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    ‘Stop the Steal’ campaign founder’s Twitter account reinstated

    ‘Stop the Steal’ campaign founder’s Twitter account reinstatedAli Alexander, who originated campaign based on lie that inspired the January 6 attack, was banned on 10 January 2021 The founder of the campaign that promoted the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump has had his Twitter account reinstated.Ali Alexander, who originated the “Stop the Steal” campaign that inspired the January 6 insurrection, was permanently banned from Twitter on 10 January following the Capitol riot.Upon his account being reactivated, Alexander tweeted his thanks to the Twitter CEO, Elon Musk: “Thank you [Elon Musk]. Now, bring everyone else.”In a follow-up tweet, Alexander dedicated his account to “Jesus Christ, Love, @J6Families, YE, and beating up naughty Republicans”, reported the Daily Beast.Since being banned, Alexander posted on the far-right platform Truth Social and claimed credit for the Capitol riot as the “main organizer”.The Enemy made false promises to our opponents.Their murderous lust for our destruction made them greedy.As a result, they’ve destroyed faith in already failing institutions and forced Twitter to go private. Normalizing us.Thank you @elonmusk.Now, bring everyone else.— Ali Alexander (@ali) January 9, 2023
    On the day of the insurrection, Alexander posted several tweets about the protest and subsequent riot, including a message at 4.13am reading: “First official day of the rebellion.”Alexander also posted an image of 6 January attendees marching to the US Capitol, captioned: “200,000 marching to the US Capitol.”While Alexander has not faced criminal charges for his role in the 6 January events, his name appeared more than 100 times in the House committee’s final report, most relating to his false claims that the 2020 election was illegitimate.Alexander also responded to a subpoena to be questioned for the Department of Justice’s criminal inquiry into the January 6 attack, among the first high-profile pro-Trump activists to do so.Shortly after his Twitter reinstatement, Alexander celebrated a similar riot that took place in Brazil by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro. In a series of posts on Truth Social, Alexander wrote that he “endorsed the real people of Brazil” and not the “fake CIA backed rigged election”, adding: “The National Supreme Court in Brazil is illegitimate and the most corrupt part of the country … Do whatever is necessary!”TopicsUS Capitol attackTwitternewsReuse this content More

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    Federal prosecutors subpoena Giuliani over Trump campaign payments

    Federal prosecutors subpoena Giuliani over Trump campaign paymentsThe order, issued in November, also asks the former New York mayor to provide testimony Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, who helped to amplify Donald Trump’s false claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 election, has been subpoenaed by federal prosecutors seeking documents about payments he received from Trump or his presidential campaign, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.Grand jury in Georgia’s Trump 2020 election investigation finishes workRead moreThe subpoena, which was issued in November, also asks Giuliani to provide testimony, said the person, who declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.The nature of the inquiry by the US attorney in Washington DC, which began before special counsel Jack Smith was appointed to oversee investigations into Trump, remains largely under wraps.Giuliani, who has served as Trump’s personal attorney, did not respond to requests by Reuters for comment.A spokeswoman for the US attorney for the District of Columbia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The source said the subpoena sought, among other things, copies of any retainer agreements between Trump and Giuliani, or the Trump campaign and Giuliani, and records of payments and who made those payments.In December, a District of Columbia attorney ethics committee said Giuliani violated at least one attorney ethics rule in his work on a failed lawsuit by Trump challenging the 2020 election results.Giuliani’s New York state law license was suspended in June 2021 after a state appeals court found he had made “demonstrably false and misleading” statements that widespread voter fraud undermined the 2020 election won by his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden.TopicsRudy GiulianiDonald TrumpWashington DCNew YorkUS elections 2020newsReuse this content More

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    Kevin McCarthy wins US House speaker bid after gruelling, 15-vote saga – video

    The Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was elected as speaker of the US House of Representatives in a dramatic late-night vote, after quelling a days-long revolt from a bloc of far-right conservatives to finally capture the gavel on a historic 15th attempt. McCarthy’s ascension to speaker came after 14 defeats and a string of concessions to ultraconservative lawmakers that would significantly weaken his power while strengthening their influence over the party’s new House majority. After winning over most of the holdouts earlier on Friday, McCarthy withstood a surprise defeat on the 14th ballot later that evening and finally clinched the gavel on the next round with the slimmest majority, just 216 votes, in the early hours of Saturday morning

