Closing summary
If the GOP wins the House in the upcoming midterms, they will investigate Hunter Biden and attempt to turn a blind eye towards the January 6 insurrection, according to an interview with a top lawmaker and the memoir of a police officer wounded in the insurrection. But that hasn’t happened yet, and today brought news that a key witness before the January 6 committee is cooperating with a probe into election meddling in Georgia, while a lawmaker on the panel signaled its Thursday hearing may include more details of the Secret Service’s actions around the attack.
Here’s what else happened today:
Joe Biden condemned Russia’s missile strikes across a swath of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, and said the country has Washington’s support. Later, he spoke with the country’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy about Kyiv’s need for more air defenses.
Republican senator Tommy Tuberville resorted to racism at a rally for Donald Trump.
In a column for the Guardian, Senator Bernie Sanders warned Democrats of the perils of campaigning on abortion rights alone.
The White House has now released its version of president Joe Biden’s phone call with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The readout largely matches Zelenskiy’s tweet from earlier this afternoon:
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., spoke today with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. He expressed his condemnation of Russia’s missile strikes across Ukraine, including in Kyiv, and conveyed his condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured in these senseless attacks. President Biden pledged to continue providing Ukraine with the support needed to defend itself, including advanced air defense systems. He also underscored his ongoing engagement with allies and partners to continue imposing costs on Russia, holding Russia accountable for its war crimes and atrocities, and providing Ukraine with security, economic, and humanitarian assistance.
Last week, Nebraska’s Republican senator Ben Sasse announced he would leave Congress to take over as president of the University of Florida.
As documented by The Tampa Bay Times, he did not get a particularly warm reception from some students today during his visit to the campus in Gainesville:
Outside Sen. Ben Sasse’s moderated forum to meet with students, hundreds have gathered protesting Sasse as the sole finalist in UF’s presidential search, citing his previous public statements on same-sex marriage and the search sealed from the public among reasons. pic.twitter.com/Uay2bQIbEf
— Divya Kumar (@divyadivyadivya) October 10, 2022
In a previous session with faculty, Sasse’s first question was regarding how he would ensure LGBTQ+ members felt protected. Sasse said he believed in the “immeasurable worth and universal dignity of every single person.”
— Divya Kumar (@divyadivyadivya) October 10, 2022
Protesters are now in the room Sasse’s forum with students was held and a forum with staff is scheduled for 3:30. pic.twitter.com/NFh998ZrHP
— Divya Kumar (@divyadivyadivya) October 10, 2022
Some of the biggest revelations from the January 6 committee’s public hearings came from the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, a White House aide who witnessed and overheard shocking behavior by Donald Trump and others in his administration.
CNN reports she is now cooperating with the special grand jury empaneled by a county prosecutor in Georgia to investigate the effort by Trump’s allies to interfere with the state’s backing of Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Here’s more from CNN:
The former top aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows could offer Georgia prosecutors insights about what she witnessed in the West Wing, as well as steps her former boss took specifically when it came to Georgia.
Prosecutors have called for Meadows to testify before the special grand jury, but they are still working to secure his testimony. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for late October.
Meadows was among the participants on the January 2021 call between Trump and Georgia’s secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, and Meadows also made a surprise visit to a Cobb County location in December 2020, where officials were conducting an absentee ballot signature audit.
Hutchinson has also been cooperating with the Justice Department, which also faces a pre-election quiet period, in its criminal investigation into efforts to subvert the 2020 election.
An attorney for Hutchinson did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he has spoken with Joe Biden after the Russian missile attacks on his country.
The topics of conversation included Ukraine’s need for air defenses and today’s United Nations general assembly vote on a resolution condemning Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions:
Productive conversation with @POTUS. Air defense is currently the number 1 priority in our defense cooperation.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 10, 2022
We also need US leadership with the G7's tough stance and with support for our UN GA resolution.
The White House hasn’t yet provided their own readout of the call.
Updated
The same day that Moscow barraged Ukraine with missiles, Russian-speaking hackers have taken down the websites of several US airports, Gloria Oladipo reports, but flight operations do not appear to have been impacted:
Websites for more than a dozen US airports were temporarily brought offline by cyberattacks on Monday morning, with Russian-speaking hackers claiming responsibility for the disruption.
About 14 public-facing websites for a number of sizable airports, including LaGuardia airport in New York City, were targeted and inaccessible to the public. Most have since been brought back online.
A senior official told ABC News that the attacks did not affect air traffic control, internal airport communication or other key operations. But the official said that the interruption caused an “inconvenience” for travelers attempting to access information.
