FBI Director Testifies Capitol Rioters Carried ‘All Sorts Of Weapons’

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FBI Director Christopher Wray testified under oath on Thursday that at least one person among the supporters of Donald Trump who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 carried a firearm, while many used other items as weapons, refuting GOP attempts to portray the insurrection as less violent than it was.

Asked by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee whether anyone involved in the riot had been armed with a firearm, Wray responded, “I can think of at least one instance where there was an individual with a gun inside the Capitol, but for the most part the weapons were weapons other than firearms.”

Gohmert is one of several GOP lawmakers who have downplayed the attack that left five people dead and 140 law enforcement officers injured. Republicans like Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) falsely described the riot as a “normal tourist visit,” while Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) described the Trump supporters who violently pushed their way into the Capitol and beat up police officers guarding the building as “peaceful patriots.” Continue reading.

Facebook knowingly allowed GOP-linked ‘troll farm’ to place deceptive ads targeting Democratic voters

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Facebook knowingly allowed a Russia-style “troll farm” to place deceptive ads intended to suppress Democratic turnout in certain congressional races.

The pro-Donald Trump firm Rally Forge, which was closely linked to the conservative youth group Turning Point USA, misleadingly backed Green Party candidates during the 2018 midterm elections in an effort to split the Democratic vote in a number of close races, reported the Guardian.

“There were no policies at Facebook against pretending to be a group that did not exist, an abuse vector that has also been used by the governments of Honduras and Azerbaijan,” said Sophie Zhang, a former Facebook employee turned whistleblower. Continue reading.

Alleged supporters of right-wing Three Percenters group charged in new Jan. 6 Capitol riot conspiracy

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Six Southern California men, including four self-described members of the Three Percenters movement, were arrested Thursday and charged with conspiracy in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.

The new indictment adds the Three Percenters to the list of right-wing groups — mainly the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys — whose alleged associates have been charged with conspiring to impede police or thwart Congress’s confirmation of the 2020 presidential election results.

The 28-page indictment unsealed Thursday accuses the men of felony counts of conspiracy and aiding and abetting the obstruction of a joint session of Congress, although only one defendant allegedly entered the Capitol. Continue reading.

Bill Barr could lose his law license over Trump DOJ spy scandal: Legal expert says ‘expect a lot of legal fallout’

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On CNN Thursday, Norm Eisen, who acted as counsel for House Democrats during the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump, expressed outrage at the New York Times report that the Justice Department secretly spied on members of Congress investigating Trump’s ties to Russia — and predicted that former Attorney General William Barr could face the loss of his law license over the scandal.

“In my 30 years in Washington representing people in front of Congress, and at DOJ working in government and the executive branch as a staff member like those staff members who got subpoenaed in congress, it is completely without a precedent,” said Eisen. “It’s groundbreaking and earth-shaking. And there are going to be consequences. There’s going to be fallout.”

“You’re going to see congressional observations, you’re going to need a policy or laws to protect reporters and members of Congress,” said Eisen. “They even went after the child of one of these targets on the Hill to get information about a child’s account from Apple! And then there’s the question of Bill Barr … we’ve already had two judges criticize him for a coverup in connection with protecting Trump from obstruction charges. Now people are going to be looking at his law license afresh. So expect a lot of legal fallout from this.” Continue reading.

Biden administration keeps long-sought Trump hotel documents under wraps

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The Trump administration blocked Democrats’ efforts to unearth documents related to his leased D.C. hotel. Not much has changed under Biden.

For Donald Trump’s entire presidency, top congressional Democrats used every tool at their disposal to investigate the Washington hotel he leased from the federal government, issuing subpoenas, holding hearings and filing a lawsuit to try to bring the inner workings of Trump’s luxury property to light.

The efforts were framed as a defense of democracy itself. Rep. Peter A. DeFazio(D-Ore.) said the Trump administration’s refusal to provide documents “was not just disconcerting but an affront to the democratic institutions that the United States has been founded upon.” Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) saidthe lawsuit, filed in federal court, was “in pursuit of justice to make sure our committee can fulfill its duty to the American people.”