    Kevin McCarthy wins House speaker bid after gruelling, 15-vote saga
    Kevin McCarthy narrowly loses 14th House speaker vote in stunning setback More

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    McCarthy faces off with Republican lawmaker after 14th loss in US House speaker vote – video

    In a remarkable effort to salvage his candidacy after the final votes were tallied, Kevin McCarthy strode to the back of the chamber to personally lobby two defectors, Republicans Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Matt Gaetz of Florida, both of whom voted ‘present’. If one were to change their vote and back him for speaker, McCarthy would reach the 217 votes he needed. Both remained resolute. Tensions boiled as a crowd swelled around them. There was finger pointing and yelling, and one lawmaker physically restrained a colleague who appeared to charge at Gaetz

    Kevin McCarthy wins House speaker bid after gruelling, 15-vote saga
    Kevin McCarthy narrowly loses 14th House speaker vote in stunning setback More

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    Biden salutes January 6 heroes ‘who did not flinch’ in medal ceremony

    Biden salutes January 6 heroes ‘who did not flinch’ in medal ceremony The president spoke with passion about police officers and election officials who held the line on the second anniversary of the attempted insurrectionJoe Biden has marked the second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection by awarding medals to heroes who “did not flinch” when the US Capitol came under attack and warning that democracy cannot be taken for granted.The US president on Friday awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to 14 people, some posthumously, and spoke with passion – and flashes of humour – at a White House ceremony.Democrats commemorate January 6 attack with tears and silence at US CapitolRead moreThe event in the East Room, against a backdrop of seven flags and portraits of the founding US president and first lady, George and Martha Washington, struck a sharp contrast with the Capitol itself where Republicans were struggling for a fourth day to elect a speaker of the House of Representatives.Biden had commemorated the first anniversary of the riot by visiting the Capitol itself and denouncing former president Donald Trump, whose supporters staged the January 6 attack after he urged them to fight like hell. This time, he devoted most of his remarks to praising the heroes of that day who held the line.But his sense of rage at the attempted coup was undimmed.“Two years ago on January 6, our democracy was attacked,” the president said. “There’s no other way of saying it. The US Capitol was breached, which had never happened before in the history of the United States of America, even during the civil war.”He added: “All of it – all of it – was fueled by the lies” Trump told about being robbed of victory over Biden in the 2020 election.“But on this day two years ago, our democracy held because we the people – as the constitution refers to us – we the people did not flinch,” Biden said. “We the people endured. We the people prevailed.”Biden described the honourees, who entered the room to standing ovations and cheers, as “a remarkable group of Americans who embodied the best before, during and after January 6, 2021”.They included the former Arizona house speaker Rusty Bowers and the Michigan secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, who resisted pressure to overturn the 2020 election results in their states. They also included Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman, who diverted rioters from the Senate floor while members were evacuating, and the Georgia election worker Ruby Freeman, falsely accused by Trump of election fraud and forced to flee her home after death threats.There were also awards for Capitol police officers Harry Dunn, Caroline Edwards and Sgt Aquilino Gonell; DC police officer Daniel Hodges; and former DC police officer Michael Fanone.Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick was awarded a posthumous medal. Washington’s chief medical examiner ruled that Sicknick died of natural causes following multiple strokes after the attack.“He lost his life protecting the citadel of democracy,” Biden said before telling Sicknick’s family directly: “I know you’re proud of the honour being bestowed on Brian. But I also know this difficult moment brings back everything as if it happened this very day.”There were two late additions to Friday’s list: Capitol police officer Howard Liebengood and Washington DC police officer Jeffrey Smith, both of whom took their own lives in the aftermath of the insurrection. Biden acknowledged that for family members of the fallen, the honour was “bittersweet”.He also noted that many of those present had testified to the House panel investigating the Capitol attack about what they were seeing and feeling. “It’s not an exaggeration to say America owes you – owes you all, I really mean that – a debt of gratitude,” Biden said. “One that we can never fully repay unless we live up to what you did. What you did was truly consequential.”Trump’s supporters attacked police, smashed through barricades and entered the Capitol on 6 January 2021 in a failed effort to prevent congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory. Trump, who has announced another bid for the presidency in 2024, continues to claim falsely that only widespread voting fraud cost him the 2020 election.The House committee investigating the attack said last month that Trump should face criminal charges for his role in provoking the violence.Biden did not mention Trump or Republicans who rally around the Make America Great Again (Maga) slogan by name but cautioned: “We face an inflection point in our nation’s history. On January 6, it’s a reminder there’s nothing guaranteed about our democracy.”The Presidential Citizens Medal, created by President Richard Nixon in 1969, is the country’s second-highest civilian honour after the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is awarded to those who “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens”.TopicsUS Capitol attackThe US politics sketchUS politicsJoe BidennewsReuse this content More

