Congress
Top Johnson aide pleads not guilty to DUI charge
Speaker Mike Johnson’s chief of staff pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he drove under the influence and operated a vehicle while impaired on the night of President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress.
Hayden Haynes appeared by videoconference for a hearing before D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Heide Herrmann, accompanied by prominent white collar attorney Stuart Sears. Sears has previously represented Steele Dossier source Igor Danchenko (who was acquitted of charges brought by special counsel John Durham), Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller and Mueller investigation witness Sam Patten.
Sears did most of the talking Thursday, although Haynes identified himself to the judge at the beginning of the brief court session. According to the U.S. Capitol Police officer who arrested Haynes early on the morning of March 5, the Johnson aide could not complete a sobriety test after twice striking a black Chevy Suburban with his white Tesla sedan.
Herrmann permitted Haynes to remain on release while his charges are pending, but required him to submit to a drug test and drug/alcohol assessment and ordered him to refrain from driving after taking any drugs or drinking alcohol. His next court date is next month.
Haynes is being prosecuted by the office of D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb.
President Donald Trump and top White House officials are privately lobbying Republican senators to delay a ban on intoxicating hemp that’s set to kick in this fall.
At the Trump administration’s urging, the government funding patch the Senate is working to pass this week would push off the forthcoming ban of some cannabis products derived from hemp. But several Republican senators are demanding a vote to strip the delay out and let that prohibition kick in come November.
They’re hearing from the White House about it.
Trump called Sen. Ted Budd on Tuesday night, after the North Carolina Republican filed an amendment to ensure the ban kicks in as mandated on Nov. 12, according to a Senate aide granted anonymity to describe the private discussion. On the call, the president discussed creating a federal regulatory framework for hemp but did not ask Budd to withdraw his amendment, the individual added.
“I’ve been asked by lots of people to stand down on this amendment,” Budd told reporters Wednesday.
Budd noted that the Trump administration has had almost nine months to come up with a plan for implementing the ban.
“So why all of a sudden pop up for some seemingly innocent delay?” he asked, accusing the White House of instead preparing to “jam this on some must-pass” funding package at year’s end to further delay the prohibition.
A White House official granted anonymity to discuss the private debate said the Trump administration is seeking “a modest four-week delay” through the Dec. 11 expiration of the funding patch “to allow for productive conversations to continue.” Some synthetic cannabis products would be permanently banned in the meantime, the official added.
The administration lobbying has successfully swayed some Senate Republicans, such as Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who said in an interview that “the White House has committed to me that they’re committed to regulate the industry.”
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of hemp-rich Kentucky said the issue came up “in a big way” during Senate Republicans’ private lunch meeting Wednesday. Paul said he spoke in support of delaying the ban and said those arguing for a delay “aren’t very rational.”
“They’re wanting to hold up the funding for the government over one month,” he said. “It’s kind of insane.”
Grace Yarrow contributed to this report.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is in the Capitol meeting with holdout GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Bill Cassidy of Louisiania as he tries to lock down their support for his confirmation as permanent leader of the Justice Department.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) declined to respond directly Wednesday to Speaker Mike Johnson’s refusal to denounce his former son-in-law Rep. Max Miller over abuse accusations leveled by Moreno’s daughter: “These aren’t accusations in my world,” he said.
“In my world, this is the reality,” Moreno told reporters at the Capitol. “This is not something that is theoretical to me. This is my lived reality of my daughter and my family every single solitary day.”
In an interview with Dasha Burns for Blue Light News’s The Conversation, Johnson declined to take sides in the dispute between Miller (R-Ohio) and Emily Moreno. He called for a House Ethics probe to “play out.”
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