Gap in the Record: White House call records the day of the January 6^th insurrection have a seven hour and 37 minute gap in President Trump’s phone conversations, The Washington Post and CBS News report. The gap includes the hours when the Capitol was violently assaulted by a mob intent on overturning the election of Joe Biden.

  CBS reports that it confirmed at least two phone conversations Trump had during those hours that are not on the official logs.

  The Post says, “The House panel is now investigating whether Trump communicated that day through backchannels, phones of aides or personal disposable phones, known as ‘burner phones,’ according to two people with knowledge of the probe.”

  That means that the committee suspects a coverup of what Trump was doing and who he spoke to during those hours.

Likely a Crime: A federal judge ruled yesterday that Donald Trump and his lawyer John Eastman, who had advised him on his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, “more likely than not” had committed felonies. 

  “The illegality of the plan was obvious,” wrote Judge David O. Carter of the Central District of California. He said “President Trump vigorously campaigned for the vice president to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election” and described the plan as “a coup in search of a legal theory.”

  Carter wrote his opinion in a civil case ordering Eastman to turn over emails to the House committee investigating the January 6^th insurrection. Lawyers for both Eastman and Trump protested. Trump’s lawyer Taylor Budowich said, “This absurd and baseless ruling by a Clinton-appointed Judge in California is just another example of how the left is weaponizing every branch of government against President Trump.”

  Carter wrote in his decision, “If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself.”

Moral Outrage: President Biden yesterday refused to back off his declaration in Poland that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power” in Russia even in the midst of an international outcry that he was calling for regime change.

  “I wasn’t then, nor am I now articulating a policy change. I was  expressing the moral outrage I feel and I make no apologies for it,” Biden told reporters about the line he ad-libbed at the end of his speech in Warsaw.  

  Critics claim that Biden risked further inflaming Putin, a man who has no evident moral restraint. “This is just stating a simple fact that this kind of behavior is totally unacceptable, totally unacceptable,” Biden said. Asked whether he’s worried about the Ukraine situation escalating, the President said, “The last thing I want to do is engage in a land war or a nuclear war with Russia,” 

The War Room: Diplomats from Ukraine and Russia were talking about  a possible cease-fire today in Turkey as Ukrainians continue to push back the Russians outside the capital, Kyiv. 

  The mayor of Mariupol said yesterday that his city has fallen to the Russian invaders. He called for the evacuation of the remaining 160,000 residents, saying the city is without food, water, power, and other necessities.

  By some reports, as many as 40,000 Ukrainians from that area have already been forcibly removed to Russia.

  Also today, a Russian strike on a regional government building in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv destroyed a large portion of the building killing several people. 

  The Kremlin played down any dramatic expectations for the peace talks. “Regrettably, we cannot say there have been any significant achievements or breakthroughs so far,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s  face-to-face meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, at least until the two sides are closer to an agreement. 

Economic War: The Dutch beer brewer Heineken and its Danish rival Carlsberg both announced they are pulling out of Russia. Japan says that starting April 5^th it will ban the export of luxury goods to Russia including cars, motorcycles, liquor, cosmetics, clothing, jewelry, grand pianos, and art.

The Information War: Novaya Gazeta, the Russian newspaper that’s been a fearless voice in the Putin whose editor shared the Nobel Peace Prize last year, suspended publication, leaving Russia without any major media outlets critical of the Kremlin. 

Tax the Rich: President Biden yesterday proposed raising taxes on the richest Americans and corporations, a levy described as the “Billionaire Minimum Income Tax.” It’s part of his 2023 budget aimed at cutting the federal deficit and squeezing the rich for a fairer share.

  The budget proposal is for a tax on households worth more than $100 million, requiring them to  pay at least 20 percent on their income as well as unrealized gains on liquid investments like stocks, which can grow to fortunes without getting taxed if they are not sold.

  The White House says the wealth tax would apply only to the top one-hundredth of 1 percent of American households, and over half of the money would come from people worth more than $1 billion. The White House estimates that the new tax would raise about $360 billion over 10 years.

The Spin Rack: — A snow squall on Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania led to a 50-car pileup with three people killed and at least 20 injured. Among the crushed vehicles a tanker truck exploded in flames. — Walmart is pulling cigarettes from its stores in California, Florida, Arkansas, and New Mexico. 

Slap Happy: Actor Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock for jumping up on the Oscar stage and smacking the comedian for a crack he made Sunday night about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

  What’s now known as “The Slap Heard Round the World” was the topic of discussion yesterday by everyone from morning hosts, talk show panels, and late night comedians. Jimmy Fallon said, “Seriously, you know, it was a strange award show when it ends with the statement from the LAPD.”

-30-