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    House still without speaker as McCarthy pleads with Republican holdouts – live

    Kevin McCarthy’s team insists there has been progress in negotiations with the hard-right Republican rebels who have denied him the speakership through 11 straight votes, but whether it’s the breakthrough the California Republican so desperately needs is far from certain.The House reconvenes at noon Friday in what has already been the lengthiest search for a speaker in 159 years, with an increasingly anguished McCarthy offering more concessions to the holdouts to try to secure the 218 votes he needs.The Washington Post on Friday was among several media outlets reporting signs emerging of a possible deal to end the impasse yet, crucially, notes that while it reflects “considerable momentum” for McCarthy, the expectation is he “will not get all the votes necessary to become speaker”.Moderate Republicans are also growing restless after three days of voting in which McCarthy has failed to show any progress towards the winning threshold, and a group of 20 House Republicans has consistently voted against him.There is, therefore, something of a “make or break” feel to today’s proceedings.One Republican lawmaker told Politico Playbook on Friday:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}There is a limit to how much of this crap we can take.The website reports mounting frustration among a sizeable number of others, some of whom want to be out of Washington DC to be with sick relatives, attend family funerals or meet new babies for the first time.“There’s a lot more at stake than whether Kevin McCarthy’s going to be able to get the gavel,” the lawmaker told Playbook.“We’ve got lives that are being impacted right now, and this is tough for people.”The other area of concern is how much McCarthy seems to be giving away to the hardliners in order to make a deal.The Post, and others, say he has now consented to reduce the threshold from five to one of the number of House members needed to raise a “vacate the chair” motion, making it easier for the speaker to be ousted.Read more:McCarthy fails in speakership bid for third day after 11th voteRead moreA number of prominent politicians and others have taken to Twitter to express their thoughts on today’s second anniversary of the deadly January 6 Capitol insurrection. Some are linking it to the current paralysis in Congress caused by Republicans’ failure to elect a speaker after three days and 11 votes.Here’s Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the most recent speaker:Tomorrow, we solemnly observe the January 6th Attack on the Capitol.As we mark a day that threatened our Democracy, let us show our respect for the great institution of the Congress.We must open the House and proceed with the People’s work.— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 6, 2023
    Presidential historian Michael Beschloss: Any political leader who planned, abetted, praised or excused the violent attack on our Congress and Capitol of January 6, 2021, and that insurrection against our sacred democracy should never be trusted on the issue of law and order.— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) January 6, 2023
    Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer:This January 6th anniversary should serve as a wakeup call to the GOP to reject MAGA radicalism—which keeps leading to GOP failures.But the pandemonium wrought by House Republicans this week is one more example of how MAGA radicalism is making it impossible for them to govern.— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 6, 2023
    Democratic New Jersey congressman Donald Norcross:On #January6th 2021, rioters breached the Capitol, threatening the peaceful transition of power and democracy itself. Looking back at the footage I took gives me chills.Two years later, I am more committed than ever to protecting our democracy. pic.twitter.com/2bVql6GfU4— Congressman Donald Norcross 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@DonaldNorcross) January 6, 2023
    The official Senate Democrats account:Today marks two years since the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. We must defeat extremism and hold the Republicans who promote it accountable.We will not forget January 6. pic.twitter.com/AyPIaPodtI— Senate Democrats (@dscc) January 6, 2023
    Today marks the second anniversary of the deadly January 6 Capitol riot. This afternoon, Joe Biden will award the nation’s second highest civilian honor, the Presidential Citizens Medal, to 12 people, including law enforcement officers and politicians, who resisted Donald Trump’s insurrection. Ed Pilkington reports:Rusty Bowers, the former top Republican in Arizona’s house of representatives who stood up to Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and was punished for it by being unseated by his own party, is to receive America’s second-highest civilian honor on Friday.Bowers will be among 12 people who will be awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by Joe Biden at the White House at a ceremony to mark the second anniversary of the 6 January 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol. It will be the first time that the president has presented the honor, which is reserved for those who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens”.All 12 took exceptional