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The congresswoman, speaking to the January 6 public committee, says Trump was repeatedly told there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Cheney said Trump ‘cannot escape responsibility by being wilfully blind’. The House select committee began its seventh public hearing on Tuesday, investigating Trump’s involvement in the storming of the US Capitol More
The January 6 committee was originally expected to hold another hearing on Thursday detailing Donald Trump’s response to the insurrection as it unfolded.But a committee aide said yesterday that the panel would hold only one hearing this week, and members are instead expected to reconvene next week.The aide said the delay was meant to give committee members an opportunity to review “new and important information” that has been received “on a daily basis” as the hearings unfold.But the committee has not provided any further details about the next hearing, which could be the panel’s last hearing for the time being.Donald Trump’s former top strategist, Steve Bannon, suffered heavy setbacks in his contempt of Congress case on Monday after a federal judge dismissed his motion to delay his trial, scheduled for next week, and ruled he could not make two of his principal defences to a jury.The flurry of adverse rulings from District of Columbia district judge Carl Nichols – a Trump appointee – marked a significant knock back for Bannon, who was charged with criminal contempt after he ignored a subpoena last year from the House January 6 select committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol by extremist Trump supporters in 2021.Nichols refused in federal court in Washington DC, to delay Bannon’s trial date set for next Monday, saying that he saw no reason to push back proceedings after he severely limited the defences that the former Trump aide’s lawyers could present to a jury.The defeats for Bannon stunned his lead lawyer, David Schoen, who asked, aghast: “What’s the point of going to trial if we don’t have any defences?”Read the Guardian’s full report:Bannon suffers setback as judge rejects delaying contempt of Congress trialRead moreToday’s January 6 hearing is expected to feature clips from the select committee’s interview last week with Pat Cipollone, who served as Donald Trump’s White House counsel.Cipollone met with investigators behind closed doors for more than eight hours on Friday, after he was subpoenaed by the committee last month.Jamie Raskin, who will co-lead today’s hearing with Stephanie Murphy, said Cipollone corroborated key elements of the testimony already heard by the committee. That includes the testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Trump’s White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.“Cipollone has corroborated almost everything that we’ve learned from the prior hearings,” Raskin told NBC News today. “I certainly did not hear him contradict Cassidy Hutchinson. … He had the opportunity to say whatever he wanted to say, so I didn’t see any contradiction there.”Hutchinson’s explosive testimony at a committee hearing last month included detailed descriptions of Trump’s outrage on January 6 and in the weeks leading up to the Capitol attack, as he peddled lies about widespread fraud in the 2020 election.According to Hutchinson, Trump was informed that some of his supporters were carrying weapons on January 6 and still told them to march to the Capitol, as lawmakers met to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the election. Hutchinson said that Trump planned to go to the Capitol with his supporters and tried to grab for the steering wheel of his car when his team told him that he would instead return to the White House after his speech on January 6.Ex-White House aide delivers explosive public testimony to January 6 panelRead moreAn aide to the January 6 committee said the members would focus on a meeting held on 18 December 2020, with Donald Trump and members of his legal team, including Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.At that point, there was a growing schism within Trump’s inner circle between those who believed it was time for the president to accept his electoral defeat and those who pushed even more radical actions such as seizing voting machines or appointing a special counsel to investigate the election.Hours after the meeting, Trump sent a tweet that Murphy perceived as a “siren call” to militia groups that 6 January 2021 would be the “last stand” in a sprawling effort to overturn the results of an election he lost.“Big protest in DC on January 6th,” Trump wrote in that December tweet. “Be there, will be wild!”The tweet was a “pivotal moment that spurred a change of events including a pre-planning by the Proud Boys”, the aide said.Capitol attack panel to examine role of far-right groups in January 6 violenceRead moreGreetings from Washington, live blog readers.The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol will hold its next public hearing this afternoon.The panel will examine Donald Trump’s links to far-right extremist groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, whose members participated in the January 6 insurrection.Committee members have said the hearing will particularly focus on Trump’s 19 December tweet urging his supporters to come to Washington for a “wild” event on 6 January, the day that Congress was scheduled to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.Committee member Stephanie Murphy, who will lead today’s hearing alongside Jamie Raskin, said Sunday that Trump’s tweet served as a “siren call” to far-right extremists.“People will hear the story of that tweet and then the explosive effects it had in Trump world and specifically among the domestic violence extremist groups, the most dangerous political extremists in the country at that point,” Raskin said on Sunday.The hearing will get under way at 1pm ET, so stay tuned.Here’s what else is happening today:
The Senate judiciary committee is holding a hearing on the end of Roe. The lieutenant governor of Illinois, Juliana Stratton, will testify alongside four other witnesses.
Biden is meeting with the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The two leaders will discuss “their visions for North America and their efforts to address global challenges such as food security, continued cooperation on migration, and joint development efforts”, per the White House.
The White House will host the Congressional Picnic this afternoon. After the picnic, Biden will fly from Washington to Jerusalem.
The blog will have more updates and analysis coming up. More
How Elise Stefanik rose from moderate Republican to Maga star The New York congresswoman’s political profile has shifted dramatically as she has surged to prominence in WashingtonElise Stefanik was worried about chocolate milk.Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman representing much of northern New York state, sounded a clarion call on 4 March that New York City – perceived by many rightwingers as a hotbed of leftist depravity – was trying to cancel a wholesome children’s beverage.“Rather than going after violent criminals, New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams is prioritizing banning chocolate milk from NYC’s public schools,” Stefanik said on Twitter. No matter that Adams hadn’t recently made any notable moves to ban the beverage, according to Politico: in the days and weeks that followed, Stefanik would intensify her efforts. While there was an across-the-aisle element in these efforts – Stefanik signed a bipartisan letter expressing valid concerns about cutting kids’ access to a nutritious drink – she used Republican talking points about liberals to publicize this letter.Stefanik then introduced the Protecting School Milk Choices Act to Congress, which would require that schools participating in the US school lunch program offer pupils a minimum of one flavored milk option.When Adams abandoned talk of banning chocolate milk in schools, Stefanik transformed this “win” into yet another GOP dog whistle. “Make no mistake, any effort of Mayor Adams to ban chocolate milk and replace it with vegan juice is an absolute non-starter and will be opposed by parents, families, kids, and New Yorkers,” she told the New York Post. During this crusade, Stefanik repeatedly praised her constituents who provided this milk, saying “our dairy farmers work hard to produce nutritious milk for our communities”.