POLITICO NIGHTLY: What comes next for the Trump Org.?

 

BY MYAH WARD Presented by INDICTED — It’s official: The Trump Organization has been charged with criminal conspiracy, grand larceny, falsifying business records and tax fraud, and its longtime CFO, Allen Weisselberg, was escorted into a Manhattan courtroom this afternoon, where he pleaded not guilty to a variety of financial crimes that carry significant prison sentences. The indictments, which allege the tax-fraud scheme ran over the course of at least 15 years, come after prosecutors spent more than two years probing the financial records of the Trump family-owned company. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance brought the charges, working alongside New York Attorney General Letitia James. Both officials are Democrats, which is sure to provide fuel for former President Donald Trump’s claims that the investigation is politically motivated. Earlier today, the Trump Organization accused Vance of using Weisselberg as a “pawn in a scorched earth attempt to harm the former President.” Trump Tower, home to the Trump Organization, stands along Fifth Avenue in New York City. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images Nightly chatted with POLITICO’s Betsy Woodruff Swan over Slack to break down the charges, and what today’s news may mean for Trump. Why does this matter? Depending on how things go, it could do serious damage to Trump’s business interests. A criminal conviction could result in steep fines, loss of liquor licenses and long-term reputational damage, among other problems. And regardless of whether the company is convicted, banks and other financial institutions may be loath to continue doing business with Trump Org. because of the indictment. It’s a real problem for the company. Did anything about the indictment surprise you? The fact that this is Vance’s team’s opening salvo has left some observers underwhelmed. Vance has eight years of Trump’s tax returns, and has put a large and well-resourced team of prosecutors on this case. Many people were expecting more (including charges against the former president himself). The conduct as alleged is obviously egregious. But — so far! — it hasn’t lived up to some people’s expectations. That said, the investigation is ongoing and more charges could come. Here’s what Ben Wittes — who runs Lawfare blog for the Brookings Institution and follows Trump’s legal woes very closely — told me: “If you had told me a year ago when this stuff was at the Supreme Court that this is what it would ultimately be about, I would have said, ‘Oh.’” With the charges not mentioning Trump or his family members, what is the risk for the former president? It’s honestly hard to say. The rest of the probe is a bit of a black box. But there’s always risk when your company as a whole is indicted. How much of this do you think is about getting Weisselberg to cooperate with prosecutors? And how likely do you think he is to flip? Weisselberg cooperation: I’ve heard different things from different people on the specifics of the strategy. How likely is he to flip? He’s facing the rest of his life in prison, based on the charges they’ve brought. That’s a much longer potential sentence than some were expecting, and certainly puts him under real pressure. Did the indictment tell us anything more about Vance’s strategy, or how he’s handling the case? It’s notable for what’s not in it: Nothing on hush money payments, nothing on manipulation of property values, nothing on shady foreign business partners, nothing on illegal activity related to Trump’s personal taxes. So that means that either indictments related to those topics may be forthcoming, or they’re off the table altogether. Do your sources have any predictions about what may be next? Sadly no! People are all over the place. We have more about the far reaching consequences of the indictment, including a piece about business risks to the Trump Organization, a look at how House Democrats lament their lack of power and an explainer on the tight connection between the former president and his organization . Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. We won’t be publishing on Monday, July 5. But we’ll be back and better than ever Tuesday, July 6. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at mward@politico.com, or on Twitter at @MyahWard. A message from AARP: Millions of family caregivers are struggling to provide care for their older parents and spouses. Many are sacrificing their income, tapping into life savings, and taking on debt to keep their loved ones safe—at home and out of nursing homes that could put their lives at risk. Family caregivers are reaching their breaking point. Congress must pass the Credit for Caring Act now to give caregivers some of the relief they desperately need. Learn more.   