“Over the past several days, Mark Gearan and I have spent a good deal of time considering the role at the Institute of Politics of our colleague Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, whom I have included in this message. Mark and I have read public materials, listened to students and alumni, and consulted with colleagues at Harvard on this important matter. Following this consideration, I spoke with Elise and asked her to step aside from the Senior Advisory Committee.”

“My request was not about political parties, political ideology, or her choice of candidate for president. Rather, in my assessment, Elise has made public assertions about voter fraud in November’s presidential election that have no basis in evidence, and she has made public statements about court actions related to the election that are incorrect. Moreover, these assertions and statements do not reflect policy disagreements but bear on the foundations of the electoral process through which this country’s leaders are chosen. In my conversation with Elise, she declined to step aside, and I told her that I would therefore remove her from the IOP’s Senior Advisory Committee at this time” – Doug Elmendorf, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

For context: Last week Forbes posted a piece by Forbes editor Randall Lane, saying to companies they cover “hire any of Trump’s fellow fabulists above,” as in Kellyanne Conway, Kayleigh McEnany, etc, “and Forbes will assume that everything your company or firm talks about is a lie”, which obviously is upsetting to a Fox News worm like Doocy, because MAGA or something.

“The city of New York said Monday that it was ‘reviewing whether legal grounds exist’ to terminate its business relationships with President Trump, whose company has contracts to run a carousel, two ice rinks and a golf course in city parks. In a statement, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said that review was spurred by Trump’s actions on Wednesday – when, after encouragement from the president, a pro-Trump mob stormed and ransacked the U.S. Capitol. ‘The attacks on our Capitol killed a police officer, left four rioters dead, exposed lawmakers to COVID-19 and threatened the constitutional transfer of power. They were a national abomination,’ said spokeswoman Laura Feyer. ‘We’re reviewing whether legal grounds exist in light of these new circumstances to terminate concessions with the Trump Organization'” – Washington Post.

Axios: “President Trump on Monday privately – and falsely – blamed ‘Antifa people’ for storming the Capitol, even though clear video and documentary evidence exists showing the rioters were overwhelmingly Trump supporters. Despite facing an impeachment vote for an assault he helped incite, the outgoing president is still sticking with his tried-and-true playbook of deflecting and reaching for conspiracies. In a tense, 30-minute-plus phone call this morning with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Trump trotted out the Antifa line. McCarthy would have none of it, telling the president ‘It’s not Antifa, it’s MAGA. I know. I was there,’ according to a White House official and another source familiar with the call. The White House official said the call was tense and aggressive at times, with Trump ranting about election fraud and an exasperated McCarthy cutting in to say, ‘Stop it. It’s over. The election is over.'”

People are making many comparisons to the MTV characters “Beavis and Butthead.”

TheGregJarett.com: “Just 8 days before Joe Biden is set to be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, a new migrant caravan is forming in Honduras. And it’s coming straight for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a warning to migrants about the risks involved with the potentially dangerous journey as Guatemalan officials reportedly plan to deploy 4,000 soldiers to patrol their southern border. Rumors are brewing that some migrants plan to begin their trip before the end of the month. ‘Control will be strengthened with the borders we share with Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador and on the area of adjacency with Belize,’ Rubén Téllez, a Guatemalan military spokesman, told Reuters last week. The Guatemalan air force will also be involved in efforts to stop the caravan, he noted, and only Hondurans with a valid passport and a negative coronavirus test will be allowed entry into Guatemala, BizPacReview reports.”

“House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on a conference call with members Monday that there is ‘undisputedly’ no evidence that people linked to Antifa participated in last week’s deadly siege on the Capitol, per sources on the call, and told members he had urged President Trump to call President-elect Biden after Trump promised a transfer of power. Earlier Monday, McCarthy sent a letter to rank and file House Republicans, saying he remains opposed to impeaching Trump and laid out other responses lawmakers could make, including censure. McCarthy is now trying to navigate how to bridge the factions within the party following Wednesday’s siege at the Capitol, and is treading carefully by telling members Trump is partially to blame for what happened without condemning him outright” – Axios.

New York Times: “In the span of four days, President Trump’s family business has lost its online store, the buzz from Mr. Trump’s promotional tweets about its luxury resorts and bragging rights as host to one of the world’s most prestigious golf tournaments. The mob attack on Congress last week by Mr. Trump’s supporters has spurred a reckoning for the Trump Organization by businesses and institutions, at a scale far greater than his previous polarizing actions.”

“And the Trump brand, premised on gold-plated luxury and a super-affluent clientele, may not fully recover from the fallout of his supporters violently storming and vandalizing the U.S. Capitol, hospitality analysts say and some people close to the business acknowledge. Other companies linked with the Trumps, including Deutsche Bank, the president’s largest lender, and Signature Bank, are also seeking distance from him and his business. The backlash is part of a broader shunning of Mr. Trump and his allies unfolding in the wake of the deadly assault on the Capitol. Schools stripped the president of honorary degrees, some prominent Republicans threatened to leave the party and the New York State Bar Association announced it had begun investigating Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, which could lead to his removal from the group.”

Federal wildlife officials are investigating a case of animal abuse where someone carved the word “TRUMP” into the back of an endangered manatee which lives off Nature Coast in Florida, WTVT Fox 13 News in Tampa reports.

US Fish and Wildlife Service are leading the investigation into the abuse of the manatee, a female that’s recognized within Homosassa Springs.  It’s unclear if the animal was mutilated by the abuser or if a protective layer of algae and dirt found on manatees was marred.

