WTF Just Happened Today

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

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1/ The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot issued new subpoenas to 10 former Trump White House officials, including Kayleigh McEnany and Stephen Miller. The chairman of the select committee, Bennie Thompson, said his panel “wants to learn every detail of what went on in the White House on January 6th and in the days beforehand,” including “precisely what role the former President and his aides played in efforts to stop the counting of the electoral votes and if they were in touch with anyone outside the White House attempting to overturn the outcome of the election.” Among those subpoenaed to provide testimony and documents include John McEntee (former White House personnel director), Christopher Liddell (former deputy chief of staff), Keith Kellogg (national security advisor to Pence), Ben Williamson (former deputy assistant to Trump and senior adviser to Mark Meadows), and Nicholas Luna (Trump’s former personal assistant). The subpoenas come a day after the committee issued subpoenas to six former Trump administration and campaign officials, bringing the total number of subpoenas issued to 35. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / NBC News / CNBC)

2/ A federal judge rejected Trump’s attempt to keep more than 700 pages of records from his White House secret. The decision by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan clears the way for the National Archives to release the documents requested by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol beginning Friday. Trump’s lawyers had argued that the documents requested by the House committee – including White House call logs, visitor logs, and schedules related to Jan. 6, as well as three pages of handwritten notes from Trump’s then-chief of staff – were covered by executive privilege. In her ruling, however, Chutkan noted that the Biden administration had approved the release of Trump’s White House records, saying there can be only one president at a time, and that Trump’s assertion of executive privilege “is outweighed by President Biden’s decision not to uphold the privilege.” Chutkan added: “Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.” (Reuters / New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / NBC News)

3/ At least 13 of Trump’s senior aides campaigned illegally for his re-election in violation of the Hatch Act – a law designed to prevent federal employees from abusing the power of their offices on behalf of candidates. The Office of Special Counsel report described a “willful disregard for the law” by senior Trump administration officials who “chose to use their official authority not for the legitimate functions of the government.” Special Counsel Henry Ker...

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