‘Watergate for streaming era’: how the January 6 panel created gripping hearingsRead moreStefanik’s rhetorical approach to a largely non-partisan belief – lots of people like the idea of kids having milk in school – helps explain her meteoric rise from moderate New York Republican to a potential 2024 vice-presidential contender who has moved increasingly to the right. And unlike her colleagues Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Senator Josh Hawley, Stefanik has avoided embarrassing public gaffes, positioning her to become a key architect of the Republican legislative agenda.In her district, Stefanik appeals to many constituents, from dairy farmers to struggling blue-collar workers, by saying things that suggest she’s actually listening to them. On the national stage, Stefanik has appealed to the Republican base with dogged support for Donald Trump and more moderate Republicans alike, often by using favorite GOP talking points, such as a purported anti-police crime wave and the bogeyman of veganism. “Where she comes from, up in St Lawrence county, is a rural conservative area, and she is appealing from the standpoint that she is unapologetically conservative – and I think that’s what has brought her quickly to rise in prominence in the Republican party,” said the Republican New York state senator George Borello. Stefanik, who now bills herself as “ultra-Maga” and “proud of it”, wasn’t always a Trump evangelist. When she won her congressional seat in 2014 – then the youngest woman ever elected to the job, at age 30 – many described Stefanik as a rising star in the party. Indeed, she had the pedigree and political relationships that any Republican politician would envy – a Harvard undergraduate education, a job in the George W Bush White house, and a stint with the 2012 Mitt Romney presidential campaign.She cast herself as an establishment Republican, eschewing the acerbic rhetoric which, around that time, had made Trump a disliked outlier in his party. “I’m a Republican because I believe in limited government,” she said in a 2015 C-Span interview cited by NPR. “I think Republican principles help the vast majority of all Americans achieve the American dream and I believe in the constitution.”Stefanik’s early voting record was relatively moderate. Heritage Action for America, a Republican lobbying organization, gave Stefanik a 29% rating on its conservatism “scorecard” for the 2015-2016 session, partly because she voted on legislation that went against her party’s lines, including a measure that provided $170m to tackle the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and a continuing resolution to fund Planned Parenthood. During the 2017-2018 congressional session, her score dipped to 24%.Stefanik changed her strategy around November 2019, during the House intelligence committee’s Trump impeachment hearings. “This is the fifth time you have interrupted members of Congress, duly elected members of Congress,” she told the committee chair, Adam Schiff, a Democrat. Stefanik subsequently tweeted: “Adam Schiff flat out REFUSES to let duly elected Members of Congress ask questions to the witness, simply because we are Republicans.” She told Roll Call that barb-trading with Schiff had boosted her re-election campaign, reportedly saying her district was “becoming more Republican”.“She has this moment that kind of goes viral,” said Shawn J Donahue, an assistant professor at the University of Buffalo’s department of political science. “That was one of the things that helped really get her on a lot of programs on Fox and such. You saw her become a really ardent defender of Trump during the impeachment process.” Her Heritage score increased to 56% in the 2019-2020 session. It’s now at 86%.Stefanik was ultimately among the Republican lawmakers who backed litigation that attempted to get the US supreme court to overturn President Joe Biden’s win. While she did condemn the violence on January 6, she also voted that evening to reject Biden’s win in Pennsylvania.Trump loyalist Elise Stefanik wins Republican vote to replace Liz CheneyRead moreStefanik’s allegiance to Trump paid off in May 2021. House Republicans, weary of the Wyoming representative Liz Cheney’s criticism of Trump, booted Cheney from the role of conference chair. Two days later, they chose Stefanik to replace Cheney – making her the No 3 House Republican.One year later, Stefanik’s ascent is all the more consequential. She has come out swinging against the House committee investigating the attack on the Capitol. She has also furthered conspiracy-minded rhetoric, including campaign ads that drew comparisons to the “great replacement theory”, according to the New York Times. This racist and often antisemitic belief, allegedly expressed by the suspect in the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, in May, holds that the ruling class hopes to “replace” white Americans. (Stefanik’s campaign and office did not respond to multiple requests for an interview with the Guardian.) When the supreme court ruled last week to overturn New York’s handgun restrictions – and overturned the Roe v Wade decision that granted women the right to abortion in the US – Stefanik celebrated. “While the Far-Left continues to push unconstitutional gun control measures as New York’s failed bail reform policies have made our communities more unsafe, this ruling comes at a crucial time,” she said. Stefanik, whose district is largely rural and pro-gun rights, described herself as a “major supporter of the lawsuit” that prompted the gun ruling.Stefanik; the House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy; and the House Republican whip, Steve Scalise, said jointly of the Roe decision: “Every unborn child is precious, extraordinary, and worthy of protection. We applaud this historic ruling, which will save countless innocent lives.”Stefanik’s seeming transition from traditional Republican to the far right comes as her district appeared to shift more conservative: while Barack Obama won the district in 2008 and 2012, Trump won in 2016 and 2020 with 54% of the vote each time. Less clear, however, is whether this is because the district is actually more Trump-minded – or constituents simply don’t like Democratic policies.Jon Greenwood, a Stefanik supporter, runs Greenwood Dairy in Potsdam, New York. His black-and-white Holsteins live in spacious barns, where they can eat, lounge and get massages with an electric brushing machine as they please. “She, to me, seemed like a very bright, energetic candidate who understood small business and wasn’t a big government person and that the answer to all our problems isn’t some new program or new law,” Greenwood said.Greenwood said that while “I don’t agree with everything that she does”, he believed that she was doing a good job generally. He pointed to Stefanik hosting a phone panel with dairy farmers.“There were 15 farmers on, maybe more, and she would go around and each one of us would tell what our concerns were, and then we’d have to have, you know, back and forth, but you would make sure that everybody on the call had a chance to have input,” he continued. “I think more people are interested in the policies than they are in what she says and doesn’t say about Trump.”Daniel Whitten, who runs Whitten Family Farm in Winthrop, New York, said he was “very likely to support Elise”. “I don’t think she’s entirely stuck on party lines. I think she looks at things as individual items,” said Whitten, who grew up in a Republican family but describes himself as having a “more libertarian” viewpoint.On the main thoroughfare of Lake George, a popular tourist town in New York’s Adirondack Mountains, two storefronts beckon would-be customers with a poster of Trump in sunglasses, with the words “The Trumpinator” written above his head. Below, the poster reads “I’ll be back 2024,” a play on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous line in the Terminator franchise. The shops are for William Massry’s clothing brand, Dilligaf, which stands for “Do I look like I give a fuck?” Dilligaf is a general mantra about living freely, said Massry, who described himself as an independent and said he voted for Bill Clinton and Obama, but “my customers are Republican. They love Trump. They think Trump’s walking on water. Trump is God to them, so I target market [to] my customers.”“I don’t like Trump as an individual. I think he’s ruined the atmosphere. He’s a bully. I don’t like him making fun of handicapped people, which he has done. He, I mean, he has [had] many incidents that embarrassed me to even say he’s our president. However, he’s great for the economy,” Massry said.“Now, Elise, I don’t think she feels that way. She will do anything for the votes. And it’s got her very far, and God bless her. She’s a politician, much like I’m a businessman. She does what she needs to do to stay in power and rise the ranks.”While Stefanik and her district have grown more conservative, there remains a contingent of constituents who are less concerned with political horse-trading than they are with just getting by..At the Veterans of Foreign Wars outpost in Glens Falls, a modest house that serves as a community hall for veterans old and young, Lisa Springer didn’t want to get into partisan discourse. But she was willing to share her concerns on veterans’ issues. “I think she could do better. OK. I’m not gonna say it’s bad, but you know, she, I think she could do better and just do more, especially as far as advertising is out there,” Springer said. “Some people don’t even know that there’s programs out there that can help them, or where to find them.”Republicans seek to install ‘permanent election integrity infrastructure’ across USRead moreSpringer, who runs a trucking company, is feeling economic pressures like so many other Americans. “Ten dollars an hour today isn’t what it was 10 years ago, five years ago. I have three kids. So paying $5 a gallon for gas is definitely robbing the food out of the fridge,” Springer said.Elsewhere in the district, the Glens Falls resident Andrew Sundberg, 57, is among the disenchanted. Sundberg, a registered Republican, did not vote for Stefanik in the last election, nor will he in the upcoming race. “Elise is terrible,” he said. “She believes in Trump’s ‘stop the steal’, which did not exist. She’s not the only problem, but she is a problem.”He surmised that Stefanik enjoyed support in the district because she’s a Trump Republican and supports law enforcement. Unlike some others interviewed, he felt that Republicans in the district were Trump-aligned, not just supportive of party policy.“I will not vote Republican again after January 6,” he said.For political insiders, Stefanik’s fast ascent wasn’t expected, but they knew from the get-go that she was the candidate they wanted.Gerard Kassar, the New York state Conservative party chairman, said the party had endorsed Stefanik early on. “That very effectively assisted her in winning the Republican primary because in many ways, having a conservative line for GOP voters is like a Good Housekeeping seal of approval.“Did I know at that point someday she would be a potential candidate for speaker? No, I had no idea,” Kassar said. “But I did certainly know that she was the right person to support for Congress.”“As her time in Congress has moved forward, she’s gone from the center right to really, a clear right-leaning member of Congress, which, in the Conservative party, that’s what we want to see.” TopicsRepublicansUS politicsUS CongressDonald TrumpNew YorkfeaturesReuse this content More
