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Glenn Ickler| Guest Columnist

Its the most amazin thing Ive seen in the last four years, my Uncle Fud said, as we sat eating Aunt Duds fresh-baked cinnamon rolls in their kitchen at Chigger Mountain Farm.

What is so amazing? I asked, after licking a dab of frosting off my upper lip.

Sen. Mitch McConnell and the twice-impeached former president both made statements that were true, Uncle Fud said.

Are you sure? That is a very rare act for McConnell and a total no-no for the twice-impeached former president, I said.

It was in all the papers. And what makes it even better is that they both told the truth on the same day. Whats more, it was about each other, he said.

I did read that, I said. McConnell, who has been the Chief Traitors biggest lickspittle and enabler for four years, wrote a column for the New York Times after the latest impeachment trial, and he said: There is no question former President Trump bears moral responsibility. His supporters stormed the Capitol because of the unhinged falsehoods he shouted into the worlds largest megaphone. His behavior during and after the chaos was also unconscionable, from attacking Vice President Mike Pence during the riot to praising the criminals after it ended.

Right, said Uncle Fud. But then, of course, he took the cowards way out and voted to acquit the man he said was morally responsible, usin the excuse that he thought the impeachment of a president already out of office was unconstitutional.

Which isnt at all amazing, said Aunt Dud.

It certainly isnt, I said. McConnell has been supporting the Chief Traitors unhinged falsehoods ever since the first set of lies he told at his inaugural in 2017.

But the twice-impeached former president fired right back at the man whod been his genuflecting right-hand man in the Senate, Uncle Fud said. He wrote: Mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if Republican Senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again. He will never do what needs to be done, or what is right for our Country.

An absolutely perfect description of Mitch McConnell, written by a man who benefited from the spineless obeisance of that dour political hack for four years, I said. I cant believe this. For the first time ever, I am in agreement with both McConnell and the Chief Traitor.

No two despicable political scalawags have ever spoken about each other in more accurate terms, Aunt Dud said. I didnt think either of them had it in him to be so truthful.

Of course, the twice-impeached former president went right to lyin in the rest of his statement, Uncle Fud said. He said he will be supportin candidates who are brilliant, strong, thoughtful, and compassionate. He wouldnt recognize one of those if it bit him in the butt.

All those traits were completely absent in his administration, Aunt Dud said. And he might be coming back to run in 2024.

The vote for acquittal by 43 senators caused conservative columnist George F. Will, a former Republican, to wonder if the Republicans will allow their louts to rule the party, I said. He listed the members of the partys Large Lout Caucus as Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), Ted Cruz (Tex.), Josh Hawley (Mo.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), and Ron Johnson (Wis.).

Ooh, what a creepy lineup that is, Uncle Fud said. Theyre all lookin for the votes of the seditionists, white-supremacists, neo-Nazis, Confederate flag wavers, thick-skulled thugs, petty thieves, misbegotten muttonheads and savage police beaters that smashed their way into the Capitol, murdered a policeman and threatened the lives of everyone in the building on Jan. 6.

The louts who have presidential ambitions Cruz, Hawley and Rubio will regret their votes to acquit the Chief Traitor if he runs for the Republican nomination in 2024, I said. In a Morning Consult poll, 54 percent of Republican voters said they would support him.

Its time for Congress to invoke Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, Aunt Dud said. Section 3 bars from public office those officials who engage in insurrection or rebellion against the United States. The evidence shown at the impeachment trial made it crystal clear that the former president violated his oath of office and sparked an insurrection.

If James Madison was alive, Ill bet hed wish that hed made weaseling out of a conviction vote more difficult when he wrote the Constitutions impeachment clause, I said.

And if President Abraham Lincoln was alive, Ill bet hed have resigned from the Republican Party and started a new one with the few respectable Republicans that are left, said Uncle Fud. Seein a Confederate flag inside the Capitol would have made him explode.

Imagine what would happen if the Chief Traitor died and encountered President Lincoln in the afterworld, I said.

