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Capitol Police sergeant injured on Jan. 6 says Trump betrayed oath to Constitution

A Capitol Police sergeant injured during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot wrote in an op-ed published by The New York Times on Sunday that former President Trump “betrayed his oath to defend the Constitution.”

Aquilino Gonell wrote in the Times that he was present in the committee room when the Jan. 6 panel investigating that day heard public testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

“Of course, I never would have imagined that an American president would not only not come to the aid of law enforcement officers defending the Capitol but encourage that crowd to march on it,” Gonell wrote in the op-ed. “Instead of being notified about the danger, my colleagues and I were kept in the dark, and thus walked into an ambush unprepared.”

“I don’t know what part of Ms. Hutchinson’s testimony enraged me most: that Mr. Trump wanted to be driven to the Capitol to lead the vicious riot, that he’d spurred his supporters on knowing they were armed, or that he ignored some of his advisers and even his daughter who told him to call it off, allegedly fighting with his own Secret Service agent after he refused to let the president be driven there,” Gonell added. 

Gonell, who received a Congressional Gold Medal for his role in defending against the rioters, also wrote in the op-ed that he still experiences physical and mental trauma from the attack, noting that the injuries and emotional trauma he sustained from the attack cut his career short.

Gonell added that Trump should be barred from running for office, saying that he didn’t protect Americans “he was supposed to protect” on that day. 

“The enabling of Mr. Trump needs to stop now. He should not only be banned from running for any other government office, he should never be allowed near the White House again,” Gonell wrote in the op-ed.  “I believe he betrayed his oath to defend the Constitution, and it was to the detriment of me, my colleagues and all Americans, whom he was supposed to protect.”

The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack’s next public hearing is slated for Tuesday, after completing six televised public hearings last month, giving new details to the lead-up of the Capitol insurrection, which resulted in the deaths of five people that included Gonell’s fellow Capitol Police officers.

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Biden says he's mulling health emergency for abortion access

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday he is considering declaring a public health emergency to free up federal resources to promote abortion access even though the White House has said it doesn’t seem like “a great option.”

He also offered a message to people enraged by the Supreme Court’s ruling last month that ended a constitutional right to abortion and who have been demonstrating across the country: “Keep protesting. Keep making your point. It’s critically important.”

The president, in remarks to reporters during a stop on a bike ride near his family’s Delaware beach house, said he lacks the power to force the dozen-plus states with strict restrictions or outright bans on abortion to allow the procedure.

“I don’t have the authority to say that we’re going to reinstate Roe v. Wade as the law of the land,” he said, referring to the Supreme Court’s decision from 1973 that had established a national right to abortion. Biden said Congress would have to codify that right and for that to have a better chance in the future, voters would have to elect more lawmakers who support abortion access.

Biden said his administration is trying to do a “lot of things to accommodate the rights of women” after the ruling, including considering declaring a public health emergency to free up federal resources. Such a move has been pushed by advocates, but White House officials have questioned both its legality and effectiveness, and noted it would almost certainly face legal challenges.

The president said he has asked officials “to look at whether I have the authority to do that and what impact that would have.”

On Friday, Jen Klein, the director of the White House Gender Policy Council, said it “didn’t seem like a great option.”

“When we looked at the public health emergency, we learned a couple things: One is that it doesn’t free very many resources,” she told reporters. “It’s what’s in the public health emergency fund, and there’s very little money — tens of thousands of dollars in it. So that didn’t seem like a great option. And it also doesn’t release a significant amount of legal authority. And so that’s why we haven’t taken that action yet.”

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Commerce secretary pushes back on criticism of Biden after Roe ruling

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Sunday that Democrats aren’t justified in critiques of President Biden’s response to the recent Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and left the regulation of abortion up to individual states.

Raimondo said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Biden “doesn’t have a silver bullet to solve” a host of issues facing the country but that he’s trying to find any way toward solutions within the confines of his executive limitations.

Biden signed an executive order last week that underscored protecting what abortion rights are left, which Raimondo defended after moderator Chuck Todd called the order “a glorified press release” that merely encouraged following existing laws.

Raimondo defended the executive order, saying that Biden is “pushing the limits of his authority to stand up for women who’ve had a right taken away,” putting pressure on bodies that have the power to effect change. 

“These issues have to be solved by Congress, or in this case the Supreme Court and Congress. So he’s doing what a good executive does, which is go to his team and say: give me every option, every tool in my toolbox. And that’s what this executive order does.”

The criticism of Biden, Raimondo said, overlooks the work he’s put in over the years and the confines of his presidential power – especially in the case of the SCOTUS abortion ruling.