personal risks to protect US democracy against Trump’s onslaught. Many are law enforcement officers who confronted the Capitol rioters, others are election workers and officials in key battleground states who refused to be bullied into subverting the outcome of the presidential race.Several of the recipients paid a huge personal price for their actions. Brian Sicknick will receive the presidential medal posthumously – he died the day after the insurrection having suffered a stroke; a medical examiner later found he died from natural causes, while noting that the events of January 6 had “played a role in his condition”.Bowers’ award, first reported by the Deseret News, came after he refused effectively to ignore the will of Arizona’s 3.4 million voters and switch victory from Biden to Trump. As a result, he incurred the wrath of Trump, who endorsed a rival candidate in last year’s Republican primary elections.David Farnsworth, the Trump-backed opponent, went on to defeat Bowers and usher him out of the Arizona legislature. Farnsworth is an avid proponent of the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, going so far as to tell voters that the White House had been satanically snatched by the “devil himself”.Ahead of Friday’s ceremony, Bowers described the news of his award as “something of a shock”. He said that though some of his detractors were likely to denounce his call to the White House a political stunt, he thought it was designed to “create unity and put behind us the division of the past. I’m certainly in favor of that, no matter what.”He added: “I don’t think this is to stir up division, it’s to honor those who stood up and did their job as best they could. And that’s kind of what America is about.”Read the full story:‘All I did was testify’: Republican who defied Trump will get presidential medalRead moreKevin McCarthy’s team insists there has been progress in negotiations with the hard-right Republican rebels who have denied him the speakership through 11 straight votes, but whether it’s the breakthrough the California Republican so desperately needs is far from certain.The House reconvenes at noon Friday in what has already been the lengthiest search for a speaker in 159 years, with an increasingly anguished McCarthy offering more concessions to the holdouts to try to secure the 218 votes he needs.The Washington Post on Friday was among several media outlets reporting signs emerging of a possible deal to end the impasse yet, crucially, notes that while it reflects “considerable momentum” for McCarthy, the expectation is he “will not get all the votes necessary to become speaker”.Moderate Republicans are also growing restless after three days of voting in which McCarthy has failed to show any progress towards the winning threshold, and a group of 20 House Republicans has consistently voted against him.There is, therefore, something of a “make or break” feel to today’s proceedings.One Republican lawmaker told Politico Playbook on Friday:.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}There is a limit to how much of this crap we can take.The website reports mounting frustration among a sizeable number of others, some of whom want to be out of Washington DC to be with sick relatives, attend family funerals or meet new babies for the first time.“There’s a lot more at stake than whether Kevin McCarthy’s going to be able to get the gavel,” the lawmaker told Playbook.“We’ve got lives that are being impacted right now, and this is tough for people.”The other area of concern is how much McCarthy seems to be giving away to the hardliners in order to make a deal.The Post, and others, say he has now consented to reduce the threshold from five to one of the number of House members needed to raise a “vacate the chair” motion, making it easier for the speaker to be ousted.Read more:McCarthy fails in speakership bid for third day after 11th voteRead moreGood morning and happy Friday, US politics readers. The longest of weeks on Capitol Hill continues today with Kevin McCarthy still chasing the speakership after losing 11 straight House votes.The California Republican’s team has been pleading with conservative holdouts overnight, trying to reach a deal to get him to the 218 votes he needs. But the troops are growing restless, and frustration among moderates is rising at how much control McCarthy seems willing to cede to the party’s extremist fringe.“There is a limit to how much of this crap we can take,” one Republican lawmaker tells Politico’ Playbook after three days and nights of stalemate.The circus tent opens again when the House reconvenes at noon, and we’ll know pretty soon thereafter if McCarthy has achieved any kind of breakthrough.Also happening today:
    It’s the second anniversary of the deadly January 6 Capitol riot. Joe Biden will present the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second highest civilian award, to 12 people, including law enforcement officers and politicians, who stood up to Donald Trump’s insurrection.
    Security services are on high alert with several rallies planned to take place at or near the Capitol building. Democrats fear the safety of lawmakers and staff has been compromised by a weakening of security measures since Republicans won the House majority.
    Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, will deliver her final briefing of the week at 12.45pm. More

