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Biden announces plans to bolster US force presence in Europe

President Biden on Wednesday announced plans to bolster U.S. forces in Europe to defend “every inch” of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) territory amid a persistent threat from Russia.  

Biden vowed to increase the number of troops stationed in Europe on the second day of a NATO summit in Madrid during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.  

Specifically, the president announced plans to permanently headquarter U.S. Army V Corps in Poland, according to the Associated Press, and increase rotational deployments to the Baltic states – both moves that will bolster forces on NATO’s easter flank.  

Biden said that NATO would be “ready for threats in all directions.” He also commended the progress toward adding Finland and Sweden as members of the alliance, saying: “NATO is more needed now than it ever has been.”  

Stoltenberg said the new U.S. force posture commitments were demonstrative of U.S. leadership.  

The alliance is seeking to project unity and strength at the summit in Madrid as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to press forward with a bloody military campaign in Ukraine.  

The war in Ukraine is the dominant topic of the summit, and other alliance members are also expected to make new force posture commitments. The alliance will also endorse a new strategic concept that explicitly mentions China, a recognition by the members of the growing threat posed by Beijing.  

The summit saw a major development on its first day when Turkey dropped its objections to Finland and Sweden’s membership bids, paving the way for both countries to join the alliance.  

The three countries signed a memorandum pledging to deepen counterterrorism cooperation, in a nod to Ankara’s stated concerns about Finland and Sweden not doing enough to crack down on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group identified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and European countries.  

President Biden is scheduled to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan later Wednesday on the sidelines of the summit.

Source: TEST FEED1

GOP group polling memo: Abortion trails economy, crime as top issue

Abortion trails the economy and crime as top issues ahead of the midterms, according to a new polling memo from the Republican State Legislature Committee. 

Only eight percent of voters polled said they considered abortion to be the most important issue to them, while 37 percent said the same about the high cost of living and inflation. Another 16 percent said the economy, in general, was their most important issue, while nine percent said crime and violence were the most important to them. 

Among Independent voters, 60 percent said inflation, jobs, and the economy were their top concern, while only 21 percent said “abortion is the absolute most important issue to them.” 

Additionally, 49 percent of likely voters said they would be willing to vote for a candidate who has a different view from them on abortion as long as the candidate agrees with them on most other issues. 

The polling also showed a poor national environment for Democrats ahead of the midterms, with 74 percent of likely voters saying it is on the wrong track and 23 percent saying it is on the right track. President Biden’s unfavorable rating sits at 57 percent while 41 percent of likely voters said they have a favorable view of him. And Republican state legislative candidate lead Democrats on the generic ballot, 47 to 45 percent. 

“A little more than four months from Election Day, the political environment is still a disaster for state Democrats, state Republicans have a commanding lead on what is far and away the most important issue to voters, and the issues state Democrats are trying to exploit to distract from Biden’s failing economy are not going to be salient enough to save them come November,” the polling memo read. 

The polling memo comes as Democrats zero in on the issue of abortion access in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last week. Democrats have pointed to a number of polls that show voters unhappy with the high court’s decision. 

A CBS News-YouGov poll released Sunday, 52 percent of voters said the decision was a “step backward,” while 31 percent said it was a “step forward.”

An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll published on Monday found that 78 percent of Democrats said they are more likely to vote in this year’s midterms in response to the ruling, while 54 percent of Republicans said the same. 

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Democrats hope Roe v. Wade ruling is game-changer for suburban women

 Democrats see the potential to bring suburban women into their corner for the midterm elections after the Supreme Court ruled last week to overturn Roe v. Wade.  

The high court’s decision was met with an onslaught of rage and backlash from women since it was released on Friday, prompting many to consider how to plan for best-case-scenario political outcomes from a worst-case-scenario law reversal.   

Women who reside in American suburbs have been among the most closely watched demographics on both sides of the aisle since the 2016 election, moving away from the Republican Party during the height of Trumpism but inching back in some areas as voters become fatigued and disillusioned by the Biden era.   

Ahead of November, liberals’ new hope is that the coveted bloc could flip to blue with the right actions and messaging. The highly personal nature of the Roe ruling, they say, could be a turning point in the otherwise dismal political climate for the party in power.   

“We don’t like extremism,” said Katie Paris, an organizer who founded Red Wine & Blue, a group working to mobilize suburban women in battleground states like Ohio, Michigan and North Carolina. “We’re seeing it in deeply personal, local ways. And it’s been unnerving.”   