“I know people are frustrated, you know, folks are cranky with a lot of good reason. But we have to focus on who’s going to work every day and solving these problems, not who uses the most fiery language. It’s who’s gonna stick up for women and deliver for them, whether it’s healthcare, reproductive rights or jobs or training or childcare, and that’s President Biden.”

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Khanna says Democrats need to be disciplined: 'You don't get anywhere attacking' Biden

Progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that Democrats “don’t get anywhere attacking” President Biden and called on the party to come together ahead of November’s midterm elections. 

“Do you ever hear the Republicans, four months before a midterm election, criticizing their own Republican president?” Khanna asked on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart.”

“They don’t criticize a Republican, former Republican president, who committed insurrection. They still have people out there defending him.” 

Khanna has pushed back against Biden in the past: critiquing the president’s inflation plan and pressuring the administration on student loan forgiveness. 

In a New York Times op-ed from early June, the California Democrat said he supported Biden’s efforts, but argued “there is way more Biden can do” to help the struggling economy.

“I get called, they say, ‘Oh, Ro, don’t pander to the administration. Don’t appease the administration,’” Khanna said on Sunday. “Any time I support Joe Biden. People know I have disagreements with the president. But here’s what I believe: the party needs to be disciplined. He’s our leader, he’s the president.”

Last month, Khanna and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told The Hill about their optimism for progressive Democrats’ success in the upcoming election, as long as congressional Democrats work with the White House for a unified front.

“Let’s figure out how to get the agenda through in Congress, compromise, and let’s unify,” Khanna said on MSNBC. “That’s not rocket science.”

Now in his third term, Khanna won his party’s California primary in June and will face Republican candidate Ritesh Tandon in the midterm general elections in November.

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Illinois governor notes signs of 'white supremacy symbol' in parade suspect's background

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Sunday noted signs of a “white supremacy symbol” that authorities uncovered about the shooting suspect who killed seven and wounded dozens at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park last week.

Pritzker told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that despite the link, there was not yet clear evidence of the shooter’s motive.

“There were signs of this white supremacy symbol, that there is evidence obviously of someone who is, was looking to cause harm to people. We don’t exactly know whether it is focused on one particular group or another,” Pritzker said, but noted that parade attendees included many people who were Jewish and large contingents of Latino families.

Police revealed last week that the suspect, Robert E. Crimo Jr., threatened to “kill everyone” at his home in 2019 leading police to confiscate knives he had collected. But the incident wasn’t enough to trigger the state’s red flag laws, because the shooter’s father claimed ownership of the knives.

“There were warning signs, there’s no doubt about it. But nothing that reached the, you know, probable cause or preponderance of the evidence required for there to be a red flag,” Pritzker said.

Family members would’ve needed to come forward, Pritzker said. “They didn’t.”

Pritzker said he believed it was possible Crimo’s father could be held civilly liable but that no final conclusion had been reached by the local district attorney.

Pritzker said on Sunday he would be in favor of updating the state’s red flag law but that family members also need to cooperate with authorities.

“Ban assault weapons, not just in the state of Illinois, but nationally,” Pritzker said, adding that high capacity magazines and weapons like the one used by the shooter should be kept out of civilians’ hands.

“There’s no reason why someone should have 90 bullets at the ready, 30 in each of the cartridges that he used. That’s just something that I don’t think civilians should have.”

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Jan. 6 documentarian says Trump family didn't feel culpability for Capitol riot

British filmmaker Alex Holder, whose documentary on former President Trump and his inner circle following the 2020 election premiered on Sunday, said Trump family members didn’t feel culpability for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“Do they feel any culpability for what happened?” asked Robert Costa, guest moderator of CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

“I mean, in my interactions with them, no, not at all,” Holder responded. 

“I mean, I think President Trump when I interviewed him in Mar a Lago, he doubled down on the position,” Holder said.  “In fact, he even says that the reason why the protesters went into the Capitol on January 6 was because they had believed that the election was stolen, well who told them that the election was stolen, other than him.”

The three-part documentary premiered on Discovery+ on Sunday morning. The film includes interviews with the former president and members of his family following the 2020 election.

The House select committee investigating Jan. 6 has taken interest in the documentary, and Holder previously turned over footage prior to the film’s release.

“With respect to [Trump’s] children, they declined to discuss the subject of January 6,” Holder said on CBS. “So I think that their silence will be for others to determine what that really means.”

When asked if he thinks Trump will mount another bid for the White House, Holder said he wasn’t sure.

“I think he tends to not do the same thing twice when he fails,” Holder said. 

“And I think the reason for that, and this is what the series shows, is it’s all about the brand,” he continued. “It’s all about the word ‘Trump’ and the association of the word ‘Trump’ to failure is something that he can’t accept, and his kids can’t accept.”

