It’s Wednesday, OnPolitics readers!
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol subpoenaed six individuals tied to an “alternate” Electoral College electors scheme, bringing the total number subpoenaed to 86.
The new round comes after the committee demanded documents and testimony last month from 14 individuals with knowledge of the same plot.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., committee co-chairman, said the panel is “seeking records and testimony from former campaign officials and other individuals in various states who we believe have relevant information about the planning and implementation of those plans.”
Included in the group are Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward, who allegedly planned to stand in as an alternate elector if former President Donald Trump lost the state in the 2020 presidential election, and Pennsylvania State Sen. Douglas V. Mastriano, a GOP gubernatorial candidate who reportedly helped arrange for an “alternate” slate of electors from the Keystone State for Trump.
It’s Chelsey with today’s top stories out of Washington.
Russian troop buildup continues at Ukrainian border
There is a difference between what Russia does and what it says, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.
During an ABC News interview, Blinken said the U.S. and North Atlantic Alliance countries are seeing “no meaningful pullback” in Russian forces a day after Moscow said it was moving some troops and weapons back to bases after completing military drills.
“On the contrary, we continue to see forces, especially forces that would be in the vanguard of any renewed aggression,” he said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said there were no visible signs Wednesday of “de-escalation on the ground,” and said a release of video footage in the last 24 hours depicting troops retreating “does not confirm a real withdrawal.”
Real quick: stories you’ll want to read
Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for OnPolitics newsletter here.
President approves release of White House visitor logs to Jan. 6 committee
President Joe Biden waived executive privilege for access to former President Donald Trump’s White House visitor log — a move which will allow the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack to see who visited that day.
“The President has determined that an assertion of executive privilege is not in the best interests of the United States, and therefore is not justified, as to these records and portions of records,” Dana Remus, Biden’s White House counsel, said in a letter Tuesday.
Trump filed a federal lawsuit to block the release of hundreds of pages of confidential documents on the grounds of executive privilege, but federal district and appeals courts ruled Biden’s waiver overruled Trump’s claim. The Supreme Court also refused to prevent their release.
The Jan. 6 committee is scheduled to receive the logs within 15 days.
Social skills are like muscles, experts say. Here’s how to flex yours. Until tomorrow, OnPolitics readers. — Chelsey
Leave a Reply