In her confirmation hearing to head the civil rights division of President Biden’s Justice Department, Kristen Clarke faced intense questioning from Republican members of the Senate Justice Committee about her past criticisms of tough voting rules. Several GOP senators used the hearing to stake out their defense of the restrictive election measures sweeping across the nation — measures that are facing a backlash not just from Democrats and civil rights advocates, but from the business community that is usually aligned with the Republican Party.
Armed Oath Keeper Allies Waited In VA Hotel, Ready To Deploy At ‘Moment’s Notice,’ Feds Say
Multiple affiliates of the Oath Keepers, and multiple cases that appeared to contain firearms, made the trip to a Virginia hotel in advance of the Jan. 6 attack on Congress, a federal prosecutor said Wednesday.
And these people, and suspected weapons, were ready to swoop into D.C. “at a moment’s notice” during the attack on the Capitol, he said.
A Tiny Number Of People Will Be Hospitalized Despite Being Vaccinated. We Have to Learn Why.
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Dr. Carey Washington was eager to be vaccinated. The psychologist, who was still working at 80 years old, got his first coronavirus shot on Jan. 12 and followed up with the second Pfizer dose on Feb. 4. With both shots done, he let his guard down at the office he shared with another doctor, sometimes leaving his mask off.
WH: J&J News Should Increase Confidence In CDC And FDA
Americans should have more trust in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) following the decision to pause administering Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said on Wednesday.
The White House messaging comes amid growing concerns that the news could discourage people from getting vaccinated in the first place. Continue reading “WH: J&J News Should Increase Confidence In CDC And FDA”
Where Things Stand: GOP Acknowledges Asian Hate Crime Bill Might Not Be Right Time To Force First Filibuster
Many Senate Republicans nonetheless argued the bill wasn’t necessary in the first place.
Biden’s Nom For DOJ Civil Rights Head Faces Contentious Confirmation Hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee is hosting a confirmation hearing for Kristen Clarke, President Biden’s pick to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. If her nomination is approved by the Senate, Clarke’s ascent to the helm of the division — where she started her legal career as a line attorney — would be historic, as she would be the first Black woman confirmed to the role.
Most recently, she led the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which was on the vanguard in the legal fight against several Trump-era policies. However, Clarke’s dedicated and prominent career as a civil rights attorney has made her a target of the right and Wednesday’s hearing is expected to be a contentious one.
Clarke is testifying alongside Todd Kim, Biden’s nominee to lead the DOJ’s Environment And Natural Resources Division. Follow along below.
More on the Pause
It’s a tough call. But I’m inclined to agree with the decision to call a pause on the J&J Janssen vaccine. Yes, based on what we know the risk is much less than many other things we do as a matter of course. Certainly it’s far lower than the risks of getting COVID. But these matters are not purely ones of statistics. They’re more centered on building trust. In that domain people’s intuitive rather than mathematical perceptions of risk can be just as important.
If I were leery of the safety of the vaccines – as opposed to holding some deep ideological or Trump-loyalist aversion – seeing federal regulators ignore or soft pedal even a small number of potential fatalities in the greater interest of getting everyone vaccinated would sap my trust more than anything else. If the US were ditching the J&J vaccine based on what we know now I’d think differently. But I don’t think that’s likely.
Here TPM Reader JS …
I agree that there is a stench of innumeracy about the risks of the vaccine here. The risk of being killed driving there is less, fine. I’ve also seen that the risk of dying of COVID is actually higher than dying from the vaccine. Suppose these are both true. Then it would seem foolish to “pause” vaccinations, right?
CNN: Women Who Partied With Gaetz Detail Drug Scene And Payments Provided For Sex
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) allegedly took part in Orlando-area house parties where attendees shared drugs like cocaine and ecstasy and where money was sometimes provided for sex, CNN reported early Wednesday.
Continue reading “CNN: Women Who Partied With Gaetz Detail Drug Scene And Payments Provided For Sex”
USCP Leadership Barred Officers From Using Strongest Non-Lethal Weapons On Jan. 6, IG Finds
The top brass at the U.S. Capitol Police ordered officers not to use their most aggressive non-lethal equipment, including stun guns, against the violent mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters that attacked the Capitol on January 6, USCP Inspector General Michael Bolton reportedly found in his investigation.
Who’s Repping Matt Gaetz?
I’ve heard so much on the PR front from Matt Gaetz that I was curious whether he even has a lawyer, and if so who that person or persons might be. On the PR front Gaetz hired Trump surrogate Harlan Hill, a one time Democrat who went full Trump in 2016 and has been one of Trump’s most devoted supporters ever since. He runs a firm called Logan Circle Group and is now representing Gaetz along with Erin Elmore, a former Apprentice contestant and Trump surrogate. On the lawyer front, Gaetz is also pulling from the Trump inner circle as well.
Gaetz is being represented by Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirschner. Kirschner is a respected New York criminal defense attorney who doesn’t, as far as I can tell, have a strong political profile. The same can’t be said for Mukasey. He’s the son of former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and an associate and former law partner of Rudy Giuliani. Mukasey has represented President Trump in the on-going investigation run by New York City DA Cy Vance and he also represented disgraced Navy Seal Edward Gallagher and other Trump loyalists. Trump later pardoned Gallagher.