Film offers inside look at Roger Stone’s ‘Stop the Steal’ efforts before January 6Footage shows key moments of planning with fellow activist Ali Alexander to overturn election results in Trump’s favor Weeks before the Capitol attack, top Republican political activists Roger Stone and Ali Alexander identified the January 6 congressional certification as the final chance for Donald Trump to attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.The focus on the congressional certification, according to sources familiar with the matter, was one of several areas they marked as potential flash points to exploit as leaders of the Stop the Steal movement to help Trump reverse his defeat to Joe Biden.Roger Stone and Michael Flynn under fire over rallies ‘distorting Christianity’Read moreAs Stone and Alexander mounted their political operation, they allowed their activities to be recorded by two conservative filmmakers over several months starting from when they first began to strategize around the time of the election, through to January 6.The arrangement meant the filmmakers, Jason Rink and Paul Escandon, captured fly-on-the-wall footage of Stone and Alexander as they led the Stop the Steal movement, and their interactions with top Trump allies, according to a teaser for the documentary titled The Steal.In following Stone and Alexander, the filmmakers recorded most of the key moments in the timeline leading up to the Capitol attack, including an “occupation” of the Georgia state Capitol in November and rallies in Washington that almost seem like dry-runs for January 6.They also caught on camera public and private moments at the events Stone or Alexander attended. Among others who appear in the documentary are the House Republican Paul Gosar, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and Trump’s former national security advisor Michael Flynn.At one point, the footage reviewed by the Guardian shows, Alexander appears to presage the flashpoint that would be January 6, saying of Biden: “The House and the Senate must certify the electoral college. There is no president-elect until the electoral college meets.”Taken together, the footage gives an inside look at what Stone – the longest-serving political advisor to Trump and to whom Alexander was something of a protege – was thinking and doing as he strategized ways to make sure Biden would not be certified as president.Stone also allowed himself to be filmed by a Danish documentary film crew that recorded his activities in his room at the Willard hotel as the Capitol attack unfolded, the Washington Post reported earlier this year.The House January 6 select committee emailed a letter earlier in January asking to review the footage, but a lawyer for Rink declined the request, citing the need to maintain journalistic independence and fears the content would leak from the inquiry.House investigators did not ultimately pursue the matter after the lawyer indicated he would litigate a subpoena; unless filmmakers have said they would only turn over footage in response to a subpoena, the panel has generally avoided that route.A spokesman for the select committee declined to comment if that position had changed.The question about the footage, however, recently resurfaced inside the select committee, days after former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified under oath that Trump ordered his then-chief of staff to call Stone on the night before the Capitol attack.Stone has denied that the call took place, just as he has denied that he had anything to do with the events of January 6. He declined to cooperate with the select committee in an interview, asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.“Any claim, assertion or implication that I knew about, was involved in or condoned any illegal event on January 6, or any other date, is categorically false and there is no evidence or witness to the contrary,” Stone has previously said.But while the full extent of what the filmmakers recorded remains unclear, parts of the footage reviewed by the Guardian make The Steal Movie seem like a detailed account of the behind-the-scenes efforts by Stone to stop Biden from becoming president.The activities of Stone with respect to stopping Biden’s certification is of interest to January 6 investigators since he had close ties to leaders of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups that stormed the Capitol and have since been indicted for seditious conspiracy.Many of the key moments for the Stop the Steal movement, managed by Alexander but ultimately controlled by Stone, according to sources familiar with how they worked in practice, were captured on tape by Rink and Escandon’s film crew.Trump’s possible ties to far-right militias examined by January 6 committeeRead moreThe filmmakers followed Stone and Alexander starting immediately after the 2020 election and tracked Stop the Steal leaders descending on multiple states to advance discredited claims of election fraud.Several important moments in the timeline leading up to the Capitol attack are caught on camera.The footage first shows Alexander in the Georgia state capitol in mid-November 2020, around the time that he and far-right activist Alex Jones staged an “occupation” protest of the building, in a stunt that echoed plans to “occupy” the US Capitol on January 6.The filmmakers are then present with Stone at a rally in Washington DC on 12 December 2020, where Michael Flynn, a former Trump national security advisor-turned political operative, spoke at a Women for America First-affiliated event near the supreme court.That event is significant because the Proud Boys were in Washington that day, and a contingent marched through the National Mall similar to how they did on January 6. The Oath Keepers, another far right group, acted as a security detail at the rally, similar again to January 6.The filmmakers are also understood to have captured some footage the day before and the Capitol attack, including discussions between Stone and Alexander, as well as the fate of the “Stage 8” rally that Alexander had planned on January 6 yards from the Capitol.Stone never went to the Save America rally at the Ellipse where Trump spoke, after a dispute over VIP passes, according to people familiar with the incident. He also never went to the Stage 8 rally on the East Front of the Capitol and instead left Washington in a hurry.TopicsUS Capitol attackUS politicsRepublicansRoger StoneDonald TrumpReuse this content More
Democrats in Congress are summoning the CEOs of firearm manufacturers to testify at a hearing later this month on gun violence.“I am deeply troubled that gun manufacturers continue to profit from the sale of weapons of war, including AR-15-style assault rifles that were used by a white supremacist to murder ten people in Buffalo, New York, and in the massacre of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas,” Carolyn Maloney, the Democratic chair of the House Oversight Committee, wrote in letters to the leaders of Daniel Defense, Smith & Wesson, and Ruger, which make AR-15 style rifles. “Products sold by your company have been used for decades to carry out homicides and even mass murders, yet your company has continued to market assault weapons to civilians.”Under her leadership, the committee began investigating gun manufacturers last May. The following month, it held a hearing featuring gut-wrenching testimony from survivors of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.The latest hearing is set for July 20.President Joe Biden honored notable Americans with the country’s highest civilian honor, while details emerged of the January 6 committee’s plans for its next – and potentially last – hearings.Here’s what else happened today:
American women’s basketball star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in Russia, the latest development in a case that has captured the attention of the Biden administration.
Another Democratic senator said she would support creating an exemption to the filibuster for abortion rights legislation. Meanwhile, lawmakers in South Carolina began debate on a bill to almost completely ban abortion.
Details are trickling out about a new effort by Democrats to pass a big spending bill in what could be their final months controlling both houses of Congress.
The CEOs of firearms manufacturers have been summoned by a congressional committee investigating the gun industry.
Illinois police will investigate the father of the man who opened fire at an Independence Day parade on Monday for his involvement in his son’s purchase of a firearm.