WHAT'D I MISS? — Cheney joins Dems on Jan. 6 probe, defying McCarthy threat: Speaker Nancy Pelosi has chosen GOP Rep. Liz Cheney to join the Democrat-led investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack , a rare cross-aisle elevation of one of Trump’s most prominent conservative critics. The select committee on the insurrection will be helmed by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who had previously crafted a bipartisan plan to establish an outside commission to lead the probe into the Jan. 6 violence. After Senate Republicans blocked the investigation, the House Democratic majority opted to create a new panel, which won just two Republicans on the floor on Wednesday. — Biden, DeSantis survey Surfside collapse scene: This morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis praised Biden’s federal response to the collapse of a condo building in the coastal Miami suburb of Surfside — providing a moment of bipartisan bonhomie between the leader of the Democratic Party and a rising star within Trump’s GOP. Speaking at a command briefing near the site of the deadly disaster, DeSantis — seated beside Biden — said the president had “recognized the severity of this tragedy from day one, and you’ve been very supportive.” — Supreme Court sides with Arizona on voting restrictions: The Voting Rights Act sustained another blow at the Supreme Court today, as the justices took a narrow view of when a state’s voting practices can be held to violate the rights of minorities. In a pair of high-profile cases from Arizona, the justices split 6-3 along ideological lines, with the conservative majority concluding that a disparate impact on minority groups would typically not be enough to render voting rules illegal under the act. — California elections chief certifies Newsom recall election: California’s elections chief certified the gubernatorial recall today, setting up a September 14 election to consider whether Gov. Gavin Newsom should remain in office. It officially marks the state’s second-ever gubernatorial recall after the 2003 ouster of then-Gov. Gray Davis, whom voters replaced with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.   SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.     ON THE ECONOMY SEARCHING HARD OR HARDLY SEARCHING? Friday morning, the federal government will release its much-anticipated June jobs report — a key gauge of where exactly the labor market stands after months of disappointing numbers. Economists predict that the U.S. added around 700,000 jobs in June — which would be up from 559,000 in May, but still much lower than the unrealized forecasts from months ago projecting gains of at least 1 million. What explains month after month of disappointing jobs numbers? Many Republicans have endorsed a straightforward answer: boosted unemployment benefits are keeping would-be employees from taking jobs, leading to a worker shortage — and there is some evidence for that, like a recent WSJ report that states where GOP governors have ended the supplemental payment are seeing their labor market bounce back quickly. But a new study by the job-listing website Indeed suggests that reality may be a bit more complicated. Just roughly 10 percent of job seekers — both employed and jobless workers — were “urgently” looking for work in late May and early June, according to Indeed’s survey of 5,000 Americans. And among those who were urgently looking, more than 20 percent said they didn’t want to start work immediately. Why? Fears related to Covid-19 topped the list of respondents’ explanations for their lack of urgency. The number two reason? Employed spouses. Having a financial cushion came in third, and UI payments was at the bottom of the list, cited by less than 10 percent of respondents. Myah talked with Nick Bunker, Indeed’s economic research director for North America, about how this survey compares to other economic data, and what questions he was left with after seeing the responses. This conversation has been edited. What surprised you about the data? One was that sort of urgency mismatch, or just the extent to which lots of jobseekers right now are willing to be pretty patient. Even among people who are actively and urgently searching for a job, about 20 percent don’t want to start a job immediately. That sort of displays the mismatch, as so many employers want to urgently and quickly staff up. It wasn’t quite “surprising,” but Covid continues to be a concern — not only the [health] fears, but when it comes to the milestones people want to see before starting a job or entering into employment — particularly vaccinations. That was not only just for themselves, but for other people they’re frequently in contact with at work — coworkers or customers. It’s [about] their perceptions of how others they interact with are handling the end of the pandemic and post-pandemic life. Do you think the way people responded — citing UI payments at the bottom of the list — was honest? It’s a survey, so we depend on what people say. But if you see, one of the answers was [that respondents had] an increased financial cushion. You can imagine UI possibly contributing that way indirectly: that maybe if they’ve saved large chunks of it, they have this financial cushion and that’s why they might not be searching urgently right now. There has been a lot of extra saving during the pandemic, and lots of that is folks at the top of the income distribution, but there have been savings by people at the bottom as well. And yes, that savings could get spent as people celebrate what seems to be the end of the pandemic, but it also could be that people just keep that savings, or use it to maybe wait out the labor market a little bit to see what things look like in the fall. The UI benefit could go away tomorrow, but they may have savings that could support them in the next couple weeks or months or maybe even longer. What are your thoughts about how this survey data compares to other economic data? The WSJ, for example, had a report showing that states that cut some UI payments have seen increased employment. Part of the reason why we did this survey was to better understand what’s happening on the supply side of the labor market. Demand is really high. The gap we were trying to fill in was: Why does the labor force participation rate continue to be so low? Why, even if people are looking, are they not jumping into jobs right now? Our goal is to complement the publicly available data from the government, which really is the gold standard. What questions did the data leave you with that you’re hoping to dig into next? Will we see, maybe in a couple months as time moves on, the sort of collapse of people saying that they’ll take a job? I’ll be looking at the share of job seekers who want to start a job immediately. Does that pick up? What happens to job-searching among the employed? Are people who already have a job more actively searching for jobs, assuming that demand for work continues to pick up?       