Reported by MSNBC: Tim Ryan of Ohio told reporters in a Zoom conference call that two Capitol Police officers have been suspended after Wednesday’s domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol.
One of the officers took selfies with the attackers, while another was photographed wearing a red Trump MAGA hat. They are suspended pending investigations and possible further disciplinary action. Their names have not been released.
Donald Trump’s scheme to manipulate US Census data to swing Congressional votes and federal funding away from states–primarily Democratic–with large populations of undocumented immigrants has died an ignoble death, the Associated Press reports.
In a document filed in a California federal court on Monday relating to a case filed against the Department of Commerce and the Census Bureau, the Department of Justice acknowledged that the earliest date the data will be available to the White House would be February 9th, twenty days after President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Trump, who Senate testimony shows is experienced in maintaining two sets of books for his businesses, had planned to develop two sets of numbers on the data: one would reflect the total population, and the second would exclude a calculated number of claimed undocumented immigrants. That second set would be used to determine Congressional reapportionment, as well as the share of federal funds states may be eligible for. Lower population means fewer House representatives and less federal funding.
Michigan has enacted a rule that bans people from openly carrying weapons into the statehouse, a move in the wake of the domestic terrorist attack at the US Capitol that counters what state Republican lawmakers celebrated during an April protest at the state capitol.
ABC News reports that the Michigan Capitol Commission enacted the rules that would bar anyone without a concealed carry permit or an occupational need such as a security detail or police officer from carrying weapons in the statehouse.
After Donald Trump stoked violence by tweeting “LIBERATE MICHIGAN” in response to Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of the coronavirus, armed protestors stormed the statehouse to intimidate lawmakers. Republicans celebrated the protests, saying they were demonstrations of Second Amendment rights.
“Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf is resigning. Wolf becomes the third cabinet secretary to resign in the wake of the assault on the Capitol last Wednesday” reports Sarah Cook of CBS News.
“Facebook Inc. FB -4.01% said Monday it is removing all content mentioning ‘stop the steal,’ a phrase popular among supporters of President Trump’s claims about the election, as part of a raft of emergency measures to stem misinformation and incitements to violence on its platform in the lead up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.” —Wall Street Journal
Two gorillas at the San Diego Zoo have tested positive for coronavirus, another cross-species infection for the virus that has been confirmed in 22 million human Americans, Politico reports.
One of the gorillas developed a cough, which led their caretakers to test them for the virus. Zoo officials say they believe the gorillas were exposed by one of the zookeepers who was asymptomatic.
This is not the first case of cross-species contamination. At least fourteen big cats–lions and tigers–at the Bronx Zoo tested positive last year.
An increasing number of corporations are suspending political donations, with some companies targeting the Republicans who voted to block the certification of Electoral College votes from the states, citing their encouragement of dissension that led to violence at the Capitol that cost five people their lives.
CBS News reports American Express, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Citigroup, Dow, Exxon, Facebook, Ford Motors, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Marriott, Mastercard and Microsoft have suspended all donations from their PACs. Additionally, Walmart and Visa recently announced a review of political contributions.
Blue Cross Blue Shield, Citigroup and Blue Cross Blue Shield specifically said they would no longer contribute to the campaigns of 139 Republican House members and eight Republican Senators, including Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, for failing to support the Congressionally-mandated certification of the Electoral College vote.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre has tested positive for Coronavirus, sources inside the real entertainment sport have confirmed. National Zero has reached out to WWE officials and inquired as to whether or not Coronavirus is the World Wrestling Entertainment Champion now, if McIntyre will regain the title if/when he tests negative for the virus, and if the virus’s title reign will be reflected in WWE official records. We will update if we receive a response.
“In light of events of the past week and the evolving security landscape leading up to the inauguration and at the recommendation of Secret Service Director James Murray, I have instructed the U.S. Secret Service to begin the National Special Security Event operations for the 2021 Inauguration effective Wednesday, January 13th instead of January 19th. Our federal, state, and local partners will continue to coordinate their plans and position resources for this important event” – Statement from Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf via DHS.gov website.
The Bill Hemmer show on Fox News spend a segment today complaining that conservative voices are being silences, apparently unaware that he was doing so on a nationally-broadcast cable news program.
Starting with a clip from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s address to the Voice of America staff–during which he repeated complained that VOA was reluctant to broadcast pro-Trump messages that were being dictated by VOA’s politically appointed, Trump-supporting director.
