1. Trump’s lawyers begin defense

• President Donald Trump’s lawyers plunged into his impeachment trial defense Saturday by accusing Democrats of striving to overturn the 2016 election, arguing that investigations of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine have not been a fact-finding mission but a politically motivated effort to drive him from the White House.
• “They’re here to perpetrate the most massive interference in an election in American history,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone told senators. “And we can’t allow that to happen.”
• The Trump legal team’s arguments in the rare Saturday session were aimed at rebutting allegations that the president abused his power when he asked Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and then obstructed Congress as it tried to investigate.
• The lawyers are mounting a wide-ranging, aggressive defense asserting an expansive view of presidential powers and portraying Trump as besieged by political opponents determined to ensure he won’t be reelected this November.
• “They’re asking you to tear up all the ballots across this country on your own initiative, take that decision away from the American people,” Cipollone said.
• Read the full report of yesterday’s events HERE.

2. Jeff Sessions stresses Trump loyalty

• Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, giving a recent campaign speech to a suburban Republican club, recalled his 2016 decision to endorse then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at a time when many party members were uncertain about the bellicose outsider.
• “’Jeff, are you sure?’” he said, recalling questions he got at the time. “But let me ask you: Was I right?” Sessions asked the Mid Alabama Republican Club, which responded with loud applause and cheers.
• Sessions is emphasizing his loyalty to Trump’s agenda and his record in office as he seeks to reclaim the Alabama Senate seat he held for 20 years before being tapped as the president’s first attorney general, a position he was forced to resign when his recusal from the Russia inquiry prompted blistering public criticism from Trump.
• The former four-term U.S. senator — and the first to endorse Trump 2016 — faces a competitive primary that will test how much Trump’s censure has damaged his support in deeply red Alabama.
• Read the first of Kim Chandler’s Senate race profile stories on Sessions HERE.

3. Paying college athletes – Where does Alabama?

• This weekend’s Senior Bowl in Mobile saw some of the top college athletes from around the country come to showcase their talents in front of NFL coaches in the hopes of earning a professional paycheck.
• With the evolution of the game over the last several years, there is more and more conversation about allowing players to receive some form of compensation while still in school.
• Last fall, California passed a bill last year that enables college athletes to be compensated for the use of their image or likeness. Similar legislation is under consideration by state legislatures in Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington.
• The NCAA Board of Governors on Oct. 29 unanimously approved a measure that would allow student-athletes to “benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness.” The board asked each of the associations’s three divisions to make rules changes no later than January 2021.
• Here in Alabama, opinions are mixed, including among those who played college football themselves.
• “I don’t know what the formula is, but I support some form of compensation,” Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, said. He played cornerback at North Carolina State and even spent some time in the professional ranks. “Whether that’s licensing their image or receiving a stipend, I think the essence of an athlete getting paid is okay.”
• Rep. Wes Allen, R-Troy, who played wide receiver at the University of Alabama believes the government should stay out of the matter.
• “It’s called amateur sports for a reason,” Allen said.
• Read the full story from Will Whatley HERE.

4. Opioid victims can begin filing claims

• State and local governments have been leading the legal fight against the opioid industry, seeking payouts to help them deal with the fallout from the nation’s addiction crisis. Average Americans are about to get their shot.
• On Friday, the federal judge overseeing the bankruptcy case of Purdue Pharma set a June 30 deadline to file a claim against the company. That includes governments, entities such as hospitals and, for the first time, individuals who have personal injury claims.
• It’s not clear how much money might be at stake. Purdue reached an agreement with some states and local governments that could be worth more than $10 billion over time as part of its bankruptcy filing. But Judge Robert Drain emphasized during the hearing in White Plains, New York, that no final settlement is in place.
• The ad campaign promoting the filing deadline is intended to reach 95% of U.S. adults, with ads in newspapers, movie theaters and on Facebook. Billboards will promote the deadline in four hard-hit states: Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.
• You can read more about it HERE.

5. Dana Hall McCain: The Refugee Question

• Last September, the Trump Administration announced it would allow states to decide for themselves whether or not to accept international refugees.
• Since then, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said his state won’t accept any new refugees and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee saying his state would. Both are Republicans.
• In a new op-ed, Dana Hall McCain of the Alabama Policy Institute argues that Alabama should follow Tennessee’s lead and accept refugees who are fleeing dangerous countries.
• Here’s an excerpt:

• Read her full op-ed HERE.

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