley felt – for the first time in his life – as though his voice was being heard.’ Watkins said Angeli played no part in the violence and surrendered peacefully, warranting a pardon. ‘My client had heard the oft-repeated words of President Trump,’ Mr. Watkins continued. ‘The words and invitation of a president are supposed to mean something. Given the peaceful and compliant fashion in which Mr. Chansley comported himself, it would be appropriate and honorable for the president to pardon Mr. Chansley and other like-minded, peaceful individuals who accepted the president’s invitation with honorable intentions.'”

“In the aftermath of last week’s deadly assault on the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, members of Congress are expressing something once unthinkable: that some of their own colleagues may be endangering their lives. Not in a rhetorical sense, but in a direct and immediate way. ‘It’s the most poisonous I’ve ever seen,’ Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., told NBC News in an interview. ‘There’s the overall sense that maybe if some of them have guns, and likely the ones who are more into conspiracy theories and QAnon with the pedophilic Satanic rings, are we safe from them?'”

“Since the deadly riot on January 6, lawmakers have suggested – not, so far, backed up by evidence – that far right colleagues may have helped plan or guide the attack itself. There are particular concerns about some newly-elected members who have espoused extremist views, including comments supportive of the QAnon libel that accuses perceived enemies of Trump of being part of a child abusing cult. One House freshmen is pushing to carry firearms on Capitol grounds and another says they were armed with a gun during the attack, further putting their colleagues on edge. With Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s support, security officials have installed metal detectors outside the House floor, causing tension with some Republicans and effectively suggesting that members themselves may pose a danger” – NBC News.

KWCH: “The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) on Thursday (Jan. 14) announced that a man convicted of poaching 60 deer will spend more than a year in prison. In a 139-count complaint, KDWPT reported that Blick was found guilty of the illegal hunting of 60 whitetail and mule deer, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm when the illegal hunting happened. A Barber County District Court judge sentenced Blick to 14 months in prison, after which he will be on post-release supervision for at least 12 months. ‘As part of the felony sentence, Blick was assessed $310,234.68 in restitution that is owed to the Kanas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism for the value of the deer killed,’ the department said. KDWPT said the cases against Blick resulted from a multi-year investigation by game wardens with the department.”

“For more than a year, the official state website for Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said the Republican is ‘recognized as a national leader’ among her peers. Until a few days ago, the website supported this claim by mentioning Moody’s appointment to the board of directors for a conservative organization now facing blow back for its role in the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol last week: The Rule of Law Defense Fund. On the eve of Wednesday’s uprising, the Rule of Law Defense Fund sent out robocalls urging supporters of President Donald J. Trump to join what was, by this point, an escalating movement to overturn the election by force.”

“‘At 1 p.m. we will march to the Capitol building and call on Congress to stop the steal,’ said one message obtained by the Associated Press. ‘We’re hoping patriots like you will join us to continue to fight to protect the integrity of our elections.’ As scrutiny of those messages intensified following Wednesday’s insurrection, Moody’s office scrubbed references to the Rule of Law Defense Fund from her online biography. Her website still promoted the board appointment on Friday, according to a Tampa Bay Times review. By Monday morning, it was gone. Lauren Cassedy, a spokeswoman for Moody, said that she left the board last year and had ‘no prior knowledge’ of the organization’s involvement in Wednesday’s uprising. Cassedy declined to provide the date of her departure or an explanation for why the organization was removed from her website” – Tampa Bay Times.

Donald Trump asked Congress to rescind more than $27 billion that was included in the last spending bill, including $4 billion designated for a public-private partnership to distribute the coronavirus vaccine and other innoculations to poor countries, Politico reports.

The request, known as a claw-back, has little likelihood of passing Congress, but Trump’s desire to block coronavirus vaccine distribution worldwide will further reinforce of the idea that he’s a chaos agent bent on world destruction.

The claw-backs also include halting billions of dollars to fight hunger around the world, research into renewable energy, AIDS relief and refugee assistance programs.

CNN: “In his final days in office, President Donald Trump has found the parts of the job he loved replaced by cold legal warnings, forced video addresses and a shrinking circle of downtrodden aides, all anxiously wondering what life will be like after noon on January 20. Gone are the clicks of flashing cameras. Absent is the roar of a cheering crowd. Instead of a commanding final full week of winning, the President is playing the role of victim and not a gracious leader departing office.”

“Trump has been consumed by the unraveling of his presidency during his last days in office, according to people around him, which included a casual discussion among advisers recently about a possible resignation. Trump shut the idea down almost immediately. And he has made clear to aides in separate conversations that mere mention of President Richard Nixon, the last president to resign, were banned. He told one adviser during an expletive-laden conversation recently never to bring up the ex-president ever again. During the passing mention of resigning this week, Trump told people he couldn’t count on Mike Pence to pardon him like Gerald Ford did Nixon, anyway.”