The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1:

• On Tuesday, a three-judge panel from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard arguments to determine the validity of Donald Trump’s presidential immunity defense in his federal election subversion indictment. Two of the judges on the panel are Democratic appointees—Judge J. Michelle Childs and Judge Florence Y. Pan. Though, the third judge—Judge Karen L. Henderson—seemed equally unconvinced by the Trump team’s legal argument.
• Charlie Savage and Alan Feuer of The New York Times write: “Judge [Florence Y.] Pan asked [Donald Trump’s Attorney John] Sauer to address a series of hypotheticals intended to test the limits of his position that presidents are absolutely immune from criminal prosecution over their officials acts, unless they have first been impeached and convicted by the Senate over the same matter. Among them, she asked, what if a president ordered SEAL Team 6, the Navy commando unit, to assassinate a president’s political rival? Mr. Sauer said such a president would surely be impeached and convicted, but he insisted that courts would not have jurisdiction to oversee a murder trial unless that first happened.” You can read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/09/us/politics/trump-immunity-hearing-takeaways.html?smid=url-share
• Following Tuesday’s Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit hearing, former president Donald Trump said that if his presidential immunity argument is proven to be unfounded then former president Barack Obama could, and should, be prosecuted for covert drone strikes he ordered in the Middle East—including one that resulted in the death of an American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki. The strikes were conducted without congressional approval.
• Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spent several days in an intensive care unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland following elective surgery—though the precise surgery has not been disclosed. Alarmingly, the White House—including President Joe Biden—was not informed of Secretary Austin’s incapacitation for more than three days. Equally concerning, while Secretary Austin was in intensive care, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks was on vacation in Puerto Rico. Will anyone be held accountable for this disastrous breakdown in communication? Secretary Austin released a statement on Saturday addressing the issue: “I am very glad to be on the mend and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon. I also understand the media concerns about transparency and I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better.” On Tuesday, it was announced that Secretary Austin has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.