Impossible, said my Aunt Dud. You have to have had a soul to go where Lincoln is spending eternity. You have to have shown at least a crumb of concern for somebody besides yourself. Theres no way that the twice-impeached former president will ever get anywhere near the eternal resting place of Abraham Lincoln.

Glenn Icklerof Hopedale is a retired newspaper editor.

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Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump finally tell the truth - at least about one another - Milford Daily News

I never thought that the spineless, degenerate, almost all white Republican U.S. senators would prove their patriotism and vote to convict Donald Trump. Trump, of course, was impeached for inciting the heinous, murderous, sickening riot of January 6.

On that date, the seat of government was desecrated and our Constitution threatened by disciples of a man who seemingly follows the playbook of Adolf Hitler and his like. Most frightening of all, Trump was perilously close to getting away with bringing down our democratic Republic.

Thats right, those thugs were in that Capitol to reverse the peaceful transference of power in this country. That transition of power, based upon the peoples vote, is what true democrats around the world so admire about this country. Our short-lived democracy was threatened by a would-be fascist dictator who knew exactly what he was doing when he lit the fuse that incited an invasion of folks set on murdering the vice president. How do we know that? They erected a noose just outside the doors of the Capitol and they yelled that they wanted to find the very vice president who never wavered in his respect and adulation for the president, who, as I have said again and again, has no low.

Stop and think about where Mike Pence is now. As I write this article, Pence has done nothing to strike back at the man who unleashed the mob against him and threatened his life and the lives of his family. Pence was asked to break the law and nullify the presidential election and now has nothing to say. That gives you a pretty good idea of his character. Remember, this is a man who could have been president.

It was not by accident that the House impeachment managers, including the unbelievably persuasive and heroic Jamie Raskin, kept referring to Pence during their statements. They wanted to let the spineless Republican senators know what was at stake.

It didnt work they threw their Republican colleague, Pence, overboard. The whole thing left the Republicans in a very bad place.

What was really going on here was evident. This was a last-ditch effort by the former white male majority in this country to preserve its power in the face of growing diversity. They know, as we all do, that the Black, Latino and progressive communities in the United States pulled together, and, for the sake of their children and their childrens children, voted for change.

This can all be traced back to the Civil War. Lincoln was assassinated, and after that, the emancipated slaves were put into economic and social servitude. Now it would appear that there is a legitimate chance that things are actually changing, and that is what is so frightening for those who have held on to power for so long. They were backed by Republican senators who looked and talked like them. These senators will be written into the history books as traitors.

So is Donald Trump finished? Hitler wasnt after he went to jail. I say that he is. After all, a lot of people voted for his conviction, including a handful of courageous Republicans. The impeachment trial of Donald Trump illustrates the same divisions that have always existed in this country, but things are changing. Frankly, there are more people who are insisting on sharing.

Lets just see whether at least some of the senators who voted with Trump will have put themselves at risk. Look at the two Democratic wins in Georgia. People know whats right.

Yes, I knew what the outcome of the trial would be, but I am quite sure that we are on the way to a better country. Thank you to the incredible Democratic managers and to all those who agree that things will get better. America, have heart.

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Alan Chartock: Is Donald Trump finished? It looks to me like he is - The Daily Freeman

UNITED NATIONS (AP) The Biden administration on Thursday rescinded former president Donald Trumps restoration of U.N. sanctions on Iran, an announcement that could help Washington move toward rejoining the 2015 nuclear agreement aimed at reining in the Islamic Republics nuclear program.

Acting U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council on behalf of President Joe Biden saying the United States hereby withdraws three letters from the Trump administration culminating in its Sept. 19 announcement that the United States had re-imposed U.N. sanctions on Tehran.

Mills said in the letter obtained by The Associated Press that sanctions measures terminated in the 2015 council resolution endorsing the nuclear deal with six major powers, but restored by Trump in September, remain terminated.

Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018, accusing Iran of serious violations.

Biden has said the United States wants to rejoin the pact and the State Department said Thursday the U.S. would accept an invitation from the European Union to attend a meeting of the participants in the original agreement -- Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran.