The Hill has reached out to the Trump Organization for comment.

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Youngkin on running in 2024: 'That’s not a decision we have even begun to undertake'

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said on Sunday he was “hugely humbled” by people calling on him to run for president in 2024 but said he has not come close to making such a decision.

“That’s not a decision that we have even begun to undertake,” Youngkin told CBS “Face the Nation” guest moderator Robert Costa.

After flipping the governor’s mansion red in 2021 in a state that had increasingly become Democratic in the decade prior, Youngkin has been eyed by many as a rising star within the Republican Party.

The Washington Post reported late last month that Youngkin privately met with Republican megadonors in Manhattan, saying it was a hint of a potential 2024 run.

“I am hugely humbled by this discussion that’s going on,” Youngkin said on Sunday. “And the reality, of course, is I think it’s based on the fact that I was in a state that was blue, and we turned it red. I ran on a platform that we’re delivering.”

He has also formed a political action committee, called Spirit of Virginia, to get involved in races in the commonwealth and other states.

“I think the road to the majority in our House of Representatives comes through Virginia, and I’m going to spend real time there making sure that we win these elections,” Youngkin said on Sunday.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Reps. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) and Abigail Spanberger’s (D-Va.) reelection bids as toss-ups.

Both defeated Republican incumbents in the 2018 midterm elections, flipping their districts blue, but now the GOP is hoping to take back the districts amid historical and political headwinds for Democrats.

Youngkin further fueled speculation of a 2024 run by speaking at the Nebraska GOP Convention on Saturday at the invite of Gov. Pete Ricketts (R).

“I believe there are governor’s elections around the country where I think I can make a difference,” Youngkin said of his political action committee’s work.

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Blinken: Biden, Xi expected to have opportunity to speak in coming weeks

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said President Biden and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, will have an opportunity to speak in the coming weeks amid tensions over Taiwan, Russia and security issues in the Indo-Pacific region.

At a press availability in Bangkok, Blinken said his “expectation is that they will have an opportunity to speak in the weeks ahead” but did not pinpoint exactly when and where the talks would take place.

Biden traveled to the Indo-Pacific region in May for a meeting with the Quad security dialogue between Japan, the U.S., Australia and India. The trip came amid tensions between Beijing building up artificial naval bases in the region and Chinese officials forging a new security agreement with the Solomon Islands.

Blinken on Sunday said the U.S. is committed to working within the Indo-Pacific to ensure a “free” and “open” region, pointing to the new economic framework the U.S. hashed out with the Quad in May that aims to accelerate and modernize regional economies.

“That means, among other things, that people, products, investment can move about freely and go where it’s needed,” he said. “It means that countries can make their own decisions about their own futures, their own policies, free from coercion by anyone else.”

During the May visit, Biden said the U.S. would defend Taiwan militarily if China invaded the independent and sovereign democratic island nation off the coast of the Chinese mainland, which heightened tensions between the Biden administration and the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The warning was also a departure from the administration’s previous policy of not getting involved in China’s policies on Taiwan, which Beijing sees as historically part of its country.

On Sunday, Blinken discussed other tensions between China and the U.S., including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the military coup in Myanmar, which has displaced tens of thousands of citizens and has reportedly led to a brutal regime oppressing the nation’s people. China has been accused of arming the Myanmar military.

“I can’t speak directly to what China is or isn’t doing in Burma, but I think it’s also incumbent upon China, and in China’s interests, to see Burma move back to the path that it was on and it was so violently disrupted from by the coup,” Blinken said at the press availability.

The secretary of State also confirmed the U.S. will be present at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November, which China’s Xi has said he will attend.

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Big Tech must step up now to fight misinformation in the midterms

We’re just four months away from the 2022 midterm elections, and more than 100 candidates nationwide have embraced Trump’s “Big Lie.” These candidates not only claim the 2020 race was rigged, but also cast doubt on the legitimacy of the upcoming November elections.

In 2020, election fraud allegations spread widely on social media. President Trump regularly tweeted election lies, and groups used Facebook to coordinate the Jan. 6 insurrection. So far, however, reports indicate social media companies may be unprepared for the coming onslaught of election misinformation. 

As Facebook pivots to focus on the metaverse, for example, the company reduced the number of employees focused on election integrity from 300 to 60. Experts fear this lack of resources and attention, combined with the magnitude of the midterms, could exacerbate the problem. Indeed, internal research shows Facebook struggles to catch misinformation in local environments, like those seen in the midterms.

Instead of pulling back election integrity measures, platforms should enhance their election safeguards. As researchers who study the intersection of social media, politics and democracy, here are four questions we’re watching. 

How will social media respond to threats to democratic legitimacy?

