Closing summary
Special prosecutor Jack Smith has continued his subpoena salvo as he investigates Donald Trump, this time with a summons to Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state who famously defied Trump’s attempts to meddle in the state’s 2020 election result. Elsewhere, the supreme court agreed to hear another case against Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which remains on hold, while we’ll find out tomorrow about a reported breakthrough in fusion energy.
Here’s more about what happened today:
A federal judge has officially nixed the special master’s review of documents taken from Mar-a-Lago, which slowed down the investigation into whether Donald Trump unlawfully retained government secrets.
The January 6 committee is continuing to mull how many criminal referrals to send to the justice department as a result of its investigation.
The White House condemned rightwing lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene after she made comments asserting her prowess at organizing insurrections. The congresswoman said she was just being sarcastic.
Legislation to stop another January 6 may end up being attached to a big funding bill Congress is trying to reach an agreement on.
Black Lives Matter has set up its own student loan relief fund to make up for the Biden administration’s hamstrung program.
With the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan stalled in court, the Associated Press reports that the Black Lives Matter foundation has started its own debt relief effort.
The $500,000 program administered by the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is aimed at current and former Black students, and will award more than 500 recipients with payments of between $750 and $4,500. The application for the relief can be found here.
Here’s more on the program from the AP:
The BLM foundation’s Student Solidarity Fund is an expansion of a previous initiative it started last year as millions of Americans struggled to make ends meet amid economic uncertainty in the coronavirus pandemic. This time the foundation said it intends to use philanthropic dollars to draw attention to issues of economic injustice, especially while a proposed federal student debt forgiveness plan is held up by litigation from opponents.
“The fact of the matter is that Black people who work to get an education are struggling right now,” BLM foundation board chair Cicley Gay said. “We recognize that we can’t build a world of true liberation without the brilliance of Black people who are committed to furthering their education.”
The relief is meant for bachelor’s degree recipients, as well as those who did not complete their degree but still carry student loan debt. Applicants must have attended a college or university in the U.S. The foundation is asking applicants to submit loan documents to prove their eligibility.
If selected, applicants with $75,000 or less in debt will receive $1,500. Applicants with debt between $75,001 and $150,000 will receive $3,000. And applicants with $150,001 or more in debt will receive $4,500.
The money is not restricted for use only on student loan payments, but the foundation said its relief funds are meant to lower recipients’ overall debt burden.
In a second phase of the fund, the BLM foundation said it will give microgrants of $750 to relief fund applicants who are currently attending historically Black colleges and universities, to help with housing, food, technology, books and transportation costs.
