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Try replacing President Trump and the U.S. with a foreign country and its outgoing leader — not great, huh?: |
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© Getty Images Leaked audio of a call between President Trump and Georgia’s secretary of state Brad Raffensperger (R) rocked Washington this weekend as the president asked state officials to overturn the election results in his favor. https://wapo.st/3ndwl5d The parts that are getting the most traction, obtained by The Washington Post: Trump: “The people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry. And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you’ve recalculated.” Raffensperger: “Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong.” Trump later said: “So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.” Other newsy quotes from the call: https://wapo.st/3ndwl5d |
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| LISTEN TO THE CALL YOURSELF — HERE IS THE FULL AUDIO: |
| From The Washington Post: https://wapo.st/38Y92qX ^ Or if reading the transcript is more your style: Here you go: https://wapo.st/3n8psln |
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| TO PUT THIS INTO CONTEXT — WHY THIS CALL IS SO IMPORTANT: |
| Well, it’s the first actual evidence of President Trump trying to directly pressure a state official to overturn the election results in his favor. It could also amount to soliciting election fraud. |
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| REACTIONS: |
| From Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.): Ocasio-Cortez said she thinks it is an impeachable offense, though she acknowledged that she hadn’t listened to the entire hour-long audio. https://bit.ly/2LdEKrT From the only Democrat on Georgia’s state Board of Elections: David J. Worley called for a civil and criminal investigation into the call. “It’s a crime to solicit election fraud, and asking the secretary to change the votes is a textbook definition of election fraud.” And in a letter to Raffensperger: “[S]uch an incident, splashed as it is across every local and national news outlet, cannot be ignored or brushed aside.” https://wapo.st/354qjxm From Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein: "It's not déjà vu. This is something far worse than occurred in Watergate." Watch Bernstein’s full reaction: https://cnn.it/359FF3D |
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| Welcome back! It’s the first Monday of 2021! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook. Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill's 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: http://bit.ly/2kjMNnn |
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I know we love attaching timelines to everything, but these next 48 hours are huge for shaping Biden’s presidency: |
| Via The Hill’s Niall Stanage, “Joe Biden faces two tests this week that will shape the early days of his presidency. Senate runoff elections in Georgia take place on Tuesday, while the following day will see Congress tally the Electoral College results from the presidential election.” https://bit.ly/2X7f5DM Why Georgia matters so much: “The first event is more important in practical terms. If Democrats win both seats in Georgia, the Senate would be split 50-50, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris wielding the deciding vote once she is inaugurated.” Why the Electoral College tally matters so much: “The Electoral College is important too, at least in terms of the toxic atmosphere that has enveloped American politics. There is no realistic possibility of the election result being overturned … Polls already show that most Republican voters are unwilling to accept the election was conducted fairly. They are wrong on the facts, but their recalcitrance poses a problem for Biden as he seeks to repair what he terms the ‘soul of the nation.’ ” |
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Hold your breath! It’s gonna be a nail biter: |
| Via The Hill’s Tal Axelrod, “Georgia’s Senate runoffs are likely headed to nail-biting finishes Tuesday as both parties prepare to sprint down the homestretch of the two races that will decide who controls the Senate.” https://bit.ly/38Ycemh These races are incredibly close: “Polls show the runoffs could both be margin-of-error contests, with FiveThirtyEight’s survey tracker showing [Jon] Ossoff up by just 0.9 percentage points and [Raphael] Warnock leading by 1.8 percentage points as of Dec. 31. That means control of the next Senate — where Republicans currently have a 50-48 margin — could come down to a couple of squeakers.” Keep in mind: Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on this race. What to expect: https://bit.ly/38Ycemh |
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| HAPPENING TODAY — TRUMP, PENCE AND BIDEN ARE ALL IN THE STATE: |
| What to expect, from The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Morgan Chalfant: https://bit.ly/3ndizPU 
© Twitter |
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Forget The Bachelor, C-SPAN’s content will be the hottest drama in town: |