The January 6 committee’s hearing on Thursday will probably center on evidence collected over the summer, including the Secret Service’s actions around the insurrection, a lawmaker on the panel said over the weekend.
In a Sunday interview with MSNBC, Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat serving on the committee, also downplayed the importance of its interview with Ginni Thomas, the wife of conservative supreme court justice Clarence Thomas who has lobbied state lawmakers nationwide to support efforts to overturn the 2020 election. “I don’t think she was a major player in this personally,” Lofgren said.
The committee hasn’t held a public hearing since late July, and Lofgren said the upcoming session will likely focus on evidence collected by investigators during the break. “I think it will shed some light on the events of the day and the events leading up to it, the connections between the extremists and the Republicans,” she said.
You can watch the interview here. The January 6 committee will hold its next hearing beginning at 1pm eastern time on Thursday.
Updated
Here’s more from the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell about what Christina Bobb, a lawyer for Donald Trump involved in the Mar-a-Lago secrets case, told the justice department:
Donald Trump’s lawyer Christina Bobb was instructed to certify to the justice department that all sensitive government documents stored at his Mar-a-Lago resort subpoenaed by a grand jury had been returned, though she had not herself conducted the search for the records.
The certification of subpoena compliance appears to be at the center of a criminal investigation into obstruction of justice surrounding the former US president after the assurance was proved to be untrue when the FBI’s search of the property turned up more than 100 more documents marked classified.
The saga around the Mar-a-Lago documents has become increasingly mired in the courts as Trump has repeatedly claimed the FBI search and resultant investigation is politically motivated. Meanwhile, the justice department and Democrats have portrayed the taking of the documents as a potentially serious national security breach.
Updated
Trump lawyer spoke to justice department in Mar-a-Lago document investigation
The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports that Christina Bobb, a lawyer for Donald Trump, spoke to the justice department as it investigates the government secrets discovered at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in August.
Confirming NBC that Trump lawyer Christina Bobb spoke to the Justice Dept on Friday — @GuardianUS story with a different take coming shortly
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) October 10, 2022
Bobb was one of two attorneys who are considered as potential witnesses or targets in the case, after the justice department alleged the Bobb and Evan Corcoran had lied about complying with a grand jury subpoena.
The Guardian will soon have more on this developing story.
Updated
Top White House adviser Jake Sullivan is set to talk about the Biden administration’s national security strategy in a speech Wednesday at Georgetown University:
NEW: Top Biden advisor @JakeSullivan46 will discuss the administration's first National Security Strategy in a speech this Wed at @georgetownsfs, followed by a moderated conversation w/ @OSullivanMeghan. Follow us and co-host @CNASdc for live coverage! pic.twitter.com/YnOWyP64wL
— Georgetown SFS (@georgetownsfs) October 10, 2022
American presidents periodically release the document spelling out their security concerns and how they intend to deal with them. Biden released an interim strategy last year, but was late getting the full report out because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, The New York Times reports:
Biden’s National Security Strategy is overdue. WH officials decided to rewrite a draft after Russia invaded Ukraine. They brought in @thomaswright08 to oversee that. A main idea will be bolstering “democratic resilience” in the US & abroad. Earlier story: https://t.co/6szm9K5cPh https://t.co/Lhm7C2Vu6U
— Edward Wong (@ewong) October 10, 2022
The day so far
The GOP lawmakers poised to take over the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections will investigate Hunter Biden and downplay January 6, according to recent interviews and the memoir of a police officer wounded in the insurrection. While it’s a quiet day in Washington – where federal offices are shut for Columbus Day – candidates nationwide are scrambling to make their pitch to voters before the 8 November polls.
Here’s what has happened today so far:
In a column for the Guardian, Senator Bernie Sanders warned Democrats of the perils of campaigning on abortion rights alone.
Joe Biden condemned Russia’s missile strikes across a swath of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, and said the country has Washington’s support.
Republican senator Tommy Tuberville resorted to racism at a rally for Donald Trump.
Updated
Biden condemns Russian strikes on Ukraine, says will support Kyiv 'for as long as it takes'
President Joe Biden has condemned Russia’s missile strikes on a number of Ukrainian cities today, including the capital Kyiv, and said they reinforce America’s commitment to help the country fend off Moscow’s invasion.
Here’s the full statement from the White House:
The United States strongly condemns Russia’s missile strikes today across Ukraine, including in Kyiv. These attacks killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose. They once again demonstrate the utter brutality of Mr. Putin’s illegal war on the Ukrainian people.