Sacha Baron Cohen, the comedian best known for portraying Borat, fended off a lawsuit from a former Republican Senate candidate in Alabama.
California’s Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein has come out in support of creating an exception to the Senate’s filibuster rules in order to pass legislation protecting abortion rights nationwide.Let me be clear: If it comes down to protecting the filibuster or protecting a woman’s right to choose, there should be no question that I will vote to protect a woman’s right to choose. pic.twitter.com/rpHANTjyqn— Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) July 7, 2022
Reproductive rights activists are pressuring Democrats to pass a law protecting access to abortion nationwide after the supreme court last month overturned Roe v. Wade. But the filibuster, which allows the Republican minority to stop legislation in the Senate that does not win at least 10 of their party’s votes, has stood in the way of that, and until now, Feinstein hasn’t said if she would support modifying it to get an abortion law passed.Biden backs exception to Senate filibuster to protect abortion accessRead morePresident Joe Biden has handed out the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’s highest civilian honor, to 17 people, including Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.Here’s more from when Biles received the award:.@Simone_Biles receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom. pic.twitter.com/5MPnIzDWTW— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
Former congresswoman and gun control advocate Gabrielle Giffords was also honored:.@GabbyGiffords receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom. pic.twitter.com/vzE1IdrhdD— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
As was soccer star Megan Rapinoe:Megan Rapinoe (@mpinoe) receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom pic.twitter.com/GGc4JGwJxg— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
Three people were given the award posthumously: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, president of the AFL-CIO trade union federation Richard Trumka and senator John McCain. His wife Cindy McCain accepted on his behalf:”John McCain was a giant among Americans from a family of patriots.” @cindymccain accepts the Presidetial Medal of Freedom on behalf of her late husband, Sen. John McCain. pic.twitter.com/7ejuKszzWe— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
Biden, a longtime Democratic senator, remarked on his relationship with McCain, a Republican.President Biden on John McCain: “I never stopped admiring John. I never said a negative thing about him in my life because I knew his honor, his courage and his commitment. That was John McCain.” pic.twitter.com/DSJD9scTAv— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
Actor Denzel Washington was also due to get the award, but could not attend the White House ceremony due to a positive Covid-19 test, according to a White House official:President Biden on Denzel Washington: “He’s couldn’t be with us here today. I’ll be giving him this award at a later date when he’s able to get here.” pic.twitter.com/N15bEG3gxv— CSPAN (@cspan) July 7, 2022
South Carolina lawmakers have begun considering a bill to ban nearly all abortions in the state, Reuters reports.The proposal would “ban all abortions from conception, except to save the life of the mother, and would make performing an abortion a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison,” according to the report. The measure would be more stringent than a law that a federal judge allowed to go into effect last month which outlaws the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy. The court ruling followed the supreme court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and allowing states to ban abortions.The January 6 committee has for the past month held carefully choreographed hearings that are meant to be attention-grabbing to a degree rarely seen in Congress, but a poll released today found they aren’t doing much to sway Americans’ beliefs about what happened that day.The survey from Monmouth University found only six percent of Americans say the hearings have changed their mind about January 6, in part due to the relatively few Republicans who are following the testimony. Only 10 percent of GOP supporters are turning in, versus 45 percent of Democrats and 16 percent of independents. For Republicans who did watch the hearings, only five percent said it changed their minds, with some telling Monmouth, “they learned about the pressure Trump was exerting or that election fraud claims were spurious.” The poll said that other respondents “claim they have ‘learned’ that ‘police officers were not killed in that protest,’ or that ‘the Democrats were highly involved as well as the F.B.I.’”The poll also documents a decline in Americans’ faith in their government. Only 36 percent of respondents told Monmouth that the American system of government is basically sound, a decline from February 2020, when it was 55 percent.In the words of Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} There’s more than just partisanship at work in declining faith in the institutional framework of American democracy. Yes, electoral outcomes play a role. Yes, the current economic crisis plays a role. But attacks on our fundamental democratic processes – and the lack of universal condemnation of those attacks by political leaders from both sides of the aisle – have taken a toll.The head of the IRS has asked for an investigation into a report that former FBI director James Comey and his deputy Andrew McCabe, both of whom clashed with ex-president Donald Trump, were subject to rare, intrusive audits, the Associated Press reports:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The IRS commissioner has asked the Treasury Department’s inspector general to immediately review the circumstances surrounding intensive tax audits that targeted ex-FBI Director James Comey and ex-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, both frequent targets of President Donald Trump’s anger.
IRS spokesperson Jodie Reynolds said Thursday that IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig had personally reached out to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Reynolds said the agency has officially referred the matter to the inspector general.
But Reynolds insisted it is “ludicrous and untrue to suggest that senior IRS officials somehow targeted specific individuals for National Research Program audits.”Here’s the original New York Times article that led to the investigation.The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell has more detail about what we can expect from next week’s two January 6 committee meetings – one of which will shine more light on what was happening inside the White House as the Capitol was being attacked:NEW: Jan. 6 committee members Jamie Raskin and Stephanie Murphy will lead Tuesday hearing on Trump sending extremist groups to DC and pinpointing the 6th, and Elaine Luria and Adam Kinzinger will lead expected Thursday primetime hearing on inside the WH during the Capitol attack.— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) July 7, 2022
Tentative schedule is tentative, per sources familiar with the tentative schedule. But the Thursday prime time hearing is expected to be the final one held by the Jan. 6 committee — for now.— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) July 7, 2022
President Joe Biden has weighed in on the resignation of British prime minister Boris Johnson, though the White House statement makes no mention of his name:JUST IN: @POTUS Biden statement on @BorisJohnson’s resignation: “the special relationship between our people remains strong and enduring. I look forward to continuing our close cooperation with the government of the United Kingdom, as well as our Allies and partners…” pic.twitter.com/sk4X6vWOxb— Ed O’Keefe (@edokeefe) July 7, 2022
For the latest developments in the political upheaval across the pond, The Guardian is here for you:Boris Johnson resigns and says no new policies until next prime minister announced – liveRead morePresident Joe Biden will soon hold a ceremony at the White House to give the medal of freedom to a group of recipients, including some of the country’s best known politicians, actors and athletes.Perhaps the biggest names are two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington and Simone Biles, the most decorated American gymnast ever. Women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe will also be honored, as well as former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was badly injured during a mass shooting in 2010. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Republican senator John McCain will receive the award posthumously in the event vice-president Kamala Harris and her husband will also attend.The White House has a full rundown here. Simone Biles and nurse who received first Covid vaccine to get top US honorRead moreDeSantis appoints elections police chiefFlorida governor Ron DeSantis caused shock when he announced the creation of the Office of Election Crimes and Security in the state, to keep an eye on election fraud: a crime for which there is usually very little evidence that it exists.Now, a CBS station in Orlando reports, we know the identity of the man who will head up that unit: Pete Antonacci, a former prosecutor and onetime supervisor of elections.CBS reports: “Antonacci, 73, has a long history of being called upon by state leaders as a fix-it man of sorts. His career includes stints as executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, president of the state business-recruitment agency Enterprise Florida and state attorney in Palm Beach County.”But in a sign that may ease – a few – fears about voter suppression in the state, it seems some Democrats welcome the appointment.CBS added: “This elections police thing is terrible. However, Antonacci is a pretty no-nonsense administrator. Even us Dems praised his work in Broward. He is by far the best that could be hoped for. So much so I could see DeSantis growing to hate him if he doesn’t go on witch hunts,” Matt Isbell, a Tallahassee-based consultant for Democrats, tweeted Wednesday.”The January 6 committee will hold a hearing on Thursday of next week that will be broadcast at the prime-time TV hour, Punchbowl News reports.The Jan. 6 committee is scheduled to hold hearings Tuesday AND Thursday next week, sources tell me.— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 7, 2022
Thursday night is slated to be another primetime hearing, sources tell me https://t.co/WWlpehZj9P— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 7, 2022
The House committee investigating the insurrection had earlier this week announced it will hold its next hearing on Tuesday, 12 July, which is expected to focus on the links between Donald Trump and extremist groups.Trump’s possible ties to far-right militias examined by January 6 committeeRead moreCongress is on recess, but details are slowly emerging about Democrats’ plans for a spending bill to be revealed perhaps in the coming weeks, while the party has announced a hearing to take firearms manufacturers to task over gun violence.Here’s what has happened today:
American women’s basketball star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in Russia, the latest development in a case that has captured the attention of the Biden administration.
