“Far-right leader Ammon Bundy is heading to jail for 10 days,” the Idaho Statesman reports.
“The gubernatorial candidate was found guilty of being in contempt of court Thursday after he refused to complete 40 hours of community service related to a July 2021 conviction. Bundy had argued that the stops made during his gubernatorial campaign satisfy his court-mandated community service.”
Although Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg told CNN an indictment against Donald Trump could still come, the Daily Beast reports “yet another prosecutor appears to have been pulled back from the case, according to knowledgeable sources who say it could be further proof of the probe’s failure.”
“And sources now seem to think Trump dodging an indictment is inevitable.”
At a bitcoin conference, billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel said Warren Buffett tops an “enemies list” of people who are trying to stop the cryptocurrency, CNBC reports.
Said Thiel: “Enemy number one is the sociopathic grandpa from Omaha.”
“President Joe Biden’s requirement that all federal employees be vaccinated against Covid-19 was uhpheld Thursday by a federal appeals court,” the AP reports.
“In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans reversed a lower court and ordered dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the mandate.”
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has admitted a “significant” loss of Russian troops since the invasion of Ukraine began, telling Sky News their deaths are a “tragedy.”
But he denied that Russia had anything to do with the atrocities in Bucha.
Greg Sargent: “The Democratic Governors Association, which oversees Democratic gubernatorial campaigns, is set to announce that it raised over $23 million in the first quarter of 2022, a record, people with knowledge of the numbers tell us. Over 30 percent of the donors were new givers.”
“Several people who raise money for DGA told us GOP attacks on democracy on the state level, and the idea that Democratic governors might represent a firewall against them, has made it easier to haul in funds for Democratic gubernatorial candidates.”
“Despite the availability of life-saving Covid-19 vaccines, so many people died in the second year of the pandemic in the U.S. that the nation’s life expectancy dropped for a second year in a row last year,” NPR reports.
National Review: “Disney’s copyright on its signature Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse — from the 1928 short film of the same name — is set to expire on January 1, 2024… In the past, both the company and legislature have sprung into action to keep the depiction out of the public domain. This time, it might be more difficult to secure such an extension.”
“With a 1984 deadline looming, Gerald Ford signed the Copyright Act of 1976 in no small part thanks to the efforts of Disney’s lobbyists. That pushed Disney’s singular claim to Mickey out to 2003. Always one step ahead, lobbyists for Disney secured a second extension… It passed through both chambers of Congress on voice votes.”
“There is little chance that a third extension will pass so smoothly, as several prominent Republicans, who will in all likelihood find themselves in the majority in both houses of Congress after the midterms, tell National Review that they would oppose such a measure.”
The Russian ruble has surged all the way back to where it was before Russia invaded Ukraine, Bloomberg reports.
“What’s become clear is that despite an incredibly wide-ranging package of sanctions on the Russian government and its oligarchs, and an exodus of foreign businesses, the actions are largely toothless if foreigners keep guzzling Russian oil and natural gas — supporting the ruble by stocking Putin’s coffers. Even as Russia remains mostly cut off otherwise from the global economy, Bloomberg Economics expects the country will earn nearly $321 billion from energy exports this year, up more than a third from 2021.”
“The rapid ruble recovery gives Putin a major victory back in Russia, where many people fixate on the currency’s ups and downs, even as his military gets bogged down in Ukraine and outrage mounts across the globe over atrocities it’s committed.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) “filed a motion on Thursday asking a judge to hold Donald Trump in contempt for failing to turn over documents in her civil investigation into his business activities,” the New York Times reports.
“The request by lawyers in Ms. James’s office, which was filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, said that the former president had declined to turn over documents that the attorney general had sought in eight requests. The filing also asked the judge to fine Mr. Trump $10,000 a day until he turns over the materials.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) didn’t wear a tie for the occasion for the confirmation vote for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first black woman on the Supreme Court — which meant he wasn’t allowed on the Senate floor and voted “no” from the cloakroom, CNN reports.
Graham was wearing a tie at a press conference earlier but apparently took it off.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) kept up his torrid fund-raising pace in the first three months of the year, bringing in $11.3 million and expanding his cash on hand to $23.2 million, KPNX reports.
“Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Thursday that his office’s criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump, his company and its leadership continues, despite the resignation earlier this year of two senior prosecutors,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The team working on the investigation was going through documents, interviewing witnesses and ‘exploring evidence not previously explored.’ He said while the law required secrecy during the investigation, he would tell the public when it had ended.”
“The Jan. 6 select committee is preparing to broach its most consequential decision yet: Whether and when to call Donald Trump for an interview,” Politico reports.
Said Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS): “We’ll be talking about the likelihood of a Trump interview in the not too distant future.”
“The Senate on Thursday confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman to be elevated to the pinnacle of the judicial branch in what her supporters hailed as a needed step toward bringing new diversity and life experience to the court,” the New York Times reports.
“Overcoming a concerted effort by conservative Republicans to derail her nomination, Judge Jackson was confirmed on a 53-47 vote, with three Republicans joining all 50 Democrats in backing her.”
“Russian soldiers advancing on Kyiv brought parade uniforms with them, seeming to expect a victory in less than two days,” Insider reports.
“The official said the soldiers left them behind when withdrawing from the Kyiv area, after weeks of trying without success to take the Ukrainian capital.”
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.