Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) revealed that the special Jan. 6 House committee “has received information showing that members of Congress met with people who came to Washington to participate in protests over the planned certification of electoral votes last year,” the Washington Post reports.
Trump’s Social Media App Launches Next Month
Former President Donald Trump’s new media venture plans to launch its social media app Truth Social on Feb. 21, Reuters reports.
QAnon Star Who Said Only ‘Idiots’ Get Vaxxed Is Dead
Cirsten Weldon, a leading QAnon promoter who urged both her followers and strangers she passed on the street not to take the Covid vaccine, died Thursday of the coronavirus, making her just the latest vaccine opponent killed by the disease, the Daily Beast reports.
Said Weldon, in one of her videos: “The vaccines kill, don’t get it! This is how gullible these idiots are. They’re all getting vaccine!”
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Eric Adams Taps Younger Brother for Top Police Post
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has tapped his younger brother to serve as a deputy New York police commissioner, the New York Post reports.
Woman Who Took Child to Capitol Riot Gets Prison
A North Carolina woman who brought her 14-year-old son into the U.S. Capitol during last year’s riot was sentenced Friday to three months imprisonment, the AP reports.
Said the judge: “It must have been a traumatic experience to witness this kind of violence. It’s a complete lack of judgment on your part.”
New Kamala Harris Aide Apologizes for Past Tweets
Vice President Kamala Harris’ newly announced communications director Jamal Simmons is apologizing for decade-old tweets on “undocumented folks” that resurfaced after news of his appointment, CNN reports.
New York Governor Backs Statewide Gas Ban
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced her backing for what would be the nation’s first statewide gas ban for new buildings, adding fuel to a simmering national battle, Energy Wire reports.
Sara Goddard: 22 climate actions we need to see in 2022.
Americans Just Move On Without Covid Tests
“As soaring demand makes lab-based and at-home tests hard to come by, many people are forsaking tests, leaving them unable to determine whether they are infected and potentially exposing others,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Those who manage to get at-home rapid tests rarely report the results to health departments, often because the means to do so is cumbersome or nonexistent. As a result, public-health officials lack the full picture of the virus’s spread when the Omicron variant is raging.”
Quote of the Day
“By the way, the stock market — the last guy’s measure of everything — is about 20% higher than it was when my predecessor was there. It has hit record after record after record on my watch.”
— President Biden, quoted by Politico.
Trump’s Biggest Legacy
Matt Johnson: “The United States isn’t going to regain its standing as an exemplary democracy any time soon. Even if global perceptions stabilize over the next few years, the specter of Trump’s return to the biggest stage in American politics will remain ever-present—refusing to convict him for his role in fomenting the insurrection was one thing, but what if the GOP rewards him with another presidential nomination?”
“What effect will the widespread acquiescence in (and the active propagation of) his lies about the 2020 election have on the Republican party’s commitment to American democracy? How certain can America’s allies (or enemies) be that Trumpism won’t continue to dominate the Republican party even long after Trump has gone?”
Justices Skeptical of Biden’s Vaccine Mandate
“The Supreme Court on Friday appeared likely to curtail the Biden administration’s most sweeping mandate for COVID-19 vaccinations,” Axios reports..
“A majority of the justices seemed to believe that the Biden administration’s rules, which require employers to mandate vaccines or testing for the workers, are too broad.”
The Last Time We Had an Insurrectionist President
Daniel Gullotta: “Since he left office, former President Donald Trump has not receded into quiet retirement as most of his predecessors did. The activity and boisterousness with which he has continued to champion the Big Lie with which he incited the Jan. 6th insurrection bears comparison to only one other ex-president—one who also became president under a cloud of uncertainty, ignited calls for impeachment, alienated many both in opposition and within his own party, failed to win re-election, and fell into post-presidential ignominy: the tenth president, John Tyler…”
“Tyler’s retirement years have not been the source of much scholarly interest. But given his role in the secession of Virginia and his support for the Confederacy, Tyler’s role as a seditious former president is worth another look.”
Biden to Give State of the Union Address on March 1
Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited President Biden to deliver his State of the Union address to Congress on March 1.
Biden Weighs Troop Cuts In Eastern Europe
The Biden administration is heading into next week’s talks with Russia still unsure whether Moscow is serious about negotiations, but if so U.S. officials are ready to propose discussions on scaling back U.S. and Russian troop deployments and military exercises in Eastern Europe, NBC News reports.
What Role Will January 6 Play in the Midterms?
Amy Walter: “The following things can be true at the same time. First, the attack on the Capitol on January 6 was a dark moment in American history and one in which the former president bears responsibility. Second, the attack on the Capitol will not be a defining issue in the upcoming 2022 midterm campaign.”
“The 2022 midterms will be a referendum on the current president, not the former one. This is something on which Democratic and Republican strategists I’ve spoken with agree. At the same time, Republicans from swing states or districts who spend their time trying to re-litigate the 2020 election or defend those who attacked the Capitol are putting themselves in political peril.”
Our Democracy Won’t Fix Itself
Rick Hasen: “Those who believe the last election was stolen will be more likely to accept a stolen election for their side next time. They are more willing to see violence as a means of resolving election disputes. Political operatives are laying the groundwork for future election sabotage and the federal government has done precious little to minimize the risk.”
“Many people who are not dispirited by such findings are uninterested. Exhausted by four years of the Trump presidency and a lingering pandemic, some Americans appear to have responded to the risks to our democracy by simply tuning out the news and hoping that things will just work out politically by 2024.”
“We must not succumb to despair or indifference. It won’t be easy, but there is a path forward if we begin acting now, together, to shore up our fragile election ecosystem.”
Is a Civil War Ahead?
David Remnick: “The edifice of American exceptionalism has always wobbled on a shoddy foundation of self-delusion, and yet most Americans have readily accepted the commonplace that the United States is the world’s oldest continuous democracy. That serene assertion has now collapsed.”
