Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Mark your calendars: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that the Senate’s trial of President Donald Trump will likely begin Tuesday.”
* It looks like Tim Kaine has 51 votes for this: “A resolution to curb President Trump’s military authority in Iran has enough votes to pass the Senate, leading Democrats announced Tuesday, stating that Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins will join three other members of the GOP who had previously announced their support for the measure to invoke Congress’ war powers.”
* Speaking of Iran: “The New York Times has verified security camera footage on Tuesday that shows, for the first time, that two missiles hit Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on Jan. 8. The missiles were launched from an Iranian military site around eight miles from the plane. The new video fills a gap about why the plane’s transponder stopped working, seconds before it was hit by a second missile.”
* If only Barr had any kind of credibility: “Attorney General Bill Barr said on Monday that the Justice Department is considering establishing a rule requiring the FBI to obtain his permission before opening an investigation into a presidential campaign.”
* I hope you caught Rachel’s coverage of this last night: “With President Trump facing an impeachment trial over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden, Russian military hackers have been boring into the Ukrainian gas company at the center of the affair, according to security experts.”
* Remember this one? “Most of the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court expressed skepticism Tuesday about the federal government’s case in the infamous ‘Bridgegate’ scandal, several of them peppering a Justice Department lawyer with questions as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie watched from the front row.” * A deeply flawed process: “For the first time ever, the United States is shipping asylum seekers who arrive at its border to a ‘safe third country’ to seek refuge there. The Trump administration hopes the program will serve as a model for others in the region. But during its first weeks, asylum seekers and human rights advocates say, migrants have been put on planes without being told where they were headed, and left here without being given basic instruction about what to do next.” * An ethics complaint worth keeping an eye on: “The House Democratic campaign arm filed a complaint Monday against its Republican counterpart, taking issue with its alleged use of GOP “trackers” who film members of Congress and pepper them with questions as they make their way through the hallways of the House office buildings.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