Illinois police will investigate the father of the man who opened fire at an Independence Day parade on Monday for his involvement in his son’s purchase of a firearm.
Sacha Baron Cohen, the comedian best known for portraying Borat, fended off a lawsuit from a former Republican Senate candidate in Alabama.
A winner has been declared in the showdown between comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and former judge and failed Senate candidate Roy Moore, at least for now.Reuters reports that Cohen, who is perhaps best known for portraying the Borat character, has fended off a defamation lawsuit by Moore over an interview broadcast on his show, “Who Is America?”:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} In a 3-0 vote, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the interview was constitutionally protected speech, agreeing with a lower court judge that it was “clearly comedy and that no reasonable viewer would conclude otherwise.”
The court also said Moore waived his right to pursue his $95 million lawsuit by signing a standard consent agreement before the interview, which he knew would be televised. It also dismissed related claims by Moore’s wife Kayla.
Larry Klayman, the Moores’ lawyer, called the decision a “travesty,” saying the consent agreement was ambiguous because Judge Moore crossed out a provision waiving claims related to alleged sexually oriented behavior and questioning.
“This should not have been taken away from the jury,” Klayman said in an interview. The Moores will ask the entire 2nd Circuit to review the case.Accusation of sexual misconduct swirled around Moore when he stood as a Republican to represent Alabama in the US Senate in 2017, a race he lost to Democrat Doug Jones despite the state being among the most conservative in the country.Alabama election: Democrats triumph over Roy Moore in major blow to TrumpRead more More
The US supreme court poses a real threat to Americans’ democracyRichard WolffeIt did not start with Donald Trump. And it will not end with his shuffling off stage, in handcuffs or disgrace America is not just a country. It’s an idea. But whose idea is it anyway?Peering through the mists of time, the current right-wingnut majority of the US supreme court believe they can divine the original ideas of some very dead white men.On that flimsy basis, they rule by fiat.They order states to remove sensible gun safety measures. Then they deny women reproductive rights by pretending that states can do whatever they want.They say that presidents cannot limit carbon emissions to tackle the climate crisis. And now they are ready to change the way we elect presidents.Whatever you call the current crusade of this supreme court, their approach is not conservative.There is nothing stable or traditional about throwing out a half-century of civil rights and quite possibly a century of democratic practice.This is a radical bunch of ideologues who have spent years projecting themselves onto their critics. For decades, the Republican party has picked activist judges while pretending to correct the notion of activist judges on the other side of the divide.It’s the same excuse that Fox News used for decades as it cosplayed the shows of an actual news division: it was just correcting the bias on the other side.If you can convince the suckers that the other side is misbehaving, you can justify pretty much anything.That little ruse is the last refuge of scoundrels, dictators, and bankrupt real estate developers. It’s lovely to see the supreme court following their logic.Which brings us to one of their last decisions in a very long list of reactionary and repressive opinions last month: their willingness to hear arguments about the fringe notion that state legislatures can set their own rules for federal elections. That includes picking whoever they want for president.This just happens to have been the big wet dream of one Donald Trump in the weeks after he definitively lost the presidential election of 2020.An amazing coincidence that this group of eminent jurists should glob on to the electoral priorities of a comically incompetent sociopath who just happened to appoint three of them to a lifetime of unchecked power.Who needs messy democracy when you can just have Republican rule?Since most of the state legislatures have been gerrymandered into huge Republican majorities – and the electoral college skews power towards smaller states – this wonderfully undemocratic and un-American idea is now perfectly in line with the original intent of the founders and ratifiers.The constitution may say that states can pick their own presidential electors however they want. But the electoral college has been decided by the popular vote since the 19th century when the states realized early in the nation’s life that all the other methods of picking electors led to widespread corruption.So to return to the original intent of the founders just ignores more than a century of democracy – and the very idea that the United States somehow leads the free world.To be frank, the threat to democracy posed by this supreme court is clear and present.But it did not start with Donald Trump. And it will not end with his shuffling off stage, in handcuffs or disgrace – if either are possible in this multiverse of madness.Two decades ago, another supreme court took it upon itself to steal an election for the Republican candidate. That court decided to ignore all its own high-minded principles about state rights as it shut down a state-ordered recount of votes in Florida in 2000.Its reasoning was so blatantly corrupt, the rightwing majority even declared that its own decision could not stand as precedent.The “winner” of that stolen election was George W Bush who went on to appoint two of the justices who just voted to end abortion rights as we know them: Samuel Alito and John Roberts. According to a study commissioned by major news organizations, a full statewide recount would have handed Florida’s electoral college votes – and the presidency – to Al Gore.That was, as they say, the tipping point that led to our current supreme state of upheaval. Once the court became just another political tool, it began its death spiral.No amount of novel legal fantasies about the founders’ ideas can paper over a rightwing putsch.For all those many things that are not mentioned explicitly in the constitution – like abortion, marriage, the internet, or a democratically-elected presidency – our rightwing supremes have taken it upon themselves to imagine anything they like about what the founders were thinking.Coming out of the July 4 holiday, it might seem churlish to observe that many parts of what we now see as the American idea were not, in fact, the favorite ideas of the founding fathers.Their notion of a democratic republic was what you might expect from a men’s club whose property – landed and human – allowed them to define freedom for themselves.They preferred presidents to be picked by an electoral college made up of men just like them. The people could pick the House, but real democracy would be easily demagogued by someone just like Donald Trump.If we’re going back to their original intent, let’s try to be a little consistent, shall we?The founders didn’t explicitly give the supreme court the powers this particular bunch of rightwing radicals has assumed for themselves. They didn’t say there should be only nine of them, or that they should serve until they die.So if Democrats, and a handful of Republicans, are truly interested in defending democracy, it’s time to rein in the rightwing supremes who have used the court to grab power for themselves, ignoring their own court precedents and culture.At the very least, they could introduce term limits and allow each president the pick of two justices in each term.The preamble to the constitution talks about “a more perfect union”, as if the American idea is a work in progress, not regress.It’s time for fundamental reform of American democracy – including the supreme court – before the radical right steals that democracy away forever.