Right now, a faction of the Republican party has decided that election outcomes — at least when they lose — aren’t legitimate. As a result, platforms must not only consider how to moderate election misinformation but also how to handle candidates who question the legitimacy of the process itself. 

Platforms have numerous ways to moderate misinformation. Research shows they all work, and don’t, to varying degrees. For example, several studies indicate fact checks can reduce belief in misperceptions. However, these effects can decay over time. Another study found attaching a warning label or blocking engagement with Trump’s 2020 election misinformation tweets was not related to a reduction of its spread, both on Twitter and other platforms. And while recent work shows accuracy nudges decrease belief in and sharing of misinformation, it’s yet to be tested at scale on platforms. 

Beyond content, platforms also must contend with users spreading election falsehoods, many of whom are political candidates. With the exception of Trump, companies have been largely reluctant to ban candidates who post misinformation. Indeed, high-profile users, such as celebrities and politicians, are essentially immune from Facebook’s content moderation rules. 

There’s no silver bullet to stop misinformation on social media. Instead, platforms must work together to employ a variety of tools to slow its spread, fairly and equitably punish users who repeatedly violate the rules and maintain trust by supporting open democratic discourse. The European Union’s new anti-disinformation code, which several platforms voluntarily signed onto in June, is an encouraging start.

How will companies stop extremists from organizing on their platforms?

Social media doesn’t have a monopoly on the dissemination of anti-democratic content. In fact, Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center found election 2020 disinformation surrounding mail-in voting was an “elite-driven, mass-media led process.” However, social sites remain a primary place where groups — both pro-social and anti-democratic — can coordinate and mobilize. Classifying and moderating impermissible content is hard; curtailing the ability for groups to mobilize is even harder, as content in small, closed groups can cause outsized harm. 

Thus far, there have been some notable failures. Before Jan. 6, Facebook banned the primary “Stop the Steal” group for language spreading hate and inciting violence. However, they didn’t stop similar groups, which experienced “meteoric growth.” Overall, a 2021 analysis found 267 pages and groups, many tied to QAnon and militia organizations, “with a combined following of 32 million, spreading violence-glorifying content in the heat of the 2020 election.”

These groups on Facebook — and other platforms — were instrumental in coordinating Jan. 6. With so many candidates still talking about rigged elections, we could see more violence after the upcoming midterms. Social platforms should do everything they can to disrupt these groups and make it harder for extremists to organize violence.

What about video?

For years, social media were largely text and image-based platforms. Now, video is dominant. TikTok, with more than 1 billion monthly active users, is one of the most popular social networks. YouTube, the second most visited website after Google, continues to be under-researched. And even Facebook — once a place designed for connecting with family and friends — is shifting its focus to short-form video.

Platforms have struggled to create artificial intelligence systems to moderate text-based content at scale. How will they deal with multi-modal misinformation — shared as images, video and audio? Reports suggest misinformation is rampant on TikTok, specifically around COVID-19 vaccines and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. YouTube has done a better job of tweaking its algorithm to exclude potentially harmful videos. But as the race heats up, this is a critical area on which to focus.

Will platforms share their data?

Although we’ve come a long way in our understanding of these networks, it’s hard to truly know what’s happening without access to more social media data. Access currently varies widely by platform.

Facebook’s CrowdTangle tool helps us examine content engagement, but researchers worry it could be decommissioned at any time. Twitter has been an industry leader in data access, but Elon Musk’s pending purchase puts that access in doubt. Meanwhile, TikTok and YouTube share very limited data and are largely closed off to journalists and researchers.

There are currently several proposals in Congress that would secure researcher access to data, and the EU just passed landmark rules regulating Big Tech. Although it’s too late for these bills to make data accessible around this election cycle, these are promising developments for the future.

To be sure, social media is not solely to blame for the current state of our democracy. Larger societal forces, including a fragmented media environment, geographic sorting by partisanship and partisan gerrymandering have helped drive polarization over the last several decades. But social media can often act as an accelerant, exacerbating our institutional shortcomings.

Looking ahead to the midterms, we hope social media executives are worried about the threats facing our democracy — and that they have or will develop comprehensive plans to help safeguard the electoral process. 

Zeve Sanderson is the executive director of NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics (CSMaP). Joshua A. Tucker is one of the co-founders and co-directors of NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics (CSMaP). He is a professor of Politics, an affiliated professor of Russian and Slavic Studies, and an affiliated professor of Data Science at New York University, as well as the director of NYU’s Jordan Center for Advanced Study of Russia. He is the co-editor of the edited volume “Social Media and Democracy: The State of the Field,” and the co-chair of the independent academic research team on the 2020 US Facebook and Instagram Election Research Study.

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