The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (02/06/2024):

3:05pm- In a 57-page opinion, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously rejected Donald Trump’s argument that presidential immunity legally shields him from criminal charges related to his challenging of the 2024 presidential election results. The judges wrote: "We cannot accept former President Trump's claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power—the recognition and implementation of election results. Nor can we sanction his apparent contention that the Executive has carte blanche to violate the rights of individual citizens to vote and to have their votes count." Trump has vowed to appeal the decision—which will mean the case will be heard by the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court. You can read the full text of the ruling here: https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/full-text-trump-immunity-ruling-appeals-court-rcna137482

3:15pm- Joe Barrett of The Wall Street Journal writes: “The mother of a Michigan teen who killed four students at his high school in 2021 was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter, the first time a parent of a school shooter has been convicted of homicide in connection with the attack. Jennifer Crumbley, whose son, Ethan, pleaded guilty to four counts of murder in the killings at Oxford High about 40 miles north of Detroit and is serving life in prison, lowered her head slightly but showed little other reaction as the verdict was read in an Oakland County courtroom. The judge set a sentencing date of April 9. Crumbley’s husband, James Crumbley, will stand trial for the same charges in a separate trial next month.” You can read the full report here: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/mother-of-michigan-school-shooter-ethan-crumbley-found-guilty-of-manslaughter-ccd8bfff?mod=hp_lead_pos1

3:40pm- Country singer and songwriter Toby Keith has passed away at the age of 62 after a battle with stomach cancer.

3:55pm- Don’t wish “The Greater Chris” a happy birthday…

4:05pm- According to reports, the House of Representatives is expected to hold a vote to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday—alleging that he has willfully refused to enforce existing U.S. border security laws. With only a slim majority in the House, it is uncertain whether Republicans will have enough votes to successfully impeach Mayorkas.

4:15pm- On Sunday, leadership in the U.S. Senate released the details of a bipartisan bill designed to reduce illegal border crossings, send $60 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, and $14.1 billion in aid to Israel. The 370-page bill mandates a border shutdown if more than 5,000 migrants unlawfully enter the U.S. in a single day. However, the shutdown cannot exceed 270 days in the bill’s first year, 225 in the second year, and 180 days in the third year. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has said the proposed “Senate border bill will not receive a vote in the House.” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has echoed a similar sentiment—and announced the House will instead vote on a standalone bill later this week that will provide $14.3 billion of aid to Israel. Annie Karni of The New York Times notes: “By Monday evening, [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell was privately acknowledging that the measure had hemorrhaged support among Republicans, and recommending they move to block it unless Democrats agreed to debate it further and allow them to propose changes.” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/05/us/politics/republicans-border-deal.html

4:40pm- In a 57-page opinion, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously rejected Donald Trump’s argument that presidential immunity legally shields him from criminal charges related to his challenging of the 2024 presidential election results. The judges wrote: "We cannot accept former President Trump's claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power—the recognition and implementation of election results. Nor can we sanction his apparent contention that the Executive has carte blanche to violate the rights of individual citizens to vote and to have their votes count." Trump has vowed to appeal the decision—which will mean the case will be heard by the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court. You can read the full text of the ruling here: https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/full-text-trump-immunity-ruling-appeals-court-rcna137482

4:45pm- On Tuesday, President Joe Biden spoke from the White House imploring the U.S. Congress to pass a proposed border bill crafted by a bipartisan group of Senators—James Lankford (R-OK), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and Chris Murphy (D-CT). However, it seems increasingly unlikely that the bill has enough support to even pass in the Senate let alone the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. During his address, President Biden blamed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for sabotaging the legislation by denouncing it in the press and on social media.

5:05pm- In a bombshell report from Tim Golden of ProPublica: “Years before Andrés Manuel López Obrador was elected as Mexico’s leader in 2018, U.S. drug-enforcement agents uncovered what they believed was substantial evidence that major cocaine traffickers had funneled some $2 million to his first presidential campaign. According to more than a dozen interviews with U.S. and Mexican officials and government documents reviewed by ProPublica, the money was provided to campaign aides in 2006 in return for a promise that a López Obrador administration would facilitate the traffickers’ criminal operations.” You can read the full report here: https://www.propublica.org/article/mexico-amlo-lopez-obrador-campaign-drug-cartels

5:20pm- While appearing on Fox News with Bret Baier, Rep. Chip Roy explained exactly why the proposed Senate border bill does not do enough to secure the U.S. Southern border—noting that children won’t count towards the 5,000 migrants per day necessary to trigger an immediate border shutdown, which he fears may encourage child trafficking.

5:30pm- Would you pay $17.59 for a Big Mac meal at McDonald’s? PLUS, why is the moon shrinking?

5:40pm- During a House hearing addressing allegations that the federal government partnered with Big Tech to censor speech online, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan (R-OH) revealed that email exchanges indicate the White House pressured Amazon to remove books that questioned the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

5:50pm- According to reports, the House of Representatives is expected to hold a vote to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday—alleging that he has willfully refused to enforce existing U.S. border security laws. Karoun Demirjian of The New York Times explains: “The G.O.P. can afford no more than two defections, and two Republicans—Tom McClintock of California, below pictured first, and Ken Buck of Colorado—are already committed nos. A handful of others are on the fence. But when asked if they had the votes to impeach, Speaker Mike Johnson said: ‘I believe we do.’”

6:05pm- On Sunday, leadership in the U.S. Senate released the details of a bipartisan bill designed to reduce illegal border crossings, send $60 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, and $14.1 billion in aid to Israel. The 370-page bill mandates a border shutdown if more than 5,000 migrants unlawfully enter the U.S. in a single day. However, the shutdown cannot exceed 270 days in the bill’s first year, 225 in the second year, and 180 days in the third year. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has said the proposed “Senate border bill will not receive a vote in the House.” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has echoed a similar sentiment—and announced the House will instead vote on a standalone bill later this week that will provide $14.3 billion of aid to Israel. Annie Karni of The New York Times notes: “By Monday evening, [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell was privately acknowledging that the measure had hemorrhaged support among Republicans, and recommending they move to block it unless Democrats agreed to debate it further and allow them to propose changes.” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/05/us/politics/republicans-border-deal.html

6:10pm- In a video posted to X, Tucker Carlson announced that he will be interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin. The interview will be posted to X and will be free to watch.

6:25pm- For the second consecutive year, President Joe Biden will not grant an interview to the television station broadcasting the Super Bowl. Traditionally, the president participates in an interview prior to kickoff which is viewed by millions of people across the country. Upon hearing the news, former President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social: “Crooked Joe Biden has just announced that he will not be doing the big Super Bowl Interview. A great decision, he can’t put two sentences together. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO REPLACE HIM—would be ‘RATINGS GOLD!’”

6:35pm- On Tuesday, President Joe Biden spoke from the White House imploring the U.S. Congress to pass a proposed border bill crafted by a bipartisan group of Senators—James Lankford (R-OK), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and Chris Murphy (D-CT). However, it seems increasingly unlikely that the bill has enough support to even pass in the Senate let alone the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. During his address, President Biden blamed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for sabotaging the legislation by denouncing it in the press and on social media.

6:50pm- The House of Representatives’ attempt to impeach Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has failed with a vote of 214-216. Four Republicans joined Democrats and voted “nay”— Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, Ken Buck of Colorado, Blake Moore of Utah, and Tom McClintock of California.