Pro-abortion rights Republicans are, for now, withholding judgment about how things may play out. They say suburban women care deeply about abortion, but they also care about prices at the pump and on the shelf just as much. And those critical of President Biden believe he’s already squandered earlier opportunities to make things better, hampering his ability to gain voters’ trust.   

Will the court’s decision be enough to turn things around? That’s anyone’s guess, some say. 

“My worry is that you get a lot of the old hands of the Democratic Party thinking that they’ll do a little bit and their people will show up,” said Rina Shah, a Republican strategist who opposes the Supreme Court ruling and former President Trump’s vision for the GOP.  

“They don’t understand there’s a lot out there that’s deeply resentful of where this administration is going,” she said.   

Democrats up for reelection see things differently. Those running in swing states maintain that it’s essential to talk about abortion and rising prices in tandem, contending the party must do more to maintain its narrow edge in Washington. They say they are determined to do both.   

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D), who is facing what’s likely to be a competitive reelection bid in New Hampshire, has put an emphasis on both issues while on Capitol Hill and the campaign trail, seeking to set an example of what Democrats say must be carried out in contentious contests.   

“It’s really important that elected members of Congress and senators are focused on enshrining Roe v. Wade into law but also lowering costs for families,” Hassan told reporters on Monday.   

The issue has also played out in House districts as swingy as parts of the Granite State, including in Virginia. On Monday, Axios surfaced audio that showed the Republican nominee in the 7th Congressional District, Yesli Vega, appearing to downplay the possibility of becoming pregnant as a result of rape.    

The district’s incumbent Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) quickly went on the offensive.  

“My opponent’s views are devoid of truth, shamefully disrespectful towards victims of rape, and clearly indicate that she is not qualified to be making serious policy decisions on behalf of our fellow Virginians,” Spanberger said in a statement. “I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure a woman’s right to choose and the fundamental right to privacy.”   

Spanberger’s views echo sentiments at the national level, with opinion polling showing that the public is on Democrats’ side. A new post-Roe-reversal survey conducted by NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist found that 56 percent oppose the move, which threw five decades of law out the window. In that poll, a majority of independents, arguably the country’s most coveted electorate, disagree with the decision.  

Strategists, too, see the ruling as one of their best chances at gaining momentum for the fall, with some saying that Democrats should explicitly highlight just how far and widely the decision impacts people of all backgrounds — not just women.   

“This is not just a sad woman looking at the rain through a window,” said Jessica Floyd, the president of American Bridge, a Democratic political action committee. “These are mothers; they have kids already. These are boyfriends and husbands who risk getting punished themselves if they help their wives and girlfriends get health care. It’s doctors.”  

“This isn’t hypothetical, this is real,” Floyd said. “And we should be telling those real stories.”  

The other story that Democrats are up against, however, is one of an administration in turmoil, one that’s spiraling downward in many voters’ eyes.  

Biden, whose approval ratings have sunk to the 30s, has struggled to devise a plan to lift struggling people out from a mountain of problems. From economic crises like high gas prices to humanitarian suffering in the form of mass shootings, the White House has continued to search for a way to reach voters, seemingly to no avail.   

Some constituencies are indeed already making their attitudes known. More than 1 million voters in 43 states have newly registered as Republicans in the past year, according to an analysis of voter registration data from The Associated Press. While Republicans don’t control the executive or legislative branches of government, the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling was evidence that conservative justices currently have disproportionate sway over ideals that Democrats believe to be sacred to their party.    

“Extremism is becoming a very visceral motivator for suburban women,” Paris said.   

Paris’s Red Wine & Blue says it’s seen a heightened level of engagement on social media since Friday. Women were taking to its popular Facebook group, which hosts thousands of members, to share personal accounts of their abortions, sometimes for the first time, she said.   

Organizers are also optimistic that the personal nature of the issue will encourage more people to vote on Election Day who otherwise might not have. According to a survey taken by PerryUndem, a nonpartisan research and analytics firm, more than a third of voters polled expressed more interest in casting their ballots in the midterms as a result of the decision.   

“We’ve seen the issue of abortion care mobilize women from all geographic regions and walks of life,” Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood and a staunch pro-abortion rights advocate, told The Hill on Tuesday. “But particularly in 2018 and 2020, suburban women proved to be a decisive voting bloc and a major reason why Democrats won the presidency as well as majorities in the House and Senate.”   