Breaking midsentence into a clip, Pompeo stated, “… censorship, [disguised] as political correctness, it all points in one direction: authoritarianism cloaked as moral righteousness. Similar to what we’re seeing in Apple and Twitter and Facebook and on too many university campuses today.”
“A lot has happened in the last week, including the president losing his Twitter feed, impeachment coming to the fore and the PGA withdrawing from Trump National. He’s ‘gutted’ by the PGA move, a person close to the White House says. He’s angry about impeachment, but the reaction to the PGA decision was different order of magnitude” – NYT’s Maggie Haberman.
Quinnipiac Polls: “A majority of voters, 56 percent, say they hold President Trump responsible for the storming of the U.S. Capitol, while 42 percent say they do not hold him responsible. A slight majority, 52 – 45 percent, say President Trump should be removed from office. Voters also say 53 – 43 percent that he should resign as president.”
“President Trump has a negative 33 – 60 percent job approval rating, which is a substantial drop from the negative 44 – 51 percent rating he received in December of 2020. The president’s job approval rating today ties his all-time low, which he received in August of 2017. Voters are divided on whether they think President Trump is mentally stable. Forty-five percent say he is mentally stable, while 48 percent say he is not mentally stable. The findings are nearly identical to responses from a January 2018 poll, when 45 percent of voters said they thought Trump was mentally stable and 47 percent said he was not.”
“A mysterious political action committee once funded by conservative millionaire Robert Mercer promoted both the rally featuring President Donald Trump and the ensuing march on Capitol Hill that led to a deadly riot last week. The PAC, called the Black Conservatives Fund, promotes itself as ‘committed to turning out the black vote and elect black conservatives at every level of government.’ The PAC didn’t raise or spend any money in 2020, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. It has shifted primarily to encourage its followers to attend pro-Trump rallies, and it’s not clear who runs the group” CNBC reports.
“Through social media posts, the committee pushed tens of thousands of its followers to attend the rally in front of the White House on Wednesday and then to participate in the march on Capitol Hill that led to a riot, leaving at least five people dead, including a police officer. It is the latest Trump-aligned political group shown to be involved with encouraging or organizing Wednesday’s rally. Dozens have already been arrested in connection with the attack on the Capitol. While the Justice Department has said Trump himself is not expected to be charged, acting D.C. U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin had previously acknowledged he’s ‘looking at all actors’ who had a role in the invasion. The Black Conservatives Fund’s biggest previous donation came from Mercer in 2014. He gave more than $150,000 to the committee at the time.”
Missouri Independent: “Kansas City-based Hallmark Cards Inc. is demanding two senators who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election return donations the company’s PAC has made to their campaigns. Missouri’s Josh Hawley and Kansas’ Roger Marshall objected to the certification of electoral votes declaring Joe Biden the winner. The company is joining a chorus of Hawley critics – and longtime supporters – who say Missouri’s junior senator bears some of the blame for the pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol last week.”
“‘Hallmark believes the peaceful transition of power is part of the bedrock of our democratic system, and we abhor violence of any kind,’ the company’s spokeswoman, JiaoJiao Shen, said in an email to The Independent. ‘The recent actions of Sens. Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall do not reflect our company’s values. As a result, HALLPAC requested Sens. Hawley and Marshall to return all HALLPAC campaign contributions.’ The company’s PAC gave Hawley $3,000 and Marshall $5,000. The news of their demand was first reported by the newsletter Popular Information. After weeks of President Trump proclaiming the election was stolen, and Hawley publicly questioning the outcome in at least one state, a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to block the certification. The mob of Trump supporters forced their way into the building and clashed with police, resulting in five deaths and numerous injuries.”
I am home resting at this time. While I am experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, I remain in good spirits and will continue to work on behalf of my constituents.
— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) January 11, 2021
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats have secured enough votes to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection at the Capitol that left five dead. At least 218 Democrats have now signed onto an impeachment resolution, enough to pass the measure should it come to the floor later this week, according to a congressional aide involved in the process. Pelosi has indicated she will bring the resolution for a vote this week if Trump doesn’t resign or Vice President Mike Pence doesn’t initiate other processes to remove him” – Politico.
Business Insider: “Parler, the far-right social media service, is suing Amazon over antitrust violations, according to a court filing submitted on Monday. The move comes after Amazon knocked Parler off its cloud-hosting service after it said it failed to moderate threats of violence.”
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