'They will try to kill us'

Congress was briefed late yesterday that thousands of armed pro-Trump extremists are plotting to surround the U.S. Capitol ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration next week. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have received terroristic threats in the wake of the insurrection last Wednesday. Republican Rep. Peter Meijer, one of only nine freshmen GOP lawmakers who voted to uphold the election results, says his life is now at risk because of it. "We realize that was a vote we cast that put our safety at risk, and, going forward, I am expecting there will likely be more political violence," said Meijer. "So my expectation and the expectation of some folks I'm talking to who are trying to vote our conscience on this, there will be folks that try to kill us, and that's something we have to grapple with every day." —CNBC

• — Can we talk about the pipe bombs? The lawmakers have good reason to be concerned. As the Capitol attack was taking place, federal agents were working at the same time to detonate two pipe bombs found just blocks away at the offices of the Republican and Democratic national committees. The focus on the insurrection intentionally shifted public attention away from the explosives threat—and experts say the potential for attacks on soft targets in the nation's capital remains a primary concern ahead of Inauguration Day. —Associated Press
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• — Insiders were involved. Two U.S. Capitol Police officers have been suspended and at least 10 more are under investigation for their behavior during the assault, and federal agents are looking at whether current and former law enforcement officers played a role in the riot. In addition, the U.S. Army is investigating a psychological operations officer who led a group of people from North Carolina to Washington, D.C., last Wednesday. —The Guardian
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• — "Everybody thought it was totally appropriate." Anyone who thought Donald Trump's meeting with Vice President Mike Pence yesterday—the first since the insurrection that nearly got Pence killed—was a sign of contrition from Trump was way off. Speaking to reporters today, Trump not only failed to take responsibility for his role in the failed coup, he also blamed Democrats for causing "tremendous danger" and "tremendous anger" with their impeachment threat. Unreal. —Associated Press
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• — What about the congressional instigators? Trump was far from the only Republican who incited Wednesday's violence. Rep. Mo Brooks rallied with him immediately prior to the insurrection. Freshman Rep. Lauren Boebert tweeted about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's movements during the attack. And plenty of others spent weeks spreading lies and ginning up anger. Censures and even expulsions aren't outside the realm of possibility for some. —The New York Times
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• — Still living the lie. Shamefully, Rep. Jim Jordan repeatedly refused to admit today that Biden fairly won the election during a House debate on the bill that would call for Trump's removal via the 25th Amendment. In better news, Rep. Liz Cheney has indicated that House Republican leaders will not whip their colleagues to vote against the impeachment resolution tomorrow. Additionally, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told GOP members on a call yesterday that the riot at the Capitol was not caused by antifa, urging lawmakers not to further spread misinformation. A little late, but we'll take it. —The Hill
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• — All about that base. The Trump presidency is, thankfully, ending, but the enraged and aggrieved base of supporters he spent four years feeding conspiracy theories isn't going anywhere. Some are decrying violence but still claim Trump as the rightful president, dethroned by a stolen election; others, their political faith shattered, are turning to militias and direct action. Experts say the violence isn't over. —The Boston Globe

Rubin: Stop the lies, stop the radicalization

"Lawmakers who fanned the flames of sedition and who continued to object after the failed coup attempt were incentivized to do so by right-wing media, donors, and, yes, their constituents. ... [T]his is not 'polarization.' It is the systematic radicalization of the right. It is authoritarian and, hence, resorts to deception and fear as political organizing tools. This is a problem that only those on the right can address, although others may be needed to address criminal activity and violation of congressional rules." —Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post

Jennifer Rubin is an attorney and political opinion columnist at The Washington Post.

MORE: The GOP is trying to hold democracy hostage —New York Magazine

'This action is warranted by recent events'

Acting Homeland Security Sec. Chad Wolf has resigned his position, just nine days before President Trump leaves office. He is the third Cabinet official to leave the Trump Administration since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week. Wolf's exit comes amid growing concerns about potential security threats surrounding President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20. His resignation will be effective at the end of the day on Monday. —The Hill

MORE: FBI report warned of 'war' at Capitol, contradicting claims there was no indication of looming violence —The Washington Post

Eisenstat: Holding social media accountable

"As long as we continue to leave it to the platforms to self-regulate, they will continue to merely tinker around the margins of content policies and moderation. We've seen that the time for that is long past—what we need now is to reconsider how the entire machine is designed and monetized. Until that happens, we will never truly address how platforms are aiding and abetting those intent on harming our democracy." —Yaël Eisenstat in Harvard Business Review

Yaël Eisenstat is a visiting fellow at Cornell Tech's Digital Life Initiative. She was formerly Facebook's global head of elections integrity operations, a CIA officer, White House adviser, diplomat, and the head of a global risk firm.

MORE: Twitter suspends 70,000 accounts sharing QAnon content —The Guardian

Krastev: America's lost world standing

"It was Bill Clinton who declared that the key task for Americans would be 'to create a world we would like to live in when we are no longer the world's only superpower.' As Mr. Biden enters the White House, the United States is no longer the only superpower. Unfortunately, the world in which he will govern—marked by the rise of authoritarian powers and the spread of nationalism and inequality—is not the one in which either Americans or Europeans would prefer to live." —Ivan Krastev in The New York Times

Ivan Krastev is chair of the Center for Liberal Strategies, a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, and the author of "Is It Tomorrow Yet?: Paradoxes of the Pandemic."

MORE: Frederick Deknatel: The Capitol riot wasn't a vision of Iraq or Syria. It was Trump's America —World Politics Review

Sanctions levied against Ukrainian conspirators

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on several Ukrainian individuals and entities, accusing them of election interference for conspiring with Donald Trump's allies to dig up dirt on President-elect Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. The Treasury Department accused the seven individuals and four entities of involvement in a Russia-linked foreign influence network affiliated with Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach—an associate of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who seized upon the false allegations in an effort to harm Biden's candidacy. —Reuters

MORE: Trump hits Cuba with new terrorism sanctions in waning days —Associated Press

Mair: It's Trump or us

"I don't want to leave the Republican Party. But I need to believe that if people like me stay, we will have a fighting chance at changing the direction of the party. So elected Republicans need to force Trump out of office, one way or another, to avoid further attrition in the ranks and the risk that the party devolves into something even worse than what we have seen over the last week." —Liz Mair in The New York Times

Liz Mair is a Republican strategist who worked for campaigns by Scott Walker, Roy Blunt, Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina, and Rick Perry. She also served as the Republican National Committee’s online communications director in 2008.

MORE: Whose party is it? —The Cook Political Report

Congressional Republicans need to state that President Biden won a legitimate election. They need to say this as many times as it takes to overcome how many times Trump said the election was stolen. —Alicia S., Florida

Trump wasn't banned from Twitter or about to be impeached again because he yelled fire in a crowded theater. That is letting him off easy. It is because he poured gasoline on a crowded theater and lit it with a match. He then ran home and watched it burn gleefully from the safety of his office. —Ken G., Colorado

Excellent overview of the current situation with facts that engage us to think through these issues and move forward in a positive way. Unfortunately, the Republican Party of Lincoln, Reagan, and Jack Kemp is dead. This is what happens when "nationalism" was infiltrated into the party. What we saw last week in our nation’s capital was nationalism in full display. —Wayne K., Illinois

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