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IMPEACHMENT UPDATE … Donald J. Trump was acquitted in the Senate on both impeachment charges. He is still President of the United States.
DEMS FORCED TO WIN AT BALLOT BOX … "Trump Acquitted Of Two Impeachment Charges In Near Party-Line Vote," via NYT: [The] Senate fell well short of the two-thirds margin that would have been needed to remove Mr. Trump, formally concluding the three-week-long trial of the 45th president that has roiled Washington and threatened the presidency …
[Both] parties conceded that voters, not the Senate, would deliver the final judgment on Mr. Trump when they cast ballots in just nine months.
SECRET WAMPUM … "Meet The Dark Money Group Behind Elizabeth Warren’s Rise," by WFB’s Yuichiro Kakutani: As the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) … Warren rewarded Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), which pressured the Obama administration to appoint her to the post in the first place …
AFR's support for Warren continued after she left the agency. Her campaigns have received more than $37,000 from the 18 organizations that form the dark money group's steering committee.
ON TO NEW HAMPSHIRE FOR A CROTCH KICK … "Biden goes on attack, slams Buttigieg and Sanders after taking ‘gut punch’ in Iowa," via FOX NEWS: Speaking to an audience in this small southeastern New Hampshire city … former vice president [Joe Biden] admitted, "I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We took a gut punch in Iowa." …
Biden then unloaded on [Bernie] Sanders, warning that "if Senator Sanders is the nominee for the party, every Democrat in America up and down the ballot … will have to carry the label that Senator Sanders has chosen for himself."
OLD MAN BIDEN WON’T TOLERATE THIS MALARKEY … "First head rolls after Biden’s weak Iowa finish," via POLITICO: Joe Biden’s campaign has parted ways with its Iowa field director, two days after the former vice president came in an embarrassing fourth place in the primary caucus state …
"We had precinct captains who didn’t know how to run a caucus. And a few didn’t even show. We lost friggin’ people on the second ballot of voting in the caucus! Someone’s head had to roll," said a top-level Biden campaign staffer.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING … "After Disappointing Iowa Vote, Warren Says She Needs To Be ‘Careful’ With Money," via WAPO: Sen. Elizabeth Warren's campaign is trying to conserve cash and pulled down a week of TV ads in Nevada and South Carolina after a disappointing third-place standing in Iowa that failed to provide a fundraising bump …
She added that her cash comes from people who make small donations. "I just want to be very careful with this money," she said … [A] perceived lack of momentum can cause money to dry up quickly as low-dollar donors look elsewhere.
DEM NEEDS DICTIONARY … "Dem Rep: Pelosi Tearing Up Trump’s Speech Was ‘Dignified’," by WFB’s Elizabeth Matamoros: "I think the speaker has consistently found a dignified way to make clear she is not going to normalize the president's behavior," [Rep. Sean] Maloney said on MSNBC …
Maloney said he was proud of Pelosi’s conduct and that her response signaled to viewers that what the president said was false. 
SEND THE BOMBERS … "Iran Supreme Leader: Middle East Peace Deal Dead on Arrival," by WFB’s Adam Kredo: In wide-ranging remarks Wednesday in Iran, [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei slammed the peace proposal as a "sign of viciousness." He said the terrorism against Israel is the only way to "force out the Zionist enemy and the U.S."
"You saw that the U.S. bullies and hooligans unveiled the plan of the so-called deal of the century," Khamenei said in remarks carried by the country's state-controlled press.
PERFECT COVER … "Exclusive: Iran-linked hackers pose as journalists in email scam," via REUTERS: When Iranian-born German academic Erfan Kasraie received an email from the Wall Street Journal requesting an interview, he sensed something was amiss.
The Nov. 12 note purportedly came from Farnaz Fassihi, a veteran Iranian-American journalist who covers the Middle East … In a report published Wednesday, London-based cybersecurity company Certfa tied the impersonation of Fassihi to a hacking group nicknamed Charming Kitten, which has long been associated with Iran.
A NEW THRILL UP HIS LEG … "Chris Matthews: Romney Speech Made Me ‘Romantic About Politics’ Again," by WFB’s Cameron Cawthorne: MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews on Wednesday gushed over Sen. Mitt Romney's (R., Utah) floor speech about voting to remove President Donald Trump from office.
"I want to say something about [Romney] when I get back in a minute," Matthews said on Hardball. "I was romantic about politics for a couple minutes again today like I used to be. Romance in politics means believing in guts."
DO WE NEED TO GO OVER HELLER AGAIN … "D.C. Metro Angers Industry by Refusing Gun Safety Ad," by WFB’s Stephen Gutowski: The agency refused to run an ad from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) that highlighted the industry's commitment "to make communities safer." The agency told the group the ad violated its guidelines but did not elaborate on any particular violation, according to an email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The trade group said the decision is politically motivated.
"There's nothing controversial in the ad," spokesman Larry Keane said. "So, it's just another blatant example of bias against the firearms industry."
AT HARVARD, OUR CHILDREN IS LEARNING …
Actually, I was not aware of the scope of how detrimental he was so many native american populations.
He was not a really good president. https://t.co/cLMMVl0Ju7 https://t.co/TswuPkep2V
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) February 5, 2020
SHRIMP SEEKS TO DEFY HISTORY … "Mike Bloomberg's Historically Diminutive Stature, In Context," by WFB’s Andrew Stiles: Every woman Donald Trump has ever married is taller than Mike Bloomberg. First Lady Melania Trump is 5-foot-11. Marla Maples is five-foot-eight. Ivanna Trump is six-feet tall.
Bloomberg is shorter than Vladimir Putin. Putin is reportedly five-foot-seven. How will Mini Mike stand up to him?
DAYS SINCE JOE BIDEN DID A SUNDAY SHOW: 1,152. Come back, Joe!
"You know who really doesn’t have it? Joe Biden." —Former President Barack Obama
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