Aaron Mostofsky, the 34-year-old son of a Brooklyn, New York judge, has been arrested by the FBI on charges relating to his part in the insurrection that assaulted the Capitol last Wednesday, WABC ABC-7 reports.

Wearing a fur pelts and a tactical vest emblazoned with “police” on the front, Mostofsky was photographed throughout the Capitol during the course of the attack.  He is the son of Schlomo Mostofsky, a Brooklyn Supreme Court judget.

A search warrant was executed at Mostofsky’s house as he was arrested at his brother’s Brooklyn house, and he currently faces four federal charges which could result into a 10-year prison sentence.

A Republican-run PAC stated that it will raise $50 million to be used in the defense of Congressional Republicans who vote to support the impeachment of Donald Trump, Politico reports.

Led by Defending Democracy Together, the group started the “Republican Accountability Project” Tuesday to support impeachment backers in reelection bids as well as to encourage challengers to the 130-plus incumbents who objected to Electoral College votes.

“We want to say to any Republican who votes to impeach or remove Donald Trump: You will not be left alone,” said Bill Kristol, a leading conservative critic of Trump’s and a founder of Defending Democracy Together, in a release. “We will help you against primary challenges. And before the challenges emerge, we will help explain your vote to your constituents.”

Defending Democracy Together is an umbrella organization that supports Republicans for the Rule of Law and Republican Voters Against Trump, groups who vowed to unseat Donald Trump.

From the Department of Justice page for their livestream: “Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin and FBI Washington Field Office ADIC Steven D’Antuono will provide updates on charges related to last week’s events at the U.S. Capitol.”

“House Republican leaders have decided not to formally lobby members of the party against voting to impeach President Trump, making a tacit break with him as they scrambled to gauge support within their ranks for a vote on Wednesday to charge him with inciting violence against the country. While Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader, has said that he will ‘personally’ oppose impeachment and sought to steer Republicans in a different direction, his decision not to officially lean on lawmakers to vote against the move constituted a subtle shift away from the president. In the past – including the last time Mr. Trump was impeached by the House – Mr. McCarthy and House leaders have lobbied Republicans intensely to stand behind Trump on nearly every issue, demanding the same degree of absolute loyalty that the president himself required.”

“In the Senate, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, has also conspicuously declined to defend Mr. Trump in any way or to speak out against the impeachment push, which – if it resulted in a Senate conviction – could bar the president from holding public office again. Two Senate Republicans had already called upon the president to resign, and advisers privately speculated that a dozen or so more could ultimately favor convicting the president at trial. If all senators were voting, 17 Republicans would have to join Democrats to convict Mr. Trump of high crimes and misdemeanors; if they did so, only a majority would be required to disqualify him from being elected again” – New York Times.

“According to a GOP source on conference phone call yesterday, Kevin McCarthy warned members not to verbally attack colleagues who vote for impeachment because it could endanger their lives.” —John McCormack of National Review

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The acting U.S. attorney for Northern Georgia, who was named after his predecessor reportedly angered President Trump for not finding election fraud, told staffers in a conference call Monday that he dismissed two election fraud cases on his first day. ‘I would love to stand out on the street corner and scream this, and I can’t,’ said Bobby Christine, according to an audio recording of the call obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.”

“‘But I can tell you I closed the two most – I don’t know, I guess you’d call them high profile or the two most pressing election issues this office has,’ he said. ‘I said I believe, as many of the people around the table believed, there’s just nothing to them.’ Christine also said he found fewer election-related investigations in the office than he expected. Christine declined to comment on the call when contacted by the AJC Tuesday. Former U.S. Attorney Byung J. ‘BJay’ Pak, a Republican who had served since 2017, had planned to remain through the end of the Trump administration but resigned abruptly Jan. 4. Over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal reported the White House forced Pak to resign because Trump believed he was not being aggressive enough in investigating allegations of election fraud. In a call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger two days before Pak’s resignation, Trump disparaged Pak as a ‘never Trumper U.S. attorney.’ Christine, the U.S. attorney for Georgia’s Southern District, was appointed to replace him. The appointment bypassed the number two prosecutor in the office, Kurt Erskine, and raised fears of political interference as Trump was waging a campaign to overturn the results of the election.”

https://twitter.com/SenBillCassidy/status/1348998640099094528

“The AP has learned ex-Michigan Gov. Snyder and others have been told they’re being charged in Flint water scandal” reports CNBC’s Steve Kopack.