None of it worked — a testament to Trump’s willingness to fight at every turn. But now, with the Biden administration in place, Democrats’ efforts to unearth and make public the information haven’t gone much better. Continue reading.

How the GOP May – or May Not – Take Back the House in 2022

Based on history, House Republicans should have an edge in midterm elections. But Democrats have some cause for optimism.

Republicans are enthusiastic about their chances of taking over the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections of 2022.

Currently, the Democrats hold just a 219-211 lead in the House, a margin that would be 222-213 if the five currently vacant seats remain with the same party after they’ve been filled in special elections this year. (In a June 1 special election, the Democrats held on to one more House seat, in New Mexico. Once the newly elected Melanie Stansbury is sworn in, the tally will be 220-211.)

By historical standards, the Democratic edge is small. Only twice since World War II has the majority party held fewer than 222 seats when it was at full strength – the Republicans with 221 seats from 1953 to 1955 and the same number from 2001 to 2003. Continue reading.

Senators press Fudge to rebuild HUD’s depleted staff

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One-fifth of staff left since 2012

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge faced questions from both parties about how she plans to replace departed staff, a personnel gap that she said has undermined the implementation of department programs.

President Joe Biden’s budget request for the agency includes $182 million to increase personnel and recover some of the 20 percent of staff the department lost from 2012 to 2019. Fudge on Thursday appeared before the Senate Transportation-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee to discuss the budget request. 

“What I found at my entrance into the agency is an agency that had great employees. But they were overworked and were understaffed,” Fudge said. “Until we can start to build back up our staff and build back up our capacity, we are at risk of not doing some things that we should do to make sure that our mission is completed.” Continue reading.

Hunting Leaks, Trump Officials Focused on Democrats in Congress

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The Justice Department seized records from Apple for metadata of House Intelligence Committee members, their aides and family members.

WASHINGTON — As the Justice Department investigated who was behind leaks of classified information early in the Trump administration, it took a highly unusual step: Prosecutors subpoenaed Apple for data from the accounts of at least two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, aides and family members. One was a minor.

All told, the records of at least a dozen people tied to the committee were seized in 2017 and early 2018, including those of Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, then the panel’s top Democrat and now its chairman, according to committee officials and two other people briefed on the inquiry. Representative Eric Swalwell of California said in an interview Thursday night that he had also been notified that his data had been subpoenaed.

Prosecutors, under the beleaguered attorney general, Jeff Sessions, were hunting for the sources behind news media reports about contacts between Trump associates and Russia. Ultimately, the data and other evidence did not tie the committee to the leaks, and investigators debated whether they had hit a dead end and some even discussed closing the inquiry. Continue reading.

Russia is preparing to supply Iran with an advanced satellite system that will boost Tehran’s ability to surveil military targets, officials say

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Russia is preparing to supply Iran with an advanced satellite system that will give Tehran an unprecedented ability to track potential military targets across the Middle East and beyond, according to current and former U.S. and Middle Eastern officials briefed on details of the arrangement.

The plan would deliver to the Iranians a Russian-made Kanopus-V satellite equipped with a high-resolution camera that would greatly enhance Iran’s spying capabilities, allowing continuous monitoring of facilities ranging from Persian Gulf oil refineries and Israeli military bases to Iraqi barracks that house U.S. troops, the officials said. The launch could happen within months, they said.

While the Kanopus-V is marketed for civilian use, Iranian military officials have been heavily involved in the acquisition, and leaders of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have made multiple trips to Russia since 2018 to help negotiate the terms of the agreement, the officials said. As recently as this spring, Russian experts traveled to Iran to help train ground crews that would operate the satellite from a newly built facility near the northern city of Karaj, the officials said. Continue reading.

Murdoch empire pushes Republicans to back tech antitrust bills

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Lobbyists for Rupert Murdoch’s media companies are appealing to House Republicans to support antitrust bills meant to restrain Big Tech companies, sources tell Axios.

The big picture: Murdoch’s media businesses have aggressively positioned themselves in opposition to the power of tech companies like Facebook and Google.

Between the lines: The antitrust bills, at least five of which are expected to be formally introduced soon, have been spearheaded by Democratic leadership on the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee. Continue reading.