Top House Republican sends letter to colleagues opposing Trump's impeachment
From CNN's Matthew Hoye
House Republican Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, in a letter to GOP colleagues, listed four potential responses to the Jan. 6 attack in advance of a Monday all-GOP conference call as he continued to oppose the impeachment of President Trump.
“Notwithstanding the Speaker’s push towards impeachment, I have heard from members across our conference who have raised at least four potential avenues available to the House to ensure that the events of January 6 are rightfully denounced and prevented from occurring in the future,” McCarthy wrote.
McCarthy, citing feedback from members, floated the possibility of “a resolution of censure under the rules of the House,” as swell as a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack, according to the letter. He did not specify who would be censured.
He also lists overhauling the Electoral Count Act of 1887, which guides the electoral certification process, as well as “legislation to promote voter confidence” in future legislation.
What these latter two issues have to do with the attack, other than the lies that stemmed from GOP lawmakers during the certification process and as it relates to non-existent wide-spread voter fraud, is unclear.
The GOP call is ongoing.
Facebook bans "stop the steal" content, 69 days after the election
From CNN’s Brian Fung
Facebook will begin removing all content that mentions the phrase "stop the steal," a full 69 days after Election Day.
The social media giant said in a blog post that it will ramp up enforcement against the phrase because it was used by those who participated in last week's Capitol riots.
"With continued attempts to organize events against the outcome of the US presidential election that can lead to violence, and use of the term by those involved in Wednesday’s violence in DC, we’re taking this additional step in the lead up to the inauguration," Guy Rosen, Facebook's VP of integrity, wrote in a post about the company's preparation for Inauguration Day.
On Election Day, the slogan "stop the steal" quickly became a rallying cry among President Trump's supporters, many of whom were egged on by Trump himself and his allies with false claims of election fraud. As a hashtag, its origins date back years, according to Facebook's CrowdTangle analysis tool, but it became wildly popular in recent months as a gathering place for conspiracy theories about the election outcome.
Meanwhile, Facebook added, it will continue its weeks-long ban on all US political advertising, including by President Trump, whose account Facebook suspended indefinitely on Jan. 7. And Rosen said Facebook rolled out new "emergency measures" last week — for example, Rosen said, group administrators will increasingly be required to review posts before they can be published, and comments that contain hate speech or incitement may be removed from group posts entirely.
The blog post comes as tech companies confront mounting skepticism about whether they did too little, too late to prevent the violence that swept the Capitol — and that continues to be a risk heading into President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.
FBI says it has received information indicating "armed protests" are planned at all 50 state capitols
From CNN's Zachary Cohen and Whitney Wild
The FBI has received information indicating “armed protests” are being planned at all 50 state capitols and the US Capitol in Washington, DC, in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, according to an internal bulletin obtained by CNN.
"Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the US Capitol from 17 January through 20 January,” it says.
The bulletin continues:
“On 8 January, the FBI received information on an identified group calling for others to join them in ‘storming’ state, local and federal government courthouses and administrative buildings in the event POTUS is removed as President prior to Inauguration Day. This is identified group is also planning to ‘storm’ government offices including in the District of Columbia and in every state, regardless of whether the states certified electoral votes for Biden or Trump, on 20 January.”
The bulletin, which emerged after rioters stormed the US Capitol last week, also suggests there are threats of an “uprising” if President Trump is removed via the 25th Amendment before Inauguration Day.
Additionally, the FBI is tracking reports of “various threats to harm President-Elect Biden ahead of the presidential inauguration,” the bulletin states.
“Additional reports indicate threats against VP-Elect Harris and Speaker Pelosi,” it adds.
ABC News was first to report the FBI bulletin.
Acting Homeland Security secretary instructs Secret Service to begin special security ahead of inauguration
From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on Monday said he has instructed the US Secret Service to begin the National Special Security Event operations for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration effective, Jan. 13 instead of Jan. 19.
Wolf said in a statement that he instructed the measure 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.
"Our federal, state, and local partners will continue to coordinate their plans and position resources for this important event," Wolf said in the statement.
Google will freeze and "reassess" political contributions
From CNN's Brian Fung
Google told CNN it is reassessing its political donations in the aftermath of last week's Capitol riots.
"We have frozen all NetPAC political contributions while we review and reassess its policies following last week's deeply troubling events," Google spokesperson Julie McAlister said in a statement Monday.
The company joins a growing list of tech companies suspending political donations. Earlier today, AT&T, Microsoft and Facebook announced similar measures.
AT&T joins growing list of companies halting political donations
From CNN’s Brian Fung
AT&T said it will withhold political contributions from US lawmakers who voted against the certification of the 2020 election results.
"Employees on our Federal PAC Board convened a call today and decided to suspend contributions to members of Cngress who voted to object to the certification of Electoral College votes last week," AT&T tweeted from its public policy Twitter account on Monday.
AT&T owns WarnerMedia, CNN's parent company.
AT&T Statement on PAC Contributions pic.twitter.com/M30CORqLUT
— AT&T Public Policy (@ATTPublicPolicy) January 11, 2021
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