Richard Wolffe is a Guardian US columnist
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‘It’s a sham’: fears over Trump loyalists’ ‘election integrity’ drive Roger Stone and Michael Flynn involved in ‘Operation Eagles Wings’, push to train activists in election canvassing and poll-watchingA conservative group called the America Project that boasts Donald Trump loyalists and “big lie” pushers Roger Stone and Michael Flynn as key advisers, has begun a self-styled “election integrity” drive to train activists in election canvassing and poll-watching, sparking fears from voting rights watchdogs about voter intimidation.Patrick Byrne, the multimillionaire co-founder of the America Project, has said he has donated almost $3m to launch the drive, dubbed “Operation Eagles Wings”, with a focus on eight states including Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania, which Trump lost, plus Texas and Florida, which he won.Mark Meadows’ associate threatened ex-White House aide before her testimonyRead moreThe drive was unveiled in late February at a press event where Byrne touted plans to educate “election reform activists” to handle election canvassing, grassroots work and fundraising “to expose shenanigans at the ballot box” in what has echoes of Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged, and could become a sequel to those charges.Byrne, for instance, has said the operation’s mission is to “make sure that there are no repeats of the errors that happened in the 2020 election”, and stressed the “need to protect the voting process from election meddlers who care only about serving crooked special interest groups that neither respect nor value the rule of law”.But voting rights advocates have voiced sharp criticism of Operation Eagles Wings, calling it a “sham”, given the roles of Stone, Flynn, Byrne and others, and warning that it could lead to voter harassment at the polls and suppress legitimate votes.To lead the fledgling operation, the America Project recruited Tim Meisburger, an ex-Trump official in the US Agency for International Development: Meisburger left the agency abruptly under a cloud in mid-January 2021 after a video surfaced of him falsely informing staffers that the Capitol attack was mostly peaceful except for “a few violent people”, and that “ several million” people were demonstrating peacefully for election reforms.Overall, the America Project has boasted that its total funding is greater than $8m, including donations from Byrne, the ex-chief executive of Overstock.Byrne declined to respond to queries from the Guardian about what roles election canvassers were being trained to take on, and what the operation had done to date in its targeted states.Voting rights watchdogs say the new election integrity operation has an Orwellian quality, and poses dangers to voting rights and fair elections given the people who are so prominently associated with it.“Michael Flynn and Roger Stone have repeatedly proven themselves to be enemies of democracy,” Sean Morales-Doyle, the acting director of the voting rights and elections program at the Brennan Center, told the Guardian.He added: “While it is not clear what exactly they will ask their election reform activists to do, their claimed pursuit of “election integrity” is a sham, aimed instead at undermining public faith in our elections and setting the stage for future attempts to subvert the will of the people. The conspiracy theories they espouse would be laughable if they weren’t so dangerous.”Flynn, a retired army lieutenant general who served briefly as Trump’s national security adviser, and Stone, a longtime Trump confidant and self-proclaimed master of political dirty tricks, were in the vanguard of Trump loyalists promoting falsehoods about Joe Biden’s 2020 win.In mid-December 2020, for instance, Flynn suggested on the conservative network Newsmax that Trump could use the military to “rerun the elections” in several key states that Trump falsely claimed were rigged, and a few days later he attended a White House meeting with Trump, Byrne and other allies, where more wild schemes were discussed.Stone spoke at a pro-Trump rally on 5 January and the next morning was at the Willard hotel, which Trump loyalists had used as a base for plotting ways to overturn the election, accompanied by several Oath Keeper bodyguards, some of whom participated in the Capitol assault and now face criminal charges.At the rally on 5 January, Stone lavished praise on Trump’s allies who were there protesting, calling it “a historic occasion, because we’re mad as hell and we aren’t going to take it”.Flynn and Stone received pardons from Trump after they were convicted as part of the Russian 2016 election meddling investigations, including charges of lying to the FBI in Flynn’s case, and obstruction of a congressional committee in Stone’s.Not surprisingly, the Trump loyalists were subpoenaed by the House panel investigating the January 6 assault on the Capitol by hundreds of Trump supporters, but according to reports Stone and Flynn each repeatedly invoked their fifth amendment right against self-incrimination.In a video clip of a Flynn deposition that the House panel played last week, Flynn was even seen pleading the fifth when asked if he supported the lawful transfer of presidential power, and if he thought the Capitol violence was wrong.When Byrne first announced Operation Eagles Wings, Flynn and Stone were introduced as special advisers. “ If I didn’t think this had a chance to succeed I wouldn’t have gotten involved,” Stone said.There’s little doubt Byrne’s checkbook can bolster the fledgling election operation.Byrne, who falsely claimed that the 2020 election was rigged, and wrote a book entitled The Deep Rig, was the lead financier in tandem with the America Project to the tune of $3.25m of a controversial audit last year of Arizona’s largest county that Trump was banking on to prove fraud but that confirmed Biden won.The Byrne-backed Eagles Wings operation has touted plans to offer “commentary” on current election policies to ensure Americans have “access to fact-based truths about the election process”.Before launching its new operation, the America Project boasted that last year it recruited 4,500 volunteers to monitor polling stations during the gubernatorial race in Virginia where Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a former governor.In Virginia, the America Project has forged ties with Virginians for America First, a local group started by Leon Benjamin, a black pastor who in 2020 lost a race for a House seat by a whopping 23 points. Benjamin, who is running for a House seat again this fall, would not concede, citing “potential voter fraud”, in an echo of Trump’s bogus fraud claims.Last fall, Byrne and Flynn’s brother Joe, the president of the America Project, attended a fundraiser in Richmond, Virginia, for Benjamin’s group, to coincide with its release of a report calling for new curbs on voting, including ending early voting and absentee voting, and requiring voter IDs.Besides their roles with Eagles Wings, Flynn and Stone have been featured speakers along with rightwing pastors at “ReAwaken America”, which involves revival-style rallies in many states that have spread falsehoods that Trump lost due to fraud, and a distorted view of America’s separation of church and state.At a ReAwaken rally last November in Texas, Flynn claimed America should have just “one religion” – prompting heavy criticism from religious leaders and others.“If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion,” Flynn said. “One nation under God, and one religion under God, right? ”Adam Taylor, the president of the Christian social justice group Sojourners, told the Guardian that “Flynn has a warped understanding of religion and American history”.Similarly, criticism is mounting in Republican quarters about the roles of Stone and Flynn with their latest “election integrity” drive.Veteran Republican operative Charlie Black, who once was a lobbying partner of Stone’s, noted that Flynn used to have one of the highest intelligence jobs in the government, but “now he spouts conspiracy theories with no evidence to back them up. So does Roger, but he has done this for a while. Read his books for examples.”TopicsUS newsUS politicsRoger StoneMichael FlynnRepublicansUS voting rightsnewsReuse this content More
President Joe Biden pitched his economic agenda to union workers in Ohio today, while there were further developments in the January 6 committee’s investigation as well as jostling within states ahead of November’s midterm elections.Here are the highlights:
Donald Trump’s White House counsel Pat Cipollone has agreed to speak to the January 6 committee, which announced its next hearing for Tuesday 12 July.
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham said he will fight a subpoena from a Georgia grand jury looking into Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election result in the state.
Senate Democrats have agreed on a proposal to lower prescription drug costs via a reconciliation bill. However Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is trying to stop Democrats from passing the legislation.
Mississippi’s only abortion clinic will close after the supreme court overturned Roe v. Wade and the state banned the procedure.
A group of Republicans in Pennsylvania have endorsed the Democrat running for governor against a 2020 election denier.
Democrats in Kentucky are unhappy with president Joe Biden’s apparent plan to nominate an anti-abortion judge to a federal court position, in what appears to be a bid to get Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to stop blocking the president’s nominees.
