“Michael Avenatti, an attorney who rose to national prominence representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels as she took on Donald Trump, was convicted on Friday of charges related to taking $300,000 from Daniels by siphoning payments of her book-deal advance,” the Washington Post reports.
“Avenatti was found guilty on counts of of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. He faces up to 22 years in prison at sentencing.”
A video shows Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) confronted by a grocery store customer for declining to wear a mask inside.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds President Biden’s public approval rating fell to the lowest level of his presidency this week, 41% to 56%, a danger sign for the Democratic Party which risks losing control of Congress in the midterm elections.
“The House select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection is now in possession of White House records that provide new details about a phone call Donald Trump made to Republican Rep. Jim Jordan on January 6, 2021 — as the investigation drills down on the former President’s communications that day and questions have long swirled around calls between him and lawmakers,” CNN reports.
“Two sources who have reviewed the call records tell CNN that Trump spoke on the phone at the White House residence with Jordan for 10 minutes on the morning of January 6.”
“A single Islamic State suicide bomber carried out the attack at Kabul’s international airport in August that killed 13 U.S. troops and as many as 170 civilians, and was not accompanied by accomplices firing into the crowd,” the New York Times reports.
“In the Pennsylvania Senate race, one candidate is accusing a rival of having ‘dual loyalties’ to the US and a foreign country. In turn, that rival is charging his opponent with being too cozy with China,” CNN reports.
“But these aren’t candidates from opposing parties. They are hedge-fund executive David McCormick and TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz, two of the leading contenders for the Republican nomination.”
“Without a clear primary preference from either Trump or Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, the Oz and McCormick teams are preparing to engage in a war of attrition.”
Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin have introduced several bills aimed at barring health care providers from withholding unproven treatments for Covid-19 such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would back efforts by congressional staffers to unionize after she appeared to sidestep a question about the topic earlier Thursday, NBC News reports.
President Biden “has renewed for four years Trump-era tariffs on imported solar panels that were set to expire this weekend as his administration tries to boost US manufacturing of clean energy infrastructure,” the Financial Times reports.
New York Times: “But the Biden administration also moved to double the amount of solar cells that can come into the country without facing tariffs, and said it would begin talks with Canada and Mexico to export their products to the United States duty-free.”
Val Arkoosh (D), a physician and the lone woman in Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate primary, is dropping out of the race, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
“She said she doesn’t plan to endorse in the primary but will campaign for the Democratic nominee in the general election.”
Said Arkoosh: “Every Republican in this race is deeply concerning.”
“Board members of four major oil companies declined to appear at a House oversight panel hearing scheduled for Feb. 8 to answer questions about their companies’ climate change plans,” Reuters reports.
“Shame falls on a party that would censure persons of conscience, who seek truth in the face of vitriol. Honor attaches to Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for seeking truth even when doing so comes at great personal cost.”
— Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), on Twitter.
“Weeks after the 2020 election, Donald Trump reviewed a draft executive order that authorized the national guard to seize voting machines and verbally agreed to appoint Sidney Powell, a campaign lawyer and conspiracy theorist, as special counsel to investigate election fraud,” The Guardian reports.
“The two previously unreported actions of the former president – which is certain to interest the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack and Trump’s efforts to overturn his defeat – came during a contentious White House meeting on December 18, 2020.”
“A suspect in the January 6 Capitol riot accused of assaulting several officers in the attack asked a federal judge for permission to defend himself against prison guards at a status hearing for his case,” Newsweek reports.
“Josiah Kenyon asked Judge Carl Nichols to acknowledge that he has the right to defend himself if corrections officers try to assault him.”
Before his comment, Nichols warned Kenyon to consult with his attorney first before speaking, but Kenyon shot back: “I have a high enough IQ range to not screw up there, boss.”
“After a recent internal review, the Biden administration decided to maintain a pandemic-era order put in place under former President Donald Trump that authorizes the rapid deportation of migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border,” CBS News reports.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) says he plans to subpoena Dr. Anthony Fauci’s records if Republicans retake the Senate in November’s midterm elections and he becomes chairman of a committee, The Hill reports.
Said Paul: “If we win in November, if I’m chairman of a committee, if I have subpoena power, we’ll go after every one of his records. We’ll have an investigator go through this piece-by-piece because we don’t need this to happen again.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
