Congress
DOJ opposes Jan. 6 defendant’s bid to attend Trump’s inauguration
The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to deny a Jan. 6 defendant’s request to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next month, saying she still “presents a danger to the D.C. community” and the police who protect the Capitol.
“Many of these officers will, once again, be tasked in protecting the Capitol and Constitution on January 20, 2025,” prosecutors wrote in a three-page filing to a federal magistrate judge in Washington. “As such, her presence at an event staffed by law enforcement would not only present a danger but would cause further victimization for the officers.”
The defendant, Cindy Young, was convicted by a jury in August of four misdemeanors for her role in joining the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Young helped overwhelm officers guarding the House of Representatives and remained in the building until a Capitol Police officer fired a shot that killed rioter Ashli Babbitt. Young is barred from visiting Washington as a condition of her sentence, which also included a four month jail term.
But prosecutors say the danger Young poses extends beyond her actions on Jan. 6.
“Young has continuously endorsed calls for retribution against those involved in January 6 prosecutions — specifically jurors, judges, and law enforcement — all whom help make up the ‘D.C. community,’” they wrote. “Beyond seeking retribution, Young has also mocked officer victims.”
It’s a notable position from the Justice Department just weeks before Trump has pledged to pardon many Jan. 6 defendants. Most allies expect him to pardon misdemeanor defendants like Young who were not accused of violence, while taking a more deliberate approach to felony defendants — though many allies have asked him to issue a “blanket pardon” of all defendants, even those who assaulted police.
Young is one of three defendants who have asked for permission to attend Trump’s inauguration.
One of them, Russell Taylor, was invited by members of Utah’s congressional delegation and has requested permission from U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to attend. Lamberth has yet to weigh in on the request.
Another, Eric Peterson, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in November but has not been sentenced, emphasized to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan that he is “a military veteran who has no criminal history before this case.”
“There is no reason to believe that Mr. Peterson will be violent or present any danger to the residents of the District if the Court grants his request to attend the inaugural event,” Peterson’s attorney Michael Bullotta wrote.
Young had similarly argued that she does not present a danger to Washington, noting there were “no incidents” when she traveled to the city to prepare for court-related matters, including her trial. But prosecutors said that argument was no reason for the court to diverge from its restriction on Young’s ability to visit the city now that trial has ended.
Sen. John Cornyn said Monday he will not support Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general absent a written modification to the settlement agreement President Donald Trump entered into with his own administration.
Opposition from the Texas Republican could sink Blanche’s nomination in a highly anticipated Judiciary Committee vote scheduled for Thursday.
While Cornyn said he is in talks with Blanche and others at the Justice Department, he has not secured changes he has demanded to the settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS. Those include formally rescinding a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” and restricting the scope of tax audit immunity granted to the president and his family.
Cornyn told reporters he needs the document to be signed by Blanche but did not specify whether Trump also needs to sign it.
“We’re talking about that. That hasn’t been fully resolved yet,” Cornyn said in a subsequent interview when asked if Trump needs to sign the modification as well. “We’re still talking. I mean, there’s different ways to approach it.”
Time is running out for Blanche to meet Cornyn’s demands ahead of Thursday’s committee vote, where any one Republican’s opposition could be fatal to the nomination. The senator said Blanche and the administration have been so far “reluctant” to follow through.
At his nomination hearing last week, Blanche testified that plans for the payout fund were dead and that the audit agreement was more limited than set out in the settlement. But Cornyn honed in on the text of the agreement, which states that it “may be modified only with the written agreement of the Parties.”
Blanche acknowledged during the hearing that, without a written change to the agreement, the anti-weaponization fund could still be revived.
“That’s what we’re trying to get them to agree to, which is again what his sworn testimony was,” Cornyn said. “So I don’t know why they’re so reluctant to do that.”
The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
Jay Clayton is on the verge of becoming President Donald Trump’s next director of national intelligence — though Democrats won’t be helping him get there.
The news: The Senate on Monday voted 51-43 in a party line vote to move forward with Clayton’s nomination, teeing up a final vote as soon as Tuesday to confirm him as the next head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. No Democrats joined their GOP counterparts in support of Clayton.
Clayton, the top prosecutor in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office and a former SEC chair, will take over from acting spy czar Bill Pulte and join Trump’s Cabinet when he’s confirmed by the full Senate.
Why it matters: At some level, that’s a win for Democrats, who have been eager to replace Pulte, a Trump loyalist with no background in national security, since the president named him to the post last month. But after an up-and-down confirmation process for Clayton, Democrats have new reservations about the incoming intel adviser, as Monday’s vote underscored.
During his Senate confirmation hearing two weeks ago, Clayton refused to say that Joe Biden fairly won the 2020 vote, leading Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Panel to vote against his nomination. That marked a reversal from June, when Senate Democrats worked with their GOP counterparts to fast-track Clayton’s confirmation in exchange for renewing a powerful spy law. That deal fell apart after Trump intervened, alleging on social media that Democrats weren’t delivering on their end of the deal.
Open question: Though Clayton’s confirmation now looks imminent, Senate action on the spy statute that was supposed to be part of the deal — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — is not.
With the House already gone for the August recess, the Senate appears unlikely to vote on Section 702 until September.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will meet with lawmakers in Washington to discuss American leadership on artificial intelligence, the company said Monday.
A spokesperson for the chipmaker said Huang would hold talks with both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to talk about latest developments with the technology.
“Jensen is in DC to meet with leaders on both sides of the aisle to discuss American leadership in AI, including leading in open source,” the spokesperson said.
Huang is scheduled to sit down Tuesday with Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has expressed serious concern about security threats following last week’s OpenAI autonomous cyberattack.
The senator’s office confirmed the meeting. Senate Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It comes as Huang defended open-source AI on X, writing that such models “strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty.”
Huang’s visit comes as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is also expected to meet with Warner, although a spokesperson for the senator said the talks were separate. Earlier Monday, Open AI announced it was in talks with Nvidia, a technology company that makes chips to use artificial intelligence, for a data center project.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
-
The Josh Fourrier Show2 years agoDOOMSDAY: Trump won, now what?
-
Politics1 year agoFormer ‘Squad’ members launching ‘Bowman and Bush’ YouTube show
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoLuigi Mangione acknowledges public support in first official statement since arrest
-
Uncategorized2 years ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
Politics1 year agoFormer Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron launches Senate bid
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoPete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon goes from bad to worse
-
Politics1 year agoBlue Light News’s Editorial Director Ryan Hutchins speaks at Blue Light News’s 2025 Governors Summit
-
The Dictatorship11 months agoMike Johnson sums up the GOP’s arrogant position on military occupation with two words