Harassment or intentional harm to manatees can lead to a fine of up to $50,000 and a prison term.

Otter Globe and Intelligencer: “This article is intended as a statement of probable cause and an explanation as to why, regardless of the outcome of any impeachment proceedings in Congress, Donald J. Trump should be prosecuted by the Department of Justice. This article will quickly dispel foolish notions that Trump may be able to grant himself a ‘self-pardon’, list the charges that Trump should be investigated for, and provide a brief explanation of what kind of evidentiary support would be required to consider pursuing an indictment under the sections named.”

New England Patriot’s head coach Bill Belichick has refused the Presidential Medal of Freedom offered by Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal reports.

An admitted friend of Trump, Belichick had previously agreed to receive the award a week ago, when Trump first told Belichick that he was awarding it to the coach.  In an apparent rebuke of Trump, Belichick informed the White House that he no longer wanted to get the award from Trump.

More than 80 members of the Maryland Legislature have called for Maryland Republican Congressman Andy Harris to resign from his seat for his role in undermining the Electoral College vote and his role in stoking violence that led to the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol.

The Baltimore Sun’s Dan Rodricks reports that 71 state legislators and 13 state senators called on Harris to resign for his ongoing actions to undermine democratic institutions and his behavior on the floor of the House in the hours after Trump supporters attacked the Capitol, an action that left five dead.

“You have joined with those who have trafficked in lies and conspiracy theories, who have incited division and hate, in the furtherance of a political agenda,” the statement said.  “Rather than recognizing that your words and behavior in office have damaged our democracy, have threatened our Constitution, and have undermined the nation you are sworn to, your response to the attack on our Capitol was to continue to use the same words and behavior. To vote with too many of your colleagues to undermine a free and fair election. To give comfort to the enemies of democracy within our borders and around the world.”

“In the wake of Wednesday’s assault on the nation’s Capitol, President Donald Trump has been advised he potentially could face civil liability connected to his role in encouraging supporters who went on to storm Congress, sources familiar with the conversations told ABC News. ‘Think O.J.,’ an adviser explained it to Trump, according to one source. It was a reference to O.J. Simpson, who was found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife and a friend but later faced stiff civil damages after being sued by his ex-wife’s family. Prior to Wednesday, the president and his advisers had been discussing a self-pardon – something that would be both historic and untested in American history – in the wake of a phone call with Trump and Georgia election officials that was made public. The sources say if the president were to self-pardon, it would only strengthen the motivation to bring civil cases against the 45th president.”

“As ABC News previously reported, sources tell ABC News White House Counsel Pat Cipollone advised the president that he could face legal jeopardy for encouraging his supporters to storm the Capitol building, according to sources familiar with their discussions. After these conversations, sources say the president grew angrier, and the entire pardon process has been described as ‘on hold’ – meaning others who have been lobbying the president for pardons, including his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, may not receive one. Trump has long believed he has the power to pardon himself. In 2018, the president tweeted he had the ‘absolute right.’ Although there is some ambiguity in the law, most constitutional lawyers and experts ABC News has spoken to say a president cannot pardon him or herself, based on the founding legal principle that no person can be a judge or jury in their own case” – ABC News.

Outgoing Capitol Police chief Steven Sund said in an interview on Sunday that his pleas to have additional National Guard and law enforcement forces in reserve in case Wednesday’s pro-Trump protests got out of control, which they did, the New York Times reports.

Sund said that two days before the insurgency, he had asked for additional resources after he reviewed intelligence about online chatter and information about the people who were attending.  His requests were rebuffed by House and Senate security officials and the Department of Defense.

Approximately 8,000 Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Wednesday, overwhelming the 1,400 Capitol Police officers on duty around the Capitol complex. 

“The House Judiciary Committee has reissued its subpoena for testimony of Don McGahn, Trump’s former White House lawyer… The committee, which has been litigating over this for a long time now, wants McGahn to testify about President Donald Trump’s efforts to impede former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation that documented Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election” – Lawrence Hurley of Reuters

Washington Post: “As airlines and airports gird for more disruption when supporters of President Trump return to Washington for protests ahead of the inauguration, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning to air travelers: Causing a safety risk could mean a jail term or a $35,000 fine. ‘As a former airline captain, I can attest from firsthand experience that the cabin crew’s primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of all passengers,’ FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement. ‘I expect all passengers to follow crew member instructions, which are in place for their safety and the safety of flight.'”

“The warning followed several viral videos, including those showing Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) being heckled at airports last week, and others showing rowdy supporters of Trump aboard airliners. A major flight attendants union said every airline flying out of the Washington region had experienced incidents in recent days. The chairman of the House Transportation Committee and the head of its aviation subcommittee wrote Monday to Dickson asking him to take additional steps. The lawmakers called on him to convene airline, airport and labor leaders to develop a way to identify anyone involved in last week’s violence who might try to travel to Washington for the inauguration.”

“Executive Director of the Republican AG Association, Adam Piper, has resigned after the fallout from a robocall placed by a RAGA fundraising arm to urge Trump supporters to march on the US Capitol on January 6th as per a RAGA spokesperson” reports Laura Strickler of NBC News.

Florida attorney Dan Eckhart, retained by MAGA asshole Adam Johnson who was photographed walking off with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern during the Wednesday Capitol riot, was very matter-of-fact with reporters about how his client’s case is probably going to go. Maybe a little more matter-of-fact than he should be on camera.

It was fantastic to talk to President Elect @JoeBiden today about bringing the country back together. I’m here to help in any way I can.

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 11, 2021