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White House says Biden warned Putin on ransomware attacks

President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. would take action to “defend its people” against ransomware attacks, per a White House readout of the call on Friday.

The big picture: The call comes after a Russia-linked group is believed to be behind an attack on software provider Kaseya, the latest in a mass of ransomware attacks impacting U.S. companies.

What they’re saying: “I made it very clear to him that the United States expects when a ransomware operation coming from his soil — even though it’s not sponsored by the state — we expect him to act. And we’ve given him enough information to act on who that is,” Biden said on Friday afternoon. Continue reading.

Top Biden ally pleads with him to scrap filibuster for election reform

Rep. Jim Clyburn said it’s time for the president to embrace more aggressive changes to the Senate rules.

After months of setbacks and gridlock on voting rights, one of President Joe Biden’s top allies in Congress is calling for him to support amending the Senate filibuster.

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) told POLITICO Biden “should endorse” the idea of creating a carveout to the legislative filibuster in the Senate for legislation that applies to the Constitution. In effect, the reform would make it possible for Democrats to pass their sweeping elections reform bill and another bill reauthorizing key sections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act with just Democratic support.

It’s a sentiment the congressman says he’s shared with White House counselor Steve Ricchetti and Office of Public Engagement Director Cedric Richmond as well. “I’ve even told that to the vice president,” Clyburn said. Continue reading.

‘Warning lights are blinking red’: Pollsters sound the alarm on shocking data on GOP voters

Polling data is showing that Republican base voters are radicalizing against democracy, and two polling experts are sounding the alarm on what it means for the United States.

The Economist’s G. Elliot Morris pointed to polls showing that a plurality of Republican voters think that state legislatures should have the right to overturn the results of presidential elections, while supermajorities believe that former President Donald Trump really won the 2020 election and that President Joe Biden is illegitimate.

In fact, Morris said that the most recent polling numbers show that 74 percent of Republican voters do not believe Biden’s presidency is legitimate. Continue reading.

Robert E. Lee statue taken down in Charlottesville

The city of Charlottesville, Va., has taken down a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, marking the end of a years-long effort to have it removed.

Videos shared to social media showed the statue being hoisted off its stone base Saturday morning, with some in the crowd cheering as it was removed from the pedestal.

The city announced Friday it would remove the statue, which was at the site of the 2017 “Unite the Right” white nationalist rally that resulted in the death of a counterprotester. Continue reading.

CPAC attendee circulates ‘plan’ to re-install Trump as president ‘in days’

An attendee at this year’s second Conservative Political Action Conference has reportedly been handing out cards that feature a “plan” to return former President Donald Trump to the White House “in days.”

As flagged by Forbes reporter Andrew Solender, the “plan” involves seven steps, none of which appear to have any possibility of becoming a reality.

The first step involves somehow ousting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) by getting the Congressional Black Caucus to switch to the Republican Party and voting in a “trusted Conservative.” Continue reading.

McCarthy Decries ‘Partisan’ Jan. 6 Committee — Which Is Exactly Like Benghazi Panel

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is furiously claiming that a newly authorized select committee to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection will be “the least bipartisan committee you can find.” But just seven years ago, he voted for a nearly identical investigation into attacks against the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012.

On Fox News on Thursday night, McCarthy (R-CA) was asked about the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, created last Wednesday by a majority vote in the House of Representatives over his objections.

“Think about the structure. It’s not an equal number of Republicans or Democrats,” McCarthy complained. “She [House Speaker Nancy Pelosi] appointed [Reps.] Adam Schift [sic] and [Jamie] Raskin. This is a impeachment committee. Only Democrats have subpoena power. The speaker has control over anyone who is appointed. She appoints everyone, just with ‘consultation’ with Republicans.” Continue reading.

Trump seethed at ‘ultimate betrayal’ after Netanyahu congratulated Biden on 2020 win: report

Former President Donald Trump was reportedly enraged last year when then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted out congratulations to President Joe Biden on his victory in the 2020 election.

Forward reports that journalist Michael Wolff’s new book, titled “Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency,” claims that Trump felt personally betrayed by Netanyahu’s call, even though it is custom for American allies to congratulate incoming presidents on their victories.

“It was startling to aides, however much they were anticipating an eruption, that Trump’s wrath fell on Bibi Netanyahu,” Wolff writes, according to Forward. “There was his belief that he had singularly done more for Israel than any American president — and that therefore he was owed. And now sold out.” Continue reading.

Members of Congress demand immediate funding for Capitol Police, but face headwinds in the Senate

Members of Congress are sounding the alarm over the need to immediately fund the U.S. Capitol Police and National Guard or risk both security departments running out of money, potentially leading to hundreds of furloughs and cuts that would mark the latest setback for the forces after a tumultuous year.

Money allotted yearly to an account that pays for the thousands of Capitol Police officers is running out faster than in previous years because of overtime incurred by officers after the Jan. 6 insurrection. The end of the fiscal year is Sept. 30, but Congress has been unable to pass all appropriation bills through both chambers by that date for the past several years, delaying necessary funding to keep the Capitol safe.

House Democrats, in particular, are pressuring the Senate to immediately consider passing a $1.9 billion emergency security supplemental measure during the July session that would quickly allot $31 million to cover overtime pay, a demand that can be made difficult by a packed summer legislative calendar. Continue reading.

Oath Keepers Leader Sits for F.B.I. Questioning Against Legal Advice

In a bold move, Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the right-wing militia group, sat for an interview with federal agents after they seized his phone in May.

It was shortly after federal agents confronted him in May outside a boutique hotel in Lubbock, Texas, seizing his cellphone with a warrant, that Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers militia, made a bold decision: Even though he had just gotten undeniable proof that he was under investigation, he agreed to be questioned about his — and his militia’s — role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Against the advice of a lawyer, Mr. Rhodes spoke freely with the agents about the Capitol assault for nearly three hours, he said in an interview on Friday. Mr. Rhodes said that he denied that he or any other Oath Keepers had intended to disrupt Congress’s certification of the Electoral College vote — the chief accusation the government has lodged against 16 members of the group who are charged with conspiracy.

He also said he told the agents that members of his militia went into the building only after they had heard that someone had been shot inside and wanted to render aid. (A New York Times visual investigation of the events of Jan. 6 did not find evidence of Mr. Rhodes’s claims.) Continue reading.

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