“Women in every corner of this country are outraged by the illegitimate Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade,” she said.  

Democrats had months to prepare for the anticipated ruling. The actual decision was closely in line with a draft that was obtained by Politico in May, giving lawmakers and strategists time to formulate early plans. Several told The Hill at the time that they saw a galvanizing aspect after the early draft surfaced.   

Now, some Democrats say the shock of the final outcome — one that many voters didn’t expect to actually happen — can be an even more powerful motivator than when the hypothetical opinion was originally leaked.  

“This has certainly reengaged people,” Floyd said. “They were exhausted after the chaos of the Trump years, and now they have a real need to be reengaged.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Wall Street braces for turmoil

The stock market is set to close out a brutal month of losses as Wall Street braces for a rocky second half of the year.  

All three major U.S. stock indexes — the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite — reached bear market status in June, falling at least 20 percent from record highs set toward the start of the year. While stocks sank gradually for much of 2022, the sell-off accelerated in June amid deepening concerns about the economy.  

“We were just kind of finding our way along the bottom, and then in June that semblance of a bottom fell out. I think that was a real psychological turn for investors,” said Callie Cox, an investment analyst at eToro, an online investing platform.  

“Inflation isn’t under control and markets haven’t quite found their footing yet. June felt like a reality check in a way, and it was a reality check for a situation we didn’t fully understand,” she continued.  

The Dow fell roughly 1.5 percent on the month so far, the S&P is down 2 percent and the Nasdaq is down 3 percent.  

After cruising through record highs through 2021, stocks drifted lower throughout the spring as the Federal Reserve ramped up its efforts to fight inflation. Economists were hopeful that inflation had peaked in March, in sync with the Fed’s first interest rate hike, and would finally come down after reaching 40-year highs.  

But as inflation steamed ahead through May and June, the Fed accelerated its attempts to cool off price increases while also boosting the risk of a recession.   

Higher interest rates from the Fed are meant to slow the economy enough to reduce inflation without halting growth or forcing layoffs. The Fed aims to ramp up rates gradually and give the economy enough time to adjust to higher borrowing costs.  

The Fed, however, has been forced to rush the process as the war in Ukraine and pandemic-related supply snarls push inflation even higher. The skyrocketing price of oil and gasoline has also fueled rapid price increases throughout the economy.  

To get ahead of rapidly rising inflation, the Fed raised interest rates by 0.5 percentage points in May and in June issued the first 0.75 percentage point hike since 1994  

“The June sell-off was largely driven by more aggressive rhetoric from the Fed, rising oil prices and inflation that is remaining sticky,” said Lindsey Bell, chief markets and money strategist at Ally.  

Higher Fed interest rates are a direct financial blow to companies, which face higher borrowing costs and slower sales as rates go higher and consumers pull back spending. Higher interest rates also make investments in riskier assets and companies without proven track records less attractive, which brings down the value of stock prices.  

While stocks are crumbling under the weight of higher borrowing costs, investors have also become alarmed with their potential impact on the economy. The sell-off comes amid a steep decline in consumer confidence and rising fears of a recession hitting the U.S. economy as soon as next year.  

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, a gauge of how Americans view the economy, fell to 98.7 in June, according to data released by the business trade group Tuesday. The index fell from 103.2 in May to the lowest point since February 2021, before COVID-19 vaccines were widely available in the U.S.  

Cox said the steep decline in stocks over the past six months is a natural part of the market flows and not necessarily a harbinger of recession. All three indexes remain above their pre-pandemic highs after exploding in value through 2020 and 2021 thanks to combination of near-zero Fed interest rates, trillions in fiscal stimulus and a decline in spending on services during the height of COVID-19 fears.  

“Suddenly, we’ve swung to the other side of the pendulum and we’re dealing with a Fed that’s raising interest rates and talking interest rates into the market aggressively,” she said.  

“These ebbs and flows are what you see in markets over time. It just turns out that the ebbs and flows are a little bit bigger these days.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Why the global inflation problem is bigger than US politics

Inflation may be the focus of a midterm cycle political blame game, but economists caution the problem — and the most effective solutions — are global. 

Rising prices were a focus of this week’s meeting of the Group of Seven (G-7) major economies. 

The White House said Tuesday it is investing $760 million to combat the effects of high food, fuel and fertilizer prices, and the European Council said the war in Ukraine is leading to steep price increases and that the G-7 needs to “assist the global economy.” 