ASK THE AUDIENCE Nightly asks you: Last summer, before July Fourth, we asked you how the pandemic changed your holiday . After a year of surges, vaccines and variants, we want to know: How are you celebrating July Fourth this year? Is the pandemic still affecting your usual plans? Send us your answers using our form, and we’ll include select responses in our Friday edition. AROUND THE WORLD TAX MUNDI — The world’s largest economies agreed today to sweeping changes to the global tax system, despite staunch opposition from low-tax nations like Barbados, Ireland and Hungary. Four officials at the talks told POLITICO that 130 countries had signed on to the deal, which the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development announced soon after. The initiative aims to introduce a global tax for the world’s 100 biggest companies and set an international minimum effective corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent. Nine countries, mostly offering low corporate tax regimes, opposed setting the minimum rate, the people added, speaking on the condition of anonymity. All G-20 countries — including the U.S., China and France — backed the deal, and their finance ministers are scheduled to approve the agreement on July 9. Many of the details within the deal, such as possible exemptions for the financial industry and manufacturing, were left out of the current pact and will now be hammered out ahead of an October deadline.   JOIN FRIDAY FOR A PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH ANITA DUNN: Anita Dunn, a senior White House adviser to President Biden and one of the most influential women in Washington, will join Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to discuss the administration’s legislative priorities, including getting the massive infrastructure plan through Congress, the latest on efforts to get 70% of U.S. adults vaccinated against Covid, and preparations for the White House’s first big public event on Independence Day. Don’t miss this Playbook Live event, REGISTER HERE.     NIGHTLY NUMBER $3 trillion The amount by which the federal budget gap will widen this year, nearly triple the annual shortfall recorded just two years ago as the pandemic continues to grow the deficit, the Congressional Budget Office said in its latest 10-year projections released today. FROM THE HEALTH DESK TO BE SPOOKED, OR NOT TO BE SPOOKED — Should you be freaking out about the Delta variant? Probably not if you’re fully vaccinated. But, as health care reporter David Lim reports in the latest POLITICO Dispatch, it could cause some problems down the road — especially in areas with lower vaccination rates. Listen to the latest POLITICO Dispatch podcast PARTING WORDS #FREEBRITNEY INVITED TO THE HILL — Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and a handful of other Republicans have invited pop star Britney Spears to testify before Congress about her conservatorship. “You have been mistreated by America’s legal system. We want to help,” Gaetz wrote in a letter to Spears dated Wednesday. “The United States Congress should hear your story and be inspired to bipartisan action. What happened to you should never happen to any other American.” Gaetz said he and fellow Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Burgess Owens (Utah) and Andy Biggs (Ariz.) have been following her conservatorship battle with “deep concern” and stand with the pop star. Rumors about Spears’ discontent with her conservatorship spread for years online and trended with the #FreeBritney hashtag. But last week, Spears spoke directly about the issue herself in court, describing her conservatorship as “abusive.” Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, has been the legal manager of his daughter’s multimillion-dollar estate since 2008. He was also the conservator “of her person” until 2019, when he stepped back from this part of the legal agreement for his own health reasons. Since then, Jodi Montgomery, a private professional fiduciary, has been in charge of Spears’ person. A message from AARP: Family Caregivers Need Help Now Caring for loved ones shouldn’t lead to bankruptcy and financial ruin. But that is exactly what is happening for too many family caregivers. The financial strain of caregiving is immense, and it is unacceptable that more isn’t being done to provide support for them. That’s why AARP is fighting for America’s 48 million family caregivers and their loved ones who depend on their care to survive. Family caregivers nationwide spend over one-quarter of their income, on average, providing this essential care. Congress must pass the Credit for Caring Act to help alleviate some of the financial strain of caregiving. Tell Congress to act now to help protect family caregivers from financial devastation. Tell Congress to pass the Credit for Caring Act.   Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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POLITICO NIGHTLY: A pandemic list you want to be first on