Three Democratic members of Congress have tested positive for coronavirus in the past week after they were confined in a safe area of the Capitol with unmasked Republicans as Trump-supporting insurrectionists stormed the building, NBC News reports.

Democrats Brad Schneider of Illinois, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, and Bonnie Wilson Coleman of New Jersey have all tested positive in the last week.  They were all in a “safe room” with a number of Republicans who refused to wear facemasks, scoffing at the risk of coronavirus.

Masks are required on the floor of the House, but no in adjoining meeting rooms or House offices.  Republicans regularly flout the rules on the floor, endangering their colleagues and House staff, without repercussions.  It is unclear if any of the people, including the representatives, are taking actions to isolate after exposure to an infected person.

Mediaite: “Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH), one of President Donald Trump’s most ardent backers, refused to acknowledge that President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 election ‘fair and square’ under questioning from a House Democrat. In a fiery exchange during a meeting of the House Rules Committee Tuesday morning, committee chair Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) grilled Jordan – in an effort to get the Ohio congressman to state that Biden won a fair contest. ‘Will you admit that Joe Biden won fair and square?’ McGovern asked Jordan. ‘And the election was not rigged or stolen?'”

“‘So is that a yes?’ McGovern asked. ‘Of course it’s a yes,’ Jordan replied. Only, it turned out not to be a yes when McGovern restated his question. ‘I’m asking you to make a statement that the election was not stolen,’ McGovern said. ‘That Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won fair and square.’ ‘No, the question you asked me was, ‘Is Joe Biden … the president-elect,’ Jordan said – misstating McGovern’s query. ‘And I said, ‘Yes he is.” ‘So Joe Biden won fair and square,’ McGovern said. Jordan refused to capitulate. ‘He won because the way the process works is the last chance to object is January 6th,’ Jordan said. And that objection didn’t prevail.'”

An apparently mentally-ill man drove a car directly into a sheriff deputy’s patrol car on Tuesday, killing a deputy who was just one shift away from retirement, USA Today reports.

Cpl. Brian LaVigne, 54, was one of a number of law enforcement officers responding to a call of a man throwing furniture and clothing off his apartment balcony.  Although the man, 28-year-old Travis Zachary Gabriel Garrett, was exhibiting disturbing behavior, responding officers determined no crime had been committed and left the scene.

A little while later, neighbors reported Garrett was walking naked outside and throwing food at neighbors.  When officers approached Garrett, he jumped in a car and burst through a gate at the back of the community, accelerating before t-boning directly into the driver’s side door of the car in which LaVigne was sitting. 

“There are armed Pro-Trump protestors at the Texas State Capitol right now. The state has not banned guns on capitol grounds” reports KVUE’s Christina Ginn.

White House Statement: “Melania and I mourn the passing of Sheldon Adelson, and send our heartfelt condolences to his wife Miriam, his children and grandchildren. Sheldon lived the true American dream. His ingenuity, genius, and creativity earned him immense wealth, but his character and philanthropic generosity his great name. Sheldon was also a staunch supporter of our great ally the State of Israel. He tirelessly advocated for the relocation of the United States embassy to Jerusalem, the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and the pursuit of peace between Israel and its neighbors. Sheldon was true to his family, his country, and all those that knew him. The world has lost a great man. He will be missed.”