We offer our condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were senselessly killed today, as well as our best wishes for the recovery of those who were wounded. These attacks only further reinforce our commitment to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes. Alongside our allies and partners, we will continue to impose costs on Russia for its aggression, hold Putin and Russia accountable for its atrocities and war crimes, and provide the support necessary for Ukrainian forces to defend their country and their freedom. We again call on Russia to end this unprovoked aggression immediately and remove its troops from Ukraine.
The Guardian has a separate live blog with the latest on the global reaction to today’s attacks:
Another of Donald Trump’s allies is on trial in New York over charges he acted as an unregistered foreign agent for the United Arab Emirates in order to access its vast investment pool, J Oliver Conroy reports:
“Trump is the man,” Thomas “Tom” Barrack, a wealthy investor friend of Donald Trump’s, wrote to someone in a foreign government, in 2016, as Trump’s likelihood of being named the Republican nominee for president began to become a certainty. Barrack added, cryptically, that someone called “HH” should be ready to travel.
The meaning of those words, and the intent behind them, are at the center of the latest court case to roil Trump’s circle. Prosecutors have said that the “HH” in Barrack’s email referred to His Highness Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the current leader of the United Arab Emirates, and that Barrack was trying to secretly and illegally trade his access to Trump’s ear for the graces of the Emirati government and its vast pool of investment money.
Republicans looking to win in the upcoming midterms have campaigned on high inflation and rising crime. But over the weekend, Alabama’s Republican senator Tommy Tuberville resorted to another tactic: racism.
“They want crime. They want crime because they want to take over what you got. They want to control what you have. They want reparations because they think the people that do the crime are owed that. Bullshit!” Tuberville declared in a speech on Saturday.
The word reparation is the give away here. In the context of American politics, it typically refers to the idea of financial compensation to African Americans for slavery and racial discrimination. Thus, Tuberville appears to say that Black Americans are “the people that do the crime.” CNN breaks it down here:
Tuberville is not standing for re-election this year, and won’t face voters again until 2026. Instead, he was speaking at a rally for a politician who may well be on ballots across the country in two years time: Donald Trump.
The contenders in one of November’s most-watched Senate races will square off tonight in Ohio.
JD Vance, the Republican nominee for Senate, will face his Democratic opponent Tim Ryan in a debate hosted by Fox 8 News and beginning at 7pm eastern time. Ohio has trended Republican in recent years, and the Trump-endorsed Vance appears to have the edge in recent polls, though has struggled to establish a clear lead over Ryan.
Updated
GOP planning investigation of 'Biden family influence peddling' if they take House
If they win a majority in the House in the 8 November midterms, Republicans intend to make an investigation of “Biden family influence peddling” a priority next year, a top GOP lawmaker said today.
Kentucky lawmaker James Comer is the top Republican on the House oversight and reform committee, and in a Republican-led Congress would assume chairmanship of the panel that conducts investigations. In an interview on Fox Business. he made clear that an investigation into Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden would be announced very soon after the new legislative session begins in the new year:
Hunter Biden and the Biden Family have peddled influence across the globe to enrich themselves at the expense of American interests.
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) October 10, 2022
It’s clear that Joe was involved. The question is: to what extent?
We will get that answer for the American people. @MorningsMaria pic.twitter.com/HNgIwRQiZ9
Hunter Biden has been under federal investigation since 2018, and the GOP has long seized on his business dealings to try to paint his father as corrupt. Multiple media outlets reported last week that prosecutors believe they have evidence to charge Hunter Biden with crimes related to lying on a gun-purchase background check, and with not declaring all his foreign income.
The US attorney for Delaware, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump, will decide whether to proceed with a prosecution.
Updated
Sanders is on to something. The state of the economy has been a determining factor in many elections, but as Dominic Rushe reports from Phoenix, high inflation and rock-bottom unemployment have put the world’s largest market in an unusually strange place right now:
In her back pocket, Ana Diaz carries a smooth grey pebble she calls her “knock-knocker”. She uses it to get a loud rap on the front doors of the South Phoenix neighborhood where she is canvassing for the Democrats ahead of November’s crucial midterm elections.
It’s 110F (43C) in the early afternoon sun, and Diaz is aiming to knock on 80 doors in this largely Latino neighborhood and speak to at least 20 people, encouraging them to vote. Diaz, a Los Angeles-based bartender and Unite Here union member, is a familiar face to many in this working-class area. In her T-shirt that reads “Worker power” she has been knocking on these doors since 2018.
Voters are all talking about the economy. Diaz, too, worries about inflation: her grocery bill is so high she thinks she may have to stop buying beef. But for her, the Democrats and good union jobs are the answer. “When we get together, we can make them change,” she says.