 

BY RENUKA RAYASAM Presented by With help from David Giambusso THE WORLD’S FOUR PANDEMICS — Sure, there are pockets of vaccine resistance across the country, places where Covid is surging. Sure, the pace of U.S. vaccinations is far behind President’s Joe Biden’s July 4 goal. But compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. looks like a pandemic success story. About 46 percent of the country has been fully vaccinated against Covid, including nearly 80 percent of people who are 65 and older. And out of the 150 million Americans who have been fully vaccinated against Covid as of June 21, a minuscule number — only 4,115 people — were hospitalized or died from a breakthrough infection, according to the CDC. Hospitalizations and deaths are generally on the decline. Today the U.S. topped a Bloomberg resiliency ranking based on vaccination rates, lockdown severity and other measures. The rest of the world isn’t so lucky. The vaccine rollout is going more slowly in other wealthy countries in Europe, except for the U.K. Most poor countries are still waiting on donated doses. Earlier this week 1.5 million Covid vaccine doses from the U.S. arrived in Honduras through COVAX, a global vaccine sharing mechanism that has drawn criticisms for moving too slowly. “The story of Covid in 2021 is one of disparities,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “We are just having completely different pandemics.” Here’s a look at trends around the world with countries split into four broad categories: High vaccination rates, low deaths: Israel has dominated the world’s vaccine race, with 57 percent of its population fully vaccinated against Covid , according to data from the New York Times. Only a handful of places, like Gibraltar and Malta, have higher vaccination rates. Cases in Israel have soared recently even among vaccinated people because of the Delta variant first detected in India. But only one death has been recorded in the country in the past two weeks, another sign of how effective mRNA vaccines like those from Pfizer and Moderna have been in preventing serious illness. This lucky category includes the U.S., where vaccination rates remain high in most areas, and hospitalizations and deaths are falling. A cyclist travels along Southbank in Brisbane, Australia. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced a three-day lockdown for much of the state as health authorities work to contain a growing Covid-19 cluster. | Jono Searle/Getty Images Low vaccination, low deaths: There are two groups of countries that have managed to keep deaths low even without high vaccination rates. The first is wealthy countries including Australia, where only 5 percent are fully vaccinated, and New Zealand, where only 8 percent are fully vaccinated. Both continue to resort to harsh lockdown measures to keep the virus contained. In Sydney more than 5 million residents are subject to a stay at home order. The second group is poorer countries that don’t have access to a big supply of vaccines, but may be avoiding Covid deaths for now through some combination of a younger population, undercounting and luck. “It’s like throwing a match into a pile of sticks,” said Abraar Karan, an infectious disease fellow at Stanford University. “It may not catch every time.” Karan is particularly worried about the possibility of Covid taking off in sub-Saharan African countries that don’t have widespread life-saving resources like oxygen tanks. High vaccination, high deaths: There are only a handful of countries that fit this pattern, and they largely have one thing in common: They relied on Chinese-made vaccines, which have proven to be less effective against the Delta variant. In the Seychelles, nearly 70 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, yet deaths per 100,000 people are the highest in the world over the last seven days. Over the weekend, the Indian Ocean archipelago extended restrictions in response to persistently high cases. Still, the experience of these high vaccination countries shows just how we’ve “ratcheted up our expectations” about vaccines, Nuzzo said. Even the effectiveness rate of Chinese-made vaccines, which could range from 51 percent to 78 percent, would have been considered a huge success a year ago. The World Health Organization authorized Sinovac for emergency use earlier this month and Sinopharm in May. Low vaccination, high deaths: Many, many countries fit this category. As Americans start thinking about Independence Day parties, many countries are suffering from Covid surges while struggling to find vaccine doses. Just 4 percent of India’s population is fully vaccinated. Just 2 percent of Paraguay’s population is vaccinated, and the country has the second highest global death rate currently at 1.82 per 100,000 people over the last seven days. Namibia, where 1 percent of the population is vaccinated, is next on the list. In Argentina, more than 500 people are dying a day from Covid and just 9 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. Because of the global vaccine inequities, wealthy countries like the U.S. should rethink the approach to vaccinations, Karan said, focusing on donating doses to get health care workers vaccinated in poorer countries rather than rolling out vaccines to kids in the U.S. “We know the variant story is one that is going to keep going,” said Karan. “As this gets more transmissible, eventually that will start to threaten wealthy countries again.