The Trump administrations decision to invoke a provision in the 2015 council resolution allowing the snapback of sanctions because Iran was in significant non-performance with its obligations under the accord was ignored by the rest of the Security Council and the world.

The overwhelming majority of members in the 15-nation council called Trumps action illegal, because the U.S. was no longer a member of the JCPOA.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations would not support re-imposing sanctions on Iran as the United States was demanding until he got a green light from the Security Council. He said there was uncertainty on whether or not former secretary of state Mike Pompeo had triggered the snapback mechanism

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Biden withdraws Trump's restoration of UN sanctions on Iran - Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP)

Two Central Park ice rinks are set to close after Sunday because New York City is cutting ties with the Trump Organization that operates them.

Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasios administration announced last month it would terminate business contracts with President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

As a result, Wollman Rink and Lasker Rink will close after Sundays sessions, CBS News and the New York Post reported.

Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, called the move purely a political stunt that only hurts New Yorkers.

Instead of focusing on a dying city which everyone is leaving because of rising crime, high taxes, closed businesses and totally incompetent leadership, the Mayor is painting signs in front of Trump Tower and trying to destroy the only outdoor activity available to children during a pandemic, Trump said in a statement.

De Blasio said the Trump Organization earns about $17 million a year in profits from its contracts to run the skating rinks, as well as a carousel in Central Park and a golf course in the Bronx.

He said the city would seek new vendors for all the attractions.

We are working diligently through our competitive RFP process to secure new operators for these great amenities so as not to impact the respective seasons, Parks spokeswoman Crystal Howard told the New York Post.

The rinks are used by youth skating and hockey programs.

Everyone was absolutely devastated, every kid, their parents, their coaches, Malik Garvin, director of Ice Hockey in Harlem, told CBS. Kids are paying the price for something they had nothing to do with.

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NYC ice rinks to close as city cuts business ties with Trump - Associated Press

As Congress looks to set up an independent outside panel to investigate the Capitol siege, Democrats and Republicans both have pointed to the 9/11 Commission as a model of bipartisan cooperation.

But 20 years later, veterans of the commission's investigation into the 2001 terror attacks worry that it will be challenging to keep politics out of an inquiry into the Jan. 6 attack that led to President Donald Trump's unprecedented second impeachment, on charges he incited the riot.

Trump was acquitted last week. His lawyers argued he wasn't responsible for the violence at the Capitol and against the propriety of convicting a former president. Seven Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in the 57-43 vote, short of the two-thirds majority needed for conviction.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has shared proposed legislation to set up the panel with Republicans after seeking input from lawmakers, relevant committees and leaders of the 9/11 Commission, including former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, Lee Hamilton, the former Indiana congressman who served as co-chair, and Tim Roemer, another former Democratic congressman.

Security forces respond with tear gas after the US President Donald Trump's supporters breached the US Capitol security in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.

In interviews with ABC News, Kean, Hamilton and Roemer said they told Pelosi a successful commission would require appointing members who can avoid the partisan fray, supplying them with adequate resources and providing enough time to investigate on their own timetable, rather than one laid out by Congress or the White House.

"You cannot have people on the commission whose job is to defend the president or defend the speaker," said Kean, a Republican, and chair of the 9/11 Commission. "You've got to have people who follow the facts."

To blunt partisanship on the panel, Kean established a strong relationship with Hamilton and didn't hire any staff who'd recently worked on a political campaign.

The composition of the committee is essential to its success, added Roemer, who has been consulting with Pelosi and her staff over the past two weeks on the drafting of the legislation. Roemer added that the commissioners must have experience in complex areas of policy, from cybersecurity and law enforcement to racial issues and disinformation campaigns.

"You need to pick people who have worked across the aisle and have deep experience in the issue areas involved. The commission will likely be 10 or 11 people, with the president getting to pick the chair and the leadership selecting other people," Roemer said.

The 9/11 Commission faced resistance from the Bush White House as it explored what intelligence was known about the plot before the attack, and it was pressured to conclude its investigation before the 2004 election, Kean recalled.