The president finished up his speech in Cleveland by drawing a contrast between his administration and the Republicans who are waiting in the wings, hoping to take over the House of Representatives and Senate following the November midterm elections.Remarking on Republicans’ previous efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act and accusing them of wanting to privatize social security, Biden told unionized workers, “Folks, this is a different world where they live.”Biden said he was “fighting like hell” to try to lower costs for Americans, and accused Republicans of obstructing his efforts, including his proposal to lower taxes on gasoline – though several Democrats are also lukewarm towards that idea.“I’m asking Congress to eliminate the federal gas tax for… however long this crisis goes on, lower food prices lower health care costs, hopefully soon, lower your prescription drug costs,” he said, eluding to a recent proposal from Democratic senators.Biden is telling union workers about his efforts to get the Butch Lewis Act passed, which allowed the Treasury to assist unions’ pension plans that were financially struggling, and was included in the America Rescue Plan Biden enacted in March 2021.He’s also attacking former president Trump, saying the economy was in shambles when he left office.“Y’all remember what the economy was like when I was elected? A country in a pandemic, with no real plans how to get out of it. Millions of people out of their jobs. Families and cars, remember, backed up for literally miles, to wait for a box of food to be put in their trunk,” Biden said.“The previous administration lost more jobs in his watch than any administration since Herbert Hoover. That’s a fact. All based on failed trickle-down economics that benefit the wealthiest Americans,” Biden said. “We came in with a fundamentally different economic vision, an economy that grows from the bottom up in the middle out. It’s good for everyone because when the middle class does well the poor have a ladder up in the wealthy still do very well.”Biden has started his speech to union workers in Cleveland, and while the address is mostly about the economy, he began with brief remarks about the police shooting of Jayland Walker in nearby Akron.“The justice department’s civil rights division, the FBI and the local US attorney’s office are closely viewing what happened,” the president said. “If the evidence reveals potential violations of federal criminal statutes, the justice department will take the appropriate action.”Walker, who is Black, sustained more than 60 wounds after multiple officers opened fire at him following a car chase.Outrage after video of police fatally shooting Jayland Walker releasedRead moreBiden has arrived in Cleveland and is expected to shortly begin giving remarks on the economy, focused on the American Rescue Plan spending bill he won passage of near the beginning of his term last year.Also speaking at the event are Ohio’s Democratic senator Sherrod Brown, and two of the state’s Democratic House representatives, Marcy Kaptur and Shontel Brown. However, two notable Democrats won’t be in attendance: Tim Ryan, the party’s nomination for US Senate, and Nan Whaley, its nominee in the governor’s race.Plenty of mounting questions from fellow Dems on Biden’s ability to lead after abortion ruling, mass shootings and inflation. Today he’s in Cleveland to talk “Jobs, unions, retirement security.” Notably, the two Democrats running for statewide office in the state aren’t there. pic.twitter.com/02098n1SK5— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) July 6, 2022
With Joe Biden so unpopular, and Donald Trump ensnarled in investigations centering on the January 6 insurrection and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the question must be asked: is it possible that neither man will be on the ballot in 2024?There would be many contenders to fill the vacuum created if neither man stands in the next presidential election, and Politico has a look at one possible matchup: California’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom against Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The governors for California and Florida have hurled insults about each other’s leadership and policies during most of the Covid-19 pandemic. But now Newsom has ratcheted up the conflict by taking almost daily pot-shots at his Republican foils such as DeSantis and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Most recently, Newsom dropped more than $100,000 on a new ad airing on Fox News that tweaked DeSantis in his home state. On Tuesday, he started fundraising off the ad and conflict with DeSantis.
Fox-watching Floridians won’t likely switch their voter registration or move to California after seeing a TV spot in which Newsom warned them “freedom is under attack in your state.” But the ad is producing a frenzy of national coverage that boosts Newsom’s profile while allowing DeSantis to sharpen his attacks on Democrats ahead of a possible 2024 White House bid.
The fight highlights how two young governors have captured the attention of their respective parties: On one side is Newsom, a progressive and telegenic leader who survived an attempted recall. On the other is DeSantis, who is often heralded as a more disciplined Donald Trump but who also has a penchant for populism and a refusal to back down from a fight.
“Most politicians operate best when they have somebody or something to contrast against, and there’s no bigger contrast to Gavin Newsom and California right now than Florida and Ron DeSantis,” said Jim Ross, a Democratic consultant who ran Newsom’s first mayoral campaign.Newsom has in fact just put out a statement to supporters explaining why he purchased ads in Florida:New: @GavinNewsom emails supporters to explain why he spent $100,000 to run a TV spot in Florida: to reclaim the word “Freedom,” declaring that “The DeSantis vision of freedom is a fraud.” Here’s what Newsom says freedom should really mean: pic.twitter.com/Vf7s5pLcJS— Doug Sovern (@SovernNation) July 6, 2022
Newsom airs Florida ad urging people to fight for freedom – or move to CaliforniaRead moreArizona was one of the states where Trump attempted unsuccessfully to convince officials to work with him to overturn the results of the 2020 elections. As Sam Levine reports, its elections are under scrutiny again, this time by Biden’s justice department:The Department of Justice is challenging a new Arizona law that requires voters to provide proof of citizenship for presidential elections, among other new restrictions, saying the measure was a “textbook violation” of a federal law meant to protect voters.The challenged Arizona measure, HB 2492, was signed into law by the Republican governor, Doug Ducey, in March, requires anyone who wants to vote in a presidential election, or vote by mail in any election, to provide proof of citizenship.The law was among several pushed by the Arizona legislature following the 2020 election in a state where Donald Trump and his allies have spread baseless claims of fraud. Voting by mail is widely used in Arizona, a key battleground state, and Republicans in the state have made numerous attempts to make it harder to cast a ballot that way.DoJ sues Arizona over voting law that requires proof of citizenshipRead moreThe Guardian’s Hugo Lowell has more details about what to expect from Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone’s testimony to the January 6 committee:The former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone is expected to testify to the House January 6 select committee on Friday after reaching an agreement over the scope of his cooperation with a subpoena compelling his testimony, according to a source familiar with the matter.The testimony from Cipollone is expected to be a transcribed interview and recorded on camera, the source said, and the former top White House lawyer is expected to only answer questions on a narrow subset of topics and conversations with the former president.Among the topics Cipollone could discuss include how he told Donald Trump that pressuring Mike Pence, the vice-president, to refuse to certify Joe Biden’s election win was unlawful, and Trump’s plot to coerce the justice department into falsely saying the 2020 election was corrupt.Trump White House counsel to cooperate with January 6 committeeRead moreThe dispute over USICA and the Democrats’ potential reconciliation bill has now spilled on to Twitter.It began when John Cornyn, a Republican senator from Texas, criticized Democrats’ move to pass a spending package unilaterally via the reconciliation procedure, accusing them of giving up on the USICA technological competitiveness bill:Looks like Schumer giving up on USICA, including shoring up the vulnerable supply chain for high end semiconductors. Major chip makers will likely abandon their plans to build manufacturing facilities in the US. Body blow to US national security, economy, and well paying jobs. https://t.co/KwV7mUR4iF— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) July 6, 2022
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not take kindly to his accusation:Cornyn is joining McConnell to hold hostage a bipartisan bill that would make more in America, in order to protect pharmaceutical companies’ profits.We need to do BOTH: increase American manufacturing and strengthen our competitive edge against China, AND lower Rx drug costs. https://t.co/VewJih7c59— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) July 6, 2022
Prompting this retort from Cornyn:You people in the Biden administration are very confused https://t.co/yXaIT7K4JY— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) July 6, 2022
Whether on Twitter or in Congress, expect the broader dispute to play out in the months to come.Meanwhile, the Senate’s top Republican Mitch McConnell has given Democrats an ultimatum: if they proceed with their reconciliation package, his lawmakers won’t support a bill to enhance US industries’ technological competitiveness.Let me be perfectly clear: there will be no bipartisan USICA as long as Democrats are pursuing a partisan reconciliation bill.— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) June 30, 2022
The United States Innovation and Competition Act, known as USICA, has been bargained over in Congress for months. According to Punchbowl, the prospects for the Senate’s democratic majority pulling off both the reconciliation package and USICA are not good:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} There are 1,015 outstanding items in the USICA package and GOP sources tell us that party leaders have only come to agreement or agreed to drop 127 of them. That means nearly nine-tenths of the bill is open and unresolved.
