Friday, July 22, 2022

Wake-Up Call: Jan 6 Committee Says Trump Refused Pleas


The January 6th House committee showed in its hearing last night (July 21st) that while the U.S. Capitol was being attacked by his supporters, then-President Donald Trump refused pleas from everyone, including White House aides, congressional Republicans, and even family members to call them off. Instead, he sent out a tweet that one of the night's witnesses, Matthew Pottinger, then-Deputy National Security Advisor, described as "fuel being poured on the fire" that blasted Vice President Mike Pence for not blocking the electoral count. It was some three hours after the start of the violence before Trump finally put out a video in which he urged his supporters to go home, while calling them "very special."


The committee showed during the hearing, the first in prime time since the initial hearing last month and the final one for now, that during the Capitol attack, Trump watched it all unfold on TV in the White House instead of taking any action to stop it. At one point, he asked for a list of senators so he could call them to urge them to stop the certification of the electoral votes. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the committee, charged that Trump didn't act because the mob's actions were causing what he wanted, a delay in the certification of the election, stating, "President Trump didn’t fail to act. He chose not to act." Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria contended that Trump finally issued the video telling his supporters to go home after he knew the National Guard had been summoned and the effort to stop the electoral vote count would fail.
 

Witnesses: Pottinger and Sarah Matthews, deputy press secretary in the Trump White House, testified in person last night. Both spoke about how they quit after seeing Trump's tweet during the riot attacking Pence. Matthews also talked about a press office colleague saying during the attack that Trump shouldn't condemn the rioters because it would be, quote, "handing a win to the media" if he were to condemn his supporters.


Secret Service & Bannon: Presented for the first time were recordings of Secret Service radio transmissions from January 6th in which officers protecting Pence at the Capitol were trying to get him to safety. Some of the officers were so concerned that they believed their own lives were at risk as well, and asked for messages to be relayed to their own families telling them goodbye. Toward the end of the hearing, a recording was played of former Trump aide Steve Bannon saying before the 2020 election that Trump would claim victory no matter the facts, and say that the race was stolen if he was behind in the vote count on election night.Although it had been thought that this might be the last public hearing of the January 6th committee, Vice Chair Liz Cheney said last night that there will be more hearings in September.


➤BIDEN TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID, HAS 'VERY MILD' SYMPTOMS: President Biden tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday and was said to be experiencing "very mild" symptoms. The 79-year-old Biden is fully vaccinated and double boosted, and is being treated with the antiviral drug Paxlovid. He is isolating and working, and a video was released of Biden in which he said he was "doing well" and "getting a lot of work done" and offered reassurance, saying, "Keep the faith. It's going to be okay. Biden's physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a letter that Biden had a runny nose and “fatigue, with an occasional dry cough." First lady Jill Biden, speaking to reporters as she arrived for a school visit in Detroit, told reporters she'd tested negative earlier in the day.

➤REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR N.Y. GOVERNOR ASSAULTED AT EVENT: Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee for New York governor, was assaulted at an upstate event at a VFW Thursday by a man who tried to stab him, but he was just minorly injured. Zeldin said in a statement, "I’m OK. Fortunately, I was able to grab his wrist and stop him for a few moments until others tackled him." 

The attacker climbed onto the low stage where Zeldin was speaking outside Rochester and assaulted him. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office took him into custody, and identified him as an Iraq war veteran who was allegedly intoxicated. Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, who Zeldin is running against, condemned the attack in statement.

 
➤POLIO CASE REPORTED IN N.Y., FIRST IN U.S. IN NEARLY A DECADE: A polio case has been reported in an unvaccinated young adult in New York, the first case of the disease in the U.S. in nearly a decade, health officials said yesterday. The patient, who lives in Rockland County northwest of New York City, has developed paralysis. Health officials said it appeared the person had a vaccine-derived strain of the polio virus, perhaps from someone who got a live vaccine, which is available in other countries, but not the U.S., and spread it. The last polio case in the U.S. was in 2013, in a seven-month-old baby in Texas who'd recently moved to the U.S. from India.

