Attention to the Unseen

The Associated Press reports: In a highly unusual move, American diplomats have drafted two cables condemning President Donald Trump’s incitement of the deadly assault on the Capitol and calling for administration officials to possibly support invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. Using what is known as the State Department’s “dissent channel,” career foreign and civil service officers said they fear last Wednesday’s siege may badly undermine U.S. credibility to promote and defend democratic values abroad. “Failing to…

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The Wall Street Journal reports: Stripe Inc. will no longer process payments for President Trump’s campaign website following last week’s riot at the Capitol, according to people familiar with the matter. The financial-technology company handles card payments for millions of online businesses and e-commerce platforms, including Mr. Trump’s campaign website and online fundraising apparatus. Stripe is cutting off the president’s campaign account for violating its policies against encouraging violence, the people said. Spokespeople for the Trump campaign didn’t immediately respond…

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The Wall Street Journal reports: JPMorgan Chase & Co. said it is pausing all corporate political-action committee donations to Republicans and Democrats for the next six months in the wake of last week’s riot at the Capitol. The largest U.S. bank by assets is among other companies that announced this weekend they would make changes to donations via company PACs. Some, including the Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance group and Marriott International Inc., said they would pause donations to Republican…

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Kathleen Belew and Elizabeth Neumann write: The stories from Wednesday should shake us: Members of Congress escaping the House and Senate floors moments before a mob broke through, barricading themselves in their offices or undisclosed locations for hours. Four people who stormed the building and one member of the Capitol Police department died. We are astonished that more lives weren’t lost: Had the pipe bombs detonated, had the molotov cocktails ignited, had the people who stormed the Capitol with heavy-grade…

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Olivia Nuzzi writes: On Friday afternoon, 48 hours after the U.S. Capitol was stormed by violent insurrectionists encouraged by Donald Trump in an attempt to overthrow the government in protest of his election loss, a senior member of his administration spoke to me while he was driving to work. “This is confirmation of so much that everyone has said for years now — things that a lot of us thought were hyperbolic. We’d say, ‘Trump’s not a fascist,’ or ‘He’s…

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CNN reports: Flags, signs and symbols of racist, white supremacist and extremist groups were displayed along with Trump 2020 banners and American flags at Wednesday’s riot at the US Capitol. The pictures tell part of the story of the beliefs of some of those who chose to show up on that day — from passionate and peaceful Trump supporters to extremists who showed their hate with their symbols as well as their actions. The mixing of the groups is one…

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The New York Times reports: In Washington, Republicans were dealing with a burgeoning crisis in their ranks, with high-profile resignations and bitter infighting over how to deal with an erratic and isolated president. But at the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting on Friday, most party members were operating in a parallel universe. In a chandelier-adorned ballroom at the seaside Ritz-Carlton here, there was no mention of President Trump’s disruption of the coronavirus relief package or his phone call to the…

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Anchorage Daily News reports: U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Friday that Donald Trump should resign the presidency immediately and that if the Republican Party cannot separate itself from Trump, she isn’t certain she has a future with the party. “I want him to resign. I want him out. He has caused enough damage,” Murkowski, R-Alaska, said during an interview from her small Capitol office, steps away from the Senate chambers that were invaded by pro-Trump rioters on Wednesday. “I think…

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CNN reports: A growing number of Republicans want President Donald Trump to leave office before January 20, with some top lawmakers telling CNN they are considering supporting his impeachment. Two Republican members of Congress who are former Trump allies told CNN they would support impeachment against the President over his role in Wednesday’s deadly attack on the US Capitol if the articles are reasonable. One member said, “I think you will have GOP members vote for impeachment.” While the window…

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The Daily Beast reports: High-ranking national security officials have spent the last 24 hours scrambling to figure out how to keep their commander-in-chief, Donald Trump, from inciting further violence at home to spilling national secrets to sparking last-minute confrontations with international foes. The concerns in the upper echelons of the administration’s national security community range from fears inside the Pentagon that the president will do or say something that effectively throws the U.S. into a military confrontation with another country…

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