Pelosi, in a statement on Monday, said the commission would "investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021, domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex" relating to "the interference with the peaceful transfer of power, including facts and causes relating to the preparedness and response of the United States Capitol Police and other Federal, State, and local law enforcement in the National Capitol Region."

At an earlier press conference, Pelosi said the new panel would have "nothing to do with President Trump" but would focus on Capitol security, along with white supremacy and anti-Semitism.

"The mandate, the remit, the purpose section of the legislative needs to be specific, it needs to be precise and it needs to be crystal clear," Roemer said. "It should not be only about how to protect the Capitol complex or how high the walls should be, it should also include what led to attacks and how to strengthen the institutions of our representative democracy."

It's not yet clear whether Republicans will back the speaker's effort. At least 10 Republicans will need to support any proposal in the Senate to clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the chamber to pass the legislation.

Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi responds to questions on the creation of a commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol, during a news conference in Washington, Feb. 19, 2021.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was noncommittal in a statement to ABC News, and pointed to the commission legislation proposed by House Republicans several weeks ago.

"It is our responsibility to understand the security and intelligence breakdowns that led to the riots on January 6 so that we can better protect this institution and the men and women working inside it," his statement read. "A commission should follow the guidance of Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton to be 'both independent and bipartisan,' and to preserve that integrity it must be evenly split between both parties."

Some of Trump's top allies in Congress have tried to shift blame to Pelosi -- questioning her handling of Capitol security before the attack -- and could bristle at any closer examination of Trump.

"I want to look at what Pelosi knew, when she knew it, what President Trump did after the attack, and on the Senate side, was Senate leadership informed of a threat?" Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on "Fox News Sunday."

"For this to work," Pelosi said during a press conference on Thursday, "it really has to be strongly bipartisan. You have to have subpoena power."

"That is the solution to getting access to people and information in this case," Roemer told ABC News. "Getting access to the material that was out there when President Trump was in office and the cooperation of key witnesses subpoenaing those people who were there. Others may be absolutely willing to come in without a subpoena."

Initial Democratic and Republican proposals for the commission differ on the scope of the inquiry, whether members of Congress could serve on the panel, and whether it would explore issues like online disinformation.

Police clash with supporters of President Donald Trump who breached security and entered the Capitol building in Washington Jan. 06, 2021.

Philip Zelikow, a professor at the University of Virginia who served as the executive director of the 9/11 Commission and helped author its bestselling report, told ABC News that the ongoing FBI investigations into Capitol rioters could create "lots of hindrances and potential delays" along with any investigations into Trump's phone call with Georgia's secretary of state.

At least 237 people are facing federal charges stemming from the Capitol riot, according to an ABC News review of charging documents.

"We did mutually benefit from a colossal FBI investigation," he said of the 9/11 Commission. "But the FBI investigation was not in the process of being presented to a grand jury."

John Farmer, a former attorney general of New Jersey who served as senior counsel on the 9/11 Commission, told ABC News that the panel should be able to confer immunity to witnesses in exchange for help, to incentivize cooperation, although that could complicate ongoing criminal investigations and future inquiries into holding people accountable for the attack.

"A judgment will have to be made in some cases whether a full account of what happened on Jan. 6 is more important than individual culpability," Farmer said.

At least seven House and Senate committees also are conducting their own investigations into the attack, seeking records and testimony from senior congressional security officials, the FBI and social media platforms, such as Parler, that authorities say were used by rioters to communicate ahead of the siege.

On Friday, the FBI and National Counterterrorism Center produced records to the House panels as part of their inquiry into what federal intelligence agencies knew about the potential for an attack ahead of Jan. 6, a House committee official told ABC News. The Department of Homeland Security is expected to produce records for the committees in the coming weeks.

Several House and Senate panels plan to hold the first public hearings on the Jan. 6 attack, featuring current and former congressional security officials, next week.

Hamilton, the 9/11 Commission co-chair, said the most difficult work will be making sure that any recommendations the commission ends up making are passed into law.

"There isn't any magic here, no formula, just common sense and the political will to do it," he told ABC News.

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Congress aims to avoid politics with independent Jan. 6 investigation - ABC News