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Now up at the plate: Trump’s lawyers wearing glasses and fake mustaches: |
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© Getty Images Via The Hill’s Jonathan Easley, “Former President Trump’s legal team is looking to rebound at the impeachment trial Friday after a rough initial showing that was ridiculed by Senate Republicans.” https://bit.ly/3qjgZ1d Happening today and tomorrow: After two days of oral arguments from the Democratic House impeachment managers, Trump’s lawyers will present their case today and tomorrow. They are allotted 16 hours of oral arguments, “though adviser Jason Miller has said they would likely use just half that time.” Why Trump’s lawyers are desperately looking for a reset: “Attorneys Bruce Castor and David Schoen are under immense pressure after a rocky start that was so bad it moved Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to vote to move forward with the impeachment trial, after he previously voted it was unconstitutional.” Though, I doubt it will change the trial’s outcome: Even with botched testimony from Trump’s defense team, Democrats are short the votes necessary to convict the former president. |
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| LIVESTREAM OF TODAY’S TRIAL PROCEEDINGS: |
| It began at noon. Watch: https://bit.ly/3784nSY |
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| THIS A.M. — WHAT PRESIDENT BIDEN IS THINKING: |
| When asked about the impeachment trial by CNN’s Jeremy Diamond this morning, Biden said, “I am just anxious to see what my Republican friends do, if they stand up.” https://bit.ly/3rMEbFl Keep in mind: The Biden administration has tried to stay out of the impeachment trial. Biden has not directly said whether he thinks Trump should be convicted. |
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| Happy Friday, my valentines! 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 PROGRAMMING NOTE: The 12:30 Report will not publish on Monday for the holiday. Enjoy the long weekend, my friends! |
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Even with an acquittal, Republicans think this is the end for Trump: |
| Via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, “Senate Republicans, including those who do not plan to vote to convict former President Trump, say this week’s impeachment trial has effectively ended any chance of him becoming the GOP presidential nominee in 2024.” https://bit.ly/378jmwi Some GOP senators see this as a silver lining: The emotional case presented by the House impeachment managers stung — and will likely lessen his influence in the Republican Party. Watching the Jan. 6 footage: “Several Republican senators became irate watching videos of the violence and chaos inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, including footage of police officers being called ‘pigs’ and ‘traitors’ and one officer screaming as he was crushed by rioters battering a police line.” How this could play out: https://bit.ly/378jmwi |
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| IMPEACHMENT MANAGERS’ GOAL — MAKE REPUBLICANS RETHINK THEIR VOTE TO ACQUIT: |
| Via The Hill’s Mike Lillis and Scott Wong: https://bit.ly/3rJFLrJ |
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| HOW REPUBLICAN SENATORS ARE REACTING — THEY PRAISE THE IMPEACHMENT MANAGERS, BUT STILL SAY THEY WILL ACQUIT: |
| Via The Hill’s Jordain Carney: https://bit.ly/3rL8v3g |
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| DEMOCRATS WARN THERE COULD BE A REPEAT IF TRUMP ISN’T PUNISHED: |
| Via The Hill’s Niall Stanage: https://bit.ly/3s0kfPJ |
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| Military officials didn’t realize the danger that Mike Pence’s ‘nuclear football’ was in: When video played on Wednesday of former Vice President Pence evacuating the Capitol under siege, military officials became aware of how serious the danger was towards the suitcase of nuclear codes. Details from CNN’s Barbara Starr and Caroline Kelly: https://cnn.it/3tS67tr ^ Yikes, here is video of the nuclear codes as Pence evacuated: https://bit.ly/3tVymaO Ugh, we are still learning how terrifying that day was: 
© Twitter Watch: https://bit.ly/3aW8FhC Ugh, these photos of the damage are scary: “12:30am: Damaged room in the Speaker’s suite. Zip ties on the Rotunda floor. Police riot shields and body armor left behind by an insurrectionist.” Photos: https://bit.ly/3d3nGkl Busted: 
© Twitter Where former first lady Melania Trump is spending her time — it doesn’t sound like she’s watching the trial!: Via CNN’s Kate Bennett, "‘She goes to the spa, has lunch, goes to the spa (again) and has dinner with Donald on the patio,’ said one person familiar with Melania Trump's schedule at Mar-a-Lago, her home in Palm Beach, Florida. ‘Rinse and repeat. Every day.’” https://cnn.it/2OsUmcB |
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Joe Biden gave his coffee to a reporter this morning: |
| President Biden and first lady Jill Biden brought their coffee and their good boys, Champ and Major, on a walk around the White House grounds this morning to see the Valentine’s Day decorations. They chatted with reporters, and the president even gave his coffee — which he promised he had not yet touched — to a reporter. |
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Though, the first dogs stole the show, as per usual — watch: |