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at rrayasam@politico.com, or on Twitter at @renurayasam. A message from AARP: Millions of family caregivers are struggling to provide care for their older parents and spouses. Many are sacrificing their income, tapping into life savings, and taking on debt to keep their loved ones safe—at home and out of nursing homes that could put their lives at risk. Family caregivers are reaching their breaking point. Congress must pass the Credit for Caring Act now to give caregivers some of the relief they desperately need. Learn more.   AROUND THE NATION THE ELECTION THAT NEVER SLEEPS — After the results of ranked-choice tallies were released, Kathryn Garcia, New York City’s former sanitation commissioner, overtook Maya Wiley for second-place in the city’s mayoral election. The city’s Board of Elections tallied 11 rounds of ranked-choice voting today. Eric Adams now outpaces Garcia by just 2.2 points, but with about 124,000 New York City mayoral absentee ballots that won’t be counted until next week, the final outcome is still very much up in the air. Adams is up by just 15,908 votes. New York City editor David Giambusso emails Nightly: “Adding to the uncertainty, the city’s Board of Elections is reporting about 100,000 more votes were cast on election night than previously thought. The error-prone board is saying election night totals weren’t final, but the difference between 800,000 votes on election night and roughly 900,000 being reported today was enough for Adams to begin sowing doubt about the integrity of the numbers. ‘We have asked the Board of Elections to explain such a massive increase and other irregularities before we comment on the Ranked Choice Voting projection,’ Adams said in a statement issued today.” HOT OFF THE PRESSES — A week ago, three lawmakers from the Northwest joined dozens of their Republican colleagues in creating the new Conservative Climate Caucus to show they were serious about addressing the growing threats to the planet. Then they went silent as a devastating heat wave hit the region. Read the rest of Zack Colman’s story here.   SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.     WHAT'D I MISS? — Biden to visit site of Surfside building collapse on Thursday: The announcement of the president’s Florida visit is a departure from the White House’s position a day earlier that Biden had no immediate plans to visit the site of the disaster. — DHS Intel bulletin warns of risks as attack anniversaries near: The Department of Homeland Security has warned its law enforcement partners about concerns about violent attacks in the lead-up to the anniversaries of two domestic terror attacks, according to a recent intelligence bulletin reviewed by POLITICO. The department sent out the bulletin Monday. “While violent extremists typically have not conducted attacks on dates they perceive as significant, DHS continues to review publicly available social media for explicit threats of violence in the lead-up to anniversaries of DVE [domestic violent extremist] attacks, including the 2019 El Paso shooting on 3 August and the 2017 Charlottesville car attack on 12 August,” the bulletin says. — Biden: Infrastructure deal is a ‘generational investment’: At an event today in LaCrosse, Wis., the president hailed the bipartisan framework released last week as a “great deal for the American people.” — House appropriators look to honor Jan. 6 responders: House appropriators agreed today to fund the creation of a plaque to honor the police who protected the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection . The Appropriations Committee approved an amendment on the issue by voice vote during a markup of its $4.8 billion bill to fund parts of the legislative branch, including the Capitol Police, the Capitol Visitor Center and the Congressional Budget Office. The amendment, offered by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), would create a plaque that specifically lists all of the Capitol Police and D.C. police officers who served on that day. — Maine governor faces pressure to decriminalize prostitution: Maine Gov. Janet Mills has just one day to decide if her state will become the first in the nation to partially decriminalize prostitution , a move intended to help those trapped in the sex trade. The legislation, if enacted, would add momentum to a nationwide lobbying campaign that is pushing states to combat commercial sexual exploitation by reducing penalties for those who sell sex — and increasing punishment for people purchasing sex. The bill, which Mills is facing a deadline to act on by Wednesday, would become law two months after Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance ordered a halt to prosecution of prostitution offenses and as state lawmakers across the country consider similar moves.       