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    Trump sued by partner of Capitol police officer who died after January 6 attack

    Trump sued by partner of Capitol police officer who died after January 6 attackLawsuit filed by Sandra Garza alleges ex-president’s ‘campaign of lies’ played a ‘significant role’ in the death of Brian Sicknick The partner of Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the January 6 attack on Congress, has sued Donald Trump alleging that the former president’s “campaign of lies and incendiary rhetoric” about the 2020 presidential election motivated the mob and played a “significant role in the medical condition” that killed the officer.The lawsuit, filed in Washington DC federal court, names Trump and two other January 6 rioters who attacked Sicknick, and demands millions in damages. It was brought by Sicknick’s longtime partner, Sandra Garza, one day before the insurrection’s second anniversary.Fears over lax security in Republican-controlled House two years after Capitol attackRead moreGarza alleges that Trump’s months-long refusal to recognize Joe Biden’s win spurred violence that proved fatal to Sicknick. “Many participants in the attack have since revealed that they were acting on what they believed to be Defendant Trump’s direct orders in service of their country,” the lawsuit states.It added that Trump’s speech hours before the riot, urging people to “fight like hell”, was “the culmination of a coordinated effort to subvert the certification vote”.“Trump directly incited the violence at the US Capitol that followed and then watched approvingly as the building was overrun,” the lawsuit states. “Trump did all these things solely in his personal capacity for his own personal benefit and/or his own partisan aims.”The other two defendants are rioters Julian Khater and George Tanios, who were among those “engaged in a confrontation” with the police, including Sicknick, assigned to guard the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace. The rioters tore down barriers, and assaulted officers with hands, feet, and “other objects”, the lawsuit alleges.It says Khater blasted bear spray in Sicknick’s face, after Tanios brought the spray with him. As Sicknick turned back, “incapacitated by the bear spray”, Khater kept spraying and continued forward, spraying at least two other officers.Sicknick, who remained at the Capitol late into the evening, collapsed at about 10pm. Paramedics rushed him to hospital but he died less than 24 hours later.Washington DC’s medical examiner determined that Sicknick died of “natural causes – specifically, a series of strokes.” But the examiner emphasized that “all that transpired on [January 6] played a role in his condition”.The lawsuit argues that Trump knew chaos and violence could grow from his “stop the steal” rhetoric. “The horrific events of January 6, 2021, including Officer Sicknick’s tragic, wrongful death, were a direct and foreseeable consequence of the Defendants’ unlawful actions,” the suit says.“Trump was aware that his actions prior to and on January 6, 2021 promoted and encouraged the mob to violently storm the US Capitol.”It added: “Officer Sicknick’s death was a reasonable and foreseeable consequence of Defendants’ intentional words and actions.”The suit also cites the findings of the House January 6 committee, which accused Trump of a “multi-party conspiracy” to derail certification of the election. The committee unanimously made four criminal referrals to the US justice department against Trump for his role in the insurrection, the first time Congress has taken such a step against a former president.Trump’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Both Tanios and Khater were arrested after the riot and pleaded guilty, Tanios to entering and remaining in a restricted building and Khater to assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon.Beth Gross, Tanios’s attorney, said in a statement that “the recent civil lawsuit naming him as a defendant veers well beyond what the facts support and misconstrues Mr Tanios’s actual conduct”.TopicsDonald TrumpUS Capitol attacknewsReuse this content More