“We are united and determined to strongly support Ukraine in producing and exporting grain, oil, and other agricultural products and we will foster coordinated initiatives that promote global food security and address the causes of the evolving global food crisis,” the council said.  

In the U.S., inflation stands at a 40-year high of 8.6 percent, weighing on personal expenses and effectively making people poorer.  

Around the world, it is sparking protest movements, driven by a soaring cost of living felt in the price of goods like food and gasoline. 

In the United Kingdom, where inflation is higher than it is in the U.S. — above 9 percent — the biggest rail strike in 30 years has disrupted travel around the country and seen tens of thousands of workers walk off the job demanding more pay. There are also concerns that the rail strike could be the first of many in the country. 

U.K. rail union members “are leading the way for all workers in this country who are sick and tired of having their pay and conditions slashed by a mixture of big business profits and government policy,” union head Mick Lynch said in a statement last week, adding that his group was seeking a “decent pay rise.” 

In South Korea, where inflation surpassed 5 percent for the first time in more than a decade, truckers reached a deal with the government earlier this month after a weeklong strike to get a minimum pay guarantee. This led to production cuts by South Korean steel producer POSCO as well as automaker Hyundai, which said sales are facing “unfavorable external environments.” 

Inflation has also hit a decades-high 5.2 percent in France, where there are concerns over whether there will be a resurgence of the Gilets Jaunes, or Yellow Vest, grassroots protest movement this fall. 

Over the past few months, economic- and inflation-related protests have been reported in India, Ecuador, Indonesia, Ireland, Tunisia, Sri Lanka and Peru, where the government imposed a curfew and enacted various emergency measures after demonstrations turned violent earlier this year. 

“Inflation is not just in the U.S. or in Europe, but it’s also in developing countries — it’s almost everywhere,” Hamid Rashid, head of the global economic monitoring branch of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said in an interview. 

This ubiquity means that workers in numerous countries with varying political systems and social dynamics are pushing in the same direction, putting pressure on global labor markets that many central banks are hoping to see loosen.  

In the U.S., having a looser labor market, or slightly higher unemployment, would take some of the pressure off companies to keep raising their prices in order to turn a profit for their investors, some economists argue.  

But with more than 11 million open jobs and unemployment levels in the U.S. at 3.6 percent — which is still not as low as the pre-pandemic level of 3.5 percent — a looser labor market may just not be in the cards.  

This means that the “supply-side interventions” — measures aimed at specific industries and pipeline bottlenecks, such as those in the shipping industry — that some economists are recommending to fight inflation may not be as effective as policymakers in the U.S. or around the world hope.  

“When we think of the supply side, we tend to focus on supply chains. Supply chains are part of the supply side, but the most important element of the supply side is the labor supply,” Rashid said. “There are a lot of uncertainties in the labor supply, and that compounds a lot of supply chain issues, from packaging to transportation to warehouses to port clearance. Don’t underestimate the role that labor supply plays in most economies.”  

With the tight job market in the U.S. and workers able to demand higher pay both here and in other countries, the global supply side of the economy may take a while to sync up.   

That’s why economists are seeing increased international cooperation as an important additional measure in the fight against inflation. This cooperation can take many forms, including coordinated central bank policies, conforming regulatory frameworks and supply chain improvements.  

One unexpected source of cooperation, at least among Western powers, has been the war in Ukraine, which economists note has brought the G-7 much closer together.   

“Why do we have this cooperation happening right now? First, recognize really it’s Western cooperation. The G-7 is really leading this,” Abraham Newman, a professor in the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, said during an online event on economic globalization hosted by the Brookings Institution. “Within the G-7, you just see this complete belief that this is a legitimate exercise.” 

Despite the global nature of inflation, the war of words between Democrats and Republicans over who is to blame for the high cost of living rages on. 

“The White House and congressional Democrats are in denial about how their policies fueled inflation,” House Republicans on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee said in a statement Monday, referring to the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package. 

A study from the San Francisco Federal Reserve found in March that direct fiscal stimulus related to the pandemic — which went out under both the Trump and Biden administrations — “may have contributed to about 3 percentage points of the rise in U.S. inflation through the end of 2021.”  

Democrats, meanwhile, have been focusing on corporate price gouging and market concentration in the private sector as drivers of inflation. President Biden earlier this month railed against oil companies for profiting while gas prices soared. 

And Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced a bill in March that would tax windfall profits of corporations, a similar measure to ones enacted during the 20th century in times of war. 

“The American people are sick and tired of the unprecedented corporate greed that exists all over this country. They are sick and tired of being ripped-off by corporations making record-breaking profits while working families are forced to pay outrageously high prices for gas, rent, food, and prescription drugs,” Sanders said.   

Regardless of whether inflation is a global issue, Americans expect action on the inflation front and are likely to express that expectation at the polls in November.  

A NewsNation-DDHQ poll released last week found 97 percent of U.S. voters are very or somewhat concerned about inflation and inflation ranks as the top issue for 72 percent.

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Five takeaways from races in Colorado, Illinois, New York and more

Tuesday’s primaries and runoffs saw the downfall of at least three House incumbents, as well as the limits of top Republicans and Democrats to sway the results of key primary races.

In Colorado, more moderate Republicans beat out candidates who cast themselves as staunch allies of former President Donald Trump in a handful of statewide GOP primaries, though the former president still managed to notch crucial victories in Illinois.

Meanwhile, establishment Democrats in New York cruised to victory over progressive challengers. 

Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries and runoffs.

Democratic meddling in GOP primaries delivers uneven results

Ahead of Tuesday’s primaries, Democrats made clear what kind of Republicans they hoped to run against in November, pouring money into ads boosting far-right candidates with shaky general election prospects. 

That strategy ultimately paid off in the GOP primary for Illinois governor, where former Trump’s endorsed candidate, state Sen. Darren Bailey, notched a win over a more moderate Republican, former Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin. 

Still, it wasn’t an across-the-board success for Democrats.

In Colorado, Republican Heidi Ganahl beat out Greg Lopez in the GOP gubernatorial primary despite Democratic-aligned groups spending big to tout Lopez’s conservative credentials. 

The same is true in the Colorado GOP Senate primary, where Democrats were hoping to boost conservative state Rep. Ron Hanks over businessman Joe O’Dea, a more moderate Republican. O’Dea ultimately clinched the nomination to take on Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).

Of course, Democrats still have the advantage in both the Colorado Senate and gubernatorial race. But the failed efforts to lift up hardline conservatives in the primaries show the limits of money in politics.

Mixed night for incumbents

A handful of incumbents pulled off wins on Tuesday night, overcoming intra-party efforts to end their time in public office. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul easily beat out progressive New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), putting herself on track to win her first full term in the governor’s mansion, while Rep. Michael Guest, who ran afoul of Trump when he voted to establish an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, won a primary runoff after finishing second in a June 7 primary.

On the other hand, Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) was ousted by Republican Mike Ezell in the GOP runoff to represent Mississippi’s 4th District. 

And in Illinois, Rep. Marie Newman (D-Ill.) lost her primary to fellow incumbent Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.), despite running for reelection in a district where her constituents outnumbered those of her opponent. 

Republican who ran afoul of MAGA pulls off a surprise win

In Mississippi, Guest angered Trump and his most ardent supporters last year when he voted to create an independent commission to look into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

His days in Congress appeared numbered earlier this month when he finished in second place behind fellow Republican Michael Cassidy. 

But Cassidy faced problems of his own heading into the runoff, including criticism over his past support for a universal health insurance program that would allow all Americans to enroll in Medicare. While Cassidy sought to distance himself from that position, it wasn’t enough to get him over the finish line on Tuesday.

Trump never endorsed in the race, and the independent commission that Guest voted for never came to fruition. Still, his victory on Tuesday is an example of how Republicans who crossed the former president still have a shot at political survival, even in a deep-red state like Mississippi. 

Progressive women come up short in high-profile races

Despite an outpouring of anger following the overturning of Roe v. Wade last week, progressives hit a roadblock on Tuesday, with several of their high-profile female candidates falling short in key races in Illinois and New York. 

Newman, who ousted conservative Democratic former Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) in a 2020 primary, lost to Casten in Illinois’ 6th District, while progressive Ana Maria Archila lost her bid to oust Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado in New York. Archila was aligned with Williams on the gubernatorial ticket. 

And while the race remains too close to call for now, activist Kina Collins is trailing Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) in Illinois’ 7th District despite outraising and outspending the longtime incumbent throughout the primary. 

Collins could still pull off a win. But even if she doesn’t, the race is far closer now than it was two years ago during her first bid to oust Davis, when she finished more than 45 percentage points behind the 13-term congressman.

