Column: The threat to Justice Kavanaugh reveals a path to a gun control deal
Republicans demand instant action to protect Supreme Court justices. Let’s tie that to an assault weapons ban.
‘Black-ish’ creator Kenya Barris files for divorce from wife Rania for a third time
‘Black-ish’ creator Kenya Barris is filing for divorce from his wife, Rania ‘Rainbow’ Barris. It’s the third time the couple has gone to court to split.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-06-08/kenya-barris-rania-barris-divorce-again
Jill Biden plays host at fraught diplomatic summit
First lady Jill Biden said last month as she wrapped a six-day trip to Latin America that she was not concerned about the threat of boycott from certain countries at the upcoming Summit of the Americas. …read more
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/08/politics/jill-biden-summit-of-the-americas/index.html
‘The View’ hosts slam Washington Post reporter Felicia Sonmez over Twitter spat
“The View” weighed in Wednesday on the widening rift within the Washington Post’s newsroom – with co-hosts questioning a politics reporter’s move to publicly lambast a colleague for retweeting a joke she deemed sexist. …read more
Brookings places retired general on leave amid FBI probe
The prestigious Brookings Institution placed its president, retired four-star Marine Gen. John Allen, on administrative leave Wednesday amid a federal investigation into his role in an illegal lobbying campaign on behalf of the wealthy Persian Gulf nation of Qatar.
Brookings’ announcement came a day after The Associated Press reported on new court filings that show the FBI recently seized Allen’s electronic data as part of the probe and detailed his behind-the scenes efforts to help Qatar influence U.S. policy in 2017 when a diplomatic crisis erupted between the gas-rich monarchy and its neighbors.
Allen, who led U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan before being tapped to lead Brookings in late 2017, has not been charged with any crimes and previously denied any wrongdoing.
Brookings told staffers in an email Wednesday that the institute itself is not under investigation and that the think tank’s executive vice president, Ted Gayer, will serve as acting president.
“We have every confidence in the Brookings team’s ability to remain focused on delivering quality, independence, and impact,” the email said.
The federal investigation involving Allen has already ensnared Richard G. Olson, a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan who pleaded guilty to federal charges last week, and Imaad Zuberi, a prolific political donor now serving a 12-year prison sentence on corruption charges. Several members of Congress have been interviewed as part of the investigation.
An FBI agent said in an affidavit in support of a search warrant there was “substantial evidence” that Allen had knowingly broken a foreign lobbying law, and had made false statements and withheld “incriminating” documents.
Allen’s alleged work for Qatar involved traveling to Qatar and met with the country’s top officials to offer them advice on how to influence U.S. policy, as well as promoting Qatar’s point of view to top White House officials and members of Congress, according to an FBI affidavit in support of a search warrant.
Allen, who was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution prior to becoming president, used his official email account at the think tank for some of his Qatar-related communications, the affidavit says.
Qatar has long been one of Brookings’ biggest financial backers, though the institution says it has recently stopped taking Qatari funding.
“Brookings has strong policies in place to prohibit donors from directing research activities,” said the email to staffers Wednesday.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/08/brookings-john-allen-fbi-00038251
A man convicted of killing an 8-year-old girl nearly 38 years ago was executed in Arizona
An Arizona inmate convicted of killing an 8-year-old girl nearly 38 years ago was executed by lethal injection Wednesday morning, the state’s attorney general announced in a news release. …read more
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/08/us/frank-atwood-executed-vicki-lynne-hoskinson-killing/index.html
Trump privately raised Jan. 6 Capitol appearance with Secret Service agent, select panel hears
As then-President Donald Trump left a rally with his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, he appears to have held out hope until the last minute — even as chaos unfolded — that he’d be able to join them at the Capitol.
Trump even raised the prospect privately with the head of his Secret Service detail at the time, Robert Engel, according to a person familiar with the agent’s congressional testimony. Engel rode with Trump in the presidential armored car called “The Beast” back to the White House after the Ellipse rally that preceded that day’s violent riot.
Engel told Jan. 6 select committee investigators that the two men discussed Trump’s desire to go to the Capitol and took different views on the topic. Engel noted that they went back to the White House instead of heading to Capitol Hill. The contents of Engel’s testimony have not been previously reported. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi declined to comment.
The testimony shows just how much Trump wanted to be at the Capitol with his backers as Congress voted to certify his Electoral College loss to Joe Biden. And he expressed his desire to join the protesters even as violence was unfolding.
A Trump spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
At about 12:45 p.m., during Trump’s Jan. 6 speech, law enforcement officials headed to the Republican National Committee headquarters because a pipe bomb had been found there. That building just steps away from the Capitol building. Around the same time, according to a Washington Post timeline, Trump supporters clashed with police and began to move onto restricted grounds around the Capitol.
At about 1:10 p.m., Trump indicated in his speech that he would go to the Capitol.
“We’re going to the Capitol,” he said. “We’re going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”
When Secret Service agents heard the remarks, they reached out to law enforcement partners about the feasibility of transporting the president to the Capitol, as the Post first reported. Engel opposed the move, saying it would have been unfeasible.
Engel’s testimony stands in stark contrast to a claim from former Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Trump’s then-chief of staff. In his book “The Chief’s Chief,” Meadows wrote that Trump told him right after the speech that he was “speaking metaphorically” when he said he wanted to go to the Capitol.
Trump “knew as well as anyone that we couldn’t organize a trip like that on such short notice,” Meadows wrote, as The Guardian reported.
Meadows has refused to answer questions from committee investigators. Lawmakers voted, largely along party lines, to refer him to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress charges. But DOJ revealed recently that it will not prosecute him.
The Secret Service, meanwhile, has fully cooperated with the congressional Jan. 6 probe, according to Guglielmi. He added that …read more
How Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg could get removed from office
The embattled Manhattan DA is facing mounting calls to be ousted — especially in the wake of his counterpart DA Chesa Boudin getting bounced from his job. …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/06/08/how-manhattan-nyc-da-alvin-bragg-could-get-removed-from-office/
House to get more John Eastman emails, including electors discussions and other planning
A federal judge has decided the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection should get access this month to 159 emails of right-wing attorney John Eastman that largely relate to his efforts on behalf of Donald Trump to try to block the 2020 election result. …read more
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/08/politics/eastman-emails-january-6/index.html
Inside bad-boy golfer Dustin Johnson’s hot marriage to Paulina Gretzky
As Dustin Johnson makes his debut at the controversial LIV Golf Series event at London’s Centurion Club on June 8, take a look inside his fiery relationship with wife Paulina Gretzky. …read more
https://nypost.com/2022/06/08/inside-golfer-dustin-johnsons-hot-marriage-to-paulina-gretzky/