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© Twitter Watch: https://bit.ly/377xFRA Photos of the Bidens and their entourage: https://bit.ly/377qyZG Check out the Valentine’s day decorations that popped up on the White House north lawn: https://bit.ly/3aY2JEP This led to some pretty entertaining live shot backdrops: 
© Twitter |
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| SPOTTED THIS MORNING — JILL BIDEN GETTING HER CUPCAKE FIX: |
| Via The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes, “Keeping up the trend of the first family visiting local businesses, @FLOTUS stopped at DC cupcake shop @TheSweetLobby this morning. (Not pictured: me standing outside as Secret Service blocked the door) Photo https://bit.ly/3jNoLxR |
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| LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS | |
July is the magic month, according to Biden: |
| Via The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel, “The U.S. has secured an additional 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, President Biden announced Thursday, finalizing a commitment that was promised last month.” https://bit.ly/3b0hJSr Biden said during remarks at the National Institutes of Health (NIH): That his administration has obtained enough doses to vaccine every American by the end of July. The catch: “The U.S. has now pre-purchased enough vaccine doses to inoculate the population twice over. However, the extra doses will not be immediately available, meaning that the existing supply shortages plaguing the rollout are likely to continue, at least in the short term. Instead, the extra 200 million doses will provide a backstop for when the initial supplies are exhausted.” What to know about the vaccines purchased: https://bit.ly/3b0hJSr |
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| CASE NUMBERS: |
| Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 27,397,925 U.S. death toll: 475,721 Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y |
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| THE NUMBER OF DAILY CORONAVIRUS CASES HAS TIPPED BACKED OVER 100K: |
| Via The Hill’s Peter Sullivan: https://bit.ly/3tQXAab |
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| VACCINATION NUMBERS: |
| Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 48 million shots have been given. Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 1.62 million doses For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million. Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH |
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Wow, this is pretty stunning — Nikki Haley is having some regrets about supporting Trump: |
| In an interview with Politico’s Tim Alberta, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley broke with former President Trump. https://politi.co/3b1qjAw Wow — In her words: “We need to acknowledge he let us down,” said Haley. “He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.” She also weighed in on what she thinks will happen to the Republican Party going forward — the full story is worth reading: https://politi.co/3b1qjAw |
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Popular on Twitter — so thankful for the innovation: |
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© Twitter |
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Attention history buffs: |
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© Twitter The full size photo: https://bit.ly/3aWnsJa |
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| The Senate is in. The House is out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. Biden leaves for Camp David this evening. 9:30 a.m. EST: President Biden and Vice President Harris received the President’s Daily Brief. 11:15 a.m. EST: President Biden and Vice President Harris met with a group of governors and mayors to discuss the COVID response. 12:45 p.m. EST: President Biden has lunch with Vice President Harris. 1:30 p.m. EST: President Biden and Vice President Harris receive an economic briefing from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. 5:30 p.m. EST: President Biden leaves for Camp David. |
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| Noon: Day 4 of former President Trump’s second impeachment trial. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3784nSY 12:30 p.m. EST: White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3d5qiy7 |
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| NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...: | |
| Today is National PB&J Day. And to hold you over for the long weekend, Saturday is National Tortellini Day, Sunday is National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day and Monday is National Chewing Gum Day. |
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I would like to have a word with these teens about their *inserts air quotes* ‘new fashion trends’: |
| Teens on TikTok are mocking anyone who wears a side part or skinny jeans as old. Millennials are throwing shade back at Gen Z arguing, for example, that they won’t take fashion advice from the generation “who ate Tide pods.” It’s getting pretty ugly — here are a few of the posts: https://bit.ly/3rNclJf Oh, and they also hate the laughing-crying emoji! https://bit.ly/2N2OoyT If you’re interested and want to see more of the back and forth posts: https://bit.ly/3rNcFaV |
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| And to get your long weekend off to an entertaining start, I leave you with a fierce internal debate that a dog is contemplating: https://bit.ly/3rNSr0y |
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