Republican establishment dealt a blow in Illinois

Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) was in line to chair the House Administration Committee should Republicans recapture the majority in November.

But on Tuesday, his leadership ambitions were dealt a blow when he was defeated by fellow Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.). 

Miller, who had the endorsement of Trump, won her primary on Tuesday by running to the right of Davis. Not only did she tout Trump’s support, but she repeatedly talked up her vote against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election, bolstering her credentials as an unabashed ally of the former president. 

While Davis was by no means a Trump critic – he served as co-chair of the former president’s reelection campaign in Illinois – his loss on Tuesday is seen as a blow to a congressman who was once on track to hold a key position in a burgeoning Republican House majority.

Along with Irvin’s high-profile defeat in the state’s gubernatorial primary, his loss represents a major setback for the GOP establishment in Illinois.

Source: TEST FEED1

Ginni Thomas lawyer questions need for her to testify before Jan. 6 panel

The attorney for Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, said he doesn’t see a need for his client to testify before the House select committee investigating the Jan 6, 2021 attack at the Capitol. 

In an eight-page letter sent to the committee on Tuesday, Thomas’s attorney Mark Paoletta wrote that his client is willing to testify before the committee to clear her name, but asked for the panel to provide better justification for why her testimony is necessary. 

Paoletta’s letter to the committee was obtained and published by The Daily Caller. 

“Before I can recommend that she meet with you, I am asking the Committee to provide a better justification for why Mrs. Thomas’s testimony is relevant to the Committee’s legislative purpose,” Paoletta wrote in the letter. 

Paoletta noted his client’s text message chain with Mark Meadows, former President Trump’s chief of staff, writing that her views on the 2020 election were “personal,” adding she was just passing information she first saw to meadows in their text exchange. 

“Importantly, Mrs. Thomas never claimed to have first-hand knowledge about election fraud,” he added. “Rather, she stated that she was just passing along information that she had heard from others. She also expressly condemned those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, asked some questions, and expressed general frustrations. For instance, she expressed concern about the future of our country under President Biden’s leadership.” 

Paoletta took a shot at the committee in his final point, writing about how the panel has communicated about his client, her husband, and another witness through the media, citing how committee members and other lawmakers have publicly shared their frustration with election results. 

“It is in this context that Mrs. Thomas has expressed a willingness to try to come before the Committee as a means of clearing her name. But, based on my understanding of the facts the Committee has in its possession, I do not believe there is currently a sufficient basis to speak with Mrs. Thomas. Perhaps the Committee has more information that would establish that basis, and I am willing to reconsider my recommendation if you make this information available. But without more, I am sure you can appreciate my concern that Mrs. Thomas appears to have been asked to come in to continue the baseless harassment she has been subjected to since January 6,” Paoletta concluded. 

“I would also note that this has been a particularly stressful time as the Thomases have been subjected to an avalanche of death threats and other abuse by the unprecedented assault on the conservative Supreme Court Justices and their families. Without more information, I am left to believe that, if her name were Ginni Jones, the Committee would never even entertain speaking with her.” 

The Jan. 6 committee held its last public hearing of the month on Tuesday, as a surprise testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchison, who detailed Trump’s anger before and during the insurrection, including an incident where he lunged at security detail after not being allowed to go to the Capitol when a mob of his supporters was already storming the building. 

On Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election.

Source: TEST FEED1

Rep. Miller defeats Rep. Davis in Illinois GOP House primary

WASHINGTON (AP) — Illinois Republican Rep. Mary Miller has defeated fellow incumbent Rep. Rodney Davis in a primary pitting two House colleagues against each other.

Miller, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, beat Davis in the 15th Congressional District, a sprawling, heavily red part of central Illinois that was redrawn after the state’s shrinking population cost it a congressional seat.

Miller, first elected in 2020, called the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade a “historic victory for white life” during a weekend rally with Trump. Her spokesperson said she misspoke and meant to say a victory for the “right to life.”

Shortly after winning her seat, she quoted Adolf Hitler, saying during a rally that “Hitler was right on one thing. He said, ‘Whoever has the youth has the future.’” She later apologized after Democrats in Illinois called for her resignation. She also voted against certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election and is a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.

Davis was a co-chair of Trump’s 2020 Illinois campaign but voted to certify the 2020 presidential election results. He was backed by nearly all of the district’s 35 county party chairs and has vowed to “reimplement” Trump policies, including walling off the U.S.-Mexico border.

Source: TEST FEED1