“A day before rioters stormed Congress, an FBI office in Virginia issued an explicit internal warning that extremists were preparing to travel to Washington to commit violence and ‘war,’ according to an internal document reviewed by The Washington Post that contradicts a senior official’s declaration the bureau had no intelligence indicating anyone at last week’s pro-Trump protest planned to do harm. A situational information report approved for release the day before the U.S. Capitol riot painted a dire portrait of dangerous plans, including individuals sharing a map of the complex’s tunnels, and possible rally points for would-be conspirators to meet up in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and South Carolina and head in groups to Washington”.

“‘As of 5 January 2021, FBI Norfolk received information indicating calls for violence in response to ‘unlawful lockdowns’ to begin on 6 January 2021 in Washington. D.C.,’ the document says. ‘An online thread discussed specific calls for violence to include stating ‘Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa slave soldiers being spilled. Get violent. Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die. NOTHING else will achieve this goal.’ Yet even with that information in hand, the report’s unidentified author expressed concern that the FBI might be encroaching on free speech rights. The warning is the most stark evidence yet of the sizable intelligence failure that preceded the mayhem, during which five people died, although one law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid disciplinary action, said the failure was not one of intelligence, but of acting on the intelligence” – Washington Post.

WXIA: “Four men with Georgia ties have been arrested for making threats or taking part in last week’s riot at the US Capitol. WXIA has learned that one of them, Christopher Stanton Georgia [This guy’s surname is Georgia and he lived in Georgia], has since died. The cause of death has not been released. According to documents from the Superior Court of DC, Georgia is charged with attempting to ‘enter certain property, that is, the United States Capitol Grounds, against the will of the United States Capitol Police.’ Documents show that around 7:15 p.m. on the night of the riots, Georgia along with several others were outside in violation of a District-wide 6 p.m. curfew. When officers gave several warnings for the group to disperse, documents said they did not. Georgia and the group were placed under arrest as a result. An Alpharetta Police report shows Georgia died at his home on Saturday. The report shows officers removed two rifles from his home and listed his death as ‘under investigation.’ The attack on Wednesday happened as members of Congress met to certify Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.”

Lauren Blair Bianchi, the communications director for Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz since April 2019, has resigned, reportedly because she was increasingly uncomfortable with Cruz’s tactics to undermine the 2020 Presidential election, HuffPost reports.

While Bianchi released a statement thanking Cruz for the opportunity to serve the government and wishing him well, a source close to Bianchi told HuffPost she left because she was “not comfortable” with the rhetoric Cruz was using.

“Since the election it was becoming clear things were moving in a direction that she was not comfortable with and that culminated with last week’s tragedy in the Capitol,” the source told HuffPost. “Given that every member of Congress deserves to have a staff aligned with and supportive of their vision, and coupled with the start of the new Congress, she felt it was an appropriate time to step aside.”

Donald Trump made his first live statements to the media regarding the attempted coup at the Capitol last Wednesday and his impending second impeachment vote in the House this week, showing little regret for his role in inciting the violence that killed five people.

https://youtu.be/1SeIsgAg-xk

During a brief statement as he left the White House to board Marine One on the way to Joint Base Andrews, Trump claimed that “We want no violence.  Never violence,” although he’s been stoking his followers to do anything in their means to overturn the November election, which he lost to President-elect Joe Biden.

Casino magnate, spouse of Presidential Medal of Honor recipient and Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson died overnight in New York City of complications to cancer, CNN reports.

The CEO of Las Vegas Sands casino, Adelson used the wealth he accumulated to influence GOP politics and candidates for decades, withholding or granting hundreds of millions of dollars to candidates he favored to reshape specific races or party policy.

Before entering the gambling industry, Adelson made his wealth by starting the COMDEX computer and electronics trade show.  In 2015, he purchased the Las Vegas Journal Review newspaper so he could promote his political views in the popular press.

Adelson’s wife was awarded a Presidential Medal of Honor by Donald Trump, supposedly because of philanthropic activity.