Senator Bernie Sanders has written a column for The Guardian, warning Democrats against campaigning exclusively on abortion in the midterms, and arguing that Republicans have plenty of vulnerabilities to seize on when it comes to their view of the economy:
As someone who has a lifetime 100% pro-choice voting record, and is outraged by the supreme court’s horrific decision to overturn Roe v Wade, there is no question but that Democrats must continue to focus on the right of women to control their own bodies. This is a fight that most Americans want us to wage and, given the Republicans’ extremist position on the issue, makes them genuinely vulnerable.
But, as we enter the final weeks of the 2022 midterm elections, I am alarmed to hear the advice that many Democratic candidates are getting from establishment consultants and directors of well-funded Super Pacs that the closing argument of Democrats should focus only on abortion. Cut the 30-second abortion ads and coast to victory.
I disagree. In my view, while the abortion issue must remain on the front burner, it would be political malpractice for Democrats to ignore the state of the economy and allow Republican lies and distortions to go unanswered.
The details of Kevin McCarthy’s recollection of January 6 come from Hold the Line: The Insurrection and One Cop’s Battle for America’s Soul, by Michael Fanone, a Washington DC police officer who responded to the Capitol as it was being attacked.
He’s since left the city police force and become outspoken about the events of that day, and spoke to CBS News about his book set for release on Tuesday:
McCarthy isn’t the only Republican the book cast in an unfavorable light. Fanone also recounts a bizarre remark senator Lindsey Graham made when they met:
Updated
Spare a thought today for Matthew Cantor, who went on what must have been a tiring journey into the neediest corner of the Republican and Democratic parties:
“Is your phone off, Patriot?”
“Are you still a Republican?”
“This is getting SAD!”
“HOW MANY TIMES ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO ASK?”
The midterm elections are approaching, and political messaging teams are hard at work overwhelming inboxes across America. And while Republicans and Democrats rely heavily on guilt trips to squeeze money out of voters, the language they employ is markedly different – and says a lot about what’s wrong with each of them.
But what are the midterms? The Guardian’s David Smith has all the answers you need about the 8 November elections that will decide control the House and Senate for the next two years:
American elections are like Olympics. Presidential votes happen every four years in step with the summer Games: 2020, 2016, 2012, 2008, 2004 and so on.
Midterms, meanwhile, happen every four years in line with the winter Games: 2022, 2018, 2014, 2010, 2006, 2002 and so on.
“Midterms” is therefore an apt name because they take place halfway through a president’s term of office. They are often regarded by pundits as a referendum on the incumbent president.
Indeed, this year’s midterms on 8 November will be voters’ the first opportunity to render a national verdict on the presidency of Joe Biden. But his name will not be on the ballot and other factors can come into play such as specific candidates, local dynamics or national issues.
In the days after the January 6 insurrection, top House Republican Kevin McCarthy was ready to dump Donald Trump. “I’ve had it with this guy,” he said, and pondered whether to ask him to resign, the New York Times reported.
It didn’t take long for McCarthy’s anger to subside. By the end of the month, he was with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, taking a picture together that made clear the now-former president was back on good terms with his party. While some Republicans never lost sight of the serious threat the January 6 insurrection posed to American democracy, many have since taken to downplaying the deadly attack on the Capitol, as today’s CNN report about McCarthy’s meeting with officers who fought the rioters makes clear.
Perhaps it was worth it for McCarthy and his party. They are favored to pick up the few seats necessary in the upcoming midterms to win a majority in Congress’s lower chamber, putting McCarthy on track to be elected speaker.
Updated
Poised to lead House, new book shows McCarthy denying reality of January 6
Good morning, US politics blog readers. The United States has witnessed a bizarre spectacle over the past year and a half, as Republicans who were themselves in the Capitol when it was stormed by insurrectionists on January 6 try to downplay the severity of the attack. CNN reports that Kevin McCarthy, the GOP leader in the House of Representatives who stands a good chance of becoming its speaker next year, told officers who fought with the mob that then-president Donald Trump had no idea it was his supporters causing the violence – even though he addressed them just prior to the attack. McCarthy has been an ardent supporter of the former president and his statement isn’t much of a surprise, but the detail underscores the mental gymnastics Republicans are doing to avoid acknowledging what their embrace of Trump means for America.
Here’s what else is happening today:
Not a ton! Why? Because it’s Columbus Day, or Indigenous Peoples’ Day, depending on which state you are in. It’s a federal holiday, so many government offices are closed.
The United Nations General Assembly will discuss Russia’s annexation of four regions in Ukraine beginning at 3 pm eastern time, and vote on a resolution to condemn the move.
Joe Biden is coming back to the White House after spending the weekend in Delaware.