ASK THE AUDIENCE Nightly asks you: Last summer, before July Fourth, we asked you how the pandemic changed your holiday . After a year of surges, vaccines and variants, we want to know: How are you celebrating July Fourth this year? Is the pandemic still affecting your usual plans? Send us your answers using our form, and we’ll include select responses in our Friday edition. AROUND THE WORLD PAUSE ON PINTS — The Irish soon may find it easier to fly to Europe than to get a pint at their local. The government today reversed its plan to reopen pubs and restaurants next week for indoor service, citing the surging risk of infections from the Delta variant of Covid-19. The move infuriated publicans and restaurateurs who had been assured for weeks they could welcome customers through their doors starting Monday. For thousands of pubs, it would have been their first trade in 16 months, while restaurants without outdoor dining have been shut since Christmas Eve. Prime Minister Micheál Martin, who had looked relieved a month ago when announcing the July 5 reopening, appeared drawn as he told the nation live on TV that the move must be indefinitely postponed.   JOIN FRIDAY FOR A PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH ANITA DUNN: Anita Dunn, a senior White House adviser to President Biden and one of the most influential women in Washington, will join Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to discuss the administration’s legislative priorities, including getting the massive infrastructure plan through Congress, the latest on efforts to get 70% of U.S. adults vaccinated against Covid, and preparations for the White House’s first big public event on Independence Day. Don’t miss this Playbook Live event, REGISTER HERE.     NIGHTLY NUMBER 49 percent The percentage of Arizona residents who oppose the audit of presidential election ballots cast in 2020 in the Phoenix metropolitan area, according to a new Bendixen & Amandi International poll. In addition, a narrow majority favors President Biden in a 2024 rematch against Trump, even as a majority doesn’t want Biden to run again. PARTING WORDS NEWSOM TRIES TO PLAY D — Gov. Gavin Newsom is suing his own appointed elections chief to get two words next to his name on the recall ballot: Democratic Party. The governor and his staff overlooked paperwork last year that would have allowed him to state his party preference on a recall ballot, according to a legal filing first reported Monday by Courthouse News. That apparent misstep means that Newsom would appear on the recall ballot without a party designation, while dozens of challengers will have their party preferences listed, Kevin Yamamura writes. Newsom filed a lawsuit Monday against Secretary of State Shirley Weber in Sacramento Superior Court seeking to put his party preference on the ballot, based on the Courthouse News document. The Democratic governor nominated Weber to her post in December, replacing Alex Padilla, whom Newsom named to the U.S. Senate. Weber, a former Democratic assemblymember, took office in January and is now in charge of certifying the recall election. The legal challenge comes as California’s gubernatorial recall draws ever closer, with an election possibly happening in September. Weber last week confirmed that proponents had more than enough signatures to qualify the contest, and several administrative steps remain before the date is confirmed. A message from AARP: Family Caregivers Need Help Now Caring for loved ones shouldn’t lead to bankruptcy and financial ruin. But that is exactly what is happening for too many family caregivers. The financial strain of caregiving is immense, and it is unacceptable that more isn’t being done to provide support for them. That’s why AARP is fighting for America’s 48 million family caregivers and their loved ones who depend on their care to survive. Family caregivers nationwide spend over one-quarter of their income, on average, providing this essential care. Congress must pass the Credit for Caring Act to help alleviate some of the financial strain of caregiving. Tell Congress to act now to help protect family caregivers from financial devastation. Tell Congress to pass the Credit for Caring Act.   Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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Bill Barr RIPS Trump over big lie "bullsh*t"