Democrats take issue with this characterization. They say the two sides have actually closed out many more issues, but Republicans have withheld final confirmation on several hundred items until bigger-picture topics have been resolved.
In negotiations like this, it’s often difficult to totally discern where talks stand because both sides have incentive to show that the other is slow walking the talks or otherwise acting in a capricious manner.
But let’s put it this way: Any way you slice it, the two sides can’t even agree on which phase of the negotiation they’re in.Politico has details of Senate Democrats’ efforts to find agreement on a major piece of legislation that they can pass, likely without Republican support.The negotiations come after the collapse of Biden’s Build Back Better proposal last year, which was meant to spend potentially trillions of dollars on fighting climate change, expanding social services and other Democratic priorities, but collapsed amid infighting in the party, particularly with senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.Democrats have been quietly trying to come up with a new proposal that could make it through the chamber using its reconciliation procedure, and Politico reports that they’ve reached an agreement on a measure to lower prescription drug costs:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will submit text today to the Senate parliamentarian on a 50-Democrat agreement (yes, that includes Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)) to allow the federal government to negotiate prescription drug costs for Medicare, according to two sources familiar. That will kick off the so-called “Byrd Bath” where the parliamentarian reviews the proposed text to make sure it abides by the Senate’s reconciliation rules. The bath is supposed to purge extraneous provisions that don’t align with the reconciliation instructions.
But drug price negotiation is just one piece of the puzzle. The rest of the party-line package is still in flux and isn’t ready for its Byrd Bath. Schumer and Manchin have been meeting regularly about what might make it into the bill, talking about tax reform and climate provisions.Biden holds call with the wife of Brittney GrinerJoe Biden, joined by Kamala Harris, spoke today with Cherelle Griner, the wife of Brittney Griner, the US basket ball star detained in Russia. Griner was detained by Russian Federal Customs Service in February after they said they found vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow.In a readout of the call, the White House said: “The President called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible.”It added: “The President directed his national security team to remain in regular contact with Cherelle and Brittney’s family, and with other families of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, to keep them updated on efforts to secure the release of their loved ones as quickly as possible.”Brittney Griner recently wrote a letter to Biden appealing for his assistance in getting her released from prison. Congress may be in recess but there’s been plenty of political news this morning, from the ongoing work of the January 6 committee to jostling within states ahead of November’s midterm elections.Here’s what has happened so far:
Donald Trump’s White House counsel Pat Cipollone has agreed to speak to the January 6 committee, which announced its next hearing for Tuesday 12 July.
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham said he will fight a subpoena from a Georgia grand jury looking into Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election result in the state.
Mississippi’s only abortion clinic will close after the supreme court overturned Roe v. Wade and the state banned the procedure.
A group of Republicans in Pennsylvania have endorsed the Democrat running for governor against a 2020 election denier.
Democrats in Kentucky are unhappy with president Joe Biden’s apparent plan to nominate an anti-abortion judge to a federal court position, in what appears to be a bid to get Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to stop blocking the president’s nominees.
Speaking together in Britain, the heads of the FBI and MI5 have issued a joint warning about China’s behavior, saying Beijing is stealing western technology and studying from the war in Ukraine, particularly when it comes to evading sanctions.BREAKING: The heads of MI5 and the @FBI have used an unprecedented joint speech to warn that China is their biggest “game-changing challenge”, with the UK doubling efforts to combat Chinese “activity of concern”. 1/— Deborah Haynes (@haynesdeborah) July 6, 2022
Christopher Wray, the FBI director, said Beijing is drawing lessons from Russia’s war in Ukraine.Talking about the Chinese threat against Taiwan, he said the Chinese government was looking for ways to protect its economy against any potential, future sanctions. 2/— Deborah Haynes (@haynesdeborah) July 6, 2022
“In our world, we call that kind of behaviour a clue,” Mr Wray said, sharing a platform with Ken McCallum on a visit to MI5’s headquarters in London. Western allies used sweeping sanctions to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine. 3/— Deborah Haynes (@haynesdeborah) July 6, 2022
The 2 chiefs focused on the Chinese Communist Party & its covert operations.They accused Beijing of a vast, enduring effort to steal western advances in technology, research & other sectors as well as use the West’s democratic, media & legal systems to their own advantage. 4/— Deborah Haynes (@haynesdeborah) July 6, 2022
“The most game-changing challenge we face comes from the Chinese Communist Party,” Mr McCallum said.“It’s covertly applying pressure across the globe. This might feel abstract. But it’s real and it’s pressing. We need to talk about it. We need to act.” 5/— Deborah Haynes (@haynesdeborah) July 6, 2022
The shooter at an Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb has admitted to the attack and told police he contemplated opening fire at a second Fourth of July gathering, the Associated Press reports:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} The man charged with killing seven people at an Independence Day parade confessed to police that he unleashed a hail of bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, where he contemplated shooting up an event there, authorities said Wednesday.
Robert Crimo III turned back to Illinois, where he was later arrested after deciding he was not prepared to pull off a shooting in Wisconsin, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said.
An Illinois judge ordered Crimo to be held without bail. Police found the shells of 83 bullets and three ammunition magazines on the rooftop that he fired from, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon said in court.The Georgia Senate race is another closely watched election this year, where the Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock will face off against Republican challenger Herschel Walker.Walker has had multiple complaints leveled against him of breaking rules governing electioneering, but Politico is reporting that Warnock also may have violated campaign finance laws:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;} Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) used campaign money to cover legal expenses for a lawsuit relating to his time as a church minister — transactions that raise questions about whether the spending runs afoul of federal rules governing personal use of campaign funds.
The case, first filed in 2019 by Atlanta resident Melvin Robertson, involved baffling and seemingly baseless allegations against Warnock that date back to 2005 when he was a pastor. It was dismissed by a federal district court judge in Georgia without any of the defendants being served.
But Robertson refiled a similar lawsuit in April 2021, outlining the same allegations against Warnock while also suing Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he has long served as senior pastor, and other public figures.
This time, Warnock was serving in the Senate. And he enlisted his campaign attorneys from Elias Law Group to represent him in the case, along with an Atlanta firm, Krevolin & Horst, which assisted ELG.
The issue for Warnock is whether this was a proper use of campaign funds.
Federal Election Commission guidance states that campaign money can be used on “litigation expenses where the candidate/officeholder was the defendant and the litigation arose directly from campaign activity or the candidate’s status as a candidate.”Warnock was one of two Democrats elected to represent Georgia in the Senate last year, giving the party control of the chamber by a one-vote margin. Walker, meanwhile, is a rare Black Republican politician, and looking to reclaim a seat held by the GOP for the past 15 years.Herschel Walker: the ex-football star running for Senate in Trump’s shadowRead more More