| Via The Washington Post’s Kevin Uhrmacher and John Muyskens, “A group of Republican senators stated they will object when Congress meets on Wednesday to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral college victory, calling for a commission to investigate baseless allegations of electoral fraud.” https://wapo.st/3b7XS5G The latest count, from the Post: 12 Republicans oppose certification of the results; 19 support certification; 20 Senate Republicans haven’t said either way. What to expect — it could muddy the next few days but won’t change the outcome: “While their challenge is not expected to prevail — Democrats control the House and almost every Senate Republican would need to join the effort for their chamber to approve it — it will force a debate, drawing out a process that is usually a formality and forcing lawmakers to choose between honoring the choice of voters or standing with Trump.” |
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| WHO IS SPEARHEADING THE EFFORT: |
| Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who are considered White House hopefuls for 2024. Here’s the list of GOP senators who oppose the counting of the Electoral College votes: https://cbsn.ws/357WJXW |
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| TOM COTTON BROKE WITH HIS CONSERVATIVE COLLEAGUES: |
| “Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a possible contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, broke with his rivals Sunday night by announcing he will not object to the counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6.” https://bit.ly/3pGWnPI |
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If you are in Washington, DC, please be careful: |
| Via The Washington Post’s Marissa J. Lang, “Extremism experts who study the far-right warn that D.C. is on a path to become the next battleground in increasingly violent confrontations with left-leaning counterdemonstrators.” https://wapo.st/391x04q The Proud Boys are planning to come to D.C.: “Members of the Proud Boys, an all-male far-right extremist group with ties to white nationalism, boasted about their plans to break off into smaller groups to roam the streets looking for counterprotesters to confront.” And will be dressed incognito: “[Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys] and other Proud Boys leaders also told followers to ditch their signature black and gold dress in favor of all-black clothing — an apparent attempt to make far-right agitators harder to pick out in a crowd of black-clad anti-fascist and anti-Trump demonstrators.” I suggest you read about the protests forming this week — it’s pretty wild: https://wapo.st/391x04q |
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| DC MAYOR BOWSER URGED RESIDENTS TO STAY HOME: |
| Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) asked residents to stay away from the protesters this week. https://bit.ly/3pNOmZr She tweeted: “I am asking Washingtonians and those who live in the region to stay out of the downtown area on Tuesday and Wednesday and not to engage with demonstrators who come to our city seeking confrontation, and we will do what we must to ensure all who attend remain peaceful.” https://bit.ly/355TP64 Bowser also posted a reminder about the city’s gun laws: https://bit.ly/355TP64 |
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| LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS | |
| Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 20,640,214 U.S. death toll: 351,590 Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y |
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Getting traction — This tweet hits the nail on the head: |
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© Twitter |
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The fact that this was necessary is incredibly sad and infuriating: |
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© Twitter More on why that was necessary: https://bit.ly/3pRq6FV |
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| The House is in. The Senate is out. President Trump, Vice President Pence and President-elect Joe Biden are all making campaign stops in Georgia today. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is in Wilmington, Del. Today, per the White House’s schedule sent to reporters: “President Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings.” Today: Vice President-elect Kamala Harris receives the President’s Daily Brief. She will then meet with advisers. 9:05 a.m. EST: Vice President Pence left for Georgia. 12:05 p.m. EST: Vice President Pence speaks at a “Georgia Faith Community Call to Action” event in Milner, Ga. 3:40 p.m. EST: Vice President Pence returns to Washington, D.C. 6:10 p.m. EST: President Trump leaves for a campaign rally in Dalton, Ga. |
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| 7 p.m. EST: President Trump holds a campaign rally in Dalton, Ga. Livestream: https://bit.ly/2MyMjdp |
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| NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...: | |
| Today is National Spaghetti Day. That’s just not what I expected for the first real day of New Year’s resolutions. |
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From the iconic New Year’s Eve duo: |
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© Twitter Watch: https://bit.ly/3rSKIzq |
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| And to brighten your Monday morning return to work, here’s a tiny hedgehog with an even tinier teddy bear: https://bit.ly/38YriAf |
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