➤EX-OFFICER LANE SENTENCED TO TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS IN GEORGE FLOYD CASE: Former Minneapolis Police Officer Thomas Lane was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison yesterday (July 21st) by a federal judge for violating George Floyd's civil rights. Prosecutors had asked for at least five and 1/4 years in prison, which is at the low end of federal guidelines, but Lane received just slightly more than the 27 months his attorney had requested. Lane was convicted earlier this year of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care. Lane held Floyd’s legs as Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck for nearly 9 1/2 minutes in May 2020, leading to his death.

➤MONARCH BUTTERFLIES LISTED AS ENDANGERED: The monarch butterfly has been put on the list of endangered species for the first time, as its numbers have been quickly falling. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature adding the orange-and-black butterfly that's one of the most recognized butterflies in the world to the endangered list puts it two steps away from being extinct. The group estimates that the monarch butterfly population in North America has fallen between 22 percent and 72 percent over 10 years, depending on how it's measured. Nick Haddad, a conservation biologist at Michigan State University, told AP, "What we’re worried about is the rate of decline. It’s very easy to imagine how very quickly this butterfly could become even more imperiled."

🕮MICHELLE OBAMA HAS NEW BOOK, 'THE LIGHT WE CARRY,' OUT THIS FALL: Former First Lady Michelle Obama will have a new book out in November called, The Light We Carry, her first since her 2018 memoir, Becoming, which sold more than 17 million copies worldwide. In the announcement of the book yesterday, Random House Publishing Group said, "In The Light We Carry, Mrs. Obama offers readers a series of fresh stories and insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power, including her belief that when we light up for others, we can illuminate the richness and potential of the world around us, discovering deeper truths and new pathways for progress."


🏈QB MURRAY REACHES DEAL WITH CARDINALS THROUGH 2028 SEASON: Quarterback Kyler Murray has reached a deal with the Arizona Cardinals to stay through the 2028 season, with the team announcing the news yesterday. ESPN reported that the contract could be worth $230.5 million, with $160 million guaranteed. Murray, who won the 2018 Heisman Trophy, was taken by Arizona with the Number 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.

🏀RUSSIA LASHES OUT AT U.S. OVER GRINER, SAYS MUST RESPECT RUSSIAN LAW: The spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry lashed out Thursday at the U.S. for characterizing WNBA star Brittney Griner’s being held since February on drug charges as "wrongful detention," saying it shows disrespect for Russian law. Maria Zakharova said, "If a U.S. citizen was taken in connection with the fact that she was smuggling drugs, and she does not deny this, then this should be commensurate with our Russian, local laws, and not with those adopted in San Francisco, New York and Washington." Griner has been jailed since vape canisters containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage at a Moscow airport. She acknowledged during her trial this month that she had them, but said she'd had no intent to break the law. Her trial it set to resume next week.

🏌FURUE IN LEAD AFTER EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP'S OPENING ROUND: Ayaka Furue of Japan is in the lead after the opening round of the Evian Championship in France at 8-under 63. American Nelly Korda was tied in second place with Brooke Henderson of Canada in the major, both behind by one stroke.

🏀76ERS TO BUILD NEW ARENA IN PHILADELPHIA'S CENTER CITY: The NBA's Philadelphia 76ers announced yesterday that they're planning to build a new arena in Center City, in the Fashion District. The cost of the privately-funded arena is expected to be around $1.3 billion. The 76ers won't be breaking ground for several years, and they don't to be playing in the new arena until the 2031-32 season. The 76ers and the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers currently play at the Wells Fargo Center in south Philadelphia, which opened in 1996.

✞BO JACKSON HELPED PAY FOR UVADLE SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIMS' FUNERAL: Former NFL and MLB star Bo Jackson helped pay for the funerals of the 19 children and two teachers who were killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May. Jackson revealed that he was one of the previously anonymous donors who covered costs for the families, telling the Associated Press, "I know every family there probably works their butts off just to do what they do. . . . The last thing they needed was to shell out thousands of dollars for something that never should have happened." The 59-year-old Jackson said he felt a personal connection to Uvalde, which he's driven through on drives to a friend's ranch on hunting trips.



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