 

Today's Top Stories:

Former Attorney General Bill Barr unloads on Trump and his "bullsh*t" claims of election fraud
To call out bullsh*t, one must first enable bullsh*t. Apparently.

Take Action: Tell DOJ: No white supremacists in federal law enforcement!

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VIDEO OF THE DAY: Fox News's Chris Wallace catches House Republican mid-lie, calls him out to his face
When every last Republican voted against the American Rescue Plan, they voted against $350 billion in state and local funding, money specifically allocated to helps pay for things like — you guessed it — law enforcement. You can't rail against "defund the police" if you won't fund them in the first place.

Take Action: Demand the Senate pass common sense gun safety laws!

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Bombshell update on the For The People Act
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen: Whoa.

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Ex-Trump Organization executive says ex-president "deserves to go jail" as lawyers face Monday deadline from prosecutors
Barbara Res, a former vice president at the Trump Organization who wrote a book criticizing her former boss, said nothing happens at the Trump Organization that the ex-president himself "doesn't know about" and suggested he is in real legal jeopardy.

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Trump's big lie about 2020 results suffers legal and political blows in key swing states
In one battle ground state after another, it was a very bad week for the ex-president and his bogus efforts to rewrite history.

Take Action: Add your name to tell Senate Democrats to DUMP THE FILIBUSTER!

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Situation Room shouting match with Trump, chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley detailed in new book
"Goddamnit," an exasperated Gen. Milley said to others. "There's a room full of lawyers here. Will someone inform him of my legal responsibilities?"

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Northwest "heat dome" signals global warming's march
The heat wave is shattering all-time temperature records in the US and Canada. Portland, Oregon reached 112°F on Sunday, breaking the all-time record of 108°F set just the day before.

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Indiana must continue pandemic unemployment benefits for now, judge rules
Marion Superior Court Judge John Hanley, citing a "preponderance of evidence," ruled that Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb's decision to end the pandemic benefits early violates state law and ordered the restoration of benefits for some 230,000 residents in the Hoosier State.

Take Action: Add your name to demand corporations stop funding Anti-LGBTQ+ Republicans!

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Mitt Romney compares Trump's big lie to professional wrestling: "It's entertaining but it's not real"
The disgraced ex-president's "big lie" that he lost the 2020 US election because of voter fraud is "a bit like WWF," Mitt Romney said, referring to the gaudy and artificial world of professional wrestling, an arena in which Trump starred before entering politics.

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Ousted Oregon lawmaker Mike Nearman nominated to reclaim seat he lost after helping rioters storm state Capitol
Mike Nearman, who is currently facing charges of official misconduct and criminal trespass, was just ousted by Oregon lawmakers after a video emerged that showed him coaching right-wing demonstrators on how to breach the state Capitol last year.

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Retired Black officer, Black Air Force veteran killed in possible hate crime
A man allegedly rammed a stolen truck into a house before fatally shooting a retired Black Massachusetts state trooper and a Black Air Force veteran Saturday, according to police. Authorities said they are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

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We've got work to do...

Engineer warned of 'major structural damage' years before Miami condo collapsed

Michigan GOP rejects Trump's big lie but still acts like it's true

GOP Rep. Paul Gosar's siblings want him kicked out of Congress

Meanwhile...

US airstrikes target Iran-backed militia sites In Iraq and Syria

Mike Gravel, former Alaska senator, anti-war advocate, dies at 91

North Koreans worry over 'emaciated' Kim Jong Un

Hope...

Rep. Cori Bush wants to transform policing and public safety with new bill

Trail angel sprinkles good deeds along Appalachian Trail for unsuspecting hikers

Researchers find magnetic field-detecting migration sensor in robin eyes

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Today’s Action: Tell Biden to use his clemency powers to reduce drug incarceration!

50 years ago, President Nixon declared drug abuse as "public enemy number one" and set the war on drugs in motion. The Nixon Administration had two enemies at the time: Black people and citizens against the Vietnam war. The goal of policies initiated during the beginning of the war on drugs was entirely to disrupt communities that were a threat to Nixon. 50 years later, these communities are still being persecuted.

It is a racist, devastating cycle. Hundreds of billions of dollars in the last half century have been allocated to keep the cogs in the war on drugs moving. Policies stay in place president after president. Federal drug control organizations, mandatory sentencing, funding the prison industrial complex, no-knock warrants-- the list goes on. We have states legalizing recreational drug use while HALF of our prison systems are filled with people incarcerated for drug abuse, a prison population that is disproportionately Black, Indigenous, and Latinx. We have to do better.

Write President Biden and urge him to be the President who ends Nixon’s failed and racist war on drugs!

The fact is that our leaders will never be able to repair the lives of those affected by the war on drugs. There are those in prison who will never get those years back, there are communities and families who can never be wholly stitched back together. But President Biden must be the President that begins to right those wrongs. President Biden can use his clemency powers to reduce drug incarceration at the federal level-- and he must.

Prioritizing our communities includes prioritizing community members who are wrongly imprisoned. Write President Biden and tell him that 66% of voters support ending criminal drug possession penalties and reinvesting those resources into rehabilitation efforts-- and you’re one of them. 

PS — Please don't forget to sign the petition demanding Minnesota legislators repeal the horrific law that makes it legal to rape women if they've been drinking, and be sure to follow OD Action on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.