• Editor’s note: Trump has so consolidated power that the United States became an Autocracy last week.
• Trump recalled European Ambassador Gordon Sondland, who was not from the “Deep State,” rather was a $1 million donor to Trump’s 2016 election campaign, appointed to this post with no prior diplomatic experience by the President. Sondland was relieved of duty for testifying truthfully, under oath, after subpoenaed by the U. S. Congress.
• And “Trump falsely claims Pelosi did something ‘very illegal’ by ripping up his State of the Union speech.”
• While Trump polarizes at every turn, the Motto of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is a stark reminder of what is at stake here: “United We Stand, Divided We Fall.”

“Trump’s purging everyone he thinks is disloyal. He was never going to learn from impeachment.”

“Though many Republicans said that the president might now behave more cautiously, the reality is that he just feels empowered to abuse his office again,” by Robert Schlesinger, NBC News. Read more

“ [Defense Secretary Mark] Esper guarantee against retaliation proves faithless for Vindman”

“Rachel Maddow looks at the guarantees and reassurances from Defense Secretary Mark Esper and the DOD that Lt. Col. Alex Vindman would not suffer retaliation or reprisal for giving testimony in the Donald Trump impeachment investigation, only for Vindman to lose his position at the White House, along with his twin brother who was not involved in the investigation,” by MSNBC. Read more

“Republican Senators Tried to Stop Trump From Firing Impeachment Witness”

“The senators were concerned that it would look bad for Mr. Trump to dismiss Mr. Sondland and argued that it was unnecessary, since the ambassador was already talking with senior officials about leaving after the Senate trial, the people said,” by Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt, The New York Times. Read more

“‘Not just chilling but frightening’: Inside Vindman’s ouster amid fears of further retaliation by Trump”

By David Nakaumura and Greg Miller, The Washington Post. Read more

“Time to cast off any residual respect for Trump, Senate Republicans”

By Ann McFeatters Tribune News Service (TNS). Read more

“Republicans Have Weakened Congress in Order to Protect Trump”

By Alexis Goldstein, Truthout. Read more

“Senators Who Voted to Convict Trump Represent 18 Million More Americans”

“Senators representing 151.5 million Americans outvoted senators representing 169.5 million Americans to acquit President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial,” by Christian Zhao, Newsweek. Read more

“Critics say Trump’s State of the Union address celebrates a racist America”

“Analysis: ‘The president … is putting the full force and effect of his office and his status behind an unapologetic effort to make America white again,’ a civil rights lawyer said, by Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News. Read more

“Trump rages against his enemies” – says his impeachment should be expunged

“President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that his impeachment should be expunged because ‘it was a hoax.’ He added that “Well, you’ll see. I mean, we’ll see what happens,” to his Democratic opponents. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council who testified during the House impeachment inquiry into Trump, was ‘escorted out of the White House’ on Friday [Feb. 7] afternoon, his lawyer said. Vindman’s brother, who was working for the NSC as an attorney, was also removed,” by MSNBC. Read more

“Barr makes himself gatekeeper of investigations of campaigns”

“Rachel Maddow reports on a new DOJ memo from Bill Barr to US attorneys requiring any investigations of candidates or campaigns get his personal approval first,” by MSNBC. Read more

“Giuliani Says Trump Should Investigate the Bidens After His Senate Trial”

By Igor Dyersh, Salon Magazine. Read more

“Exiting the 2020 primary, Walsh describes the GOP as a ‘cult'”

“The former GOP lawmaker wrote that he ‘didn’t fully realize … how brainwashed so many of my fellow Republicans seem to have become,'” Walsh wrote a Washington Post op-ed Friday. By Steve Benen, MSNBC. Read more

“Trump’s New Commission Looks Like a Platform for Pro-Police Propaganda”

Bu Brain Sonenstein, ShadowProof. Read more

“In Wake of Trump-Netanyahu Proposal, Palestinian Authority Cuts Ties With US”

“The move came days after the White House announced the deal, which allows Israel the right to continue settlements and annexation while leaving Palestinians with vague promises of statehood at an undetermined future date,” by Eoin Higgins, Common Dreams. Read more